Carbon Ocelot's Final Fantasy IX Walkthrough

Disc 1

Let's start at the very Beginning:
Pay close attention to the opening scene. You'll wanna know what's going on here. You'll see a big boat floating through the air toward a town. Pay attention to the people. The guy with the tail will be you. In fact, when he enters a room you'll become him. The dialogue box that says "Sure is dark" is your cue. Press "X" then go forwards until he says "Guess Nobody's here yet." He'll light a match. Head to the back left of the screen to get 47 gil. You'll get a Potion at the top right. Now head to the center of the room and light the candle then name your character. For the purposes of this walkthrough, I'm assuming you named the charaters whatever their game-given names are to make this easier on everyone. When some guy busts down the door and you have to fight, be sure to steal from him; don't think you have to fight.

If Zidane ever gets below 20 HP in this battle, you can heal him with a Potion , otherwise ignore it. If you're stealing, you'll probably get a Potion first, then you'll get a Wrist . Evetnually, you should get a Mage Masher . After that, you can wail on him. Eventually, someone will stop the fight. Watch Baku give some info. When presented with an option, you should know you are supposed to kidnap Princess Garnet . If you recommend kidnapping the queen, you'll get mocked. Incidentally, I've heard rumors that the map on the wall behind him is from FF7 (the map of the glacier, actully). I've taken a pretty close look at it, and it looks too green and malformed to be that. I just don't buy it. Anyone wanna try and convince me otherwise?

Meet Vivi:
When you next get control, you'll be some guy with a straw cap. If you've played enough Final Fantasy or Dragon Warrior style games, you'll know this is a Black Mage. Unequip everything from him. Some rat kid will bump into you pretty soon, but you can ignore him for now and head down one screen. At the bottom left of the next screen down you'll find a Zombie Card. To the left of the fountain you'll find a Potion . At the top of the screen there you'll get a Lizard man Card. Left of that you'll find a Shagin Card.

Head back to the screen you started on. To the left, you'll find a Potion . To the right, you'll find a house you can go into. That house has a Potion in the far right corner. The far left has Grandma's Savings of 9 gil. Be sure to head up the ladder and get the Fang Card. Head back out of that house and go left and a little up to find a Potion . It's across from the man who says "Well, that's it for today. Time to get ready to see the play."

After that, head up a screen to watch the Herald say, "Honorable nobles of Treno... Castle Alexandria is this way!" Directly down from where you enter this screen, there is 33 gil sitting on the ground. Head straight up to the tavern there and talk to people. The lower right corner of the shop has a Potion . The left lower corner has a flan card. Just a bit farther left you can find 27 gil on the floor. Head back outside and go left and down. On the left side of the street you'll find a Goblin Card. Just above that is Hippaul (see the racing Hippaul section for more information about this character). Across the street from him is a sign that proclaims "Today's Half price special: Our original a cocktail, her (heart) Majesty!" Head left and go to the next screen.

On the right side is a store. At the bottom right of the store is 38 gil. Doug (the guy that owns the store) will sell you a Potion , Phoenix Down , Antidote , Eye Drops , and tents. Don't bother, though. Head back out and go up toward the town square. To the far right is a store on the far right of which is an Ether . The store is manned by a synthesist. Head up and left to the next shop. On the left (below the guy who wants more money) is a sign about the pluto knights wanting new members.

Back out in the main street, you can run into Hippul again if you go just left of the shops there. He'll tell you he has 3 cards hidden in a safe place. Across the main street you can visit his parents in the inn. There's nothing there, though. Go left down the alley there. Head down one screen from that to get to the residential area. The first house you can go into (on your left) you'll get Eye Drops in at the top left corner. Upstairs, you'll find 3 gil. Next door, you'll find a circular room with a ladder in the center. Don't go up it yet. On the right is a Potion , on the left is a Tent . Go up the ladder and pull the rope. You'll get three cards. Head back down the ladder.

If you are really good, you can catch Lila leaving her house and can play cards agains her. If you know how to play cards, feel free to, but if you wait a few moments you can save first, then come back and try. Use your best cards agains her. Head back to the main square and go the Ticket booth. Peek in and ask about alexandria. Then ask about what's showing today. Finally, show your Ticket . You'll get a goblin, fang and skelleton card. At the upper left of this screen (just below the people telling you to get your Ticket stamped or be a nobel) you can find a Phoenix Pinion . Head back down the alley and you'll meet Dante the Signmaker. When he leaves, you'll see some rascle come up to you. Tell him you're the one with the phoney Ticket then agree to become his slave. When he asks if anyone is comming, tell him it's all clear. Once he walks off with the sign, take a quick look around, but don't go up to the next screen or you'll lose gil being mugged. If you see a guy with a Red Hat come down the road, that's Alleyway Jack. You can talk to him to learn more about the card game, and you can play against him as well. In addition to the full first column, I was able to win a Yeti card from him, a Cerberus from Maggie, and an Abomination from the Male Red Mage, but do be aware that you could end up losing your cards. [[Emulator Note: If you're playing this game on an emulator, you can save state before each match/rematch and ensure you don't lose your good cards.]] There are other halfway decent cards around the town. By the time I left, I had the following: Yeti, Sand Scorpion, Sand Golem, Zuu, Cerberus, Ant Lion, Blazer Beetle, Abomination, and Zemzelett. Go down and follow him to the place where you saw the bell earlier.

Try and go up the ladder, then meet your first moogle. After a second you'll meet Stiltzkin. He's cool. When you can talk to the moogle, ask about mognet. He'll ask you to deliver a letter to Monty. You should have just heard from Stiltzkin that Monty lives in the Castle. You can also save. Outside of the area there, you can play cards against Lila or the boat man or the retired boatman. When you are ready, head up the ladder and you'll talk to the Rat Kid. You'll follow him, but be sure to go everywhere else too (not just where he walks) so you can get the other cool stuff scattered around here. Just after a board falls, head left and slightly down and look inside the chimney for 29 Gil. Head up, name your guy (of course, I use "Vivi." Over the next board, head as far up toward the top of the screen as you can for 92 gil. Next, go down the staircase in the middle of the screen and head across the roofs to the chimney (or are these birds nests...?) for 63 more gil. Go back up the stairs and head across to the upper right of the screen (where Puck disappeared to). Before you get there, you may want to remove all Vivi's equipment, if you didn't do that at the very beginning of this area.

