Omg haha you went up the ladder when the mog warns you, I done this quite a few times thinking I was absolutely unstoppable. Then I died and realised "shit I haven't saved since evil forest...."

I can really feel you. This also my most favorite part of the game. I think it was my first open world experience. I spent weeks on this plains, also in the upper part of the Lindblum. Just running, fighting, playing with chocobo, playing cards with everyone. Discovering the spring was such joy. Monsters was so diverse, pink dragon with deadly flame attack, salamander's with painfull water skills, mandragoras with this insane nut, puffy bats, and this cute lizard-scorpion wich looks like cat sometime, hedgehog pie with a voice like a burp and strange pumpkin attack, cute little dragon's with beaks (near Lindblum). This charming music in Chocobo game, you really getting better in this game, starting to build kind a map in head. Also during first playthrough i didn't had Quina, i had no idea you can reacruit him, but later, after second disc you think, hmm, maybe i can pick him earlier. It was like i lived in Lindblum and went out for a walk in the neighborhood, with you favorite buddies. Unforgettable experience...

This video is what got me into final fantasy, and I thank you for that

FF9 WAS THE BEST FF THERE I SAID IT

I loved FF9 so much. Best music in the series.

I absolutely love this game. Final Fantasy 9 is beautiful with it's artsy take on graphics, challenging with it's Square-style complexity, and addictive with Sakaguchi telling the story and Uematsu ensuring world transport with his catchy or even downright epic (for that time) short scores. Not to mention square's love of FMV's that made the game seem more like an actual audio visual story being told. A lot of people say they can't stand old turn based games because it's not what they're used to...The fact of the matter is, Final Fantasy games were most of what I had growing up and I loved every minute of them because it was what I was used to and I really enjoyed playing video games in general. I'm SO happy I grew up with these titles.

It's always interesting to see how many layers a great design can have

The Disc 1 Lionheart in FF8 is my personal Eunorus Plains. Spoendning your time defeating enemies and turning them into cards, drawing magicce from everything you can, divining your way through sidequests to get to the enemies you need all so that you can have that Lionheart and all the limit breaks to break the game. Ah Square Soft I love your games.

I'm here right now on my third playthrough and I love it almost as much as I love the area surrounding Madain Sari

This is my favorite final fantasy, the nostalgia always hits me when I hear a song of it's OST... I'm so glad you made this video, this game is SO deep. I finally beat Ozma last year, something I wanted to do since I was a kid, next on my list is getting Excalibur II, which I need to get to one of the last zone's in the game (In Memoria) in under 12 hours

The new CS update looks sick!

Such a great and wholesome video, your insights on games are always appreciated philip

This was a... beautiful video! I loved the narrative of your multiple playthroughs in this area and how everything that can be found at this point in the game can piece together so wonderfully~. Nice!

This is absolutely the best description I have of why we love these games! When people ask me, I couldn't explain it! This was perfect!

New FFIX content? Yes please, thank you for giving more evidence for why FFIX is the greatest game ever made.

I know it's been years since you made this video. But I had to tell you, this is one of the best videos in youtube (at least for anyone who played FFIX). Ty and I agree wholeheartedly with you.

This is by far my favourite video of yours! Mind blown!

Bravo braaaavoooo Magnificent explanation of why analysis and finding the way to break the games we enjoy is a testament if our love for RPGs

Im actually playing Final Fantasy 9 as you upload this. Amazing timing and my favorite FF game to date

my favorite game of all time!! I have a different strategy on beating grand dragon disc 1, works fantastic! thanks for this video, nice to see there's other people appreciating this game so much!

My favorite as well , also awesome video and epic story telling my friend.

almost cried with this... I think you just exposed something that I always tought without knowing it. The plain satisfaction of achieving a self established goal, without statistics or substancial rewards thrown at you like if the game wanted EVERYONE to have the same experience, maybe that's something I miss so much about old school RPGs in comparison to later installments, and probably that's why I couldn't stand 8 hours of The Witcher 3, but played Breath of Fire IV for the tenth time. Cool video.

Instant thumbs up to a FF9 video. Thank you Philip. I love you.

Just did my 6th play through scattered over many years, and each time I grind the planes a little longer. Well put together video!

I think you describe the way the game is played over multiple play throughs perfectly and that's why this have had so much nostalgia. Modern game designers should really take a look at this classic.

Great video! I always try to explain why i love replaying ff9 so often. And i never really knew why i just loved it, just now i realized its because i get better at it everytime. You could say this with most games you replay but the option to actively get really good items/spells early on, if you know how to get them, is almost unique to ff9 (of course not really, but for example how could you make your second playthrough of ff13 easier from the start? yea not the same) Usually developers don't want you to be overpowerd early on so they restrict the good items to later merchants, locations whatever, but here you get rewarded for knowing little secrets and how to make your playthrough different with more knowledge of the game, and i think that is absolutely wonderful! Thank you for putting this into the right words!

