Final Fantasy IX Community Playthrough

Alright, time for me to make this post, finally.

I was unable to complete Chapter 2 on my own, and I thought that I'd be able to have my save file uploaded to the Cloud so that I could play it on a different PS3, but apparently you can't, and I only made it through the Ice Cavern before I had to stop playing...

This chapter has a few very distinct changes in setting. What did you think of each of the locations you visited?

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Well, I liked the Ice Cavern, so...

No, but seriously, I love the way that you can interact with the environment of the Ice Cavern to find all of the hidden chests. Nice touch, I thought.

How did you fare against the various bosses you encountered during this chapter? What did you manage to steal?

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And of course, the only boss I was able to go up against was Black Waltz 1 and his Sealion. I stole the Silk Shirt from Black Waltz before just decided to kill him since I'd heard the other item wasn't really all that pertinent, and then I stole the Mythril Dagger before trancing and using Tidal Flame, which killed the Sealion.

And that, unfortunately, was that, as far as my play of Chapter 2 went.

For Chapter 3, I watched Force play, and that's probably what I'll do for the rest of the game.

How do you feel about Lindblum?

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I like it. It feels like a huge metropolis, what with the way that things are literally built upwards, and the use of the Aircabs to get around really reinforces how large this city is.

Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game

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I believe Force synthesized a few things before we started this round. When I played through for the first time, I remember synthesizing a lot of stuff, though it's been years, so I can't really remember what all I made and all that jazz.

Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?

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Zidane won after defeating Zaghnol. Freya was in the lead by quite a bit, but the ridiculous amount of points you get for landing the killing blow on Zaghnol really shot Zidane into the lead with only a few seconds to spare after having won the battle. As I have absolutely no real clue how Tetra Master works, I didn't really want Vivi to win, even though I know that the card he gets is really good. So I was ok with either Zidane or Freya winning.

SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?

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I don't really mind Hot and Cold, and the more you do it, the easier it gets, as your Chocobo levels up and all that. So I was the one who played it during this Chapter, don't let Force fool you into thinking he found the Chocograph And as much as he bitches about it, I'm sure he won't complain if I spend some time playing it and getting him all of the good equipment.

Did you go to Qu's Marsh? If so, did you obtain Quina? If so, did you spend some time learning Blue Magics?

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Yes, obtained Quina, caught some frogs, and learned a few Blue Magics while trying to learn Bandit for Zidane. I was actually controlling the party when I ran into the monsters that you can learn Mighty Guard from, although I didn't know it at the time, and was down to just Freya and Quina (Vivi and Zidane had died) when I got it, so I suppose that was worth the two Phoenix Downs I had to use after the battle (actually, I think I had already used one in battle, so three Phoenix Downs...whoops.). It'll be nice when I have enough MP to actually use it, as I certainly do not yet. After seeing Pumpkin Head do a butt ton of damage to Zidane, we were kind of excited to use it against some random enemy, and were incredibly disappointed to find out the hard way that it only does damage equal to the difference between Quina's full and current HP.

I just got two Robe of Lords's and a Protect Ring. Half MP Cost for Vivi for the rest of the game

Totally worth it.

I have just reached the second checkpoint as I've not had as much time to play the game lately (and what time I did have was spent on other games), but from the sounds of it I will be spending a bunch of time on Hot and Cold to get these items.

I don't actually remember now what Hot and Cold entails

Lots of digging and swearing at the time running out at the exact wrong moment

Unless you cheat and use save states like I did. Mwahaha.

I'm still behind. I too have not been playing much. School, sleep, trying to just take care of myself, etc., etc., etc. Really no time for playing games. Still, I am finished the first chapter! lol So, this weekend I should hopefully at least start the second chapter. If lucky, be finished it. I'll still be behind about two chapters, but, oh well...Now, questions!

What did you think of the opening? How would you rate it against other FF openings?

One word: Beautiful. I think the graphics as well as the music are definitely wonderful introductions for what is to be found within the rest of the game.

There are a tonne of minigames in IX. Did you try skipping? Did you start Mognet or meet Stilzkin? How did you find the sparring minigame? Did you impress Queen Brahne?

