The WORST Strategy Guide In The WORLD | The PlayOnline Mistake

[@xerowolf4242]

I remember buying this guide as a kid. I was 15 years old and had no computer or internet. I had to go use the computer at the public library and print out all the missing info. I remember calling the company that made the book and complaining to them about it and they told me to just go and return the book if I didn't like it. Worst customer service as well as the worst strategy guide.

[@Black_Revue]

Duh, Why complete the Book? Game Too Hard. This is Why these Guides died

[@gaichured8579]

ME TOO! Went to the library to print out how to get the ultimate weapons. I still have those printed pages in yellow-ass messed up format and font stuffed into my actual FF9 guide. That's sick.

[@cf651]

I did the same thing, no home internet, so I had to go to the library in 30 minute increments to get a few tips.

[@thehorsefromhorsinabout]

yup, it was one of the first times I remember being actively penalized for having craptastic internet.

[@softnoobgirl73]

Game guides died out because of free online walk throughs

[@Mordak1989]

So, fun fact: Years ago there was a collectors version of the guide that was also sold with collectors versions of 7 and 8 as well. All three were hard covers and in addition the 9 guide was revamped to actually have all the playonline info in it. I still have those collectors hard covers.

[@warrior31283]

Yea I bought those when they were retail and now they are worth way more.

[@32bitmusician]

I did not know the collector's edition included all the info! It's almost more appalling that they ended up charging more for a guide that actually includes all the info the base version should have lol Thanks for that information!

[@Mordak1989]

@@32bitmusician Granted, that collectors guide came out like over a decade later and it was more of a course correction. Think all three guides had some corrections like spelling, but 9 had the most updates obviously.

[@Kwstr42]

dont forget the FF7 guide was a copy paste of the original with all the errors lol

[@warrior31283]

@@Kwstr42 yea, but the hard back covers and high quality of the product combined with that collectors nostalgia made it worth it. And now they are out of print they are being sought after and marked up. Glad I got mine when they first came out. Would be nice if the other FF games got the same treatment

[@sparty115]

YES I HAD THAT STUPID GUIDE!!! It was so frustrating being mid boss fight and having my book tell me to look online for the rest of the guide!!

[@32bitmusician]

That's the part that is SUPER frustrating! Like, why would you not give all the info on a BOSS? Isn't that one of the main reasons for a guide? lol

[@Psycho-Ssnake]

I would have been so upset.

[@hawk66100]

Same. I had this guide. The guide that you PAID for tells you to look it up online. It was infuriating and felt like such a ripoff

[@otakubullfrog1665]

Everyone should also bear in mind that they did this before smartphones, so most people in 2000 would have had to pause and run over to a desktop PC that could well have been in another room and might not have even had a broadband connection.

[@32bitmusician]

Talk about getting a workout! It annoys me to this day knowing that they probably realized that when releasing this guide!

[@scottydu81]

I was enlisted and lived in barracks, we had a shared PC with slow internet and no printer.

[@reloadpsi]

I remember thinking, "why would anybody keep going into the other room for this?"

[@crosswalkX]

Oh yeah you mean in the 2000s when most people had Dial Up Internet that made that weird beeping blowing sound including our family that was slow and websites loaded slowly. I didn't surf the Internet as much since it was unreliable. It was only when my mom and dad got high speed Internet when I finally went on the Internet to look up strategy guides for Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest games and was able to play online games.

[@kiwiskilled]

this was the first and only guide i ever got as a kid. and yes i was pissed. we didn't even have a pc/internet at that time.

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! Not the best way to initiate your strategy guide journey! Hopefully it helped you a little bit back then!

[@loquay]

Yea me too i got it as a birthday gift only physical strategy guide i owned and wasn't my brother's

[@kaydwessie296]

This was my second one after the FF7 one, which was very good in my opinion

[@onlinecitizen3266]

I own it, because FF8 strategy guide was excellent, but dude, you aren't wrong. FF9 Strategy Guide is absolutely awful.

[@32bitmusician]

FF8 guide was great! I even used it recently! If they included all the info that is behind play online inside of this guide, it really would have ended up just as good as FF8!

[@mikemccann978]

I still have my FFVIII guide to this day. Imo the best and most comprehensive strategy guide they ever made.

[@mikemccann978]

@@onlinecitizen3266 also the Dragon Warrior 3 gbc strategy guide by Elizabeth Hollinger. Is just as good and is still relevant today since all Dragon Quest 3 rereleases since are based off the gbc version. It even shows you how to get the best starting stats and title during the opening event.

[@Tardigradient]

It’s even worse when you consider how good ff7 and ff8 strategy guides were. We had high expectations for strategy guides back then.

[@32bitmusician]

That's what I've heard! Luckily they seemed to learn their lesson with X!

[@kaydwessie296]

I had this and 7’s. I used the crap out of 7’s and don’t remember using 9’s for more than an art book

[@aztraeuz]

They forced you online and ironically, the internet killed their business.

[@32bitmusician]

So sad! I'm hoping guides have their comeback... one day!

[@ragsdale710]

​@@32bitmusician2nd hand guides cost so much, I missed buying guides and the game together

[@reloadpsi]

"Go online for extra info!" (Players see entire contents of guide online for free) "Well, shi-"

[@Zak6009]

They still exist - I just now googled to see if there was one for FFVII rebirth, sure enough there is indeed. Now, I don't know if your local bookstore/library would still have a section for them like they did back in the day... or even GameStop. Might just be order-online, sadly. Or very rare if a shop is doing well. But they do appear to exist.

[@natansoto3673]

Good, I had that guide. Seeing the internet take over for free is poetic justice for having to deal with that horrible guide.

[@TorranceRex]

I got this as a christmas present with FF9. My mom would always buy the guides for me since I always ended up getting them eventually anyway...I had them all. Then this thing comes out I couldn't believe they could make something so user unfriendly especially in an age where not everyone had the internet and if they DID have the internet and could use this book they didn't need the thing because they have the internet. What a disaster idea. Long story short this was literally the last Stat guide I ever got for that reason. This guide literally killed them for me and I'm sure thousands of others.

[@32bitmusician]

I love that with your mom! It's too bad this guide didn't turn out well for you back then. It's so sad because their guides really did start to feel different after this one. It's crazy seeing how many people related to this!

[@TorranceRex]

@@32bitmusician Loved the vid dude. Brought back a lot of memories. Keep up the great work!