In the Castle, the Mighty Castle:
You'll get to watch the CG of the ugly queen and the beautiful girl. Eventually, you'll become Zidane and get pulled into a battle. I think if you use SFX you'll get a better score in the end. Be sure to actually attack the guards, though before you are all killed off. You'll have to improvise by following Blank's lead here. Depending on your score here, you'll get different things. If you score 100/100 you'll receive 10,000 Gil from the nobles and when you talk to the queen later she'll give you Moonstone . (Yes, I've verified this. It took using an emulator that let me slow down the frame-rate and pause, and it took about 15 minutes to complete the battle. Before that, this minigame really bugged me, though.

When you're back to being Zidane, try to get a good look at the lady's face, then eventually you'll be Steiner. He starts out with a Broadsword , a Bronze Helm , and Bronze Armor , but there's not much point in unequiping his stuff, since you won't find another knight-type character before you have to fight with him. Head up the stairs and down one screen to talk with the Queen. Depending on how well you did, you will get an item of some sort. It you managed to score a perfect 100, she'll give you a very rare Moonstone . After that, go back inside, down the stairs, and into the room from which the two soldiers just ran. In the near left corner is a Phoenix Down . You can also use the save moogle at this point, but the Mognet letter you're carrying isn't for this Moogle.

You are suposed to find the princess at this point, and get your men to help you. If you can get ALL your men to help out, you'll get an Elixir , so let's go for that for now. Talk to the two knights of pluto here and tell them to go find the princess. Head out of the room and exit through the top of the screen where the stair case ends. You should be in a room with a large painting. Talk to the soldiers here then head left. Talk to the weirdos here, then head back to the room with the weird paiting and go right. Talk to the guy there, then head back to the room with the painting. There's a man running around here. Try to talk to him.

When you've talked to all of these people, head down the stairs and go left to the library. Talk to the guy there and let him go, if you want. Randomly, there's a small bit of info about Dali against the far wall. Head back to the painting room and go across the hall to the right. Once you have talked to all these stuffy guys, head down from the painting room to exit the castle. At the fountain, talk to the knight at the bottom of the screen, then head right and talk to a knight there. Next head left and go talk to the fratrinizing personnel there, then go into the castle via the door there. Head down a long hall, then up the stairs at the end of the hall. Talk to people as you pass them. If you've talked to *all* the guards already, you can get an Elixir by talking to the out of breath guy a couple of times. You'll have a cut scene at the top of the stairs. After the cut scene, you'll become Zidane again. Follow the princess through the right-most door and - after chatting with miss Ruby - continue down the stairs.

After a brief scene of jumping through hatches. You'll be able to control again. Before doing anything else, examine the big dial on the machine; if you turn the wheel to the left, something will fall from the ceiling. You'll have to immediately turn it back to the right, but you can get a Phoenix Down by going down the stairs. Be sure to equip everything you can to Zidane before continuing on. Head back up the stairs and into the room on the left. You'll have to fight Steiner, but be sure to steal. You can get a Silk Shirt and a Leather Hat . Even thought he's a knight. And knights don't wear that kind of armor... Yeah... ANYWAY... After a little more time, you'll be able to fight Rusty again. Then watch a cut scene or two and fight a bomb. Just keep attacking Steiner. Over and over and over.

In the Forest, the Mighty Forest:
Some time later, you'll be in control again. Press "Select" when told to do so, this is how you view the Active Time Events. After you watch the scene, go look where Cinna threw someone on the ground. There's a Phoenix Down near there. Since you can't get inside the ship, save your game at the moogle and head down and to the right. Make sure you've taken this opportunity to equip Zidane. You don't want to go into this without maximizing your ROI. :D Be sure you have taken some time to familiarize yourself with BOTH the equip AND the ability screens. You're welcome.

This is your first *real* chance to fight. After heading down and right from the moogle, you'll go through a log to the next screen. DON'T go too far to the right, or you'll end up on the next screen and have to fight something nasty. Just level up a little bit here. You can steal a Potion from the Goblins; you can steal a Potion AND a Phoenix Down from the Fang enemies (and rarely a Hi Potion ). It doesn't really take much effort here to level up your accessories and learn the skills. I'd recommend adding a few levels at least. Use the potions to heal up when you're getting low on HP. If you level up, be sure to set the battle speed to fast, and wait to switch from the Leather Shirt to the Silk Shirt until AFTER you've learned "Protect Girls." If you're going to be stealing a lot, I'd also recommend you move Zidaine to the back row, using the "order" menu option. Just click him a few times.

I went ahead and leveled up all my abilities, but I'm weird like that. :D Don't feel like you have to do it too. When you are ready, save at the moogle and head one more screen to the right (that's two from the moogle). When you pass Vivi, you'll be able to fight the big seed thingy. He has nothing to steal, so don't try. Also, you'll want to make sure any attack you use is NOT area effect. In other words, when you trance, DON'T use tidal flame. You don't wanna hurt the princess. Use free energy instead. Two shots of that and he should be a gonner. You'll be thrust into ANOTHER battle here, but you have vivi to cast fire, so it's not TOO tough. Oh. And you CAN steal this time. He has a Broadsword and a Leather Wrist . Time for more cut scenes.

After Zidane calls Baku a coward, you can find a pair of Bronze Gloves in the wreckage to the right there. Leave the screen, watch the active time events, then head down the stairs. There's a Wrist in a chest here, and you can go talk to Vivi in the room to the right. In his room, there is 116 gil in the upper bed and an Ether in a chest in the upper left corner. Help Zidane realize he wants to go find miss Garnet, then leave the room and head left one room - open the chest there to receive an Ether . Head down the stairway there and walk up to the room at the top of the next screen. There's a Rubber Helm there. The next room to the right has Baku waiting for you, but before you go visit him, head down and get a Leather Hat in this room, then go save outside. When you're ready, come back to this room and head right. If you didn't grab it before, there may be a chest kind of hidden in the lower left corner of this room containing a Potion .

