When you first start the game, there will be a full motion video, where you will see Princess Garnet on a raft with someone else, where a terrible storm is brewing. She will then awake from this nightmare, and look out the window from her castle bedroom. She will see a large flying ship floating up in the air, heading towards her castle domain.
This ship is known as the Prima Vista, where you start of this incredible epic. Your main character will slide down a pole and enter a room inside the ship. This is where you come into play.
The Prima Vista
You wil now be in a dark room, with a candle in hand. Expore the room before lighting the candle in the middle of the room. You can find a few things of certain interest, like a few gil, and a potion.
Now light the candle on the table. This will trigger a few characters to pop onto the screen, and they'll identify themselves. They are members of the renegade group known as Tantalus, which Zidane is also a part of. The group will discuss for a bit, then a Dragon type of thing will appear out of no-where. Your first battle has begun!
This guy is very easy. It should be simple enough to follow. If you need any assistance, make sure you check out the rest of the FF9 section for complete gameplay coverage.
Once the battle is over, the masked Dragon will reveal himself as Baku, the leader of Tantulus. The entire skirmish was just a test to see if you were up the next challenge that lies ahead. Follow him into the next room, and the next mission will be explained in full detail.
*Once you are given a choice on what to say, choose the first option, and Ruby (another character) will pop out and get angry.
The entire plan will be explained to you. The goal of this entire mission is to do one thing... Capture the princess of Alexandria. The exact reason to why Tantulus has to do this is uncertain, but you'll be clued in soon enough. The plan involves a play, which Zidane and the others will act in. This will serve as a decoy, and will buy enough time so Zidane can capture the princess.
FMV: The ship Docks in Alexandria, as a Black Mages watches in awe. Final Fantasy 9 logo is shown.
Exploring Alexandria
Once you gain control of Vivi, you'll be able to explore the town freely. Make sure you check every nook and cranny of Alexandria, you'll be able to find various items, like potions, which will come in handy later on in the game.
In the large market area, you'll find a few children playing a game of jump rope. You can play jump rope with them, and if you get a certain amount of jumps, you'll get certain prizes. It's worth the effort to play a little bit, and if you need some more info on this game, check out the Side Quest section.
Head to the middle of the market place and talk to the ticket booth person. He will check your ticket, but tell you that the ticket is fake. He will feel sorry for Vivi, and will give him 3 cards. He will also tell you to make sure to talk to you Alleyway Jack. For now, go to the Alley in the west side of Alexandria, and you will run into Puck, the rat kid, who's ticket seemed to be fake as well. He's kinda pissed, so he's just going to sneak in. First say no, then explore the next area of the town. Alleyway Jack is around here, speak with him to learn about cards, and he will take you to the pub to learn. Once everything is complete, go back to the Alleyway and talk to puck again. Agree to his offer, and he will steal a ladder from the Signmaker. Follow puck to the Bell tower.
From here, you'll encounter your first save Moogle, Kupp, and another friendly moogle. Save your game and he'll ask you to deliver a letter. Agree to do so, and you'll keep the letter until you deliver it to the right moogle. Don't worry too much about this yet, it will come into play soon enough.
Follow puck up the roof area to find some useful items. Once you reach the castle, you'll encounter an FMV.
FMV: Puck and Vivi sneak in and see a cool show of fireworks.
Afterwards, you'll finally get back to Zidane and company, and go through the actual play. It's very easy to follow. Just go through it until you have reached the battle scene. The extra battle commands like SFX are useless, and are just used for dramatic effects on stage. Just defeat the opposition, and continue on.
Eventually you'll get to a part of the play where you'll have to fight Blank in a one-on-one sword fight. You must follow the commands that Blank issues, and based on how fast you hit the commands, and how accurate, you'll either Impress Queen Brahne, or not. You may continue as many times as you would like until you impress her. This is not necessary, but you do get a lot of gil for doing so.
The Alexandria Castle
Once your in control of Zidane again, head up the circular stairs of the castle, and you'll run into a hooded women. Converse with her, and Blank will interrupt. She will will flee, but you must make chase! Follow her!
The game will then show 2 clown misfits known as Zorn and Thorn. They are busy looking for the missing princess, and will go see Queen Brahne. The Queen will then call for her Knights to go and find the missing princess. You will now have control of the Knight, which should be now known as Steiner. You will have control of him now.
Save at the Moogle in the room where Zidane and Blank stole the guard uniforms. Go to the main entrance hall (north of the hallway Zidane and Blank started in) and go down the stairs to the courtyard. Go left and enter the west tower. Head up the stairs to the top, and watch as Steiner finds Zidane chasing the Princess at the East Tower.
FMV: Zidane finds the Princess on the castle ledge, and jumps off. She swings to the other side of the castle, overlooking the play currently taking place. Zidane Follows, as does Steiner.
You will now be in the music room, where they are playing the musical score for the play. Follow Garnet through the door. This next room you will find Ruby, who will speak to you in a bit. You have no time to chat, so go chase after Garnet. She will then claim that she wants to be Kidnapped, because she thinks the Queen has evil intentions.
Cinna will bust through breaking the moment between Zidane and Garnet, and tell them to follow him into the next room. Steiner will storm in, but you should already be on the way down a secret hatch. Follow the path down. Steiner will find this hatch and follow you down, or at least try. The knight will get stuck in the hatch.
The Renegades VS the Knight (Riot)
Your next challenge is to defeat the protector of the Princess, Knight Adelbert Steiner, who is not very fond of you, and will do anything to get the princess back.