[@natansoto3673]

Same, that guide was so terrible that it pretty much single-handedly ended the hype for strategy guides all together and ironically everyone just goes online. It's basically the DLC of strategy guides.

[@vahlok1426]

My friend who let me borrow FF9 when we were kids loaned me his strategy guide too, saying he wanted me to, "see how awful it was." I didn't understand at first, until I realized how much of the guide...wasn't in the guide.

[@32bitmusician]

HA! This the first time I've heard a story like this! How could a friend be so RUDE? hahaha

[@martod]

That’s actually the second worst strategy guide I ever owned. The worst was the guide to the game Grandia. The whole thing is just a series of screenshots going through the game with very basic, “the boss is tough but keep trying and you’ll eventually beat him” type strategies in the captions. No maps or lists or detailed explanations of any kind. And the captions at some point fell out of sync with the screenshots and ended well before the end of the game.

[@32bitmusician]

Oh?? That sounds dreadful! I'm gonna look this one up!

[@andrewgunderson5667]

OMG this! All I wanted was maps to show me where items are, and instead the entire book is just terrible screenshots with captions like "make sure to explore this area for treasure!"

[@koopakape]

That sounds terrible but still better than this guide IMO because at least all of whatever scuffed information was in it, was there, not constanlty telling you 'LOOK ELSEWHERE LOL YOU WASTED MONEY ON THIS'

[@KasumiRINA]

Oh must be doubly insulting for Grandia, which is piss easy, BUT has a LOT of hidden secrets, missile dialogue and Easter Eggs that absolutely helped by guides to not miss.

[@acerimmer8338]

I completely forgot about that guide! It was terrible and a big reason I never actually beat the game.

[@joebykaeby]

Man I also love strategy guides. The whole design aesthetic behind them holds a very special place in my heart.

[@32bitmusician]

They're really lovely. I still will go out and buy some guides that are released today to support that part of the industry. Tears of the kingdom had a nice guide! But I have a feeling guides won't be around for much longer :/

[@briannicks7161]

I liked them so I could strategize while I was at school

[@slimebuck]

imagine a magazine pushing the very thing that killed magazines... going online... once the people got online they realized they dont need ANY guides anymore. Thx square for showing me I dont need anymore of your "guides" Also, that guide had a whole page detailing how to beat that undead tree near the end of the game, calling it the hardest boss in the game to that point... and fails to tell you YOU CAN KILL IT WITH 1 ACTION BY GIVING IT A PHOENIX DOWN!! lol My GF at the time was stuck on that boss for like 3 weeks, and SHE WAS USING THE GUIDE!!!! I asked if I can try, and my first action I gave it a phoenix down and gave the controller back to her. LOL SHE WAS PISSED

[@32bitmusician]

HA! That's horrible lol You probably had to go on Playonline to get that info! haha It's so interesting how this guide really did foreshadow the future by about 15 or so years.

[@BaronSengir1008]

But did you steal from it first?

[@KasumiRINA]

Vanish Doom for FF6 bosses too)

[@noahhobson4521]

The only useful part is that it does list what each boss has to steal. Otherwise it was the biggest waste of fifteen dollars I've ever spent in my life. I did just open up my copy and found I've got half a dozen pages printed of information listing things like the locations of the friendly monsters, stellazios and answers to Ragtime Mouse's quizzes tucked inside.

[@32bitmusician]

I think it's funny that you have information that should have been included in the guide printed out and put in yourself hahaha I'm actually surprised it does have that info in the book. Especially since it doesn't have complete lists of weapons/abilities/ etc.

[@julienmaury2606]

I had this book. Thank you for telling the truth. What is worse is that at that time not everyone had the internet. I didnt had it, it sucked so bad.

[@32bitmusician]

I feel so bad for the people who had NO access to internet! That really makes this book a paperweight at that point!

[@Olibubb]

I had internet but only dial up so the idea of loading these big colorful pages with lots of pictures was a huge pain

[@32bitmusician]

Oh gosh. I bet it would have taken forever!

[@chrisangeles4596]

This is so ironic. The only reason to buy a guide back in the day was if you didnt have internet, otherwise you could just look up you specific objective online.

[@32bitmusician]

That's the part that blows my mind lol

[@readyred5752]

I lived this . As a teen I had no internet. So I had guilds for all my ps1 ff games . Imagine my disappointment trying to 100percent the game and realizing the didn't contain any actual information in the secrets section. I still think about its printing as fraud .

[@32bitmusician]

It's actually sickening thinking about how they marketed this guide. Talk about false advertising! And to KIDS nonetheless!

[@bradjinks3568]

I got my butt chewed printing out the entirety of the online portion of the guide and burning through 2 or 3 color and black ink cartridges. I still have it in a three ring binder to this day

[@32bitmusician]

HA! That's so funny. It's super cool that you still have that!

[@saffire345]

This video just happened to pop up on my feed when I was thinking about grabbing my copy of that very guide! I'm one of those people who played the game back then, didn't care for it, finally found myself enjoying it recently, and now I've made it to Disc 3! So I never really looked inside the guide until today, and had no idea they took a "hybrid" approach with it. After watching your video, I was worried the part I wanted help on was going to be in one of those blue boxes; fortunately the general walk-through I needed seems to be "intact" in the book, but it was still fun to see all those blue boxes you pointed out 😅 The Marketing department strikes again!

[@32bitmusician]

haha! I'm so glad you're enjoying the game! I am shocked with how divisive the opinions are on this game! And I'm glad this guide actually helped you! lol

[@amandalepre]

thank you for this vid! we've been collectively trashing the PlayOnline stuff from the FF9 strategy guide for several years now in my twitch chat. gonna add this to our stream vids & make sure to link you/credit you.

[@32bitmusician]

Thank you so much! It brings me an odd sense of joy knowing that there are people who have actively been talking about this guide 🤣

[@JustACoolGuy97]

This brings me back. My older brother in high school bought a bunch of FF games all on the ps1, chronoicals, tactics, anthrology, etc. when he got to this game, and tried using the guide, he got so mad. He said if he’s going to go online, he’ll use an online guide. He ended up loving the game, but I remember him hating this guide

[@32bitmusician]

I'm so glad that the guide didn't ruin his opinion of the game! I've seen a bunch of people contribute their hatred of FF9 to this guide!

[@lanceknightmare]

​@@32bitmusicianI actually thought about where I place every Final Fantasy I have played. It is funny Final Fantasy 9 ranks 9th out of 19 games.

