Final Fantasy's Most Evil Side Quest

[@gfkgrgrkm]

and then after this game they made you dodge lightning 200 times in a row to get another ultimate weapon, the developers are psychos

[@michealforguson5317]

I wish it was cumulative rather than in a row.

[@metiscus]

Chocobo racing.

[@madcityy269]

That was pretty easy, but boring.

[@FrogofWarRS]

Don't forget that in the game after that, one of the best weapons in the game is locked in a high level optional area and will disappear if you open any of the excruciatingly specific treasure chests tied to it somehow (in a game that's littered with them)

[@SH-cl7cc]

it wasnt that bad in my memory. just have to completely focus yourself for around 8 minutes. wearing armor that disables random fights is definitely required. its a joke compared to the blitzball giga grind for Wakkas solaris weapon

[@j.a.styles547]

Got it , thank you GameShark.

[@Dash-oPepper]

Gameshark is the way.

[@kupoe]

yep. thank you cheat engine.

[@fgrnb353]

this is the way

[@fwobebe5164]

I got 99 of them, anyone want any??

[@EndSus]

yep xD

[@ShaneC1991]

Most evil thing is that it forces you to skip on experiencing such a beautiful game.

[@koro527]

and by the time you get it, you can't really do much with it.

[@JeffPenaify]

it was clearly designed for replaying the game. youre not supposed to obtain it your first playthrough lol

[@alexandremontesinos7876]

@@JeffPenaifyit still forces you to skip having fun with the game

[@franciscotelles-leon3641]

Yeah, it feels like they're basically trolling you. Oh, here's one of the strongest weapons in the game, but you can only get it in the final dumgeon, and forced to fight one of the more difficult bosses, and basically speed through the game, which makes for a dull playthrough. It's not even worth it unless you just want to say you got it, but it's not even worth it since you can easily beat the game without it. It would make more sense if they had a new game plus where you could carry over equipment. ​@koro527

[@alexandremontesinos7876]

@@franciscotelles-leon3641 yes, it was hard for me to believe this game didnt have ng+ when i realised a bunch of stuff was missable including this powerful weapon, same deal with ffx but to a lesser extent.

[@Umbra_Nocturnus]

Really feels like someone at Square Enix is obsessed with putting in items that you'll only find by following a guide.

[@gazza7693]

ive acutally heard this was intentional by the devs to incentivize the players to buy the official strategy guide which would make square enix a little extra profit and it clearly worked lol, pretty genius tbh if its true

[@Umbra_Nocturnus]

@@gazza7693 Considering Zelda TotK's strategy guide dominated the sales charts here, just like BotW's, it's not at all far fetched.

[@flapjackpancake5486]

@@gazza7693thank god everything piece of information about a game is on the internet nowadays.

[@gios4ma]

thats a big reason why we play final fantasy. to torture ourselves on treasure hunts.

[@Umbra_Nocturnus]

@@gios4ma I do like treasure hunts, preferably if you can expect to complete them on your own though.

[@Ghaleon2459]

I have one word that describes what happened to the sword. Gilgamesh.

[@yujiandou4658]

*Muffled battle on the big bridge in the disatance.*

[@blastortoise]

Which makes you wonder, why does he bring it back to the same spot after two years?

[@crowhaveninc.2103]

@@blastortoise Knowing Gilgamesh, he probably got bored. Wanted to see what would happen if someone else picked it up

[@seandonaghy4679]

He knew it would be a fun hit show.

[@tsyumamatsuthehavenofguard32]

THIS AIN'T MY EXCALABUR! THIS IS EXCALAPOOR!!

[@turtlecantalkgaming128]

the biggest challenge without tricks in FF9 is the goddam jumprope. to this day, I've never obtained the card won from those damn children.

[@bitsuuuuuu]

I did, it took me the entire day. I managed to memorized the timing and correct tempo to tap the button.

[@zeroresistance7203]

i was so happy when i managed 100 jumps just to realized there's one locked behind 1000 jumps.

[@bitsuuuuuu]

@@zeroresistance7203 I didn't know that, but I just checked its actually useless, just a title of king of jump, not even worth

[@plutonias9299]

@@bitsuuuuuu i did the 1000 jumps, at one point ive got the feeling i was just smashing the button, but also my jumps counted 2 or 3 times, so i guess at some point the game gives you more jumps then you actually do

[@bitsuuuuuu]

@@plutonias9299 Is it worth the price?

[@cooltrainerjay8880]

Steiner is so powerful by this point in the game that I never even stressed not getting the Excalibur2 legit lol

[@gnosis_gaming]

Seriously 🤣 it's even more evil because of the fact that he doesn't even need this weapon to be OP

[@joelbell6075]

You don't do it for the power. You do it for the gamer cred.

[@Zafire063]

I always felt the same. Steiner never had an issue hitting for 9999

[@stephhanley3167]

@@Zafire063 Who is even using Steiner when playing this game?

[@makisbizarreadventure4669]

@@stephhanley3167Me

[@JustinBrown-gh9vv]

It's a running gag with me and my buddy. Always say "Excalibur II run, baby!" Followed by six hours of playing cards in Alexandria.

[@XEndlessSteelX]

I remember reading about Excalibur II in a "Tricks, Codes and Cheats" book as a young teen. I genuinely took it as one of those "Mew under the truck" stories and moved on, only to several years later, learn that it was indeed, real.

[@ggbeb1177]

going from mew under the truck to the mew fly glitch we know today was a real eye opener for me 10-15 years ago i didn't even know this was the pre-req for excalibur II because i gamesharked my second run 🤣

[@butternutyeeetsbanana.-.5389]

I hate missing out!!!!😢

[@Pluveus]

Aww, the note is a message from Enkidu to Gilgamesh, that's nice.

