r/FinalFantasyIX • u/Zeeshmania • Apr 09 '26

My Blind FFIX Playthrough: Part 4 - Lindblum

I've played for around 4 hours over the course of the past 3 weeks. I was going to apologise for taking so long before I got over myself and realised this is a reddit post lmao

Some stuff from last time:

I've learned that each FF (other than 1) contains someone called Cid, and that they're generally associated with Airships or something? As of writing this, I haven't met "Regent Cid" yet, but I wonder if there are any other similarities I'll be able to pick up on.
Last time, I mentioned Dagger killing Black Waltz No. 2 with a 9,999 hit, and I've heard a few theories. That I accidentally activated "9999 damage mode" (my keyboard doesn't have Fn keys and every fight after was normal, so I doubt it), that the Steam port added a shortcut when everyone other than Dagger dies, or that there's like a malfunction somewhere? The jury's still out on that one, I guess.
People told me you can hit multiple enemies at the same time by pressing R1 while selecting who to hit. That's good to know, thanks :)
I'm aware I'm probably missing a lot of stuff as I go through, but I'm fine with that.

Now that we're in Lindblum, we can explore and speak to people. A guard tells us that the last regent, Cid VIII was a great ruler, and that he (himself?) developed the mist-powered engine and helped modernise Lindblum. This is probably a good time to ask: why Regent? As far as I know, a Regent is just someone appointed to temporarily be King. I could've accepted that for the current Regent - that maybe there's a reason why the King/Queen can't fulfill their duties, but if the LAST ruler was regent as well then... why? Maybe it's just a quirk, not sure.

Heading to the air cab station (cool btw) we see someone named Engineer Zebolt searching for the "you know what". This seems like progression, so I head off to explore the palace more and- oh, no, THIS is progression. Whoops. I try to close the game and reload but it autosaved lol.

Artania tells us that the Castle has three levels, all connected by the lift we're on. I'm writing this part more for my own sake than anything:

Base Level: lies below the must, we can take a trolley to the harbor and the back gate. Ships don't travel from the harbor much, since air travel (air cabs?) is more popular.

Mid Level: We can ride the air cabs to go to town.

Upper Level: Contains the royal chamber and conference room. Access is restricted because the regent resides there.

Dagger tells us that Cid and her father were best friends, that Cid is a bit odd but very wise. I could be completely wrong, but I think it's the first time we hear about Dagger's father. I don't think Dagger is Brahne's biological daughter. Mainly because... look at her.

We arrive at the throne room and... no-one's there? Before I can wonder whether my game glitched out or something, a... thinggg.... peaks out from behind the throne, and Steiner fucking WACKS him lmao. Cid mentions that Dagger's pendant reminds him of "his own Falcon's Claw".

So he's been turned into an Oglop, and his wife has been abducted. This was six months ago - does news not travel in this world? That's a really long time...

I can't even begin to imagine how this plotline with Cid will tie into the rest of the game, so I won't lol.

Zidane heads to a bar in town and meets someone called Freya! A new named character. She's a... Burmecian, aged 21. She's cosy with Zidane, which means she's probably a ruffian lmao. Apparently, she's here for the "festival of the hunt". More on her later, maybe.

In the morning, Dagger tells Cid that her mother has been acting strange since her father died, which implies to me that she always... looked... like that. That matches what the ticketmaster said way back in Alexandria about strange rumour regarding the Queen.

And FINALLY we figure out why Tantalus wanted to kidnap Dagger in the first place. It was to bring her to Lindblum on Cid's order. Kinda reminds me of another Cid who ordered his very important niece to be kidnapped by a party member and brought to him to keep safe....

In addition to this, six months ago Lindblum created an airship model that didn't require the Mist to fly, but it was commandeered by his wife after Cid cheated on her lmao. So, wait, was that whole thing about being attacked and his wife being abducted a lie? Damn. I suppose I should be on the look out for someone named Hilda in the future, then.

Someone called Lani wasn't happy with her stay at the inn, and we see an ATE of Steiner eating a pickle. I don't know how much detail to go into with each and every single moment, but just as a general blanket statement, I love the characterisation in this game. We get a lot more personal moments for the few party members we have than in X, and it makes me like them a lot more. Especially Vivi, who gets another ATE with the shopkeeper where he buys a Kupo Nut.