[@motorbreathjz]

@@lanceknightmare im just gunna be a fly on the wall for a split second and say you are crazy thinking ff9 is 9th place.. ....."buzzes off"

[@lanceknightmare]

@@motorbreathjz Ninth place is quite respectable considering I thought about where I place Chrono Trigger. The game Chrono Trigger when placed besides the Final Fantasy games ranks 10th. Which means I place Chrono Trigger right in between FF9 and FF6. The games at the top of my tier list I played over or near 1,000 hours. FF9 I played 6+ times all the way through with a lot of exploration.

[@motorbreathjz]

@@lanceknightmare 9th out of 19 games is doing almost a injustice to it tho i think.. 9's story/dialogue/direction is top tier.. its a S rank for me.. these are just my thoughts nothing more nothing less. i havent played through chrono yet i have it on my phone and i cant stand playing on a phone

[@CultureWatcher5000]

Haven't even watched a single second of this video and already you get a thumbs up. This thing infuriated me.

[@32bitmusician]

HAHA! Thank you 🤣

[@natansoto3673]

Yup, auto like from me as well just for calling this guide out decades later!😅

[@adammclaughlin845]

Ironically this book highlights a coming problem with consoles from PS3 generation onwards: what happens when the servers are switched off? The book becomes toilet roll and our next-gen digital consoles become paperweights.

[@32bitmusician]

So true! Ironically, the very FEW guides that come out these days are actually pretty good from what I've experienced. But those PS3 days were rough!

[@raf7550]

A couple of (dis)honorable mentions: The Brady Games guide for Donkey Kong Country on SNES The Prima guide for Breath of Fire III on PS1

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! Not donkey kong! I hope it at least had thee crazy grandpa kong commentary lol

[@rpproductions6241]

I remember getting this and the only internet access I had was at school, which the teachers werent keen on me using for a video game. Didnt help I was heavily picked on for liking video games as a child. (For reference, I'm female, and up till highschool liking video games AND being a girl was a double whammy.)

[@32bitmusician]

I'm sorry you had to deal with that. The fact that this guide CONTRIBUTED makes this guide even worse than I imagined! But kudos to you for going the extra mile to get to play online at school! If that isn't the definition of a true "gamer" I don't know what is, haha!

[@rpproductions6241]

@32bitmusician It's okay honestly, cause FFIX was my first serious game and gaming helped inspire me to draw, write, code, and more! I didn't get to play online till high-school where I became the best sniper in Halo among the guys playing. 😁

[@lierx.agerate8230]

This was so annoying back when the game released, I had a guide for 7 named the unofficial strategy guide and it was probably the best guide I've ever seen. I was never able to find it online since then

[@32bitmusician]

I've seen great things about that guide! I've wanted a copy for a long time!

[@RwnEsper]

I own this paperweight. It's a joke. Thank god for the less-corporate parts of the internet.

[@32bitmusician]

It barely qualifies as a paperweight due to how little content is in it, haha!

[@adventureoflinkmk2]

Well what about corporated parts of the internet? Like for real gamefaqs still exists and there's let's plays on youtube

[@ckdxtrhaven]

I bought this guide when it first came out along with the game. I had dial-up and the actual site was the worst. They had a weird frame setup where tips would load inside a frame, but the rest of the page remined the same. It was so confusing. I don't remember the keywords working either. In those days I don't think people had a laptop where you could sit in front of your TV and log on to the service. So, you had to get up from the game, go to your computer and try to get the info from the site. And of course, if you had dial-up it took forever. I eventually tossed the guide and just played without it. It was the first time in my life I realized I'd been duped by a scheme just to take my money. The game is really fun. A great chapter in the FF series.

[@32bitmusician]

That’s the really unfortunate part about this guide. The fact that the whole thing was basically false advertising to kids and teens. I’m glad you were at least able to access the site though! A shame the site was garbage. And yes! I love this entry in the Final Fantasy series! It seems like this guide actually played a part in people having not so fond memories of the game!

[@PowerPandaMods]

I can just imagine the team at Brady Games working on this and shaking their heads in disbelief that their boss ordered them to do this... for 6 months straight.

[@32bitmusician]

I agree with this! There's no way any of them thought this was actually a good idea! I genuinely feel bad for them!

[@Nazo-kage]

I bought every Final Fantasy game and strategy guide when I was younger and really got into RPGs. I then proceeded to play every Final Fantasy game in order using the strategy guides to help. And I had so much fun. Until I started playing Final Fantasy IX. This strategy guide was a whole lot of nothing, and trying to use playOnline did not help either, in the amount of frustration and anger at the fact that the strategy guide was absolutely no help whatsoever made me skip it. I had gotten halfway through disc 2 when I realize I just didn’t want to play this game anymore. And it wasn’t even burn out. Which at first I thought it could be, but I skipped it and started playing Final Fantasy X and the fun just restarted. I eventually went back and played IX, but there was no fun in it. I didn’t care about any of the story. I just wanted to get it over with and move on. That is how bad the strategy guide was it killed any kind of enjoyment I would’ve had for Final Fantasy IX. And it has made this game one of my least liked final fantasy games of all. (and I know this is probably going to hurt anybody who reads this that includes Final Fantasy XIII.)

[@32bitmusician]

That's horrible! It does make a lot of sense though! I've talked to a bunch of people with similar experiences with this guide who also contributed their dislike of final fantasy 9 to the strategy guide! I really would love to research more into why this game is SO polarizing! I did love this game... but I also liked final fantasy 13 (definitely in the minority there!), so maybe I just have bad taste, hahaha!

[@Nazo-kage]

@ the funny thing is I didn’t care much for Final Fantasy XIII at first, mostly because of the things that people would complain about the game. But then I had an epiphany that suddenly made all of the game decisions make sense, and once I got that it made playing in the game so much more enjoyable because it didn’t feel like bad design. Everything From the story to the level up system, and even the level layout is all around the same theme. “Fate” You can’t power level this game because the characters were always fated to struggle. Yes, the layout of areas are like a bunch of hallways because you’re faded to go this way. Even when there’s a fork in the road, it usually leads to a treasure chest and a dead end leading you to take the path it’s expected of you. Some of the characters were still a little grating, but they mellow out as you would expect in an RPG.

[@chrisc6857]

Ahh yes I remember this guide... "Want to know the answer? Look it up because we're too lazy to tell you in the book YOU FREAKING PAID FOR!!!!!" Yeah I'm still a little bitter.

