Final Fantasy XVI OST - The Riddle - Odin final phase Theme 

That line. That line delivery and the scene framing. Perfection.

I could feel that across the screen.

I don’t know I feel like the helm obscuring his face works well for what his character truly is. Barnabas never had the face of an insane person and his behavior didn’t exhume a sense of insanity at first glance. He was a calm and charismatic individual with a degree of cunning, but as the game progresses cracks in his personality begin to show, and he becomes more unhinged and misanthropic. By the time our protagonist Clive confronts Barnabas, all traces of his original personality disappear revealing beneath that stoic façade lies a psychotic cackling lunatic whose only purpose in life was to act as his master’s willing puppet, and by dawning his helm it not only obscures his face but also obscures his humanity, the humanity that he had forsaken long ago.

He was also the strongest dominant and mastered his Eikon completely, he could've easily killed Clive if he wasn't an Ultima fanatic.

@@Itachiflameamaterasu this 100%, his whole plan was preparing clive for ultima, not really killing him outright. in a way we don't know for sure if this was his max

@@Itachiflameamaterasu He couldn't kill Bahamut or Titan though, so he's not omnipotent.

@@Bahamut998 he dosent want to. He wants Clive to steal their powers

​@@Bahamut998kind reminder that Bahamut cannot scratch Phoenix shield with Teraflare, and Odin nearly cut it in half along with Joshua AND the sea

I just noticed too damn

​@@Riku2005Ultima is *EVERYWHERE*

God’s strongest soldier…

Soken is a god

"im ultima's strongest soldier" barnabas, probably

We need a properly new Dissidia really. Imagine Clive's gameplay with the PSP mechanica. 6 Different HP attacks with different Eikon abilities. That'll be sick af.

​@@afnizaman9Plus we would be able to play as the other Dominants, Joshua, Jill, Cid, Benedikta, Dion etc etc. Maybe even Ultima himself. I hope one day they will release a Dissidia game with the roster mentality of Super Smash Ultimate. "Everyone is here."

​@@georgehouliaras7239Plus Jack Garland lol

@@padnomnidprenon9672 I mean technically he already is lol.

I'd rather he and Ultima form a big bad duumvirate.

There is nothign respectable about Kupka lol.

@@DakonBlackblade2I mean your right Kupka was an ass but the titan fight was an amazing spectacle to see and play through

@@DakonBlackblade2 did you misread spectacle

@@bingus1916 Now that you said it, yes I did. His original post makes much more sence to me now lol.

@@DakonBlackblade2 You're right, nothing is respectable about Kupka. He is just a simp and a spoiled rich kid.

"Show me your worth, Mythos! THAT I MIGHT REVEL IN IT!" Fuckin' chills

@@dominiquesnijders2655 It's rare that a video game's VA work hits such a visceral note. FFVII Rebirth has an audience that has had its expectations raised through the damn roof thanks to XVI.

@@RicochetForce XVI sets the bar almost impossibly high for the next game to meet, and voice acting is no different in that regard.

@@dominiquesnijders2655 Seriously. I still remember even newcomers to FFVII complaining that the dialogue sometimes felt goofy, cartoonish, or stilted and that there was weirdly excessive grunting, etc... In comes FFXVI with a presentation and handling of VA work that answers all those issues. I can absolutely see reviewers docking the game points after comparing it unfavorably to XVI.

​@@RicochetForceSince this game was written in english first japanese second, it doesn't have the typical tropes that japanese writing does which is why it feels so much more natural and not like a simple dub. FF7R Rebirth will most likely be the same quality as the first one.

As final fantasy being my favorite game series. You're absolutely correct.

I agree

It sounds like a dark version of the the FF4 intro theme.

Best antagonist in the game in my opinion. I genuinely simultaneously got chills, ‘I gotta punch him in the face so hard’ and ‘we are evenly matched’ vibes.

He's basically the Darth Vader to Ultima's Emperor Palpatine. The Big Bad's dragon if you will.

He isn't simply "pure evil". He has a distorted view of things, yes, but he seeks "salvation" for humanity, even if it comes at the cost of taking away their free will. Clive fights because it isn't the right aproach

@@lucasbrav131 true considering all the times he could have killed Clive but didn’t

@@engirish1977 that is because of Clive's status as the Mythos (Ultima's human vessel) and so, if Barnabas was to fataly harm Clive so he died Ultima would've most likely killed Barnabas as punishment. I do really believe however that Barnabas wished to stay in good favor with Ultima and ultimately (hehe) win over his approval, so Barnabas followed his orders from Ultima in his goal to grant mankind salvation. It's sad that he turned himself akashic though... I'd really liked to see Barnabas die a pure man in that sense.

While 2:13 is playing

Barnabas: Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be LEGENDARY!