An excellently written video, mate. Love this game.

Never thought a small and seemingly insignificant plain could become a material for such beautiful video.

I never heard anyone comment like you did on this video. Really love it

Kliksphilip is the only guy who can make someone like me who doesn’t enjoy or play these types of games at all truly enjoy a 10 minute video of one

What a heartwarming personal tale. Thank you for sharing.

This was a great video, and really sums up this section of FF9 beautifully. Glad I found your channel! :D

I felt chills watching this. This was literally me after my first playthrough of FF9. The more I continued to replay it, the more secrets I found, the more tricks I discovered, and the closer I felt to mastering it. And even after several playthroughs, I have yet to complete it. I still have challenges to conquer and bosses to beat. This video makes me want to play the game again. It makes me love this game even more.

Love this game so much. Working my way through the remastered version now, my 3rd playthrough altogether.

Nice to see something different once in a while

Ah FF9... good ol' days. Still my favorite today. Great video!

Damn it now I want to replay IX

This is a surprisingly excellent vid well done

Thank you for making this. This is part of my childhood.

This video was one of my most favorite yet and I didn't even know I wanted it.

Game developers have a very strong lesson to learn from this. This is probably one of your best reflection videos, philip.

Nice vid like always!

That was beautiful. Randomly step upon your video. I know sometimes getting viewer so here's a new subscriber

FFIX is my favorite game and you understood why with a lot of humility. Thank you for your great video.

This is such a cool perspective. Wish I could find motivation like this, even for personal enjoyment in free time, without everything requiring a point. I miss enjoying things for their own sake and not worrying about time.

Great video keep up the good work

That is exactly what I love about pokemon games, you don't need to grind, I just want to. Great video man

Philip makes great videos that I enjoy, even if I never played nor cared that game.

Getting Excalibur 2 is the only side quest I'm aware of I haven't done in the game. I tried once using a guide and gave up. Hats off to anyone who achieved this goal.

This was an awesome video on one of my favorite FF games ever.

Favorite FF as well, thank you for showing this gem love

Jeez I can’t imagine grinding robe of lords AND protect ring on disc 1, good on you man!

WHAT A FREAKING FANTASTIC VIDEO!

Thank you for making this video. FF9 is my favourite Final Fantasy. I also love fighting the dragons as a challenge!

This reminded me of how I used to play around in the swamps in STALKER : Clear Sky. You were allowed to leave the swamps after about 1,5 hours of game time after helping the local faction beat the bandits up a bit, but I usually stuck around to explore and completely annihilate the thieves. To my amazement the developers built in secrets to such explorers, completionists like me. If you fully help the faction defeat the pesky bandits you get access to the 3rd best armor piece in the game ( Even after the fact you wouldn't even get the prompt of any sort. You would simply have to see it for sale from the Trader ). Not to mention there is a cave you can find practically out of bounds of the map where lies a mid tier artifact and the best grade detector. Implementations such as these add an insane amount of replay value and show how thought out the development of the game really was.

Enjoyable video my dude.

Dude ever since this video was published I've gotten an itch to play through this whole game again. I just did it three months ago.

This video itself is also art. Thank you.

Wow man !! I really like your story !!! I feel the same on FF ix , that place it's amazing !!!!

This feels like a poetic requiem of this marvelous game.

Nostalgia runs through as these tracks play.

My all time favorite game. Ive played this game 10 or 15 times. Always looking for more to do. Collecting all the cards, Getting all the chocobo secrets to face the secret boss, Getting cinnas hammer, All the weapons and abilities, The auction house and the side quest that goes with it, Stellazio coins, Coffee, Miniature Airships..... I should stop. Watching your video brought me back. I did pretty much the exact same thing you did hahaha. Oh 1 more secret, The ocean bubbles.

Great video 👍

The thing with Final Fantasy IX is, it wasn't afraid of having players miss quests, storylines, items or other content. This is what makes the world feel mysterious and flavorful, as you never really know what you might find on your next playthrough. I'm not exaggerating if I say I've played through this game 10 times in the last 18 years, and every single time I do, finding out those secrets, finishing the card collection, playing Hot & Cold, finding the ultimate weapons, beating Ozma and Tantarian, finding out the name of the mysterious adventurer etc. feel just as amazing as they did the first time. Possibly my favorite game of all time.

Excellent video

You won my heart when you said IX is your favorite =).

This game is filled with so much emotion and mystery alongside discovery and the feeling of award. I'd say you feel like you are progressing very well throughout the game and that's satisfying. Especially when u do all the cray shit this guy does.

