FF9 is simply one of the best games ever created

I was 15 years old when I got this game. When Vivi asks "Will I stop moving, too", it was the first time I really thought about death in a meaningful way. Three days ago, I had to put my dog down. She had cancer and we didn't know until she very suddenly dropped weight and eventually stopped eating. Terribly sad. But, it got me thinking about ol' 66 (Vivi). The ones we love become a part of us. When they die, those memories get carried forward with us until we die. In turn, because what we are relies on them to some degree, both they and we get carried forward in the lives of those we influence; this goes on and on ad infinitum. In essence, no one truly "stops moving". What they were is carried on from generation to generation, through family and friends. Even if humanity dies, "the memory" of our species lives on in the planet. If the planet dies, it leaves an imprint on the universe. It's always sad to lose someone, but they are never truly lost. We got our pup from a friend when her first human died themselves and experience 3 amazing years with an amazing little dog. If I was told I could go back and do it all again and it would happen the exact same way, I'd do it. Those memories we made together are worth experiencing the grief that came (and still comes) after. I beg you, friends, take a little time to be grateful for the folks in our lives. There were times when I was sleeping that our little pup would walk on me, lay on my feet and wake me up. Mildly annoyed, I'd tell her "No" and put her back in the middle of the bed. What I wouldn't give to be mildly annoyed by her now.

This is such an interesting take. I always thought that Zidane has protagonist energy because he felt so much free will, and that his boss challenging him to a duel to prove it was to show how determined he was to live his life, and go after Dagger. He's able to give advice on breaking free of determinism and the commitments of war, because he never struggled with identity since it never came up, so when all of his friends came to support him it solidified my love for the entire cast as I saw all of their worth, from ViVi to Quina. That in exastensialism, you don't always get a life changing revelation and instead just need to carry on. My favorite lines were: "You don't always need an awnser, you just need to try." "Can we ever make up for lost time? We can't, but can protect them from those who try to take it away!"

Final Fantasy IX is a great game. I'll say it's the second greatest RPG I've ever played, right after Chrono Trigger. It speaks to me on a lot of levels. I love the story about finding your identity. As an adoptee, I understand Zidane's plight. Garnett, Zidane, Vivi, and Steiner all struggle with forming an identity in that game, and have to ask themselves whether they can form an identity for themselves. Zidane and Vivi discover they were made for specific purposes. Did they have to fulfill those purposes? No. Vivi had little in common with the psychopathic black mages that were like him, who only knew one word. He could consciously choose to be something else. Zidane was made purposely to kill Kuja. At the end of the game, Zidane could have easily chosen to fulfill his destiny and kill him. He did not. At the beginning of the game, Steiner's identity was so locked up in serving the queen that he almost didn't have an identity of his own. When the queen's megalomaniacal behavior went so far that not even Steiner could tolerate it, he had to form his own identity and ask himself who he was for the first time in his life. I'm an adoptee, and I found my biological family thanks to an Ancestry DNA kit. I asked myself those same questions about my identity when I found my biological family. Interesting story pertaining to what you said about genetic memory: When I found my biological family, I discovered that my biological grandparents were living in the same neighborhood, in fact, just around the corner from where I was living. I was drawn to that area because of genetic memory. I've talked with other adoptees who found their biological families, and many of them said that they had biological family living close by, or that their ancestors had lived in the same area they'd moved to. Like a swallow to Capistrano, I was drawn to the neighborhood I now live years ago. I've dubbed this phenomenon the Jenovah Effect because it was like there were cells in my body that were leading me to a certain place for some kind of reunion or something.

This game is pure magic. And when Melodies of Life plays in the end it kind of sums all the experience in a single moment. Great video Max!!