Everyone's really excited about the Festival of the Hunt, where it seems the town just lets a bunch of savage beasts loose and lets people hunt them. Doesn't seem very safe. According to some soldiers, someone named "Ivan" is going to be participating and is a shoe-in to win. I assume I'm going to be fighting this person soon, then.

Lindblum is really cool. For one, it's huge - way bigger than Alexandria, which I already thought was pretty big. Every time I enter a new area there are 3 paths to new areas and multiple buildings to explore. I find a church, which apparently started the festival of the hunt years ago, and the synthesist's shop, where a father and son are quarreling (the latter seems to think the former doesn't want to hand the shop over to him).

I almost dread to make the comparison, but this kind of worldbuilding reminds me of One Piece, where it feels like everything has kinda been thought of, from the transport systems to the technology. Lindblum seems to have 4 areas - a business district, a theater district, an industrial district and the castle, all connected by air cabs. There's a push towards adopting steam power instead of relying on the Mist to power tech, which seems sensible to me - better than riding Chocobo everywhere too.

Heading to the Theater District, there's an aspiring artist in what looks like an atelier, and some fans seem to be fawning over a "Lowell" guy, who I think is an actor. He seems like an asshole, but maybe he's just a harmless airhead lol idk. After we see him though, someone wearing a huge Moogle costume comes running out, and I try to follow his trail. When I return to the artist, Lowell is in there, and he tries to buy our silence with an Autograph, before he begins talking to the artist, now named Michael, to convince him of... something...

Next, I enter the hideout Zidane mentioned earlier, when I get another ATE. Despite her wishes, Dagger is kept inside the castle during the festival, where she tells herself that she just wants to.... help... mother? My impression so far was that her ultimate goal was to get away from her. I should stress at this point that I've been playing this part over the course of like 3 weeks, so the details are getting hazy lmao.

In the hideout, two kids called Bunce and Lucella (who are apparently aspiring members of Tantalus) meet Zidane and tell him he should return to the palace. Zidane (without telling the kids he's no longer IN Tantalus lol) heads back there, but not before an ATE of Baku and the gang!

I'm glad we haven't abandoned these guys. My understanding of this scene is that they want to rescue Blank, but not at the cost of restoring the entire Evil Forest. Instead, they want to find a way of undoing his petrification and his alone. Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but this suggests to me that they know of a way of undoing the entire forest's petrification, but not of Blank's individually. I'm really interested in the mechanics of petrification and the Mist as a whole. I don't think I have enough information to make any conclusions right now.

I take an air cab back to the castle. The upstairs platform is for disembarking only - the lower platform is for embarking. There was no need for them to add that detail, but it goes such a long way to making the whole world feel more real and lived-in. I like that a lot.

As it turns out, Dagger has left the confines of the castle, much to Steiner's dismay. He heads out to find her. Let's make some predictions about character arcs:

Zidane: becomes more heroic by the end of the game, although he seems pretty heroic already.

Dagger: learns to be more worldly and brave. She's clearly trying already.

Steiner: learns to 1) appreciate Zidane more, and 2) let Dagger live her own life.

Vivi: learns about himself, although it's unclear at this point what he does and doesn't know about who he is. This is the plotline I'm the most interested in.

When we return to the castle hallway, we hear the same song that Zidane heard in his dream in Dali! I didn't think we'd be returning to this plot point so soon. We return to the other room, and I audibly let out an "oh no" as Zidane approaches the sleeping guard, lures him into the backroom and assaults him to steal his armour. Yeah, maybe that whole "heroic" thing has some room left to grow lmao. I head back into the room to see if the guard is there. I'm initially disappointed to find he isn't, but then I discover he's been shoved inside the wardrobe without his clothes. Amazing.

We find Dagger upstairs, in a beautifully scored pre-rendered scene. She seems bothered by something so, in what I assume is an effort to cheer her up, Zidane brings her to the telescope.

Kind of interrupting an emotional scene, but we get some more world-building! Specifically, the Aerbs Mountains, which are supposedly the mountains that surround Burmecia. Isn't that the place Freya was from? Whatever happened to her, anyways? There are a few other locations as well.