Lol I initially thought dion and Barnabas were actually working together after their first scene coming to a stalemate. But like you said later on all was revealed. Makes me wonder what Barnabas would’ve been like as a heroic character outside of how he viewed himself int the Barnabas we got. Good characters and what a joy to experience them

I don't think any of the eikons are necessarily good or evil. Eikon of Darkness doesn't mean evil, nor does Eikon of Light means good. They're simply two elements necessary in that world. Like fire (phoenix) and ice (shiva). Main thing is Barnabas got corrupted but he is just a victim of Ultima.

​@@primalspongebob6144Barnabas "truly wanted to save mankind, and Ultima used that" -Clive Can't blame him though, literal Creator appears before you and said he will save mankind

I haven’t played much of XIV (yet) but his music in this game left me in awe more than once, especially in the high intensity and emotional scenes. This soundtrack is top tier…which might be why I pre-ordered the deluxe edition 😂😅

The EW zenos one?

​@@Blue_Incognito98uh😅😅😅😅😅😮😅

Yeah! There are so many who say there were disappointed by this boss fight, but I was pleasantly surprised! I wasn’t all that interested in Barnabas as a character before this, but damn did he get my attention when he let loose. I did not expect it and it was such a delight.

Add the fact tha he defeated us twice up to this point. He was really menacing!

I know I’m late but people rate it lower cause there’s no big eikon fight, but to me, that adds on to the battle even more. It shows that Clive doesn’t need the power of a god and some fancy transformation to beat him. It also goes to show the power of mankind, something Barnabas lost faith in long ago

His dialogue was so good it distracted me lol. He's my personal fav.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who saw a bit of Zenos in Barnabas.

Now I gotta ask who wins between Barnabas and Zenos

Okay so I am NOT the only person who heard God Shattering Star during the Opera section then

@@JonahSimm I’m pretty sure it’s the same person, but I could be wrong. Still, amazing regardless

...and now all I can think of his I would love a FFXIV / Fire Emblem crossover...

@@TheTriforceDragon Truly this was Soken’s master plan

i actually heard the song " lord of a dead empire" from fire emblem echoes@@JonahSimm

You're right on the mark, @Yvanne. I was getting creeped out when Barnabas's voice actor started to laugh like a maniac which, to me, felt out of character for him. But then I realize; he's already corrupted by Ultima's influence, so when you take this into account, it makes sense that Odin's Dominant would start to go nuts with laughter like that: He knew he was going to die by Clive's hand, so he might as well go out like a madman.

@@michaelmorningstar7933 He had been in such a state of dull emptiness seeing as his rise to power was uncontested. I'm pretty sure he ruled over Ash for around 20-30 years too, and in all that time had no troubles. Fighting Clive must've been enough to awaken him back into 'feeling something', which sent him into a frenzy

@@Yvanne4 decades of ruling yes

I mean he is the same voice actor of malos from xenoblade 2

I mean when you embody the summon of 1-hit kill incarnate, it’s hard to find a battle you have to actually TRY to win. Clive was able to bring back the joy of a fight, so ol’Barney was gonna indulge himself with it.

His character was definitely executed perfectly. It’s a little eerie though that his true age is unknown. In little excerpts here and there it’s mentioned he came into power over 40 years ago, but doesn’t look much older than 40. Another lore entry states scholars believe Odin’s dominants descend from Barnabas’ bloodline, but this can’t be proven since there’s no record of an Odin dominant prior to Barnabas. And he himself mentioned to Clive it has been generations since he’s had a worthy challenge. So like, just how old is Barnabas and does being the dominant of Odin keep him somewhat immortal? 😅

@@martygenethe history of ash is steeped in mystery and I definitely interpreted that he was king for centuries, essentially destroying every opponent since then. I interpreted that somehow being loyal to ultima made him immortal. It’s possible that it’s also an effect of the Odin power, as it’s implied every eikon has different « hidden powers » such as ramuh being able to know the mystery of the world.

​@@martygeneVivian implies he had just entered adulthood when he conquered Ash and he has been keeping the throne for the 40 following years, which makes him around 60. The point of him being so young is that he turned into an Akashic to serve Ultima and has essentially stopped aging ever since.

@@dinorex3464 Barnabas came from the southern continent. He is not originally from Valisthea and neither is Cid. I wonder where Cid hails from as well. Many mysteries in this game.

@@dinorex3464 it is impossible that his immortality is due to the fact that he serves Ultima because he has only been under his control for 5 years before the fight with Clive and then the codex does not specify the reason for his immortality so this thing that it was Ultima who gave it to him it's just a guess. As for what Vivian says, she only reports what history says and I doubt that the books say that Barnabas is immortal so most likely the fact that he was 20 years old at the time of the conquest was invented to justify the fact that was very young even after so many years. Remember the codex doesn't lie while an NPC could be wrong. Then the fact that he lived for centuries would justify his careless behavior towards everyone and that he went "crazy" as soon as Ultima showed him his mother who knows how many years he hadn't seen.