I did try the jump rope mini game, but the best I could do is 21 jumps, so I stopped there after about fifteen tries (more or less). I did impress Queen Brahne, and impressed 86 nobles. Unfortunately, I could not get above 86 nobles, though I did try several times. While I honestly hated the jump rope game, the sparring was a bit more fun. As for Mognet, I thought I did start the mail service, but alas... no. I did not get that first letter...

What do you think of the controls/exploration compared to other FF titles? What about the battle system?

I am fine with the controls and exploration, but I find the battles to go slowly. I HATE STEAL!!! I cannot say it enough times, or emphatically enough! I hate steal. I wish Square would heighten the chances of successful steals. Gah!

Are you enjoying the story? What do you think of it so far?

The story is okay. Since I played IX before, I know some more than others, but I have to confess the first time I played through the game I wasn't a fan. It progresses slowly. There are just small details here and there that ruin the overall experience, unfortunately; and, these experiences are really me, and my own judgement and my own psyche, so it's definitely more personal than anything wrong with the plot.

How do you feel about Lindblum?

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i've already said that i totally love Lindblum. when i'll be old, i'll go there.

Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game

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this is my first playthrough so i tried to syntesise as much as possible. i'm fine with the 'learn from your weapon' (my first first FF was a tactice, so i'm used to this stile)

Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?

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Freya, but i'm fine with this. better her than Vivi imo (sorry my dear, but i don't care about cards) and i don't really care about money (for now) so i regret nothing. i'm just sad because she had 72 points and i had 70 (so close..), but i made a savepoint for it. (hunt is fun)

SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?

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i haven't plaied hot&cold yet but i rembered how to play tetra master XD

Did you go to Qu's Marsh? If so, did you obtain Quina? If so, did you spend some time learning Blue Magics?

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of course. i love the music here and i found Quina very funny and i learned some blue magics. tbh i found quite funny how she learn the blue magics.

Well well well guys, we're fairly making progress with this. By the end of this chapter we'll have reached the end of Disc 1.


Just as a bit of advice, you won't be able to do any levelling after you've saved at the end of this chapter - if you're learning all the abilities or are feeling a bit underlevelled, the best time to do so is before entering Burmecia (meaning the world map segment beyond Gizamaluke's Grotto).

Although you can backtrack right up until you face the final boss of Disc 1, Burmecia has a high encounter rate (good for levelling by the way) but it can be a pain in the ass. If you're going to level abilities, do it on the world map or just at the entrance to Burmecia.

Also; anyone new to the game should save with the moogle in Gizamaluke's grotto before climbing up that vine, if you're going to. Chances are you saved already, but he advises you for a reason

• Gizamaluke's Grotto and Burmecia, like every other location in this game, have a very unique style. What do you think about these places?
• Zorn and Thorn make an appearance in this chapter. How do you feel about this dynamic duo?
• Did you give the moogle his Kupo nut? Did you heed his advice and not travel up the vine?
• The first of a few scenario shifts to another party happens in this chapter. Do you think this was a good choice for the narrative?
• There are a further 4 chocographs you can dig up in this chapter. Did you get them in addition to the two available in the previous chapter?
• What is your initial impression of the mysterious man at the end of the chapter?
• This chapter contains two main bosses that can be challenging to a newcomer without a good strategy. They also carry items that are notoriously difficult to steal. Did you manage to steal the items in question? What was your strategy against Gizamaluke?

I'm available any day this weekend for Skyping; including tomorrow if anyone wants to do it then. If not, it'll go ahead on Saturday like normal

So far, Saturday is fine, but tomorrow is questionable.

As it is, I have school; unless this called for storm interferes, I will be busy for the late morning, early afternoon (USA Eastern Time.)

I'll be with you guys on Saturday. Hopefully I can add more of you lovely people to my friend's list.

I've got a question: how do people pronounce Brahne? 'Brahn' or 'Brah-neh'?

Super insightful and thought provoking question. I know.

"Brah-neh," as with the Japanese pronunciation.

omg I was just thinking this same thing.

