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djgamek1ng · 29 days ago

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Magic The Gathering x Final Fantasy - Spoiler Season Part 20 (14/05/2025 - Everything Except Jecht and Vincent)

I only got one post in that didn't need to be 2 parts and now we're immediately back to a 2 part post... goddammit >..> Anyway, let's get started with Cloudbound rat Moogle. Okay fine, I won't do that bit the whole time :v

This is the first starter deck card where I have to rewrite my entire thoughts. In a vacuum, I thought this card was pretty decent, but after seeing the other land type cycling cards... oof. Even with my bias against moogles... This is a 5 mana 2/3. That is genuinely awful for stats to mana ratio. Sure, it gives a +1/+1 counter on a creature, but that's still bad, you're looking at a total of 3/4 entering the battlefield for 5 mana. Sure, it is a flyer, but it still isn't good enough. Unironically, the best part about this card is that you can cycle it away for any Plains typed card. Sorry, but unless you're using this in a Moogle deck, at which point your options are going to be quite limited, this is bad enough that you'd just want a basic Plains in your deck instead. Even compared to the other land type cycling cards in Malboro and Balamb T-rexaur (not covered that one, we'll get to it when talking about the 20th of May cards), this sucks.

Now for the art. Credit to Andrea Radeck. Link to her BlueSky. That sure is a moogle flying in the Sea of Clouds. Looks... fine, still a bit uncanny, but whatever. Really wish this was more vibrant, but that's a complaint I have with FF14 in general, so not too surprising to see it here too.

Let's go to the next card, Coeurl!

2 mana 2/2 is solid. Plus it has an ability to keep something tapped, just at the cost of tapping itself and 2 mana, which isn't nothing. If you can get Vigilance on this thing, you can be very mean with how you do your attacks with this thing. Attacking, but tapping something down on instant speed on reaction to you attacking. Honestly solid. Kind of confused that a Coeurl isn't Green, but I'm not gonna ask about that too much.

Now for the art. Credit to Miho Midorikawa. Link to their Twitter. That's a pretty dope looking Coeurl. Good, powerful stance to show you it means business. Very nice!

Now we go to Fate of the Sun-Cryst!

This set's equivalent to Luminous Rebuke or something, but it is more flexible. 3 mana to destroy a tapped creature or 5 mana to target any nonland permanent. Will definitely be a potential replacement for some spot removal in some decks due to its flexibility. White makes perfect sense for this, since it is an object the gods of Ivalice used to control mankind by giving shards to the people they trust.

Now for the art. Credit to Erikas Perl. Link to his ArtStation. Ashe... I think? standing in front of the Sun-Cryst, which is glowing very bright. Pretty cool artwork, love how our attention is drawn to the middle due to the light, while still having details everywhere. Great!

Next up... another moogle card. Well, sort of. This one is kind of cool though. Moogle's Valor!

So 5 mana for an instant that does: For each creature you control, create a 1/2 white Moogle creature token with lifelink. Then creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn. So this is a pretty slick protection piece and a potential wincon card even. If you already have a pretty big board state, you essentially double the amount of creatures on your board, with half of them being the moogle creature tokens and can potentially swing out and win the game off of that. Only thing that stops that is a counterspell or like a Farewell, where everything gets exiled instead of destroyed. Also, it is 5 mana, which is a lot of mana to keep open for a protection spell. It's good, just not flawless.

For commander, run it as a protection piece. For 60 card formats, don't bother, god can't hear you in turn 3 kill hell.

Now for the art. Credit to Kotakan. Link to their Twitter. Those are definitely 3 of the 10 moogles guarding Terra in the mines of Narshe. Honestly, looks good. The moogles do seem a bit smooth, but that does emulate the artstyle that FF6 had for moogles, even when drawn, so fair enough!

As for the alternative art:

Credit to YOSHIYA. Link to their Twitter. These are 4 of the 10 moogles. Yup, nothing much to say. I do love the art for this, this looks like it could've been promotional art or concept art for FF6 in some form.

Next up, Sahagin!