In your first fight against him, just attack with all except for Vivi, who should use fire magic against Steiner. Make sure you steal from Steiner before you beat him, he has nifty Silk Clothes that you can get from him.
In the second fight, do the same thing you did for the first fight, and heal when necessary. He should fall quickly.
In Steiner's final attempt to save the princess, he will go all out. This is probably the hardest battle, but it's nothing you can't do. Just keep attacking and casting Fire on him, and do not worry about the orange bomb in the background...
FMV: The Prima Vista is pummeled with harpoons as it makes a daring attempt to escape the castle. It does so, but it is badly damaged. You end up in the Evil Forest.
The Evil Forest
Items of Relevance: Broad Sword (steal from Prison Cage boss)
You have crash-landed in an area called the "Evil Forest". The left side of the screen has a Phoenix Down that you can take, and there is a moogle in the lower part of the screen by a log. Make sure you save your game. The moogle will give you an opportunity to explain ATE, which you should take advantage of.
Finally you run into your first random battles. If you have the time, level up some before heading into the next screen, and steal potions from the local enemies. Also make sure your equipment is in check before heading on.
Follow the path up, and in the second screen you'll encounter a Boss.
Boss Battle: Prison Cage!
This battle is a bit complicated. Do not attack Garnet (press L1 or R1 to reveal the enemy list, and point to attack the Prison Cage, not Garnet). The plant can drain 24HP from Garnet. Use a Potion on Garnet if he drains from her twice. If Garnet dies, the game is over. Just use Zidane�s Free Energy on the Plant and Steiner to attack and throw potions at Garnet if needed. After the fight the plant will take Garnet away and jump back down on Vivi, trapping him. You will have to fight again, this time Vivi is in the cage. Vivi will use Fire on the Prison Cage for about 80HP damage. Remember: if Vivi dies, then the game is over. Toss a Potion at Vivi when the plant drains from him twice. Since you�re not in Trance, attack or steal. Vivi will help you out as well.
Back at the Airship
Items of Relevance: Ether, 116 Gil, Ether, Rubber Helm, Potion
After that last Boss Battle, you will be back in the Prima Vista. You can wander the rooms, pick up a few items (see Items of Relevance). Talk with Vivi in his room. Zidane will remember the time when he ran into Garnet for the first time, and decide it's time to save her. Talk with him and he'll battle you, which isn't anything too hard. Once you have beaten him, he'll allow you to leave to go save the Princess.
Go get Steiner and Vivi, and they'll agree to help you save Garnet. Save your game, and purchase a few items from Shina if necessary, then head back into the Evil Forest. Make sure to equip Steiner with any new equipment.
The Evil Forest (once again)
Leave the Prima Vista, and head back into the Evil Forest. Eventually, you'll get to an area where you'll find a Tree stump with a spring inside of it. A moogle is hiding in a tree stump, so make sure you save your game. A boss awaits. Continue through the path...
Boss Battle: Plant Brain!
This boss uses an attack that causes Blindness to your characters, so make sure you heal this as soon as it happens. Just use all your fire attacks (like Steiner's and Vivi's fire attacks), and physically pummell the plant. After a bit, Blank will join the party to help out. This battle shouldn't take long. Steal from the beast if you can, you get a tent for doing so.
After the boss battle, some plant like spider creatures will chase you, and you'll have to battle a few of them. They have potions that you can steal. Beat them and watch a cool FMV.
The World Map
You will be on the World Map for the first time. Press Square to save your game, or use a tent if necessary. Before we head to Ice Cavern, you can visit a shop where you can buy a few items. To get here, head west over the Mist Continent, and the entrance is in the mountains, you won't miss it. It looks like a gate or overpass. Press the action button on the gate to speak with someone, they own a shop.
Head south to the Ice Cave.
The Ice Cave
Items of Relevance: Tent, Ether, Potion x2, Leather Wrist, Mage Masher, Elixer, Phoenix Tail, Leather Wrist
Upon entering the Ice Cave, the group will discuss about their new location. It seems that this place is known as the Ice Cavern, and Vivi notes that this place is quite dangerous.
No worries right? Follow the path up and press the action button to leap up the cliffs. Caution yourself around the Mist like steam, if you touch it you'll get into a tough battle. If you get to a part where Zidane notices a sheet of ice covering a path, ask Vivi to melt it, there are some items to be found. Make sure you melt the sheet of ice containing the Mage Masher, which is a new weapon for Zidane. Make sure you pick this item up! if you accidently get to the boss without doing so, it is recommended that you restart and go through the Ice Cavern again. But this place is fairly easy, so I doubt that will be necessary. When you reach the 2 paths that drift apart, take the left one first, then head back and go to the right.
The party will (for some odd reason...) all faint and drift asleep. Zidane will awake first to a bell, and you'll need to head north without your party.
Boss Battle: Black Waltz #1!
This battle shouldn't be too hard if you got that Mage Masher earlier. Just keep using Physical attacks and keep your HP high. Wait til you get your Trance mode on, and use your Tidal Flame attack. This should end the battle, if not, use it mulitple times.
After the fight, you'll meet up with the rest of the group, and you'll need to continue onward. Go back to the moogle earlier and save your game if you want.
After a small discussion, follow the path down to the Village of Dali. You will be on the world map, but finding the Village should not be a problem.