For me, it's "Brahn", definitely. I don't understand how people can get "brah-neh" from it but I'm sure I've heard people saying it that way before. Mind you, I've heard people saying some weird shit. I had two friends in high school that liked FF7. Midgar for example, was "Mid-gar" to me, "Midge-ar" to another, and for some crazy ass reason "Meezsjar" to someone else.

EDIT: And now I do understand why people say it the other way, thanks to Tres's ninja. You'd just never say it that way having only read the English though, IMO.

Yeah, I said it like "brawn" for the longest time until I learned that it was the other way in Japanese. Had to train myself to think of it that way after.

I once knew someone who pronounced 'Jenova' as 'Jehova'

I heard 'Brahn' while listening to the first Skype, which is what made me wonder. I would say 'Brah-neh' now but I'm playing the Japanese one so that's the way it's pronounced there, but I probably said the other way long ago. And what the English pronunciation is doesn't always match the Japanese one (Ashe in FFXII [ash vs. ah-shey], Rikku in FFX [ree-koo vs. ryuh-kku]). Making it 'Brahné' might have helped there to make it clear if they were going for the same pronunciation.

I'd ask about other names so far but they've mostly been straight forward, I think.

I've always said it BRAHNE. But yeah, BRAH-NEH is evident, if you're Japanese or know Japanese. ?!

Brawn.

-y

I used to say "Bra-neh" because it's what makes more sense if you pronounce it as if it was Spanish. But when I "tought" in English, I thought of "Brahn". So what do I know

One of these days I'll actually post one of these things earlier in the week though this time I had an excuse, I was sick. Well still am.

How do you feel about Lindblum?

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I love Lindblum, it always seems like a such a fun place with new people visiting all the time, guess that has something to do with the airships, plus any place run by an oglop Cid is a place worth visiting.

Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game

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I couldn't synthesize anything and the equipment system is fine.

Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?

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I was planning on winning but then Lex told me it was better to let Freya win because she wins an ability that helps with bosses later or something so she won she was going to win anyways, I was paying more attention to skype than the game and too much time had passed. Btw Zidane you need to remember which dates you made with who man.

SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?

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I did all of them, got fed up with Hot and Cold, stupid chocobo could never find more than two things that weren't even good. Btw Lex you're a cheating Scottish bastard.

Did you go to Qu's Marsh? If so, did you obtain Quina? If so, did you spend some time learning Blue Magics?

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Yes I did after Lex had to help me several times to get there because I was lost. I know is right in front of Linblum but since I walked to the other side of the map level grinding it was a little difficult to get back there. Damn Quina has the funniest reasons for ever joining a party, food. I think I did spend some time learning blue magics but I don't remember atm which must mean my medicine is starting to kick in or I simply don't remember at all.

i usually read with the italian pronuciation, unless i know the origin of names. for example i say 'Brah-neh' because that's how you would read it in italian, but i say 'Zidan' in the french way because of the footballer Zidane and 'Stainer' because i know german read the 'ei' as 'ai'. i hope it's clear for you english guys.
funny fact, Elena it's a italian name, but in the japanese version they say 'Irina', with the accent on second 'e' intead of the first, so sometimes i makes confusion.

Ongoing Skype call has just begun. Same call as last time, so if you want to be added into voice just put a message in the chat

Streaming here: Twitch.

Apologies for not being able to join in on the playthrough tonight, I'm at a wedding reception and I've had a pretty busy week, but I have completed chapter 3 and am ready to go onto chapter 4, just haven't written it up yet, I'll probably do this tomorrow, what I can say is that good portion of the previous chapter was spent digging

After playing for a couple of hours, I am now at the beginning of the chapter which you guys presumably played while on Skype tonight. These chapters are so chunky, and I've had so little free time, that it's been very difficult not to fall behind

I said I would be there, too. :-( I'm sorry I wasn't on today. Maybe next week; and, I am free, but school takes a lot out of me and my time. Anyhow, I hope you all had a good chat!

Phew apologies for the delay in my chapter, busy, busy wekk but here's my chapter 3 summary!