Not much to say here. Sahagins being merfolk makes sense and them being most caster heavy is also logical. Pretty good flavor win. Blue also because sea creature and let's just not pretend it is any deeper than that. Aside from that, cheap creature that gets bigger (and temporarily evasive) as you cast noncreature spells with 4 or more mana spent. Neat, but ultimately, a good amount of hoops to jump through for an okay creature. Best in mana spent matters type decks.

Now for the art. Credit to Nino Is. Link to their ArtStation. That's a Sahagin. Looks good.

Next we have Retrieve the Esper!

Simple, easy. Basically a 4 mana 3/3 that you can cast one more time for a 6 mana 5/5, but then in sorcery form instead of straight creature spell form. This alongside a lot of the effects on the common and uncommon cards in this half of the deck most likely means that UB is going to be noncreature spells as its limited archetype (probably not the case anymore, between Ultimecia, Time Sorceress and Locke Cole, seems like UB is graveyard shenanigans and this card is actually built for WU, which is artifact tempo). Nothing much to say here other than "solid." If you are running this with any kind of token doubling, this definitely becomes "great" instead.

Now for the art. Credit to Jake Murray. Link to their website. That sure is some magitek knights going after an esper. Gets the point across fully.

Next up: Dreams of Laguna!

Cantrip effect for 2 mana (or 4 for the Flashback cost). Will see use in spellslinging decks. Also some deck filtering, so might even see some use in just general Blue decks, but it's not insane by any stretch.

Now for the art. Credit goes to Solan. Link to their ArtStation. A nice recreation of the scene where Kiros and Ward are pushing Laguna to eventually meet the woman that would become Rinoa's mother, Julia. Very very nice!

Let's talk about Quistis Trepe next!

Blue for a Blue Mage. I see what you guys did there. Also, it fits Quistis pretty well.

Anyway, 3 mana for a 2/2 is below rate. A shame. Her ability is that when she enters, you may cast target instant or sorcery card from a graveyard, and mana of any type can be spent to cast that spell. If that spell would be put into a graveyard, exile it instead. So some stealing of people's instants and sorceries to use for your own gain. Pretty slick and fitting for a Blue Mage. Use her with blink effects to repeatedly get this working, especially since you're not gonna be super interested to use her as a combatant.

Good in commander blink decks in the 99, might be okay as the commander of such a deck. Don't bother with this card in 60 card decks, unless it is tech to steal an instant or sorcery from your opponent's graveyard that can turn the tide, then it is a sideboard piece.

Now for the art. Credit to Touge369. Link to their Twitter (they don’t post much art). That sure is Quistis firing off a spell. Neato.

Up next... Leviathan leviathan (breathless). Summon: Leviathan!

6 mana for a 6/6 is perfectly on rate. Ward 2 also makes it a bit protected, though not hugely so. Its abilities are:

Lore counter 1: Return each creature isn't a Kraken, Leviathan, Merfolk, Octopus or Serpent to its owner's hand. Well then, this is sea creature typal huh. Bouncing every non sea creature. Pretty good first ability, could be enough to win a game on its own.

Lore counter 2 & 3: Until end of turn, whenever a Kraken, Leviathan, Merfolk, Octopus or Serpent attacks, draw a card. Well then, in sea creature typal, you will be drawing a ton of cards when both of these trigger... assuming your sea creatures didn't get removed as a response to the first lore counter.

This summon sure is "sea creature typal: the card." You won't be using this in any other deck than those decks. Nothing much else to say. It is powerful, but only in those decks.

Now for the art. Credit to Otumami. Link to their Twitter. That is Leviathan. I do like the colors used and the water being tossed around. Cool!

As for the alternative art:

Credit to KOTA NAKATSUBO. Link to their Instagram. That is Leviathan in a more classic Japanese style. Dope.

Next up, Shinra Reinforcments!

Good enough stats, interesting ETB effect. I don't entirely get where they got mill and life gain from for Shinra soldiers, but this will probably see some use in mill based decks and decks that wants to gain pretty big numbers of life per thing that gains life instead of small incremental life gain decks.

