The Special Feeling of Final Fantasy XVI - Delayed Input with Kyle Bosman

I'd say this episode is spoiler light--I don't ruin anything big (or medium) but if you're super media blackout you might hear a couple of things you wish you didn't.
Subtitles by Screaming Argonaut
Delayed Input Patreon: / delayedinput
Twitch Channel: / kylebosman
Discord Server: / discord

[@SWAD42]

If somebody asked me if "The dark prince of nerd media" was a "very special boy" I would have to reluctantly agree.

[@mikesaintjulesmusic]

Oh stop.

[@niceman8815]

Im DEAD 😂🤣😂🤣

[@mattjackson5871]

Kyle isn't dumb... he's... special

[@TOASTDD]

hes a special boy

[@TrepeGB]

Kyle has the unique ability to be an optimistic, happy, go lucky, cynical, curmudgeon. He makes me feel optimistic, yet miserable. It’s a skill I hope he never loses.

[@markseecher9477]

I can't believe Kyle didn't end the episode with "congrats, you're a special boy now"

[@gankhef5564]

Definitely missed a play.

[@mister_brownie6416]

i cant believe the video didnt end with kyle's face in those animations. 40 buckaroos is a bit much, true. maybe a charity stream goal in the future?

[@guitarskill]

Prediction: He did, but they take a long time to get around to editing the video. So it'll be in a bonus bit next season.

[@RinandStyx]

Delayed input has to be my favorite series right now. Great writing man

[@arglebargle5531]

It's Delayed Input and Checkpoint for me. Comedy based around gaming can be really great.

[@chimpmaster]

This is honestly the only KZbin show I look forward to. The other stuff I just watch whenever, but Delayed Input is the only show I find myself asking "Is it out yet?" about

[@ff789n10]

The entire Final Fantasy series, indeed most JRPGs, are in the special boy genre. This is what I love about FF VII is that it takes the concept to seemingly its ultimate limits: you play as a special boy, who decided to stop being special and become ordinary, comes to an earth shattering realization he was not only not special but less than ordinary, comes to a second earth shattering realization that the first realization was a lie from the villain and that he was always just ordinary, and then goes on to become special anyway.

[@t0mom]

This is such an interesting topic & you manage to navigate it both thoughtfully & with humour. Certain big films have interrogated this trope in recent years, with my favourite being Blade Runner 2049. The main character spends 80% of the movie believing himself to be the "special boy", only for that reality to be ripped from under him just before the films climax. It's his actions after that reveal, in which he acts heroically, that carry the most emotional depth & dramatic weight. He is a good person, a hero, a real human being (lol) in spite of his less than "special" existence. I'd like to see more big budget games approach & dissect this trope in similair ways. We, the players, are only human after all as well.

[@NoahNCopeland]

but if the not-special boy ends up acting heroically and doing something of valuable...than he is, in fact, special. this is a paradox and its why we will never "escape" this trope because it is necessary for storytelling to even exist

[@t0mom]

@NoahNCopeland I'm not saying we should stop telling stories about special people, moreso that (certain) stories need to do more to move on from traditional tropes like these. Agent K from Blade Runner 2049 is indeed a "special" character, but he is not a "special boy". He doesn't come from any royal lineage, he isn't the chosen one & he doesn't have some mysterious almighty power that makes him unique. He is literally nothing in the grand scheme of that universe and yet, in spite of that, his actions & therefore his effect on that world are special. If it turned out he was the chosen one, the film would be remarkably less interesting. The "special boy/girl" trope is fine depending on the type of story you're telling/the audience it's made for, but it's been done to death & is often just lazily implemented. However, I absolutely understand why it's a crutch used so often in video games - they're escapism after all and who doesn't want to be the special boy every now 'n again.