Village of Dali
DALI ITEM SHOP (Bar): Potion 50, Phoenix Down 150, Antidote 50, Eye Drops 50, Tent 800
DALI EQUIPMENT SHOP: Dagger 320, Mage Masher 500, Broadsword 330, Iron Sword 660, Rod 260, Mage Staff 320, Wrist 130, Leather Wrist 200, Bronze Gloves 480, Leather Hat 150, Feather Hat 200, Rubber Helm 250, Bronze Helm 330, Leather Shirt 270, Silk Shirt 400, Bronze Armor 650
Well, finally here�s a town. Vivi will look and find a windmill. Here�s some kid humor acting: Zidane: Let�s go to the inn and rest. Vivi: But I wanna go see the windmill!! Anyways, once you enter the inn the two local kids will run by and the Dali Village music will start (very calming and soothing music). At the inn, the Innkeeper Hal seems strange, but he�ll get you a room. Once you�re in your room, rest. After that the party will split up and explore the village. When Zidane wakes up, he hears Garnet singing. There will be a series of ATEs now. Check your room to find a treasure, and some magazines that Zidane mocks. Exit to the reception room and save at the moogle. Watch the ATE with Princess Garnet trying to act like a normal girl. Go north and talk to Vivi, who is staring north. He says that kids run away from him when he goes toward them. Zidane calms him down and thinks that Vivi is thinking about girls. Zidane tells Vivi that if Vivi has anything to say about girls, he needs to go to him. Zidane says that he�s popular with all the girls in Lindblum (HA! Yeah right!). Zidane also tells Vivi that the sound he keeps hearing is the Chocobo�s �Kweh� sound they make. But where is it coming from? After Zidane leaves, two men grab Vivi and take him away.
What�s going on? Watch all the ATEs (including the Cat�s Eyes ones, even though they add nothing to the game) and watch the one with Garnet asking the shopkeeper how to fit in more. Then go to the weapon shop. Before talking to Garnet, buy the equipment for ZIDANE AND VIVI ONLY! Unless you may have some trouble with two boss fights (the last two fights with Steiner and Garnet in Disc 1) before reaching Lindblum. Also, if you�re planning to sell something, DON�T SELL YOUR WRISTS. Oh, and one more thing: BUY TWO MAGE MASHERS! Once you buy the equipment go to the building to the right of the windmill (before talking to Garnet in the weapons shop) and buy the items there. Be sure to buy enough items. Once you do, go back to the weapons shop and talk to Garnet. Tell her that she�s doing great in her normal girl acting. They will automatically go to the inn and Zidane will tell Garnet some stories. After a while Zidane will be concerned about Vivi (not Steiner, of course). Take Garnet and Zidane to the place where Vivi was standing looking for chocobo sounds. When Zidane explores it, he finds a little pipe. Examine it to hear Vivi crying below. Zidane tells him that they�re coming to free him. Move to the windmill (equip Garnet with the stuff you bought her, IF YOU DID). Once at the windmill find the ARIES Stellazio, then examine the hatch near the entrance and you will find a secret path down into the Dali Storage Area, where apparently Vivi is being held.
Dali's Storage Area
DALI STORAGE AREA: QUEEN BRAHNE�S SECRET:
This is where you�ll find something that will be troubling Vivi and the whole crew throughout the whole game. Get down and Garnet will suspect something about this place. Save at the moogle. Then head north into the next room. Zidane and Garnet stop and overhear two men talking about their cargo for today. They then leave, with Vivi with them. Zidane gets pissed and tries running toward them but Garnet holds him back and tells Zidane that the barrel near that storage was also located in Alexandria, and that this place may have some connection. Afterwards go back to the room that had the two men and explore the little cabin for a Potion and Eye Drops. Go through to find the Chocobo that�s been making the �Kweh� noise. Keep going forward and you�ll find a huge storage with lots of boxes. Grab the treasures by climbing up on the boxes for an Iron Helm and Leather Wrist. Then keep going to the next room. You�ll hear Vivi�s voice in a crate. Zidane will free him and Vivi will tell you what happened. Two men took him to this storage and asked him what he was doing outside. Then they put him in the cargo. Zidane tell Vivi everything is going to be alright and Vivi joins in. Now equip Vivi with the stuff you bought back at the Dali weapon shop. Check this room for 95 Gil. It would be wise to go back and save at the moogle Kumop, just in case you might have trouble in the next fight (probably not). The door on the top of this room contains Mist. Opening it will make monsters appear everywhere. However, inside the Mist room has a Phoenix Down, Phoenix Pinion and Potion. That�s not really worth it, since you probably have 4 or more Phoenix Pinions. Don�t waste time fighting enemies. Make sure that Vivi has Blizzard (learned from Leather Wrist) and head to the right of the machine the party examines. It makes a bunch of eggs. The party gets suspicious of it and moves on to the next room. Just keep going and to the next room (you�ll find out that a Chocobo is being used to power up the machine). In the next room you�ll see some humans, but luckily hide. The party then sees what makes Vivi suspicious. The eggs hatch, and inside are... Black Mages! Dolls! Garnet thinks this is Queen Brahne�s doing, making controllable Black Mage dolls. But Vivi asks you if he looks like them. Say no, and the party will accidentally be dropped onto the conveyor and put into the cargo. Meanwhile, Steiner, who is searching for a transport in the Dali peak (the small mountain you saw when you got to Dali) finds out that the Cargo Ship is coming to take away the next cargo, which is the Black Mage dolls. Move Steiner down the hill and wait for Morrid to get down there (just walk around). Once Morrid gets down to his hut, talk to him and after a lot of demanding, Morrid tells you that the ship is in Dali. Steiner will run towards it and look at a barrel coming out of the ground. When he runs there the two men get scared and run away. Steiner will examine the barrel. If you choose "Poke it with your sword", Zidane will get out of the barrel and the other party and Zidane will get mad at Steiner because he nearly poked Garnet. Choose the other one and it won�t make much of a difference. Anyways, Steiner is planning to use this Cargo Ship to get to Alexandria and get the princess back and execute Zidane (of course, he doesn�t tell anyone). He tells the party that the ship is going to Lindblum. After this, the Black Waltz #2 lands and tell the party that he wants to return the princess. Steiner tells the Waltz it�s his job, but the Waltz apparently doesn�t give a s**t and attacks the party.
