Two Sides of Nostalgia | Final Fantasy IX vs. XIII 

Can you guys believe this blargian Snaggle Beast is comparing FF9 to FF13? I mean come on man, FF13...best game on PS3? I just...wow!

Man, I can't believe 13 is almost ten years old

I'm impressed someone else shared my obsession with ability collecting in FF9.

FFIX is like the Shawshank Redemption of gaming. When it came out everybody knew it was great, but nobody made a big fuss or anything, it was always under the shadow of previous more famous titles like VI and VII. It's only now, many years after that people are really analyzing it in retrospective (the highest scored one in Metacritic at the moment). The game is the 'final' of the classic Final Fantasy games, a reflection and tribute of everything that came before, you can just feel that sense of familiarity the moment you turn on this game, and the change in 'feeling' is extremely notable on every game that came after IX. Oh man, this is not only the greatest FF game ever, but one of the best games of all time. Just hearing "The Place I'll Return To Someday" makes my heart grow 5 times.

I saw the thumbnail of this video and knew I simply HAD to watch it. As a massive fan of FFIX in my childhood, and also a massive fan of FFXIII in my teenage years, it is with much annoyance I found myself a unique individual in terms of liking both the two games a lot. I can't say I ever went without the games for any huge stretch of time. I played FF9 at least a dozen times before FF13 came out. And experienced FF13 content up until and during the release of Lightning Returns. All the while examining my own feelings about the games along with the contrasting feeling of people who complain about them on the internet. I go back to them and see their flaws, but to be honest I was never really blinded by flaws in FF13 when it came out cause everyone and their mother was adamant about what they hated, while I didn't view them as such large problems. I love those games still. And in FF13's case, the improvements that they made in gameplay as the trilogy continued just made me love the universe as whole, and appreciate the work the team was putting in to find out what fans wanted and how to develop a game in their universe that people would like. Individually they had very contrasting problems, but it just made for the odd circumstance where I looked to FF13 for a story, LR for gameplay, and FFXIII-2 for a fair mix.

FFIX is a game that literally have to come back to every couple of years. Every time I play it I always learn something new too. Such an amazing game that we really wont be getting from current Square Enix. Which is just a damned shame.

I've played through FF9 so much it's not even funny. Like you, it was my first Final Fantasy game, and I haven't loved one quite like that one. I never wanted to rush through to get Excalibur 2 because I wanted to take my time and actually play through the game. This was my first video from you, and I'm definitely subscribing!

This video ignited all of my ff9 nostalgia, I still try to play it once a year because that game was my childhood. Thank you 👏

Final Fantasy IX holds a special place in my heart. My experiences with the Final Fantasy series was through my big brother who played and finished Final Fantasy VII. I was there for the ride. But IX was the one where I played on my own which I feel more attached too. Also I have to give so much credit to the music in IX. You see, I am not from a English speaking country and I was young when I played IX thus my knowledge of English was very limited back then. So most of the time, the music is what allowed me to understand a scene. This was aided by the body language that the characters are showing on screen. Also, I loved the fairy tale ending of IX. Yes, it can be seen as cliche and cheesy, but I don't care. The story itself is clearly influenced by fairy tales. The ending is the best and most satisfying ending in my gaming experience. I know I will revisit the game someday because it holds so many wonderful memories from my childhood.

Great work my friend !! You didn’t need one hour video to make a fantastic analysis without it turning into a full review

FF9 is my birth game. It came out around the time I was born (wow that makes us all look old). I played through it so many times but wasn’t able to beat it until earlier this year (I got up to the last save point but never beat the final bosses). When I did I felt so weird. I was happy because I beat my birth game after 17 years! But I was sad because I finally finished my childhood game... the game that showed my growth over childhood and my current teen years. The feeling was indescribable, best I got is pure raw emotion. The cast of 9 is amazing. I felt connected to the characters in a way that they stopped becoming character, but different sides of myself. Stubbornness and loyalty in Steiner, crazy and playfulness in Quina, tough-guy act and strength in Amarent, inner-strength and righteousness of Vivi, I could go on. Hell my hairstyle and attitude is straight from Zidane! These character are not simple code on a disc anymore, they are living. The only thing I feel closer to than my copy of 9 with its cracked case is my original GameCube (another story perhaps later) With the theme of finding your place and who are you I always come back to thinking. After finally beating it I felt more connected to myself then I have ever been. No other media made me think so deeply about myself and has made me rethink life itself as 9 has (no other media has even made it cross my mind). That is good, lasting story telling. Make the game personal to the player... that’s something games now a days fail to do. They get so wrapped around themselves that they fail to make it personal, deeper and more meta. The failing in 13 is simply what you brought out. The game is fight an auto-play battle (that only stops being auto after the 70% mark) run down a linear hallway to another auto-play battle then run down another linear hallway and repeat this until end game when you can actually do anything engaging. FFX was linear as well but it kept you engaged. 13 holds your hand from one pretty set piece to the next in a condensed, confusing story that get explained only in the built in history book that felt like doing work when you should be having fun. 13 fails in every way of a good game, it looks exciting but the complete randomness of everything plus the brutal difficulty spikes that force you to battle those skippable battles because that the only way to get exp and it’s finite until end game (better start grinding what you can). 13 doesn’t really have much good about it. Bad story telling (from how it was presented), demanding and random combat, false choice of skippable battles, terrible hallway design in map levels and character power progression, and way too many cutscenes. Personally the only thing that kept me going was Taz and the chocobo chick but after a certain event halfway right at the end of a chapter (if you played this you will know which one) I quit not knowing that the weight of what happened didn’t do what I thought it did. TLDR: Final Fantasy 9 is the best game ever made and 13 could be one of the worse in current years alongside Mighty No. 9, Battlefront 2, and No Man’s Sky launch.