[@mjfilmmatics]

Criminally underseen movie. One of my best theater-going experiences ever

[@franzusgutlus54]

I am VERY disappointed that Kyle didn't spent the 40 bucks, had a video made of his face in a story and showed it to us! :P

[@benfranklincatappleshark]

literally a perfect honk. Generations to come will study this and determine this is the one

[@levandusky36]

I feel like I've read a lot of discourse over the last few years about the "Hero's Journey" story archetype, and I feel like most I've read tends to fall into one of two buckets: people insisting that it's the only valid way to tell an emotionally resonant story, and people insisting that it's an inherently toxic power fantasy we should move past. I really appreciated your nuance here.

[@ShowerSkeleton]

glad to have a clean recording of Kyle saying "I don't care whether you live or die", that'll be handy Another great Delayed Input, thanks Kyle!

[@AConstanTole]

Ah, yes... A Cruel Special Boy's Thesis. A conundrum, indeed.

[@WeeWeeJumbo]

top comment

[@azimulhoque1497]

The Hedgehog's Dilemma between me and my video game character

[@IvanIllich-bm5rm]

I know what Kyle is trying to say with the sidequest side of things but one can read that as the special boy being humble and good enough to help the not so special. A videogame series with good examples of not-so special protagonists is Trails with Estelle in the Sky Arc and Lloyd Bannings in the Zero-Azure. Both pretty normal people

[@SimplyMavAgain]

Clive's journey is similar to my own

[@returnMarcco]

😂

[@marvdeparv]

I was so hoping for one of those videos with Kyle's face in it :)

[@___IG]

The old protect-yourself-with-a-forcefield trick

[@evilkeen]

For what it's worth, I think FFX did a pretty good job making the main character more of a viewpoint character. Yuna is the special girl and the true plot protagonist.

[@jonathanclarke5763]

Yup. Tidus was just there to witness and protect her during her battle against Sin.

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Thank you for another great video!

[@gdotleejr]

Kyle, thank you fam!!! lol I’m so glad I found your channel

[@quagthias]

I think the reason it's fun to be a "special boy" in a videogame is to give context for why the player has videogame super powers. My favorite example being Halo: Combat Evolved. You are the last Spartan, so only you have the rechargable shields while all the marines are squishy and therefore more scared to die while you charge in, and they are naturally in awe and thankful of your presence. It doesn't feel like you're some chosen one but rather you have a clear and rare advantage due to technology and good/bad luck.

[@darrenmacqueen9884]

Yeah, when playing games like Uncharted where you are supposed to be an everyman type character, it's always hard to justify why he can single handedly take on an entire army and come out unscathed. I love the Uncharted games, but they are among the most unrealistic games out there specifically because they expect us to believe that. Making him a super soldier, the only one of his kind, would just explain everything.

[@user-uj5ji5dp8k]

Clive, the Kyle Bosman of Final Fantasy.

[@TheAlias101]

Brilliant episode

[@lazysayso]

Watched this as I press X through the dialogue of the side quests 😂 great vid man.

[@MonsterMJ]

mucho is a special boy thx kyle great episode

[@DarrienDane]

a mere final fantasy could never compare to the special feeling of seeing turtleneck kyle

[@guitarskill]

I think this is the funniest episode since the 5 predictions for the future with the VR world.

[@keyboard_g]

It’s more fun to play as Captain Olimar than as just one of the Pikmin.

[@labrynianrebel]

It's more fun to play as Louie than as just one of the captains.

[@TheObidicut]

Great episode from one special boy to another.

[@TheCalComics]

When I was real little, my grandfather got me one of those "Your kid in a cartoon!" VHS' featuring me in an episode of Arthur. As far as I remember, it looked and sounded like an official episode so I'm guessing it was made by the same production company. Along with having my face superimposed onto the new kid moving into town that all of Arthur's friends were excited to meet, the VHS also had a very obviously out of place voice come in and say "Calvin" whenever they needed to mention me by name. Would be curious how many other cartoon series officially did this special boy VHS thing.