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Boss: BLACK WALTZ #2
HP: 1040
MP: 9999
LEVEL: 6
WEAKNESS: Wind
STRENGTH: Earth
LOCATION: Dali
DIFFICULTY: 6.5/10
This is a tough fight so be ready. Dagger should cure most of the time (press R1 to cast the cure on all members) and when she�s available and your characters are at good health, just wait till the other characters� ATB Gauges get up and press Triangle. You don�t want to waste a turn attacking with Dagger for measly damage, do you? Don�t use Vivi�s magic, because the Black Waltz will counter with more powerful magic on your characters.
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After the fight, Black Waltz #2 dies. Steiner decides to go ask the person in the cargo ship if they can hitch a ride. When he does, Vivi feels strange. Then the cargo ship starts moving. The party hurryingly climbs aboard. Vivi climbs up first, then Dagger (I�ll just use this instead of Garnet), then Zidane jumps on Dagger and grabs her you-know and feels good. The ship goes into the sky.
CARGO SHIP:
Zidane will apologize to Dagger for what he did when they went aboard the cargo ship. Vivi will go inside and then run out and tells everyone to look inside. A bunch of Active Black Mages are working there, they don�t answer to you, like you�re invisible to them. Zidane heads to the deck to find Steiner, piloting the ship to Alexandria. He reveals what he had in mind to Zidane, and keeps talking. Then, Zidane takes control of the ship and turns it around to Lindblum! Steiner gets in the bridge and whines and complains. The party members get up on the deck as there�s something else on the deck besides the Black Mages. It�s the third Black Waltz! He decides to attack you but all the Black Mages working on the ship protect the party, then a very sad FMV appears as the Black Mages are being destroyed and defeated, and falling off the ship, as the Black Waltz #3 kills them. Vivi gets mad, and looks around and tries to grab a Black Mage�s hand, but doesn�t reach. After the FMV, Zidane tells Dagger to pilot the cargo ship and goes back to Steiner and Vivi, who are ready to fight the Black Waltz #3.
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Boss: BLACK WALTZ #3
HP: 1200
MP: 9999
LEVEL: 7
WEAKNESS: Wind
STRENGTH: Earth
LOCATION: Cargo Ship
DIFFICULTY: 7.0/10
This can be tough since you don�t have Dagger. Vivi starts out in Trance, so use Fire or Blizzard for his Double Black command. The Waltz will cast Thundara when it floats, so be ready to use healing. Like always, Steiner should use his Sword Magic and Zidane should steal and heal. If Steiner gets knocked out, wait till both Vivi�s and Zidane�s ATB Gauge is full, have one of them use Phoenix Down, and the other use Potion on Steiner. Make sure to do this AFTER Vivi�s Trance runs out. Do the same if anyone else gets knocked out, but you shouldn�t really waste time reviving Vivi if he gets KO�ed because he�s not really great against the Waltz as the others. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
After the fight the Waltz escapes. You get no AP or Gil either. The party goes back to Dagger, and the scene switches to a part in the sky with Thorn and Zorn going after the princess. They see the Black Waltz coming their way and jump off their jet. The Waltz gets control of the jet and goes after the cargo ship. At the cargo ship the party notices the Black Waltz chasing them. Dagger tells you that if the ship is fast enough you can get through South Gate before it closes and close the Black Waltz inside. Although it�s very risky, it�s the only safe way to get off the Waltz�s tail.
FMV: Sky Jet Chase: The best FMV in the whole game! The cargo ship is steering fast as the Black Waltz�s jet nears. The cargo ship enters the South Gate as it starts closing. The ship goes _really_ fast through and makes it through the south exit of South Gate before it closes. However, it closes on the Black Waltz and the Waltz uses it�s magic to try to get out, but instead damages South Gate really badly.
After the FMV, the cargo ship will be cruising the skies toward Lindblum (check out all the other airships around! Nice way of using graphics, too). Inside the ship, Zidane will be really happy that they made it through South Gate. The others aren�t because of the great damages made to the gate. But the party reaches Lindblum and a cool FMV takes place. The cargo ship docks in the airship dock inside the castle.
Lindblum
When they get out of the damaged ship, the party looks around the big castle. Steiner is amazed because the castle is much bigger than Alexandria Castle, and that it has it�s own airship dock. Three guards will come over to ask who you are (Zidane�s never been inside the castle). Dagger will introduce herself as Princess Garnet, but the guards don�t believe her. Dagger shows them her pendant, the Falcon Claw. The guards then go fetch Minister Artania, Regent Cid�s right hand man. Zidane will then scoff Steiner saying that his armor is dirty and old, forcing the guards not to believe Dagger being with some old damaged armor knight. Minister Artania will come over and greet the party. Then he takes them to the elevator. He will now tell you about the elevator:
Bottom Floor � Dragon�s Gate/Serpent�s Gate: These two lead outside in the Mist surface.