In order to leave, you'll have to fight Baku. He's not that diffcult, but be sure to use your potions to keep your health above 40 or 50. You can steal a Hi Potion and an Iron Sword , then just wail on him. Once you're done fighting, head left up the stairs and into the room there to talk with Rusty. After you leave the room, turn aroud and go right back in. Open the chest there for an Ether . Leave that room and go over where Vivi is. After encouraging him to join you, head out of the ship and save/mognet. Make sure you set the equipment and abilities on your new companions, before heading out. If you've got really low HP, you can always head to the room where Vivi was staying in order to rest up a bit. If you're going to have Zidaine steal, he should probably be in the back row. If you're going to have him attack, he can be front row. Head to where you fought the evil plant before, and watch the ATE to hear the FF7 soldier march. *snerk*. Oh, and if you head left on the next screen you can see a waterfall and see a confused Zidaine. This will lead to a dialog later. Anyway... I would use this opportunity to level-up, but wait until you've gone a few screens so you're past the fountain first. I think it's worth it to learn all the abilities the equipment you have can offer you, but I'll let you decide how much you want to level up here.

Anyway, head further down the way to get to a spring. Watch the ATE, then you'll be able to replenish HP and MP by drinking the water. You can also give Monty a leter here. Be sure to mognet TWICE to read the letter from Stiltzkin. Head right two screens and get into battles here, returning to the fountain to heal up. Dendrobium flower things are very good point wise (for leveling up), plus, you can steal Eye Drops , a Tent , and an Ore from them! If you do opt to have your characters learn the abilities associated with their gear, don't forget to swap the Leather Wrist between Zidane and Vivi. There is a cave you can run into at the end of this screen; it's a point of no return. Ever. When you do, you'll have to fight your way out. If you want to save a Potion or twelve and NOT level-up, then by all means head straight here. If your style of play involves crushing the game, skip leveling up here and use the next area. FYI, neither Fire-sword nor stealing will miss, even if your guys are effected with Darkness, so you don't need to worry about using those Eye Drops .

When you are ready to move on, save and head into that cave. You'll be thrust into a battle with Plant Brain. Yeah... That's really it's name. >.> Anyway, try to steal an Iron Helm from this guy (Rusty levels up faster!), then wail on him. After you defeat him, quickly use some Eye Drops , then run away! If you don't run, you'll continue to get into battles. If you want to level up, you can just stand there and get sucked into battles. This is actually an OK place to level up. Move everyone but Steiner to the back row, then have Zidane and Blank steal from each enemy, then attack with Steiner. Have Vivi toss potions as needed. Area effect Fire (use R1 to toggle between targeting one enemy and targeting ALL enemies) will kill off all enemies with a single shot, if you get desparate. You can steal Potion , Hi Potion , and Ore from these guys. If you do steal, hang on to a few Ore . When you're finished (or bored with) fighting, unequip everything you can from Blank, have him equip the most basic sword you have (probably a Broadsword ), then run and watch the cut scenes.

In the Ice cave (No, it's not a mighty ice cave; don't be silly):

When you have control again, you'll wanna use the ATE to learn a bunch of stuff from "Teach Me Mogster." Soon you'll get your magic flute and be able to head south to the ice cave. First, though, open your inventory and make sure to have Vivi and the princess in the back row, Zidaine and Steiner in the front row, and check that you've got the best equipment in place for everyone. On the way to the cave, be sure to wander around the little forest area just to the right of the cave. This is your first opportunity to meet Ragtime! Be sure to check out the Ragtime Section for more information about how to interact with this guy (for example, you need to wait 20 seconds between battles, and there are instructions for meeting him four times in rapid succession!)

If you want to level up, you can actually get to North Gate's Melda Arch at this time. You don't have to do this, but there are some items you can get (a Potion and an Eye Drops ). Just follow the left mountain edge (you'll be heading west, and slightly north) until you come to a weird arch with a "?" over it. The chest here (kinda hidden, on the right) has an Eye Drops . Slightly further along is another one, more hidden, with a Potion . If you listen at the gate, you can buy potions from the lady there, but there's probably not really any reason - you likely have a ton already. Unfortunately, however, you cannot SELL some of the ones you've picked up, which would be helpful.

When you're ready to leave this valley, you can continue on toward the cave. The creatures here that look kind of like a ram carry a Tent and an Ore . If you don't already have a stock of Ore , be sure to have Zidane steal both from them. You'll want a few Ore in the battles ahead (just trust me - if you want to do the Friendly Monsters side quest - see the Friendly Monsters Section for more info - you'll need AT LEAST one Ore ), but you CAN get them later. If you like to steal, just be sure to keep a couple of the Ore you'll probably get. The Tent however, is well worth stealing. Those allow you to restore MP when you're walking along the main map or when you meet a moogle.

Anyway, just inside the ice cave, you can hop up on a ledge to get a Tent . At the next screen up, you'll be able to go to the right, around behind the obvious stairs, and get a Potion . You'll notice two sets of stairs. Take the ones on the right and examine the wall. When Vivi breaks it down, you can get an Ether from behind it. Now go over to the other stair and go to the far end of the next screen to find an Elixir behind another wall. At the bottom right, you'll see a log. Be sure to go ACROSS it and get the Potion FIRST, then come to the bottom of it and examine it, which will cause Vivi to fry it, opening up a path down to a chest containing a Mage Masher . If you haven't already, be sure to eqiup this so Zidane can learn Detect (very cool skill!) and Flee.

On to the next screen. The easy chest has a Phoenix Down in it. The dead end path can be melted to provide access to the other chest, which contains a Leather Wrist . If you didn't get the one in the Evil Forest, be sure to equip this to Zidane so he can learn beast killer from it (and Vivi can learn Blizzard when Zidane is finished with it!) Exit this screen to the north. On the next screen, take the left path and fry the moogle there. ;) You'll get another Teach Me Mogster lesson. After that, mognet/ Tent /save and be on your way. Head down out of that cave and out the cave exit to your right. You'll have a cut scene, then you'll need to go RIGHT toward the bell sound. Take this opportunity to heal up, if you need to, before you encounter...

