Final Fantasy XI - The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@Klefth]

My favourite song in XI. This was the place I'd go to just to stand around and chill, look at the scenery of the beautiful forest full of gigantic pine trees kinda like giant redwoods, listening to the wind blowing, leaves rustling, and this beautiful music in the background. This was peak atmosphere. Zi'tah was the last area I ever logged out from when I stopped playing. If I ever get to log back in, I know I'll be right at home. :') Now you're just missing The Cosmic Wheel, and the quintessential Ronfaure.

[@Feightredfur]

I thought I was the only one who did this lmao. Posted up at the Signet sign and just chill.

[@kenslizle]

22 years later and over 2k days played Im still there...and one day like you my friend this will also be the zone I say good bye in.

[@Silent_Lucidity]

FFXI was escapism for me in a time when I truly needed it. I remember coming home after a stressful day at work, logging in, and having my character sit under a tree in this area. I know it sounds nerdy, but this game got me through some of the darkest times in my life and I will forever be grateful for that.

[@Exlegion19]

I feel you! I was the same. This zone, Ronfaure, and Ru’Lude were my go to zones to chill.

[@JessesAuditorium]

..........Amazing

[@Feightredfur]

Zi'Tah is the redwood forest of Vana'diel.

[@Frionelz]

Yes. I love how the whole ff11 ost is a lot more travel/wonder viby than ff14. This is what actually makes me want to play this more than ff14

[@budakbaongsiah]

​@@Frionelz Someone said that XI is like a national park while XIV is more akin to a theme park. An apt comparison, IMO.

[@derrickmoorman5374]

used to park my character in this forest when i was doing homework when i was like 16, just to hear this song on loop. happy you enjoyed it. found you through your cosmic temperance video and stoked to find a channel that gets hype on game music. keep going bro, love it.

[@Malacite]

This is actually a huge fan favorite among XI playeres both past and present. I personally knew a few people who would AFK there just for the background music. It's not quite a sacred place, though it is actually adjacent to one as it leads to Ro'maeve which itself leads to the Ru'Aun gardens aka "Sky" in XI - which is MY personal favorite spot in the whole game because of the atmosphere (floating gardens way in the sky with a relaxing BGM) The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah is like this gigantic redwood forest - full of massive trees everywhere. But it's also very dark in there due to the canopy and near constant Thunderstorms. There are even Lightning Crystals scattered about, and some large rocks. Which is fitting because it also leads to The Boyhada Tree, where the Proto Crystal of Lightning resides (Ramuh's prison - each of the 8 Celestial Avatars are kept within these crystals except for Alexander and Odin which is a whole big thing and a massive part of 11's overarching plot) It might seem jarring to have such a chill theme for a place covered in Lightning but weirdly it just works. Sincerely, your resident FFXI nerd.

[@Stormfall7]

This one is so good, yes! This song just invokes a certain peacefulness, but also does sounds a bit mysterious. I just remember entering The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah for the first time, and just immediately taking in the atmosphere around me. The giant towering trees of the woods, with the slight fogginess, the crystals; all with this song playing in the background. Just a certain vibe that I hadn't felt anywhere else in the game up to that point.

[@JessesAuditorium]

A+

[@Lordsephiroth5]

Everytime i hear this song nostalgia gets me... good old times, 850 days of playtime, regretting NONE of it.

[@Ronzeru]

The amount of nights i went to sleep listening to this music in the rain outside of Dragon's Aery or Sky while waiting for Nidogg and Sky farms ....god the nostalgia. This needs to be listened to with a rainstorm in the background

[@lockekappa500]

Played this game for 7 years, and this song will forever define my experience.