Holy crap, this is really good. I know I would have a different experience with FF9, but after this, I am really considering giving it a shot. You just added another Final Fantasy game that I feel like I really need to play. You monster ;)

I miss Squaresoft.

It's so relieving to hear that someone else really enjoyed their time with ff13

Such a great video. Glad I watched it, it was like a trip down memory lane. I love both games and FF9 is probably my favorite game of all time. Subscribed!

What a beautiful video, I couldn't agree more with you about FF9, it's such a masterpiece but more importantly, it's such a dear experience I can never forget.

Great video, Retropolis. Keep up the good work. :)

I replayed the XIII trilogy this month because I've never finished Lightning Returns (I reseted the save two times because I couldn't kill the final boss, 2 years ago), so I replayed all of them and fuck XIII was amazing and I could appreciate it much more this time around, also I cried at ending, XIII-2 is very good too but LR is average at best, but the ending man, it's one of the best endings I saw in games.

FF9 is and will always be my favourite game ! 😍😍 But I really, really love the FF13 trilogy, the characters are so awesome! 😍😍 Proof that you can be a fan of the older FFs and appreciate the new ones two! It might be different but the Final Fantasy series never disappointed me! 😁

FFIX is my all -time Final Fantasy because it's my first FF ever. I was blown away by the graphics and mechanics at that time. Now that I'm older I begin to appreciate the story and the most important: the storytelling. It never feels forced, it just goes so naturally that I feel like watching my best friends in an adventure together. I like FFXIII for the battle system though, somehow it feels satisfying to stagger an enemy

Good to have you upload again mate. I've never been a fan of final fantasy, yet I still know the joys of old classics and going back to love. The sly Cooper series is like that for me.

5:57 Coaching, planning, team building, and leaving the actual performance up to your team, isn't a point of contention in Final Fantasy XIII because people hated the concept. It's because Final Fantasy XII did it infinitely better. The Gambit system, as it was called, was essentially the backbone of the game. Not only was it heavily empathized and ever expanding, but it was extremely complex and allowed you to customize behavior on a micro level. It was basically A.I. programming once you got into the late game. And, man, was it satisfying to watch your characters respond to a myriad of diverse situations, on their own, with little to no input from you, all thanks to your planning and foresight. In comparison, XIII's auto-battle system, much like everything else in the game, felt extremely simplified and underwhelming. I highly recommend you give XII a go at some point if this was an aspect of XIII you were able to appreciate. Good stuff though, my dude. It's neat to get a casual fan's insight into the series. Especially for these two extremely polarized entries. And for the record I by no means hate XIII, hell I Platinumed the damn thing. I was just disappointed by it, but was able to, ultimately, enjoy it for what it was.

I really enjoyed XIII and as a fan of the game it's not hard to come across ppl who will try their hardest to make you feel bad about liking it. That's not to say that there's nothing wrong with XIII (there certainly is) nor are ppl who dislike it are wrong but there definitely is a bandwagon against the game. Honestly I'm on the lower level of people who enjoyed XIII more than IX but that's not because I don't like IX it just didn't gell with me personally. XIII on the other hand I had a blast with. I personally think the paradigm system is easily the best combination of Gambits and standard atb combat and with some ai tweaks it could easily be the best in the series. The game forces you learn the system and strategically come up with party layouts and paradigms to win battles rather than lvl grinding. The games linearity is a downsize for sure but it's not hard to get over. The game has a beautiful art style one that strongly encompasses themes of Si-Fi heavily. Every hallway you travel through Is gorgeous and actually relavent to the main story (unlike xv) and the music that accompanies every area beautifully composed. I'd also argue the characters are easily the highlight of the game. Every character (save from fang) has a decent character arc along with another party member. All n all I like it a lot

Final Fantasy XIII was a huge disappointment for me when I first played it, but now its just kind of a meh game for me; not really that bad, but kinda dull. Dat music though. 'Speautiful. FFIX on the other hand is amazing and I get all the feels just thinking about it. Might have to replay it soon... Great vid my dude!

