Final Fantasy IX - Guide
Translation Started: July 8th, 2000 AD
Mappyman & C-chan
Version 0.7 Enoch II
Well look here, my very first FAQ/Guide! As far as translation knowledge
goes, I'm very adapt to the import Final Fantasy world. I've played every one of them,
both Japanese and English versions. 4 is, was, and always will be my all-time favorite
though. When I got FF8 a few days after its release, I was hooked on FAQs.
I would print out each of them and follow them to a tee, so I wondered if maybe
there might be others out there who also do the same thing as myself, depend upon
FAQs and guides as I do with new import RPGs. With the help of C-chan, I hope to make
this a very useful guide on getting used to the new Final Fantasy.
-=Contents=-
News
Menu Systems
Controls
Character's Names
Character's Battle Options
Magic List
Trance Mode
Mog
Items
Chocobos
SideQuests (The game goes on!)
Forest Mysteries
Friendly Monsters
Quotes
Unknown
FAQ
Props
Scheduled Updates
-------------------------------------
NEWS!
-------------------------------------
July 21: 13:23
Added "Friendly Monsters" section
July 20: 14:22
New characters and more complete Magic List.
July 17: 08:39
On Disc 3 now. Added more names and sections
July 14: 07:53
BensonBJ2M's Chocobo section
July 12: 14:06
Beat Disc 1 in 20:00, level 13 Zidane
July 10: 16:00
New Ascii logo! Thanks
July 10: 13:33
Vivi's Trance and Magic
July 10: 08:17
Changes and misc corrections
July 9: 02:17
Name Field
July 9: 01:47
Battle Options and Trance Mode
July 8: 22:56
Item List Added
July 8: 22:43
C-chan on the edit, fixed some errors....
-------------------------------------
MENU SYSTEMS
-------------------------------------
Item-
Ability-
Equip-
Status-
Row-
Card-
Config-
ITEM: Brings up a list of the items you've acquired
*Use
Circle = Confirm
X = Cancel
L1 & R1 = Switch between characters to choose ablilities/equipment for
Select = Brings up a Helper Mog to explain the menu system
-Villages-
Circle = Talk, Search "!" and "?"
Square = Play Cards!
-Battle-
Circle = Confirm
Triangle = Switch between active character
X = Cancel Command/Go back menu
Triangle = Switch
L1 + R1 = Run
-World Map-
Circle = Enter Buildings
Search
Square = MOG!
*SAVE
*TENT
*NOTHiNG
Select = Navi Map (None, corner screen, full screen)
L1/R1 = Rotate left & right
L2 = Not used
R2 = Overhead viewing
NAME PRONOUNCED DESCRIPTION
Zidane Zi-dan (E is silent) Anthropomorphic Hero
(like Trunks!)
Vivi Vi-vee Black Mage
Garnet Gaar-net The Summoner
Princess
Dagger Dah-gah The summoner's later name
Edward Steiner Stah-ee-nah The bull-headed Knight
Blanc Buu-rahn-kuu Zidane's red haired
friend
Pakku Pah-kuu "Mouse Kid" who helps Vivi
Shina Shee-nah The Other friend of
Zidane's
Zoun and Soun Zhoun / Soun Blue & Pink Jesters
Ruby Ruu-bee Garnet's handmaid
Boss Boss The Boss (dude who
runs the air ship)
Freija FREE-jah Mouse-girl Dragoon
Salamander - Claw guy
Beatrice - Female knight who likes Steiner
Eiko - Kitty girl who likes Zidane
Quina Queen-nah The tubby creature
who eats frogs (unknown gender)
When naming characters, a menu comes up. You are given 6 blanks, so STEINER
won't fit. We used EDWARD. The menu translates to:
------------------------------------
CHARACTER BATTLE OPTIONS
------------------------------------
NAME SKILLS DESCRIPTION
Zidane Steal and Hidden Skills Steal Skills are
self explanatory,
SKills include stuff
like: escape and a
peep/scan ability
Vivi Black Magic and Concentrate B. Magic is obvious,
Concentrate is
where she boosts her
magic power.
Garnet Summon and White Magic she can only use the
W. Magic at
first, but knows
some phat summons.
Steiner Sword Tech and Magic Sword S. Tech is like what
Cyan from FF6
could do, M. Sword
will give option for
someone to cast
magic on Steiner's
sword for attack.
