Final Fantasy IX Walkthrough

4.3: The Crystal World

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1.1: The Prima Vista Visits Alexandria 1.2: Dramatic Play in Alexandria 1.3: The Evil Forest 1.4: Through the Ice Cavern 1.5: Dali and the Waltz 1.6: The Festival of the Hunt 1.7: Back on the World Map 1.8: Gizamaluke's Grotto 1.9: At the Bohden Arch 1.10: Burmecia, Realm of Eternal Rain 2.1: The South Gate 2.2: Treno, City of Eternal Night 2.3: Gargan Roo 2.4: Cleyra Trunk 2.5: Cleyra Settlement 2.6: Alexandria Castle Revisited 2.7: Pinnacle Rocks 2.8: Lindblum Revisited 2.9: Fossil Roo 2.10: Conde Petie 2.11: Black Mage Village 2.12: Conde Petie Mountain Path 2.13: Madain Sari, Village of the Lost Summoners 2.14: Iifa Tree 2.15: Back to Madain Sari 2.16: Back to the Iifa Tree 3.1: Alexandria Revisited 3.2: Treno Revisited 3.3: Defending Alexandria 3.4: A Salve for Cid 3.5: The Open Seas 3.6: Back in the Saddle Again 3.7: Oeilvert 3.8: Desert Palace 3.9: Mt. Gulug 3.10: Third Lindblum's A Charm 3.11: Daguerreo 3.12: Ipsen's Castle 3.13: The Four Shrines and Some Out-of-This-World Advice 3.14: Terra 3.15: Pandemonium 4.1: Assorted Sidequesting 4.2: Memoria 4.3: The Crystal World

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Enemies: Lich (Crystal), Tiamat (Crystal), Kraken (Crystal), Stilva, Maliris (Crystal), Behemoth,
Deathguise,
Trance Kuja,
Necron

The monsters here are the former Chaos bosses, but they don't have the same immunities, making them considerably easier to abuse. This sounds like the work of Sargatanas + Soul Blade, huh? Each one of the foursome will fork over 7 AP upon defeat as well, which is pretty exciting. Oh, and if you find any Behemoths, remember to Silence them so that their killer 'Meteor Counter' can't be used! Said monster and Stilvas only appear in the "To the Origin" space location, though.

Anyway, walk in the expanse of space (just move forward) and Zidane will come to a light that teleports him to the crystal world proper. The fourth screen down will have a save point, except this one has all the previous options + 'Teleport' (teleport to first save point, one-way-only). Save and Tent if you want to and enter the warp nearby. Time to shake hands with this beefcake…



When in 'Open' mode, it will use its regular physical-type attacks; when in 'Closed' mode, it will use its nasty spells like 'Death,' 'Twister,' etc. Have Steiner use Shock / Climhazzard, Zidane attack and steal, Eiko use Curaga / Full-Life / Holy, Dagger be everyone's nurse, Vivi use Flare, and Quina use Mighty Guard. Freya can Jump / Dragon's Crest like usual, while Amarant gets to spread Aura around and use No Mercy when available. This is actually a simple battle of sorts, but sometimes Deathguise leads off with 'Meteor,' which can kill/heavily damage everyone at once and make a whole mess of everything. If this happens, I honestly suggest resetting until the first round goes in your favor. You can hit it with Slow, but that's about all there is for Doomga- uh, I mean, Deathguise.

As soon as the battle is done, you can go back and save! Just don't proceed towards Kuja. Tent, save, and equip your best element-reducing equipment (Protect Ring, Ribbon, Gauntlets, Defense Gloves, etc.) for the road ahead. Jump back through the warp when ready and get ready to square-dance with…



Amarant should get to work with Aura'ing everyone, then start using the No Mercy schtick; Steiner should be Shock-ing like crazy. Eiko should be doing Curaga-all just about every turn, and if she finds an opening, a Shell spell is a good choice. Zidane can steal if he wants, but damaging is a bit more important. 'Flare Star' is just as nasty as before, and you will get to see it a lot more use if you cast Reflect on everyone - don't! Quina needs to break out Mighty Guard if s/he's with, and Freya should Jump to avoid most damage, or use Dragon's Crest if it's maxed-out. Vivi's the Flare master again, and Dagger's just the Curaga-all person. Should Kuja give himself Reflect status, dispel it so he doesn't inflict more damage by bouncing spells off himself. Basically, a party past level 50 should have more than enough HP to withstand any attack - 'Flare Star' is the most damaging, and it's tolerable… and can even miss! Just make sure Eiko knows the attack and adapts to it!

