DID GARLAND'S PLAN SUCCEED? | Final Fantasy IX PS4 celebration story THEORY & LORE dive! 

16:45 The Black Mages are made from the Mist, which is actually the expelled Souls of Gaia, so if anything the black Mages are reincarnated Gaians in artificial bodies.

And this is why FFIX is one of the best ff of them all, it's a shame that not as many people got it. It's such an underrated game 😔

I somehow always just assumed this is what happened at the end. There is a pretty obvious symbolic scene all the way at the end of the credits, where we see the shot of Zidane and Garnet hugging from the end cutscene and then (featuring their respective planets fading in in their place) Gaia and Terra merging to form a new crystal (notably, the shape of the first crystal which Kuja tried to destroy). I always thought that was supposed to be exactly this: Garnet and Zidane symbolizing the succesfull and peaceful integration of Terras life into Gaia.

Such a damn beautiful game. Everything about FF9 is amazing. Plot, visuals, game play, music. Truly a culmination of Square's skill in making RPGs. Fantastic theory too. Really makes me want to play it again. Gg Pez.

Well, FFIX was supposed to be highly symbolic and allegorical from the start, it was Square's send-off to the previous generation of JRPG gaming. That was the entire inspiration behind the game, that they were bidding farewell to the previous generation of gaming and welcoming in the great changes that were about to occur in the industry in response to the higher spec systems coming out on the market. This being the case, any theory about FFIX should keep this allegory of the older FF games and JRPGs of PSX era and earlier contrasted against the newer FF games and JRPGs of the PS2 era and later in mind. This is not to say that other themes can't be there too, but the shadow of that allegorical meaning will always be a 2nd or 3rd meaning to every case of symbolism or allegory that you might find in the game. In this case, the whole aspect of assimilation and the merging of the 2 world's souls I think is likely the most significant among those allegorical meanings. As to whether or not this assimilation has succeeded, well, that question may have been left vague on purpose. Whether or not the Terran souls assimilated successfully into the new world, or if they were crushed and destroyed. Well, let me ask you, do you think the soul of the older final fantasy games still lives in the newer games we have seen coming out of Square Enix? However you answer that question is going to be the same as the answer to the in-world case of FFIX. (and holy crap, this begs the question as to whether or not the FF staff knew the merger with Enix was going to be a thing back when they made FFIX.)

At the end of FF9 when Zidane goes down into the tentacle monster Iifa tree (when he's going to rescue Kuja), he falls and while he's falling you can see a huge group of what looks like petrified humans holding weapons and whatnot, like a huge terracotta army inside the tree. That's one thing I really want to know the story for.

I'll just say that the concept of Kingdom Hearts nobodies started hear

If they ever make a sequel of FF9 please make Alexander a functional summon/eidolon!

My personal interpretation (head-canon) of what Terra represents is that of a civilization that became so advanced they all achieved immortality, and along with it, overpopulation. Overpopulation is actually BS myth IRL, but following the themes of the game, their crime was that they are willing to do anything it takes to live forever. And if everyone is literally immortal, then overpopulation might actually start being a thing. The Red crystal of Terra is the heart of the planet, which creates new souls and recycles old ones into new life. The problem was, since nobody on Terra would die, the crystal was forced to create new souls for every new Terran that was born. Eventually the planet became so strained and exhausted, that the planet was actually dying. Trees and plants began to decay, which made food and resources scarce (it was specifically mentioned in the game that flora and fauna had died and Garland was trying to preserve it). Everthing was going to hell for the Terran's fast, untill they found a solution. They all clinged to life so desperately they searched for other planets and absorbed their life force like parasites to save their own planet and their way of life. This saved them for a few thousand years, until it started getting increasingly difficult to find planets to absorb. They needed planets with strong crystals, but weaker than their own. When they found Gaia, it had an unusually strong crystal, and it was already populated by some primitive civilizations. But they where running out of time, so they made a gamble. And like we see in the game, the results where cataclysmic. Gaia's surface was scorched (some Gaians survived by hiding inside Fossil/Gargan Roo) and Terra was stuck in a inbetween half-way dimension. The game says this happened 5000 years ago, but I think 50 000 would have been more fitting. It seemed like they were fucked, plantlife was already mostly gone and it was to late to find another planet now. If they didn't find a new solution chaos would break out and they would destroy eachother before they ran out of food. Fortunately, there was still some hope. They created the artificial lifeform Garland, and every single Terran went into stasis sleep for a few thousand years. Garland couldn't finish the assimilation quick enough so all the Terran bodies died in stasis anyway. But their souls could still be transfered into new bodies, which is why he created the genomes. The rest, we know. Terra was for me basically like our planet (first time I played it, I literally thought it was our Earth in the future), some billion people trying to live forever. Pretty tragic.