Now for the art. Credit to AIRI YOSHIHISA. I couldn't find a link, so please let me know, I would like to properly credit them :( Those sure are some Shinra goons. They are looking pretty neat!

Now onto Undercity Dire Rat!

Black rat creature that wants to die to give you a treasure token. Honestly, my only problem is that it is a 2/2. That is... some decent stats for no real reason. This thing wants to die pretty quick, maybe take out one thing with it. If it was like a 2/1 or even a 3/1, I'd just be like fair, but this can genuinely tank some chumps... that feels off and weird, but not a bad creature to be honest.

Now onto the art. Credits to Leonardo Santanna. Link to his ArtStation. A giant rat coming to bite Vaan's face off, hell yeah. I do really like the colors used on this art, properly bright in the places it needs to be, dark in the places that matter not as much.

Let's talk about Sephiroth's Intervention.

Holy crap, a card with Sephiroth on it that is a common?! (God I was so right.) Aside from that, good removal effect. Potentially a bit expensive, but the life gain also makes it have a niche over other removal effects in life gain decks, so a bit of a trade off. Solid either way though, 2 life can sometimes be the difference between living and dying.

Before I get to the art... let's talk about the one artwork I didn't discuss from the very first trailer. I mention it at the end of this post:

I'm now convinced that the art that was shown in that very first trailer has been scrapped, especially since, like you can see, a different artist is credited for this card. So, unless there is another card that shows Sephiroth plunging down with his sword like this that shows that original art, I do believe this is the art that replaces it. I'm still not gonna point the finger and say that this confirms that the original art was AI, but it is noticeable to me that Wangjie Li, the artist of that original art, hasn't had any card revealed for the set so far, which is interesting... since we're like 70% through all reveals. I'll keep it at that.

Now let's actually talk about the art. Credit to Joshua Raphael. Link to his ArtStation. Wow, this is incredible! The lighting is incredible, the feathers surrounding him ominous and Sephiroth with his long ass katana ridiculous. Amazing!

Let's talk about Al Bhed Salvagers next!

Let's just start with the flavor: Al Bhed being Black makes sense, since they are a marginalized group that because of the attempted genocide for not following the oppressive religion are now more than willing to use whatever they need to do to strike back. However, I still would've made them just Dimir, since they are all inventors and machina experts.

That said, don't entirely get why they have a drain and life gain effect, but it makes perfect sense that it is triggered by a creature or artifact dying, including the creature itself. Not bad though, Blood Artist effects are always pretty solid and extending to artifacts is also quite nice and flavorful!

Now for the art. Credit to Masateru Ikeda. Link to their Twitter. Now those are some Al Bhed fighters... Yup, don't got nothing more to say.

Let's talk about Shambling Cie'th!

We don't have the statline for this thing, but for 3 mana, I'd expect a 3/3, 3/4, 4/3 or something (I did mention 3/3, so go me!) The statline being unknown does make me a bit more hesitant on trying to answer how good this card is. It's pretty solid. If nothing else, it will see play in reanimation decks that have a good amount of noncreature spells, since it is cheap to bring beck from your graveyard.

Also, Cie'th being Black makes complete sense. They are l'Cie who failed their Focus (or didn't complete it on time for the brand to overtake them) and transformed into these things. They are the result of being turned into something horrific, which is usually Black aligned.

Now for the art. Credit to Nottsuo. Link to their pixiv. This is delightful frightening and unnerving. I love it, since the Cie'th are exactly meant to be like this, they are supposed to be weird and uncomfortable to look at. Fantastic!

Up next: Evil Reawakened!

Let's go, my boy Exdeath! :D You better be in this fucking set Exdeath, I SWEAR TO GOD. Anyway, solid reanimation spell that gives two +1/+1 counters on the creature you bring back out of your graveyard. Also makes me think that one of the Black limited archetypes will have to do with +1/+1 counters, potentially either BG (or Golgari) or WB (or Orzhov). Sure would be a shame if those are the two limited archetypes we have 0 info on via having seen their signpost uncommons as of the time of writing (24th of May 2025). SURE WOULD BE A SHAME. The only thing is that I don't agree with Exdeath being reanimation focused, since you know... he wants to bring everything to the void and all that.