Boss Battle: Black Waltz no 1:
Eventually you'll be up against Black Waltz No 1 and Ice Giant Sealion. The Black Waltz Carries a Silk Shirt and a Remedy , so be sure to steal if you don't already have those. Since I don't really care about them, I didn't bother stealing against him. The Sea Lion carries a Mythril Dagger and an Ether . The Black Waltz is easiest to kill off, so steal stuff if you want to, then kill him off. My battle was: 3 hits to Black Waltz No 1 killed him. 1 steal from the Sea Lion netted me the Mythril Dagger , then I killed him with 5 hits. I didn't need to use any potions or anything. YMMV. If you need to heal up in the middle of battle, and you need more than 150 HP at a time, don't forget about your Hi Potion . When the battle is over, head back and get everyone, then move out. If you didn't have the bandit skill before, you should have it now that you've stolen the Mythril Dagger ; be sure to enable it to set your guy to learn it and to increase your steal rate! Wouldn't that have been nice during the battle where you were trying to steal it...?

To Dali and Beyond:

Eventually, you'll make it out of the cave and you'll see a town in the distance. Before you head to Dali (that's the town with the weird windmill looking thing on top of it), veer off and go to the mountain looking thing first. If you find a brown mu along the way, see the note a few sentences down. Head inside the house there and talk to the guy, then look at the floating ship model. You'll learn that if you can find the three types of coffee, he'll trade you the floating ship model for it (see the Mordid's Coffee Section for more information). Go outside his house and straight down to find a Hi Potion in a chest. In the far distance, you can also find 135 Gil. Don't bother heading up the stairs, yet. In fact, leave the area and wander back and forth between the ice cavern and the town of Dali, fighting random enemies until you see a Brown Mu (unless you found him already). Remember I told you to steal an Ore from the guys in the ice cave? Here's why. Give it to this guy. If you forgot to (or couldn't) steal an Ore in the ice cave, you can always steal one from a Carve Spider in this area. They're everywhere! See the Friendly Monsters Section for more information about Brown Mu and other Friendly guys. If you really want to buy a few low-end items ( Potion , Phoenix Down , Antidote , Eye Drops , or Tent ) you can head south to South Gate (left from the ice cave if you are facing Dali) and wait for Shop-Keep Mary. You can also sell her stuff like, oh, an extra Potion or fifty (I like to keep 25-50 of any item on hand, but I'm an item hoarder.) You may be tempted when you see you'll get 250 Gil for EACH Ore you sell her, but be aware that there's eventually an attack you'll learn the power of which will be proportional to how many Ore you are carrying, so only sell them off if you have 80-90 of them, or if you really need the money and are willing to go farm more later. Oh, and there's a way to synth them into other gems later on, too.

Once you have what you need, head into the Town of Dali. Your party will figure out what they want to do next, then they'll split up. Watch your ATEs to see what's going on, then take a look around the inn room. You can get your fortune read at the machine on the far left. You'll get one of these:

• Good Omen: Today will be a day filed with Deja Vu. You will see familiar sights and eat foods that you tasted long ago. You may find a long-lost friend. Take a moment to recall good memories.
• Good Omen: A good day filled with many of life's simple pleasures. A nice breeze will greet you as you step out. You will make new friends and replace a lost item with a new one. Be yourself and let good fortune come to you.
• Good Omen: A nice day to relax and put your mind at ease. Lost things will be returned to you, and you will eat foods that are gentle to your body. A good day to spend indoors or out!
• Very Good Omen: An auspisious day for you to go out and have fun! You'll find lost money and lost items. You'll also eat lots of yummy food, and meet interesting people. Go out and share your luck with the ones you love!
• Bad Omen: There are good days, and there are bad days. You may be prone to injury and sickness today. Be careful of losing items and meeting strangers. You are better off staying home today.

Leave the room to get access to a few ATEs; pick one. Over the next few minutes you'll be able to watch more ATEs. They're kind of random, but be sure to watch them if it's your first time playing through the game! Just outside your door is Gumo the moogle. You have a letter for him. Pet the cat on the Fireplace if you want and/or save your game. Head across the street to the weapons shop. You might run into Dagger here; if so, don't mention miss Ruby. If you don't see her, you'll be able to later. Purchase 5x Feather Hat (you'll be able to synth these), and make sure you have TWO Leather Wrist (you'll get another Leather Wrist before more battles, so you only need two at this time.) Zidane can learn stuff from it, but they are also the best defense for Vivi and Dagger at this point. Be sure to equip the Feather Hat to Zidane. When you're done buying armor, look through the window just across the little bridge. At some point you can watch Dagger practice her new language skills here. It may take a bit, though. Straight across the street from that is a stash of 120 Gil on the ground. After that, head to the farm patch at the far right corner of town and look around. There's a chest you just barely can't get to yet. I'll tell you when you can come back and get it. Just before that is an item shop ( Potion , Phoenix Down , Antidote , Eye Drops and Tent ). Now head past Vivi (Don't talk to him yet) by going into the windmill via the door to the left of him.

At the back left is the Aries coin. See the Stellazio Side Quest Section for more information about these coins. You can climb up the ladder and see the chests you can't get to yet, but it's not really worth it. Talk to the guy sitting in the main room and then head out and go talk to Vivi. Watch a brief cut scene and then go look through the window across the bridge. If you don't see anyone back yet, you can go talk to Dagger in the weapon shop. Go talk to her wherever she is, and after a few cut scenes, you'll be in control of Dagger and Zidane. Be sure to equip the Feather Hat for each of them. If you want, you can go level-up the two of them outside the village, but you might not be able to defeat all the monsters you'll see if you insist on stealing from all the monsters, so you may want to wait until you have more people. It's up to you. Anyway, go over where Vivi was listening to the chocobo and have a short cut scene. Head back into the windmill and seach where the young boy was "standing guard" before. "Go Down."

In a Cavern; In a Windmill:

At the bottom of the stairs and mini-elevator is a chest with 156 gil. Grab that and head down the tunnel. Watch for a bit and then search around where Vivi was in the gazebo. Come to think of it, why does a gazebo (complete with roof) exist down in a celler...? (OOH! me: I TAUNT the gazebo! DM: It doesn't do anything. It's a GAZEBO! Me: Can I fire an arrow at it? *roll for it* DM: OK. Now the gazebo has an arrow sticking out of it.) Oh. Sorry. If that went past you, I apologize. Anyway... There's a Potion inside it and an Eye Drops across the path. On the next screen, examine the barrel twice to summon Kumop the Moogle. Get a letter from him, save and head to the far left corner of the room. Examine the ledge to jump up and get an Ether out of one of the chests. Hop down and Kick the winch for a Potion out of the other chest. Head further down the path to get to the next room. There are two chests here. Equip the Leather Wrist here to Dagger if she doesn't already have one, and store the Iron Helm for Rusty. Head to the next room and rescue Vivi (automagically).

