Board 8 > Kicked off Final Fantasy IX yesterday

(+) Yeah! (+)

The steal mechanic also makes one of Zidanes abilities more powerful and there is a treasure hunter type rank thing too. Basically, you should steal from everyone all the time even in random encounters

enjoying this little village, by haven't played a ton since we just got a dog

the atmosphere of towns in IX is up there with the best of them

Dali is great, one of the better small towns in the series for sure.

this is coming back

The crystal comes back

woohoo

Okay, finally made a modicum of progress! The characters love separating and getting into trouble - we're controlling Zidane alone again in a little agricultural village with suspiciously industrial-looking trappings and a very reclusive mayor. Vivi falls down a well; little kids seem to objectify him; and Dagger is... chatting it up with a store owner.

After we collect her, I spend an embarrassingly long time trying to figure out how to save Vivi, including going to the nearby mountaintop. Ultimately I realize that we're able to open a hatch inside the windmill, so down we go. We find out that chocobos are being used as manual labor to... hatch black mages?! And ship them off to Alexandria? Huh?? Vivi is not a huge fan of this! (Later, the black mages don't pay Vivi any mind at all, which is also a bit sad.) Along the way we also discover a roomful of items, and to duck everyone we... get put into barrels. The atmosphere down here is pretty cool and creepy and sci-fi-y.

Meanwhile, Steiner, who's been working at the pub, is still obsessed with getting the princess back to Alexandria, so he hatches a scheme to get us onto an Alexandria-bound cargo ship. I love this little scene where the barrel containing the rest of the party topples on top of him. Zidane goes along with the transparent ploy - he intends to hijack the airship and send it to Lindblum. Our travels are plagued by essentially consecutive battles against the remaining two Black Waltz enemies. I try to rob 'em as best as I can though the third one dies after I've only stolen twice from him - hopefully that is okay. (The third one also involves me using a lot of potions, as Dagger is absent from this one.)

FMVs here are cool. They really are a lot more visually intricate than the regular gameplay. During this, we get lots of airship action scenes, including the Black Waltz annihilating the black mage "soldier" crew on the airship and a chase sequence through the South Gate, where Black Waltz 3 finally bites the dust.

We finally get into the Grand Castle Lindblum, which dwarfs Alexandria and contains an entire city within its walls. The party splits yet again, so we're back to controlling Zidane while Vivi chooses not to hang with us and Dagger solicits the support of the recently transfigured Regent Cid. The alleged plan is to return to Alexandria - but we'll see - next time.

A few fun things that I may not have mentioned before

- Zidane continues to be perhaps not the most interesting protagonist, but a protagonist I can get behind - he just wants to have adventures and chase girls.

- Steiner and Zidane's feud is incredibly typical, but I still find it charming. Zidane dodging Steiner from the cockpit of the airship is great, as is Steiner explaining that Zidane is to be hanged, then thinking to himself that because of Zidane's help, he'll petition to reduce it to a life sentence instead.

- Mist is responsible for monsters, but apparently also fuels airships? Interesting bit of lore.

- If Vivi's character design weren't enough to make him adorable, they gave him the cutest waddle too. Vivi moving is brilliant.

- I might have mentioned this previously, but the way the characters kind of talk over each other makes it a little harder to follow conversations, but it also adds some charm to the game - that's what happens in real life, after all.

SeabassDebeste posted...

but a protagonist I can get behind

Ooh, soft

seriously though, all the Black Waltz 3 FMVs are excellent, great part of the game

LeonhartFour posted...

Ooh, soft

okay yeah this wasn't great, but... i don't know, compared to some of the other stuff i see in anime, it felt a lot more harmless!

Oh yeah, it's small time compared to stuff you see in other games

I love the Black Waltzes

I have vivid memories of a youtube video that had cutscenes of that section of the game set to DragonForce's Body Breakdown that I used to watch back when I originally played the game in early high school or something, but unfortunately last I checked it was taken down and my nostalgia is unsated

LordoftheMorons posted...