Freija Jump
Quina Eat and Blue Magic By successfully eating
enemies, you will learn
more Blue Magic
Eiko Summon and White Magic Same as Garnet
Salamander Skills and Throw Throw weapons like Edge
in FF4
------------------------------------
MAGIC LIST
------------------------------------
*Vivi
~Black~
Fire Fire2
- Sleep
Ice Ice2
- Slow
Bolt Bolt2
- Stop
Poison Bio
-
- Meteo
- Stone
Trance Mode appears when you recieve enough amount of damage. You can see
the meter below your ATB meter. When its full, lightling will surround you.
In this mode Attack, Defense, and Magic stats are all raised. You also gain
the ablility to use certain new powers. Trance will not raise when:
-Attacked by a party member (sorry, there is no "Friendly Beatdown" =P)
-Poisoned. You'll lose Hp, but meter will stay the same
Here is an incomplete listing of some powers discovered.
Zidane-
ABILITY MP COST DESCRIPTION
Free Energy 10 A multiple strike attack against 1 enemy
Tidal Flame 14 A large blast of flames hit all enemies
-
-
Cherry Blossom 32 Sacrifices All HP & MP and refills party
Vivi and Eiko get W/Magic. Use two spells per turn similar to GemBox effect of FF6
Steiner gets a strong (double) Strength and defense boost
Quina gets a stronger EAT command. Flames burst around the foe and they
are easier to catch than normal (HP of enemies doesn't need to be as low)
Freija will Jump for a longer period and the attack will be able to hit all enemies
Potion - Blue/White round vial with small star
Eyedrop - Blue vial identifyed with a Box and another Japanese character
Ether - Red/Pink vial
Antidote - Yellow Vial
Phoenix Down - Red Feather
Hi-Potion - Light Green
White Vial - Restores HP & MP
Pink Vial - Cures Virus
Crystal Clear/Whitish Bottle - Elixir (Full HP & MP recovery)
Tent - Looks like a small bag
A Torch-looking item - Chocobo Feather (use on map when you see tracks)
-------------------------------------
CHOCOBOS
-------------------------------------
As I would probably imagine, you have found the Chocobo Forest and
probably have (a chocobo) by now. From what I gather, the chocobo you get is
the one that you get for the whole game. It never runs away (kind of like
Boco from FF5) etc. Anyway, if you play the digging game in the Chocobo
Forest, you will occasionally uncover a plate-like object, called a Chocobo
Grid. These rare items are actually stills of places on the world map where,
if you take your chocobo and dig there, you will uncover a hidden treasure!
You can affix these plates to your mini on screen map while on a Chocobo by
pressing the TRIANGLE button while riding it, or by selecting the first
option when you speak to your chocobo in the Chocobo Forest. In addition to
allowing you accomplish the aforementioned task, apparently, Chocobo Grids
are also the key to upgrading your Chocobo! I located the spot
detailed on one of the grids I found, but instead of an item/treasure inside
of the chest that I dug up, there was an odd sequence, and I wound up in
'Chocobo's Dream World', a surreal 'trippy' place that had a red Chocobo on
the left side of the screen, and a blue one on the right. In the middle, a
Fat Chocobo (or Lardass as they're known in Japan) materialized and proceded
to UPGRADE my Chocobo to a blue color! Now, as can be expected, I can walk
on shallow water!! I am assuming this is the key to getting a red chocobo
also, and perhaps even other colors. This upgrade is known as 'Reef', and is
reflected on your Chocobo Grid assignment screen. (You start with the first
one, Land). There seems to be room for at least 3 or more upgrades...
As for the location of where the treasure chest was, it's around the
area where Freija's home town is. If you procede past the area with the
tornado and continue until you can see the water, you will be in the correct
location for the corresponding plate (there are Chocobo tracks right there,
so you can call the chocobo), and viola! When you dig it up you should enter
the Chocobo's Dream World!
Sadly, finding the grids in the Chocobo Forest appears to be quite
random. I actually found a plate for an Underwater (Reef) treasure hint
before I even got the Blue Chocobo upgrade, so it may take quite a bit
before you actually find the plate in question. Additionally, I am not sure
if it's possible to find more than one of these upgrade hint grids in the
first Chocobo forest. It may be where each of Gaia's 4 continents' Chocobo
Forests holds a different one.
WARNING: When you finally get to the 2nd continent, you will most likely
encounter a Saboutender (Cactuar). [SIDE NOTE: I can't remember if it's
Saboutender, or just Saboutar. One may actually be the name for the GIANT
one that was a GF in FF8] Unless you follow this procedure, you will end up
getting killed by it: When the battle starts, all you will see is a small
green dot moving on the sand. IF you attack it now, the Sabotuar (?) it will
counterattack with its '1,000 Needle' attack and most likely, kill your
character. The key is to wait until it jumps out of the sand, then you can
go and maul it. Winning earns you a powerful Cactuar card.
http://www.geocities.com/japrpg/sidequest.html
On the site you'll find a complete listing of all the sidequests in this game.