[@CrystalCollector-g4n]

For me, FF9 is my most favorite final fantasy in PS1 and the second best final fantasy overall, next only to FFX. I played this game not less than 30 times from 2000-2006. The longest time i played this game (grinding all the side quests) is around 240 hours. I never heard the Excalibur 2 until a few years agom I've seen videos and Steiner can only deal 5000+ - 8000+ damage while using it. This is not so powerful after all when compared to Zidane's "thievery", Freya's "dragon crest" and Quinas "frog drop" which guarantees 9,999 damage every single time when levelled up well. Also Garnet/Dagger can cast Odin with Odin's blade which deals 9,999 damage to all enemies at once.

[@JimStorrie-v3s]

only just noticing on this day in 2024 that the excalibur ii is a moonlight greatsword

[@shanehudson3995]

More like the moonlight greatsword is an Excalibur II.

[@JimStorrie-v3s]

@@shanehudson3995 nah, from's been making moonlight greatswords since 1994

[@mrsgamer9218]

Ahhh my true mentor.... you were by my side all along....

[@kupoe]

@@JimStorrie-v3s yepyep. my first moonlight weapon was on armored core 1.

[@DynoSkrimisher]

Now I can picture Steiner throwing moonlight waves while Vivi is questioning "HOW?!"

[@Zero_Tester]

After all these years,FF9 still amazed me with how beautiful the background was rendered,miss those kind of stuff

[@cartoonhead9222]

It's criminal that they let the original models and scenes just get deleted.

[@Ricardo__Milos]

Yeah, the game was so beautiful! And the musics too! Masterpiece.

[@Davethawave1999]

Ans ff 9 remastered messed it all up.

[@Retax7]

Moguri mod scales them for 4k and they look amazing.

[@ZIGZAG12345]

There's a great vid kicking about YT on that very topic, mourning the loss of pre-rendered backgrounds in modern games.

[@MCocchiola10]

I never saw the point of getting this sword. You would rush through the game with no enjoyment to get one weapon that you would only be able to use for a few fights before the game ended.

[@endymionisrafieldeios7362]

Yeah, I don't think it's worth it. I want to enjoy the story and the exploration aspect.

[@Cerenduil]

yeah its just a anti-RPG enjoyer quest tbh

[@snailthelostcow63]

Well it's definitely not for first time player, so in a way, it's actually a reward for players who knew every nook and cranny of the game

[@diogenes3300]

@@Cerenduillol anti-RPG side quest 😅

[@diogenes3300]

@@snailthelostcow63yeah but it sort of makes the game impossible to 100% without speed running it

[@diamondmetal3062]

You know it’s gonna be hardcore when the guide sites have ASCII art.

[@TheCoolerDrilis]

Those were the days.

[@magicfrae]

Missing it by a few minutes 💀my heart goes out to you bro

[@hafurg]

A quick note: about the text you read when finding Excalibur II, it is signed by Enkido. In other games named Enkidu, it is always the companion of Gilgamesh, which in almost every instance of the game is an epic sword wielder and collector, showing up epic swords from the franchise usually. In FF IX Gilgamesh is a character which name you discover when getting a bunch of secrets done (getting all chocographs, defeating ozma, etc) because he is a tier S adventurer and won't tell you his name until you earn his respect in the matter. So it makes sense that his "bro" found a sword for him and is again another wink to the whole franchise with just a little block of text. It is romantic and beautiful while at the same time horribly painful to get the damned thingy.

[@SubduedRadical]

Isn't Gilgamesh a singularity across all Final Fantasy? Like it's supposed to be the same ONE character crossing the rift? The only possible exception I can find is Type-0, since he's born and lives there and becomes immortal, basically. While TECHNICALLY that could be his origin story and he ends up thrown into the rift and coming out in FF5's world without his memories, I suppose.

[@hafurg]

@@SubduedRadical nah it depends on the game. For example in FF VIII he is suggested to be multi dimensional (he appears with swords from other FF games) and sometimes that gimmick repeats. But in FF IX he is just a NPC with 4 arms which is also a gimmick of the character. They did try to make him a bit more constant in design through the games but IX is a big exception of that though the lore and some characteristics do repeat themselves. Its cool tho :D

[@wmen48]

The worst part is finishing it like that feels really bad. When you kill the hardest enemy for the best weapon it's ok but what's the point? When you skip most of the game to get it just feels bad.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yup! That's why I think this side quest is pure evil 🤣 almost sadistic, in fact...

[@NoName-hj6cs]

It actually shows how well developed the game is, if you are familiar with the game you should be able to finish it with zero grinding plus it's true to its thesis on how everything ends... In this case speed runs

[@SamsarasArt]

I consider it more of a trophy for speedrunning the game than an actual weapon. Because you're right, you only can obtain it when almost every boss in the game has already been defeated so there's hardly any use for it.

[@ozylocz4078]

This isn’t something meant for regular players playing for the first time. It’s a challenge run the player accepts, likely after beating the game multiple times. I think this weapon is more than fine and is an awesome challenge/addition to the game. Especially for its time. Normals players don’t miss anything and “veteran” players could at least get another 10 hours out of their favorite game. Getting the sword is the whole point, by then you likely know the game and story well so it doesn’t matter that you skipped stuff.

[@homerman76]

@@NoName-hj6cs Except that nobody likes pointless rewards and being forced to bend over backwards to get something like this. It really just emphasizes the fact that sometimes devs just don't get what makes for an appropriate reward for such things. An actual trophy acknowledging your achievement would feel better than a super powerful weapon that has lost all meaning and value

[@thegoodgeneral]

4:38 I just love that the note is from "Enkido," clearly a reference to Enkidu, the best friend and companion to Gilgamesh in "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The name "Gilgamesh" is used frequently in Final Fantasy games, and even here this Enkido fellow starts his letter off with "To Brother Gil." (Gil being short for Gilgamesh.)