Anyway, now for the art. Credit to Nino Is. Link to their ArtStation. Now that is how a real villain greets those pesky heroes! >:D God, Exdeath always looks like an absolute boss and this art is no different, I love it. Also really love all the roots around him. This is fantastic, absolutely peak.

Let's go to the Item Shopkeep next!

FF3 item shop merchant. Good buffing piece for an equipped creature to give them menace. 2 mana as well for a 2/2. Just solid. Couldn't tell you why this card is Red, but whatever. You will run this in Equipment decks if you need some more consistency for evasion.

Now for the art. Credit to IWAO. Link to their pixiv. Yup, that sure is an item merchant. Honestly, she does look lovely and so does the item shop. Really cool art!

Next up, Warrior's Sword!

It's alright. 4 mana for a 4/3 Hero Warrior is nice, but no extra effects means that this is just kind of limited in what it is and the equip cost for 5 mana to give something +3/+2 is alright really bad. This is by far the least interesting of these equipments we'll see, but it isn't bad it is awful. You just won't use this outside of a Limited format or unless you are maybe doing something with the party mechanic. If you want to use it, you need to cheat the equip cost. Even then, there are much better Equipments out there.

Now for the art. Credit to Andrea Tentori Montalto. Link to his ArtStation. Is... is that a lady FF1 Warrior? Huh. That's actually super dope. The sword is just alright looking, but I kind of love the lady warrior. It also makes me kind of laugh, since I now can only imagine that Warrior of Light at some point transitioned in his life :p

Up next, Freya Crescent!

Freya from FF9, let's gooooo! Definitely would've personally gone for Boros for her, but mono Red is also fine. She herself is not bad honestly. I like the flavor of only having flying on your own turn to simulate the Dragoon's iconic Jump ability. She is also cheap as hell. 1 mana only. That also brings with it a 1/1 statline, but she is also an equipment ramp piece. I won't say she will be a staple in equipment decks that have Red in them, but she can work in the 99 or as your commander. The very cheap mana cost and relatively low threat from the get go means can possibly cast her 3 times in a game with those times being relatively spread out. As the commander itself, eh.

This might see some attempting in 60 card formats? 1 mana for a mana dork for Equipment isn't bad to get Equipment to be more usable in 60 card formats, but I don't think it will make full blown Equipment decks worth using.

Now for the art. Credit to Nereida. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Freya. I think the artstyle is actually a good fit for her, so good job on that.

Let's go meet grandpa with Summon: Esper Ramuh!

Ramuh in Red is interesting, since he is usually pretty calm and reserved, mostly testing if someone is worthy. I would've expected Green or Blue from him, but I suppose lightning = Red in MTG a lot of the time, so whatever.

4 mana for a 3/3 is below rate, but I suppose it isn't as bad for a summon. His abilities are:

Lore counter 1: This creature deals damage equal to the number of noncreature, nonland cards in your graveyard to target creature an opponent controls. So you definitely want this in a spellslinger deck due to this ability. Decent bit of damage based removal if you can fill your graveyard with instants, sorceries, artifacts and enchantments.

Lore counters 2 & 3: Wizards you control get +1/+0 until end of turn. So a buff for Wizards typal. Neato.

Yeah, not much to say about how good this card is. It is mostly there for the Rakdos limited archetype of Wizards typal and burn and in those type of decks, even outside of limited, it will work out. In 60 card formats, this probably stands no chance.

Now for the art. Credit to Justyna Dura. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Ramuh casting red lightning. Neato. It does go into purple, which isn't uncommonly used in the FF franchise, so I suppose that's fair.

As for the alternative art:

Credit to KAORU HAGIYA. Link to their pixiv. That sure is Ramuh casting red lightning in a more classic Japanese style. Neato. Looks nice though.

Next up: Samurai's Katana!