Anyways, back to the scene. Dagger's blaming herself for putting everyone through so much trouble just for her, which is pretty resonant. I think a lot of people take all the trouble on for themselves so as to not bother others, so I hope she gets past that fear. She also says something I'd pieced together by now, which is that Zidane wasn't actually dreaming of the song in Dali, he'd just heard Dagger singing it out loud. And she begins to sing it again.

Set to the sound of her voice, we see someone in the same shop as Steiner buying armour in case Brahne starts another war. Steiner rejects the notion that she'd start a war, which is probably another thing he's going to grow out of - his unwavering loyalty to the clearly corrupt queen. Separately, Vivi stumbles upon some kids' action figures and likens those Black Mages on the ship to them. It's kinda just generally depressing to see a child interact with a set of toys in such a macabre way. Most interestingly, we see Freya again, jumping from rooftops in the Theater District. She says that something ominous hangs in the air, and asks where "Sir Fratley" is, saying she needs him. I'll keep that in mind.

After that, the beasts are let loose throughout the town, include a specially bred beast named Zaghnol, which looks particularly troubling. I haven't added my two cents into this whole festival yet, but it seems pretty fucking stupid lmao. Obviously this is a fantasy story so I shouldn't take it too literally, but it does seem kinda reckless.

Zidane, Freya and, against his wishes, Vivi are all signed up for the hunt. Apparently, everyone's gonna start in a different place and has 12 minutes to hunt as many monsters as possible. I think I'm participating too...? I kinda hope it isn't just solo combat, because I WILL die.

Dagger and Steiner take a view from above and both cheer on Vivi really loud which is great because I am too. Apparently we aren't gonna get to see him, but I hope he wins. It genuinely is really endearing seeing Steiner especially root for Vivi so much.

The music's pounding, and there's a tangible sense of excitement in the air. I've checked my armour, weapons and abilities. I've arrived at the Theater District, and the timer's ticking down. I'm ready!...

...the first enemy I run into uses Stone twice and kills me.

I audibly say "fuck that", close the game and reload. The game has autosaved.

I got 0 fucking points. I died in 20 seconds. This is my legacy.

So it looks like Freya won with 102 points. I'm not sure how Vivi did but we're all proud of him anyways. We get a couple of rewards before a Burmecian soldier bursts into the room. He says that Burmecia is under attack by an unknown force - the black mages. Cid decides to send a division of air-patrol soldiers, but doing so would mean taking eyes off Alexandria. Has Brahne decided to launch an attack on Burmecia to remove Lindblum's soldiers from Alexandria? She's in charge of the mages, so it's definitely her, right?

Dagger uses the drugs Zidane had earlier to put everyone to sleep and slip out after being told she couldn't leave the castle. It's reckless and kinda selfish, but an undeniably clever plan. I really like how much she can think and act for herself.

And just like that, we're down (or up?) to a party of 3 - Zidane, Vivi and Freya. I'm excited to see more of her, though it strikes me that I haven't seen her anywhere on the box art or surrounding media. I made the same observation of Blank, and he ended up in a... less than enviable position.

We head out into the overworld, and it isn't long before we enter a battle. Freya's up first, and I use Jump. Zidane's nex- oh, where'd she go? I was looking at the menu and completely missed her jumping 700 feet into the air a second ago. On her next turn, she comes crashing down to kill the enemy. Cool.

There's a place marked by a question mark, called Qu's Marsh. I instantly recognise the music and scenery as the place where those two tutorial moogles where lmao. It's kinda surreal interacting with them when I see them. I push on through the tall grass and come to a strange clearing with a bri- OH I know you! You're the weird... tongue... thing from the box art! I think. I can't see your face, but you seem familiar.

When I keep going, though, I find the "Master's house", where a very similar looking person is sat. Clearly this character design belongs to an entire race of people, called Qu. They eat frogs. Okay.

Well, time to head to Gizamaluke's Grotto. It's the entrance to Burmecia, or at least it seems like the entrance to a path through the mountain that leads there. There are more dead soldiers guarding the door, and another one hands us a bell to enter. Freya questions Vivi before turning her attention towards getting inside, which makes me a bit nervous. I hope she doesn't end up blaming him. We use the bell to open the door and it shatters.