I have a theory on how FF games have become more linear feeling and restrictive, even FF15 with its massive area to explore. To me it comes down to the games abandoning metaphor. Technical limitations of earlier games meant you needed to use your imagination more. The obvious one is the world map which in FF9 is far less detailed and more sparse than the content in 13 but it feels like a whole actual world because they have just set up the concept and you fill in the detail between the hubs of content. This in practice turns out to be way different to running or driving around a full scale world in real time with zero metaphor. Everything just is as it appears on screen and is more boring for it. The random battles can be a little annoying but they're a metaphor for the scraps and adventures your party get up to on their long journey. In FF6 and 7 there are fights with 3 or 4 soldiers that clearly represent much larger battlers. Now the metphor is lost and you're literally in a corridor fighting 3 dudes who were sitting there waiting for you I guess. In increasing the reality the scale has become smaller. It's like the difference between a book and a movie, the earlier games described great events that your mind worked to fill in. The new games just are whats' shown. Anyway, everyone knows FF7 is the best because that's the one I happened to play first and during my formative years. haha And if you've read this long, great channel, keep up the good work, looking back at your videos I saw you were wondering about growing and your format. RU-vid suggested this video because I looked at final fantasy stuff recently. Maybe doing some more short videos on some more popular games to draw people in would be a good idea. That's how I found you and can't wait to delve into the longer ones in future. Keep up the awesome work.

FF9 is the best in the series

This was a wonderful video! As a fellow gamer who doesn't play many RPGs it was fun to hear someone talk about the battle systems in a way that makes more sense to a layman. I grew up on the NES and it's funny how many games I played and enjoyed simply because I just didn't know any better. Sometimes I think I miss those days ;) As for Final Fantasy, I have attempted to play the original title but never got very far. I would be interested in seeing your analysis on the early titles. Cheers mate!

Final fantasy 13 was the first mainline game I played. It’s such a nostalgia trip to me. The story of characters misunderstood by society, forced into a destiny they did not chose resonated with my younger self.

Started the video not expecting to watch all 30 minutes of it. You pulled me in the way I was also pulled into ff9 like you were. Good work man.

to be fair, this love of FFIX is very recent, i spent years defending that game as my favorite in the series and it still never gets the love that 7 does. its only in the last few years that people have started lauding it. its funny though i couldn't stand 13 at all, i actually returned it when i realized you get a game over if lightning gets downed lol.

My absolute no.1 final fantasy game is ffxii The amount of stuff to do, the lore, the story, the enjoyable grinding, the misic and it is also one of the prettiest games on the ps2.

I can't believe that FF 13 is considered to be a nostalgic game now. I swear it feels like that this game came out about a year ago.

Never expected to find someone who was touched by these two very different games and cared to talk about them in the same video. I was pretty excited, considering that both FFIX and FFXIII are my absolute favorites in the Final Fantasy series. And yes, I have played the other FFs, with FFX dominating my early childhood, but there is something with IX and XIII that make my heart ache more. Now, I love how you used the word "irreplaceable." It seems we both have a nostalgia for IX and XIII that will never be wiped away. That is part of what makes the soundtracks so powerful listening back on them. The characters and stories still mean a great deal to me as well, and I enjoyed the gameplay immensely (even replaying XIII as an adult) despite the flaws. Though we may feel different about replay value here in 2018, I nevertheless appreciate that someone else enjoyed both these titles the first time around and acquired an 'irreplaceable' experience for each.

Whoa very detailed and great in depth review and analysis

Fantastic video as always

This is weird, FF-IX has been my favorite game of all time ever since it came out in 2000. It changed my life and partly created who I am as a person. It got me into gaming, I now study game design, it got me into Final fantasy and jrpgs in general. After IX, I played through every single other FF, I have several legal copies of basically each game, about 5 of IX. I bought a ps2 just so I could play 10, I recently bought a ps4 just so I could play 15. There has only been one final fantasy that I never finished, that I just couldn't give a crap about, where I hated the design, the characters, everything, and it's 13.

