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Caves of Narshe Forums > Final Fantasy IX > Final Fantasy IX Non-Sidequest Discovered

Posted by: Rangers51 30th May 2013 12:25

Do I have to do everything around here? How has nobody posted this yet? We even talked about it in chat!

http://kotaku.com/13-years-later-a-new-final-fantasy-ix-quest-has-been-d-510041775

This is a pretty insane set of things to do to get a Protect Ring, I think, but it's pretty cool that even something that is so complicated for so little payoff was even put into the game. It's no surprise that it remained hidden for so long - it's so random and so long into the game's lifecycle that it would almost seem like a gag.

I'm calling it a non-sidequest mainly because this is so random compared to a typical sidequest that I'm not sure it could possibly count as one.

Will Shotgunnova be adding this to his walkthrough? Let's get him in here and find out!

Posted by: ILoveMoombas! 30th May 2013 23:08

I followed the GameFAQs thread that uncovered this.
It was in the FFIX Ultimania, and apparently mentioned in some Japanese online guides.
Makes we wonder how much other stuff we're missing out on.

Posted by: Narratorway 31st May 2013 05:09

You mean...I'm going to have to restart my 100% run...when I'm at the end dungeon?

user posted image

Posted by: Tiddles 31st May 2013 07:15

Quote (ILoveMoombas! @ 31st May 2013 00:08)

Makes we wonder how much other stuff we're missing out on.

I suspect FF9 is the earliest game for which there could be significant stuff we don't know about. The NES and SNES installments have been pretty comprehensively dissected by ROM hackers, and the PC modding community has done a lot of work with FF7 and FF8.

Posted by: sweetdude 31st May 2013 10:40

Quote (Narratorway @ 31st May 2013 06:09)

You mean...I'm going to have to restart my 100% run...when I'm at the end dungeon?

Like it says in the article, a 100% run including Excalibur II is going to be interesting now isn't it?

I'm blown away by this. Mostly for how completely undiscovered it's been, and also by the reward of a Protect Ring. They really liked their Protect Rings in the FFIX dev team.

Posted by: Rangers51 31st May 2013 15:42

Quote (sweetdude @ 31st May 2013 06:40)

I'm blown away by this. Mostly for how completely undiscovered it's been, and also by the reward of a Protect Ring. They really liked their Protect Rings in the FFIX dev team.

Does that mean I'm right in my assumption in the OP that this really wasn't that great of a prize for the steps you have to take at that point in the game? I actually haven't played FF9 in over ten years, and I don't know that game nearly as well as a lot of the earlier ones (or even some of the later ones, since they're fresher in my mind).

Posted by: sweetdude 31st May 2013 17:22

Quote (Rangers51 @ 31st May 2013 16:42)

Does that mean I'm right in my assumption in the OP that this really wasn't that great of a prize for the steps you have to take at that point in the game?

Apparently I don't remember the game either, because I see the only realistic way of getting one is by pouring time into the mini games. I thought they could be synthesised for fun but actually it needs a Dark Matter. I do remember them being of dubious quality but I see that they half all elemental attacks and boost some interesting stats, so they're not as bad as I thought. However I'm certain that in the end game there are better accessories. And yeah considering the step that have to be taken I think a Pumice Piece would be better, especially because it's possible to get a Protect Ring from the whole Mognet escapade.

Maybe I'm wrong though. I think there are people better qualified to answer that than me.

Posted by: Glenn Magus Harvey 2nd June 2013 07:11

Oh wow, those steps.

That said, this is actually one sort of random fetchquest I was thinking of including when planning my own JRPG. The reward, in my opinion, is not the item, but the gradual revelation of plot. I probably wouldn't do it as repetitively as this one, but the idea is still the same; each time you go back after a new event flag has been triggered, you get to see a new scene.

And somehow I think that's the real point of things like this. The Protect Ring is probably there just as a minor reward, and if you're here only for the ring, you're probably missing the point.

Posted by: Tiddles 2nd June 2013 07:45

I could understand doing that earlier in the game where there's an exploration/backtracking imperative anyway, but having to back out of one of the final areas over and over again just seems perverse - it's going to damage the experience of the plot more than it enhances by doing that I would think.

Posted by: Death Penalty 12th June 2013 17:51

Wow, that is incredible. This is the kind of thing that gives a game depth, I think - the kind of stuff that isn't covered in the Official Guides. Amazing it's been a secret this long, but then again, it was amazing that it took this long to discover that revive General Leo trick as well. Funny how they kinda take on a life of their own.

Posted by: Glenn Magus Harvey 12th June 2013 21:13

But the General Leo revival trick was a bug, not a feature, while this is a feature, not a bug.

