Final Fantasy's Most Evil Side Quest 

and then after this game they made you dodge lightning 200 times in a row to get another ultimate weapon, the developers are psychos

Most evil thing is that it forces you to skip on experiencing such a beautiful game.

Really feels like someone at Square Enix is obsessed with putting in items that you'll only find by following a guide.

I have one word that describes what happened to the sword. Gilgamesh.

Got it , thank you GameShark.

the biggest challenge without tricks in FF9 is the goddam jumprope. to this day, I've never obtained the card won from those damn children.

Steiner is so powerful by this point in the game that I never even stressed not getting the Excalibur2 legit lol

Aww, the note is a message from Enkidu to Gilgamesh, that's nice.

only just noticing on this day in 2024 that the excalibur ii is a moonlight greatsword

I never saw the point of getting this sword. You would rush through the game with no enjoyment to get one weapon that you would only be able to use for a few fights before the game ended.

After all these years,FF9 still amazed me with how beautiful the background was rendered,miss those kind of stuff

A quick note: about the text you read when finding Excalibur II, it is signed by Enkido. In other games named Enkidu, it is always the companion of Gilgamesh, which in almost every instance of the game is an epic sword wielder and collector, showing up epic swords from the franchise usually. In FF IX Gilgamesh is a character which name you discover when getting a bunch of secrets done (getting all chocographs, defeating ozma, etc) because he is a tier S adventurer and won't tell you his name until you earn his respect in the matter. So it makes sense that his "bro" found a sword for him and is again another wink to the whole franchise with just a little block of text. It is romantic and beautiful while at the same time horribly painful to get the damned thingy.

Cries in PAL

The worst part is finishing it like that feels really bad. When you kill the hardest enemy for the best weapon it's ok but what's the point? When you skip most of the game to get it just feels bad.

I remember reading about Excalibur II in a "Tricks, Codes and Cheats" book as a young teen. I genuinely took it as one of those "Mew under the truck" stories and moved on, only to several years later, learn that it was indeed, real.

nearly finishing ff9 in 12 hours is crazyyyy

FF9 is my favorite game since the PS1 days and not even once I felt like doing this side quest, I just can't imagine rushing this game like that. And this weapon doesn't even have much value since by this point in the game you can easily make steiner hit 9999 damage every turn

Missing it by a few minutes 💀my heart goes out to you bro

It seems like it's there to help speed runners beat the last bosses. Would be nice to get it, finish the game, and start a 'New Game+' mode where Stiener already has Excalibur 2.

I remember as a kid just letting the playtime timer hit 99 hours than it resets the playtime and you can fight hades

Between this and the 18 hour FFXI boss fight, there was obviously someone at Square that was a spite filled homebody. Not even Yoko Taro would do something as heinous as this challenge.

as someone who dabbles in writing, it always makes me happy to see when creators are able to rope themes into the mechanics of their medium. here, ffix's story is largely one of purpose and turning over granted perspective to find value. this questline is an example of this in practice. you, the player, are granted the perspective of "gamer" or "player" so of course the usual course of action is to treat the game as a game and try to achieve everything you possibly can. but as we see throughout the game's story, it is becoming aware of initial framing and stepping outside that that gives purpose. by locking into the "gaming" aspect of the game to obtain excalibur 2, you effectively lose all meaning of playing the game in the first place, necessarily needing to skim through the story and any honest understanding of the creative piece in front of you. also, at the point in the game you can obtain it, steiner is already maxing out, making the weapon itself redundant. you have effectively wasted your time by not taking a step back to realize what you are missing. as another note, if you divide the sword's attack power by the hours you are allotted to obtain the weapon, you get nine. 108 / 12 = 9. FF9

I thought it was going to be that undiscovered-for-13-years sidequest where you have to go from the final dungeon back to Lindblum a zillion times for a bunch of short cutscenes.

That and the jump rope questa were the most diabolic quests ever!!

This has been my favorite game for over 20 years, I've played it dozens of times....and yet I still have never done the excalibur 2 quest, it's on my bucket list.

When I realized I would have to speed run to get it, I just turned on the gameshark and cheated it into inventory.

You do have to remember, about FF9: It was meant to be a 'Genuinely Hard' Final Fantasy game, they felt FF7 and FF8 were 'too easy', so they went back to the older-school difficulty of the game as a whole.