I felt the same, had only 1 high potion left by the end of the fight and that's with the max capacity and potency of the potions. I'm really excited to start NG+ on Final Fantasy mode and get to this fight again. Also yeah, Shiva's abilities are great, i wasn't really feeling them in the beginning but now her circle ability at the very least is a must in my build ❄

@@IRurushu 999999%

Seriously it was harder than that level 50 dragon from the hunt ?

@TacoWarrior1337 I used that alot when I got both it’s on my channel

Very fun fight to play without healing items or armor! That's how I've been playing the game to add some challenges to the game and this fight was by far the hardest!

Eh, I prefer FFXIV's interpretation of a Dark Knight myself. An unsung Hero willing to do whatever is needed to do what's right, even if it puts him against the "justice" of the world. If what is needed to set the world to rights is an outlaw, then an outlaw is what the world shall have. In this I feel Clive is more fitting a Dark Knight.

@@TheAdventGamer Let's not kid ourselves: Clive's main job is Mime, with Blue Mage and Warrior being his secondaries.

​@@SkijaramazI think he means from a perspective point of view. But yeah your right, it's kinda neat when you put it that way.

@@Professor-TripleExtraLarge I know, I was being silly. XD

@@Skijaramazsilly or not I think you hit the nail on the head 😂 the first mime/blue mage main character in a mainline FF

A Kings mandated duty is to his country a duty which he unequivocally failed

​@xion0713 On a historical standpoint, a King's first duty is to God. His constituents come second. They're supposed to serve the Lord in their capacity as leader, hence why it was so easy to justify insane religious crusades or executions back then as monarch...because it was considered your duty to, and if God required you and your constituents to sacrifice your lives on the field of battle, then you had to. And it's also why the Pope had so much power eventually, because the authority to excommunicate even a king was scary enough to cow many an ambitious monarch...and why Henry VIII breaking faith with Rome to become head of the Church of England was a huge deal.

​@@TheUndyingCrystalcouldn't have said it better myself

Yup, the world building of 16 is so cool, it's a shame we probably won't get more content on the same world outside of DLC.

THIS he was really enjoying his time fighting us

wait doesn't ifrit dodge in every eikon battle so why it matter sword that can cut anything when you can just dodge i pretty sure ifrit doesn't parry so what it make it differents

@@aboodsaad8790if Odin does hit it’ll hurt lol

I feel like this comment should be pinned. 🤔

That part is absolutely amazing. I'll forever remember my first fight against him because that part synched with Barnabas laughing like a psychopath while doing that spinning attack and I got goosebumps. David Menkin went *hard* on this role.

Are you sure it's a tribute? LMAO that's like saying anyone with a helmet is a tribute to older helmet villains. Sounds like a reach

@@alpsi285 Actually, I meant Villain-Specific Tribute. Similar to Garland, Golbez, and Exdeath. Barnabas just gives off the same vibe as them when he's in full armor.

​@@ianmanning4368 oh definitely he has that badass vision of them and a mix of FF13-2 Cauis just a tiny bit of that love for fighting

My man never lost faith in Soken, it did win 🎉

Reminds me of some soul Calibur style music

"MIUTHOS!"

There is some part of it I think. Like they did with Titan and Garuda

Also the only one who defeated Clive in ifrit's form alone

it has already been leaked that you will play as barnabas in the dlc

​@@steamingwillybeamingNo way, it's Yoshi P's friend's nephew?

@@steamingwillybeaming lol you're so desperate

@@topasu9454 desperate for what?

​@@steamingwillybeamingwho leaked it?

Inb4 Elden Ring Which is action-adventure not mainly action-focused as it had way more emphasis placed on exploration, and the most action is coming from the bosses, not really player who cah even be utilizing passives actions like Ashes to dwindle down bosses.

No kidding. I purposely die to get my potions and high potion filled back up 😂

​@@philipinoboy1381weak ass😂

I looked this up a few days ago, thinking the same thing. Takashi Baba's name also appears in the credits for XVI as one of three tenors, so it's almost certain this is him!

Another fellow Hunter here 🗿🍷

I can totally see that

THAT'S WHAT IT REMINDS ME OF

It has a Fire Emblem: Three Houses "God Shattering Star" feel to it?

@@Pally-Main yeah but I'm also looking for that sinister opera tune. I know I've heard it somewhere else but I can remember. God shattering star is awesome so maybe I'm misremembering

Rise of the White Raven, FF14

Does Dark Souls ring the bell?

@@JeffSGamer1my thoughts exactly