This on the other hand is very solid. The initial cast is pretty good if you ask me: 3 mana for a 3/3 Samurai Hero with Trample and Haste? That's very solid. It does get worse when you have to re-equip it, since 5 mana is steep, but it can give a new creature Haste to immediately be able to act. Plus if you can cheat the equipping cost somehow, this gets so much better.

Now for the art. Credit to Smirtouille. Link to his BlueSky. That sure is a male Au Ra with a samurai katana and its sheathe doing Hissatsu: Senei. Looks neat, though maybe a bit over done on the special effects. That isn't necessarily inaccurate to FF14 though, so... mission accomplished?

Let's get explode-y with Self-Destruct next!

2 mana for an instant that says target creature you control deals X damage to any other target and X damage to itself, where X is its power. Almost entirely better Fling, since your creature can actually survive this. Also, Jumbo Cactuar + this on attack. Have fun explaining that someone is taking 10.000 damage directly to the face. Aside from that, you could use this with innately indestructible creatures, creatures you've given indestructible or with creatures that have a higher toughness than power to use as either creature, planeswalker or player removal.

Now for the art. Credit to Liiga Smilshkalne. Link to her ArtStation. That sure is Gilgamesh exploding himself to kill Necrophobe. Surprisingly, Gilgamesh survives this encounter, since we know he is now realm hopping via the Interdimensional Rift. Anyway, cool art, it really shows how violent that Self-Destruct was.

We now get to our one Green card of the post and... man, they had to hurt me like this. Galuf's Final Act.

2 mana for an instant that says: Until end of turn, target creature gets +1/+0 and gains "When this creature dies, put a number of +1/+1 counter equal to its power on up to one target creature." Neat way to ensure the power of a creature isn't getting lost from your board if it is to die. Also good with Summons, since they will sacrifice themselves, but you can give their power to another, hopefully more permanent creature.

Now for the art. Credit to Nijihayashi. Link to their pixiv. GALUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUF! This is such an awesome moment in the game and it is captured perfectly. Now if only I had a Galuf creature card I could use this with... nevermind the fact we know he isn't getting one, just due to following the numbers :( Fantastic art!

Next up, our only multicolored card of the post: Choco, Seeker of Paradise!

I got nothing for color identity, we don't really get a grasp of the personality of Choco. I guess Green/Blue makes sense, since Choco changes feathers based on the type of terrain that he can traverse. I got nothing for White.

Anyway, 4 mana for a 3/5 is perfectly on rate, good job. His abilities are:

Whenever one or more Birds you control attack, look at that many cards from the top of your library. You may put one of them into your hand. Then put any number of land cards among them onto the battlefield tapped and the rest into your graveyard. So, if you have a super wide board of birds, this can be turbo ramp. Let's say you have 8 Birds attack, you look at the top 8, you put one of those cards into your hand and you will put like 2-3 lands on to the battlefield tapped. That's actually kind of insane.

Whenever a land you control enters, Choco gets +1/+0 until end of turn. So that first ability goes even stupider with this. Let's say in the aforementioned example, you get 3 land cards into play, Choco has just freely become a 6/5 until end of turn, not assuming you put a land card into play before that point.

Holy. Choco will be a threat. Landfall and Birds typal will be ways he can slot in, with him being extra great as a Birds typal commander. For 60 card formats, no shot, since he doesn't do anything turn one and ideally wants a wide board state to really take advantage of the first ability.

Now for the art. Credit to Miho Midorikawa. Link to their Twitter. Neato, Choco in the foreground showing off how cool and cuddly he looks, Zidane cheering him on and the forest is so nice. I'm sure I'm not forgetting to mention anything else in this art :) Very nice, though a bit more washed out compared to what I'd expect for FF9.

Last and probably least, let's very quickly talk about the first of 10 dual colored Towns: Rabanstre, Royal City.

Nothing too much to say. I'm guessing they chose this as Boros for the fact that the Resistance rose up against the shitty hand they were dealt after the city got invaded and taken over? Aside from that, I got nothing.

