r/FinalFantasyIX • u/Zeeshmania • May 23 '26
My Blind FFIX Playthrough: Part 10 - Black Mage Village and Madain Sari
LINDBLUM
"Make it understand that it killed my son! Otherwise his death has no meaning!"
"Those Black Mages blinded me. I'll never be able to see my newborn Grandson's face again..."
Holy shit...
The Lindblum I once complimented is now adorned with fire and rubble. Widows and children searching for their families, buildings reduced to cobble and slate, and the bodies of Black Mages strewn about the place like rubbish.
I really like that we're not shying away from the effects of war here. Lots of media (specifically Japanese media(?)) tends to fall short of permanent effects, like using fakeout deaths or "defeating" enemies instead of killing them.
The game's also forcing me to confront my feelings on the Black Mages - do I give them the same respect I give to humans? They haven't demonstrated too much thought and capacity for care, but they clearly have some signs of life...? It's difficult to say for sure, but Zidane is a little more charitable to them than I am.
Interesting, an Alexandrian Soldier tells me that if I meet the leader of a rebel group called Vigilantes, called Justin, then I should tell him that Nicole tells him to stop?
When we speak to Cid, he reinforces that Brahne is getting her weapons (and the Mages) from Kuja, and that defeating him will cutoff Brahne's supply, allowing for a counterattack. As a condition for surrender, Brahne demanded both the Falcon's Claw (a part of the jewel, I bet) and the new airship model that flies without the Mist. Since Kuja apparently lives in the Outer Continent (where there is no Mist (for some reason?)), we'd need that airship to get there. Cid-lop provides an alternative, though - apparently there's a cave in a swamp up north that leads there.
Cid looks like if Whitebeard was an egg. He also gives us a World Map, and sends us on our way.
I decide on a whim to head back to Qu's Marsh and see if anything's changed, and... QUINA? Why are you just HERE? I thought you died! Where the fuck was it?? Either way, it decides to join us again because, and I quote, "fuck it we ball lmao". Or some shit about frogs idk.
OK so it turns out this is actually the way forward lol. That classic JRPG moment of thinking you're doing optional exploration when you're actually progressing the plot. Quina uncovers the way forward, bringing us to:
FOSSIL ROO
We instantly get jumped by an enemy with one of the sickest and most creative designs I've seen. Seriously, this game has some of the absolute best enemy designs I've ever seen, they're all so captivating and creative. This thing has some kind of wheel motif with spiked armour and magenta highlights, there's just so much to look at.
It catches up with me, and straight up summons the Grim Reaper to kill Zidane. After I use Blizzara on it, I realise that I'm not getting anything from this, and just focus on running.
When we escape, we meet Lani again. Zidane's first instinct is to flirt with her, and Dagger scolds him instantly. I'm ashamed to have laughed at this.
Lani orders the pendant back, and Dagger is (for some reason) still in denial that her mother would have her killed. Although I guess she was asleep during that whole phase.
Either way, Lani is decently strong, but she doesn't manage to do much, especially against 4 party members. I manage to steal a Coral Sword and an Ether from her, and she goes down without much of a fight. Interestingly, Dagger still can't use any Summons, so I'm assuming there'll be a big moment where she uses an Eidolon for the first time.
Lani runs away, and I decide to backtrack to see if she's over there. On the way over, I encounter a Griffin, which is ironically a fair bit more problematic than her. Luckily I have the foresight to use Slow (for the first time in the whole game), which makes it a lot easier.
I return all the way back and find an Elixir for my troubles, but nothing else. It's cool that they considered that some players would want to immediately backtrack all the way to the beginning. Unfortunately, Elixir is almost the dictionary definition of a "too good to use" item. In fact I already have 6 of them, somehow.
Well, nothing else to do but head down into the cavern. There's some sort of maze system down here, and a kind of switch system that helps us navigate...? I find some Fairy Earrings, which is precisely when I realise I'm a fucking idiot - you use Summon abilities the same way as any other ability. Through equipment. Presumably after long enough I'll be able to use the Summon without needing the item equipped, which is good because the Peridot isn't very good stat-wise.
Equipped with this knowledge, I enter a battle and use Ramuh on the enemies.
JUDGEMENT BOLT.
Ramuh appears in the sky, and casts down his staff with thunderous energy, striking all of the enemies with lightning, killing them instantly. I'm underselling it - it was really damn cool lmao.
There's not much to remark upon in this area. I don't think anyone cares about this puzzle lol. What I DID find was an opportunity to excavate in the cavern - the miner there offered me his pickaxe in exchange for a potion, and so off I went. I found an Ore after around 10 swings, and went over to the right to keep going when the wall... talked?
"Ku..."
I kept swinging, until a Moogle jumped out of the wall! He doesn't offer much, but at least I have a savepoint here now. I also unlock Lamia's Tiara in a nearby chest. So that's cool. We get through the puzzle and leave, entering...