Thanks to Etoh-21 on the ffonline.com message forum.
the weird "forest puzzle battles" -
the one with the O and X is a quiz basically. The guy asks a question
and you have to hit O if it's true, X if it's false. I can't read the
question quick enough, so so far I've got 0 out of 3.
adds:
i just thought id help out a bit and say that i have encountered an
angel rocket type thing with the same music and did the same thing with
the blue gem, it was in the first forest you come across in cd 2
During the game, certain areas yeld "friendly monsters". The music change is
the first thing you'll notice. It takes on a certain circus-type tone. Most
mosters request you give them crystals. Some require more than others. Giving
them the requested crystals gives you AP. Give them crystals by using it as
and Item on them. Attacking then causes them to flee.
Here is an incomplete list of monsters.
-Monster- -Crystal- -Reward-
Jellyfish w/halo 2x Normal 20 AP
Dryad 3x Normal 20 AP
Cyclops Alien 2x Normal 20 AP
Rainbow Bird Special 40 AP & Special Crystal
"Yoshi!!!" (Pronounced "Yo-sh!") its a cute battle cry everyone uses
"Onei-chan, mata ne!" (Brother! Wait up!) -Balloon girl in Alexandria
((Doki Doki)) (Vivi's heart thumps as she sees the gay guy leave the inn)
looks like the character Freija, don't know if male or female
but uses "atashi" for "i" so if male, then definetely gay...>
"MMmmmmm!!!" (Steiner eating in the castle)
(Blanc in disguise gets stuck...)
"Kusssooo~~~~!!!" -Steiner
"Baka! (stupid!)" -Pakku talking to Vivi
"Nani?! Nani?! Ohhhhhhhh!!!" -Steiner wailing about Princess Garnet
The little frog thingies in the game. They're used as a distraction for
Steiner on the boat and Garnet has one in a farm scene. What are they?
Also, is Square making little plushies? ^_^
Q: " Is the game better than 7 and 8? "
A: Personally, I like the game better than the others because it goes back
to the roots. the game is set in the year 1601, where FF7 & 8 were way further in the
future. Graphics, cinemas, and music have improved as well.
Q: " What is the battle system like?"
A: Same as 7 & 8....with a mix of Chrono Cross. Same Menu, standard FF.
Q: " How many cds have the FF9 version? "
A: 4, each one lasts well over 20+ hours (taking your time that is...)
Q: " Anything new with the cinemas? "
A: Cinemas are the same, graphic wise. They've changed to a more Chocobos Dungeon
style which could be good or bad. Its definately the best Playstation has ever seen.
Q: " How do I get into the Black Mage village/The Owl's Puzzle? "
A: The trick is to get all of the owls to leave. Go right, an owl leaves
now go down, another owl leaves, and you'll see the black mage come out,
follow him and you'll enter the village. Once you complete the puzzle once
you won't need to do it again.
Q: " How can I easily win the card game? "
A: Find cards with a lot of arrows and use them for combos. You should
remember how to use combos from FF8. The card game can be really simple
after a little practive. Play against BigName characters (kings, princes,
guys with pretty coloured outfits in towns, etc) for the best cards. Cacrot
has a LOT of HP. Fight a few of them and use their cards for easy victory.
Q: " What is the point of the Chocobo Digging Game? "
A: The game gives you LOTS of items, finds "plates" that hide hidden treasure
chests, you can get lots of Gil, and after you get enough points you can
buy special items from Mog.
C-chan - Kawaii! ^_^ Thanks for everything! - For the logo and letting me use the TV to play the game!
AOL Geeks - for giving me my much-desrved assiveProPzYo~
GameFAQs.com - For posting this guide in its incredibly early form, not to
mention giving us all a homage to go to for the latest in
game codes, hints, etc! Rock on!
SquareSoft - You guys are the frikkin kewlest. Wheres Racing Lagoon!?
Shawn - Getting me the game so early, thanx!
ffonline.com - Thanks for the sweet pics and k-rad Message Forum
Mountain Dew - The only way to stay up so late playing RPGs
-------------------------------------
Scheduled UPDATES Soon!
-------------------------------------
-Adding-
*FULL Black White & Blue Magic list
*Card Game
*quotes
*walkthrough
*item list
*Chocobo Panels
