Final Fantasy IX Disc 1

Festival of the Hunt

Save your game and head to the castle (via air cab). Head to the Guest Room of the palace, then leave the room and head back toward the fountain. Zidane learns that Dagger is upstairs, so head toward the lift. When the guard stops your progress, head back toward the room, but go down the stairway there and talk to the guard sitting on the couch (not the one guarding the doorway to the right). After a small amount of playing around, you’ll be able to get on the lift.

When you get to the top, you don’t have much choice but going up the stairs on the left. Do so, then head to the left around all the stairs surrounding the big machine. On the next level up, head up more to the top of the balcony. You’ll get a cut scene and then you can look through the telescope. You can see the river, the chocobo forest, Qu’s Marsh, the Aerbs Mountains by Burmecia, South Gate and the mountains by Alexandria. After that, you’ll get booted off by Dagger, and then she’ll look, and you’ll talk. After several more cut scenes, it’ll be time for the Festival of the Hunt.

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

I play to win; here’s my strategy. Make sure you do all this BEFORE the hunt, as anything you do in a menu DURING the hunt wastes time. So, before the hunt:

• Find the Bronze VestEquipmentArmor for: All except Knights outside Doom Pub. This gives you the Jelly ability; that will keep you from getting paralyzed.
• Set your Battle Time to Fastest and Movement to Run.
• Don’t waste time potioning up during a battle, if you can help it (potionItemRestore HP (150 if in battle, 100 otherwise) after battles and just press X a bunch; wasting PotionsItemRestore HP (150 if in battle, 100 otherwise) is fine here).
• Visit the Synth and get either a Butterfly SwordEquipmentWeapon for Zidane or The OgreEquipmentWeapon for Zidane.
• Level grind outside of Lindblum until Zidane kills most things in one shot.
• Make sure Zidane is in the Front row (in case you regularly have him in the back to steal).
• Don’t Steal during the hunt.
• Don’t waste time talking to people.

Zidane will start in the Theater District. Make a quick sweep to get everything there then head to the Industrial District and do the same. After that, head to the Business District and finish the hunt at the top RIGHT screen - fighting the ZaghnolEnemyFestival of the Hunt boss. Weak to Water and takes half damage from Thunder. Steal: Mythril Gloves, Needle Fork. Drops: n/a. Later normal Zaghnols can be eaten by Quina to learn Matra Magic. by the fountain. If you can beat HIM (after killing off all the monsters on the other screens), you’re pretty much guaranteed to win.

When you’re ready, get equipped, set your abilities, tentItemIf used in battle, inflicts Silence, Darkness and Poison. If used in the field, restores HP/MP at save moogle./potionItemRestore HP (150 if in battle, 100 otherwise) then save your game, leave the room, and head to the air cabs. Examine the car docked there to start the hunt. Here’s my suggested play by play.

Theater District

Target time: Start here with 12:00 left.

1. Fight the MuEnemyEarly Mist Continent enemy. All standard elements are normal. Steal: Potion. Drops: Potion, Echo Screen, Phoenix Down. Quina can later eat normal Mu to learn Limit Glove; the Lindblum event Mu has no steals or drops. running around the old man.
2. Head toward the stairs and wait for the Trick SparrowEnemyLindblum-area aerial enemy. Weak to Wind and immune to Earth. Steal: Ore. Drops: Echo Screen. Quina can later eat it to learn Matra Magic. to fly down, then fight it.
3. Head left to the next screen.
4. A Trick SparrowEnemyLindblum-area aerial enemy. Weak to Wind and immune to Earth. Steal: Ore. Drops: Echo Screen. Quina can later eat it to learn Matra Magic. will fly down to meet you as you head down the screen a bit. Fight that.
5. There are no more enemies in this district, so leave and head to the Industrial District. Note: Don’t go where Lowell’s fans were down at the bottom of the stairs!

Industrial District

Target time: Arrive with about 9:20 left.