Only learned years later that the clock resets to 0 after 100 hours or so So never needed to do all that rushing to get it in the first place

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1">0:01</a> WAIT! This is the Moonlight Sword! …you were all along at my side, my guiding moonlight! 🌕

This along with the chocobo balloon minigame in FFX is one of my most hated ultimate weapon quests.

Just listening to the soundtrack of this was magic, thank you man

No... no... dodging 200 lightning strikes in a row while counting in your head is way worse.

The jump rope challenge is the most difficult trophy to obtain in Final Fantasy 9. It’s the only trophy keeping me from getting platinum for the game

I’ve never considered getting it cause it would mean rushing through my favorite FF game and missing lots of other things. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="126">2:06</a>, I discovered that FMV skipping trick with opening the disc port as a kid not for speed purposes, but because certain FMVS would get stuck cause the discs had so many scratches on it.

This should be put in resume as an achievement, for the amount of work and dedication needed to get that.

I got it in under 9 hours. My tactic was to forge the coral ring on disc 1 and to get a bunch of phoenix dawns and to get to this plateu and fight this dragon thing (i think on early disc 2) that was about dozens of levels higher than my group. after fighting a few of them and jump leveling to level 40 or 50 i rushed to the end and got the sword.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="422">7:02</a> "Gun-Damn" Lmfao

I made the attempt for it a few times back on the PS1. I remember replaying FF9 a few dozen times in succession and remember getting my play time down to a respectable 20 hours average doing EVERYTHING. When I found out about the Excalibur II I tried it without worrying about missing stuff, and got it with time to spare, but my second run grabbing all the miss-able stuff I do recall missing it by at least an hour maybe hour and a half.

You know it’s gonna be hardcore when the guide sites have ASCII art.

I remember using my good ol PS Hacker and get every single piece of equipment without any efforts 😂😂

One of the funniest things I found about it is that it requires an inordinate amount of effort to obtain the Excalibur II, and you need to sacrifice the unique Hammer for the Tin Armor, to give Steiner the best weapon and armor in the game, but he's the worst character in the game. He's great for attacking, but he can't heal, he can't cure status effects, he can't revive characters, he can't cast protection on the party, he can't recover MP, he doesn't have AOE. He's the worst character that requires the greatest sacrifices to get his best gear.

If you follow the speed run route it's pretty easy to get the sword within the time limit.

I didn't know it even existed. I was more invested in the story.

"It may be the hardest weapon to get in any final fantasy" I will never deny this weapon being VERY difficult to get. I would only counter with Mythic weapons from FFXI..

Good thing FFIX PC (Steam) edition, PS4, Xbox One, and Android version have "Fast Forward" and "No Encounter" button, makes casual player easily can obtain Excalibur II. Imagine in the original PS1, you can't skip the cutscene (except FMV by opening - closing PS1 disc tray), some dialogue cannot be skipped by mashing (X) button, even the most experienced player are lucky if they get to Memoria in 11 hours 35 minutes, and you still have fight so many random battles and boss like Maliris, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich before you enter "Excalibur II Room" Some people literally let their PS1 on for months just simply because they want the timer to reset towards "<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="0">00:00</a>" before going to Memoria to obtain Excalibur II

Get Excalibur II in 12 hours or spend 60 hours getting Thievery to 9999 damage?

This is just a side quest. Imagine if you have to go this process to see the true ending (just like Drakengard 1 and 3)

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="278">4:38</a> I just love that the note is from "Enkido," clearly a reference to Enkidu, the best friend and companion to Gilgamesh in "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The name "Gilgamesh" is used frequently in Final Fantasy games, and even here this Enkido fellow starts his letter off with "To Brother Gil." (Gil being short for Gilgamesh.)

Don’t feel bad, I also tried and failed 😂

I remember ff10 having some bs quests for their ultimate weapons. Titus’s Chocobo quest can go to hell. Had a friend talk me into doing it for him back in the day. Haven’t played ff10 since.

The frog side quest is so frustrating too! The rope jump is worse. This game has nightmarish shit that not so many know about. The challenges make Souls games look so easy.

Keep in mind that stuff like the Excalibur 2 were included in these games because the game companies wanted to double dip players by selling them guides.

If I had a nickel for every Playstation JRPGs with extra content hidden under a time limit, I would have 2 nickels.