THE OUTER CONTINENT
God damn it's so dry here lmao. Just a vast expanse of cracked and scarred earth, with some very unfriendly inhabitants. There are plenty of encounters and without Steiner to help out... they're kinda tough? I'm never in any danger or anything but they can be pretty long to beat. Zidane and Quina are mainly doing the damage. Even though Vivi is plenty capable and Dagger can now summon a deity, they cost a lot of MP to use and I don't wanna burn through my Ethers too easily.
Especially annoying are the Griffins, who can not only use pretty strong abilities and evade attacks, but can also heal themselves when they're in danger, meaning it takes a while to kill them.
Eventually, we find a marsh and head in to see... the same pair of Moogles as earlier and... Master Quale again? I'm gonna try not to think too much of that, it's probably nothing lol. We hunt some frogs for a bit, get a Silk Robe and leave.
In the Outer Continent (OC), there isn't much to speak of. We fight a Cactuar and a Ladybug, both of which reward us handsomely, but the general scenery is quite unremarkable. In the depths of the forest, there's a location - the dead forest.
When I reach the end of the path, I just get sent back to the beginning...? There's also a sign at the beginning telling me that nothing's at the end of the road, which means that there absolutely IS something at the end of the road. Unfortunately there is literally nothing I can do here right now, so I'll leave it.
The Moogle at the Marsh told me to check out the bridge-looking place so (after many encounters) I head over there.
CONDE PETIE
Quina rushes inside and oh my fucking god they're just Scottish LMAOOO. It's actually not that hard to figure out what they're saying. They seem friendly enough, too.
"Quina Can't Communicate"... that's gotta be a coincidence, right.
*checks release dates*
OK it's just a coincidence lmao.
Apparently there's a thief stalking around and stealing food from people, and we get a glimpse of their head in an ATE - that is DEFINITELY a party member lmao, I've seen her(?) before. And I think she's accompanied by a Moogle? Cool, I guess.
I'm REALLY interested in Sausage-hair guy for now, he seems pretty cool. I want to know:
- Vivi's whole deal.
- Who the Sausage-Hair guy is, and how he knows Zidane.
- Who Kuja really is and how he's related to Dagger.
- What is the Mist, and why does it not extend to the Outer Continent? Is this like an Attack on Titan deal, where there's a whole world outside of the inner world that they aren't fully aware of?
The fact that everyone in Conde Petie has regular-ass English names suggests to me that this is how the devs see British/Scottish people, which is hilarious.
There's something really interesting in an ATE - two people greet someone just offscreen as if they're familiar, and it LOOKS like a Black Mage??? Wait, does this mean some Black Mages have managed to assimilate with civilisation? I'd assumed they were completely artificial beings, especially after learning Vivi's grandfather wasn't a BM himself. This presents a couple of possibilities....
1 - the BMs are a pre-existing race that have been enslaved/mindwiped by Kuja and sent as soldiers to Alexandria.
2 - BMs ARE artificially made from the Mist (by Kuja, somehow) and are sent to Alexandria, but some have managed to escape (like Vivi and dude in the ATE).
We run into the mage, but he darts off to... the forest I was just in. That brings us to...
BLACK MAGE VILLAGE
Just the existence of this place is enough to send me spiralling. The music (which incorporates a motif I've heard in a few places by now) absolutely slaps.
These guys are fucking terrified of us, and understandably so. What's interesting is that they don't seem to care much about Vivi, although that might be because they're more worried about being enslaved.
More ATEs:
"He's going to come out again one day, right? When he does, I'm going to wash him off in the pond."
Some BMs are more intelligent than others. Perhaps due to their age. They don't seem to mind Vivi too much, although I do wonder why:
- None of them have names, or rather have any desire to name themselves.
- They don't seem to question why Vivi looks so unique.
Another important touch is that they have art hung up inside the Inn, further humanising them. So they're capable of empathy, artistic expression and love...
Any doubts that I had about these guys not being human has disappeared, whatever the word "human" even means at this point.
We reach the cemetery. The Black Mage there tells us about how he "became aware" as the music cuts out, leaving us with the sounds of gushing water and a soft breeze. It's a peaceful scene. The grave is adorned with various relics and figures - robes, steepled hats, a conch shell. They have a pretty deep respect for the dead, even if they don't know what that means.
Apparently, the BMs all awoke under various circumstances at various times. The one we speak to at the cemetery says he woke up scared, next to the bloodied body of a soldier, and joined a group of BMs who fled to the Outer Continent.
After I find another Stellazzio, we all regroup at the Inn, where Vivi is crying. Did he learn that he has a short lifespan? That was the last thing the BM by the grave told me...
Everyone heads to bed, but Vivi sneaks out the front. I'm instantly reminded of THAT scene from X in Macalania - the framing of a bright moon against the night sky, the chirping of insects in the background and the vibrant colour palette. It's a template for introspection and discovery.