Love for IX and XIII in a single video? Can't ask for anything else. I also have a strong nostalgic feeling for both, especially for their soundtracks and characters and stories.

The Final Fantasy IX love makes me happy! It was SO much fun getting every last treasure chest, Support and Command skill for every character, and all the other extra content. Really enjoyed the music , story, and lore of the world as well.

the last 2-3 minutes of your video encapsule my feelings for FF IX perfectly. while there are (very few) games I technically like more, there is no other game I've played in my roughly 17-18 years of gaming that resonated with me as a whole on quite the same level.

I'll admit that FF13 is by no means a great game, especially if you're comparing it to the many great JRPGS out there like Xenoblade Chronicles, NieR, Okami, etc etc but nothing can change the fact that i enjoyed the heck out of it when i first played it (it helps that i was much younger and patient with its flaws). As someone unused to bigger console games, i genuinely loved everything about the game. I had no expectations going into it as I'd never played any other FF game, i just enjoyed it for what it had to offer. It was beautiful, the music was gorgeous, I grew to like all of the characters over time, the combat was hecking tough, i wasn't super against the corridor type environments because i'd played so many games of that design but this was the first to actually make me enjoy walking around and just taking everything in. If i were to play it now for the first time, I definitely wouldn't enjoy it as much, but that applies to pretty much every game, movie or tv show from my childhood. Just acknowledge that it has flaws and dont make a big fuss about people that enjoy it!

Some of your description of FFIX really hits close to home, except with FFX for me. Although, having only played FFIX for the first time earlier this year, it definitely earns it a lot more than FFX does, as much as I love that game. FFIX just has so many more ups and downs, so much more side stuff to do, and in general you have a LOT more freedom. It really is a fantastic game. I'm glad youtube recommended this video, as this sort of well put together content is always a good watch (particularly as an aspiring game developer)

Man, I never thought I'd see you talking about RPGs, let alone in such depth. Yes I know, compared with how hard you usually go on other games this is small potatoes, but still? Really nailed why FF9 is such a good entry in the series. Did it in a pretty to the point way too. Even if I kind of am forever disappointed at how FF9 just... forgets about every character not called Zidane, Garnet or Eiko past disc 2, I still adore the first half and still love the second for still being a fun adventure that's great to play. It does hold a privileged place in my heart as well.... so I could relate with this video quite well. But even without that, very nice analysis, with a good blend of sentimentality, which is a strange combination? But works well within the theme of the video. And should I ever get a PS3 I'd definitely give FFXIII a shake... you made it sound at least potentially fun. Great stuff, Michael.

Well done. You neither praised nor bashed either of them too heavily. I think any longtime fan has one or two games that stick out to them, and based on the vocal majority, those games fall within what is known as "the glory days" or "the golden age" of FF, which typically include FFs VI-IX (with X being added more recently, though it was developed by a completely different team within SE). A lot of people forget the times that they played these games, at what age and stage in life they played, and also other external factors like video game development at that time and what was "trendy" in western RPGs and JRPGs when they think about the direction that SE is taking the series. The FF franchise has also been one for innovation with gameplay, story, music score, and character development, and each title has a divisive fanbase for each of those reasons. I think that the beauty of the franchise is that I can expect something completely different in each installment, and if a particular game just isn't for me, then I have hope for the next. If it takes a few cycles of games for me to enjoy another FF, well then I have others within the franchise that I can always return to while I wait for the next.

Just discovered this channel and had to subscribe. Fantastic analysis of both games mate. For me, I always felt disconnected with XIII because of how thrown into that world I felt. I constantly found myself referring back to the data log to brush up on terminology and trying to grasp what was being said. By the end, I honestly didn't really feel much of a connection with any of the characters, so any heartfelt speeches didn't hit hard. IX however I always feel takes you on this grand journey. You feel like you grow alongside these characters and watch them develop in quite a beautiful way.

I love ff xii. FF IX is my all time favorite game tho! And every time I hear 'You Are Not Alone' my feels explode. This game is a masterpiece and I have finished it 4 times. Currently on fifth playthrough. Thanks for the vid!

I know I've played 9 recently but man the tracks in this video that serve as a backing were so recognisable that I was able to tell where most were from... Just goes to show how good the soundtrack was for that game

Awesome video man. I feel the same way about FFVII and X. It just brings me back to the fond memories of my childhood.

Both of my favourite FF games compared in a beautifully long and insightful video!? Pure gold!! Thank you for this gem 🙌🏻 Both games hold a special place in my heart, but FFIX takes pride as my favourite game of all time. I agree with you - there are no words to describe this game. It needs to be experienced - and I'm so thankful I got to experience it during my childhood.

