Board 8 > Andy Plays Final Fantasy IX

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah, Oeilvert is great for the lore, but I guess I ruined your trust in the game to lead you in the right direction...!

Also, Desert Palace priority is Eiko, Steiner, Vivi, Freya.

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I myself like the desert palace merger of Kuja's 2 themes. But if you hear over and over when you get lost, it may make you insane yeah.

(also Kuja does take the item with some fancy telekinesis)

Also those mimic enemies are also monsters you can use a Soft on, lol.
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I guess "Dagger can't concentrate" is probably less annoying if you take her to Oeilvert where she can't use her magic anyway.

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Yes, I intentionally hamstrung myself in Oeilvert so Desert Palace would be easier. That's what happened! Or I will just continue to blame Gimme Cat for any issues caused by me failing to heed the game's explicit instructions.

htaeD posted...

Also those mimic enemies are also monsters you can use a Soft on, lol.

ffs I finally get the hang of remembering to use Life/Phoenix Downs on undead enemies and I still keep forgetting about using Soft on rocks! And thanks, I must've missed Kuja taking the stone.

Minor quibble: Why is Phoenix Pinion so far down the item list? It should be higher than Phoenix Down!

Leonhart4 posted...

Also, Desert Palace priority is Eiko, Steiner, Vivi, Freya.

Huh, I thought Eiko looked out of place so figured she'd be lower down the list. I guess Eiko's the lead for pretty much everyone then as only a fool would take her to Oeilvert!

I will go choco hunting next time for sure.

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You can probably sort your item list to get it up higher!

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andylt posted...

Minor quibble: Why is Phoenix Pinion so far down the item list? It should be higher than Phoenix Down!

Because it is different!

Eiko can equip it and get a summon from it!

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It's just weird that the auto-setting has it so low down when it can only be used in battle! And I'd have to keep manually changing it because I always try to use all the Pinions first before the Downs. Eiko already has Phoenix btw

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Wow, Pinions are an absolute last resort item for me.

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Already got it good stuff. Still, try not to use them and hoard them instead.

I presume it being down that low was intentional since it does the same in battle as a standard phoenix down.

If you get 99 of them, you vastly increase your chances of Phoenix showing up when you have had a full party wipe to revive your characters.

With that, I could see why they separate it so you don't accidentally use it up in battle.

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Oh I see. Yeah I intentionally use them because it's the same thing as a Down but can't be used outside of battle, so I prioritise them in battle. I'll stop using them now though, thanks!

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Nanis23 posted...

Pretty much "you should have bought our official strategy guide"

Just so it could say "you should check our website"

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Speaking of items that can be used in battles (hidden gameplay spoiler) have you noticed yet that you can use Tents in battle in this game?

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Lol was the strategy guide that bad? I used to have the FF7 and 8 ones as a kid and I remember them being pretty good, especially 8's. Could it really be worse than Digimon World's strategy guide, which straight up says 'idk figure it out yourself' on how to raise the top tier digimon and do the harder dungeons?

Grand Kirby posted...

Speaking of items that can be used in battles (hidden gameplay spoiler) have you noticed yet that you can use Tents in battle in this game?

I did not know this!

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FFIX's guide would give you incomplete information and then go, "Want to know more? Check out our online guide at PlayOnline!"

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Tents are actually super useful in battle... to use on bosses (especially early bosses). They heal hp/mp, but they also have a high chance of applying blind/silence/poison!

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LordoftheMorons posted...

Tents are actually super useful in battle... to use on bosses (especially early bosses). They heal hp/mp, but they also have a high chance of applying blind/silence/poison!

For sure.

Loads of people use it on Gizamaluke don't they? I never have, but he is such a pain in the ass firat time not hard to see why people do!

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I just use Zidane's skill to blind him because you should have the right weapon to inflict it at that point.

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Well, sidequesting is a lot more time consuming than I imagined! I try to head back to Dali but can't find a way in- the North and South gates both seem to be closed, the only exit I can find from Alexandria takes me to a dead end, I try Lindblum, the Grotto (monsters still too tough up there!), everything I can think of, to no avail. So instead I spend a really long time doing chocobo stuff.