[@32bitmusician]

It's even more annoying knowing that the online guide is so IN DEPTH.

[@drowningin]

I really think a company should make strategy guides again. Yeah the prevalence of the internet killed the need for them, but It can’t replace the physical object, the layouts. They can also double as art books, and trivia about development, dev interviews, things like that. Make the books for people who love the games would love to own and read it

[@maximos905]

Agreed

[@32bitmusician]

You know... maybe they should double them as a guide AND art book? Maybe if they advertised them like that it would offer more widespread appeal! But I completely agree with you!

[@MrPhotosh00ter]

Do they not make guides at all anymore? I remember the last guides I got were for the first two Dragon Age games and they were really cool, the Collector's Edition guides were like tomes. Origins one had really nice paper feel too, like you were actually browsing an ancient text. I always thought they were cool collectibles and made for great pieces of art on top of being a functional guide.

[@BoxxyFan]

The problem is games arent made complete anymore in modern times. Half the game is made and it gets updated after its released and updates change the entire game and content is added later in DLC. After the first week the game has already changed completely so a physical printed book before hand will already be out of date.

[@natansoto3673]

The only way that would work is to limit internet exposure to the game (Copyrights maybe?!?) So that the guide would serve as the go to. I'm happy with the way things are now, a quick search and answers. I do miss the cool artwork of guides but let's be clear, this guide single handedly killed any interest I had for strategy guides after that point. Being told to go online with no access to internet was a giant slap in the face and pretty much defeated the purpose of getting a guide.

[@anthonybrubaker7105]

Not 3 days ago I ran across this guide in a drawer and had negative flashbacks. Today I randomly scroll into this video. Lol

[@32bitmusician]

I'm sorry for contributing to those flashbacks 🤣 hahaha

[@MaskedBishop]

I have the guide right here and used it when it was new. Nowadays such an approach would be okay I guess, but back in 2000/2001 you couldn't expect every household to have an internet connection. We got our's in 2005, so every single PlayOnline bit was unavailable for me while playing the game. But thanks for letting us know about the "data rescue" - I might use it when playing the remaster. ^^ All other Piggyback guides I know are great though.

[@32bitmusician]

You'd think that they would have realized that a lot of households didn't have the luxury of convenient internet access back then! I've been hearing good things about those piggyback guides! I definitely need to look them up! Thanks for watching!

[@UsaSatsui]

I had this. Looking back, with the absolute insanity going on over the internet back then, I can understand wanted to have some sort of web integration. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to understand that if I wanted to go online to look stuff up, I wouldn't have gotten the damn book in the first place. I wanted the info in front of my TV, not on my computer 2 rooms away.

[@32bitmusician]

If they implemented this better I think it could have been pretty cool, but as you said, next to nobody had their console and computers in the same room! You'd think that they would have realized this when discussing the creation of the guide!

[@FirestormAudio]

I used to get so frustrated, because the guide left out so much information!

[@32bitmusician]

Agreed! I just wanted to learn how to play the card game 😭

[@jakenastysnake]

FF9 was the first I played in the series. I remember reading through my friends Bradygames strategy guide and thinking even then "Why would I want to go to a website when a guide is right here in my hands?" lol.

[@32bitmusician]

The best thing is that 20 years later we all are still thinking the same thing!

[@michaelhanson5773]

10:27 that is the FF8 guide, not 7

[@thereturners7564]

Upon FF9's release, I paid full price for what I believed would be that game's official strategy guide, but what I actually got was a strategy guide on how to browse the late 90s/early 00s internet lmaoo!

[@32bitmusician]

Oh NO! Hahaha I guess we can thank this guide for making you internet savvy , eh? haha

[@sirchrisrenyoc897]

I literally saw this strategy guide at Bookmans and almost picked it up just for collector's sake. I'm kind of glad I passed on it. Great video!

[@32bitmusician]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you saved yourself, haha!

[@natansoto3673]

Thanks for not buying it. I remember hating this guide and if there's ever a guide that doesn't deserve a single extra cent it's this one.

[@consciencekiller]

That guide used to live on top of my toilet. The best poop reading material tbh

[@32bitmusician]

Ha! I sincerely hope this is the truth lol

[@Lotus-Son]

Thanks for making this video haha. I loooooved the FFVII and FFVIII guides and would read over it, while already beaten the games a few times over already. So this was the absolute worst guide I’d bought both in functional use for help and to just read over to just pass time and enjoy. It was like buying a new/large comic book compendium you’d been waiting for to come out, only to see that most of the comic-panels and/or the dialogue bubbles and artwork inside the book were just links to a website for you to go to to see. Both un-aesthetically pleasing and unfulfilling to see and read.

[@32bitmusician]

You know, I didn't even mention the aesthetics of this book in the video, but I completely agree with you. There's something about this book that just feels so corporate? Thanks so much for watching!

[@xenobazilla]

Players: I thought this was a Strategy Guide Square: That was the Strategy... to guide you to our site.

[@32bitmusician]

Ha!

[@enoyna1001]

I'm glad PlayOnline doesn't play a role in Final Fantasy X anymore, even though it is prominently featured on the start screen.

[@32bitmusician]

They must have known not to make the same mistake as 9, ha! Though if were better implemented it would have been interesting to see a collaboration with play online and X!

[@someguy1ification]

... It would have been awesome if they put Blitzball on their service like they did Tetra Master.

[@lanceknightmare]

Once you learn cards evolve from use in the card game. The game strategy used changed significantly. The strategy be becomes winning the match while keeping them from taking the card you are leveling.

[@32bitmusician]

I really have to learn that card game! I don't know why I never figured it out! 8's was much easier for me!

[@WhiskeyPapa42]

FF9 was such an amazing throwback to the old school vibe of FF. I still love the "steam punk / industrial" aspect of FF7 and the story/fantasy/fighting in FFX, but 9 was pretty awesome too.

[@32bitmusician]

That's what I loved about 9! Especially today since so many of the games have been in futuristic settings (with the exception of 16). But don't get me wrong, the setting of 7 is perfection!

[@MrPhotosh00ter]

I got FF9 and this guide for my birthday back in 2000, and I felt that frustration with this guide. I still used it for things but I remember thinking to myself "What are they going to do, keep the site up forever?" Yeah, no. Bad idea, terrible implementation, and I'm sad they had to do this experiment with this game to find out how bad of an idea it was.

[@32bitmusician]

I'm glad you got SOME use out of this guide! But they really should have been more transparent!