[@crimsonhunter]

Cries in PAL

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣

[@WoobertAIO]

iirc you can also reset the game's clock by playing for more than 100 hours, which should spawn the Excalibur 2 again, provided that you didn't enter its room before during that playthrough.

[@TheCoolguymanly]

@@WoobertAIONo it says it in the video, the games clock counts up to 100 hours, but it doesn’t actually reset the clock until it counts to 19,884 hours lol. Which is nearly 2 and a half years of non-stop running the game. Extremely unviable way to try and get the sword.

[@WoobertAIO]

@@TheCoolguymanly oh

[@lukas8708]

ah yes, 10:30 hours because of different framerate XD

[@adad19856]

I got it in under 9 hours. My tactic was to forge the coral ring on disc 1 and to get a bunch of phoenix dawns and to get to this plateu and fight this dragon thing (i think on early disc 2) that was about dozens of levels higher than my group. after fighting a few of them and jump leveling to level 40 or 50 i rushed to the end and got the sword.

[@JohnDoe-td3xx]

It seems like it's there to help speed runners beat the last bosses. Would be nice to get it, finish the game, and start a 'New Game+' mode where Stiener already has Excalibur 2.

[@diogenes3300]

Interesting theory. A new game plus would make it a lot less ‘evil’ lmao

[@blastortoise]

​@@diogenes3300which is likely why they did it that way.

[@LeviathanRX]

Then he could just 1 shot Beatrix

[@blastortoise]

@@LeviathanRX Hell, he already could if you got the blood sword and grind on the soldiers before her.

[@michealforguson5317]

Or a New Game+ where he starts with Excalibur, and when you reach the point where players would normally get Excalibur, it gets upgraded to Excalibur II.

[@mariocepeda9420]

That and the jump rope questa were the most diabolic quests ever!!

[@Bask3tChase]

Between this and the 18 hour FFXI boss fight, there was obviously someone at Square that was a spite filled homebody. Not even Yoko Taro would do something as heinous as this challenge.

[@GUNDAMURX73]

I dunno, the fade to black in the final boss of Drakengard 1 definitely exists

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣

[@alexfpower]

Dudeee, yea 18 hour ffxi boss fight? Imagine the original ffxi pandemonium warden, that one was DAYS long, it was so hard, and long players were taking shifts against it to finally beat it and win loll.

[@llendar]

That's been patched a LOOOONG time ago.

[@atomaraffe]

0:01 WAIT! This is the Moonlight Sword! …you were all along at my side, my guiding moonlight! 🌕

[@imnotlikeanyone]

FF9 is my favorite game since the PS1 days and not even once I felt like doing this side quest, I just can't imagine rushing this game like that. And this weapon doesn't even have much value since by this point in the game you can easily make steiner hit 9999 damage every turn

[@leargamma4912]

Wait you can? I struggle with finding out how to manage tetramaster

[@DieKao]

So use a savegame editor or whatever to modify the timer.

[@imnotlikeanyone]

@@leargamma4912 yeah, when steiner is level 50 or 60 he always will hit 9999 damage with shock, and you also can farm levels pretty easy in this game killing grand dragons with a couple of coral rings

[@paddyhopper]

You can use limit glove to kill grand dragons and Garudas on a cliffside on disc 1 and blow up your levels like crazy.

[@XXPYR0XX]

certain items when you have them equip also give a stat bonus at lvl like to hp or str etcetera which is allways why its good idea to stay low lvl till late game. there is a list of what items give what stats at lvl on one of the fan sites somewhere

[@Andre-gj6ny]

I remember as a kid just letting the playtime timer hit 99 hours than it resets the playtime and you can fight hades

[@TheCoolguymanly]

Haha sadly the overflow glitch happens only after it resets many times over. The internal system will continue keeping track of the time until the number gets too large and causes it to glitch to true 0.

[@jpieper87]

Yeah, I was gonna ask about the 4+ days straight being far less than 2 years, as noted in the video…

[@vevi457]

nearly finishing ff9 in 12 hours is crazyyyy

[@diogenes3300]

for real

[@JohnDoe-td3xx]

Alot easier on the Switch port. If you push pause and enable turbo mode, it's increase the game speed by about x4-5, but it doesn't speed up the game clock. Makes an Excalibur 2 run through super easy. It also makes chocobo hot and cold alot more fun. I I was able to farm out 5k points in about 30min

[@stopasking968]

I'm doing a playthrough right now and I'm at like 10 hours and just hit the end of the first disk. Damn.

[@seguuro]

​@@stopasking968I think we can safely assume this is not an Excalibur II run haha 😜

[@mattgreen7692]

I remember me and my best friend did this. We'd open the lid to the disc tray to skip cutscenes and save time.

[@ppeeb417]

Just listening to the soundtrack of this was magic, thank you man

[@gnosis_gaming]

My pleasure! Any music connected to Quina is awesome.

[@WingsTM]

What’s the song playing after 5:30? And I agree, great music choices :)

[@DutchDread]

This has been my favorite game for over 20 years, I've played it dozens of times....and yet I still have never done the excalibur 2 quest, it's on my bucket list.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Everytime I thought of doing it, I always stopped because the game is so good, I just want to sink into it again

[@RichterTheRat]

The weapon is basically a Speed Runner reward. Like getting to see Zero Suit Samus. What would have been better is if you did this quest and had an option to start a new game with the overpowered sword.

[@alexfpower]

So true

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yup, seems that way, though I guess that would make FF9 basically impossible to 100% without speed running a perfect game.

[@forevergogo]

When I realized I would have to speed run to get it, I just turned on the gameshark and cheated it into inventory.