[@user-yt9et8oy9q]

i like the dark souls arc of being a special boy. it begins with an "oh, so you think you're a special boy, boy?", and end with an "OH MY GOD you so F- SPECIAL specially boy SPECIAL!!!11".

[@onixtalks]

Yes, you're bas- oh. I gotta wait, I'll be back.

[@admiralsnackbar]

"you bubs" absolutely destroyed me in the best way.

[@xdtrigger]

Honestly, I think I’m just here for the, “🎶 this is 🎶”, at this point.

[@powpowdingdong]

7:01 I though you might be a special boy with a black, fury tentacle arm until I realized it was a cat 😅

[@josht9827]

Even in Pokémon, everyone has the same power to capture and summon Pokémon, but you’re still the special boy. The only games where one is not a special boy are competitive multiplayer games where I get trounced by random people online who are clearly cheating because really even in those, I am the special boy and everyone just wants to beat the special boy.

[@SerbStar2011]

What about rockstar games like max payne 3 and red dead

[@mattjackson5871]

I need Kyle to earnestly pitch that VHS company to investors.

[@CompulsiveNerd]

Yes Kyle. I'm glad I waited until the end of the video to answer that.

[@CompulsiveNerd]

Nobody will get this joke.

[@gangganggang2219]

@@CompulsiveNerd 8 months later... is it because you are compulsive?

[@CompulsiveNerd]

@@gangganggang2219 most likely. Name tracks

[@MarioNintendoh]

Thank you

[@saligraphy]

I appreciate you Kyle Bosman

[@mattmccarthymusic]

I'm working through FF16 and have had similar thoughts. The hero's journey seems to hit differently when you're supposed to be the hero yet have no real agency in committing heroic acts. There's a feeling of being led through the story instead of leading it. I'm the tag-along in this hero's journey, not the hero. Clive is the "special boy", not me. Haha. Even in small setbacks like a blocked pathway, the camera will immediately pan to the new (and only) way forward while the characters will say shit like "I guess we'll have to find our own path." I'm not finding my own path, Clive. The camera and level design are saying "obviously go here, dumbass." tldr: I'm not special :(

[@sunvsthemoon]

The lack of a Special Boy has made me really come to appreciate the Octopath Traveler games. It's nice that it's not just another "teenagers save the world" story.

[@goranisacson2502]

Huh, I actually haven't considered that as part of those games appeal, and I beat both of them. They really are just the tales of eight people who happen to get involved with a lot of bad shit and do what they can to get themselves, and in the end, the world, out of it. I feel like part of the critique of some of the stories being "not as important" as the others, like how in OT2 Partitio and Agnea are seen as less important than say, Hikari, Throné, Temenos and Osvald because their stories aren't as connected to the overall plot, kind of shows how people have a hard time vibing with plots where they AREN'T the special boy / girl. I enjoyed Agnea and Partitio because they're more personal stories of those two finding their worth as just people trying to move the needle and give something nice to the world, inject some hope in bleak times, but so many seem to dismiss them because their endboss isn't like, part of the Big Conspiracy. At the same time I don't want to completely dismiss critiques as "you just don't get it" because there can be elements you dislike even if you're open to their messages, but most of the critiques I read really make it seem like most people WANT to always be the special boy / girl.

[@TechMetalRules]

'This IIIIS...' the story of a gir... special boy

[@IFinishedAVideoGame]

I think it's less about these sorts of stories needing a special boy and more than audiences have shown they don't want it. Final Fantasy XII was literally designed so you weren't the most important person in the story and it led to people complaining endlessly about how boring Vaan is and how he never does anything. Personally I think it's an interesting spin on the JRPG formula but people want their special boy stories and Square Enix ain't in the business of experimenting anymore

[@deffloyd]

We didn't have L.L. Bean in the hood.