[@AREAlhero]

Mind you, I have no experience with FFXI (I don't play MMOs) but this is one of my favorite songs of all time. I still remember how I heard it: there was a KZbin channel I found many years ago called SupraDarky (who I just looked up and is still kicking despite the old channel or at least videos still being deleted, so at least that makes my heart happy) who uploaded their favorite pieces of VGM. As a VGM fan who only grew up with Nintendo consoles, their videos were so important for broadening my horizons to some of the great VGM out there, and they even introduced me to my favorite series of video games - Shin Megami Tensei - with his uploading of the Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne song Reason Boss Battle. This song was one of the earliest I discovered from them, and the moment I heard it I was filled with such a feeling of longing and nostalgic melancholy I couldn't help but be enraptured by it. I love that it was requested on this series and that you also got to experience the beauty in this song.

[@siverwrites]

I'm so glad you made this comment because I immediately recognized this song and wasn't sure how and it was driving me a little crazy. It was likely SupraDarky for me too who I still follow.

[@GeoGyf]

Damn i remember SupraDarky! He is very good! Erick Landon RPG has similar music lists as well!

[@frankymr2]

This is my fav song in game, i used to go to this zone and spend hours just listening to this song. The zone is a magical forest that has trees and crystals. It has a nice wind ambient too. Love it.

[@guiltygamerxrd]

Back in the day, I had this as a ringtone for my phone. Like I've said before, FFXIV has battle tracks down, but FFXI has some of the best field music around.

[@mario4everd]

Yessssss, this is what I've been telling my friends all this time XDD

[@RC-nv4bh]

Please please listen to the West Sarutabaruta [S] theme! It's titled "The Cosmic Wheel"! Another stand out track in an OST full of stand outs! 👍

[@yann-solo7703]

I remember the first time I explored the sanctuary of Zitah without a map to unlock the Samurai job.... This zone is located between the Boyahda Tree, Dragon Aery (Niddhog and Fafnir's lair) and Ro'Maeve with its monsters that aggro to sound and magic spells. It's a superb melody !

[@Varizen87]

This is a fan favorite. This area was one where I spent hours of my time farming silk to make my money. It was a pleasant place to be though. It’s a forest with giant giant trees with soft glowing purple crystals. The area leads to the dungeon The Boyhoda Tree (spelling may be wrong but it’s not important) but is also lead to Ro’Maeve which was a ruin that lead to a floating ruin in the sky.

[@vyvian8]

This is definitely in my top 5 for this game. While some synth sound is used, I would describe the entire game's score as almost entirely orchestral in execution. Battle themes are definitely faster in beat, but most of the area themes and town themes do a good job of trying to sell a vibe. There are spooky zones, bustling sounding city zones, etc.

[@menosay1912]

A quick note, every time you see a name with an apostrophe, Ru'Hmet, Zi'Tah, Ru'Lude, it means it is connected to the Zilart, this games obligatory civilization that became like gods but flew too close to the sun and fucked themselves.

[@Jonaythan]

I guess Chateau d'Oraguille is the only exception I can really think of

[@MorseusWGS]

Man, this song kicks so much ass. One of the best zones to run through. I may be able to warp directly to sky, I'll still take the long way there just to hear this song.

[@fabiannarvaezdegarcia619]

This is my favorite song of FFXI Allow me to paint you a picture of a dense forest with incredibly tall and gurthy redwood pines you cant even see the top of the trees, in the roadless forest you see big crystals around 1-5m tall every now and then, some bushes and little vegetation around as the sun almost doesnt reach the place as the whole place covered in a light fog most of the time but sometimes becoming very dense to the point you can only see the small shadow of the trees and a little glow of the crystals giving it a very magical mysterious feeling. I recomend you to hear the Star Onions version of this song, its an official band made for ff11 and they remix/remake ff11 popular songs

[@kevo8137]

Thank you. This game stabs me in the heart and twists with nostalgia

[@revol113]

I’m so happy you loved this song and are listening to some XI. Such a unique soundtrack and I still listen to the songs to this day. Such memories and melodies…

[@Dhalin]

Don't be lulled by the peacefulness of the music. Back in the day, this zone (a forest with HUGE ancient trees) was actually a rather dangerous place to be in, at-level. Lots of goblins, some golems IIRC, elementals, and I forget what else. All dangerous stuff, and the area was kinda mazy as well. It led to a huge tree where a mega-boss dragon lived at the top, and also it led to an ancient shrine with a teleporter that sent you up to the floating sky islands.