This is my favorite video of yours.

Great job!

next, the secrets of erogenous plains

Now I want to play Final Fantasy Thanks Philip

I love this so much. I hate how so many modern games are designed and seeing someone appreciate a classic like this give me hope :)

So Philip has discovered the wondrous gameplay mechanic known as the Peninsula of Power.

This kind of thing is what modern titles are missing, It's been a long time since I've played a game I wanted to grind just for the fun of it, not because the game forced me to

You've got a good voice and talent for narrating, did not expect the "dank ayy lmao" text with this style of narrating lol

Great video

Excellent analysis on what it is that's so appealing about this world, nice to see people be just as weird about FF9 as I can get.

I adored this video :)

You’re not alone.

It's funny I subbed to you for CS but I happen to be playing ff9 again atm for the first time since high school. The game has so much charm and such an awesome story.. at first I thought an old JRPG wouldn't be able to hold my attention span anymore but you really can get into it with some patience to start.

love this type of vids, i srsly do

I once got an Anklet in disc 1 from Hot & Cold. I did grind the Robe of Lords in Disc 1 as well.

You know. When I was raised on NES and Snes rpgs. I was taught a valuable lesson. Exploration is key, curiosity is vital. But being nosy is paramount. I was taught to look everywhere, talk to everyone, double check every object in the game with clicking, and then talk to everyone again. So my first wonderful play through of FFIX was something like a combination of your 2nd and 3rd. And trying to best yourself each time you play a repeat of an rpg is one of the best parts of these games and helps them stay timeless to me.

beautuful video. this is a kind of retationship i have with gothic and kotor series.

I love your videos.

This is exactly how i felt when playing dark souls 1. Every play-through leaves space for improvement, a ring you didnt get last time, a sword more powerful than anything at specific areas, More efficient levelling based on the choice of end weapon, even glitches and secret areas.

The Grand Dragons being accessible, and killable with the right skills, kind of reminds me of another hidden part in FF7. After first arriving in Costa del Sol you can ride the boat back to Junon, and find a hallway with an alarm in it that triggers encounters from much later in the game. Enemies that would otherwise annihilate you, UNLESS you picked up Beta from the equally difficult Midgar Zolom in the swamp long before ever crossing the ocean in the first place. I love it when Square does stuff like this.

Your voice was soothing for some reason and very logical.

I like to theorise that the true meaning of the "dangerous" exit of Gizamaluke's Grotto is a throwback to the first couple of Final Fantasy games, where there's a special point on the map where there're enemies that're near-impossible (or just impossible) to beat.

500 videos! Congrats, I guess...

Happy 500th Video!

The reason you can fight the Grand Dragons so early in the game is because there is a way to beat them. You need to get Quina to learn Limit Glove by eating a certain monster (I forget it's name) in a small forest just outside South Gate, opposite the Chocobo forrest. After that. You need to keep killing Quina during battle and reviving him/her until he/she comes back with 1hp point. As long as his/her HP is at 1 point, limit glove will deal 9999 damage. It's just a matter of using it on the Grand Dragons, then eating them after. This obviously requires Quina to get 2 turns during the battle, which requires a bit of luck. But if you save the game just before you fight the Grand Dragon, you can keep trying until you succeed. You can get the characters to level 40+ in less than half an hour.

Exploration to me first started upon leaving the Evil Forest... You can walk along the mountain walls to get to one of the gates that has the lady selling items (plus a treasure chest), it's a small thing but helps if you're a completionist for the S rank treasure hunter, or to see some additional dialogue for the character. Either way, I really liked how FF9's world map always rewarded exploration throughout the whole game, the chocobo sidequest always gives items that only can be found in the next town over or more, so you can get spells like Flare, Holy or Curaga even before Oeilvert in Disc 3. Grand Dragon strat isn't very optimal for a high stats game though since it requires levelling while equipping higher leveled gear.

This was a strangely beautiful video, reminds me of my passion for ff8 playthroughs and me feel good inside thank you can you do more ff videos like this?

the new Pokémon looks lit my guy

Ahhh i knew you're man of culture phillip. Have you done mognet quest? Did it in my 4th playthrough and just mognet quest and chocobo paradise is a thing. Blew my mind that i've finished a game 4 times and still something this big is hidden from me

You can also grind out dragon kills for Freya on disc 1 in a few spots. You can't get Dragon Crest until quite a bit later, but it's always been fun to grind out some dragons and frog catching on disc 1.

Cool video

I had the same feelings. Grinding all the little details on play through until slaying the dragon and realize that the game was practically in my hands at that point. Then you got the floating orb to deal with.

My favorite FF game. Even still today and even more than 7, which is maybe my second favorite.