[@zachhawkins5005]

I used to be obsessed with guides back then. Especially all the maps and illustrations. I miss my love for games

[@32bitmusician]

The maps and illustrations are definitely my favorite parts about these guides. A lot of those illustrations were only ever published in those guides as well! So much value in this old media!

[@kaydwessie296]

I know this feeling I only play like one new game a year anymore because so many things are crap or too expensive so I just go back to my comforts

[@Coachc853]

This guide lowered my self-esteem as a child. So happy to see this.

[@32bitmusician]

Oh NO! That's horrible, haha! Now raise that self esteem and beat this game WITHOUT this "guide"! hahaha

[@somemong989]

😂

[@Saevien]

Yup I instantly agreed with this video title. If you just asked me what the worst strategy guide in existence was I would immediately know the answer is ff9.

[@32bitmusician]

My life was better before I found out about this guide hahaha

[@ColorOfSakura]

So funny enough, during the Square Millennium Event (that show you mentioned that Square held showing off FFIX, X, and XI) - FFX was showcased to actually have a significant amount of PlayOnline accessibility and features built into the game itself. They stressed that the game itself wouldn't be online, but showed off that you could connect to the internet from within the game to access the PlayOnline site directly in order to get information about areas, bosses, and the like. They even showed this off in the FFX demo video they showed (which also featured Tidus with black hair and a completely different logo showcasing Yuna summoning Valefor instead of Yuna doing the Sending) Due to the backlash that the FFIX Strategy Guide's PlayOnline features garnered in both the NA and JP markets, as well as internal testing issues with the feature in FFX not really working how they wanted - the PlayOnline features from FFX were entirely stripped from the game.

[@32bitmusician]

That is fascinating! So basically accessing the strategy guide from within the game? It's actually not a horrible concept, but I'm sure they wouldn't have implemented it well. Thanks for that information! I'll have to delve more into that subject on my own!

[@ColorOfSakura]

@@32bitmusician yep! The video of demo footage from the event is floating around somewhere on KZbin. There was an option at the bottom of the in game menu that connected the game to a special PlayOnline interface. I remember paying attention to old FF fan sites back in the late 90s/early 2000s and seeing the Square Millennium Event get reported on, it’s the only reason I even know/remember about the plans for X’s PlayOnline functionality. I’m actually surprised some of the information and footage still exists to this day, I figured it would have been lost media.

[@KasumiRINA]

They could have made online features like Dark Souls or Dragon's Dogma, but those rely on customizable characters, would make little sense in a FF-like game with preset party members.

[@videogamesruinedmylife3769]

I have the same book. Imagine buying a strategy guide only for it to tell you go online for the strategy guide

[@32bitmusician]

It's so stupid 🤣

[@fwobebe5164]

If the strategy guide looks beat up, it's cuz it got beat up... for not giving the kid the answers, telling'em to go online instead.

[@32bitmusician]

That's what I was thinking, haha!

[@thereturners7564]

Mine quickly doubled as a coffee table coaster, which meant that it was treated to at least a couple spilled drinks or water damage from a frosty mug 😂

[@fwobebe5164]

@thereturners7564 Mine's been in my storage ever since I beat the game in 2000. It took me til 2024 to finally try it again, and this time make it to Ozma, which is something the book could never help me with.

[@WorldsTallestLeprechaun]

I had this guide. Lived in the middle of butt-f--k nowhere without a computer, the closest one was the dial-up in the public library and the connection was so crappy that I didn't want to jump back-and-forth between the library for every tiny little "find out this cool thing!" box. And I remember being SO hyped for some of the stuff, which turned out to be BS. The "Ruby1" thing is a perfect example because I had played the game multiple times and I excitedly thought that because of the password, that MAYBE there was a way to get a Ruby ACCESSORY all the way at the beginning of Disc 1, which would have been awesome. But I got bored while answering Baku's "Who're we kidnapping?" question wrong over and over again. It was decades later that I found out "Ruby, the southern-belle girl of Tantulus who NOBODY remembers just barges into the room and tells Zidane to knock it off." I was so frustrated, and I felt kinda validated when I saw WoolieVersus playing through FF9, and how many times he commented on the "WTF is this?" moments from the game which were DESIGNED to make it so you NEEDED the strategy guide to figure this crap out. Quote Woolie "F--k you, buy the Brady guide." Biggest example is the Stellazio coins, because after you find the 12th one, a hidden 13th one will spawn in and you need to find THAT one in order to complete the quest. AND IT SPAWNS IN AT A LOCATION WHERE YOU ALREADY FOUND ONE OF THE PREVIOUS COINS. (Quan's Dwelling, down by the hotspring that restores your HP/MP, you can find Scorpio there and the 13th one in the same spot, and if you dare complain about me spoiling that, Eff Off, I just did you a FAVOR) If that doesn't just SMACK of BS, I don't know what does. Also the cardgame, which is so heavily depended on RNG that if you're expecting ANY kind of sure-fire strategy to win that you could find either in the guide OR on their online site, that's not happening. TLDR: The cards can level up their stats (0-9 and then A to F) or change their attack type (P or M can become X, which is better, or A, which is the best) if you play the game A LOT. (A single card at a time, NOT for whatever cards you used in that hand/round) The trick is that when the card battles happen, a RANDOM NUMBER will be subtracted from the Attack and Defense values of the card, and whichever card has the higher number afterwards will be the winner. So if you have a card with an attack stat of F (Which means it's attack value is between 240 and 255) and it gets into a battle with a card that has a defense of 0 (which means between 1-16), the game could just say, "I'm gonna subtract 2 from the defending card and 254 from the attacking card because LAWL, F--k you, YOU LOSE!" That's just an intentionally bad, intentionally obtuse and frustrating game design right there and while it doesn't end up being as vital to the main game as Blitzball was in FF10 (Much better designed IMHO), the fact that there's a point where you NEED to play in a card tournament using this "When mom says we have Triple Triad at home" was just stupid.

[@32bitmusician]

This was a wonderful read! And I agree with everything. You made a great point talking about how a lot of aspects of this guide were designed to need a guide. I didn't even think about that, but that's so true! Makes me hate this guide even more after realizing that hahaha Thanks so much for this comment!

[@Meat_Popsicle86]

so since the ff pixel remaster finally dropped on xbox, i've played and beat the first 2. i'm currently on the 3rd rn. since then, i've been getting a lot of ff in my recommended videos. even though ff9 is still a good ways away, i'm glad the algorithm blessed me with your video and the archive of the the website to help me when i am able to finally start playing this game again.

