Final Fantasy IX Walkthrough

4.2: Memoria

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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

Next Chapter: > The Crystal World

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Enemies: Chimera, Behemoth, Ash, Stilva, Iron Man

Treasures: Kain's Lance, The Tower, Rune Claws, Mace Of Zeus,Angel's Flute

Monsters herein can be a big pain… thus, you should play dirty! Equip Zidane with a Sargatanas and you will be able to Soul Blade your way through the throngs - every monster encountered normally can be petrified! Try it.

This place is located above the Iifa Tree, and only accessible with the new airship (sorry, gold Choco!). Equip some wind-reduction equipment and fly towards the huge purple warp to cue some scenes, and a boss battle with the Silver Dragon's mama…



If you have wind-absorbant equipment like Ribbons, don't inflict silence on Nova Dragon; if you just have nullify-types, do whatever. Zidane should steal that armor, Amarant uses No Mercy / Aura, Steiner uses Shock/etc., Eiko uses Curaga-all for the most part, Freya should use Jump / Lancer, and Vivi can use Flare. Dagger functions in the same way as Eiko, pretty much, and Quina can use his/her best magic. Try to steal that Grand Armor, which works a lot better than synthing it. As said, anyone with a Ribbon equipped will absorb its wind/water attacks, which makes this fun indeed. Nova Dragon also can be put to Sleep, so if Ziddy's got his Ultima Weapon, just use Soul Blade to buy some stealing time.

After some dialogue, organize the party and enter the first room in the odd castle. There is a spot on the floor where Zidane can warp back to the ship, and a weird orb-shaped thing that lets him Tent, save, or change allies. The exit is in the back, but if you hug the right wall, you will find an offscreen spot with the place's first treasure: a Kain's Lance.

The path to follow is straightforward through this entire place, so I will cut the crap and talk about landmarks. Two screens down, in the placed marked as "Recollection," find The Tower weapon for Zidane near the exit. There's a small terrace and in the southeast corner of this tiny offshoot is the weapon. It will inflict Mini with Soul Blade, which is always useful.

Beyond is a large, arcing slope. Heal up and equip fire-absorbing stuffs and Body Temp, because at the top it's a cage match with…



Remember this snake-face from the Four Shrines expedition? S/he's back for more punishment. Zidane should steal the Genji Armor available (one of only two in the game). Steiner flings Shock / Climhazzard, Amarant uses No Mercy and Aura, and Eiko uses Curaga when the time is right (Dagger functions in the same vein). Quina can use Mighty Guard, Freya should Jump / Lancer with her best weapon, and Vivi uses his normal Flare routine. Two things I will mention here. One, steal that Masamune if you're a collector, because Zorlin Shapes - an item used in manufacturing them - aren't sold at the world's shops any longer. Two, keep your HP high towards the end of the fight because it will have a "death-counter," meaning once it dies, it cues the 'Raining Swords' attack to do 900-2000 damage to everyone. Luckily, it's the snake's only affect-all attack and if you use Aura on everyone, there's nothing to worry about.

In the room beyond (called "The Past"), watch the scene and then inspect the tiny platform in front of the broken castle to find a save point and also Eiko's Angel's Flute - this teaches her Holy! Tent up and save, then proceed on. Past the room with all the rain is a long stairway leading up to an eye replica of the Invincible. Before you ascend, search the left part of the stairbottom for Amarant's ultimate weapon, the Rune Claws. Keep any of that fire-protection stuff on, too, but also guard against wind (Ribbon / Coronet) to be on the safe side. Body Temp is necessary as well. Seize the stairtop!



If lowering the magic/strength values isn't enough, this windbag lifts the 'Snort' ability right off the Yans' repertoire (although this is a counter if someone attacks while in Float status). Zidane should try to steal a Grand Helm to match the armor you just got. Offensive strategy remains consistent: Steiner uses Shock / Climhazzard, Quina uses Mighty Guard / whatever, Amarant uses No Mercy / Aura / Chakra, the latter when MP gets drained (goes good with Power Up ability). Vivi Flare-s like normal and Freya can Jump or use Lancer. Eiko and Garnet, in this case, should wait for Tiamat to use its turn in order to better deal with party upkeep… which isn't too hard since it usually does its 'Absorb' abilities 3 turns back-to-back. As long as the elemental side of the battle is handled, Tiamat's not too hard - he may not even 'Snort' anyone! It's susceptible to Silence, Sleep, and Slow, too, if that matters to you. 'Silent Claw' can easily smack Zidane with 9999 (non-critical) damage, so that is the main skill to watch out for - counter with Life, Revive, or Full-Life, naturally.

Four screens down, there's a save point with the regular options. Enter the ocean room beyond - there's an optional boss here, behind the right-hand side's rock formation. There is no "(?)" field icon that tells it's there; you have to mash the "talk" button to find it, but be wary if you're unprepared. Refer to the Hades section for information on the master synthesist and his shop. Beyond the room, up the stairs the next fatso boss waits to eat people! Equip any water-absorbing/nullifying equipment before jumping into its arms.



This is a boss with two tentacle minions. They carry an Elixir each and are no fun at all, but killing them eliminates the 'Ink' and 'Water-gun' abilities from use. Either way, this is the lamest of the four 'Chaos' bosses you fight. Have Zidane steal a Genji Helmet if you want it, Eiko/Dagger use Curaga-all to heal, Amarant careen No Mercy and Aura around, Steiner use Shock, Freya Jump / Lancer / Dragon's Crest, Quina use Mighty Guard, and Vivi Flare the thing into oblivion. It's only able to be slapped with Slow apparently, but if you've got any kind of water-nullifying or -absorbing equipment (Ribbon!) this is a cakewalk to whet any appetite. The only way I see this battle becoming a problem is if a character has Return Magic, in which case Waterga heals Kraken a lot.

The room beyond is called "Time Warp," and there's a hidden save point by the stairbottom balcony. Head out the door to enter the "Gaia's Birth" screen. Climb up the ladder to the first platform and search it for a Mace Of Zeus stave for Vivi (teaches Doomsday). Before continuing, make sure:

• No one's level is divisible by 5 (i.e. 25, 35, 40).
• Everyone has Antibody on.
• Everyone has Locomotion on.
• The main party's got earth-elemental protection (Circlets recommended).

That's about all you can do. Up the second ladder leads to old Dead Gaze…



Amarant works well here, due to Aura's low-cost Auto-Life insurance. Hand that out to everyone while Quina erects a nice Mighty Guard and Zidane attempts to steal the Genji Gloves the Lich is holding (unique!). Once again, you will want to keep Eiko or Dagger on call to use Curaga when needed. If you listened to me earlier, five of lich's eight attacks will be useless, giving you plenty of time to swing your swords around. Have Steiner use Shock / Climhazzard, Freya Jump and/or use her best skill, and Vivi use Flare (not Doomsday). I have to say, Lich mostly relies on 'Earth Shake' and 'Earthquake,' so the above defensive advice fits in perfectly. Eiko can also cast Might to great effect, particularly in making Steiner's lesser sword skills rise above 9000 damage - just make sure to have her on standby with Full-Life or Curaga! Lich is also only susceptible to Slow, which should help a bit.

The doorway to space looms ahead, but you will probably want to save at a hidden spot to the left of the door. This is also where you pick up the Excalibur II if you're doing that quest. Note that once you enter the door, you won't be able to get back to where you've been (i.e. entire dungeon) without having to restart the level over again. Go back and save, synth, etc. for the final dungeon!

<< First

< Previous Chapter:    Assorted Sidequestin…

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

Next Chapter: > The Crystal World

Last >>