Am I the only one who renamed Garnet as Garnet instead of Dagger? lol

how funny that garnet's true name is sarah and her real mother is jane.... much reference to the original

9:52 Oh my god! That's mine! I'm so pleased you would use it, thank you!!

You almost sent me over the edge when you said Vivi was a crap character 😂

Pez! It's called Iifa Tree, not Lifa. I had it wrong too for over 13 years! XD

Umm.. Blue is Gaia, Terra is red. The genomes finds the blue unpleasant. And they said that they will get a soul when the Gaia's blue light turn into Terra's red. Terra looked blue because it's inside Gaia. Kinda like being inside someone's blood vessel makes you surrounded by dark red. And pretty sure the whole plan was to keep Gaian souls from going back to the crystal, weakening it, let it be assimilated by Terra red crystal, and then recycle Terran souls back unto neo-terra/former-gaia surface as living beings (filled-up Genomes). When Genome/Terrans die, the red crystal that ate up Gaia blue crystal recycles the soul like normal. Who knows what would happen to mist-ified Gaian souls then. Probably stay as mist. Probably get sucked into the nothing like the Terrans feared. So... Gaia's crystal is still blue, still processing Gaian souls instead of Terran, and majority of Terran souls got wiped. I'd say plan failed.

Little trick to pronounce "Oeilvert" : uh - ee - v - air It means "green eye"

Im absolutely flabbergasted that it's iifa tree not lifa tree! :O my whole life has been a lie... I don't even know lmao. This entire time I thought it was an L

I like this theory. That the evil of Garland was because he got desperate. His goal wasn't wrong. He just felt the crushing weight of his duty and it made him feel he had to do whatever he could to achieve that goal. It was, after all, what he was made for. He owed his creators all he was for both his life and chance to experience the wonders that it was filled with. To return their trust with his loyalty. And maybe he still succeeded. Just not in the way he intended.

I think this all hinges on whether or not there's still mist at the end of the game. If there is, we can safely say the soul divider is still active and is still spitting out Gaian souls. If not, then the Gaian souls and the Terran souls that survived (were already in the system) before Kuja done blowed it all up, would integrate and live on normally. Over time, i believe, that both moons, supposing they're represntative of their respective planets' crystals, will either both turn blue, as Gaia's souls' influence converts Terran souls, or both turn a sort of purple color, reconciling both Gaian and Terran souls into New Gaian souls. A new identity for the planet born from the fusion of the two planets.

This video made me think about FF9 in a new way. Nicely done.

I never really felt like Garland was a bad guy when i played a few weeks ago. He just went about things maybe not in the best way, at least IMO. And i assumed his plan succeeded, just didn't really feel like it was a bad thing. Also just saying, Zidane wouldn't become king by marrying Garnet. The highest title he could get is like Duke or Lord or something since he only married into royalty.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic. " Lets be honest, Final Fantasy has some sci fi undertones in many if the games, mostly 7 and 8. And Terra is a perfect example of a high end type 1 civilization, which is a planetary civilization that has complete control of the energy of the planet. Garland can move planets with ease, I like Zidane more, I don't think he is wrong, but I find it doubtful that when Zidane defeated Garland, Garland was like. "Oh no, I have been defeated, they will destroy the lifa tree, it is not like I had more then 3000 years to plan something else that could keep my planet alive! That would be ridiculous to have a contingency plan. By the way, love this video.

Watching this at work without audio is driving me insane. I can just imagine all the juicy theories... but all I'm getting is a fancy ffix slide show 😂

Years later... I am on a nostalgia trip and replayed this game. It is something truly unforgettable. And you do notice or think about different details of the game each time you play it. Which brings me to your theory video. Since this is relatively old, I'm not sure if you have the same structure. But I really enjoy it and was completely engaged. I can only imagine how much you have improved and added to your videos in five years. The first thing I notice is something you cannot easily fake or hide, and that is your enthusiasm. It's contagious through the video. I felt as if I was talking to a friend I never knew who just couldn't keep their creativity to themselves and wanted me to share in their hype. You aren't like a lot of other theory videos who seem to really want to convince you and use every small point to support their claims. At the end of those videos I feel like they are asking for validation (Don't we all want that though?). In contrast, you shared counter arguments and other possibilities with equal enthusiasm. Just sharing the thought process and taking us for a little ride in your mind space. At the end, I didn't feel as if the destination was important, whether you're theories were supported, I enjoyed the journey with you and felt encouraged to think about how specifically Garland's plan worked. So thankyou.