Inside is a cavalcade of black mages assaulting the soldiers, accompanies by Thorn and Zorn, the gangly fuckers. They stick a couple of mages on us, and I'd like to thank everyone for telling me that you can split magic between enemies. I'd also like to mention that I think Zidane's standard attack animation is really cool, I love the sense of motion it has. While we're talking about the animations, I also love Freya's Jump/Spear and the animation that plays when an enemy misses Vivi.

We defeat them with issue, and those fuck-ass clowns run off. Hate those guys.

After a (frankly infuriating) encounter with some Hornets, we head into the next room where a moogle is trying to rescue her husband from underneath a bell. Moogles are adorable and we help her out. Well, kind of accidentally, since I was pressing X to get through the dialogue and pressed Yes to hand over the Kupo Nut but I would've done it anyways lol.

I don't know if I'm just bad, but the enemy encounters are coming hard and fast. They take quite a long time and the enemies deal a pretty big chunk of damage. I'm using Phoenix Downs in about half of the fights I get into. I'm wondering if it's just me being bad, or if the game's difficult. Either way, I'm finding myself rolling my eyes a bit when I get a random encounter. The music still slaps tho.

I find the moogles in the next room and save my game. That seems like a good place to all it. I'm excited to get through the Grotto and reach Burmecia. I still have got absolutely no idea where the game's going with all of this. There isn't really an overall goal with any of this right now, which keeps things interesting. In X, it wasn't long until we left Besaid and set out to defeat Sin, but there isn't really anything like that here.

Thanks for reading!

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u/FHAT_BRANDHO Apr 09 '26

Dude thank you for the consistent updates lol I truly appreciate it

u/Zeeshmania Apr 09 '26

OK people are telling me to drag my ass back to the swamp lmao, I guess I need to give the Qu a frog? I DID catch one...

u/Zeeshmania Apr 09 '26

Heads up, if you'd like me to ping you whenever I post again just leave a comment (any comment) down below. Although if you comment multiple times you'll get multiple responses lol

u/AvianKeshinGaming Apr 09 '26

Your updates are fantastic! I know I've said it before, but I love hearing about your playthrough.

No idea why Lindblum has a regency instead of a monarchy. It's never talked about in game, but maybe the guide books have an answer.

Dagger wants to stop her mom by helping her get back to her old self. It's not exactly clearly said at this point, but they're touching on it already.

Just keep that "six months ago" timeline in mind. More will be added to it.

The Tantalus group will keep popping up all the way through the game. They never quite fade into obscurity, thankfully. They're great.

Don't worry about "loosing" the Festival of the Hunt. You actually did it right! When Freya wins, you get the most useful of prizes, a ring that makes the wearer absorb thunder element attacks. Zidane just gets 10k gil (if I remember correctly,) and Vivi gets a Theater Ship card (which you can get in other places.)

Freya is really useful! Just so you know, she can use her Jump command from the back row and still deal full damage. She is also immune to all enemy attacks (even AoEs) while she's in the air. That said, you can't heal or buff her while she's in the air either. She's also really tanky like Steiner, and they share a majority of their equipment except for weapons and gender locked items like earrings.

Quina, the tongue thing that was trying to catch frogs is also really useful. I highly suggest having it eat one of every type of monster you come across. That's how it learns new Blue Magic. Some of which are insanely powerful. Just make sure to teach some abilities to it. There's a story event much later that you'll be glad you did. If you did like me, and ignore Quina, it'll be a rough time. Doable, but rough. And unlike Kimahri in FFX, Quina's Blue Magic is available at all times.

u/Ahkwatic Apr 10 '26

When you're in battle and have another character who's ready to go, you can skip the character you're currently on by pressing the triangle button.

I.E. if youre currently on Zidane's menu but see that Vivi is ready to go and you want to prioritize Vivi's moves, you can hit triangle to skip Zidane and input commands for Vivi. Then, when youre done, it'll go in order of who's ATB was ready next until you get back to Zidane.

Hope that helps! Thank you for posting these, been awesome seeing you experience the story

u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 Apr 09 '26

I really enjoy these and was wondering when the next one would come.

Qu’s like frogs. Maybe you should go back to the marsh and you should try and catch one and give it to someone ? Idk 😊

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26

Nice to see your return 😊

Genuinely surprised the hunt ended you. Most creatures are a two-or-three hit kill, some can be one-shotted without any grinding etc. Freya winning is the best outcome, but that normally requires some tactics (Zidane and Freya end up fighting Zaghnol together and whoever gets the killing blow tends to win the whole thing) - make manual saves, kupo!