[@xellestar]

Many people put this as their favorite theme from the game. I don't personally, but it's still a great track. When I was playing in the mid 2000s (relatively early in the game's long life) people didn't spend a whole lot of time in this zone normally. Aside from a handful of missions and quests that involved coming here briefly, the zone was usually just a "pass through" zone on your way to another place - usually either Sky, which was an endgame area where you would fight god-like monsters, or The Boyahda Tree, home to Fafnir the dragon who would appear every few days and also required large numbers of max-level people to kill. Even so, people remember the zone especially fondly, in large part due to the music I think.

[@Fortexcross]

THIS is what I was waiting for.

[@hero3250]

FINALLY! Someone suggested my fav FFXI song

[@killademan]

@@hero3250 you’re welcome 😊

[@jayruka1977]

Love this zone music.. I spent so much time here leveling Beastmaster and sitting at the zone line to Ro Maeve to camp Shikigami Weapon or head to Sky. One of those songs I will always put on to relax to.

[@hamettjuan]

Damn you were right. where has this song been all my life?

[@BeRadMH]

If you enjoyed this, I think you'll really like the Ronfaure theme (also from FFXI). It's like the epitome of fantasy environment vibes.

[@BenRiley83]

One of my favorite songs in the game! The music got so much better once you get into the expansions

[@kewpiemayonaise1111]

One of the most beloved tracks by many people who played XI, thank you for giving it more exposure

[@Dizzy1407]

Oh yeah. This is a big one. Happy to see this on the channel. Amazing song. This location is like a foggy, mystic forest dimly lit by magic crystals. Almost spooky in a way

[@stereoslime]

FFXI has so many warm, relaxing songs. One of the best soundtracks in the series imo.

[@Hyli4nH3ro]

I used to go to this area and just chill and listen to the music back when I still played this.

[@rienquish1926]

So happy someone's requested this one, it's one of if not my favorite song from FFXI, used to afk on that zone quite often for the beautiful forest scene and amazing music, it was so relaxing. I'd probably still be playing that game if they didn't make some big fundamental changes that ruined the game for many veteran players many years ago. I ended up switching for FFXIV and even though I'm a diehard fan of that game as well, it never quite managed to reach what FFXI was. Unfortunately, a game like FFXI used to be would not do well in todays gaming world. For example, back in the day you needed a 6 player party to level up, to get said party usually took hours (if not all day) of searching and sometimes when you finally got an invite, you arrived just for the party to wipe and disband. What made it even more "fun", you lost exp from dying so sometimes you ended the day with less exp than you had in the morning. Things like this made everything in the game feel like a massive achievement and accomplishing some of the more difficult things together with others made many lifelong friends. The combat system in the game was a lot slower and often put a lot more emphasis on strategy and timing than in your modern MMOs or other games. This left you with a lot of downtime in leveling parties, so people were often chatting to pass the time, which enhanced the heavy emphasis it had on working together and socializing. English is not my first language, I studied it at school but was always bad at it, till I started to play FFXI. My desire to communicate with the other people in the game often had me sitting next to an open dictionary while playing just so I understood and could respond to the people I played with (This was before google translate). Went on a bit of a tangent here but oh well, this game and its music just evokes so many fond memories :)

[@Picxalate]

I've spent so many hours listening to this song since the first day I stepped into that forest. I always eventually come back to this track. So mysterious, peaceful, serene... One of my all time favorites. Ever. This song is special. I can tell, like me, so many people are taken back to that feeling. And I will say although I absolutely love FFXIV and think that it has one of the best OSTs out there, FFXI was something special. I think FFXIV is a better overall game without a doubt. But I don't feel a part of that world like I did with FFXI. The world immersion was on another level and I think Naoshi Mizuta is a huge part of that.

[@Sushidrew]

Man I love this song so much. But you are in for a treat because FFXI has many MANY amazing songs. All the states (Windurst, Sandoria, Bastok and their surrounding areas all have amazing songs. Khazam, Mhaura, Selbina, all amazing and memorable tunes as well. I can talk about FFXI music all day long.