[@32bitmusician]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you! I'm so glad they rereleased the pixel remaster. I also need to hammer my way through it! Currently finished 5 and have been looking at playing through 1-3 next

[@TheDigitalslayer]

Very true, this brought back some memories of confusion. I bought this strategy guide back in college (2007) and it was practically useless. I had to print one out from the internet that served me way better.

[@32bitmusician]

You had such a unique experience! It's crazy you experienced this guide so late, and yet you STILL had to print out something better online... and in 2007! This guide is just the gift that keeps on giving 🤣

[@DJ239]

This is so true, I'm glad someone made a video about this. I completely stopped playing the game near the end because I was using this strategy guide the whole time and it doesn't tell you where to go to do the side quests! I wanted to 100% this game just like FF7 and FF8 but just came to an awkward dead stop because of this guide. I still have yet to actually even finish FF9 because of this whole thing. I'm glad the rest of the info for the "Playonline" boxes has been restored, one day I'll come back to this one.

[@32bitmusician]

Ugh! That's so annoying! I'm not a 100 percenter, but I would fully expect a guide to give you the info on how to. Yes! The website is pretty much complete to my knowledge! It's a fascinating search!

[@originalsleepyjon]

I remember having this game and this strategy guide. I'm pretty sure I hated the guide so much that I gave up playing the game.

[@32bitmusician]

Aw no! I hope you get back to this game! Maybe you can use the free online version of this guide I linked 🤣

[@DavidK93]

It's adorable to see you discover this in 2024. The terrible strategy guide is probably why I played only a short way into the game in 2000.

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! I hope you eventually get the chance to revisit this game.... withOUT the guide! haha!

[@dyne313]

I thankfully never had the guide. I loved this game back in High School. It's still one of my all time favorite games to this day. Just look at my PFP.

[@32bitmusician]

Love this!

[@Tyjet88]

The Final Fantasy 11 strategy guide was somehow worse. And I dont mean that because it's an MMO. Even when the information in the guide was current content, the information was just objectively wrong. It actually played a huge role in destroying the reputation of the Beastmaster class because it said any charmed beasts "stole" EXP from the party.

[@32bitmusician]

That stuff really surprises me. You'd think that the guide makers had access to the cold hard numbers from the developers? Or maybe things got lost in translation? It always baffled me how wrong info made it through into the printed material. Especially for guides

[@Mordak1989]

I remember that being true? Like they count as another party member, lowering the amount of exp distributed. However, many patches later summonable pets were added and they were later made to no longer eat exp.

[@Khajitxi]

⁠@@Mordak1989Only if the pet was too high a level and an over leveled pet wouldn’t stay charmed for long anyway.

[@HartleySan]

Kudos to the guy that rebuilt the whole website for modern browsers.

[@thegamingbunch4184]

When this released in Japan, we imported it. We couldn't read Japanese and completely played through the game not understanding a single word of it. It is a fond memory of my mother and I spending time together.

[@32bitmusician]

That's so lovely!

[@goldenalpaca3881]

I actually had this one, i did notice it was smaller than ffx's which was my first strategy guide... but I didn’t bother to look at the blue boxes. I like fully never noticed them.

[@32bitmusician]

FFX was a great guide! And kudos to you for ignoring those "blue pop up ads" lol

[@norskrom]

M'childhood! Remember awkwardly going into my parents bedroom to access the computer and log-into the website.

[@32bitmusician]

HA! Love this!

[@ExTriv]

I still wanna fight them for that bs. I'm currently playing ff9, and I found that book, and all of the frustrating memories came flooding back.

[@32bitmusician]

I'm sorry for contributing to bringing back those memories lol I'll be backing you up in that fight, ha! Hope you're enjoying the game though! Maybe you should use the PlayOnline site I linked as a throwback! lol

[@brianwiehe4832]

I tore the cover and binding off. Three hole bunched the pages. Went to play online. I printed everything they had and placed it into the pages of the officially trash guide and made an ultimate guide.

[@32bitmusician]

They should have sold your copy to the masses! hahaha

[@acerimmer8338]

I had (still have) this guide. It was so infuriating and so much is left out. When FF9 was re-released I replayed it using a Gamefaq. My god it felt like I missed at least 1/3 of the game, especially in the sidequest sector, with my original playthroughs. I hated that strategy guide! Sidenote: I love that the guy who restored PlayOnline's site is named Justin Bailey. For those elderly gamers like me, that grew up w/ NES Metroid, that name is forever seared into memory.

[@32bitmusician]

Isn't that crazy that the guide left out a solid THIRD of the game!? If this guide were released in today's age I feel like the community would probably END square hahaha And I didn't even REALIZE the Metroid reference at first glance!

[@danielramsey6141]

Yeah, I had this guide back in the day, but it was Bullshit! Even so, it forced me and my brother to start thinking outside the box on how to Complete the entire game while Getting all the Spells! There are so many secrets in FF9 that really makes you miss out on ALL the Little details, Side Quests, and let’s not forget WEAPONS!!! The only thing this guide helped you out with, is Story progression. Everything else is Locked. But yeah, This was the Worst Idea Square ever had, next to Sakaguchi’s Failed Spirits Within Movie! (No hate on him. Just pointing out how the 2000s was a bad year).

[@32bitmusician]

I'm glad this guide brought some positive things! I actually have NOT seen that movie, but it's been on my list of things to watch for quite a while... When that day comes, hopefully I survive to tell the tale hahaha

[@AnAverageGoblin]

no its 100% on him for making a movie that has nothing to do with FF.

[@Charlie-Cat.]

Interestingly 32Bit, I actually rented the strategy guide at my local library and it was the first video game related material I done so ever. I have to say, it was kinda disappointed with the overall results on what it had to offer and bummed out that it had to be like what it is with its reputation. But of course, another great review brother man. Thank you for the uploads as for sure. 8^) Anthony..

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! At least you rented it and did spend any money on it! Hopefully it was able to at least "guide" you a little bit! And thanks so much, Anthony :)

[@HarryMacLennan]

I still have this guide. I remember all you needed was 1 code from the book and you could browse the entire strategy guide online, at which point the book could go back on the shelf, or be discarded like a key in resident evil.

[@32bitmusician]

I wonder if the codes were unique to each book, or if you could just go to a book store and steal a code? Fascinating! They could have sold access to that online strategy guide on its own... I wonder how well that would have done!