You got a very, very different message than I got out of the game. One of the biggest things I got was the villains believed in determinism, blamed the crystal for all fault, all everything. But then you have characters running around, every moment, defying their predestination. Ordained weapons defying their classification. The royalty finding humility. Fiends finding humanity. While those who fall into Determinism, ordain the universe a mad dream full of choicelessness, the good ones say "I am, there for I am." and don't care to let such a vague, nebulous thing decide fate for them. Rather or not it is free will, their lives are each and every one ordained to be one thing, and they, through pain and choice, became something else. You view the stuff Kuja says as absolute, you view the Crystal as 'absolute'. But even the Authors of Final Fantasy have said that absolute disposition is untrue. Did the crystal create life? Or did the crystal shepherd it? Is the crystal a God? Or is it merely a representation of a greater whole. Those who gave into determinism, those, who said, 'fate is written' became blights upon the universe. In various games the crystal is depicted as bidding people to feel, think, choose, act. That choice is part of the design. And that if the entire universe, you or I are a dream, that so to is our choices a part of the dream. And that our choices are real, rather they come from experience or random chance they are no less important. And to assume fate is absolute is to give yourself to banality the moment you get bad news. Despite the fact that many other 'pre-determined beings' have chosen other things. Choice Matters. Rather it is created from stimulation and experience, or randomly. Destiny is not written. Because of all life is a book being written choice by choice. The de-investment of the choices we have lead to banality. The submission to fate leads to obsoletion. Zidane was destined to be a destroyer. He became a savior. Kuja was destined to be a destroyer who was surpassed by a greater destroyer. He gave in. But because of Zidane and his own submission to his fate. His own destiny changed and he was surpassed and redeemed by a brother. Submission to fate, to write 'ah well, all is written'. To marginalize choice, no matter how vague or obsolete said choice may seem is to strip yourself of your potential and sense of wonder. If free will is an illusion, you are an illusion. If you are part of the same illusion, then in the context of your reality, all is real and the grand posturings of fate are ultimately little more than motivation and de-motivation in the life you are given and choices you make.

It feels like everybody is getting into FF IX recently. I've seen so many videos about it lately. But, this video is probably the one that truly encompasses what made the game so fantastic (at least for me). The main themes of purpose, life and death were explored so well in this game, it honestly surprised me when I first played it. Even after multiple replays I can still find interesting concepts and ideas, from the way a character's development arc unfolds to the very existence of those characters. It's all so well crafted. Just like this video. I hope more people give this masterpiece a chance due to this resurgence.

My favorite game of all time, the last gift my father gave me when he passed away, what helped to keep me alive during that dark time of my life among my grieving family and FFX, and something I carry deeply and warmly in my heart to this day inspiring much of my work.

"Even if we say goodbye, you'll always be in our hearts. So, that I know we're not alone anymore." That's my favorite line in the game. It has such beautiful meaning to it, I still hold onto that in my heart.

FF9 actually had a profound impact on me as a child. It is one of the greatest pieces of art ever created. Anyone that says video games can't be art hasn't experienced this masterpiece.

Always a good day when FF9 gets some love. One of the best FF games.

FF9 is my favorite game of all time. I've come to this conclusion several times. I think the ending was tied together really well; and also the narration at the ending always gets me ballin' my eyes out.

You know what’s funny about the Final Battle of the game! After the Crystal is destroyed, the Characters decide to try and Fight Necron! And Kuja in turn decides to sacrifice the last of his power to save Them! So, in a sense, even without the Crystal, we are still capable of Choice! If they can choose, then so can We! We can decide, even though the idea of free choice may be an illusion to some, it is still an action determined by one’s sense of self, regardless of what anyone says!

This game is the embodiment of what Final Fantasy was at that time. As though every iteration before it was a dress rehearsal for this one, near perfect expression

When I first heard Dark Messenger playing during the final Kuja boss battle, my jaw dropped. This game's OST is a masterpiece in itself.

There are definitely very good life lessons that these Final Fantasy games can teach young people, and just people in general.

Easily my all time favorite game. Its soundtrack, its story, its characters, its side quests and its pin point accuracy to hit your soul. An absolute masterpiece 👌

I am so glad I found your channel. I admire you, Max. This was a great video, and the way you ended it was basically perfect.