[@gaminggoddess85]

I thought it was going to be that undiscovered-for-13-years sidequest where you have to go from the final dungeon back to Lindblum a zillion times for a bunch of short cutscenes.

[@sir.raphimrevelator8644]

Only to get a protect ring😂

[@xerxBreak]

Only learned years later that the clock resets to 0 after 100 hours or so So never needed to do all that rushing to get it in the first place

[@gnosis_gaming]

The overflow glitch happens only after it resets many times over. The internal system will continue keeping track of the time until the number gets too large and causes it to glitch to true 0

[@TheBiipo553]

@@gnosis_gaming yes i tried it with my psx last time was wondering what would happened after the time reaches 99999 it resets and i tried it the first time it didn't work

[@LimethiefSoftware]

I learned about Excalibur II after I already completed FFIX 2 times on my PS (EU Version). After that I wanted it, no matter what! It took me more than 6 month, with at least 1-2 try every week. Every try I started the game and played every time to the point of Ex II even if I was over the time, just to imprint the route into my brain. But I got it, and I still have the memory card with the sword on it! It still, after so many years, feels so good to have accomplished this. *Proud gamer moment*

[@swordcoheir9186]

I made the attempt for it a few times back on the PS1. I remember replaying FF9 a few dozen times in succession and remember getting my play time down to a respectable 20 hours average doing EVERYTHING. When I found out about the Excalibur II I tried it without worrying about missing stuff, and got it with time to spare, but my second run grabbing all the miss-able stuff I do recall missing it by at least an hour maybe hour and a half.

[@math925]

Great video. It was a delight to revisit my memories of FFIX. I have a friend who got married to the song "Melodies of Life". I learned how to play "Roses of May" on piano over the course of months by recreating the song by ear. Great memories of FFIX. Thanks for the video.

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@math925 I’m glad you enjoyed!

[@thrillhouse4151]

I’ve never considered getting it cause it would mean rushing through my favorite FF game and missing lots of other things. 2:06, I discovered that FMV skipping trick with opening the disc port as a kid not for speed purposes, but because certain FMVS would get stuck cause the discs had so many scratches on it.

[@Donrickytheonlyone]

Me and my friend were stuck on disc 1 forever because of scratches until one day when i randomly tried opening and taking out the disc and putting it back in when it Got stuck and just like magic it worked and we could finally continue the game

[@theflashgordon193]

I was stuck for more than 1 years on disc 2 because of that. This trick help me finished the game

[@Trixbeat]

​@@theflashgordon193I was stuck in the ending cutscenes but later discovered the trick and finally got to see the ending

[@theflashgordon193]

@@Trixbeat 😯 wow sound so frustrating to not be able to just finished the game

[@novapophis]

This challenge had been in the back of my mind since I was a kid. During covid I took on the grind and it's now my biggest gaming achievement. For anyone thinking about doing it, give it a try, learning all the details of the game made me appreciate it even more

[@Forever18or21]

This should be put in resume as an achievement, for the amount of work and dedication needed to get that.

[@gnosis_gaming]

I’d hide that person ASAP

[@ralpbeez8414]

Giving a like for all those funny Quina bits, great touch man. It's funny how many of FFIX party are so broken. You can get Quina's Limit Glove right away in Disc 1 and do 9999 damage for ANY time 1HP Quina is in your party. Or how Freya can do 9999 damage by grinding dragons.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Thank you! I like to have fun with the editing. Makes things more interesting for me 😅

[@michaelfox8309]

The jump rope challenge is the most difficult trophy to obtain in Final Fantasy 9. It’s the only trophy keeping me from getting platinum for the game

[@henio719]

Killing 10000 monsters for getting bloodlost trophy is hard and time consuming too.

[@Vykerocha]

If you play the pc version just use an auto clicker. 0.5ms and goodluck

[@clarkymark1042]

​@@henio719that's not hard. Just extremely time consuming and tedious.

[@clarkymark1042]

That is the trophy that is keeping me from starting this games plat. I may end up eventually just doing the auto script. Cheating I know but I don't have the patience for jump rope

[@kirinoa]

play the ps1 version. no silly trophies there lol

[@burge117]

FF9 is my favourite FF game and one of my favourites ever. I dont think I could push myself to rush through such an amazing experience. ❤

[@zephodb]

You do have to remember, about FF9: It was meant to be a 'Genuinely Hard' Final Fantasy game, they felt FF7 and FF8 were 'too easy', so they went back to the older-school difficulty of the game as a whole.

[@joshherrera9034]

They were pretty easy. Especially 8. Probably the easiest in the series

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

Oh i dunno... i thought ff9 was easier than most, in fact it remains the only game ive beaten (as in start to beat final boss) without a guide

[@joshherrera9034]

@adventureoflinkmk2 did you play 8 by chance? People literally beat without leveling because you beat all the bosses by farming spells

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

@@joshherrera9034 many times.. however... at times I did use a guide

[@si-level]

Nah they just want old school JRPG but modern experience. IT just the same sht they do even today

[@spaceghost8891]

I've just found your channel. Your FF9 videos are amazing. Please more. I love that game!

[@gnosis_gaming]

Welcome to the channel!

[@cajunmane7272]

7:02 "Gun-Damn" Lmfao

[@drmuk7777]

Oh the innocence of you saying it's the hardest... You gave me flashbacks to 11

[@BrendonLee]

This along with the chocobo balloon minigame in FFX is one of my most hated ultimate weapon quests.

[@michealforguson5317]

Those birds' hitboxes are something else....

[@MoniqueBoulangerMSG]

The god damn thunder plains always get me...

[@hariman7727]

ALL FFX ultimate weapons are stupidly insane to get.