Now for the art. Credit to Shahab Alizadeh. Link to their Instagram. What a beautiful rendition of Rabanstre, holy crap! Absolutely gorgeous.

And that's it for this part! Next part will just be Jecht and Vincent, since they are both flip cards that have 3 versions each, so that's 12 images and they could fit inside this post. That will come out very soon! Thanks for reading and take care o/

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good-prog · 2 years ago

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FF9: understanding the makings of a "comfort game"

Main campaign date: 2023/02/06-02/12 Playtime (Steam) to roll credits: 48.9 hrs Playtime (in game) to roll credits: 43.3 hrs Total playtime: 59 hours

I loved Final Fantasy IX; I'm worried about my upcoming playthroughs of FF8 and FF12 because I know that I'll be (un)consciously comparing them to this game throughout. It was a charming game with solid gameplay, with a cute (and well deserved!) romance to boot.

Spoiler warning etc etc. Less polished rambling than usual; I could talk about this game for hours.

gameplay

The combat didn't feel particularly difficult or especially in depth, but was still enjoyable. Each character served a set role that complemented the rest of the party, with later characters and more advanced abilities adding more support options. Notable challenges/areas of interest included:

Early game:

I was fairly invested in the story, so I didn't hit as many random encounters as I usually do during a typical FF playthrough (wandering around, checking all the nooks and cranies).

I was unable to finish the festival of the Hunt because I ran out of potions (oops); learned that potions are less effective out of combat the hard way.

Faced the Gizamaluke's Grotto boss at ~level 10, which took several wipes to beat (and subsequent casual level grinding)

Midgame:

Oelivert: I liked how I had to creatively use support players and passive abilities due to the magic restriction; I only wish that there were similarly restrictive challenges that forced the player to think beyond a "standard" party composition (with a healer). The pair/shrine battle was a good example, though I had no trouble with it since Quina had learned most of their spells by then.

Side note: I wish there was combat associated with each of the pairs that got sent to the shrines, (though we got to fight each of the guardians in Memoria, which made up for it somewhat))

Endgame:

Hades: after beating him (after about an hour), I read that ideally, one kills before his super destructive Doomsday move. Unfortunately, I was greedy and wanted to steal all of his loot. (I ended up only being able to survive his Doomsday casts with pumice equipped on Eiko + shell/protect on all allies)

Wiped to Necron a couple times. Like Hades, I tried with the original party (Zidane/Steiner/Vivi/Dagger) but couldn't keep up with outgoing damage; I ended up swapping to Zidane/Steiner/Quina/Eiko. Crand Cross -> zombie/death -> Phoenix Downs rendered ineffective

Ozma was an rngfest (Doomsday / Curaga spam as it dropped to low health) but I ended up beating him on a pull I just tried to extend as much as I could (with just Steiner alive, spamming Climhazzard)

I liked how I was incentivized to steal; since that was Zidane's job and he was usually in the party, I made use of it more than, say, in FF7 where it was an afterthought. I also enjoyed the ability system, since it promoted upgrading/changing gear as soon as abilities were learned, unlike most RPGs where I tend to hold on to the cheapest/weakest armor/weapons until I get better drops. The passive abilities were interesting to re-equip for bosses that took multiple pulls, though I ended up running a mostly defensive build by the end to minimize status ailments. The storytelling through some of said abilities was amusing, though; early in the game, Zidane's "protect girls" ability would often get himself killed in the process.

Minigames:

Chocobo Hot and Cold isn't the greatest minigame, though after the midpoint of the chocographs I sped up the game (i.e., more pecks in less time) to make it more bearable. There's something amusing about watching Choco zoom around that makes the grind more interesting.

Other minigames/puzzles (e.g., sword battle during I Want to be your Canary, sorting out the Fossil Roo switch puzzle) are cute and added more interactivity to the more story-heavy parts of the game.

I didn't play too much Tetra Master, and am thankful that it didn't play too much of a role in the story (beyond the required card tournament.) I wish the card strengths/weaknesses/rock-paper-scissors rules were more comprehensible; I used an external source to understand what each of the four digits on the cards meant.