Isn't the mist that covers the world at the end of the game because of the terran souls released from pandemonium?

I just realised something. Garland puts so much emphasis on kuja learning trance, while trance isn't a commonplace thing in the lore of Gaia, but all of the characters that join you are capable of trance after growing up on gaia. What if trance is something only terran souls can do. If its been going on for thousands of years, only makes sense that some of the people born have a terran soul. Maybe the characters that join you and are capable of trance are all holders of terran souls? Maybe that is why vivi has a will of his own in the first place, too.

Since FF9 was a throwback to FF1, had the heroes been pushed back in time and ended up at the start of FF1 fighting Garland again and FF1 is a endless loop paradox.

This vid makes me go back and play ff9 again

Awesome. This has got to be one of my favorite videos that you have done, I LOVE these theory and lore dive videos keep it up man!!!!!!!

I thought the blue moon was Gaia's and the red Terra's. Gaia's crystal is blue and Terra's is red. Bran Bal was just blue-themed and projected Gaia's color so that the Genomes could adapt to Gaia's glow. Great video though! I love listening to analyses and theories for my favorite things-- and FFIX is definitely my FAVORITE thing.

Best FF9 lore video ever! Good job pez :)

Remake / Sequel for FFIX would be so damn awesome! D: Great choice of music as well, really enjoying and intresting theory.

The theme of making your own soul and choosing humanity is consistent with the themes at the end of FFVI when Terra like believes herself human because love or whatever.

Huh, my top three final fantasy games: IX: all about death Type-0: all about death (especially if you read the ice reaper manga) X: All about death. Hmmm... I think there is a pattern here.

You got it backwards. Terra is red. Gaia is blue. The Terrans are trying to turn Gaia red, at which point it will be Terra. The reason it's blue now is because Gaia still has the greater influence. The red moon at the end is Terra's, also clear from the fact that it's smaller than the blue moon.

Fantastic deep dive into my favorite game. I️ can’t wait to replay it with your thoughts in mind. Thank you!

13:26 "Fear leads to anger... anger leads to hate... hate leads to suffering..." Me: (-_-).... Yoda, is that you?

I have missed FFIX! This is a great theory Pez :D Great job!

What are the statues in the scene as Zidane wants to rescue Kuja? I am wondering for years!

What song is that in the intro Pez does anyone know

This is amazing analysis. And very entertaining. Great content.

What a great ff9 analysis video.

FF9 is the only perfect game... this game easily became who I am as a person. Every time I hear that FF9 could actually be remade or have a sequel I see it as a new beginning of my own life, that even if things are terrible in the present, it all will be better in the future. The whole plot of Zidane being given a soul by someone else (others trying to bestow a 'purpose and meaning' or 'destiny' onto you) can easily be taken from you. That the path given is not the way to go. But from that path you will meet others who are also trying to find out who they are themselves... and its these people that we find who we really are. Zidane could have easily been another Kuja, who is a what if of Zidane that fulfilled his given purpose and had it backfire in his face. The final scene of Zidane going back to save Kuja was him accepting his other side and truly letting go of what he could of been for who he chose to be... and that is what is beautiful in it all. Vivi gaining confidence and strength from his experiences simulates being new in a harsh world, but not everything is evil. Vivi being the strongest character in the game mechanically gives more fuel to his overarching plot of inner strength. He could easily destroy all that is around him and that scares him. But because he was given help from the rest of the crew he learned virtues of good and with his power he helped. Him creating his own soul is from this and what makes him so lovable. Steiner learning that duty is not steadfast and ridged but what you morally find a good. There is no right answer to a conflict and if you focus too much on your duty who fail to do your job. You shouldn't let what other think get in the way of what is right. Garnet's journey from the adventurous girl seeing her country to becoming the strong leader was such a well drawn arc to a character that it says everything. Freya seeing her whole race be almost genocide and losing her love is true lost, and her recovery of this in accepting what happened to find meaning in the death is empowering. There is so much more, how the use delicacy in handling the themes of death and rebirth, lost and recovery, happiness and depression... it really handles all of these very strong themes so well that the ending finishing off all of these character's stories on so many levels, tugging and pulling on so many different emotions, that it just brings me to tears. FF10 tried to replicate this but failed (although they did nail world building) and since then I don't think they ever have been able to perfect more than 9... Cloud get out of here, your overrated more than Goku and Batman. TIme for Vivi to take your place, the true face of what it means... to be human.

love your vids man!