Equip Vivi and make sure he's set to learn Add Status from the Feather Hat . Examine the chest next to the door for 95 Gil then look at the weird machine. Now go back and save your game then go open the door with the mist coming out from under it. You'll have to fight some ghosts here. Have Vivi use the black magic 'fire' on them and Zidane can steal a Phoenix Pinion , Hi Potion , Potion and Ore from them. Dagger can just heal them (they're ghosts; healing deals MAJOR dammage). Wait... Isn't a ghost with a Potion like Zidane carrying, say, arsenic? Oh, sorry; I got distracted by reality. When you walk into the room Zidain will look around, then you can open those chests. The front one has a Phoenix Down , and the one behind the machine has a Potion . Totally hiden by the machine is a third one with a Phoenix Pinion in it. Head back into the previous room and run along the gang-plank near where the eggs are coming out. You'll be able to go to the next room and observe some stuff.

Walk down toward the end and observe, then try to go to the next room. Heal up (that's what the little delay here is about; hint: equip a Mage Masher and add status - you'll want to silence something soon), then try to go to the next room again. Watch a cut scene or two then you'll become Steiner. If you didn't get the Iron Helm from Plant Brain and equip it already, equip the one you just found under the windmill, then follow Mordid down the stairs and into his house. Look around, then talk to him until you hear the Cargo ship is here. Leave this area to end up as Steiner looking at some barrels. It doesn't matter which thing you do, though poking it is kind of funny. Now you get to fight again. I hope you're rested up and have your stuff equiped. Welcome to the fight with "Black Waltz No. 2." You can steal a Leather Plate and a Steepled Hat from him. Try to steal what you need before killing him off. Don't use direct magic attacks against him, though, or you'll get hammered with a magic-all counter attack. Have Vivi and Dagger heal people up, and have Zidane steal while Rusty smacks him. When Zidane has both the Leather Plate and Steepled Hat , be sure to have Zidane attack too. If you have a Mage Masher with add status equiped here, you can silence him. Merry Christmas. You should get a few ethers and 5 AP when you beat him. You'll be given an oppertunity to head back to the village and rest or to get on the airship immidiately. I head back to the Inn for a little Deja Vu and saving action.

If you want to level up a bit, you can take the ice cave all the way back down. You cannot enter the Evil Forest, thought. Just leave the village and re-enter the ice cave. This is pretty much your last chance to go through the ice cave. Not that you really WANT to enter it; there's not much here. If you managed to steal, equip the Leather Plate to Zidane and the Steepled Hat to Dagger. When you are ready to move on, unequip everything of value from Steiner and board the ship by walking to the farm patch and then trying to exit the village that way.

When you have control of Zidane again, head down the hall and up the ladder at the top of your screen. When you get on deck, you can go about 5 feet before Rusty wakes up. Once you have control again, head to the bridge (the only open door you can go in). After more cut scenes, you'll have the chance to equip Zidane, Rusty and Vivi before fighting the next Black Waltz (No. 3). Without Dagger, this can be a tough battle. Using Zidane's Detect skill, we see that this guy has Silver Gloves , a Linen Curiass and a Steepled Hat . We have the hat already, so we could just try for the gloves and the curiass. However, you'll be able to BUY these before you have another major battle, so it may not be worth your time, unless you really like to steal, or hate to buy. :D If you want to steal, just do so until you get the stuff you want, then have Zidane wail on him too. In the mean time, have Vivi beat up on him with 2x magic and have Steiner heal using a Potion or a Hi Potion . Vivi should go trance as soon as the battle begins, so if you're trying to steal be carefull not to kill him off too fast. 6 or so Fire shots killed him off. You can buy everything this guy is packing (that can be stolen) so unless you really want to spend the time stealing, just beat him up and get out of there. You'll watch some cut scenes then head to Lindblum. You can't fly the airship at this point, so don't bother trying. ;)

My first trip to Lindblumb:

When you reach Lindblum you'll get control of all four characters. If you managed to steal them, equip the Silver Gloves and Linen Curiass to Rusty and don't bother trying to go see the town. The ships don't seem to leave port. You can, however, hit the bedroom if you take the road that leads right from the main fountain. The lowest level has a Glass Armlet in a chest. The upper level has an Ether . Equip the Glass Armlet to Zidane so you can get the most out of your next adventure. Say hi to the Moggle (Mogki) here too. Give him the letter from Kumop and get one for Atla then save (you don't wanna have to do all that again if you fail, right?) Head out of the bedroom and back to the fountain - go down one screen and watch some cut scenes. Meet Cid Fabool (had to have a Cid in the game, right?) and also Freya.

You'll learn quite a few things, get another Mogster Lesson, and eventually you'll be Zidane. Head next door and meet Moodon. Read a letter from miss Ruby and save, then head downstairs. There is 163 Gil in the bottom left and you can read the guest book at the counter. The ATE here will explain something that happens later. Once you leave the inn, head up two screens. There's a Tent hidden here behind the tree limbs. Go inside the church. At the front is a ladder that leads to a short catwalk above the organ. Go up that, across the catwalk and you'll get another Leather Plate there. Head out of the church and down one screen - to the place where the lady selling pickles is. Head to the screen on the upper right. There's a weapons shop here that has some swords you may remember from FF7. There's also a funny suit of armor. Just North of the weapons shop is an item shop, and further down (the next screen) is the first synth shop you can go to.

See the Shops Section for more information. You can steal Silver Gloves from the Synth Shop. Equiped any cool stuff you've found, bought, or synthed. You can go level grind Zidane now, but I'd recommend hitting the Industrial and Theater Districts first, as you'll get some gear you may want to equip while level grinding. I recommend hitting the Industrial district first, then the Theater District, then worry about leveling up. Assuming you're OK with that order of events, head across the street from the Inn to where the skycabs are for more info in the form of ATEs. Head to the Industrial District. As you exit the air car, head up the stairs to the left. At the top of the stairs, look just past the railing at the farthest bottom of the screen for a Leather Wrist . Head up to the next screen Just to the right of the entrance to the Doom Pub is a Bronze Vest . At the top of that screen is a door you can enter to go inside the steam engine prototype room.

