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Minigames

Guide by  Shotgunnova
Contributor
Edited by  Death Penalty
Contributor

Final Fantasy IX has a large number of sidequests and minigames. The largest of these we've split out to be on their own pages, of course, to make it easier for you to find and read. For this page, we're calling things "minigames" that are one-off events, or are time-limited, or otherwise do not impact the scope of being able to complete the game in any way. If you're not finding what you're looking for here, try the Sidequests page instead.

Jumprope

A jump-rope minigame can be played in Alexandria on three discs. On Disc 1, you can play as Vivi before going to see Tantalus; on Disc 3 and 4, you can play in Alexandria's church.

Note that only Vivi and Eiko can play this: if they're not in the party, the minigame can't be started. If they are in the party, talk to the middle girl to begin. A "(!)" icon will come up -- press it as fast as you can so that the cycle keeps going. Prizes are awarded for consecutive jumps.

Jumps
Prize
20
10 Gil
50
♥Cactuar Card
100
♥Genji Card
200
♥Alexandria Card
300
♥Tiger Racket Card
1000

I've no real strategies here, since this is more of a "human metronome" thing than full of strategy. Keeping time is crucial, and the time eventually speeds up (~200 jumps?) so it isn't for everyone.

Pluto Squad Round-Up

After control first goes to Steiner, he'll find that most of his knights are off gallavanting and doing things generally unbecoming of their positions. But the princess is missing, and they must be sent out searching. Your reward will be one δElixir, so it'll be worth your while. Here're all the locations.

Pluto Knight
Location
LaudoIn library; talk to him, then find him hiding there again
KohelIn guardhouse with the moogle
HaagenSitting by the lakeside
WeimarTalking to knight by west tower
BlutzenIn guardhouse with the moogle
DojebonIn twin-stairway balcony
BreireichtWest tower's stairway
MullenkedheimIn east wing dining room

Laudo is in the castle library. Talk to him, pick either option, and he'll run away. Exit the room and then come right back in. Laudo's still here, and now hides behind a bookshelf (blindspot). Use the action button to find him once again and this sends him off looking for good.

Kohel is shooting the breeze with Blutzen in the guardhouse. Talk to either of them to send both out searching.

Blutzen is in the guardhouse, talking to Kohel. After Steiner tells them to get changed, enter the guardhouse and talk to 'em again to kick them out onto the beat.

Dojebon is that speedy knight running around the castle's twin-stair balcony. When Steiner tries to talk to him, he often runs the exact opposite way, and this goes for any part of the stair. Wait for him to exit one of the doors, then wait to see which door he heads to. Rush to him at this point and talk to him -- turns out he's already looking! You still need to do this, though, if you want the reward.

Breireicht is climbing the western tower's stairway. Talk to him twice and he'll countdown all the knights currently looking. He'll give Steiner the reward (an δElixir) if everyone's out looking.

Mullenkedheim, the hungriest cannoneer in the knights, is found in the east wing dining room. Talking to him once is sufficient in spreading the word, even if he doesn't go out on patrol...

Knight House Fight Club

Getting its name from the owner of the equipment shop (Knight), a fight club of sorts can be done in a one-on-one match. Talk to the lady attendant and she'll let someone fight the monster. Win and get a prize!

Disc Two

Griffin
Griffin
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
Exp
Attack
Magic Atk.
Flying
16
1470
602
602
1858
29
12
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
Speed
Strength
Spirit
Eaten Magic
3
10
10
4
23
12
19
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Dropped Card
Slot 1: δOre
Slot 1: δPeridot
Slot 3: δHi-Potion
Slot 4: δEther
♥Sand Scorpion
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Immunities
None
None
Elemental Resistence
Elemental Weakness
None
Wind
Status Immunity
Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Float, Vanish, Unknown
  

Attacks: White Wind (heal self), Aero (wind-elemental damage to one), Aera (wind-elemental damage to one)

Steiner is a good choice here. Equip him with the δBlood Sword, for its HP-drain effect; the δGold Choker accessory, which has to be synthed but halves wind damage; and the Bird Killer ability, taught by the δBronze Armor and increases damage against the foe's type. Auto-Potion helps, too, but isn't imperative.

Reward: ♥Tonberry Card

Disc Three

Catoblepas
Catoblepas
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
Exp
Attack
Magic Atk.
Beast
32
3727
1069
1421
6609
44
15
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
Speed
Strength
Spirit
Eaten Magic
4
10
10
5
25
15
25
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Dropped Card
Slot 1: δSoft
Slot 2: δHi-Potion
Slot 3: δPhoenix Pinion
Slot 4: δEther
Slot 2: δSoft
Slot 3: δHi-Potion
Slot 4: δHi-Potion
♥Cerberus
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Immunities
None
None
Elemental Resistence
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Status Immunity
Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Vanish, Unknown
  

Attacks: Heave (physical damage on target), Devil's Bell (inflicts 'Petrify' on target), Earthquake (earth-elemental damage on target), Thundara (med. thunder-elem damage on target)

Equip the Jelly and Beast Killer abilities, and δFeather Boots or δDesert Boots if you want to reduce earth-type damage (though E'quake isn't that good, really). The δCoral Ring will help out immensely, however, so definitely put that on your character. A stratagem: use the δAngel Bless' confusion ability in conjunction with the Soul Blade ability to really make this match easy; it doesn't seem to use any of its skills besides Heave in this state!