Middle Floor � This leads to the main town of Lindblum. The exit also leads to Lindblum Plateau, where Pinnacle Rocks is located.
Top Floor � Cid�s chambers and main castle chambers. Restricted for civilians.
So you�re heading to the top floor right now, eh? Once there, the party enters Regent Cid Fabool�s throne room. When they enter Minster Artania calls for Cid, who appears to come from his throne. The party will get all hysterical, because an oglop comes out. Steiner will get mad at Artania for greeting the party with an oglop, but the oglop appears to be Cid; talking. Zidane never saw this either. But Dagger calls him uncle, well, because Cid is her uncle. Regent Cid says that an intruder snuck into the castle and turned Cid into an oglop. Steiner thinks its Zidane, but Cid says it�s not because that intruder also stole Cid�s airship invention, the Hilda Garde. Cid also says that the plan to kidnap Dagger worked, because he HIRED the Tantalus to kidnap the princess to ask her what happened to Queen Brahne. Afterwards, the party leaves to Lindblum City and Dagger stays the castle.
LINDBLUM CITY:
The scene will start with Zidane entering the bar. When he does he asks for a drink and a waitress tells him that he�s standing in her way. Zidane asks her if she would go on an airship ride with him and the waitress gets all happy and cheers. A rat dragoon sitting next to Zidane tells him that he�s bothering the customers. Zidane tells her to watch her mouth. Then the rat dragoon turns to face Zidane, and Zidane remembers her from 5 years ago. He tries to remember her name, but can�t. You get to name her. Her default name is Freya, but you can name her something else. After this Zidane asks her if she found her lost boyfriend yet, but Freya shakes her head. After this, Zidane wakes up at the inn. When he gets out he meets Vivi, who is about to explore Lindblum and leaves. You will have a Synth Shop lesson with Mogster now. Also the scene will switch back to the castle where Cid is telling Dagger who the intruder was: Cid�s wife Hilda. Apparently she suspected Cid with another woman and turned Cid into an oglop, took his airship and flew away. He tells Dagger that he�s having trouble building Hilda Garde 2 because his oglop mind isn�t as great as when he had his regular human mind. Once you get control of Zidane move to the save moogle in the next room. Save your game and go downstairs and exit to find yourself in the Business District of Lindblum. There are 4 main districts in Lindblum, all connected by trolley lines: The Business District, chock full of shops and marketing. The Theater District, where there are great performances and Zidane�s old hideout. The Residential District, where people live and the bar is there. And Lindblum Castle, which is self explanatory. Right now you need to visit the Theater District, but before going there watch all the ATEs while you�re at the Business District. One will show Steiner buying Gysahl Pickles (which will help you out later) and eating them, then falling down. Another will show Vivi buying a Kupo Nut (another item which will help out later) and hearing about the Festival of The Hunt, a yearly tradition where beasts get let out all over Lindblum and whoever kills the most wins. Vivi gets excited too. Back to Zidane, head north from the inn to the screen where you saw Steiner buy Gysahl Pickles. Then go to the northeast part and up. At this part of town you can find your first Synth Shop. Go there before going to the other shops. It�s on the northern part of the screen. Hopefully, if you bought two Mage Mashers at Dali, you can get The Ogre, Zidane�s most powerful weapon in Disc 1. Also, buy 1 or 2 Cotton Robes. If you didn�t sell your Wrists, then you can buy the Cotton Robes. Buy one for Vivi and one more for another character (not Dagger). Once you�ve done enough, go to weapon shop to buy the other regular stuff that you need. Then go to the item shop and re-supply. DON�T BUY ANYTHING FOR STEINER OR DAGGER. Once you�ve done your shopping here go back to the street with the inn and to the building right of the inn. Enter the trolley and go to the Theater District. Once you get here, you can see an ATE with Steiner asking an old man how the airships run without Mist. The old man tells him common sense. After the ATE head to the left of the trolley station and walk down the street to the building with the entrance, which is Zidane�s old Tantalus hideout. When Zidane explores the abandoned hideout two kids who were hired by Genero, the third Nero brother who was left behind, come in and ask Zidane if he kidnapped the princess. Zidane nods and the kids ask him how the princess looks. After Zidane answers them watch the ATE. Here, Dagger tries to get out of the castle but the Elite Guard won�t let her because it might be dangerous. After the ATE you will have to go to Lindblum Castle. Before going there loot the hideout, then go down the street past the old Tantalus hideout and talk to the ladies at the square and they will be talking about Lowell, who they all have a crush on. Lowell will appear and they will want his autograph. Then a man in a Moogle suit will run out. Follow him to the place with the trolley station and go directly south to the house of the self-proclaimed artist Michael�s. Talk to Lowell there and the man in the moogle suit. After this take the trolley to the residential district. There�s nothing to do here, but you can explore it a little. Head to the Lindblum Castle and enter. Go past the airship dock and to the next room. Go right to the next room, and enter the guest room on the above hallway. Talk to Steiner, who can�t seem to find the princess. Loot the guest room, then head to the hallway and you will hear Dagger�s voice singing from above. Go to the room with the fountain and talk to the guard on the bottom part. He won�t let you through. Go back to the right hallway and downstairs and talk to the guard on the left. Zidane will trick him into going into the guest room and grab his uniform. Go back to the room with the fountain and go past the guard to the elevator. Go to the top floor and go left (if you try going forward, Zidane will hide for the guards since he took off his uniform). Anyways go left and talk to the man, then go up the stairs onto the balcony. Follow the path to the telescope to find Dagger singing. She will stop and ask Zidane how he got here. Zidane tells her that he�s used to it. Zidane will then use the telescope to look around. You can see all kinds of landmarks here. When the ? sign appears, press X to see the landmark. After seeing all the landmarks Dagger will look in the telescope. After this, Zidane will ask Dagger for an airship ride, but realizes that he messed up since he asked the same thing to the girl at the bar. Zidane decides to enter the Festival of the Hunt, taking place tomorrow, and if he wins, he gets to go out with Dagger (Geez, it�s easier than you think. I did this many times). After this it will show Vivi running around, Freya watching the sunset on top of a building, and Steiner walking around. I think right now it should show the ATE with the other Tantalus guys, I�m not sure though. Now comes the fun part: The Festival of The Hunt.