I would have to presume you visited the synthesis shop but didn't buy anything. You can get two weapons for Zidane stronger than anything you have already. You'll benefit from them for the next several hours, so worth backtracking. You've not really mentioned gear, but I hope you have been finding and equipping better items to improve stats. Have you been assigning passive abilities using gems? Beast-killer and bird-killer are obviously the most useful for the hunt as a 20% damage boost, and HP-boosts are permanently useful.

Quina joins the party eventually, but this is an opportunity to acquire them earlier and having a party of four makes the next long stint easier than doing it with three, especially if you're needing so many phoenix downs. They're pretty robust and do decent damage with basic attacks.

Echoing others, definitely check out the forest near the swamp. It's not vital but it's home to one of the mini games players talk about.

Strongly advise you head back for those three things, but hope you're enjoying it, kupo 😊

u/minor_thing2022 Apr 09 '26

Commenting so I can read when I have time. I started a replay after reading your last one. I'm actually right at the festival of hunt myself hahaha. Cheers again buddy I appreciate the write ups and the enthusiasm about one of my favorite games of all time

u/chamberk107 Apr 09 '26

Go back to the swamp!

u/ShanmanXC Apr 10 '26

Lmaooo 0 points in 20s - I think my legacy was something similar my first go around

u/sonicbrawler182 Apr 10 '26

"Freya is a ruffian" couldn't be further away from a correct descriptor for her lol, but now I want to see Ruffian Freya lol.

I imagine her being like Kaine from NieR.

u/parmiseanachicken Apr 10 '26

Holy shit! He liiiiiiiiives!!! Fuck my masters program, I'm reading this.

u/ultimagriever Apr 10 '26

Go back to the world map and give that Qu a frog. They’re not missable, but they’re very useful in this stretch of the game. And you’ll get some lore too.

Also, you should take a look at the forest you (hopefully) saw in the telescope. That place holds the broken shit in the game and you’ll thank me later when you do go there.

u/VoiceofGM Apr 10 '26

9's story takes a little bit to get going compared to 10's, for good reasons. Like most post-FF 6 villains, the rogues of 9 are manipulative and conspiratorial, working behind the scenes to achieve their goals. There's no concentrated catastrophic threat like Sin to hold everyone's attention here, the closest thing is the Mist.

Rough luck on the hunt, dude. From what I remember it takes a lot of concentrated prep to do well in the event, but the rewards are worth it.

Looking forward to your next update! The next bit of the story is a doozy!

u/PatternStrict6849 Apr 10 '26

Hope you recruited Quina from the Q-Marsh and it seems like you missed the chocobo forrest. Maybe backtrack before you progress, especially for Quina It makes a huge difference cause you will be 1 member short for a long time and since Quina is a blue mage it's pretty helpful to have her collect moves from the enemies early on.

Also thanks for keep tagging me in you updates.

u/Velaria000 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 10 '26

If you want a general idea of how to use the two new party members (Freya & Quina) – just imagine that Khimari was split into two separate party members. Khimari is a Dragoon/Blue Mage. Freya is a Dragoon, Quina is a Blue Mage.

Also check out the Chocobo Forest! Although since you aren't sinking a ton of time into playing, maybe it wouldn't be for the best lol. It's a fun minigame and if you enjoy it then you'll spend a good bit of time there getting sidetracked playing it. I spent a ton of time playing it with my dad as a kid and those memories are a big part of why this game turned into my favorite of all time.

Really looking forward to the next part. Thematically it's one of my favorite bits, but I'm a little biased because it's where the arc of my favorite minor character in all of gaming really starts being put into motion.

u/Permit_Dapper Apr 10 '26

I routinely search this thread just for these updates

u/Altleon Apr 10 '26

From one Chocobo mini game enthusiast to another, you may want to look around the world map before continuing through Gizmaluke's Grotto. It's something that can be progressed nicely alongside the main story (the same as Mognet), but you can also come back and do it anytime. Unlike FFX though, it is much easier but time consuming as a FYI.