Haha Isn't it funny that I'm immediately like: "I need to get an FF9 rom and acquire the Excalibur II!!!" but then I was like: "Wait ... no I don't. I never even finished FF9. Maybe I should do that first"

Why is this game so abso-fuckin-lutely beautiful? Like, it's probably the closest game Id consider to be magical through and through. It had an intangible air to it that I can't describe. Id imagine a large part is the music which is absolutely his best

Those side quests are the stuff that brings communitys together in search of it. At least it used to do that. These days people would probably just cry about "I payed for the game so the game shouldnt block content from me" instead of embracing the challenge

Too addicted to the card game. Too in love with the story and characters. Can't bear to steam roll over it.

I'd put the Zodiac Spear on par with the Excalibur II in terms of difficulty acquiring them.

I learned about Excalibur II after I already completed FFIX 2 times on my PS (EU Version). After that I wanted it, no matter what! It took me more than 6 month, with at least 1-2 try every week. Every try I started the game and played every time to the point of Ex II even if I was over the time, just to imprint the route into my brain. But I got it, and I still have the memory card with the sword on it! It still, after so many years, feels so good to have accomplished this. *Proud gamer moment*

As much as I'm tempted to try and get this sword, the effort to do so surmount to very little, since by the time you get it, you're pretty much at the end game. After getting the sword, there are seven more screens to get through, at least three have no random encounters at all. In the final screen, you'll have a chat with Kuja before the final boss rush of Deathguise, Trance Kuja and, finally, Necron. To me, it seems like a lot of hardworking to get a sword that you'll hardly end up using.

I'd say this side quest is absolutely genius and more games should have something like it. The sword strikes the perfect balance of being legendary so that it is a great reward in a speedrun and encourages people to try a speedrun but being redundant enough that you won't feel bad about missing out on it if you decide to do a thorough play of the game as you can get the abilities of excalibur 2 from other equipment and the quad 9 damage from spending time gaining exp.

I just love they did something this mad in a video game

I did it, and with a perfect game run, level 3 or so (there is only one phase of the game where you are force to gain experience) and with all missable items. It was exhausting, and I finish it only because of emulator and quick saves. You need bascally a crazy amount of luck on certain part the game, like an almost no encounter dungeon or to land multiple times the Stop magic in order to not gain any experience (low pourcentage even for one, so imagine for 2 or 3 in a row ...). I used the GameShark guide you showed in your video, it's very complet, and I even gain a time since I wasn't force to use in game save (but rather the emulator ones).

I will never think about the chocobo race in ffX as an accomplishment ever again.... thanks for that.

I got the Excalibur II back in 2002 on original NTSC hardware. Using a gameshark lol Honestly, every time I've tried (probably made 2-3 attempts), I feel too bad for blazing through all the dialogue, cutscenes, etc. and give up around Disc 2. I usually just start over and play through normally, I just love FFIX too damn much to rush through it!!

I made a few attempts for Excalibur 2 back on the PS1 version and never managed it. Playing on the PS4 with all the enchantments make this so easy. Now if only the jump rope game could be made easier i could get my platinum trophy.

"Leave the game running for 2 years" and then blackout happens on the last second or so. Pain.

I love the heavenly power of mods who allows to just reset (or freeze) the game's clock... Such a wonderful invention :)

Despite be so merciless, it is somehow a trophy for someone who managed to pull off a speedrun, the fact that someone thought in something like that in 2000 and for PS1 is kinda cool.

You acquire the weapon at a point when there’s practically no worthwhile content left to use it. This makes the whole saga to obtain it feel unsatisfactory. If it could be carried over to a new game plus, this challenge would make more sense. Regardless, FF9 is incredible. The game’s soundtracks chosen for this video remind me of moments spent with my parents and grandparents in the bedroom and living room from my 2001 old house.

As a kid on PS1 I managed to get it over the summer of 2001. Took several runs, can't say for sure how many. A few years ago on Steam I managed to do it again. Mostly for the achievement. All that said, the *true* most evil side quest is 1,000 jump rope jumps. I've done it on both PS1 back in the day and as an adult and I can tell you one thing for a fact: I will never do that again.

I’ve played this game a few times and I’ve only ever done slow runs, when I play this I love to just take my time and enjoy every moment.