Lindblum: Festival of the Hunt
All of the party members will be in the guest room. Since the only three members entering are Freya, Zidane, and Vivi, then each gets their own prize if they win. Zidane decides to get money. Freya wants an add-on, and Vivi wants a card. There are also other people entering, but none of who will win (one of the party members will). After the party leaves, save at the moogle on the top and head to the trolley and take it to the Theater District, where you will start. It will show the staff letting out the monsters, and a special monster called Zaghnol. Then Steiner and Dagger will go up to the crowd and cheer for Vivi. Here are the people who entered the Festival of The Hunt. There�s actually more, but I�ve only seen these people:
Zidane: Of course, it�s you. Starting Location is Theater District.
Freya: One of your party members. Starting location is Residential District.
Vivi: One of your party members. Starting location is Business District.
Genero: Tantalus member. Starting location is Business District.
Ivan: ???. Starting location is Residental District.
You have 12 Minutes to get as much points as possible. The person with the most points wins. You will usually be lead by Freya, and Vivi may be a problem in the first 5 minutes. When you see the Fangs and Mus, kill them. They give out lots of points. Avoid Trick Sparrows, they usually don�t give you crap. Once you get out of the station, defeat the Mu that�s scaring the old man. If you have the Ogre or Butterfly Sword equipped, the enemies go down in one hit. If you don�t, reset and buy yourself a decent sword. Go down to the street with your hideout and go through. There are many Trick Sparrows around this area, so avoid them. Go down to the place where you saw Lowell and the four ladies. Wait near the barrels till the Fang comes out and jumps at you. After this, head back to the trolley and go to the RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT. Help out the little dog by killing the Mu chasing it. Go north and to the end of the street, and kill the enemies there. Quickly go to the Business District and defeat the beasts in this street and head north. You will have to fight a Trick Sparrow, after killing it go north to the square and kill the Fang near the hot air balloon. Then go north (not northeast) and defeat the Fang and Mus there. Head back to the square at the Business District. You might see Vivi running away from a Fang here. If you kill the Fang, Vivi might win the festival and you�ll get the card he asked for. This card can be really cool if you�re a card collector. After killing that Fang just do really bad and Vivi could win. If you don�t kill the Fang chasing him then Vivi won�t win. Anyways, go northeast to where the shops are. You will see Zaghnol (only if you defeated the enemies in the Residential, Theater, and Business Districts). Freya will join you in this fight. It�s pretty easy actually. Whoever gets the finishing blow wins the points (80 Points) and most likely will win the tournament. Have Freya win this because you will get a Coral Ring, which can come in handy later in Disc 1. Zidane will do more damage though, so if you want Freya to win just have Zidane act as a healer. After this 12 minutes should have passed. The winner will receive the prize. Zidane gets 5,000 Gil if he won, Freya gets a Coral Ring if she won, and Vivi gets a card if he won. Immediately after this a Burmecian Soldier crawls in the room and mumbles his last words telling Cid that Burmecia is under attack by Alexandria. Minister Artania tells Cid that the soldier can�t see Cid being an oglop, but Cid replies that the soldier is blinded. Then, the soldier dies. Freya cannot believe what happened, because Burmecia is her home kingdom. After this Regent Cid and the party have a Festival of The Hunt Feast. Everyone except Dagger eat. Then, everyone falls asleep because the food was somehow poisoned. Dagger doesn�t fall asleep since she didn�t eat. Dagger then uses the medicine Blank gave her on Steiner to wake him. Steiner asks who poisoned this food and Dagger says it was her. She wanted Steiner to take her home and everything was a setup. Steiner finally agrees and they go off. When the party wakes up Freya tells Cid that she�s going to Burmecia. Zidane wants to go with her and so does Vivi. Cid, who just also woke up, lets them, and opens Dragon�s Gate for them, and tells them that they need to go through GIZAMALUKE�S GROTTO to reach Burmecia. Head back to Lindblum City and buy all the stuff you need. If you want more Tetra Master, go to the Residential District and play there. You won�t be able to go back there later. Once you�re done, go back to Lindblum Castle and take the elevator to the bottom floor. Take the trolley to the left to Dragon�s gate and save at the moogle. You can buy items from the man here. Exit through the gate to the world map, in the mist.