[@UserNamesDontMatter-42]

I remember it the first time I did it on the PS2 when I was 10 or 11 and I was livid. Weirdly enough, it managed to do it within 1-5 tries afterwards whenever I started a new playthrough. The worst for me are 200 lightning bolts for a weapon you don't even need... I mean... She deals no damage. Same with the butterflies. I never finished that because you only need Rikku, Wakka and Tidus (and maybe Yuna, easy to do anyways). It's just truly annoying when you miss the sun crest after Yunalesca only to get hit by Bahamut.

[@mcrews77]

Don't think I'll ever even try for Excalibur II but now I feel like enjoying another FF9 playthrough; it's been too long. Thanks

[@HYDRAdude]

If you follow the speed run route it's pretty easy to get the sword within the time limit.

[@homerman76]

But can you easily do so while also getting the other missables in the game, or must you sacrifice completion to do so 🤔

[@m31-p9s]

Did it back in the day with the original PS1 (NTSC). Should still have the memory card containing the save file somewhere. Great videos btw!

[@lucid8nightmarelucid8night88]

Too addicted to the card game. Too in love with the story and characters. Can't bear to steam roll over it.

[@chisaten]

I am so glad to find someone else who likes the card game! I enjoyed it so much that I worked on getting every singe form of card just for the sake of it.

[@GeebusCrust]

I hated the card game. The unavoidable rng, and the fact that it has no practical effect on the rest of the game.. I vastly preferred Triple Triad in 8. It didn't need to be game-warping like in ff8, but I would've preferred if I got actual valuable helpful things for indulging in the cards more than was absolutely necessary, even if it's just random older/rarer equipment to pick up missed skills or something.

[@chisaten]

@@GeebusCrust i understand where you are coming from. The thing is my gaming tastes vary. I have enjoyed everything from sudoku and Brain Age on the DS to serious stuff like MGS4. It depends what kind of gameplay I am in the mood to do.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Tetra Master is the best card game

[@mehdidelteil3672]

I did it, and with a perfect game run, level 3 or so (there is only one phase of the game where you are force to gain experience) and with all missable items. It was exhausting, and I finish it only because of emulator and quick saves. You need bascally a crazy amount of luck on certain part the game, like an almost no encounter dungeon or to land multiple times the Stop magic in order to not gain any experience (low pourcentage even for one, so imagine for 2 or 3 in a row ...). I used the GameShark guide you showed in your video, it's very complet, and I even gain a time since I wasn't force to use in game save (but rather the emulator ones).

[@ErnestJay88]

Good thing FFIX PC (Steam) edition, PS4, Xbox One, and Android version have "Fast Forward" and "No Encounter" button, makes casual player easily can obtain Excalibur II. Imagine in the original PS1, you can't skip the cutscene (except FMV by opening - closing PS1 disc tray), some dialogue cannot be skipped by mashing (X) button, even the most experienced player are lucky if they get to Memoria in 11 hours 35 minutes, and you still have fight so many random battles and boss like Maliris, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich before you enter "Excalibur II Room" Some people literally let their PS1 on for months just simply because they want the timer to reset towards "00:00" before going to Memoria to obtain Excalibur II

[@MrVariant]

Modern hardware does have faster load times as well. I remember it taking about 30 seconds to load a battle on my xbone and it sucked that fast forward made you pause it. Still, seems to be for speedrunners over torture like fft stealing elmdor's genji gear (which war of the lions banned, so I would say disorder in the order theft/nelveska Treasure hunter for escutcheon/javelin 2 while risking common ones on columns that need you to kill/crystallize a tough monster while climbing one of yours). Even inviting monsters under 30% success can be a pain but worthwhile if lucky with a dark behemoth like with luso. Arcane strength helps too, but it's unintuitive as the game won't tell you Speechcraft is buffed by magic and orators have low magic attack, so they usually miss outside maybe group effect sleep on human bosses, mimic darlavon.

[@MusashiDamacy]

There's also just a mod you can find online that you can install in the Memoria Engine that turns off the flag for the clock, so you can just take your time.

[@Shinizaru2]

I remember when I was a kid, I did indeed make a few attempts at Excalibur II. FF9 is by far my favorite mainline Final Fantasy, so any excuse to play it more times, I was down for. It took me 6 or 7 attempts, I can't remember the exact number, with help from a strategy guide. I played on the OG PS1, and didn't have much in the ways of internet access at the time. I hadn't thought about those attempts in so many years, so hearing this is bringing back some wonderful memories. Painful in some cases, but wonderful.

[@diogenes3300]

Don’t feel bad, I also tried and failed 😂

[@AliFarisTheBigDaddy]

Amazing videos and channel, subbed

[@Blueknightsoul84]

I remember ff10 having some bs quests for their ultimate weapons. Titus’s Chocobo quest can go to hell. Had a friend talk me into doing it for him back in the day. Haven’t played ff10 since.

[@bassosaurusrex9744]

pretty much where I stopped too

[@kaitlyngarner740]

I've done it twice. The first time took me 8 hours and the 2nd time I got it on the 3rd try. It's a mix of luck and a small amount of skill. You need a good balloon spread that favours the best route to take and also you need a bit of luck in how the birds fly at you and when. I've managed to get sub 0.0 seconds with 2 bird strikes just because I got so many balloons thanks to the favorable spread

[@TheCoolerDrilis]

That one is bugged all to hell, has to be. You can't even control the damn things.

[@jin5558]

lightning dodge is far worse imo

[@g.sergiusfidenas6650]

There's one I never did by myself, that damn mini game with the butterflies, the others I did fine or at least with some effort or annoyance but I cannot see those butterflies without seeing red due the sheer hatred I have got towards that mini game which obviously makes even harder to actually do the damn thing.