I wonder how fast my pc could emulate the game to speed up that game 2 and a half year wait

Not only have I gotten it, I've done it in the fastest recorded time in history with the original disc version of the game at just over 7 hours and 35 minutes - without skipping FMVs. Speedrunning challenges certainly aren't for everyone, but for some of us, it can be everything. I started speedrunning the game purely out of wanting to finally beat the ultimate challenge in my favorite game of all time, which resulted in falling in love with a new way to play.

old RPG games (especially JRPG) often hide these kind of secrets which you won't be able to access with your first (or even many) playthrough. This add some good favors to the games, cause you know, you don't actually need this sword to finish the game. It's just an ultra challenge for die hard players.

This is not only the worst side quest in video game history because of the time limit, but it forces you to skip pretty much all of the other optional content in the game so that you can get there in time, as well as rushing through the scenes. And the worst part of this is there was no gameshark or codebreaker code to get around this time limit, because it was separate from the in-game timer. It ran concurrent to the timer, but it was a separate clock that was hard coded into the game and couldn't be sharked out. Once that door locked, you could never get into it. People constantly claimed there was, but I'll tell you right now that any code that claimed to keep that door open was fake. Why do I get the feeling that this sidequest inspired Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter?

Shout out to games that give you the ultimate weapon when you're good enough to not need it!!!!111!!1!

they better change this for the remake

FF9 is my favourite FF game and one of my favourites ever. I dont think I could push myself to rush through such an amazing experience. ❤

No challenge will ever be as evil as jump rope. I still get flashbacks.

I'd still rather replay FF9 to get the Excalibur II than sit their trying to dodge 200 lighting strikes over and over to upgrade Lulu's Onion Knight

I did this back in the day on the PS1. It's tough, but a fun challenge. Took 5 attempts iirc, and when I got it, I want to say I had like 3 minutes to spare. Also, for everyone saying this sort of run "ruins" FF9 because you skip over most of the game, I disagree. No one is going to be able to get the Excalibur II on their first playthrough unless they're following a guide.

Very interesting i remember my old friends from bk in the day mumbling smth about this sword though personally i never paid much attention FF9 also had those pumice pieces that were easy to miss...as for any other ff game with hard to obtain weps dont forget ff12 with the zodiac if i recall correctly and ff7 with the weapons ff8 had the omega weapon also hard to beat and ff10 the magus sisters if i recall correctly and pennance also its been a helluva time since i touched any of these games and still here i am recalling these names in split secs....what an era what games these games sure were making an impact in our lives bk then!

I actually tried to run out the clock, I got to red numbers at 58 hours before my playstation, memory cards and the game itself was stolen, alongside nearly 50 other games for Playstation, SNES and the N64, tens of thousands of dollars worth of magic cards, all my RIFTS sourcebooks, and a bunch of AD&D books and other stuff.

I thought the quest would have narrative relevance and the evil was in-universe, not something masochists do once they've already experienced the game, lol. But I mean, the Gilgamesh easter egg is a cute addition for the trouble, I consider it more valuable than the actual sword.

This challenge had been in the back of my mind since I was a kid. During covid I took on the grind and it's now my biggest gaming achievement. For anyone thinking about doing it, give it a try, learning all the details of the game made me appreciate it even more

I play the original PAL version FFIX in my PlayStation, I've finished the game about 5 times, last 3 times with almost everything 100% completed, but there's 2 things I've never done: getting all of the 100 cards of Tetramaster, and getting the Excalibur II. I don't know which one of those sidequests is crazier to complete. The closest I've been of getting all the cards is 97, and I've never even attempted to get the Excalibur, I just love the animations and the dialogues too much to skip them

At least it doesn't make you dodge 200 lightning bolts in a row.

This one is indeed crazy, but I'd say the Seitengrat from FF12 is the most insane one, getting that weapon without exploits is pretty much impossible.

Chicken lady in Gongaga: Hold my Pippily

One important thing to factor in is that the random encounter rate was lowered on the Steam version of the game, making this challenge a lot more bearable. Though I assume a lot of people just turn off the encounters altogether when they do the challenge.

Thank you for saying P A L instead of "PAL." I thought I was the only one.