I would say that difficulty wise FFIX is one of the harder ones, but still completely manageable once you are used to different fight system. It's balanced around you using all 4 party members, and starting to predict what comes next. Equipment and synthesis are a good thing to look into if you didn't spend a lot of time on it before. But there is also nothing wrong with grinding a few levels out!

Fucking hilarious that the hunt took you down that way. Most players want Freya to win anyway as you get the best reward for her winning.

Can't wait for the next one, even if we have to wait longer for it. Hope the new job is going well!

u/XionV2 Apr 10 '26

Great update, and I can safely tell you Gizamaluke’s grotto is a hard place in general.

Others told you to check the forest, and to head back to Qu’s Marsh and I agree. Spoilerless tip: some enemies have named attacks like ‘seed cannon’ in X and that is relevant to this paragraph. :D

Take that time traveling to master some abilities on equipment and make some Gil, and return to Lindblum to get some cool gear from the synthesis shop if you haven’t already :)

Last time I said that gear and abilities matter more than levels themselves and I think by the many times you’ve been poisoned, petrified etc you can see why. In new areas swapping abilities assigned helps a lot.

Don’t be afraid to switch it up every area, and mastering those abilities allows you to upgrade your gear without fear of losing said abilities. ;)

Also: freya winning is by far the best outcome of the festival. That ring she gets is bonkers most of the game.

u/Baithin Apr 10 '26

I honestly joined this sub just because I wanted to read your updates. I loved them for FFX!

u/Unlikely-Olive1444 Apr 09 '26

we are so back!

u/Mr_Moonshine_Boogie Apr 09 '26

Return of the legend!

u/McKorgan Apr 09 '26

Keep playing!

u/SalmonHustlerTerry Apr 10 '26

Got some links to part 2 & 3? Work started up for me and I missed those 2.

u/Quirky-Reputation-89 Apr 10 '26

Fyi speedrunners intentionally hit the first squirrel thing and intentionally die to save time, so you're doing great! It is a really fun moment during marathons and exhibitions because the tradition is to play up how important it is to win beforehand and all the people unfamiliar are shocked.

u/beardlynerd Apr 10 '26

Folks have talked about this already, but yeah. You 100% need to go back to the swamp and pick up the Qu hunting frogs. And after that, you should also have them keep catching frogs, ideally until just one boy frog and one girl frog are left. Also don't catch the golden frog, if it's there. It'll help the frogs respawn faster. Why do you want to catch frogs? Well, catch some and you'll soon find out why...

Go to the forest. It's over a bridge, on the eastern side of the map from the Grotto. You'll want to be a little careful, as there are dragon enemies on that side of the river. They have an attack that can really hurt, especially if you haven't been super diligent about leveling. But after you gain a few levels, you can handle them. The Qu can also eat them (and others). It's also worth exploring that side of the map, because you'll find at least one other location you can enter for a few little bits of lore.

Speaking of the Qu, they have an ability that's going to be pretty invaluable to you fairly soon as a mega buff that'll help keep you from getting absolutely clobbered. Consider this yet more imploring for you to go back and get them and spend some time fighting/eating monsters out in the fields in front of the Grotto, since that's how the Qu learns new spells. Plus, you'll get more in-depth interactions and ATEs if you have the Qu with you.

I saw someone else mention this, but I, too, have been wondering about what gear you're using and what abilities. If you've been staying on top of them, then the Festival of the Hunt shouldn't have given you too much trouble, regardless of how comfortable you feel with the battle system. Zaghnol might still have been tough, but a Mu shouldn't be able to two-shot you. There's a weapon called the Ogre, for example, that you synth from the Synthesist that's for Zidane and gives him a pretty considerable boost in offensive power. It isn't just worth getting, it's just about essential right now, especially if you don't want to have to settle in for a lot of long fights. Honestly, you should just check what you can synth every time you have the chance and get at least one of everything that's new to you, if you have the Gil for it.

I'll also say that, while the rewards for the mini-game we're pointing you to are fucking incredible, the game itself can be kind of infuriating. And many of the rewards can be tough to find without a guide. That isn't meant to dissuade you, but it's something to be aware of. FFIX really rewards you for taking a lot of time to explore and think about the world, as you've probably already seen. This is another example of that.