I was instantly enraged when you dug in on Vivi lmao well played sir you got me

I can finally watch this video!!! Finished the game at the end of last year. ;3 Thanks for helping me understand this game a little bit better.

I would love an FF9 sequel where you play the next generation of characters (a la 4) where the main threat are the Terran possessed Genomes led by a corrupted Mokoto.

I've never understood the concept of Mist hardening hearts. I understand that the Mist creates monsters which leads to death, and to escape these monsters people fight amongst themselves for higher ground. This was all eventually resolved when Mist airships came about. But I don't get how the Mist itself seeps into hearts and causes them to start conflicts. Could this just be like how the stagnant souls of Gaia creates monsters--the influence of the souls causes the people to "mutate" just like the monsters?

It was just a few weeks ago I asked for a Necron-video, the timing!

Where can I find that art of Zidane, garnet, and Necron?

That quote at 14:12 is straight outta the ending passage of "the sirens of titan" by Kurt Vonnegut

I just barely am only now finishing this game for the first time and I really am digging the entire discussion of what makes a person a real person. Is it memories, is it a past, is it the ability to see the world like others, and man, this theory was great to hear!

At first Garland's plan was to discard Gaian's souls and replace them by the Terran's ones (and that's enough reason to have a magic nuclear ship). But in the end the soul stream was normalized and all the souls returned there. No more mist, no more stagnating souls. The assimilation went peacefully.

Fucking shit mate... why you gotta make me wanna play IX again? I just started War of the Lions...

may i ask the name of the song at the end?

I would love a FF9 remake or sequel.

Memoria is an undeveloped explanation that Zidane's Terran soul was there when Madain Sari was attacked by the Invincible. The characters can only see the memories that they have experienced, which Zidane openly questions when he can see the memories of the Madain Sari attack that you would only expect Dagger to know about. Garland even openly mocks Zidane for being unable to figure this out on his own, indulging in Zidane's confusion. Zidane was there, attacking Madain Sari forcing Garnett and her mother to flee. Like Necron, Zidane is the end and the beginning.

I know it's an old video but I like to watch these again sometimes, and while I'm at it let me share some quick though, about what you said in your counter argument regarding Black Mage; It always made sense to me that Black Mage being created with Mist => Mist being Gaian souls manifestation => Black Mage doll filled with Gaian souls. So to me the souls used for Black Mages were never made, just transfered, or "reincarnate" you might say ^^ What do you think? About OeilVert, it's french for "Green Eye", the Oe together is called a "Digraph", a very much french-made letter, it's almost non-existent in english (exept in the word Phoenix). The right pronunciation for Oeilvert would be "uhy-v-air", the "uh" part is like when you say "huh huh!" when you nod your head, and don't forget the french R, not the english floating R :p

I don't know if this was already asked but is it possible Terran souls and the trance ability are linked? It would explain why kuja, zidane can use it as well as the main cast.

i thought you were talking about garnet in the beginning and that made me confused when you said the main evil villain in the begging lol

For some reason it makes me think of the galaxy that is colliding with our galaxy right now

who is singing the last song? the voice cover of you are not alone

FF9 was my first final fantasy. I played it over and over for quite a few times. I love it on every level. there was something at the ending that always buged me, that I noticed no one else understood. There was the emotional shock that kuja received upon finding out he was mortal. And there's garland saying to zidane "forget all that, you are meant to live among the stars for all eternity" Zidane is imortal! he didn't survive that fall at the end of the game because "game logic" he survived because he can't die! which leads to the - dagger one day will - and zidane will have to see everyone he loves die, he will out live everyone, and that got me thinking that, a sequel to ff9 would present that zidane won't be happy ever after

If Garland did 'win' then it's a very hollow victory, especially after Kuja went psycho on Terra. It would be like finding out that the whole human race, including all your family and friends, were wiped out but technically some human souls live on in some plants. That is if anything a consolation, certainly not a victory.