EUNORUS PLAINS/QU�S MARSH:
Don�t gain levels yet, instead head north until you reach a marsh (?) will appear over your head. Enter it and go north. Here you will meet Mogster, the tutorial Moogle, and his brother Moggy. You can ask Mogster for directions, but before you go north to Gizamaluke�s grotto, take the path through the leaves to find a creature trying to catch frogs. Help it by getting the frog on the ground on the right, then give the frog to the creature. The creature will thank you and you get to name it. Default is Quina, and since it�s an it, I�ll just refer to it as SHE. It looks more like a she. Anyway, Quale takes you to his hut and tells Quina to come with you. She will join your party. Vivi will then ask Quale if he knows about his grandpa Quan. Quale denies it but seems to know something. Leave Qu�a Marsh afterwards.
You may notice that Quina has nothing equipped except for a weapon. If you bought a second Cotton Robe, equip it on her. If you don�t have enough protection, head back to Lindblum and buy what you need.
You can also find the CHOCOBO FOREST around this area. Go east of Qu�s Marsh and cross the bridge to the King Ed Plains. The forest looks different from all the other forests, and you should stop by and talk to Mene, the moogle. He will give you some Gysahl Greens. Go outside and use the Gysahl Greens in a spot with Chocobo Tracks to summon Choco, your Chocobo. You can ride this Chocobo around this area, and summon it in other areas with Chocobo tracks using Gysahl Greens. Chocobo riding prevents you from encountering levels also. Before going to Gizamaluke�s Grotto, go to Lindblum and do whatever you need, because you won�t be able to return later. Outside on the world map, be sure to level up. Try to use Quina�s EAT command when an enemy is weak to gain some new Blue Magic (eat a Serpion for Mighty Guard, then get Quina 64MP to be able to cast it). After doing a lot of level-upping, go north of Qu�s Marsh to enter Gizamaluke�s Grotto.
Gizamaluke's Grotto
Walk north of Qu�s Marsh and you should find some kind of door in the mountains. This is Gizamaluke�s Grotto. Be aware of the next events that will happen before entering. Once you enter, you won�t be able to return to Lindblum City or castle (the trolley will be blocked off, but you can still enter Dragon�s Gate and buy items from the merchant). When you enter Freya will talk a little and so will the others. After this the party enters Gizamaluke�s Grotto. You will notice a door in front of you which can only be opened using a Gizamaluke�s Bell. Go right to the dying rat Burmecian soldier to receive a Gizamaluke�s Bell. Go back to the door and open it. The Bell will also shatter, and you won�t be able to use it again. Go forward to the next room where you�ll confront Thorn and Zorn. They will throw Black Mages at you controlled by Queen Brahne. They�re not that hard to beat. After the battle Thorn and Zorn will run away. Go north and defeat the Black Mage walking on the ground floor. You will receive another Gizamaluke�s Bell from him, take it to the locked door north of him to open it using the Bell. Go through to the next room and examine the big Bell in the middle. A moogle will also be there, weeping because her husband is trapped inside the bell. The moogle will ask Vivi if she can borrow the Kupo Nut he has (bought in Lindblum). Vivi will give it to her and the husband will be freed. The couple will go to the room and the right. Examine the treasure chest in place of the bell to get another Gizamaluke�s Bell. Take the bell to the door at the right and open it. There you�ll meet the moogles again. You can save here. Do not climb the vine, it will take you to the world map, and you will die being attacked by the Grand Dragons. Once you talk to both the moogles try to leave the room and one of the moogles will rush up to you and give you the Holy Bell. Exit the room and go to the door on the left side of the big fallen bell. It will open if you have the Holy Bell. Once you�re inside this room talk to the dying Burmecian soldier to find out something�s wrong with Master Gizamaluke. Just then, something will fall out of the chasm into the water and will attack.
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Boss: GIZAMALUKE
HP: 2318
MP: 502 LEVEL: 16
WEAKNESS: Thunder, Wind
STRENGTH: Water, Earth
LOCATION: Gizamaluke�s Grotto
DIFFICULTY: 7.0/10
Well, I thought that Gizamaluke would be some old man that owns the grotto (since they call him Master Gizamaluke) but whoa, a monster... The fight is pretty hard, because some of Gizamaluke�s attacks will wipe out a party member instantly. Make sure you got Quina equipped and have her attack. Freya should jump so Gizamaluke wouldn�t be able to attack her, Vivi should Fire Gizamaluke, and Zidane should cure or attack. Gizamaluke�s attacks will do a lot of damage but he doesn�t have ones that are very damaging. If you gained levels before setting foot into the grotto, and have Zidane equipped with The Ogre, then Gizamaluke shouldn�t pose much of a threat.
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SOUTH GATE � GRAND CITADEL AND BOHDEN STATION:
After beating that bitch, the scene will switch to Steiner and Dagger, getting ready to go to Alexandria, but they have to go through Lindblum�s South Gate � Grand Citadel. Steiner put Dagger in the bag and is taking the bag on the stick with him. When he gets to the guards, they�ll let him through because they thing that the Gysahl Pickles that he bought at Lindblum are in the bag. In this part Steiner will need to let Dagger out, but there are two people in the way. First, go to the woman on the right near the alley, and hint her, making her go to the man on the left. Then, talk to the man that was below her and he�ll tell you that the frog looking guy is in charge. Go to that guy on the left and talk to him. You can choose �Kill Him� or �Don�t Kill Him�. It doesn�t matter because Steiner won�t kill him anyways. After talking to this guy head back to the guy you talked before, and the path to the alley will be cleared. Just as soon as you enter the alley a Lindblum guard enters from where you did and tells you to come over to him. Steiner gets scared and comes to him. The guard drops the Gate Pass because he can�t go close to Steiner since he smells of Gysahl Pickles (boy, these guards are dumb). Steiner is relieved and picks up the Gate Pass. When you get back to the alley, stop. Dagger will get out of the bag and both Steiner and Dagger are ready to head to Treno, where they can find a path to Alexandria. Go forward and look at the map in the next screen. You will have rest stop station before moving to Treno via cable car. At the shop, buy what you need (recommended to buy lots of Potions, Phoenix Downs, and Tents). After buying what you need enter the cable car and choose the seat on the bottom left (bottom right from your point of view). Mary, the woman Steiner helped at the Grand Citadel. Steiner and Dagger talk a while and the scene switches back to Zidane and Freya�s party back at Gizamaluke�s Grotto.