[@PixelBaller]

That's why the Legacy of Kain games were so brilliant and ahead of their time. Your choices were almost the opposite of being the special boy. Similarly for the 3 main characters in GTA. Similar for Arthur in Red Dead 2.

[@ronthorn3]

Funny you mention those images imposed on cartoons, my mom sent me and my siblings in as a kid to be inposed on a Barney cartoon, god bless my mom, it cracked us up for years.

[@wallacelovecraft8942]

Yes, to the question.

[@LearnedFingers]

Strong episode

[@cosmosofinfinity]

Special episode

[@kennethwells4177]

New Delayed Input? BRING IT ON BRING IT ON BRING IT ON BRING IT ON

[@denimchicken104]

It’s time games get creative and let us be special boys in a game world full of special boys, making us not special, but still more special than in real life.

[@denimchicken104]

Or better yet, a game where it’s your goal to kill all the special boys that show up in the world, because they are special and that’s scary. So you have to recruit other not special boys to the cause in order to stand a chance. Then, when all the special boys are vanquished, society anoints you as their savior special boy.

[@alm3na284]

@@denimchicken104 technically in danganronpa a lot of special boys die

[@KevinJennissen]

​@@denimchicken104Sounds pretty similar to a show called... The Boys.

[@denimchicken104]

@@KevinJennissen sounds like a winner. GET ON IT!

[@oscarfriberg7661]

We need a game where you’re the bicycle repairman in a world full of supermen.

[@GuyFromNorth]

Around the 8 minute mark there Kyle sounded straight up like Roman Reigns all of a sudden. "This is MY story! I'M the special boy!"

[@rodneytheredmage3436]

The FinalBosman is our special boy!

[@tootall1999]

Clive strives to have Kyle Bosman arms

[@Rick.Grayson]

I was terrified during this video, but I’ll be damned to find out when I was actually terrified

[@jaketwitchin]

the most cursed honk has been found

[@TheDanteEX]

That customized video company knows exactly what they're doing with that fox groom. They know how many girls had a crush on Disney's Robin Hood and are allowing them to live out that dream.

[@natronstevenson9954]

Who's party hat do I gotta honk to get a party around here??!

[@geneticjen9312]

Omg i literally had that video with my face in it!! Lol

[@lambasted6886]

Does anyone know the name of the footage of the Kid's face in the character video?

[@klastical8701]

How did this video not end with kyles head in one of those clips

[@nailed999]

Kyle Bosman have you played critically acclaimed..... There you are The Warrior of Light.

[@Herf18]

That mucho invade

[@AlecBreen]

So what's the latest update on your arms like Cloud?

[@flemishdog]

Hah, I uploaded that UR The Star Video to IA. (No it wasn't my personal copy, I found it in a Thrift Shop, which is weirder). What an excellent way to describe FFXVI.

[@vinnyjamission]

I think what your hitting on is the difference between a character inherently "being" special vs an average character "doing" something special. Froto wasn't special but he went on the journey; Ishmael wasn't special but he knew when to stop the journey unlike Captain Ahab; Odysseus wasn't even special compared to the other warriors like Achilles, but he journeyed home to his wife Penelope. I could go on but the uniqueness of these characters is doing what no one else WOULD not necessarily what no one else could.

[@IskandarTheWack]

Frodo had super stealth and a resistance to the ring. Odysseus had super strength and was smart

[@foxxy706]

⁠@@IskandarTheWackYet Frodo would‘ve never succeded without Sam, who was an ordinary Hobbit. Not even remarkable amongst other ordinary hobbits. The Ring gave Frodo some power, yes. But at the same time it was a huge burden that drained him greatly. Odysseus was a capable leader, strategist and fighter in the original mythos, but he had no special power or strength. Compared to figures like Achilles, who’s prowess and skill as a warrior was legendary, Odysseus was but an ordinary, yet brave man.