Terran's moon was red dude. Biggest flaw in this video. Besides that, I think this is the de facto best theory out there. Yes, the ending is messy and consequentially open to interpretation because it was redone and rushed, but I think that's what makes it the best FF narrative that has been made so far. Flawed, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Garland is also an incredibly complex character who unfortunately was overstuffed with exposition. He actually explains the existence of Necron when he is introduced and just before you fight him. There is also an interesting contrast between him and the Iifa tree/soulcage where soulcage explains that he cannot lie. It being an artificial machine much like Garland, we see can conclude that Garland isn't telling the entire truth. He explains to us what the Terran's designed him to do, but he doesn't make explicit what *his* goals have been. Being that he is an AI he is compelled to carry out the "assimilation of terra and gaia" but decides to do it in a rather albeit convoluted manner he deemed sufficient rather than do it the way the Terrans intended. This seems more concrete in his explanation about memories and the crystal in how one being is actually a part of all memories that existed from the crystal and actually can hold and carry the memories of the world. Meaning, as you say, Zidane alone is all that is needed to carry the entirety of Terra's memories and existence. At one point before you fight Garland, he talks about meeting his counterpart and also the paradoxical nature of life. That in order to live one must take life. He jabs at the Terrans for following this truism but never really understanding what that means. As Garland was created to be a sort of Planetary vampire that kills life in order for Terran life to live, Garland understood that this paradoxical state of being would necessitate a counterpart or antithesis of his existence which is Necron. It's unfortunate that Garland addresses this in like 10 seconds of dialogue, but its there and easy to miss, but it explains Necron's existence as the void's answer to the paradoxical nature of life. Because the Terrans sought to supersede the natural life cycle of their planet's crystal (a balanced cycle between life and death), meant that the universe on a greater scale than planetary crystal cycles needed/must have an answer to the Terran's unnatural existence which was Necron (always a bigger fish theory).

I'm crying I'm so happy you made a ffix vid. 😍

I loved this video, Pez. FFIX is my favourite. Please do more in the future.

「Necron」 is called 「永遠の闇」(Eien no Yami) here in Japan. It means 「Eternal Darkness」. It is called 「Ewiges Dunkel」 in Germany, which also translates to 「Eternal Darkness」. Don't know why it's 「Necron」 in english (only in USA?). But I'm not a native english speaker, so can't tell if it means the same. A recent poll here in Japan had the following result: Elemantary school children (age 6 - 10) were asked what their biggest fear is. #1 Answer (40 %) : To Die

Videos like this, are why I love RU-vid😂💯👏

In all honesty, I do believe in an afterlife

i have 1 thing to add. didnt the terra souls get saved by zidane and live with the black mages now? i think they did resolve the terra souls

Now with strangers of paradise. Watching this again

Now you make me want to play the sequel of FF9 so much(if it ever happened), damn it!!! May i suggest something, you should you text more in the video, somehow like a bullet point in PPT, to summarize and make it easier to follow up. Gonna wait for more!

3:03 Pez, you made the exact same mistake I did for many years. It's not "L"ifa tree. It's actually two i's but the first is capitalized Iifa Tree not Lifa Tree, I suppose it's pronounced "ee-fa" ?

Did kuja survive the Lifa Tree?

FFIX has always been my favorite. Even at the time, when it was called inferior to the prior games (namely 6 and 7, but also 5 and 8), I liked it. I remember saying to someone once that 7 was a deep and dark story, but 9 was a fun romp around the world. The scene where the airship takes off and is escaping but then your boat appears on the horizon and chases it, having to swerve around islands and stuff, is enduring even to this day in my memory. That said, there were a lot of questions I never got answers to. The final boss always seemed kind of tacked on for no reason without explaining anything. A lot of the cryptic words about the memories that Zidane was seeing in Memoria "You'll find out..." well...we never actually found out. Particularly that flooded room that seemed to be in NO ONE'S memory for Zidane to even "share" it. There were a lot of little pieces and parts like that that were never QUITE explained, really. So I kind of think your theory is kind of cool. The first part, in particular - that the two planets merged instead of Terra becoming dominant - I think is an elegant ending. Though I did always wonder what became of the souls in the Mist. Further, Why there was (initially) only Mist on the first continent. They even made it a point to say that there was no Mist on Eiko's continent. Yet there were still monsters (random encounters) there. And Eiko remarks on the Mist that is found at the Iifa tree, too, as I recall. Though I always did wonder why Garnet, on getting the summon there, bemoans it being weak (if I remember right, it's Leviathan - which is one of the most powerful), and how Arc is a ...summon, somehow, even though it appears to be one of the earlier versions of the Invincible that you see in the history lesson. Oh, and how the talking faces mention things like people being chosen and sacrifices being made...but isn't really specific about any of it. ...well, then there's the end of the game where the entire planet is covered in Mist - which, again, isn't ever really explained. So yeah, cool seeing some theory crafting on the game, particularly since most people don't and it has a lot to think/talk/theory about!