[@diamondrust4719]

Never played the game, but that is some highly soothing ost.

[@siverwrites]

I commented on another XI video that Ronfaure was all I knew prior to this channel and whoops no, I heard this song elsewhere. Immediately recognized that melody and I've heard the airship song as well. Now I wonder if there are some other things from XI I'm forgetting or not realizing were from it. This song is so lovely anyway.

[@demillion]

THIS is my absolute favorite song in this game. I tent to just sit in the zone to listen to the music :)

[@BeRadMH]

It's so peaceful with just the slightest bit of spooky. The music in XI suits the environments so well.

[@forestgirlasha]

FFXI was my 1st MMO and the music still hits. This one is one of many favorites from ffxi.

[@anardine6176]

The compositions for FFXI are just something else. Sticks with you for the rest of your life.

[@unlikelyraven7374]

I used to fall asleep to this music Zi'Tah is an ancient forest that has the entrance to the garden of the gods deep within

[@cyphi474]

My favorite song from XI too. Brings alot of memories.

[@Namadu7]

Oooooh! I first heard this one on Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call. This game's got so many comfy tracks. Didn't realize that Naoshi Mizuta composed it... but now that I know, I hear the similarities to Sunset Path, one he wrote for Lightning Returns (the third XIII game). Looking forward to when (if) you get to that one!

[@jstraziante]

So many Final Fantasy games get praised for their amazing soundtracks but you rarely hear XI in the conversation even though it has one of the best OSTs in the series.

[@Rixstarian]

I haven't personally listened to much of the FF11 OST in a while, since I usually enjoyed listening to the tracks as I went through the game, & had the music accompany sights & environments. So revisiting this all as you discover it fresh is akin to a long lost friend at my front door. This is great. Side note: The Sanctuary aspect refers to a woodland sanctuary.

[@anthonyletizia2213]

Best FFXI song for sure. I remember when this zone was released and I stumbled into it, I was stuck listening to this for hours. Taking the chocobo to Boyahada Tree for parties 45-55, i'd always hope the chocobo song would end before I zoned so i could listen to this on the way. Actually bought this CD back in the day so I could listen to this, Gravaton and Altepa desert.

[@leon45sant]

One of the best soundtracks it's so different from newer games because it has a lot of simple tracks.

[@MasterOssy]

Still subbed to FFXI, but haven't played it in a couple of years. There is some songs that it's impossible to forget.

[@Kylesico912x]

Rather than a religious building, it was a massive forest. Because of this song there was always a serene sense to the area. At least until you're chased clean across the map because you made one wrong move and aggro'd something.

[@Tazrael]

This is one of my favorite songs in the entire game. Top five to be sure. I could go on about it but other people have already put it well. But losing yourself in a walk through a massive misty forest....yes.

[@BlakeAustin2011]

This is easily top 5 of all XI tracks, and perhaps top of the original US release (which contained the Rise of the Zilart expansion). I would say this, Ronfaure, and Selbina’s theme are the most recognized.

[@Adramelk]

Good sir, now your getting into the REALLY good music , hats next Pso'Xja ?

[@jackpots712]

That bridge section is very Stairway.

[@wavedash101]

I hope we get a series of XII songs like we just did for XI some day. It is also a very nontraditional FF soundtrack (unless you have played the Tactics games I guess)

[@haseo777]

one of my favorite songs form final fantasy

[@Silvist]

Yup most chill song in the game imo. This is just a big ass forest.

[@bakubread9308]

Seeing as you've done a nice handful of XI reactions, could we get a playlist for them? They're honestly kind of hard to track down, because all of the XIV reactions come up instead

[@JessesAuditorium]

kzbin.info/aero/PLA8RXW6S2vL-4j2jzWDWUx_PJzOExN_UM

[@bakubread9308]

@@JessesAuditorium thanks!

[@consumablecorner150]

Rolanberry Fields, [East?] Sarutabaruta, Ronfaure, and the vocal version of Ronfaure are the best, imo.