Upstairs are two chests - One with a Mimic Card and the other with a Steepled Hat . Wander into the Doom Pub for a bit of chit chat, then head back to the Air Cabs and head to the Theater District. After an ATE head to the bottom of the screen. There is 127 Gil there. There is a shop just to the lower right of this screen. You can go down there and poke around a bit. The chest in here has an Ore in it. Back outside, head down the stairs at the upper left of the screen. Talk to the lady on the way, and head to the lower right of the screen to go down to the theater.

Talk to the people down there and wait. When the "Moogle" runs out of the picture, follow him to the Artist's house you were just in. Search by the red stuffed char for the Moogle Suit , then talk to Lowell for his Autograph . You would think you could take this out side and give it to the "Crazy Lowel Fans" but evidently you can't. Whatever. Head down the bridge toward the theater again. See the big clock along the way? There's a sign there about "Lucky Color and Co." Head inside that building and watch some cut scenes. When they're over, raid the chests for 282, 97 and 68 Gil. Then, search the bed for the Mini-Burmecia . Once you leave, you'll be able to watch something interesting. Baku and his crew are wondering around. Pay attention to this- it's usefull to know. I just wonder if Cinna dropped something there... ;) And did you see Marcus raid that chest? That's why you can't later. OK that's just about it for this town. If you want to level up Zidaine before the tough battles to come, read the next paragraph. Otherwise, skip to the next section.

This is where I usually level up Zidane. He'll be competing in a very tough competition later, so you may want him a little buffer (you know, just enough to only hold a few bytes... Then he can do an add with carry... Nevermind...) Head down as many screens as it takes to get outside if you wanna level up. If you haven't already met Ragtime 4 times, you can run around in the nearest forest to try and find him; See the Ragtime Section for more information about this guy. In general while you are leveling up, don't forget that it's a good idea to have your battle speed set to maximum. (And from my experience: it's also a good idea to have your speed at max for the Festival of the Hunt later.) And don't forget to save every 5 battles and heal after every one (if you need to; I hate re-grinding more than just about anything in RPGs; ymmv). If an axe beak begins to cast it's "Glowing Eyes" skill while you are chosing what you want to do - STOP. If you select something and then that attack puts you to sleep, you'll have to wait for your ATB to recharge when you finally wake up. If you don't chose anything, though, as soon as you wake up, you can take an action immediately. I usually level up until Zidane has all his abilities learned except for the most powerful sword. I normally let someone fininsh learning an ability, then assign that gear to another character. But since only he can use his weapon, it doesn't really matter *when* he learns that skill. When you think Zidane is ready for the Festival of the Hunt...

The Festival of the Hunt

Save your game and head to the castle (via air cab). Head to the Guest Room of the palace, then leave the room and head back toward the fountain. Zidane learns that Dagger is upstairs, so head toward the lift. When the guard stops your progress, head back toward the room, but go down the stairway there and talk to the guard sitting on the couch (not the one guarding the doorway to the right). After a small amount of playing around, you'll be able to get on the lift. When you get to the top, you don't have much choice but going up the stairs on the left. Do so, then head to the left around all the stairs surrounding the big machine. On the next level up, head up more to the top of the balcony. You'll get a cut scene and then you can look through the telescope. You can see the river, the chocobo forest, the qu marsh, the Aerbs mountains by Burmecia, South gate and the mountains by Aexandria. After that, you'll get booted off by Dagger, and then she'll look, and you'll talk. After several more cut scenes, it'll be time for the Festival of the Hunt.

Read the rules that come up here about the hunt very carefully. You can save at the Moogle here in the Royal Bedroom (Mogki)

I play to win; here's my strategy. Make sure you do all this BEFORE the hunt, as anything you do in a menu DURING the hunt wastes time. So, before the hunt find the Bronze Vest outside doom pub. This gives you the jelly ability; that will keep you from getting paralyzed. Set your battle time to fastest and don't waste time potioning up during a battle, if you can help it ( Potion after battles and just press x a bunch; wasting potions is fine here). Hopefully you've been level grinding enough and you have a nice enough weapon that Zidane kills most things in one shot before they even get a chance to attack. You can set your options to "auto-run" to make this go a little easier. Whatever you do, DON'T STEAL! If you've had Zidane in the back row to take less damage, put him in the front row before beginning the race.

Zidane will start in the Theater District. Make a quick sweep to get everything there then head to the Industrial District and do the same. After that, head to the business district and finish the hunt at the top RIGHT screen - fighting the Zahgnul by the fountain. If you can beat HIM (after killing off all the monsters on the other screens), you're pretty much guarenteed to win. Get equipped, set your abilities, Tent / Potion then save your game and then leave the room and head to where the air cabs are and examine the car docked there. Try to run into any enemy running around. Don't waste time talking to people. You'll need a minimum of 5:30 to finish off the business dist, so when you see the timer hit 6:15, bolt toward the cabs. Here's my play by play. You may want to study this to see how to do stuff later.

Theater District (started here with 12 minutes):

1. Fight the Mu running around the old man.
2. Head toward the stairs and wait for the Trick Sparrow to fly down, then fight it.
3. Head to left to the next screen...
4. A Trick Sparrow will fly down to meet you as you head down the screen a bit. Fight that.
5. There are no more enemies in this district, so leave and head to the Industrial District (Note: Don't go where Lowell's fans were down at the bottom of the stairs!)

Industrial District (got here with 9:20 left):

1. Head up the stairs on the left.
2. Fight the Fang running around the statue.
3. Head up the stairs to fight a Mu that meets you half way.
4. Head to the next screen.
5. Go under the bridge and fight a Mu.
6. Try to go into the pub and fight another Mu.
7. Leave and head to Business District.

Buiness District: (Arrive at approx 5:45).