I love the Black Waltzes

I have vivid memories of a youtube video that had cutscenes of that section of the game set to DragonForce's Body Breakdown that I used to watch back when I originally played the game in early high school or something, but unfortunately last I checked it was taken down and my nostalgia is unsated

i'm still not over losing track of an AMV of ssj goku set to "can't be touched" by roy jones jr

Dali Village good music there.

it's really nice music, always got a bit bummed when i'd accidentally wander onto the world map and the music would end

LordoftheMorons posted...

I have vivid memories of a youtube video that had cutscenes of that section of the game set to DragonForce's Body Breakdown that I used to watch back when I originally played the game in early high school or something, but unfortunately last I checked it was taken down and my nostalgia is unsated

Apparently this still exists after all!

Not gonna link it though because I totally forgot that it had FMV footage from all throughout the game though the ending

Whew, got a bit more into the game. So Zidane recruits his old friend (?) Freya to join us, though she still wanders at first. We take the airbus through Lindblum which definitely adds to its sense of scale. I enjoy the style of the city a lot but it kind of feels empty - not a ton of discover other than the varied scenery and one neat little sequence where Zidane talks to some kids who knew him from before he took the latest gig with Tantalus. We also find Cloud's Buster Sword in a shop, where Zidane mentions he vaguely recognizes someone like that...

More fun are the other little sequences, which have very quickly distinguished themselves as the best part (by far) of FFIX - Steiner getting roasted in the streets by a Red Mage who thinks he's coming onto her and an old lady selling some pungent food, Vivi absolutely loving this Kupo Nut, the Tantalus thinking about how to rescue their petrified member. Later we see Steiner checking out armor and Vivi seeing some kids play with royal action figures (which of course make him think of the manufactured Black Mages...)

In order to finally advance the plot, we have to go to Dagger. We have to do a little deceit to reach her, even though it winds up being perhaps the lowest-stakes disguise ever - people randomly salute us, and after we're discovered, there are zero repercussions. Funny! Zidane approaching Dagger - who's singing a lovely song with a vocal sound effect that reminds us of Celes's Aria di Mezzo - is a pretty dramatic moment, complete with FMV. But she's a little colder on Zidane after stewing on the new information that Cid hired Tantalus to begin with to kidnap her. We try to put the moves on her by telling her to look out the telescope and getting a lay of the land that we will clearly soon traverse, but she's not impressed.

Zidane, who's earlier proven to be a womanizer with more than just his OTP crush, asks Dagger out if he wins the city's traditional Hunt Festival. (Dagger rightfully points out that she has zero connection to the Hunt Festival, but who's counting?) Nonetheless she agrees, and off we go!

The Hunt involves us solo-fighting a bunch of monsters. We actually have to seek them out fairly actively, which is a tad annoying. We burn through almost all of our healing items during the twelve minutes and use the Switch's turbo-speed version during battles to speed things up a little bit, and eventually we kill the gigantic Zaghnol with literally four seconds remaining. Freya actually joins us for this part of it and we get to experience her battle prowess for the first time. The only ability I actually use here is her Jump, which is always one of my favorite FF staple skills due to its power and the fun animation. But I'm looking forward to finding out what "Dragon" does...

Afterward, we feast, but before Zidane gets his date, we hear word that there's an invasion of Black Mages in Burmicia, one of the other Three Great Kingdoms of the land. But before we go there, we randomly decide to feast, and naturally Dagger - being restricted as a princess ought to - drugs everyone so she and Steiner can escape.

With just Vivi and Freya, it's time to march to the Dragon Gate!

---

- Steiner cheering on the off-screen Vivi - who's obviously running in terror from the monsters - is phenomenal. Bears reiterating that these little sequences have been the heart of the game so far. (Steiner's I MUST PROTECT THE PRINCESS schtick, while consistent with his character, has been a lot more tedious.) There's also a hilarious moment where Vivi runs past Zidane in terror, chased by a monster.

- Another great Steiner moment: swooning after everyone else faints, only to realize his food wasn't drugged

Yeah, I was going to point out that killing the Zaghnol is basically an instant win in Festival of the Hunt. Fun sequence of events.

The Hunt is so good
Love that anyone can win it

is there a specific way to find the zaghnol? i just happened to stumble upon it after bouncing around from location to location

htaeD posted...