[@thefool94]

Your channel is so encouraging. Thank you. I've always really really thought about this type of stuff

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@thefool94 thanks! I’m glad you’re e enjoying it

[@KingCollossuss]

One of the funniest things I found about it is that it requires an inordinate amount of effort to obtain the Excalibur II, and you need to sacrifice the unique Hammer for the Tin Armor, to give Steiner the best weapon and armor in the game, but he's the worst character in the game. He's great for attacking, but he can't heal, he can't cure status effects, he can't revive characters, he can't cast protection on the party, he can't recover MP, he doesn't have AOE. He's the worst character that requires the greatest sacrifices to get his best gear.

[@gnosis_gaming]

He does pack a hell of a punch tho lol

[@KingCollossuss]

@@gnosis_gaming He does lol. But the 9,999 cap means so does everyone else, Zidane, Freya and Quina consistently hit quad 9s and from the back row giving them a 50% melee damage reduction and at a much lower MP cost than Shock with a greater MP pool in reserve. His trance allows him to hit 9,999 consistently in melee but compared to Amarant or Eiko's awesome Trances he's essentially missing out an abilities that other characters have. Love the guy and he's the best character in Dali and Treno but then he drops off sharply.

[@VDL]

That's the amazing thing with FF9, the various strategies and preferences can make any character seem the worst to a player. With that logic, Vivi is the worst character for only having black magic but can't heal, throw a punch, cast protection. Steiner is more of an asset to the party than one who can stand alone as he's meant to be a pure Tank. But pair him with Vivi and he's incredibly useful. Probably the mistake was the time spent with other characters leaves his level so low by the time Beatrix is temporarily playable. Without notice, he's left K.O and she can handle things herself. The same mistake applies to Freya after the events of Cleyra, the cast can function without her there and it takes serious effort to raise her stats up, especially when the plot moves on with her most physically present than active.

[@alexandereakins8917]

thoroughly disagree because items are still a thing, but he do be looking like a dud.

[@27Bayleefs]

@@KingCollossuss My Issue with your argument is Steiner can easily hit the 9999 cap, can cover allies with ease, and zidane,freya,and Quina take a lot of prep and I mean A LOT of prep to hit the numbers steiner can naturally. not to mention Steiner with Vivi has access to elemental damage via sword magic so he can Nuke a lot of bosses as well. His cover is extremely useful and his trance, while not as flashy, he's gonna be dishing a lot of damage quick. utility doesn't necessarily make someone better. Hell I'd argue Garnet is the worst. Her summons require ludicrous amounts of gems, her white magic...I mean it just pales compared to Eiko, and theres even a section she can FAIL TO ACT which has a story reason but can screw the player over.Point being. All characters in the game are usuable.

[@Cyndarion0ne]

Listen the fact that I knew what this entire video from start to end was about without even looking upsets me and also reveals to me just how much more I play 9 than the others... I was filled with rage just looking at the title card to the video immediately. Easiest Sub you'll earn today my guy, you explained this godforsaken quest for Steiner in such explicit detail and I loved it! Also screw the entire 2nd play through of this game once you know it exists; 12 hours to get it is an insane time investment for the chain of quests you have to do, and even speedruns of the quest chains routinely take like 26 hours so I can't imagine how people discovered this all the way back then without guides or enhancements.

[@gnosis_gaming]

I think it must have been known through guides only... I don't think anyone in the game ever mentions it.

[@Cyndarion0ne]

@@gnosis_gaming Right? Like theres a vague suggestion in the pocketstation documents that might imply theres a hidden mechanic related to the Chocobo, but if anything players would think that means Ragnarok, not that the Chocobo quest was a mandatory step. I remember reading some poorly translated article about it years ago and cant recall the source either. I still swear by 9; its infinitely replayable for that reason. You can spend literally a decade in game and not see everything you need to see. Its by far the best most quintessential modern FF experience outside of 12 and 14.

[@DioTheKnife]

I'd put the Zodiac Spear on par with the Excalibur II in terms of difficulty acquiring them.

[@RealFabz]

Nah not even close

[@MichaelKeller-cl6fi]

It was a pain but was a nice challenge on my 4th playthrough of the game. That stupid jump rope trophy will forever keep me from getting my plat trophy i hate that way more.

[@ThePageofRage]

No... no... dodging 200 lightning strikes in a row while counting in your head is way worse.

[@coreygarrett9545]

I actually did that one back in the day heh

[@SH-cl7cc]

it wasnt that bad in my memory. just have to completely focus yourself for around 8 minutes. wearing armor that disables random fights is definitly required. its a joke compared to the blitzball giga grind for Wakkas ultimate weapon

[@YoutubeAccountok]

@@SH-cl7cc give the ball to brother, win every time. If you cuck the other teams by never letting them get the ball, they never level up either and it becomes laughable. I don't remember how long it took though, but most of it I remember enjoying pummeling everyone so hard

[@ranmaster27]

No, it's not that bad, because you can restart the count when you fail right away, and get it within 30 minutes. This Excalibur II was made for maniacs or maybe even... Speed Runners. But I digress, having such a sword like that near the end of the game is pointless, because 9999 isn't even that hard to dish out at that point... Unless it somehow broke the 9999 damage limit, then maaybe the rewards in getting it would have sufficed the effort.

[@Kotake10]

After doing both, 1000 jumprope is far, far harder

[@Igones]

Wow! The video really popped off! I’m so happy for you, congratulations friend! You deserve all the attention you’ve been getting, your content is great!