Just thinking of Vivi's story and the end, brought tears to my eyes

7 was my first final fantasy, but 9 is where my heart is.

Guess we have something in common when it comes to FFIX. It’s not only my favourite, but it’s the game that made me a fan of JRPG’s and the game that I keep coming back to.

Great video!

Nailed it. Thank you for this video.

Just discovered your channel, subbed!!

Man i was trying to for a boring video to fall asleep, now i'm wide awake and my body is shivering of nostalgia. FF IX will always have a place in heart :)

I've played almost every FF game (except the first 3 ones) and my favorite is still ffix that's simply gameplay cautivates me, is something that makes you think more about your enemies, while in other ff you can even beat any boss with only 1 single attack (or almost). but i liked ffxiii and i'm with you.

You really hit the Nail. Played the game in 2000 at the Age of 8 and now 18 years later, i still play FF IX from time to time. The only game that stuck with me since my childhood. The Story is really great and its a relieve to sometimes take some time off from the "real world". Man i could write like a book full of my memories and feelings towards this game but guess i'll leave it at that.

Based on your description of what you liked in FFXIII, I highly, *highly* recommend you try out XII. Final Fantasy XIII really feels like a stripped-down, barebones version of XII; I remember reading somewhere that after XII didn't live up to expectations (it wasn't poorly reviewed or a financial failure or anything, but after X was a pretty big smash hit and XI was wildly popular considering it was a console MMO on the PS2 and still managed to run active servers for well over a decade, there were some pretty high hopes for XII), they concluded that it was because the game was 'too complicated' and decided to revisit the same concepts but in a massively simplified form to try to make XIII more accessible. That is all hearsay and I don't have any sources, so I might be extremely wrong about that; take it all with a grain of salt. XII has a very similar real-time battle system with open world exploration 3 party members, 2 being AI controlled, but there's two massively important factors to differentiate it from XIII: For one, you can manually pause the action and switch commands to other party members whenever you deem it necessary (and it's a very quick, intuitive, and snappy switch as well, meaning it can be spammed without it getting tedious), and you can set up your own party members' A.I. through the Gambit system. The Gambits are a little obtuse to start out with, but they're basically sets of very simple if-then statements that you can assign to each party member, and of course the characters are fully customizable in their ability loadouts, so you can have someone with offensive and healing capabilities who will automatically switch between one and the other based on the party's health, and if they're healing the wrong person like an idiot, you can always manually jump over to force them to heal the right person whenever you like. Basically take the FFXIII battle system and just add a couple layers of depth, and you've got XII. It's definitely not the BEST battle system out there; a lot of people did complain that it felt too much like an MMO, waiting on cooldowns and macros and having fairly little direct control, but since you like the team-coaching aspect of XIII's battle system, I think you'll like XII's combat a LOT.

I love how your "not-in-depth" video gives so much information, and have such deep understanding... I think the depthness is in your soul!! About the video, interesting points, I think for me, RPGs are a good balance of character, world building, story, combat system and soundtrack... I know this is part of almost every game, but here it's different... They are long, the main thing, most important are characters, You've to like them. They are your connection to that world. The world have to be interesting or you'll not want to explore it. The story needs to be engaging needs to play with your emotions Combat system because this is a game, you've to really like the system, you'll be playing It for hours and hours... But I dare to say, soundtrack is really, really important here. Bravely default is a game that is mostly characters + soundtrack and omg, this game is amazing! Chrono Trigger I like a Lot but I'm not so much into the characters, I like the gameplay and story, but it doesn't go further But now, my most favourite is Tales of Phantasia... Omg, I love everything on this game! It has amazing story, great likeable characters, amazing villain, interesting world, fascinating Battle system, great soundtrack!

I finally played Final Fantasy IX, a game that I had in my backlog for at least TWO YEARS, because of this video. Thanks, RZ!

XIII is a decent game that suffers over the top criticism due to it using the Final Fantasy title. Had it been called something different, we'd see a much fairer judgement. IX is an absolute masterpiece, though. Memorable characters, locations, music, plot, you name it. Quina was a bit "ehhhh", but there used to always be that oddball character in Final Fantasy games that joined your party. Also, on the slow fights. You said you never noticed it before. Are you playing on an original physical copy of the game? Those disks wore down over time and resulted in them being harder to read, cutscenes being jumpy, etc. My disk 3 goes into an endless casting animation when using the meteor spell with Vivi. The animations were slow and ran at like 15fps, but any gaps between could likely be linked to disk wear or your lens needing cleaned. :)

Here's something that people might disagree with: I had the exact same FFXIII story fatigue trying to play through the Uncharted trilogy back to back on PS4. Because the games play like dozen-hour action movies, I found myself often stuck right in the middle of an event and it felt inappropriate to put the game down there. The only problem is, from what I played all the way through Uncharted 1 and the bit I got into Uncharted 2, each event jumped right into the next so I always felt like I was in a transitional period. While I didn't finish it either (I hardly ever finish games), the first Tomb Raider reboot hooked me a little bit more cleanly. Because the individual sections were more pronounced, I could pick a specific thing the game wanted me to do, do it, and expect to land in a good place to end the session.