The party will talk and Burmecia will be just a little away. Head north and make sure your party is healed. Once you�re back at the world map, keep going north until rain starts falling. Just keep going north and you�ll end up in Burmecia, Kingdom of Eternal Rain.
Beatrix at Burmecia
When you get here you�ll notice the whole place is in ruins. Freya still can�t believe what happened, and Vivi looks puzzled on what has happened to the black mages and why they are attacking. Head north and you will be able to find a CANCER Stellazio here(it�s near the cart). Keep going. Once you pass the two first scenes you will meet up with Thorn and Zorn yet again, and they still don�t know who you are. They will drop a Black Mage on you, which can be easily defeated. After this Thorn and Zorn will escape. Go right and up the stairs. BEWARE! A lot of the treasures in Burmecia contain Mimics! These guys aren�t hard to beat, but waste your time (you can get Ethers from them). So try to open the treasures that are more hidden, because obvious ones usually contain Mimics. You may see many dying soldiers in Burmecia. Sad. Anyway, go up the stairs in this building and head east. You will now be in the main gate of the castle, but you can�t enter yet. Go west to enter the building there. Once you do you�ll see a treasure chest on the west side. If you want it, then WALK across the plank. Don�t RUN! The chest contains the Germinas Boots. You will, of course, have to have the plank fall. So run across it and Zidane will jump back to the ledge on the right. Go back to the place where you met Thorn and Zorn, then go left. Here, go up the stairs and take the fallen plank to the right. Follow the path and jump across the balconies to the next room. Talk to the dying soldier to learn that a bell is hidden underneath a bed. Search behind it to take the bell, also look in the bookcase for an Ether. Then, go all the way back to the place where you met Thorn and Zorn and go right. Go through the building to where the castle gate was. Enter the castle gate using the bell. Go up the staircase. When you enter some Burmecian Soldier will think Vivi is one of the evil Black Mages. Freya will tell them that it�s not, and tells them to flee. Go north and go left here to find Burmecian Soldier Kal and his wife. Zidane will save Kal and they will thank you and tell you to go to Lindblum later to see them. Exit the room and proceed north. Here, go to the left door and enter it. Freya will find a Mythril Spear here for her to use, so equip it. Exit the room and go to the right door to meet Atla the save moogle. You can pick up the Lightning Staff behind her and equip it on Vivi. Atla sells some good items and weapons, so buy them (Mogshop). Once you get the Lightning Staff the traveling moogle Stiltzkin will enter the room. Buy the supply pack from him and he�ll continue on his journey. Exit the room and get ready! Equip the Lightning Staff on Vivi, the Mythril Spear on Freya, and what else you need. Then go north. Here the party will look above. Choose all choices and then Freya will jump to the top platform. Zidane and Vivi will slowly follow her and Quina even slower. Once Zidane gets up there, he and Freya will spy on Queen Brahne talking to Beatrix. Then, a mysterious man named Kuja enters and tells the queen that the fleeing rats have escaped to Cleyra, a treetop town protected by a sandstorm. Freya will then remember her talking to her lost love, Fratley. After this, a Burmecian soldier jumps up to the queen and tries to attack. Zidane and Freya jump down and protect the soldier, Vivi and Quina also come. Beatrix gets ready to fight you, making this the final fight of Disc 1.
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Boss: BEATRIX
HP: 2750
MP: 3467
LEVEL: 14
WEAKNESS: None
STRENGTH: None
LOCATION: Burmecia
DIFFICULTY: 7.5/10
This can be tough. Beatrix�s attacks are very damaging. She will use Thunder Slash and Shock mostly. Shock will probably instantly kill a party member and Thunder Slash will lower a target�s HP down high. If everyone�s health is OK, have Freya jump, otherwise she needs to heal. Zidane should steal and attack and heal. Quina should also heal (although she might die, and you probably won�t have time to revive her) Vivi should use magic all the time. Don�t let Vivi die! If he dies, revive him ASAP.
An easier way to beat this is to equip Coral Rings on everyone. You can buy them in Lindblum, but if you entered Gizamaluke�s Grotto, then you won�t be able to return to the Synth Shop there. Coral Rings absorb Thunder, so Beatrix will be healing you with her attacks instead of beating your ass. Now the fight will be easier and you won�t have to worry as much.
NOTE � I�m not sure if you can buy Coral Rings in the Lindblum shop. If you can�t, then you can have Freya win the Festival of the Hunt for one Coral Ring.
Beatrix will use Stock Break to reduce everyone�s HP to 1, and escapes. Disc 1 ends.
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GAME CHECK
*Have at least 3 Stellazios
*Zidane�s Level is 9 or above
*Freya has Reis�s Wind or more Dragon Skills
*Vivi has Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Thundara or others
*Quina is in the party
*The party is equipped with the current best weapons/armor
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This is the END of disc 1.
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