Before I say anything else, I just wanna say I genuinely like your videos, and I usually agree with your interpretation of the media you analyze. Having said that, with all due respect, I'm pretty sure FF9 isn't about free will vs determinism. It always seemed more like it was about accepting one's own mortality and whether or not life was worth living. Zidane, Kuja, and Vivi are the only characters for whom the concept of free will is touched upon, and only lightly. Their fears concerning their pre-determined lifespan are a far larger part of their respective motivations and character arcs. Kuja doesn't try to kill the crystal because he's mad that none of his choices matter, but because he's afraid of dying and jealous of everyone else who'll get to go on living. Vivi doesn't choose to stay with the party because he wants his choices to matter, but because he wants to protect the lives of the other Black Mages in the village even if their lives will be short. Their lives matter to him regardless. Zidane doesn't decide to rebel against Garland to prove that he makes his own choices, but because he just doesn't want people to die. I think it's kind of dishonest of you to focus so heavily on the three characters who are explicitly artificial constructs in order to bolster your own interpretation, when every other character in the game and even a few direct lines of dialogue contradict your interpretation. Every character in the party, and even a few side characters, has their own character arc, and free will vs determinism isn't a large part of most of them. But life is. Life is a significant factor in most if not all the character's arcs, and it's even the central conflict of the game. The life of Terra vs the life of Gaia. Freya and Eiko are probably the best characters examples that aren't the main 3 (Zidane, Vivi, and Kuja being the main 3), in the sense that Freya is "dead" to the person she has been looking for since he doesn't remember her, and Eiko wasn't really "living" until she joined up with the party. It's about life, not free will. That's just what I think. Maybe you'll reexamine it, and maybe you won't, but I had to say something regardless.

FF9 has always been my favorite Final fantasy from the playstation era.

There was one thing about FF that I always loved, but imo part V - X took this to the next level: Telling a story that seems so simple on the surface, so everyone can enjoy it. But some things are a bit weird, so you look closer, you notice that tiny rabbit hole and all of a sudden the story is not so simple anymore.

Thank you Max, for making this video about this wonderful and unique game I have been cherishing ever since I first played it, 20 years ago. This game shaped the adult I came to be, and has been a vessel for my feelings and philosophy for years. The fact that it managed to bring an answer to these existential questions and crisis II had is what help me going forward. And you perfectly captured that aspect of the game. With more emotion that I thought I'd have watching your video, I give you my honest thanks for giving this masterpiece of a game, the light it deserves.

my childhood game, it kinda create the person i am today, seeking for beauty and answers to life meanings. In that continuous search, i find your channel and now you're talking about one of my favorite game. that's an example of determinism.

10 seconds in and Max already has one of the best FF tracks playing. Seriously Max you are the PH.d of video games.

The ending to this video made me tear up. Final Fantasy IX is my favorite game of all time specifically because of the themes of discovering one’s identity through collective experiences found in friendship and love. Honestly FF IX was a major part of how I became the person I am now. It really has one of the deepest and most beautiful stories in all of media, with some of the most memorable characters and settings in any video game, and one of the most beautiful soundtracks in video game history. And I’m glad so many other people feel as strongly about Final Fantasy IX as I do. Despite being 25 years old, it is still one of the most talked about video games, and people are still discovering for the first time the beautiful and unique world that the developers created in the form of a 32-bit video game.

The music alone in this game always brings on the emotion. FF9 is my favorite of the series.

🥲 This video hit harder than I expected. Thank you for making a true effort to keep the light and the dark balanced on your channel, a little cosmos inside the entropic KZfaq universe. 😌

I think you would really love Xenogears. Totally fits the themes your channel has been going through, and since you’ve been playing older rpgs i think it would be amazing to hear your thoughts on it. So much to discuss in that.

Thank you for giving me many reasons to play Final Fantasy 9, I've owned the game for years and really knew nothing about it, now I know it's about breaking away from your destined fate and having free will, thanks Max for a great video ✌️

Final Fantasy IX and Metal Gear Solid were my best English Teachers, now I teach this to kids and adults. I finished it again a week ago after 20 years, it is as beautiful as I remember. Specially the music.

Its the best final fantasy game ever with the best artwork- best most fleshed out characters ( zidane, vivi, dagger, freya, kuja, Steiner so many great characters) best dialogue of any final fantasy game by far and It’s not even close. The game is my favorite game of all time and it’s so optimistic and incredible zidane is my fav main character in any final fantasy game

Great compelling vid. FFIX really is so well-written. I remember (SPOILERS) not realizing during my first playthrough that Vivi is actually on his deathbed at the end. I still loved his monologue not knowing this, the point is that it is a soliloquy to life.