1. Leave the platform and head up one screen.
2. Head up to fight a Trick Sparrow that swoops down on you.
3. Keep headng up to fight a Mu that jumps out from a building on your right.
4. Head to the next screen
5. There's a Fang to your left - fight that and then...
6. Head straight up to the next screen
7. Fight the Fang.
8. A little further on, fight the Trick Sparrow
9. Head back to previous screen.
10. Watch Vivi Running past, then fight a fang.
11. Head up and right to the next area, then find the kids in the upper left corner.
12. Time to fight the Zahgnul

I started the Zahgnul battle at 1:13 to go). Killed him with 14 sec to go! Whew!!! 227 pts = "teh winz!" Zidane was level 17, which is probably the only reason I was able to win the hunt. Even then, it wasn't exactly what I'd call easy. :) Once the hunt is over, you'll get money if you won. After a bunch of cut scenes, the princess and Rusty are gone, and you and two other party members must head out to Burmecia.

Heading to Burmecia - Let's get Quina

There's nothing new you can do here in Lindblum, but feel free to head back to the business district and buy/synth stuff you couldn't afford earlier. When you're ready to move on, just return to Lindblum Castle and head down to the lowest level using the lift. The left trolly takes you to the Dragon gate, but before you go there, head to the Serpent's gate via the trolly on the right and get the Wyerd card at the top of the screen near the end of the train ride. Hop back on the trolly and this time head to the Dragon's Gate. Buy stuff from the merchant if you need to. Moonte (the Moogle) is sitting at the bottom left of the screen. Read a letter from Stiltzkin, then save/mognet/ Tent and search around the spot up from the stairs (hidden from view) on the right for a Tent . You probably have new equipment, so be sure to equip everything you want on your characters. When ready, head out the door at the top of the screen.

Immediately after leaving the area, you'll see a swamp looking thing straight out the front door (that's north and slightly east; don't forget you can use the 'select' button to bring up the mini-map and World Map ). Head north until you see the raised area. When you see the question mark, you can enter Qu's Marsh and pick up Quina. Head forward a few screens to see the Mogster and Moggy. Go straight a few more screens (one through the brush until you meet Quina, and another through frogs to get to the Marsh/Master's House. Go inside the house and talk to Qu Clan Member a couple of times, then leave. Go back down to the screen where Qunia is and catch a frog. Just talk to it while it's on the ground (not in the water) in order to catch it, then go talk to Quina. You'll be treated to a few cut scenes. You might as well add Quina to your party now, since you'll be forced to accept him later, and it'll make this next section a little bit easier. After Vivi's interlude, be sure to equip Quina with a Yellow Scarf and enable the Millionair ability to allow him to earn a ton of cash. Head down one screen and you'll notice that Quina wants to catch frogs. This is, in my opinion, a totally over-rated mini-game. On the other hand, it's the easiest way to get some of Quina's weapons. Heck, it's the ONLY way to get some of them. See the Frog Catching Section for more information. After catching some frogs (or not), head down and leave the marsh. Be sure to have Quina eat stuff as you go along:

Quina and Blue Magic

Unlike other characters who learn various magic by equiping items, Quina learns "blue magic" by eating things. As you are leaving the Qu's Marsh and heading toward Gizamaluke's Grotto, there are some enemies that Quina can eat to learn new spells. I'll alert you to these kinds of spells in the future like this:

Blue Magic Note: Gigan Toad = Frog Drop, Axolotl = Water Breath, Serpion = Mighty Guard.

To be clear, there are a few blue magic skills you can learn from the Spider and Axe Beak enemies back through Lindblum - but you have to go back before you visit Gizamaluke's Grotto. Otherwise if you try and go back to get them the soldier just inside the gate will tell you "Lindblum is on high alert. We've stopped all trolleys and closed off all entrances to the castle." In other words, you can't board the trolly and get back to the lift gate to fight these enemies. You can learn LV3 Def-Less from a Carve Spider and Limit Glove from an Axe Beak. LV3 Def-Less is probably worth learning, since the other option is learning it from a Lamia, which may be a little tricky, depending on your level at this point.

My First Chocobo:

When you leave the marsh, head due east along the mountains until you come to a river with a bridge. Cross the river and enter the tiny circular forest just ahead. Save (to retain Quina) and enter the forest. Welcome to Chocobo's Forest. Be sure to see the Chocobos Section for more information. There's not much point in duplicating it here, after all. Once you have your chocobo (and all its glorious booty) you can head to Gizamaluke's Grotto. Be sure to equip your party with the Germinas Boots and Cotton Robe you just found (if you went searching for treasure on Choco). The chocobo detour took me one hour and 38 seconds (according to my save game times). It's worth it! As long as you're here, visit South Gate just north of the Chocobo's Forest for some Moccha Coffee (See the Mordid's Coffee Section for more information).

Gizamaluke's Grotto:

Blue Magic Note: Skeleton, Hedgehog Pie, Basilisk = Pumpkin Head, Hornet = Vanish, Lamia LV3 Def-Less

When you first enter the Grotto, head right and talk to the Burmecian Soldier there. Once you have the Gizamaluke Bell , go up to the door and ring it. You'll open the door, but lose your bell. On to the next screen. You'll fight a few black mages, then another few (they carry a Tent and a Phoenix Down , if you need them.) You'll get another bell from beating these guys. Head up the stairs, but go to the tiny little door on the LEFT (not the big, obvious one at the top of the staircase).

You'll be able to head around the bend to the walkway under which you came in (yeah... It might not be proper to end that sentence with a preposition, but it's ledgible, right? LOL.) In the far left burned-out tower is a Bronze Vest on the ground. Head over the bridge and go talk to the wounded guard and get his bell. Head back to the platform and ring the bell in the center (not the little bell that's down the stairs and off to the far right). Give away a Kupo Nut to the poor Mogmi by the large bell. (Hey if you want to be stingy go ahead a say, 'no.' But you'll be in an infinite loop if you keep doing it.) In the chest under the bell you'll get another Gizamaluke Bell . There are two exits at the top of the screen. Go to the one on the right and ring the bell. When it breaks, open the door and head inside.

You'll find Mogmi in the back corner. Talk to her (mognet/ Tent /save/etc). See that vine ahead? That leads to one of the most dangerous areas around. SAVE if you are going to try going up there, though there isn't much up there for you right now. Remember this place, though. It's the BEST place in the game to level-up - hands down. On your way out (the way you came in) Moguta will get you the Holy Bell , and tell you he's "Kupo for Kupo Nuts." Heh heh. Well *I* thought it was cute. Anyway, head down past the bell to the lower right exit. It leads under the other path. Search under the path for a Magus Hat which you can equip to Vivi so he can learn slow.