[@IskandarTheWack]

@@foxxy706 Hobbits aren't ordinary, they are just complacent. Hobbits are honestly superior to humans when all things are equal. Hobbits have resistance to the ring because of their complacency. Hobbits are also considerably fast and are the stealth race of middle earth, by far outshining the other races in that category. Frodo and Sam were more resistant to the ring than the other fellowship members (including gandalf and the main 3), and they also had a massive stealth advantage over those people, who aren't just members of their race, but are the premiere super"humans" of their respective races more or less (legolas had 2 elves stronger but they are godly levels) Odysseus was one of the strongest individuals in the trojan war, even if you exclude his intelligence. Him being not the literal strongest in the war (achilles and ajax the greater are the only two I can think of who would beat him in a fight on his side of the war) doesn't mean anything. Like lets use lord of the rings for an example. Odysseus isn't Gandalf or Aragorn, but he's still Legolas or Gimli, he's not "rohan horseman number 347". Oddysseus's mother literally hunted alongside Artemis and had a demigod father who could transmute objects and also transmute himself too. His father was an argonaut and a demigod who might have even been the grandson of zeus. He's a special boy, and so is frodo/sam, who were separated as being "more curious and explorative" than others of their race. Did you even read the story, Odysseus was massively superhuman, he just wans't THE MOST special boy on the greek side.

[@vinnyjamission]

@@IskandarTheWack Dude... what are you talking about... Explain Bilbo. There was no "resistance" to the ring what are you saying? Frodo even caved to it in the end. The entire point of LotR was that Froto was the meekest but did what everyone else didnt do. He did not "posses the ability to turn invisible" he was the keeper of a curse that corrupted everything it touched. What "made him special" was the journey. Odysseus was the foil to Achilles. Where Achilles died young in pursuit of glory Odysseus came home to his family. Thats the point. It was a story Homer told about returning home and NOT dying in a blaze of glory. That is what made him "special" if we must use that term. NOT his birth, or his strength or intellect. Him going home.

[@IskandarTheWack]

@@vinnyjamission Resistance to the ring is a race trait of the hobbits due to their nature. Yes he caved at the end, meanwhile the others would have caved before they reached rohan. No one said he could turn invisible, hobbits are naturally gifted at stealth. You just don't know shit about the Iliad, likely because you never read it. Odysseus was one of the top members of the greek side. Him having a happier ending isn't a side effect of him being not a special boy, his special boy journey just had a happy ending. Superhuman, highly intelligennt, highly skilled, etc. He was a special boy, you're just trying to shift the narrative to pretend he wasn't some great demi god warrior strategist.

[@gameguru1234]

I do agree that it felt really weird to go back to fetch questing right before the finale.

[@finchharper4647]

You humans and your special boys.

[@castno_]

this is an all time episode, Hass is back baby!

[@HKT-4300]

Hey random but what's your profile picture from? it's vaguely familiar to me

[@castno_]

@@HKT-4300 Nadeshiko from Street Fighter V :)

[@valenpro9512]

"We all love special boys"

[@masterofIich]

Was I the special boy when Gary shouted at me in Pokemon Red Edition in late 90s?

[@TheCanipaEffect]

I actually think the OG Pokemon games were pretty good at making you feel like you weren't a destined special boy. Gary beats you to everything you achieve, plenty of characters talk down to you, and any heroics are a surprise, not expected. Plus, even with a silent protagonist, it still feels like Red is making his own choices rather than reacting to someone else's.

[@MooseheadStudios]

Kyle yours is the only opinion on this game I have and will watch.

[@scotttheaus2043]

Basic Bosman has a nice alliterative ring to it

[@jimsface]

You’re a special boy Kyle

[@Valoric]

This is why I like Sokka from the Avatar so much. Not the chosen one, no bending, not strong as shit, not automatically a genius (has to work for it), etc. he’s not special at all and that’s why he’s special to me.

[@itsalolmor]

Yes.

[@itsalolmor]

Oh, sorry.

[@itsalolmor]

Yes.