You have no clue how much I needed this video. I've been working a very stressful and difficult job, understaffed, for about a decade now. My best friend and co-worker who suffered through it all with me, had to move away. I loved her in an indescribable way, and her leaving left a chasm in my life. But I'll never regret the time I spent with her.

FF9 is one of my all time favorites. FF7 and 9 are tied for 1st place in my book.

This honestly reduced my current anxiety. Now I'm going to play ff9 cuz I've ignored it long enough

As soon as this popped up, I got incredibly giddy. Love your insight on my favorite FF game. ✌🏼 Vivi is forever in all of our hearts.

I am replaying it right now in 2023. I am still hallucinated by the creativity, philosophy and inspiration of thos game. For me, it is the greatest game of all time.

One of my favorite games and soundtrack ever.

Thank you for making this video, FF9 had a profound impact on me as a kid. I’ve been on an existential journey for a long time now, but I don’t have any sadness or resentment for the child in me that’s transformed, the world wasn’t what I knew, but that illusion wasn’t pointless. The strength I gained was built on that foundation of wonder and imagination for the world.

I played FF 9 when I was 8 yrs old and I've been depressed ever since Vivi saw all those black mages falling from the ship in the fight against Black Waltz N 3

It just makes me feel happy. The music still does

Just finished it a couple day ago, what a coincidence. I once played it when I'm about 12/13yo and never bothered to finish it, recently I just finished it with 72 hour long gameplay, yeah, I take my time with this game, bcs playing it now I just realized ff9 have deeper depth than I would've imagine. If I have to choose I will be torn, ff7 left a great memory in my mind, but I feel the soul of ff echoing louder in ff9.

This is beyond beautiful.

Completely unrelated: I used to think the crystal on the logo was a baby Griever (from FF8)

Memoria is one of the best artistic experience I have ever seen all media combined : The hauting music, the psychedelic and mystical sceneries(backgrounds) and Garland as a Philosophical Guide through this dungeon. It's pure poetry. Thank You for showing what makes FFIX so great 👍

I'm not crying, there is something in my eye.

This one is my favorite final fantasy! 10 is a very close second

This was the first Final Fantasy game that I finished. It got me hooked on the series and is in my top 10 games that I've played

FF9 is my all time favorite Final Fantasy for these exact reasons, its an unbelievable experience and a formative one at that. Also within the scope of existentialistic subtext(amongst other controversial themes) in video game(but not limited to) story telling, Xenogears is near if not at the top of that list, many would argue. Im anxiously awaiting you to play it.

I just watched a video essay on FFIX the other day about Necron yesterday. I'm very happy to see you talking about one of my favorite games too. And, yeah, that closing segment actually did help me I think.

What you describe here is the reason why I've never felt existential dread, though it took many years before I could say why. It was summed up in the last verse of the song Answers from Final Fantasy XIV. Give it a listen some time.

I remember very well how your take on "Humanity and machines" struck me. As someone that wants to make a book, your thoughts about how robots, androids and humans got my attention. You make well-narrated analysis, dude. Kudos for an more happy existence.

As unlikely this is to be read, I do not think that free will is entirely absent from the Lore of FF9 as postulated... Rather, I think that Free will in the world of FF9 is ultimately the choice, and it is the first truly free choice a person within the world FF9 can make. All of the main characters face this choice... and it is the rebellion against that which brings them to refuse their dictated fate. Amarant broke free of the fate of those who were not Strong, just as Zidane broke from his fate to destroy, as Steiner and Garnet did from their duties, and how Vivi chose how not to be a weapon.

This video gave me slight comfort and reassurance thank you max 👍

So glad you picked this one up. 9 and 10 are my favorites for the exact same reasons you mentioned their respective videos (and starting from FF8, they all make sweet love stories lol). Might I suggest you give Xenogears (and the other Xeno games, Xenosaga and Xenoblade) a try as well?