Turns out I already had the chocograph I needed to unlock the next set, it was actually the second chocograph I unlocked but I thought 'city with high winds' meant Lindblum as I hadn't seen Cleyra yet back then! So we travel to a Chocobo Dream World and get a nice turquoise Choco to travel reefs in.

The lagoon area is neat (I do really like that they abandoned the 'all forests' thing and are making each area entirely different), and I go graph hunting for a while both here and back at the forest. The rewards for the graphs are a little below my level at this point, but the inventory stock is welcome. I also wind up discovering areas of the world I hadn't noticed before- a couple of black circular shadows (or maybe holes) scattered around, and a weird vibrating volcano/earthquake area near Kuja's palace. Nothing I can do there right now though.

I also get into a friendly battle with a monster who wants a Moonstone, but I do not have a moonstone right now! I recall the name, don't remember if I synthesised it or if Eiko is holding it, hopefully I didn't lock myself out of anything.

My thinking here was that maybe I needed to upgrade Choco again so I can travel over the mountains to get back to Dali/Treno, and hey turns out I was dead on! The Chocograph necessary for the update is the 13th one I get though, I run both the forest and lagoon dry before I finally get it. Along the way I somehow get a chocograph for an area I can't even access yet, and a couple of chocograph pieces- not sure if these are supposed to combine with something, or if reading the descriptions is supposed to be enough to direct me towards a puzzle. Either way, we finally get a flamin' red Choco (no new chocobo area opened up though), and I'm ready to head back to the old locations.

It is entirely possible that I missed out on an easy path back to the other locations somehow, but hey a mountain chocobo is very handy. Next time I will hopefully clear up any current sidequests and get back to rescuing Eiko.

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The chocobos are actually pretty great as a form of transportation.

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There are some places you can only get (back) to using the red chocobo (e.g. some of the gates, which have a few items you can pick up).

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Kuja must be wondering if Zidane even cares about Eiko, lol.
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'Hey Eiko check out this sick new chocobo colour, anyway I'm off to Treno see you later'

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Just as an example of why the official strategy guide sucked:



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Leonhart4 posted...

FFIX's guide would give you incomplete information and then go, "Want to know more? Check out our online guide at PlayOnline!"

Mind you this was when internet access wasnt nearly as universal as it is nowadays. The whole thing was fucked lol

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Yes, I was trying to access PlayOnline on dialup, lawl

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While doing my disc 4 sidequests I killed a Gimme Cat in your honor, Andy!

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I think i hopped on PlayOnline's website at a buddy's house just a few years after the guide was published and the links didnt work like how the guide said they would lmao

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And now I just got a Gimme Cat Tetra Master card with zero arrows

Truly a master troll...!

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I remember strategy guides trying to hybrid with online stuff, and how horribly that worked. Just put it all in the book! Guides that actually included everything were so good, I hated having to go online to look things up back then.

LordoftheMorons posted...

While doing my disc 4 sidequests I killed a Gimme Cat in your honor, Andy!

Thank you for destroying my nemesis.

LordoftheMorons posted...

And now I just got a Gimme Cat Tetra Master card with zero arrows

Truly a master troll...!

lmao

gotta hand it to the cat tbh, that's pretty good.

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Does anyone know where Nymphs are? It's next on my monster trading list and I can't find one!

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"Outside the Iifa Tree, in small brownish forest area or grass field."

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andylt posted...

Does anyone know where Nymphs are? It's next on my monster trading list and I can't find one!

The friendly monster? Should be in the brownish forest area near the Iifa Tree.

(I'm not misleading you this time, I swear, I looked it up this time)

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If you're leading me to another Gimme Cat Leon I swear to god!

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Phew, got it. Thanks both of you!

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How many times did you encounter the ragtime mouse btw?
(the quizmaster that is)
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htaeD posted...

How many times did you encounter the ragtime mouse btw?
(the quizmaster that is)

Er, I don't recall this at all! I could be forgetting...

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It's possible you haven't met him because I feel like you'd remember if you have.

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I certainly feel like I would remember a quizmaster ragtime mouse...