[@HarryMacLennan]

@@32bitmusician I'm sure the books were sealed pre-sale, but yeah, if your friend had a copy... Not sure if you needed a code to access the guide, could very well be that all you needed was a PlayOnline account, and the codes just take you to specific parts of it. Once in though, you could browse the entire guide in it's intended form.

[@cloudtyr]

I remember this guide well. My mother got me ff9 and the guide as an early Christmas preset. We didn't have a PC or internet. So it was really only 50% helpful lol. Most of the secrets were hidden behind the playonline bs. I remember fearing at the time all the guides would end up being like this since it wasn't with the FF7 guide. Thankfully when the FF10 guide came out, it was back to normal.😅

[@32bitmusician]

That's horrible that this guide made you fear for the future of guides even back then! It's almost more upsetting knowing that they released a "collector's edition" of this guide with ALL of the PlayOnline information. They definitely learned their lesson from all of the complaint calls they probably got lol

[@seaverino5346]

we didnt have internet when it came out, and when we finally got internet, it was dial-up and it wouldn't load up the pages XD

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! So close yet so far! Hahaha

[@animalntaz]

I could have sworn I had this strategy guide among all the others I still have, it seemed to have disappeared. FF7, FF8, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, even Parasite Eve....... nope, gone.

[@32bitmusician]

Oh no! I couldn't tell you how often this happens to me. I swore I had the guide for Ocarina of time growing up, but nope. Nowhere to be found!

[@saikanzen1762]

I had an issue of ExpertGamer with a full Johto guide for Gold and Silver that also came with a steal guide for FF9 and I got so much use out of it.

[@32bitmusician]

That's so interesting! I have very little knowledge of those magazine guides! Definitely need to look more into those!

[@partyinn3040]

FF9-FF11 was the peak of the series for me but screw PlayOnline! lmao also, great shirt!

[@32bitmusician]

Ha! And thank you so much! I'll take anything Yoshitaka Amano I can get!

[@sharonwolf7316]

I just looked through my copy and it's still stuffed with printed paper of the actual game info I needed. I printed the info off a separate game site. Not play online. I did that deliberately because the info on play online was garbage. Empty strategy guide and the play online info was useless. Always felt dirty about this guide.

[@32bitmusician]

It makes me laugh how many people have said that they do this! The IRONY!

[@EdwarioERS]

The official FF7 and FF8 guides were good. Digimon World was bad. FF9 was the worst. With my Webtv internet service I couldn't login to Play Online so a good portion of the guide was junk.

[@32bitmusician]

I remember running into similar problems with not being able to access play online. FF8 was a really great guide. Haven't seen Digimon world's, but hard to imagine anything being worse than this one, haha

[@Caporg3000]

By ff9 I was just using gamefaqs.

[@EdwarioERS]

@@32bitmusician The official guide for Digimon World 1 was bad because it didn't have full stat requirements for evolutions. I remember there being blank spaces or "???" in the guide. They made it look like there were mystery Digimon to get that the guide wouldn't list on top of that. I came across a web browser tool with a calculator-like UI that's about as accurate as it gets. There's an interactive guide for the cryptic story progress and File City monster recruitments needed to finish the game. Monster Rancher 2 and Digimon World had convoluted steps to unlock new monsters.

[@KichiMiangra]

I love digimon world and I've never seen its strategy guide please tell me about how horrible it was???

[@EdwarioERS]

@@KichiMiangra I remember replying with more, but my comment is missing. Digimon World 1's guide was bad because the digivolution charts were incomplete with missing Ultimate levels and missing stat requirements. I don't think story progress and File City recruiting was done well either. It is a troublesome game with roadblocks from not knowing where to go, to not exhausting all dialog options, to not having the right Digimon like needed a Numemon to clear Toy Town. There's much better guides with interactive UIs for digivolving and leveling up File City to 100. You'll find that last Nanimon encounter after eliminating all other progress paths.

[@NulienTia]

I had both the VIII and IX official guides. The VIII guide was fantastic, it had absolutely every last little bit of information I could ever need on the game, so I bought the IX guide expecting the same, and... well... no. It only covered the bare minimum... had pretty much no information that wasn't painfully obvious to a first time player. I barely even used the playonline part of it, because at the time, our PC was in a completely different room from where all my video games were, and our internet was really slow. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, and it was only more disappointing knowing how complete the guide for VIII had been.

[@32bitmusician]

That's really too bad! Especially knowing you couldn't access the online info! This was most definitely the majority of households back then, so you would think they'd realize that the majority of the customer base wouldn't have play online access!

[@kaydwessie296]

Exactly the same experience and when I played FF9 the first time the family computer was in the living room, the computer I shared with my sister was in the basement, and the PS1 was in my room. Dad was often on the family computer so I would have had to go DOWNSTAIRS every time. Yeah I just ignored the PlayOnline prompts

[@dankstar400]

I remember getting this strategy guide and being so mad. We didn't have internet I would have to ride my bike to the library to use the internet

[@JettyMarc11]

As annoying as this is, it's pretty wild how it's something I'd fully expect Square Enix to do 😂 (I never even knew this was a thing, super cool look into it!!)

[@32bitmusician]

It's even sadder knowing that I wouldn't be completely surprised if they managed to pull something like this off again 🤣 And thank you!!

[@JettyMarc11]

@@32bitmusician at least this time they would just sell it as a link or something digitally and you would know what you're getting into 😂 (Even if you get like a 10 page preview or something...) but no ideas for SE! Haha

[@AnAverageGoblin]

@@JettyMarc11 SQ would 100% make you buy an NFT to get a link for how to wax Cloud's buster sword in whatever slop FF7 thing they release next.

[@DABiDo.O]

I was in prison from 2009 to 2011. We were allowed personal items, and although I was only there for a short time, we were given similar privileges as lifers. One of them was being able to have a gaming console as long as it had no internet capabilities - so our options were at best N64 and PS1. I opted for PS1 and my brother who really showed he was my best friend sent me the console along with several classic RPGs . Legend of Dragoon, Chrono Cross , and all FF games including FFIX. He was even nice enough to get me the strategy guides for most games. While not the main nor only reason for my rehabilitation, you can say that the frustration from using the guide for FFIX made me never want to be in that situation again.