My take on the existential horror people face when it comes to their existence, things like how life is finite, the earth and universe will die eventually, nothing lasts forever, and the thoughts of how meaningless it all is when acknowledging those facts, is this. You can either be someone who tries to not think about them and distract yourself with things like faith/belief in a higher power like god, maybe distracting from those thoughts with escapism like into games or books or movies or shows, or even getting tripped out on drugs. Or, you can be someone who just accepts yeah, these are matter of facts, things everyone has to come to terms with, but so fucking what? Everyone dies eventually, but everyone gets a chance to live too, to do things, to experience things, to create, to make a legacy, to teach. We all die, but we get to choose our fate before we do. And that's way more meaningful than just accepting entropy as your only purpose.

Thank you for making a video on this amazing game.. while in recent years the ff community has a much more positive opinion on ff9, it wasn’t like that when I was growing up.. it took at lot of convincing to get friends to try the game with it’s beautiful world and deep, character-driven story because of the negative reception it had early on.. but I really wanted people to experience the game that changed my life, to maybe see in it what I did.. it helped me through some very dark years in adolescence, struggling with my identity, life and my place in it.. an almost crippling feeling of loneliness I felt back then too.. the game was something of well of strength in hard moments when I didn’t have people to talk to and was isolated.. plus it helped me to get better at reading as I had trouble with complex language and large bodies of text (I have Meares-Irlen syndrome) back then.. so to have you make this video.. I can only thank you

Ff9 is literally one of the best rpg games that I’ve played! I was so happy when my mom bought it for me!

FFIX was one of the first games i ever played and i fell in love immediately. Over the course of four years as a kid i managed to put in over 900 hours because for hours i would just "live" in the game world with everyone. From traveling to doing all the sides quests to just running around fighting things when I was bored. Not to mention the card game. I soent so long trying to figure it out and collecting all the best cards i could. It set me on a JRPG path in life that has become a main part of my overall personality. Edit: Im going to be thirty at the end of the month. The time line of this comment starts when it came out. My dad randomly bought it for me for christmas. He thought i would like it

The "nobody will have your exact experiences" part reminds me of the "tears in the rain" speech from Bladerunner. But where the character giving that speech laments the loss of those memories, he sort of misses the point of the beauty that he had those memories at all in the first place. idk I haven't seen Bladerunner lol

Honestly when I saw your video on ffx, I thought in disappointment “He will likely never play IX, the masterpiece, since he only just played X and IX is almost too niche.” This is like when you tell a friend to watch something you know theyd like and they finally do it

There is something to be said about knowing that existance is meaningless. It is freeing in a sense, and the most "well" I have been was when I was freed after hearing a lecture given by none other than Alan Watts here on youtube, and safe to say, I think that the genius mind of his translated and turned some of the oriental ways and teachings into some sort of existencialist/spiritual hybrid philosophy. When there is no meaning to life, life itself becomes its own meaning, and we have to live in it. We can't have a meaning, because we are the meaning. To go even further, and to quote another genius, Sagan, "We are a way of the cosmos to know itself." I can't imagine life having a meaning, or not being what it is, more so...I can't imagine life, I must be too busy living in it, by it, to imagine it. That...is a positive way to see this existencial dread. It is only through those dreadful things, that we can come to see the light. "The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure that you seek. " Joseph Campbell.

This is my favorite Final Fantasy. So many people bring up only seven, but so many of those have not even played this gem.

I thought of Earthbound when I closed my eyes. Just the happy thoughts of when I played it made me happy momentarily

Oh, wow... I haven't shed tears in a long time... Well done!

There are four thoughts which helped me get through my existential dread: 1. "Que sera, sera." Whatever will be, will be. There is SO MUCH which is out of our control; we are completely powerless against MOST of it. Whether we are powerless or powerful in any circumstance...whatever will be, will be. 2. "Don't worry...be happy!" For what IS in our control, we do not need to worry...we simply do what we can do to fix the circumstance. For what is NOT in our control, we do not need to worry...there is nothing we can do anyways...just enjoy the ride and see where it takes us. Maybe, it will take us to someplace with circumstances which ARE in our control. And, if we end up in a place in which we STILL have no control...then, simply enjoy that ride as well. Going through it all with smiles on our faces won't hurt anyone. But, a frown on our faces WILL hurt us. 3. "This, too, shall pass." For circumstance which seems too difficult to handle...that circumstance will not last forever. Eventually, the bad times will pass. Eventually, even the powerless become powerful. It just takes time...don't worry about the difficult situations...we need to be happy that we got through them alive, and stronger because of them. 4. "Just hang in there, baby!" Having a bad time? Having a bad life? Don't quit; fore this, too, shall pass. The only way to lose, is to quit. If we quit, we will stay exactly where we are, and it shall NOT pass. We only quit, because we worry. Don't worry...whatever will be, will be...just hang in there, baby! And, it will pass. Just hang in there...and, be happy. EDIT: A word. I spelled "dread" as "dredd." LOL!