Anyway I check out the old areas and open a few chests, there's not too much there though. The mayor at Dali is back so I did miss my chance to get the coffee there, and the old man at the observatory is very sad. I can't find the next chocobo hot 'n' cold level and Mena isn't telling me anything so I figure maybe it's gated to plot progression. I'm getting antsy to continue anyway so we head to Esto Gaza.

I did indeed miss the shop here before, so I can't say if it had the fancy new items then or not. But we get all of the -agas in one Octagon Rod, despite having to get the -aras in three separate weapons. Did they get lazy or were they just being very generous here? Either way, I'm not complaining!

We follow Kuja into Mount Gulug, which has very nice music. Even after all the sidequesting I feel like I'm a little underleveled here, the enemies frequently knock out Dagger and Zidane. Yes I brought Dagger again, I didn't want to miss any unique scenes! Vivi and Steiner are the MVPs here, they annihilate the red bird things with Blizzaga and Blizzaga Sword (seriously Steiner's Magic Sword stuff is really powerful). The two of them climb several levels ahead of the others as they're often the only ones left standing at the end of battle. Turns out I was right to bring along Vivi and Dagger, as they both have multiple moments to themselves here (though I figure Vivi's might happen regardless of whether I brought him or not).

Shortly before reaching Eiko, we witness a scene with Kuja and Zorn/Thorn. Kuja is ranting about Garland, and I screenshot a line that piques my interest: "I must destroy him before Terra's plan is activated, or my soul will no longer be my own!". Obviously we don't have context for this yet but that sounds very ominous, what on earth/gaia/terra is Garland planning? And why is it called 'Terra's plan' as if the planet came up with it >_>

Z/Thorn do show some hesitance before deciding to kill Eiko, and it is here that Mog makes her stand. Turns out Mog was an Eidolon all along, who appeared as a moogle to be closer to Eiko and protect her. Mog kinda dies here, as far as Eidolons can die I guess, and I guess we won't see her again outside of summons. It's kind of touching and very unexpected, though I can't help but notice that they could've waited 10 seconds and Zidane and co would be down here to help out, Mog even seems to block Zidane from coming down when performing her attack. Ah well, RIP Mog. Who's gonna explain it to the other moogles at Madain Sari... Vivi runs off after the Black Mages and Mog leaves behind a Ribbon- now that's one hell of a way to get such an iconic OP item, I really like how they structured that!

Kuja starts talking about how Mog went into Trance mode, and how the trigger for Trance must be extreme anger with one's surroundings, not will to live or protect others or anything like that. I didn't expect Trance to be a plot mechanic, but I have no problem with that. I recall very early on somebody said that not everybody can Trance, but everybody in our party can I think so I wonder if we're all special! Anyway Kuja has no need of us and leaves us be, but before we can mourn it's time for a boss with the merged Zorn/Thorn.

This boss (somethingGemini, I forgot already) introduces us to the Virus status effect, which I recall (and by 'recall' I mean 'look up the tutorial screenshot I took ages ago') stops you from getting XP/AP. Honestly, not that big of a deal! Especially for boss fights which don't grant EXP anyway. I don't waste turns on Vaccines and instead focus on stealing and healing the constant Poison and Venom status effects. I'm glad I brought Dagger along here, having two healers on hand is very useful even if one of them is unreliable. Zidane focuses on stealing of course, and eventually does get all 3 items, and Steiner does his basic attack. The boss manages to knock out party members several times, but after the last steal we switch to full on assault (including a rather long Eidolon animation while poor Steiner's HP gets zapped away by poison <_<) and eventually take the annoying minions down for good. What was their deal? Did Kuja create them, morph them to their previous form, or what? Who knows.

The black mages know of Kuja's lies, and maybe knew the whole time, and apologise for their actions. They all just sit down in despair, and Vivi goes to sit with them because he's an angel. Man, Black Mages do not catch a break in this game :(

We finally meet Hilda, who reunites with Cid, and we hop back to Lindblum. She turns him back to human form and tells us Kuja's plan, which amusingly he just straight up told her of his own volition. The man loves to hear himself speak! We are to go to a place Hilda names 'Ipsen's Castle' once the airship is built. In the meantime however, Dagger is missing. As Tantalus search for her in Alexandria we are reunited with Beatrix! Hey! Weirdly she doesn't really give a reason for not trying to contact Steiner or the rest of us, or what she's been doing since, or why she won't join us. Kinda disappointing, honestly. She does give a Garnet for Garnet though.

