This is an aspect of modern gaming I truly hate. For one thing people call it "content", which is just insane. It's a game. You play it. It's not a video. Plus it's like people don't want personalized experiences anymore. Being able to "miss stuff" is good! Because that means you don't have the same experience as other people. That is a good thing!
Yes, I sort of feel the same way but I didn't want to come off as complaining, especially in response to another post. Ultimately, I don't want to "gatekeep" the way others play and experience their games. People should play the way they want to, even if that brings potential drawbacks to the experience.
But I do agree because hidden content is usually a small reward, not something detrimental to the experience if you don't obtain it. It's like...
Oh, you missed a certain weapon and that was the only way to get it? So what, it gets replaced within the hour by something better.
Oh, you missed the strongest end game weapon? So what, the second strongest already sees that you are way overpowered.
Oh, you missed an item you can't buy so there's a limited number of them? So what, is that single one mandatory?
This is why whenever I watch someone play, I try not to give "oh, make sure you go here and grab this or else you'll lose your only chance" suggestions because then like... what's the point?
I will be fair and admit that the missable things in some games, and this includes Final Fantasy IX in some ways, actually does prevent you from seeing/getting not-mandatory-but-important things. One non-spoiler example is that Freya and Amarant are known to be somewhat underdeveloped characters, right? They have some of their limited development in optional ATEs, at least Amarant does (Freya's is less of development and more of "I'll do this after I'm done tagging along with the party"). But even then it's not mandatory as he's still a an underdeveloped character with it. It just explains how he and Zidane met. Some of this stuff was probably intended for if you do additional play-throughs (probably more common years ago than it is these days where game variety is much higher and we have less time to give any single game) or for those who
go out of their way to explore. This whole game in particular is about exploring. Pulling up a guide and then following it as a checklist often turns gaming into a chore and not an experience. You're no longer naturally experiencing the game, you're just following instructions. Your experience becomes predetermined.
Unfortunately, there was probably no avoiding this once the internet became mainstream, especially in video (and now streaming) form. Even before that, we had strategy guides. Final Fantasy IX infamously has what is considered the worst one ever, haha (which is not the fault of the game or even the author who made it, but because Square wanted pieces cut out and put onto their online service instead).
On one hand, I get it though. You buy something and you fear you're not getting the full experience unless you see all the content, and that's probably been a growing concern as time went on because...
1. Games actually are cutting out content and serving it as DLC.
2. We have "less time" because there's more game variety, meaning less time to devote to a single game.
3. Online culture has everything available (some games have and need entire Wikis devoted to them...) so you further feel like you're not "efficiently spending your time" if you don't "get everything".
Granted, I don't fully agree with these reasons because not getting everything does not equal "missing content", at least most of the time. But I can at least see how things have changed here.
I personally only refer to guides after the fact, or if I'm having trouble (this occurred with some puzzles in Tormented Souls), and then I'll only refer to the relevant bits for that part of the game.