[@32bitmusician]

You know, there's something really cool about the idea of living only with a "retro" console in modern times. It's actually an idea I've toyed with for a while now. You crediting this guide for some of your rehabilitation was gold, hahah Thank you for this comment! Made my day reading! Glad to know this guide has done SOME good! haha

[@charlesheyen6151]

it was a super pain in the ass to have to go to the website to get everything in detail. not to mention the game had super hard thing to it that make it impossible to finish. oh and they took down the website...

[@32bitmusician]

Plus, I'm assuming most people didn't have their consoles and PCs in the same room... or at the very least they weren't near each other! Such a pain!

[@LightningMcCream]

Holy shit, I just remembered being a 12 year old kid and signing up for a playonline account. If I remember correctly, they had an email service too? Maybe that was another Final Fantasy related website, but I think that might've been it

[@3DSage]

Hey I still have this guide! I bought a guide for every FF game I had.

[@32bitmusician]

It’s definitely cool to have! I’d love to get a guide for all the final fantasy games someday!

[@zalden2565]

I remember when this first came out. I thought it was cool. It didn’t take too long to figure out that it was ultimately a gimmick, though

[@32bitmusician]

I could only imagine the disappointment on someone's face the first time they saw that little blue play online box. And with how clunky the internet was back then, even if you had play online it was probably a pain navigating between the two guides!

[@zalden2565]

@@32bitmusician a friend had brought the guide, which he paid for and he used our internet which we (or I guess my parents) paid for. So we came together to use it. It really was kinda cool because the internet was new. I don’t remember having issues finding the information, but I do remember us asking why it was necessary and why not just have it all in the book. I believe the FF9 manual has a mini walkthrough in it set up the same exact way. I still have my copy so I’ll take a look, I’m curious now

[@gregoriocruz4530]

I'm glad that regular game magazines had strategy guides on the game. I had the issue of Xpert Gamer that had one. It was way better than Square's.

[@32bitmusician]

I haven't heard of that issue! I'll have to look more into that. I'm a huge fan of the mini guides Nintendo power used to do though!

[@zackc5973]

I had this strategy guide as a kid. My family had AOL until they finally upgraded in like 2005. So, I never got to enjoy the playonline stuff as the internet was only for mom to use until we got windows XP. I liked reading item names and stuff in strategy guides as a kid. I didn't realize they cut so much content out of it but I remember the playonline stuff all over the book. And not being able to access it.

[@32bitmusician]

I used to do the same thing! I even had guides for games I didn't have, and I would just sit there reading every description. Never once thought about whether or not the guide was accurate or not!

[@heroshadow42]

If you don't count Mystic Quest, IX was my first Final Fantasy game. I remember first LP I saw, his viewers said he could skip it and questioned them as he went through it. I remember this guidebook growing up. Never did set up PlayOnline so mainly used what vague info the guide gave if I was lost or wanted to find misables.

[@32bitmusician]

Glad you got use out of this guide! I couldn't imagine skipping this game! FF9 was one of my first LPs that I saw, but then I stopped watching because I was starting to fall in love with it! I haven't played mystic quest yet, but want to!

[@Dark_Jaguar]

And with the web site simply GONE, all that's left is the links. Square's guides during the PS1 era really slipped in quality from the SNES highs. I still remember the FF7 guide getting to the WEAPONs and just saying basically "Good luck"... also with inaccurate stats for the bosses.

[@32bitmusician]

Ha! It is interesting seeing how much of a fall they took in the quality control. I have the FF6 guide and it really was beautiful!

[@LeetHaxington]

Part of the problem was you didn’t have smartphones or even really laptops that worked without being plugged in when this guide game out. You had a family computer, often in another room, that had dial up internet. Dial up takes 5 minutes to load every single page plus like 5 minutes to get connected to the internet. So just getting to the website to read the info was a big ordeal. And since the computer wasn’t right at the TV, you had to write stuff down in a notebook to relay back to the gaming room just for added salt in wound.

[@32bitmusician]

You'd think they'd realize that what you described was the vast majority of households back then! It really makes me admire the dedication they all those people had when it came to accessing all that information!

[@sunbeames]

Take a drink everytime the phrase "playonline" comes up.

[@32bitmusician]

Alcohol poisoning!

[@LarryJ2022]

Like I'm 5 minutes in and thinking "wait if you're on the internet already you've got better options anyway."

[@JohnnyLeven]

FFIX was the first FF I bought on release. I loved it so much and was shocked to hear that people disliked it.I never had the strategy guide, but I remember them trying to push Play Online through the game. I don't recall if I actually registered for it or not, but I know I never touched it again.

[@32bitmusician]

It's interesting how polarizing nine is with people! But I suppose it seems to be the same with 8! I've noticed a lot of people who LOVED 8 did not feel the same about 9. Very interesting!

[@andyw_uk74]

I also had this guide, with no Internet connection back in 2000. RIP.

[@Dragonsamuari]

Apparently, the people who worked on the guide knew it was dogshit, but Square told them to make it as such and threatened to take away their ability to write a guide for FFX if they didn't comply.

[@32bitmusician]

I did not know this! Though, that doesn't surprise me. It's hard to imagine them not knowing that this guide was subpar. Oh the joys of trying to make as much money as possible!

[@icecsm16]

I still have this walkthrough lying around somewhere. BradyGames did a great job with Final Fantasy 8 & Final Fantasy 7, so I figured the quality would match up, but this guide was an absolute disaster.

[@32bitmusician]

Gotta love those corporate partnership deals! Ugh!

[@alexandercatinella9100]

MY GOD, the moment I saw the thumbnail I knew it was going to be about PlayOnline. This. Guide. Man... I had this. I hated it as a kid. I still hate it now. Yet I hold onto my copy, for nostalgia, and a reminder than you should always CHECK INSIDE A GUIDE BEFORE YOU BUY!

[@32bitmusician]

Ha! Nostalgia AND trauma! It's FASCINATING seeing how many people were affected by this guide!

[@DaddyDizz716]

I still say 8 is my all time favorite but 9 has grown on me much much more as I grow into an adult and also played more of the previous series just to see how out of place 7 and 8 kinda were. I had all these guides for all 3 games as a kid, I would get them after my first play thru so I didn’t miss half the game…. Something I still do to this day with games, go in blind for my first play thru and then follow a guide for 2nd run. I think since I didn’t have access to play online at the time, I just blocked those squares out and it also helped as my first instance of effort free ignoring adds

[@32bitmusician]

I actually didn't care for 8, but then I replayed it and fell in love with all that it is! Haha! I'm glad this guide gave you some early add blocking training!