Story

Overall, the plot felt tighter and more coherent than most other Final Fantasy games I've played so far. It felt like each of the supporting characters had their major development take place over the course of a zone/dungeon, which made it more tidy (but also not as in depth).

The world felt whimsical in its absurdity: of course Dali's black mage manufacturing factory was chocobo powered (and of course black mages were made with some convolution of chocobo eggs + mist). Of course giant gargants carry passengers between Treno and Alexandria. And of course Cid would get turned into a mustached oglop for cheating on his wife.

The characters are incredibly charming, and I feel like it was easy for me to fall in love with their personalities and their journey to save the world and understand themselves and in the process.

Side note: character design-wise, I liked how the main party wasn't necessarily "conventionally attractive" (I use quotes because other Final Fantasy parties seem to adhere to a more refined/"cool" aesthetic, though their body types may not be mainstream).

Impressions of the characters:

Zidane: embodiment of found family, whether it was as a member of the Tantalus troupe or as the leader of the party. In retrospect, he starts off more emotionally mature than some of the more broody protagonists in the franchise (which makes the You're Not Alone segment on Bran Bal hit even harder when he finally lets his friends help him). During the ending, of course he would go back and try to rescue Kuja—nobody is beyond saving, and he's family after all. And of course he would show up as 'Marcus' in the play to surprise Dagger/Garnet (he's a theater kid!)

Garnet: I assumed she would be a damsel in distress, but she's the exact opposite from the opening act, where--coinciding with Tantalus' mission--she asks to be kidnapped! Throughout her journey, she asserts her autonomy in numerous ways: she chooses a new name, uses her own position as princess to (somewhat naively) attempt to change her mother's mind, escapes in a bag of stinky pickles, pilots the cargo ship to Lindblum, and so on

stuffy knight in rusted armor Steiner: starts off not even using Zidane's name / insisting on rigid loyalty to the queen as rationale for the way he treats "princess" Dagger like a child -> making sure that Zidane promises to return safely at the end (almost like a surrogate parent for Dagger)

ultimate woobie Vivi (but incredibly perceptive for a being so young): starting off throwing fire spells at walls in the Ice Cavern, learning to help his friends with his magic, then coming to terms with his own mortality

unintentionally adorable / hilarious Quina: as the oldest character in the party, they impart a lot of wisdom through their food-related shenanigans. In Madain Sari, they teach Eiko to always "make more than you need" when cooking for a group. There's a certain kind of satisfaction by exploring the world to find different people, values, and of course, food.

Freya: I wish that she moved on from Sir Fratley by the end of the game, but I admired her care for her homeland as the party picked up the pieces of Burmecia and attempted to protect its refugees in Cleyra.

Amarant: felt like I could relate to him at some points becuase he was fundamentally unable to understand how kind Zidane was. I loved the scene where instead of flagging down a Gargant, he decides to take matters into his own hands and carry the kids up the Iifa tree himself.

Eiko: super sassy (calls Mikoto a bimbo!) and the ongoing gag of her crush on Zidane was cute. But she also understands loneliness: she's the last of her clan, without friends her age (or any non-moogles, really) growing up.

Beatrix had a change of heart, but also we don't get more information about whether she was the one that caused Sir Fratley to lose his memory (and she never has a chance to repair her wrongdoing, in the same way Queen Brahne only lived long enough to apologize to her adopted daughter). That said, the romantic gags between Beatrix and Steiner were hilarious.

Necron showing up at the end was a bit confusing at first, but I assumed that like a good deal of other Final Fantasy games, it was the embodiment of entropy / despair / etc. It (he?) demonstrates the theme of coping with ephemerality: how characters respond to being created with a limited lifespan/for a nefarious purpose (we're all going to die anyway; what we do with the limited time we have with each other is what matters).

This game is so romantic; I don't recall the last time I was so invested in a fictional relationship (maybe since reading The Left Hand of Darkness and speculating on the nature of Ai and Estraven's connection, but I digress). Sure, it might have been a bit too saccharine in the way it works out for all of our protagonists at the end, but it felt deserved. I can't stop thinking about the scene in Madain Sari on the boat, where Zidane recounts the traveler Ipsen's tale. The simplicity of the sentiment is so heartfelt ("Why did you come with me?"/"only because I wanted to go with you").