Well, I've completed thie Excalibur II sidequest twice in my life, going for a perfect game with combined stats. That's basically the hardest challenge you can get in FF9. The challenge is not for everyone. You must be patient and a hardcore perfeccionist. If you are both, then you will problably have lots of fun. It requires some skill, specially when it comes to menuing, and practice, but not so much. What you REALLY need is LUCK. Pretty much EVERYTHING in FF9 is RNG dependent, in particular battles. The first moves an enemy/boss uses against you are decided at the beggining of the battle. That means that no matter what you do, there's no way to manipulate the enemy's actions. If you manage to get a good RNG, you may have a chance to beat the enemy/boss and go on. If not, just forget and try again. Most battles are decided with a 10% chance petrification or stop, some places in the game require GODLY RNG, though. Against Arc, for example, you must steal Holy Lance and pretty much hope that the boss does not attack you for four turns. Red Dragon's twistters are insta kiils, same for most Meltigemini's attacks. Against Kraken in Memoria, any counterattack (50% chance each) is game over. Nevertheless, the strategies are pretty refined and work, IF AND ONLY IF you are lucky to obtain the appropriate winning scenario thanks to a good RNG. You don't need to get the 1000 rope jumps within the time limit, BUT you must complete some other sidequests along the way, like Hippaul's races and the ENTIRE Chocobo Hot and Cold minigame. Getting good times in Chocobo's Sky is insanely difficult, btw. Oh I read many comments here saying that the Excalibur II sidequest kills the gaming experience. I think exactly the opposite. It adds many layers to the replay factor for me, because it motivates me to be better and beat my own times again and again. Remember, guys, this is a pro challenge, that is meant to be done by hardcore players that have already beaten the game at least once.

Don't think I'll ever even try for Excalibur II but now I feel like enjoying another FF9 playthrough; it's been too long. Thanks

Tip for anybody who would attempt a run on an original ps1. Do NOT skip the curscenes via opening the lid. Yes it does skip the FMV, but it also can mess with the internal clock, wich can go up by several HOURS via bugs caused by opening the lid. You can try using a PS2 by enabling the "fast load" option to gain a bit of time.

FFIX perfect save: *Excalibur 2. *Get all missable items. *No level up. *Ozma down.

I never even tried, and I've been playing this game since I was a little kid. I would've if you had to obtain the sword in, say, 25 hours, or maybe even 20. Even then, after a single failed attempt, I probably wouldn't have tried again lol. I simply am not fond of the idea of mashing through all the text, skipping the cutscenes, or leaving the sidequests unfulfilled. Whenever I replay FF9 - every couple of years or so, with the latest revisit back in winter 2022 - I play it for the story, the characters, the music, and just everything about the game that makes it not only the best FF, but one of the best experiences gaming can offer. It was my number one favorite game until Metal Gear Solid 1 dethroned it when I was a teenager, but it's still up there to this day.

I've just found your channel. Your FF9 videos are amazing. Please more. I love that game!

I wouldn’t call it “evil” as much as “most unfun”…it is what you said an Excalibur 2 play through. I did it once and I had zero fun playing it. It’s honestly, and at the time didn’t seem as hard it seemed. But what’s the point? It doesn’t have any exclusive abilities, you can’t get otherwise. The “always 9,999” isn’t as big a deal as it sounds…especially by that point because then it’s just a speed run with one character bumped to be a glass canon. Edit: now trying to beat Ozma on a “speed run” and fighting him as soon as humanly possible…that is impossible. Or would require crazy luck he doesn’t use doomsday even ONCE! But with such weak attack stats…that would almost require a glitch to avoid a 99% instant death. I don’t get people that didn’t play the classic FF Games (all through X) and focus on 100% maxing out at least 3 characters if not 4. We all know that each game had “that” completely useless character…I’m looking at you Selphie, Cait Sith (they’re very similar), Amarant, Kimari, 40% of FF6 characters, and any blue mage type character in the others. Class-wise: knights, white/black mages, thieves (yes), and samurai’s have been almost completely hit. In Tactics this for sure applies…until all the work grinding is mostly for nothing when you get OP characters like Beowulf, Orlandu, and Agrias (lesser so). Honestly GameShark made that game so fun on replays after you’d spent 2-3 games completely maxing out every level/job for 4 characters and ramza and obtained all the hidden weapons. Once very last thing…who’s idea was it to make Cloud AWFUL as a character despite him being the one guest character that should have been OP…don’t get me started on the “materia blade”, which just gives him interesting/cool looking attacks that don’t do ish even at lvl 99.

This is already in guides everywhere but if you buy the steam version of ff9, there is a speed up option. It speeds up cutscenes, battles, conversations, almost everything. Everything except the timer, which remains stuck on real world time. You can essentially warp through the game at x3 speed and if you know a little about the game layout you can just run to everywhere you need to be. I ended up getting to Excalibur 2 with THREE HOURS to spare.