[@gnosis_gaming]

Thanks! It's been a very good month for the channel 🤣 I'd like to do more analysis videos in the future, but those can be very intellectually draining haha. For now I'm enjoying doing this kind of FF nostalgia-core content

[@Igones]

@@gnosis_gaming they really are! I usually spend half a month to fully form a really good script. I’m traveling right now to see my girlfriend, so I’m taking the time that I wont be uploading to advance one or 2 scripts to make life easier when I get back, haha. Inspiration is really hard to come by

[@davidklein8608]

I'd say this side quest is absolutely genius and more games should have something like it. The sword strikes the perfect balance of being legendary so that it is a great reward in a speedrun and encourages people to try a speedrun but being redundant enough that you won't feel bad about missing out on it if you decide to do a thorough play of the game as you can get the abilities of excalibur 2 from other equipment and the quad 9 damage from spending time gaining exp.

[@luksvs]

i don't know how i found this channel, but i'm loving every video. Good job

[@gnosis_gaming]

Thanks! Welcome to the channel

[@tempestwolf067]

Haha Isn't it funny that I'm immediately like: "I need to get an FF9 rom and acquire the Excalibur II!!!" but then I was like: "Wait ... no I don't. I never even finished FF9. Maybe I should do that first"

[@gnosis_gaming]

🤣An Exalibur 2 run is definitely not an ideal way to experience FF9

[@tempestwolf067]

@@gnosis_gaming Buuuut I could be unnecessarily powerful while I impress all the people I never show with My rare and fancy wall mount! I Hear Ya GG. Slow and Gentle It Is Then.

[@seguuro]

Haha, yes, piracy is reeeeeally funny ☠️

[@tempestwolf067]

@@seguuro mmm … hardly. It’s an old game on an obsolete system. I got the steam version and downloaded the third party mod to fix it but … piracy? Nah. And even if it was then yeah, Pretty Funny. Maybe square-enix should hunt Me down for My Chrono Trigger rom. Hey! I got an nes FF1 rom instead of buying a switch and downloading whatever star wars style improvements they’ve pushed out for more free cash from chumps like you that’ll never see a penny from the multibillion dollar corporation you’re protecting. Good little doggo, have a treat, go back to your cage.

[@vegas3352]

​@@seguuroWhen it's Nintendo it's reaaaaaaaalllyyy funny

[@donskiver]

Well done, Gundam383! Yolu had a crazy amount of not just skill, but of perseverance.

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@donskiver they really were motivated 😄 even had a whole blog about it

[@catnipfatty4193]

I got the Excalibur II back in 2002 on original NTSC hardware. Using a gameshark lol Honestly, every time I've tried (probably made 2-3 attempts), I feel too bad for blazing through all the dialogue, cutscenes, etc. and give up around Disc 2. I usually just start over and play through normally, I just love FFIX too damn much to rush through it!!

[@gnosis_gaming]

Yeah, I think that's why I failed as well. The story and world are just so good, I can't help but slow down and soak it up.

[@joshuapatrick682]

The dataminers have no doubt exposed all the secrets of most games but it makes you wonder who was the first to find this sword naturally.

[@aka.radstatic]

Get Excalibur II in 12 hours or spend 60 hours getting Thievery to 9999 damage?

[@sydney_losstarot]

Definitely Thievery with 9.999 damage per hit, or Frog Drop with Quina or, still, Dragon Crest with Freja....all these Skills deals 9.999 hp if certain conditions are met

[@27Bayleefs]

Honestly I went in blind as I just beat the game for the first time ever a few weeks ago but...Steiner despite having regular exaclibur hit damn near close to max damage with climhazzard. I'd rather just use thievery,frog,drop, and Freja and have 4 characters doing 9999 damage then stress over a sword that don't really mean much.

[@manat31790]

Spending 60 hours to get Thievery to 9999 damage is still actually playing the game. After all, you aren't forced to just sit in one area grinding the skill so that you don't progress forward. Meanwhile, getting Excalibur II in 12 hours requires you to keep blazing forward at all time and skip everything. This mean you don't actually play the game for its story until you actual get the thing.

[@DoctorSwellman]

Square predicted FF9 speedrunning with this side quest. Great video!

[@Sabin184]

I just love they did something this mad in a video game

[@lum1lad775]

Wait i just finished ffiix for the first time and now I'm binge watching ffix videos and i swear i beat it in 11 hours (i used the remastered cheats to play casually) i wish i had a save before that boss 😭😭

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

If I had a nickel for every Playstation JRPGs with extra content hidden under a time limit, I would have 2 nickels.

[@gnosis_gaming]

Where's the second nickel coming from?

[@nisbahmumtaz909]

@@gnosis_gaming Koudelka. You're in for a hell of a treat if you go down the rabbit hole, cuz it leads to a sleeper treasure hit in Shadow Hearts 2.

[@diogenes3300]

@@nisbahmumtaz909I’ve wanted to play koudelka for a long time

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

@@nisbahmumtaz909 Three nickels, then, uh? I was thinking of Suikoden II. Clive's Quest.

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@nisbahmumtaz909 I've heard great things about Koudelka

[@Ozzy_08x]

5:25 Note that regular Excalibur that you get in the Magical Fingertip side quest is stronger than Ragnarok if you equip Steiner with gear that boosts Holy damage

[@melchess8599]

Despite be so merciless, it is somehow a trophy for someone who managed to pull off a speedrun, the fact that someone thought in something like that in 2000 and for PS1 is kinda cool.

[@UltraZulwarn]

I am late on this, thanks for the video! Agree that the way this item is hidden is pure evil LOL However, it gives rise to one of the most impressive challenges in FF history - the "FFIX Excalibur II Perfect Game", this particular challenge run forces the players to ultilise everything they know about the game.

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

My favourite game. Played it through at least 5 times. Even today it stands up.

[@reverv5211]

Not only have I gotten it, I've done it in the fastest recorded time in history with the original disc version of the game at just over 7 hours and 35 minutes - without skipping FMVs. Speedrunning challenges certainly aren't for everyone, but for some of us, it can be everything. I started speedrunning the game purely out of wanting to finally beat the ultimate challenge in my favorite game of all time, which resulted in falling in love with a new way to play.