Oeilvert is french and is pronounced "wee'y vehr" Like 'oui' , followed by a soft L that sounds to english like the Y in yogurt, followed by the V in vertical, followed by "air". Zidane is pronounced Zih DAHn, just as Zinedine Zidane's name is. Blank is pronounced "Blahnk" Steiner is st'EYE'ner Iifa is pronounced EE fa (like the Irish Aoife, given name) Eiko is pronounced A-ko Quina Quen is pronounced Koo E Nah, KOO en. (distinctly NOT like qu in "quit", because the kana specifically is kuina kuuen, meaning "EAT!", "Cannot eat." in japanese) Vivi Ornitier is pronounced "V V Or nit tier" Madain Sari is Mah "Dine" Sah 'ry Gulug is Gooloog Lindblum is pronounced Lind like Wind, blum like book, not blum like plumb nor blum like plume.

You had me at "Necronphobia" lol

I hope your theory is true! You've provided a good amount of evidence...and regardless, its how I choose to see this game now..

nice to know you don't know your capital I(s) and L(s)

Also, glad you found a new appreciation for ff9, it's my fav!

FFIX is my second favorite in the entire series. I played it at the darkest point to date of my life and I do believe that game saved me from suicide. I love all the FF games but after 7 even though X was also a huge part of my life. Final Fantasy IX has such a quiet but important message hidden within it & so looking back on it? It was almost vital for me to play that game when I did, that I can't imagine never doing so. I found at times every character even Quina & Kuja relatable, the ending was hard to understand, but ironically because I was struggling with real life issues outside the game, those same issues allowed me to better understand what the game was trying to say! I now have the ending song memorized and I sing it occasionally just because. My life has gotten leaps & bounds better and I feel without spoiling much like perhaps Vivi did. Grateful & Thankful.

There is a few FF villains who somehow destroyed the world or left it in ruins, take Kefka and Sephiroth as an example.

I love FF9 but then again, I love them ALL.

15:33 You mixed those up, the blue moon is Gaia’s while the red moon is Terra’s.

This video was very thought provoking.

peasant, have u played the legend of dragoon for ps1? it's a final fantasy like game, and it's just as good as a ff. you definitely should give it a try

15:27 The two moons are actual moons of Gaia. They can be seen in the night sky in a few cutscenes (behind Alexandria castle early in the game when Vivi sneaks in the castle)

Dude best one to date. Ff9 was the first one i beat and it was so deep that its probably why i got into philosophy.

great vid. Thank you. Funny and meta af.

These vids make me wanna play it again.. dammit ;D

When disc 4 starts, the party returns to Gaia and not only is the mist BACK but it now covers the intire planet. Could these be all the souls lost when terra when kaboom??

I immediately refer Garland as the “Evil Space Wizard.”

I have never seen the ending in FF9 as "happy", I've always seen it as a bittersweet ending.

If Zidane does indeed have a Terran soul in him, it is quite ironic that it is a Terran who rebels against Garland and puts a stop to the assimilation.

Pez the invincible was the ship that you could use at the end we do know where it went it's under the control of Zidane and the crew.

Terras crystal is red I'm pretty sure. It's the blue light of gaias crystal that makes its surface blue in the game proper no?

i dont think garlands plan succeeded due to the fact he wanted to make gaia into terra and he tried to merge the 2 before the reason why he went though all this effort was terra was old i mean way old for a planet and gaia was young and he wanted or i sould say the terrens wanted to make terra young again and they did this before with other planets just with gaia they was shorter on time then what they had so this is why garland was made and why he forced the life cycles of gaia to make room for terras souls to farther fool the planets soul into makeing it terra's soul and in the end with everything dead and alot of the souls of terra not fully part of gaia the plan failed but yet terra did not die with the planet and with some of the souls in gaia and goloms to put those souls into something much better came from garlands failed plan 2 planets souls liveing as 1 theres alot more i want to go into but my mind is blown up with all the info lol

This game was the one that first overtly validated my habits of connecting the histories between final fantasy games. It also inverted my view on Garland turning him from a fallen paladin in my mind to an unsung hero. (whom is actually an antihero in disguise as the villain)

Had no idea as a kid! So deep!