I very much have the same feeling you have in regards to these two games. I played FFXIII first, before I was fully in touch with the FF community as a whole. Unlike most, I didn't have much trouble until I reached the Ark. So many of the levels of FFXIII had steep difficulty spikes (Pandemonium, the Ark, and the Archylte Steppe come to mind immediately) that all but required me to grind to get past it. I got stuck on Cid Raines for a VERY long time, and eventually just gave up before picking it up again when it hit Steam. I don't think I ever finished it beforehand. Nautilus was DEFINITELY the best part of the game, to be sure. That part really hit home for me, especially THAT part at the very end. Having dealt with those types of issues myself and having family members struggle with that sort of thing, it struck home for me. It's such a PITY that all of it was undone five minutes later. It was such an emotional part of the game that it almost felt like a slap in the face to pull a "haha, sike" five minutes after the scene. It removed all the impact that scene would have otherwise had. If that were the plot twist, I would've much preferred that the reveal had happened far later in the game, much like they did with FF4. FFIX, however, I only played about 4 years ago, when I was on a journey to play all the FF titles during a summer break. I had it when I was a kid, but never played it, rather opting for the PS2 games we had, games that were easier for me to understand or easier to play (FF Origins, FF10, Dragon Quest VIII, etc). When I played this game, I was in a slump. This game spoke to me then in a way no game has ever been able to do before. It truly, truly helped me become a better person during that time, and changed my outlook on life. It changed me for the better, it taught me so much. I couldn't help but relate to Vivi in many of the thoughts and experiences he had. Seeing him grow, and seeing each character overcome their hardships. It was so inspiring, truly. The amount of gripes I have with this game are few and far between, to be sure. It's a game that touches the hearts of so many without trying, and is truly a masterpiece. You've worded this perfectly, and you've done a wonderful job on this video. You've gained a sub for sure, keep up the brilliant work.

The encounter with Black Waltz N 3 was the first time I ever cried playing a Videogame, gdi Vivi is so precious

Nice to know other folks love 9 and 13 as their favourites

I feel the exact way awesome video it keep up thank you for sharing your video ^^

I played Final Fantasy 9 when it was released on the Switch. Never own an PlayStation or steam before. So I got it on the Switch instead. My goodness! I can't believed I missed out on these games. Final Fantasy 9 is absolutely amazing & still is to this day. I love this game so much. It's the reason that I'm becoming an Final Fantasy fan right now. I really wonna try out other Final Fantasy games. Playing 7 right now & I'm really enjoying it.

Tbh, though I am not a big RPG dude, (barely even) idk what it is. But JRPGs especially have great music. I know. It's kinda dumb but there is something captivating of an epic soundtrack. And tbh, I like to try more JRPGs if I ever got around to that. (I played Paper Mario TTYD,Persona 5,Persona 4,and even tried some FF6.) In general, watching this was a good watch for me. Great work dude.

When I played FFXIII, I also didn't think it was as bad as people made it out to be. That being said, I don't think I could ever go back and replay it, having already completed it once. My abiding memory is how repetitive it is... yet, I have gone back and played through VI, VII and IX recently, and all three of them captured me immediately, with IX being a very cherished one for me. The soundtrack is one I adore very much, to this day, with Distant World's (You're) Not Alone standing high above everything else.

12:56 - 13:06 that's exactly how I feel about FFX. one thing I have to appreciate, though, is SE's effort and will to explore and experiment with their mechanics. for what I know, there hasn't been one game that felt completely disconnected from the franchise, even if many titles and spin-offs have different ways of playing.

Retropolis, where do I start? I totally agree with everything you had to say! It was practically verbatim!! Could not have said it better myself!! Your immense love for FFIX is so similar to mine! I am so glad that I found a hardcore fan that actually knows and comprehends how much I adore this game!! It brings me joy, happiness, and a good sense of sorrow!! I feel so elated every time I pick up the controller and begin FFIX! Currently, I am doing an Excalibur II perfect game and I am so devoted to it, that nothing will hinder me from doing it!! I have adorned and embellished my room with FFIX stuff and I have almost become a full-on advocate for this game!! That is how much it has moved me and inspired me to cherish it!! I love FFIX and nothing will ever match up to its formidable calibur!!! Awesome video!! Hope I can talk more about FFIX with you in the future!!!

