MUSIC DIRECTOR REACTS | Final Fantasy IX OST - You're Not Alone!

Thank you YnEoS10 for the suggestion!

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-MY GEAR-

#ff9 #Reaction #DrumRollTonyReacts

[AHylianWarrior]

Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack was declared by Nobuo Uematsu himself to be his magnum opus. It's a phenomenal piece of work and I can hear why he'd think such a thing. You're Not Alone has stuck with me throughout all these years ever since the game first came out which only adds to how brilliant the piece is

[PetarBladeStrok]

One of the most emotional & beautiful tracks in all of gaming. Especially for the segment it plays in... Absolutely beautiful.

[Khelevandros]

I completely agree with your take on contextual bias, because it's true: as great as this song is on its own, it's only when you combine it with the scene it was made for that will emblazon it on your soul. Even listening to it in this video, with your reactions added, the pauses and restarts, I was still sent back in time 25 years from the very first note and was tearing up by the end.

Let me try to give some general context without specific spoilers, since specifics wouldn't mean much without full context. The song plays near the end of the game, when the main character is at his lowest point. A massive revelation has just shattered his perspectives on his own identity and has caused him to not just lose faith in himself, but causes him to doubt the bonds he's forged with the people he's met throughout the story, the ones that make up your party and have become most important to him.

The most obvious aspect of this song is it's sense of progression, that it's broken up into little 'acts' (I don't know music jargon, apologies) where each act has all the same elements as the previous, but something new is added, ie; the panflutes in act 2, the guitar in 3, and the 'vocals' in act 4. There is a reason for this beyond just the structure of the song, though it might've gone unnoticed by some as technical limitations didn't allow for how this is TRULY meant to be heard.

In act 1, the character is alone, and fighting alone. If the game had been able to play this entire scene as a scripted cutscene, then just as act 2 starts and we get the first addition to the song, it would have coincided with the fact that several of his friends show up to help him, trying to convince him that their bonds are real, and strong. He doesn't believe them and after the fight leaves them behind, only to be attacked again, and as act 3 starts, more of his friends show up, again telling him in their own way that they believe and so should he. Finally the person most important to him appears with the final act, and is the one to finally convince him.

In short, the song is literally titled after the message all of his companions came to tell him: He is not alone.

[dellapj]

Context bias is so real because I’m sitting here crying just in the first eight bars.

[russw]

I always love that Uematsu composed FF games have all this prog rock flavor to them. All the crazy bars and instruments.

[DeepVoicedDude]

Too many people sleep on 9. It's my favorite FF. Amazing music, incredible visuals, wonderful characters with stories so powerful they'll move you to tears.

... Also the card game will steal weeks of your life lol

[ryanc]

To think this came out in 1999. I can only imagine how it'd sound if it came out a decade or two later with the means we have now. Pretty cool to hear someone's opinion on this without the context. But god, the context is so strong in this moment that it's hard to escape it. It still hits me in the feels whenever I hear it, even to this day. Not gonna spoil anything, but it is one of those moments I'm sure quite a few of us can relate to, at least to some degree.

[silverowyeah]

the orchestra version is even greater, always makes me want to cry for some reason

[xirtall]

This song still gets me. I still remember holding my PS1 controller sitting close to the TV, taking in Zidane feeling broken and lost and his comrades trying to bring him back from that while this song played.

[JackgarPrime]

This is the song that struck with me when i first played the game years and years ago.

[YnEoS]

Appreciate you covering this song! Context definitely adds a lot, and another aspect is that this track is very different from all the others in the game, so it’s also a very big shift when it happens. I do think there are a lot of nice qualities to appreciate on its own, so I liked hearing your thoughts about it out of its normal context.

[drgonzo]

I love going back and listening to video game OST’s, because while I’m playing a game I’m so single minded on what I’m doing I don’t really “listen” to the music, but my brain still absorbs it. So listening to the tracks on their own later hit so emotionally for me, taking me back to that experience, no matter how long ago it was.

[TajinQ]

Regardless of the context, it's one of those songs that can *strongly* resonate emotionally with some people.
I like this one and I understand why some people absolutely love it, but it's far from being my favorite

[sleepofgc]

Would love to see you react to the Distant Worlds orchestral version of this (and others, of course). It's cool to see the evolution of Uematsu's music from midi's built for hardware limitations, to orchestral arrangements with full creative control.

[ryanparker]

You are 100% correct on your assessment. Context is everything with this piece. The culmination of your team's struggles coming to a (near) apex moment with huge decisions being made at this juncture of the game adds so much more to the power of this piece.

I whole heartedly support you playing FFIX to add that layer to your appreciation.

[XSAGA]

Funny how the squareenix channel posted this like a week ago. Man the buildup and the team coming to support the homie Zidane, one of my best moments in all of gaming to me. Glad your fans recommended this one. Hope for Roses of May in the future although a much shorter track.

[Xagzan]

The Distant Worlds orchestra version of this track is so moving. I think it's DW, anyway.

[ToLoveCCC]

I am surprised nobody has recommended Lost Odyssey - Never ending Journey, I'd love to hear his take on it since Lost Odyssey has some really good songs.

[RedKnight_]

Fire Emblem Three Houses. “The Apex of the world”, God Shattering Star”, Seasons of Warfare”, “Blue skies and a battle”, “A Vow Remembered”, and “a Star in the Morning Sky”,

[jamesaditya]

The context absolutely makes this piece as beloved as it is by the community. I'd sooner recommend "Frontier Village Dali" for anyone that haven't played IX over this though, especially with how deep into the game this song is in and Dali is one of the first places you get to interact with as a game instead of a linear progressing story

edit: also you are absolutely correct that when this plays it's one of those "I should put my controller down", except you can't! It's featured in a cinematic battle where the enemies themselves aren't very threatening but you can absolutely still lose. I think the mild demand for strategic decisions combined with the narrative distress you've just experienced and the rest of your friends joining you by your side is what makes the moment memorable. The lack of voice acting also works in its favor because there will be dialogs during the fight and you have to read them out yourself, so you are processing those words as you are hearing this tune.