Reward: 15000 Gil

Amdusias (Treno)
Amdusias (Treno)
Can't Flee
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
Exp
Attack
Magic Atk.
Demon, Flying
42
6578
1568
0
0
56
18
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
Speed
Strength
Spirit
Eaten Magic
5
10
10
6
27
18
30
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Dropped Card
Slot 1: δHi-Potion
Slot 2: δAntidote
Slot 3: δPhoenix Pinion
Slot 4: δEther
None
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Immunities
None
Earth
Elemental Resistence
Elemental Weakness
None
Wind
Status Immunity
Virus, Confuse, Berserk, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Float, Vanish, Doom, Gradual Petrify
  

Attacks: Horn (physical damage to one target), Bio (non-elem magic damage + % poison), LV4 Holy (holy damage to enemies with levels divisible by 4)

Equip Bird Killer since it's an Aerial type, and Auto-Reflect will help make Bio worthless (and poison it, too!). Alternatively, you can use the tent trick to inflict Silence/Darkness/Poison to get rid of ALL its attacks. Of course, if you've already bought Zidane a δSargatanas, you can use Soul Blade and instantly petrify it. Ya don't get AP/EXP/Drops, anyway...

Reward: δRunning Shoes

Disc Four

Behemoth
Behemoth
Boss Monster
Can't Flee
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
Exp
Attack
Magic Atk.
Beast
71
24123
3338
2764
53168
95
25
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
Speed
Strength
Spirit
Eaten Magic
7
10
10
9
44
25
45
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Dropped Card
None
♥Ogre
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Immunities
None
None
Elemental Resistence
Elemental Weakness
None
Ice
Status Immunity
Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Vanish, Unknown
  

Attacks: Heave (physical damage to one), Strike (physical damage to one, Meteor Counter (counters with 'Meteor' magic)

Just petrify it with the δSargatanas + Soul Blade combination. If you want an actual fight outta the thing (has about 25000 HP), use the Beast Killer ability and inflict Darkness/Silence, which will make it unable to use Meteor Counter.

Reward: δCirclet

Racing Hippaul

This can only be done on the third disc, when the player is controlling Vivi before going to Ruby's mini-theater. Go to the alley between the bar and the town entrance to find Hippaul and his mother, who urges Vivi to race her son so he can trim down his physique. To run the race, just like in real life, you will need to press the square and circle buttons in alternation as fast as you can. Losing races will make Hippaul's "level" go up (talk to him to check it) and when he reaches a certain one, his mother will bestow a prize. Here are the prizes:

Level
Prize
10
♥Wyerd Card
20
♥Carrion Worm Card
30
♥Tantarian Card
40
♥Armstrong Card
50
♥Ribbon Card
60
♥Nova Dragon Card
70
♥Genji Card
80

As Hippaul gets faster, this minigame gets progressively harder with a normal controller, but it shouldn't be too hard if you've got a turbo controller. As for how you should hold a controller, I suggest using two hands to press the two buttons. I also find I can perform better on how I press if I concentrate on the presses, rather than how Vivi's faring in the race. This allows me to tighten the input sequence without getting mucked up with distractions. Another option on a Dualshock controller is to turn the analog off and use the right analog stick in place of the square and circle buttons by flicking it left and right. It's pretty dang hard later on...

Rank S Treasure Hunter

Once the Hilde Garde 3 airship is obtained on Disc 3 (post-Esto Gaza), the town of Daguerreo can be accessed. To reach it, fly to the largest landmass south of the Forgotten Continent (Sacrobless Island) and enter. Near the library below the synthesis shop, a four-armed man will be adjudicate Zidane on his treasure-hunter skills. The ranks in order of lowest to highest are:

The lowest rank is "H", and from there the ranks ascend to the top of the alphabet. Beyond "A," though, there's one more rank you can achieve: "S."

Things that contribute towards raising the ranking:

  • Opening treasure chests
  • Using field icons
  • Obtaining Key Items

Upon reaching Rank S, the man will get startled and run away. Follow him back to the town entrance to learn that he's not really famous and is a low-rank hunter himself (rank D, to be precise). He really just wants to be stronger so he's not pushed around and called "four-arms." Before he splits, he gives Zidane the key item δRank S Medal! He also divulges his real name, which no mortal has ever heard before or again...

(Note: If you follow the CoN walkthrough, you should be able to get the medal upon first reaching Daguerreo! Good for us.)

Endgame Blackjack

After getting to the last screen in the game, where the prelude plays, press the following combination to play some blackjack:

R2, L1, R2, R2, Up, X, Right, Circle, Down, Triangle, L2, R1, R2, L1, Square, Square, Start (not using a PlayStation-format gamepad? Check the buttons page.)

You'll now be able to play the card game, which is just plain ol' real-life blackjack. The object is to get cards to add up to twenty-one (21), winning the hand. Face cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack) are worth ten (10) points, while lower cards (2-10) are worth just what # is displayed.

  • 'Hit' gives you one more card.
  • 'Stand' stops you from drawing cards; you see what the dealer gets.
  • 'Double' means you draw another card and if you win, your wager doubles.
  • 'Split' can be used only if your first two cards are of the same value; this will split them into two hands and you each play from there.

If you lose, you'll be sent back to 'The End' screen, but can replay the game again if you want.

Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy IX
Version 6
©1997–2024 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)

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