• How do you feel about Lindblum?
• Did you synthesise anything? Now might be a good time to comment on the equipment system in the game
• Who won the festival of the hunt? Did you do this on purpose? If so, why?
• SIDEQUEST TAIMU! Which quests did you complete? Do you like Hot and Cold?
• Did you go to Qu's Marsh? If so, did you obtain Quina? If so, did you spend some time learning Blue Magics?

I love Lindblum, it’s one of my favourite cities in the game, there’s a lot to explore and find plus I love the fact that you find out its where Tantalus actually base themselves. The Cid of this FF is quite a funny character and it makes me laugh that he’s a little bit of a womaniser, he makes a very cute Oglop though. I don’t understand why the people of FFIX find Oglops so repulsive, they’re friggin cute! Anyway, back to Cid, I like that he’s more aware about what’s going on in Alexandria than Garnet is and wanted to get her out to protect her.

I don’t really blame Garnet for being so naïve at this point in the game. She’s grown up sheltered from the world and was clearly until recently brought up in a loving environment. She believes her mother to be a wonderful person who is still simply grieving over the death of her husband, so you can’t blame her for wanting to do all she can to stop her mother from waging war and the shock/disbelief she feels about her mother trying to start a war too, it’s not just about her duty as Princess of Alexandria, it’s about wanting to help someone she loves very much and I admire her for that.

I spent a little bit of time levelling Zidane solo outside of Lindblum to get some abilities of his mastered and stopped off at Pinnacle Rocks to pick up a couple of accessible items. I find battles in the foresty areas best as you can encounter bombs and while tricky enough to defeat at this point in the game on your own, they do leave some pretty good exp for Zidane.

I synthesised quite a lot, I think I managed one of each item actually it’s thanks to the gil I won from Zidane and Blank’s duel that I had enough to buy quite a lot of equipment actually. I like the synthesising part of the game, it challenges you to find the correct equipment and experiment especially later to get some pretty powerful pieces of equipment.

I got Freya to win the Festival, I always do, I’m never concerned about the card, I never need the gil and the Coral Ring is a pretty vital piece of equipment to have at this point in the game, I’d always rather have that than anything else, I’ve let Zidane win before just once and Vivi won by default when the Zagnol defeated Freya and Zidane in an earlier game but other that it’s always Freya.

As for Sidequests, well first of all I went to Qu’s marsh and recruited Quina and ate a couple of frogs. I know that a lot of people find Quina a very annoying character, but I find s/he to be incredibly valuable especially later on for some serious grinding. So far I’ve learned 4 Blue Magic spells with Quina( Pumpkin head, frog drop, Vanish and Angel’s Snack) and I’ll definitely be learning some more later, Vanish will definitely come in handy for a couple of bosses coming up!

Choco Hot n’ Cold is without a doubt my favourite sidequest to ever come out of an FF game, seriously I could spend hours upon hours with it. I dug until I found every chocograph possible at this point in the game (there’s 9 of them at this point) and opened 2 already and it won’t be long until I open my third. They’re not too difficult to find although some of them later you have to be so specific about where to have Choco dig, I find the ones in the water trickier to dig for than ones on land.

It’s a great game and what I love about it, is it’s pretty much a sidequest that can’t be completed until disc 4 as there are treasures inaccessible up until that point, so you can’t complete it too quickly and several of the treasures you find are rare and can only be found through Hot n’ Cold. You also really have to look to find the areas to play the digging part and that your chocobo has to find the correct chocographs in order to evolve and find these areas. There are also areas of the world inaccessible and a sidequest or two unable to be completed without a chocobo so again a bonus to play the hot n' cold in order to access the other stuff.

See what I mean, I could go on and on and on about why I love this game so much, I think I've spent about 2-3 hours of gameplay on it so far as I really wanted all those chocographs and it can be down to luck on how you get them, my first chocograph took 5 games to dig it up. You can sort of tell by the depth of the dig if it’s a chocograph or not and so far I've managed to grab 7 items in one go, down mostly to the luck of 3 of them being within the same area, but I really want to try for an 8th one and get the limit level points, I'm usually quite good at that much later on when Choco is much faster at digging and has evolved. But ohhh such a good game, so much fun and very, very enjoyable, I can’t wait until later on when I have tons more time and a lot less limitations on playing it.

Chapter done and dusted!