1. Head up the stairs on the left.
2. Fight the FangEnemyEvil Forest enemy. Weak to Fire. Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Pinion. Drops: Eye Drops, Phoenix Down. running around the statue.
3. Head up the stairs to fight a MuEnemyEarly Mist Continent enemy. All standard elements are normal. Steal: Potion. Drops: Potion, Echo Screen, Phoenix Down. Quina can later eat normal Mu to learn Limit Glove; the Lindblum event Mu has no steals or drops. that meets you halfway.
4. Head to the next screen.
5. Go under the bridge and fight a MuEnemyEarly Mist Continent enemy. All standard elements are normal. Steal: Potion. Drops: Potion, Echo Screen, Phoenix Down. Quina can later eat normal Mu to learn Limit Glove; the Lindblum event Mu has no steals or drops..
6. Try to go into the pub and fight another MuEnemyEarly Mist Continent enemy. All standard elements are normal. Steal: Potion. Drops: Potion, Echo Screen, Phoenix Down. Quina can later eat normal Mu to learn Limit Glove; the Lindblum event Mu has no steals or drops..
7. Leave and head to Business District.

Business District

Target time: Arrive with about 5:45 left.

1. Leave the platform and head up one screen.
2. Head up to fight a Trick SparrowEnemyLindblum-area aerial enemy. Weak to Wind and immune to Earth. Steal: Ore. Drops: Echo Screen. Quina can later eat it to learn Matra Magic. that swoops down on you.
3. Keep heading up to fight a MuEnemyEarly Mist Continent enemy. All standard elements are normal. Steal: Potion. Drops: Potion, Echo Screen, Phoenix Down. Quina can later eat normal Mu to learn Limit Glove; the Lindblum event Mu has no steals or drops. that jumps out from a building on your right.
4. Head to the next screen.
5. There’s a FangEnemyEvil Forest enemy. Weak to Fire. Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Pinion. Drops: Eye Drops, Phoenix Down. to your left. Fight that and then…
6. Head straight up to the next screen.
7. Fight the FangEnemyEvil Forest enemy. Weak to Fire. Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Pinion. Drops: Eye Drops, Phoenix Down..
8. A little further on, fight the Trick SparrowEnemyLindblum-area aerial enemy. Weak to Wind and immune to Earth. Steal: Ore. Drops: Echo Screen. Quina can later eat it to learn Matra Magic..
9. Head back to previous screen.
10. Watch Vivi running past, then fight a FangEnemyEvil Forest enemy. Weak to Fire. Steal: Potion, Phoenix Down, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Pinion. Drops: Eye Drops, Phoenix Down..
11. Head up and right to the next area, then find the kids in the upper left corner.
12. Time to fight the ZaghnolEnemyFestival of the Hunt boss. Weak to Water and takes half damage from Thunder. Steal: Mythril Gloves, Needle Fork. Drops: n/a. Later normal Zaghnols can be eaten by Quina to learn Matra Magic..

Target time: Start the ZaghnolEnemyFestival of the Hunt boss. Weak to Water and takes half damage from Thunder. Steal: Mythril Gloves, Needle Fork. Drops: n/a. Later normal Zaghnols can be eaten by Quina to learn Matra Magic. fight with about 1:00 left.

I started the ZaghnolEnemyFestival of the Hunt boss. Weak to Water and takes half damage from Thunder. Steal: Mythril Gloves, Needle Fork. Drops: n/a. Later normal Zaghnols can be eaten by Quina to learn Matra Magic. battle at 1:13 to go and killed him with 14 sec to go! Whew!!! 227 pts = “teh winz!” Zidane was level 17, which is probably the only reason I was able to win the hunt. Even then, it wasn’t exactly what I’d call easy. :) Once the hunt is over, you’ll get money if you won. After a bunch of cut scenes, the princess and Rusty are gone, and you and two other party members must head out to Burmecia.