The Hunt is so good
Love that anyone can win it

are you able to control who wins it?

freya will win if she lands the killing blow, if you lose the fight then vivi wins iirc

Also zaghnol won't appear til towards the end of the timer, you can't just beeline it there straight away

SeabassDebeste posted...

is there a specific way to find the zaghnol? i just happened to stumble upon it after bouncing around from location to location

It's always in the same spot, but it doesn't show up until a certain amount of time is left (less than 5 minutes, I think).

And you can win as Zidane without beating the Zaghnol because I've done it, but generally, Vivi will win if Zidane doesn't have enough points.

I've normally had Freya win if Zidane doesn't have enough points, which awards the lightning-absorbing accessory so it's my preferred result lol

Yeah, Vivi winning is the least desirable outcome because Tetra Master is trash

Leonhart4 posted...

And you can win as Zidane without beating the Zaghnol because I've done it, but generally, Vivi will win if Zidane doesn't have enough points.

The hell you do that? Pretty sure it is like 100% no chance that you can cause Freya just racks up more points than you unless you're weird and want Vivi to win.

I'm not sure. I just know I did it because I didn't know about the Zaghnol the first couple times I played.

i was neck and neck with freya before fighting the zaghnol. that was with turbo on for most of it though

If you can get the lead and then go into the zaghnol fight, then you could just let the time run out because freya can't gain anymore points

these enemies are tough! just nearly died in the grotto to a random encounter that looked like a woman, then died to the boss snake dragon thing!

Yeah, Gizamaluke's Grotto is a bit of a difficulty spike.

hmm, not seeing how we're gonna beat this boss - he basically did not damage to me in a guy than i can heal

I suspect that there's a major reason you're finding this part so difficult...!

Lamia is a nasty early game enemy and Gizamaluke often shreds the unprepared.....how many party members ya got?

Leonhart4 posted...

Yeah, Vivi winning is the least desirable outcome because Tetra Master is trash

Immensely true. Triple Triad for life
SeabassDebeste posted...

hmm, not seeing how we're gonna beat this boss - he basically did not damage to me in a guy than i can heal

Yeah there's definitely one specific thing that a couple people hinted. Also, he's susceptible to a couple statuses as well

I remember dying to Gizmaluke a lot first time. And I also only had 3 party members.

But I still got through it thanks to the cheaty way.

If youre struggling to beat the boss, try exploring some places you havent been to.

Fiop posted...

If youre struggling to beat the boss, try exploring some places you havent been to.

yeah, this seems reasonable. i thought i was taking the branch off of the main path in the cave, but i somehow found myself in front of this boss which feels very "main path"

so i should go back to the beginning of the cave

most_games_r_ok posted...

Lamia is a nasty early game enemy and Gizamaluke often shreds the unprepared.....how many party members ya got?

i've got four - found my way into qu's marsh and came out with quina the frog-eater

i also caught all eight of the frogs in that pond to establish dominance

for the record, always leave at least two frogs at a pond so they can reproduce

boss tip if you want it: if you've got Zidane's strongest dagger, you can use the skill it grants to blind the boss, which makes him a lot easier

welp

He can also be slowed as well, IIRC

I mean, if you REALLY want to cheese it (seriously don't do this unless you want to make the boss trivial), you can just use a tent on it

I don't even know how I figured that out unless I tried using one on myself when I noticed they were selectable in battle.

Hmm, would it be spoilerino to direct him to the synthesis shop in Lindblum?

I'm just a bit past this point in my playthrough and I annihilated this boss. I had to reload because I accidentally killed him while trying to steal.

SeabassDebeste posted...

i've got four - found my way into qu's marsh and came out with quina the frog-eater

the hero arrives

been busy since moving but we'll taken on this dungeon again

okay playing tonight

okay so i didn't actually backtrack. i just booted the game up, noticed that vivi and zidane's attack seemed like trash, and used them solely to heal quina and freya who dealt over twice the damage

the problem is that i didn't get to rob the boss since zidane, like vivi, was 100% on potion/phoenix down duty

Well Gizamaluke has one great item which is a great help in an area later but it isn't a big deal if ya miss it. Annoying steal anyways, plus most people first time get wrecked by him.