Oh Max, you summed up everything in the video towards the end of your video perfectly about our existence and the video games that we play that help shape us. Games like Final Fantasy IX, VI and even X are like an experience. They teach us that there is more to life than our supposed meaningless existence, we can give it meaning by making the best of it, by experiencing fun times with other good people that just want the same. We live, we inspire, we laugh, we love, we get sick, but it’s ok, we die, but that’s still ok because we live on forever after that through our actions and interactions with many others and how they choose to remember us. We are never truly gone, despite how long we are physically here.

I loved and cherished this game. Played it when I was 11-12, finished it on my 23. Dropped tears of joy. More so when I realized that the whole game can be interpreted as Vivi's tale, from his POV, instead of Zidane although Zidane's the main protagonist. The ending monologue is his parting message.

One of the most beautiful videos I’ve ever seen. Truly.

More final fantasy please these are amazing. I love how you dysect the religious and philosophical elements in those games

I'm literally replaying it atm, I'm here looking at videos while I'm at work and not playing it lol. I first played this in 2000/1 and I still love playing it now in 2023

Thank you, it did help with existential ennui! I am glad to watch your videos on video games and philosophy that can help people think more than one may guess.

the zidane v. kuja, and solid v. liquid snake parallel is genius, and plainly obvious...in hindsight...can't believe I never saw it till now!!

I read a quote off a tombstone yesterday that sorta lines up with this. "Time can't take away the treasures in our heart"

Was *not* expecting that final line to make me cry, but here we are 😂

The first time a youtube video has made me well up. Fantastic job!!!

Oh fuck yeah, I'm ready for this one.

Glad to see you exploring my favorite series.

This was my favorite game in the FF series after FFVI.

Damn that ending hit me in the feels, it’s like the only realistic solace against existential dread. “Lucky ones are we all till it is over, everyone near and far.”

Thanks for doing this video and your entire channel

Here's a theory on why Zidane sees Garnets memory. It wasn't Garnets memory, it was her mother's memory. Terra stole the souls of Gaia and placed them into thir own vessels. Zidane was the vessel that took Garnets mothers soul. It was his memory, his soul was there.

This makes me so happy. My three favorite games of all time are NieR: Replicant and Automata, and FFIX. It was the first game that i played all the way through and then replayed. I was even vivi for Halloween in 5th grade. After reading all the Sartre and Camus in university, i was super into existentialism. I played NieR automata first and became obsessed with the lore and the whole idea of the eternal recurrence and the death of the gods. Then i finally played replicant and got even deeper into the philosophy of the series and the way the replicants became self aware. But now I’m watching your video, i haven’t played FFIX in a couple years and it was before i took Existentialism in college. This is inspiring me to play it again. Fantastic video!

Final Fantasy is my absolute favorite media franchise, hands-down. It’s like my best childhood friend. It got me through SO many hard times. Hell, Final Fantasy VI (at the time, III) basically taught me how to read. I’ve always flip-flopped about which title is my favorite (between VI, IX and Tactics), but I think I’m starting to settle into IX. It’s truly a dream game. As I’ve aged, the messages of the game, or at least my recognition of them, have aged with me. Having very recently replayed it, the identity aspect of this game really hit me so hard. As someone going through so many identity crises of my own, it honestly gave me courage to face those things head-on and not let them control my life. To live in the moment, with joy and hope rather than self-loathing and despair. I can’t emphasize enough how much this game means to me, and for good reason. It is a masterpiece. There is just no other way to describe it.