As someone who likes FF13, RZ my boy, this is probably my favorite video from ya. Not gonna lie, I would be down to see you talk about more RPGs on your channel.

You are not alone....literally! That is the best track in the game for me and that is just a perfect way to end this video on here with!

i'm 26 and played IX upon it's release on and off over the years, I love it. My FF. I have played it so many times yet i have never attempted the Excalibur II run because i love the game's story too much to rush through it.

Man, that video was amazing. I can honestly agree with most of it, it took me 3 or 4 attempts to play through FFXIII because I always dropped it after a while, but when I finally finished it, it wasn't all terrible and the music really helped the game a lot. FFIX, however, was one huge amazing journey. I often try to describe what it feels like playing FFIX to people who don't play video games, but it's so hard to do.

This is a brilliant analysis. All I've ever heard is the opinion of hardcore Final Fantasy fans. It's nice to hear the opinions of an "outsider looking in" for want of a better term.

Dude this was so good, your channel deserves so much more attention. I hope you do more conparison videos or video essays like these in the future to spice up your channel ya know? Your reviews are top notch and so was this. Looking forward to more man :D

I chalk FF13's pacing up to storyline. The story for the game was a story that the characters were thrown into a situation that was dire and they couldn't "fart off" on their own. Heck, the game tells you that if you fuck off too much or give up, your eidolon will come out and try to kill you or force you to stay on your Focus. I actually liked that aspect.

great video :D

I'm right there with you. Final Fantasy IX was my first FF game, and it's my favorite game ever. You said in the video it isn't perfect, but to me it is. As you said, it isn't just a game. I see this game as friend, one of my oldest and most dear friends, and it will always have a place in my heart.

Much like a great deal of people here, I think the reason why I adore FFIX so strongly is because I have quite the history with it. As the first game I ever played on PS1 after watching my dad playing through 7 and 8 when I was still too small to play myself, 9 felt very personal, like a personal accomplishment. It's, with Pokemon, the game that basically taught me how to read earlier than most other kids, but much more than that, the game that made truly care about what I was reading and seeing. And also, it is a game that made grow the more I played it. What I couldn't grasp as a 4 years old, I understood it as a 10, or 15, or 20 years old, and the game made me want to come back more with every layer of lecture it possesses. And I think that is a bigger part of why FF13 gets so much hate than people actually consider. There's not many people who have this kind of background with 13. The fact is, with people expecting to get the feeling they got from their history with episodes like 9, 6, or 4, (to quote those which generally leaves this kind of feeling), 13 had simply no chance to reproduce that, even if it had been a much better game. The fact that 13 ended up being inferior in term of story quality, design, player involvement, and straight up logic at several points, didn't help at all, and even these gorgeous graphics and wonderful music can't change that. Much like literature, music, or cinema, video-game is an art that involves emotions, and emotions turns into memories. The fact that FF9 is still very much present in our memory is a proof of it's quality, but also, of the history each player has with it.

Both great games! FFIX's Memoria is such a profound song! Glad you previewed that one~ I might replay XIII but now that I remember how repetitive it is, I begin to think otherwise. Though FFXIII-2 is fantastic!

IX was my first one as well. I am very happy that I started the series with it.

I really liked 13. Though i only got to play it 7 years after the release, the PC version still holds up fairly well.

I feel like playing these two games again after watching this video. I’m not really a fan of XIII but XIII-2 is a real deal for me. 9 is also my first FF game so it held a huge significance for me.

I finished Final Fantasy 13 in 2009 and I thought it was great. I dont understand why people on RU-vid say that it is not good. I still want to finish Final Fantasy 9 from beginning to end though. :)

Final Fantasy is in a way quite special. A kind of drug. That nothing can ever match the first one you play, not things that came before or after. Granted, 9 is a result of many iterative steps of evolution; 13 is a new beginning of sorts in a changed market where you couldn't keep iterating on the old formula any longer and it shows in its rough edges, while 9 is polished to perfection. For me, the 8 is going to be special.