[@dmax3901]

Clive "I'M THE ELDEST BOY!" Rosfield.

[@FrothingFanboy]

Part of why I prefer The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to the much more popular Skyrim, is that compared to the one and only Dragonborn, the hero is *barely* special in Oblivion. At the beginning, the Emperor says he saw you in a dream, and allows you to follow him even though you're a prison inmate. And after he dies a few minutes later, that's pretty much the end of your specialdom. You don't have any powers or special access that the rest of the world doesn't. You're not even the only adventurer - you can randomly stumble across the body of another in a cave. When the final boss shows up, somebody else uses THEIR special power to defeat it and save the world! You just helped them gain access to it through hard fighting and bold exploration.

[@julespleeswoah859]

One day Kyle will stop making delayed input and that will be a sad day where I'll have to go back through old episodes for stuff just like this. Truely a special boy.

[@soma6906]

Hahaha cool video boss man

[@Tragel102]

Youre so right about the last 10 side quests 😂

[@cosmosofinfinity]

But the last batch of side quests all come just before the final climactic battle and wrap up all the different story threads you are already invested in to be able to unlock them in the first place

[@UziSuicide666]

Bossy almost cracked mentioning Tom Brady.

[@Blag_Cog]

If everyone could suck up eikon powers and use them everyone would be resistant to the akashic flood that turns people into zombies. They would all be branded and so that means no one would be enslaved for that reason.

[@jonathanclarke5763]

This is a lowkey very important game review. Pay attention devs and story writers.

[@SkullMan---]

Perfect honk.

[@TheKijib]

is Kyle the special boy from Perpetual Grace LTD?!

[@alikabalan4385]

Still waiting to see your cloud bod Kyle, now is the perfect time 💪

[@knleonhart]

Cloud, you are such a special boy. Cloud: This sucks.

[@stogi]

You are my favorite "youtuber"

[@Skifle2]

There was this Care Bear 'put your kid's face on the main character' animation thing where they refer to the main character as "Sports fan' throughout the whole thing. I love that. And weather or not you consider yourself a sports fan, don't worry Kyle you are still a special little sports fan to me. But I know for a fact I still can't get my partner to watch your videos with me

[@zenithquasar9623]

"We love our special boys *honk*..." This is why you are our special boy!😂

[@MilesWilliams88]

Face it, Kyle... you're special.

[@noiseworks]

special boy meta-genre has emerged

[@godribbon]

Take a shot every time he says special boy

[@RobAryeeArc]

Bosman getting all meta on himself. L&R

[@cruuump]

you're a special boy Kyle hehe

[@ariwl1]

The last time I crashed head on into "special one" syndrome was with Byleth in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. 3H is bit of an oddball in the series for many reasons, but I genuinely love the game, but they went with making the main playable character a special one/silent protagonist. Even if other player avatars in the series had been on the flat side of the personality scale, they did function as individual characters. Byleth though is in this weird in-between zone where they do have a demenor that many in-game acknowledge to be somewhat unsual but it bumps against the silent protag syndrome where everyone eventually loves you and thinks you're the best at everything. [For spoiler reasons there is an explanation as to why Byleth is the way they are.] And the weirdness is compounded in the side-game Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes where Byleth is allowed to speak and function as a character like everyone else and it works really well. Made me wish they'd gone all the way with Byleth in the regular game rather than lean into the "special" side.

[@nyrisj]

Fire Emblem has been on a decline narratively, in my opinion, ever since they started making the main character the player avatar. Alear is a bit better, but real characters like Chrom, Eliwood, or Lucina were always superior.

[@Ali-fs7ze]

I'd only ever seen that kid face superimposing thing in the simpsons, you're telling me that's real???

[@RobTheSamurai]

I love being a special boy in video games!😂 I like to escape into the realms of every video game universe. I love all video games😌☺️😜

[@pirajacinto4]

That animated clip made me want to throw up my lunch.