Max I love your content, the depth that you consider the nature of this medium is a breath of fresh air! Do you take suggestions for analysis? There is a particular and very popular title or even series that I feel you could do greater justice than any others I’ve seen.

Oh right! It's FFIX, and I actually thought it was He-man, Masters Of Univers for a moment.

This is one of the few ps1 games in my opinion that holds up and is still fun to go back to. Definitely one of the best rpgs ever

I dint think we can ever get to the bottom of either free will or determinism Did I choose to think of the video game Max asked me? Sorta of I laid the ground work for it by selecting this video (I thought of ff9 when max asked the question) But then he might say but did you choose the ground work for the question? And I’ll say impulsively no But then upon further thinking yes, for I chose to go into my phone But then he’ll ask did you choose what video your KZfaq feed you’ll get Then I’ll say impulsively no But upon further questioning yes, for my interests did influence the KZfaq feed. This just goes on and on and on

I love this vid man. This game shaped me into who I am today. Love this game.

The game I have played the most since I was 12. Don't know how much of the english I understood back then but remember I was glued at the screen. One of few piece of media that still give me the feels when revisited. Maybe because I still struggle with the issues of all these characters.

Just finished this game and this is such a great summary of why it's so special. Thanks for making it!

Just like you FF10 was my first final fantasy. I took a long way around playing 12, 13, 4, 2, 7 and 8 first and especially after the grim and realistic cyberpunk of FF8 and FF7 I thought to myself that FF9 would be a more classic not to grim but enjoyable game. After finding out about the black mages I realized I was going to be in for a ride. I found more and more parallels between the characters, since it didn't make sense to me why Square wanted to show us these characters. Each and everyone of them has had their worldview shaken, their existence and it's reason put in question, and extrapolating this concept onto the world itself was a ride I was most certainly not prepared for.

I discoverd your channel a few days ago and I have say that I already love it. Dark Souls, Nier Automata, Silent Hill are some of the greatest games of all time. Final Fantasy IX is my most favorite and beloved game I have ever played. I strongly recommend you to play Planescape Tormment. I had no idea before I play it how deep its story is. Its far better than Baldurs Gate 2, and BG2 is a masterpiece.

The power of Friendship is Japans answer to everything. Its the only thing anime protaginists ever talk about

Absolutely fantastic work! I always appreciate more attention for my favourite Final Fantasy game, but this video is especially great. The overall message is profound and beautiful. Thank you :)

yyyeeesssss this game impacted me so much. love all your videos.

This is beautiful! Thanks for creating this.

I’m biased as ff9 game was the first final fantasy game I played and beat as a teen, but it’s such a shout out to the original games and a glimpse into where they wanted to go with the franchise. The team who created it straight LEGENDS.

You summed up so many things I value about this game/story. Thank you!

I remember learning about these heavy subjects like determinism and free will, existentialism (etc) in philosophy class at school. I initially just took the class on because I thought it would be full of people just waxing poetic and trying to flaunt their intellect on each other and that I could just use it as a “slack off” period but I actually ended up taking a real interest in the topics/questions that got discussed. I remember talking about all these great thinkers like John Locke, Rene Descartes, Friedrich Nietsche (etc). And after finishing school and now in my early twenties I really enjoy discussing these ideas and watching your video essays on them. I hope that in the future, video games like MGS2, NieR:Automata and so on get studied by future generations in schools like how we had to study works of literature like “To kill a Mocking Bird” or “Macbeth” because the impression I get at the moment from education institutions in the world at the moment is that they frown upon video games and consider them to be just sources of mindless entertainment that are incapable of carrying serious and weighty messages/ideas. With people like yourself and your channel, I hope that in the future These works of art are taken seriously by the intellectual “snobs” that currently rule over the world of academia because if they did I think that it would be easier for younger generations to engage in discussions of philosophical subjects like the ones you always address. The effort and care you put into your videos is not unnoticed and I can’t wait for your next one. Also an idea for you next video (because I haven’t really seen any good ones on it) could be about Yaldabaoth and the Prison of Regression ant the end of Persona 5. I think because you talk extensively about Carl Jung you would really find it interesting to analyse. Keep up the brilliant work!