These two are literally my favorite Final Fantasy games (granted, there are many of them I haven't played). You're right, XIII wasn't great, but the hate it gets borders on ridiculous. The battle system is a lot more complex than people give it credit for. The characters are great (except Snow) and the story, while not told in the best way, is deep and interesting. IX on the other hand is just amazing and easily sits as number one. The only thing it really suffers from is age, being the last Final Fantasy to grace the PS1. The battles and load times are slow, but the characters, story, and music are all fantastic. Kuja remains one of my favorite villains of all time and Zidane is one of my favorite protagonists. Not Alone and Darkness of Eternity are some of my favorite songs. XIII was no slouch in the music department either with things like Dust to Dust and Nascent Requiem. They're both great games to me, and I cherish them both. But you're right, while I would gladly play IX anytime, I have to work myself into playing XIII again, and it would be for short stretches at a time. Great analysis!

I haven't played FF XIII but FF IX will always be a favorite for many of these reasons. Hell, even the nostalgia aspect as the game was introduced to me as the second FF title I had played by a dear friend.

I've had Final Fantasy XIII for years now, I've only managed to get about 15 hours into it. This video kind of makes me want to fire up my PS3 and finally finish it. Final Fantasy XIII is the only main game besides XV that I haven't beaten, I don't have a PS4/Xbone. Good video man.

I walked right through 13 without issue until i got to gran pulse, at which point the game basically told me "congratulations, now you get to to grind for the foreseeable future before you can finish the game." at which point i was like "yeeaaah we're done here." I will never touch that game again.

For once the recommended videos are good great video.

for me, the best thing about FFIX that still haven't replicated in newer titles is the NPC. from Grandma Pickles to the poor kids in Treno, each one of them had stories to tell about the world they live in, one of the crucial aspect of world building that sadly missing from FFXV. i still remember how Grandma Pickles, one of the comic relief with Steiner early in the game, lost her eyesight during Alexandrian siege over Lindblum. sad and dark stuff, the kinda stuff that makes you go on playing rpgs: if the game gonna ask you to spend your time saving the world, gives us the people/NPC worth saving. that is where FFXII, XIII and XV fails me. i dont actually mind the hallway, FFX is a hallway. but they have towns, people, suffering under sin, that makes all the difference.

FFIX is my very first FF in the series yet its my most loved. The story hooks you in and makes you wonder more about it and it makes you excited to explore evry part of the game its a true gem in the ff series.

Gotta say, fantastic analysis of FFXIII, specially when it comes to the battle system, which was fucking awesome in my opinion. I've been playing FF games since 1997 and I love them all truly and I truly think that FFXIII and FFXIII-2, which has the best baddie since Sephiroth and one of the best modern FF soundtracks, get a lot of undeserved hate.

Both games are actually my favorites in the franchise! I like them both for different reasons, but I'm glad you covered this with fairness for each. While I enjoyed the other popular ff games like 7, 8, 10, etc. 9 and 13 are the ones I'll more likely replay

Great point regarding FF XIII'S battle system. Controlling all 3 of your characters at the same time would be impossible in real time. Even if you were to play XII or XV which are based on real time, it would have to be a multilayer game in order to control all characters at the same time! FF XV most recently had implemented a character swap update. However, even when you switch characters, only 1 character is playable while the AI controls the other characters. Up until the first character DLC, only Notctis was playable. However, the cool thing about character swapping in XV is that each character has their own different game play! However, FF XV got a bit out out of control once the developers started to have unrelated crossovers and letting your car gave a monster truck or flying car upgrade. The Regalia Type-F (flying car) was in the post game launch version, but the off road monster truck was an update that came almost a year after launch, and they added silly mechanics like getting points for BIG JUMPS. It's definitely cool, but a little over the top, if you catch my drift. FF XII had a strategic real time system known as the gambit system. Yet, even in thus battle system, you still could only control 1 character at a time or swipe and control another one. And the cool thing is you could take 1 of the gambits off to fully manuvre a character and select a command OR leave a gambit on and just watch hands free while your main character is moved by AI until you stop it or load a menu to access your invention. Hence, enemies do not wait unless you pull up the main menu OR select your target. Other then these 2 exceptions, it basically happens in real time yet it's not a 100% action jrpg because it's not about button mashing but setting up a user string of if-then statements called gambits,,for example: ally 25%/berserk or FOE: highest HP/attack. So even though the computer is controlling the AI, the user, or gamer, enters in the commands. And you can earn these gambit commands in cities just like you would buy magic or a loin cloth.

Ff9 is one of my favourite games of all time. Hell even on of the side characters Beatrix got a fair amount of development. The moment when she realizes all that she has done and helps you escape is my favourite part of the entire game, and the sound track is pure ecstacy to me. Something the nobuo does well is set a piece of music that is perfect for the situation and style of the game, a god among composers \m/.

The fact that my lunch break is too damn short to watch this video angers me

I love love LOVE FFIX - have replayed it so many times. I hope they release it for the switch so I can replay it.