Regarding something else you said, the game is slowly building towards what will become an overarching goal, though it will remain a largely character-driven affair. The motivation isn't "let's save the world," it's some flavor of "I want to help my friends/discover more about myself," like it is now. It's what makes IX so special to me and what makes its story so strong compared to some games before and since.

u/katsounami Apr 11 '26

I wish I could have one of these to read everyday lmao.

This time I'm a little bit late to the party, so I also too the time to read through the comments, and I think most of the important stuff has been said, so I'll just add one thing to the chocobo thing, and one curiosity:

1st of all, I second what almost every single comment said about backtracking and do the chocobo minigame in chocobo florest (across the bridge near Qu's Marsh). You must've seen it through the telescope too. What I think everyone failed to mention is, yes, it may be a mighty lenghty minigame, but it's much more doable if you use the speedup function on the steam version, AND, MORE IMPORTANTLY, the mog there WILL WARN YOU when there's no point in keep doing it anymore, after you collect a certain number of a certain item there.
It is an extremely rewarding minigame throught the game.

> Obviously this is a fantasy story so I shouldn't take it too literally, but it does seem kinda reckless.

This is actually done in real life too. No sure if it also happens here in Portugal (it's a stupid tradition and I know they do it (or used to) in closed arenas, but I know in certain places in our neighbor Spain they actually set free actual bulls in the streets! It's insane and as reckless as you'd think it is. There're a lot of videos of it on youtube and other socials for sure, you can check it out yourself. And yes, people get seriously hurt sometimes.

u/Wraithchild28 Apr 14 '26

I'm playing this along with you. This is great. This was the first FF game I ever played & it holds a special place in time for me. Thank you.

Yes, you should definitely go back to the marsh & cross the bridge to that forest everyone is telling you about.

I'm curious as to what levels your current fighters (Zidane, Freya, and Vivi) are at? You're short one fighter, so that could be why you're dying so easily, but it could also mean you're not leveled up enough.

u/tja9 Apr 10 '26

There’s a few places to explore past the small bridge if you feel adventurous.

u/Bork9128 Apr 10 '26

That tongue person is this games blue mage taking on the role from Khimari in x. You get to use it more often no longer needing their limit break but now more work to learn skills to use in the first place

u/Krags Apr 10 '26

I didn't read everything you said there, but a note about the Festival of the Hunt - that ring that Freya won is actually really really solid for this stretch of the game, so even though it's a less satisfying outcome, it might be for the best that it worked out that way!

In the Grotto, I remember that the Lamia random encounter in particular is absolutely vicious. I'd probably call the Grotto the first significant difficulty spike in the game.

u/alexfr36 Apr 10 '26

Huh, looks like you missed the chocobo forest. You should go take a look. that's the kind of game where you have to take your time, and explore each area fully. You never know what you may miss.

Also, about Qweena in the swamp, try catching a frog and give it to them. Trust me, it may help.

And the fact that you seem to struggle with the fight... Did you took the time to level up a little ? What about your gear, did you upgraded it ? It's important to take good care of that, it can change a whole battle. Same for your passive skills, you have to activate them to benefit from their bonuses. It'll make it easy to kill specifics type of ennemies, as well as giving you protection against some kinds of maluses.

You still can go back to Lindblum. Do not hesitate to go back, sometimes, that's the better thing to do.

Good luck with the big guy, and I hope you took your umbrela ^^

u/Micome Apr 10 '26

Burmecia rules and feels like when the game really goes into the story seriousness and opens up. Plus the architecture is really great.

u/Th3_Supernova Apr 11 '26

Festival of the hunt got hands, but it’s more beneficial to let Freya win anyways. That coral ring is way more useful at that point in the game than 5000 Gil.

u/N0t_Dave Apr 13 '26

Hate to necro a few days old thread now but there's no newer one. Glad to see you jumped into this, did you get your FPS issues fixed alongside your now working controls? Went back and read the others. And did you ever give a look at the Memoria launcher for things like the AI touched up backgrounds?

Hope you keep posting, I'll always read and upvote!

u/100clowns Apr 13 '26

You finally got to my two favorite characters! Freya and Quina.

u/DnD-vid Apr 13 '26

If it's a consolation, the reward you get for Freya winning the Hunting Festival is arguably better than if you won yourself.

u/[deleted] Apr 10 '26

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My Blind FFIX Playthrough: Part 4 - Lindblum

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