A little further down that path are Mythril Gloves (just above and slightly right of the door to the right of the fallen wedding bell.) Now go back past the fallen bell and up to the door on the upper left. If you run into a Lamia, be careful. They are dangerous and can cause status abnormality Confuse on your guys, making them attack their comrads. Before you go through this final door, be ready. Set Zidane's steal abilities, if you have them. Meet Master Gizamaluke. You can slow him, BTW. If he becomes un-slow at some point, though, you may want to do it again. His level must not be a multiple of 3, because I was unable to connect with Quina's Blue Magic LV3-Def-less. This enemy is near water, so let loose with Thunder attacks. Steal his Ice Staff and Magus Hat (and Elixir if you want it). Have Quina and Freya heal people up. If you have Quina's Blue Magic "Mighty Guard" (see Blue Magic Section) use that here, too. Zidane's Scoop Art Dyne was very useful.

Back to Dagger & Rusty:

When the battle with Master Gizamaluke is over, you'll become Rusty and Dagger. Don't bother equiping them - they're not going to fight anyeone. Welcome to Grand Citadel South Gate. Walk up to the Guards and talk to them, then watch a bit of a scene. When you end up inside the gate, look immediately to your left. There's a chest hidden behind a barrel with a Multina Racket in it. Talk to the Lady at the edge of the alley, and "console her" then talk to the young man who is to the right of the gate you entered from (Chief Engineer). Now go talk to the worker at the other gate.

Finally, go talk to the Cheif Engineer again. Now run down into the alley way. When the guard comes up and stops you, head over to where he is for your Gate Pass . Now duck back into the alley and try to be on lookout. You can make steiner go go to the other side of the alley if you are fast enough, but he won't notice that Dagger is changing. When you are Dagger again, head left and open the chest, then talk to the moogle (Grimo). Mognet/ Tent /save if you want, then head up the ramp to the car and "baord" [sic] the tram. Head to the back right seats.

Visting Burmecia:

Blue Magic Note: Nymph = Sleep, Magic Vice = Magic Hammer

After a few cut scenes, you'll be back in control of Zidane. If you swipped an Ice Staff or a Magus Hat (or both) from Master Gizamaluke, be sure to remember to equip them now. If you want to go exploring, you can get the blue chocobo at this point. See the Chocobos Section for more information. Head due north to the doorway on the cliff face. That's North Gate's Burmecia Arch. Toward the gate is a few chests ( Hi Potion and Tent ). The gates themselves are locked, though, so you can't get in. North and Just West of there is the town of Burmecia. You can go there now, or wait and level up (in order to learn more blue magic, I guess; I like to go into this section with these Blue Magics: Mighty Guard, Pumpkin Head, Night, Angle's Snack, and Vanish).

If you didn't do it a few sections ago, now is a good time to head past the cyclone (city of clyra) and call Choco from the Chocobo tracks over near the shore. Choco can learn the REEF ability from the "healing shore" chocograph if you found it. Going through this area will net you a Magician Robe and an Oak Staff (cool!) See the Chocobos Section for more information. After that, head to the town proper. If you find a Magic Vice, I recommend learning Magic Hammer if you can. (See Blue Magic Section). You should see what looks like either an overturned cart or an overturned bucket straight in front of you.

Go around behind it and examine it for the Cancer Stellazio (see the Stellazio Side Quest Section for more information). Head forward again and fight a couple of Black Mages, then head through the door on the left. At the near right is a chest with a Soft . At the near left is a chest with a Potion . See the chest on the next level? You can't get there because the floor is out. Let's fix that, shall we? Leave this room via the door you came in and go right and up the stairs, thenthrough the doorway. In the next room, there is a chest hidden from view by the stairs. It has a Soft in it. Head up the stairs next. If you want to fight a Mimic, open the chest here. They are tough, though. Head through the doorway on your left and across the walk to the other side. Try to go over to the chest on the far left.

See how the floor nicely fits the area that was mising earlier? Backtrack to that room and go open that chest - if you want to fight another Mimic. There is an open doorway now, though, that you can get to. Go through it and head right (onto the Balcony). You'll hop across and enter the next room. There's a guy on the right who tells you to get the bell by the bed. On the way, go to the far left corner and open the chest for an Ether . Now head to the far right corner and "Check under the bed." That's all you can do here, so head back out the way you came in, all the way out of the building. Head right and go back up the stairs and through the door, then to the left and out onto the rainy patio. Walk up to the blue door in the center and ring the Protection Bell , then head through the door to watch some cut scenes. On the next screen, head through the ruined door right in front of you to watch more cut scenes, then leave and go up he stairs on your right.

Don't bother going through the first doorway you see; it's a dead end. Go across the balcony again and through THAT doorway. There are two chests here. The closest one has a Tent , the next has a Phoenix Down . If you follow the rail all the way around, there is a chest on the other end which is actually another Mimic. If you head through the doorway at the far end of this room, you'll come out by the ruined palace fountain. There are three exits from here. One ahead and left, one straight ahead and the other ahead and right. Go to the left one and get a Mythril Spear , then head to the right one.

Give Atla a letter/mognet/ Tent /mogshop/save. Head past Atla and get the Lightning Staff out of the chest at the far end of the room, and in walks Stiltzkin! Buy the Soft , Hi Potion , Ether combo from him for 333 Gil then leave and get ready for a major battle. Don't worry about removing the Yellow Scarf from Quina - the next group can't use it. Steal abilities at max, you know. When ready, save then head north and watch the cut scenes. You'll be fighting Beatrix. She has a Mythril Sword , Chain Plate and a Phoenix Down . Steal what you can before you get Creamed. Don't attack her, just use your three non-Zidane people to heal with potions and maybe use mighty guard while Zidane tries to steal. It's theoretically possible to get that Mythril Sword , but please don't sweat it if you can't/don't. You can buy it pretty quickly, and you really don't want to keep reloading over this one. The Chain Plate and Phoenix Down are pretty easy to get, though. You can use magic hammer if you want, though. That's good for a laugh. XD