Zidane finds Dagger at her mother's burial plot, and we finally get her moment of transformation. This is an interesting scene, there's no big plot development to instigate her change, I guess it was just the passing of time that allowed her to mourn and move past the worst of her depression. She decides she wants to stay with us and wants to be a leader that the people deserve, instead of just acting the part she spent her life preparing for. It's a nice scene, it does feel a little 'well it's time for her to talk again so just flip that switch' rather than a fully organic transformation, but any doubts I have are dwarfed by how cool the hair cutting scene is, using the dagger that gave her her new name to forge her new self. Really nice. Her new character portrait is really good too, I love that they changed that. The 'praying woman' one was pretty cliche! I don't know how I didn't know of this haircut twist beforehand, honestly.

The Hilda Garde 3 finishes construction (was this simultaneous or is there supposed to be a time lapse here) and we have our airship! Woo! I like the music for it! I could explore more but this seems a good place to leave it.

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I want to shine!

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It works better here than most places, but Im really not a fan of the Japanese haircut to represent growth trope.

(Mostly because the girl basically always looks better beforehand...!)

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Long hair > short hair imhotbqh

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She's smiling in her profile picture now though! And looking the camera dead in the eye!

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"Gulug" is an inconsistent translation of the volcano from the first Final Fantasy game (it was first known as "Gurgu", then settled on "Gulg" in the remakes). The music that plays in the FF9 version is a remix of the original:
https://youtu.be/gYdSH34z5hg

As someone who played FF1 as a kid this was really cool to me.

Also Mog's real name, Madeen, may be a reference to Maduin, Terra's father. In both English and Japanese both names are spelled slightly different from each other but are really close.

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That track is cool! I don't know why I still get surprised at NES tracks being so good sometimes, I had a similar reaction when I learned that Twilight of the Gods from Fire Emblem Echoes was just a remix of the NES version too.

Wonder why they didn't just call Mog Maduin then, given that they didn't bother changing the spelling slightly for other references, like... Terra >_> (Though ofc Terra works well as a planet name too) After I finish this I'm gonna need to see a list of all the references I missed that I should have caught lol.

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I am a short hair man myself. But to each their own.

I dont know what Zorn and Thorns deal is either, Meltigemini is somehow their true form and they are a carrier of a virus???.
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Dunno what the deal with Zorn and Thorn are myself tbh. Never really cared, was just glad to end them.

Also long hair>>>>>short hair.

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I would guess that Zorn and Thorn are created constructs, like the Black Mages, but I don't recall that ever being stated. They might just be some wackos that appealed to Kuja's flair for the theatrical.

Presumably Beatrix is running/rebuilding Alexandria while its princess is off saving the world, but I'm not sure anyone says that. However, as I recall, Cid will tell the party about how he was able to get the Hilda Garde 3 working in such short order.

FFIX Terra is not a deliberate reference to the FFVI character; in Japan she is known as Tina. Ted Woolsey, Square's translator at the time, recognized that while Tina might sound exotic to Japanese audiences, it would be pedestrian to Westerners, and thus changed her name to Terra.
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andylt posted...

Minor quibble: Why is Phoenix Pinion so far down the item list? It should be higher than Phoenix Down!

don't use your phoenix pinions, just leave them in your inventory

if Eiko is in your party and you get a game over, there's a stacking percent chance per pinion that phoenix will automatically revive the entire party

it saved my ass in the final dungeon and it felt great

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I believe I read somewhere that meltigemini is indeed their true form (you cannot grasp it)
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LordoftheMorons posted...

It works better here than most places, but Im really not a fan of the Japanese haircut to represent growth trope.

(Mostly because the girl basically always looks better beforehand...!)

This is the closest I can find
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ImportantHaircut
But it includes a lot of reasons
The only instances I remember are Mulan, Sakura from Naruto and Garnet
But considering how fucking long the Anime and Manga page is...I guess I need to watch more Anime

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