[@SamsarasArt]

Would you consider taking all the individual segments and combining it into one big video?

[@mario.alarcon]

I played it once on emulator many years back and loved it, though I had to drop it at a certain point, because of workload. Some years later I bought it on switch and completed it in a 90h save which made it one of my all time favourite games. completed many extras there, all super bosses, all trading cards, pretty much every side quest, but man... I remember my ex-gf telling me about that sword and I didn't even think of attempting a run like that xD That made me enjoy your video even more. Thanks for that and keep it up :)

[@linforcer]

I wonder how fast my pc could emulate the game to speed up that game 2 and a half year wait

[@gnosis_gaming]

Could be an interesting experiment

[@DieKao]

Just change the ingame timer at that point.

[@darthungeon2872]

Sweet. If I ever do get it it will be on my PS3 Super Slim, on the original PSN version of FF9. FF9 has the the SMOOTHEST flow of any Final Fantasy game without actually being linear. Main motivation? I've never been able to defeat Ozma even with everyone maxed out DX !!!

[@alexandereakins8917]

same

[@javierlujan9249]

Perfect choice of music!

[@edge6441]

Very interesting i remember my old friends from bk in the day mumbling smth about this sword though personally i never paid much attention FF9 also had those pumice pieces that were easy to miss...as for any other ff game with hard to obtain weps dont forget ff12 with the zodiac if i recall correctly and ff7 with the weapons ff8 had the omega weapon also hard to beat and ff10 the magus sisters if i recall correctly and pennance also its been a helluva time since i touched any of these games and still here i am recalling these names in split secs....what an era what games these games sure were making an impact in our lives bk then!

[@Mogry51]

It really makes me happy to see more and more videos about FFIX in 2024. 😊 I really enjoyed your video! It is still my favourite game of all time and I finally finished my EXC2 run 2 days ago...🎉 [July 13, 2024] I honestly enjoyed it. (except the countless mashing lol). It was not a true run because I was on the HD remastered version on the PS5 using the Turbo mode so yea... I also failed my original attempt on the PS1 (PAL version) by over 30 Minutes so I feel your pain. 😅 FFIX is such a beautiful snd interesting game. I really wish more people give kt a chance and finish it ! Have a fantastic day

[@gnosis_gaming]

Thanks! I have a soft spot for FF9

[@r3z0r3ct10n]

Excalibur II and defeating Ozma are the 2 greatest video game oriented goals I've ever accomplished. That and being OP on Dark Souls to the point that I would make hackers angry that they'd be stuck in my world that they invaded cause my skill was so great that they couldn't kill me. They eventually would either give up and leave or I'd kick them from one end of the map to any other end that had a fall-death available. 😅 Anyway. I never planned on using Steiner in my party after obtaining every character, but after getting Excalibur II that all changed.

[@Elliecham]

Hello! So I've been playing this game on the Switch for the 1st time and actually love it so much. Brings me back to the days I'd watch my brother play it on the PlayStation. I had no idea about Ragnarok let alone Excalibur ll. I like figuring out the game for myself most of the time, as I like a good challenge. This is just absurd, though. I think I'll pass on it and keep enjoying the beauty of the game. Thank you for the video! Now I'm questioning what other possible side quests I missed out on lol.

[@novelezra]

Why is this game so abso-fuckin-lutely beautiful? Like, it's probably the closest game Id consider to be magical through and through. It had an intangible air to it that I can't describe. Id imagine a large part is the music which is absolutely his best

[@gnosis_gaming]

I love the style of this game too

[@lightfm90]

The storybook graphics and pre-rendered backgrounds help a lot. You don't see anything like this nowadays, it's like opening a picture book but the world is alive.

[@Nikolai508]

I’ve played this game a few times and I’ve only ever done slow runs, when I play this I love to just take my time and enjoy every moment.

[@jourdentaylor9485]

this is a great video i love your channel

[@darkwhisper6714]

I love the heavenly power of mods who allows to just reset (or freeze) the game's clock... Such a wonderful invention :)

[@mewimi]

Nice to know that the timer is directly tied to it and not some hidden other things ;p Makes triggering it with CE on PC a whole lot easier.

[@ChaseKip]

Glad to see someone making some FF9 content in 2024

[@gnosis_gaming]

@@ChaseKip thanks! I plan to keep on making more classic FF and ps1 JRPG content.

[@waaaluigi]

I got it once. FF9 was my first rpg, which I played on ps2. It was a grind but after logging over a few hundred hours before attempting it helped

[@MysticMike]

I still think FF11 Dynamis Relic weapons and way hard to get and could be the hardest in all of Final Fantasy. The commitment in getting even one is unbelievable. The few that got it has the rest in awe.

[@Simca0503]

FFIX is my first FF Game... I love it so much

[@Samusvk]

I did it in the PAL version following the official piggyback guide with no problem, i didn't notice it was so hard, it was maybe my 3rd round in that beautifull best final fantasy game ever and now because of this video, I want to play it again!

[@BeanTaco856]

As a kid my older brother and I were able to crush an Excalibur 2 run. When we got the game we also got that old school game guide book that was giant. We dumped so much time into so many play throughs. I still play it every year or two.

[@zohairsaeed9167]

You got my like and subscribe! Great video and great editing and presentation! I think the Excalibur is a second playthrough challenge quest because it requires that you don't fumble routing and random encounters, since those are the things that take the most time. With the help of guides and the NTSC version of the game, I managed to get the Excalibur II in about 11 hours and some change. Then I thought I'd challenge myself to get all missable items AND the Excalibur II in the same playthrough but I really don't think that's possible at all 😂😂😂

[@gnosis_gaming]

Thanks! I’m glad you liked it