Posted by: Shotgunnova 24th June 2013 18:54

Considering how many Square fans are out there, I'm surprised it took this long for someone to read through the Ultimania to find the trick. I got the impression that this is only new for Western audiences. Either way, a bit of a mixed blessing: great that it's out in the open, but probably bitter for those who already did EX2PGs thinking that'd be the end of it. [Although, the find being completely incompatible with EX2PGs would probably be a bigger blow, heh.] As for my opinion, Tiddles summed it up: having to continuously leave Memoria is quite perverse.

Quote

Will Shotgunnova be adding this to his walkthrough? Let's get him in here and find out!

It's the kinda thing I prefer doing first-hand...but I checked my files and don't have any pre-event. I'll probably have to tap a reg to do it, unless someone here wants to do the honors.

Posted by: sweetdude 24th June 2013 19:40

Quote (Shotgunnova @ 24th June 2013 19:54)

[Although, the find being completely incompatible with EX2PGs would probably be a bigger blow, heh.]

Do you think it is impossible? I mean realistically, not counting odds of over 300/1 in bosses etc.

Posted by: vividesu 2nd July 2013 03:32

Great find, this has blown me away. For something like this to have gone undiscovered for so long, quite interesting.

Posted by: berryfunny 12th July 2013 14:27

Quote (Narratorway @ 31st May 2013 18:09)

You mean...I'm going to have to restart my 100% run...when I'm at the end dungeon?

user posted image

Well it's not 100 per cent.

/trollface.

Posted by: Neal 9th September 2016 14:45

I'm late to the game, but this seems like a terrible "sidequest" to actually perform. Really tedious. Is there good video of it anywhere?

Posted by: Rangers51 9th September 2016 15:18

The video is tedious too! http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/ff9/nero-brothers.php

Posted by: Stiltzkin 9th September 2016 15:49

Umm...when was this discovered? I haven't played FFIX in many years, but I'm fairly certain I did this sidequest when I last completed the game. I think that pre-dates this discovery!

Posted by: Death Penalty 9th September 2016 16:05

Man, looking this over (it's one of the pages I didn't edit!) makes me realize just how pointless the quest is.

Posted by: Rangers51 9th September 2016 16:18

Quote (Stiltzkin @ 9th September 2016 09:49)

Umm...when was this discovered? I haven't played FFIX in many years, but I'm fairly certain I did this sidequest when I last completed the game. I think that pre-dates this discovery!

2013 is when it made really big news. I mean, it was clearly known of before then but I have no idea how anyone could just stumble over it on their own.

Posted by: BlitzSage 12th September 2016 02:14

So, unless I'm wrong, you have to travel back and forth from Memoria to Lindblum? My God, why would anyone ever try that?

That being said, it's a great example of FFIX's humor... so it's got that going for it..

Posted by: Rangers51 12th September 2016 14:26

Quote (BlitzSage @ 11th September 2016 20:14)

You're not wrong, that's exactly how you do it. The link I posted to the new guide for it on Friday has the exact details.

Posted by: BlitzSage 13th September 2016 01:06

Quote (Rangers51 @ 12th September 2016 10:26)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 11th September 2016 20:14)

You're not wrong, that's exactly how you do it. The link I posted to the new guide for it on Friday has the exact details.

Another question, how was it known in Japan but not here?

Posted by: Rangers51 13th September 2016 02:21

Quote (BlitzSage @ 12th September 2016 19:06)

Quote (Rangers51 @ 12th September 2016 10:26)

Quote (BlitzSage @ 11th September 2016 20:14)

You're not wrong, that's exactly how you do it. The link I posted to the new guide for it on Friday has the exact details.

Another question, how was it known in Japan but not here?

Details about it were published in the Japanese-only Ultimania, and it surfaced here when someone translated it. It's possible it was known for a while, then lost to time, then resurfaced, I don't know.

Posted by: Dark Paladin 10th December 2016 12:47

Hi, everyone! I'm DP and I'm late to the party!

I've seen this pop up on random sites over the past few years, but I could swear this was already known in the English-speaking world.

I first played IX a while after it was out, and when I did, I was in the "early teen uses a walk-through for everything" phase of my gamer life. But I could swear I already knew about this "sidequest."
I can't think of anything I could go to to back this up, but it just feels like something I already knew about when it went viral. Anyone else in the same boat as me?

Posted by: DragonKnight Zero 6th January 2017 05:14

Sort of, maybe. I did trigger the first scene in the quest before I was aware of its existence. I did catch on that it was unique but had no clue it was connected to a sidequest with a tangible reward.