Sidequests
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 "sidequests" that result in acquiring a useful and/or unique item that is potentially relevant in terms of being able to finish the game. If you're not finding what you're looking for here, try the Minigames page instead.
Rare Coffee
This sidequest can only be finished starting on disc three, but cannot be finished at all if you haven't handed them over before switching to disc four, making your window of opportunity rather brief.
The person who lives at the base of Observatory Mountain near Dali, Morrid, will say he'll trade his Mini-Prima Vista model to Zidane if the three rare coffee beans he's always wanted to try are given to him. This item isn't an actual thing that goes into the inventory, but one of four little 'figurines' that will appear in Tantalus' hideout, in the Lindblum Theater District, once you've earned 'em. Their locations:
- Kirman
- This can be found initially on Disc 2, in Eiko's kitchen.
- Burman
- On Disc 3, before the card tournament in Treno is finished, return to Dali as Zidane. Enter the mayor's house to find he's absent, but that sleeping kid is still here... and will wake up. Search a nearby part (like the shelf) a few times to make sure the kid's sound asleep and search the 'Heater' to find the Mayor's Key (key item). This unlocks the windmill's backdoor, and leads to where the chocobo now is. Open the 30,000 gil chest and check it once more to get the coffee.
- Moccha
- This delicious bag of coffee is found at the South Gate, near the Chocobo's Forest. Look near the freshwater spring to find it. You do not have to view the 'Baku and His Crew' ATE to get this. This cannot be obtained on Disc 4.
Treno Auction House
Although not really a minigame, or a sidequest, this house of bargaining is first accessible on Disc 2 and gives rare items if your pocketbook can handle the bidding. It's also the avenue by which Excalibur is obtained: for more on that, see the next section below. Here are the items arranged by the disc on which they become available.
Disc Two
- Une's Mirror
- Reflect Ring
- Madain's Ring
- Mini-Cid
- Fairy Earrings
- Magician Robe
- Doga's Artifact
- Griffin's Heart
- Pearl Rouge
Disc Three
(Note, however, that the Promist Ring doesn't become available until you've obtained the Blue Narciss. Same for the Thief Gloves.)
Disc Four
Accepting Excalibur
Excalibur is a sword for Steiner. It's only his third-best, but it also teaches the Climhazzard ability. Furthermore, it's considerably easier and quicker to obtain than his first- and second-best swords: Excalibur II (the most elusive of the game's ultimate weapons) and Ragnarok. By contrast, getting Excalibur is a breeze once you've reached the last (4th) disc (note however that, as shown in the above Treno Auction House guide, several of the items can be bought prior to Disc 4). Here are the steps to take in order to get this rarity:
- On Daguerreo's third floor, by the inn, talk to the old man who talks of a, ahem, Magical Fingertip he'd like to see at least once in his life.
- Buy the following items at Treno's Auction House and sell to the following NPCs-about-town. Note that every except the Scholar will give you a couple thousand extra Gil if you hold out on their first offers.
- Rat Tail: Sell to Adventurer by synth shop's exterior, second offer.
- Une's Mirror: Sell to Nobleman by synth shop's exterior, second offer.
- Doga's Artifact: Sell to Scholar inside the synthesis shop.
- Griffin's Heart: Sell to Adventurer by synth shop's exterior, second offer.
- The Magical Fingertip (key item) should now show up in the auction. It fetches quite a price, usually between 50000-60000 gil. Once it's bought, you can't buy it again... you won't need it again, anyway.
- Bring it to the old man in Daguerreo and he'll give an Excalibur as the prize. That's all, folks!
Retreiving Excalibur II
Why stop at just one Excalibur? Well, partially because the upgraded one can be a bit tricky to get! If you want it, though, there's only one requirement to getting Steiner's perfect blade: make it past Lich before the game clock hits twelve hours. This is quite tough, of course, but depending on the player's penchant for tricks, one can do it by skipping FMVs (on the PlayStation or PlayStation 2 only) or by using the in-game enhancers in the mobile and Steam versions. Or, of course, by just outright cheating.
If you can get past Lich through whatever means under the wire, go look at the foot of the largest pillar to the right of the gate. You'll find it there and will probably never equip anything else on Steiner.
The Eidolon Wall
After the battle at the Eidolon Wall in Madain Sari, most gamers never return to that area. However, if you do go back later, at a time where you can change party members, you can unearth a great deal of background information on Eidolons, Eiko, and especially Dagger.
First, return to Madain Sari with a party that includes Dagger or Amarant, and walk to where the fish was caught for dinner. You'll notice that Lani will be there, and will scamper away immediately. Return again with a party without Amarant or Dagger, and this time she'll stay to talk to you. Talk a couple times to learn why she's there, and she will let you know that there is relevant information inscribed at the Eidolon Wall.
When returning to the Eidolon Wall, you can walk around in a loop and inspect the paintings of the Eidolons to learn more about them. If you also walk in a specific pattern, a new message will appear. To do this, start at the entrance and walk in one direction the entire way around. When you get past the entrance again, you will hear a faint chiming sound. At this point, turn around and do the full loop in the other direction to hear another chime. Continue to do this, and you will eventually get a message that your HP, MP, and status have been restored. At this point, if you inspect Ifrit, you will see a message from Dagger's father to his wife and daughter. It will include heretofore unknown information about Dagger. This little tidbit has nothing to do with the plot, but is a nice and sweet find. Since most players have yet to see this, we've composed a video to help.
Version 6
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