Afterwards, you can choose your party again and view the menu (take off any useless ability – Alert, Master Thief, etc. - and put stones into status protection and/or 'Restore HP'). Then, it's off to a final showdown with… wait, what's this boss doing here? Surprise intervention's right down the hall, buddy…



Whatever party you have, the basic setup comes out like so: have someone on standby to use an Elixir / Curaga whenever 'Blue Shockwave' comes about, and be ready to Curaga-all 'Neutron Ring'; thus, why there are item healers - don't let those Elixirs you've been stockpiling go to waste! But, the main attraction is 'Grand Cross', right out of previous Final Fantasy games. It inflicts multiple status effects on everyone, and can really be a killer… not just because it's heinous, but because any person who gets zombified has to have a Magic Tag used on them before they are able to be revived! It is slightly unfair, to say the least. Of course, which of Necron's many attacks you will end up seeing at any given point is up to chance and no one gets hit with all at once - cope with Remedy items, Esuna and Angel's Snack if you have it. Here's the oversimplified breakdown:

• Zidane - attack, use Trance, steal Elixirs for use
• Steiner - Use Shock / Climhazzard, Item heal if necessary
• Amarant - Use Aura / No Mercy / Chakra, Item heal if necessary
• Eiko - Use Curaga-all, Esuna, Holy, Phoenix, Dispel
• Quina - Mighty Guard, Angel's Snack, Magic Hammer
• Dagger - Curaga-all
• Vivi - Flare, Flare, Flare!
• Freya - Dragon's Crest, Jump, Lancer

Also note that if you have a Dark Matter, that can inflict 9999 damage to the boss as well. Of course, any Trances are welcome. The main obstacle is getting around 'Grand Cross' and overcoming the turns afterwards, which can be a bind if you get a 'Neutron Ring' or affect-all elemental attack. Attempt to get back on track, cure Zombified characters immediately, and Curaga-all when possible. Don't forget that if you've got Phoenix learned, there's a chance, albeit slim, that Rebirth Flame occurs after the party gets annihilated and revives everyone. Don't count on it, but it's happened to me before - lifesaver! It really doesn't matter who lives or dies at the end of the battle, since no EXP is awarded and there's no more bosses that pop out of nowhere to fight you.

Enjoy the incredibly sweet ending scenes, because you sure as heck earned them! Oh, and don't forget that you can play a blackjack minigame at the very end of ends!

<< First

< Previous Chapter:    Memoria

1.1: The Prima Vista Visits Alexandria 1.2: Dramatic Play in Alexandria 1.3: The Evil Forest 1.4: Through the Ice Cavern 1.5: Dali and the Waltz 1.6: The Festival of the Hunt 1.7: Back on the World Map 1.8: Gizamaluke's Grotto 1.9: At the Bohden Arch 1.10: Burmecia, Realm of Eternal Rain 2.1: The South Gate 2.2: Treno, City of Eternal Night 2.3: Gargan Roo 2.4: Cleyra Trunk 2.5: Cleyra Settlement 2.6: Alexandria Castle Revisited 2.7: Pinnacle Rocks 2.8: Lindblum Revisited 2.9: Fossil Roo 2.10: Conde Petie 2.11: Black Mage Village 2.12: Conde Petie Mountain Path 2.13: Madain Sari, Village of the Lost Summoners 2.14: Iifa Tree 2.15: Back to Madain Sari 2.16: Back to the Iifa Tree 3.1: Alexandria Revisited 3.2: Treno Revisited 3.3: Defending Alexandria 3.4: A Salve for Cid 3.5: The Open Seas 3.6: Back in the Saddle Again 3.7: Oeilvert 3.8: Desert Palace 3.9: Mt. Gulug 3.10: Third Lindblum's A Charm 3.11: Daguerreo 3.12: Ipsen's Castle 3.13: The Four Shrines and Some Out-of-This-World Advice 3.14: Terra 3.15: Pandemonium 4.1: Assorted Sidequesting 4.2: Memoria 4.3: The Crystal World

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