Music highlights

Obligatory "I haven't met a Final Fantasy game soundtrack I disliked" disclaimer, but here were some highlights. If I ever do an Excalibur II run, I might consider doing it without music, since so many of the tracks invite the player to stop and listen for a while:

Burmecia: capturing the sense of foreboding

Dali's theme feels so nostalgic

quiet melancholy of Esto Gaza

Terra/Bran Bal's theme: somber, mysterious

obligatory mention for YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I loved how it replaced the battle theme throughout that dungeon, almost as if Zidane was ruminating on his own reckless march and impulse to push his friends away

Necron's theme (Grand Cross): feels a bit like The Extreme from FF8, in that it starts off with a haze of vocals (in this case, the groans of the damned) and kicks in in a frenzy an ATB gauge or two in

Misc

It took some time for the art style of the characters to grow on me. At first glance, I wasn't the biggest fan of the exaggerated chibis with giant hands. Though the FMVs felt cinematic, the art sometimes reminded me of a Veggietales episode in the textures and exaggerated physics. Graphics-wise, I played with the Moguri mod, which enhanced an already good-looking game's prerendered backgrounds among other QoL improvements.

I liked being able talk to NPCs between major story events and seeing how their lives are affected (e.g., Lindblum spectator during the Festival -> mourning about the destruction of the town -> commentary on rebuilding). My favorite was probably seeing Part-Time Worker Mary at the cable car station, then seeing her together with Part-Time Worker Jeff staffing the Dali item shop by the end.

I also appreciate the FF9 references in FF14 more:

Ark boss moveset / design is similar to Cruise Chaser (there was a spark of recognition followed immediately by panic as I saw "propeller wind" being cast without the clear-headed ability equipped)

Perfect Alex in TEA has wings

5v5 PVP mode uses arrangements of FF9 soundtrack.

Weirdly personal aside on Eiko:

(Apologies in advance for the "we live in a [capitalist] society" sentiment.)

The more I thought about Eiko as a character, the more I could relate to her fear of loneliness.

I love (romantic) love, in the way that it is impossible for a starving gremlin to not drool while staring at a chunk of raw meat! I will eat up any story in which people grow closer and learn to care for each other.

And yet—like Eiko—I fear it. She sees love as a source of security, so she wants to get "between" Zidane and Dagger and get Zidane to fall in love with her instead! Because society encourages the atomization of "community" into nuclear families, I feel like I have lost friendships to it. It becomes all consuming: turning down plans to spend time with a significant other, or letting them take over the topic conversation when they aren't actually there. I can't help but be happy for those friends (who wouldn't be excited for their well being?) but feel conflicted about letting them go and our friendship change.

It's weird, sometimes, seeing old friends on social media living photogenic lives (now with an additional pet or child) while I hunch in front of my computer monitor in my metaphorical basement. I have to resist the urge to comfort myself with platitudes: it's not a bad thing, just different, or perhaps reaffirm that things were temporary, anyway: we were bound to evolve and change and grow apart. I am grateful for the time we spent together, and have to learn to appreciate it and move on. It's not a lose-lose situation, of course; the amount of love in the world isn't finite, though time might be. (One of the perks of living in the 21st century is that I can reach out and reconnect easily!)

next steps

I was able to get all the non-grindy ultimate weapons (besides Quina's Gastro Fork, or Steiner's Excalibur II.) I don't plan on attempting an Excalibur II run immediately, since so much of what I enjoyed was the story, not necessarily the gameplay. But going in with better knowledge of the game might make for an interesting challenge in the future.

I can definitely see myself revisiting this game in the future. I don't have many pieces of "comfort media" that I turn to, but the hope the characters have in the face of identity- and world-shaking revelations and the happy ending definitely make it a candidate.

#ff9 #my review #ough this was sloppy but need to get it done #closed tab

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