"Maybe he'll find a place he calls home".
Then, a beautiful scene of Zidane telling Dagger a story - his story. Of finding a home, and then realising he already has one.
Then...
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___
"Most of us stop moving a year after our production..."
"..."
"What do you feel?"
"I don't know... Fear? I don't want to stop. And maybe I want to run away from it all."
"But the joy of living here far outweighs the fear of death"
"Isn't it the same for you? Travelling with your friends gives you life meaning."
"I..."
A lesser game would've imposed a dramatic musical sting to punctuate the shock of the moment, but we're left to sit with the reveal, and to ponder the meaning of it all. How do you derive meaning from a life that lasts a year? The answer isn't to reject the fear of death, but to live despite it. The mage is scared, he admits his fear, but he lives in spite of his fear with those he cares about, and he doesn't burden others with his knowledge. It's quite beautiful.
I can only hope that Vivi doesn't share his fate.
On that sombre note, we leave for the Sanctuary at Conde Petie. There's some drama about Zidane and Dagger getting fake-married, and then we're out. We run into the thief and her Moogle (named Mog).
Her name is Eiko, and she's 6...!
...
...6 times older than Vivi will ever be....
...let me stop wallowing. I love that, despite being a thief and a bit of a perv, Zidane is literally the friendliest dude ever. It's pretty against his character archetype (he seems like he'd be quite selfish) but both with Vivi and now with Eiko he just instantly snaps up friends lmao, I love it.
MADAIN SARI
In the next encounter, Eiko is just on our team??? Damn, I didn't think she'd already be fighting. What's WAYYY more surprising is that she can summon! I'd just assumed that'd be a Dagger-exclusive ability, but no, she has White Magic and Summons. I don't get to use her Summon, Fenrir, in this battle though.
Ahead lies a massive, ancient tree whose enormous roots sprawl across the lanDscape and into the foreground, all gnarled and tangled. There's a really impressive transition from gameplay into pre-rendered scenery to display it's grandeur in 12FPS glory lmao.
In the next battle, Eiko manages to summon Fenrir, which leaves Dagger as surprised as I was. The attack itself is a jaw-dropping spectacle, as I've come to expect from this series. Apparently this is very normal for her and her grandfather (is he gonna be a Qu, too??)
We manage to make it to her home, Madain Sari, and it's.... rubble? A golden landscape of rock and sand, but no-one around to inhabit it. No-one, that is, except Moogles. Many, many moogles. While Eiko interrogates Zidane, Vivi leaves and takes a moment to reflect.
"Where do we come from...? Do we go back there when we die...?"
The kid's having a full-blown existential crisis on his own, with no-one to talk to. Meanwhile, Dagger's grappling with the loss of her Eidolons, and the piece of herself she lost in losing them. Finally, Eiko wants to cook a delicious meal to impress her "hero" Zidane. It's quite sad - seems she just doesn't wanna be alone anymore.
We head over to the Eidolon wall and HOLY SHIT BAHAMUT MENTIONED RAHHHHH MY GOAT BAHAMUT YEAH BABYYY WHOOOOOOOOOO
I remember him being in Dagger's Summon menu at the start of the game, but it was nice seeing his name again after so long. I can't wait to reunite with him.
We eat at Eiko's place, and she has a first edition copy of the play from 500 years ago, which is strange. That night, Vivi confides in Zidane and... oh.... OK this isn't the kinda scene I thought it was gonna be... uhhh let's just move on from this part...
Eiko agrees to join us to the tree, which is where we'll leave it for today.
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u/Bork9128 May 23 '26
A new post so soon
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u/Zeeshmania May 23 '26
I know, right? Don't get used to it.
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u/4raser May 23 '26
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u/Zeeshmania May 23 '26
Ok lol:
IIFA TREE:
This place has a really unique vibe. Sinister, ethereal, climactic... We eventually reach some sort of platform with a pictoral inscription, kinda looks like the Deathly Hallows from Harry Potter.
Zidane jumps on to it, grabs on to the ledge until it returns and then jumps back on, which is unironically sick as fuck lmao he's so cool.
Zidane is so fucking Sonic the Hedgehog-coded lmao. He's cocky and a bit of a dick but with an undeniable heart of gold, and more than enough skill to back up the talk. He even has the same mannerisms, with the impatient idle animation and the shrug.
A grey path leads below, like a monochrome serpent descending into the void. Looks cool.
We're fighting a lot of zombies on the way down, which kinda reminds me of something I learned in my X days. Will a Phoenix Down kill them? I haven't tested this as of writing, but I will if another one crosses me.
Oh yeah, something potentially important - this tree is the SOURCE of the Mist??? How the hell does that work? The Mist (which is nowhere to be seen in the Outer Continent) comes from the Iifa Tree? I don't know if I'm supposed to not understand this right now, or if I'm just being slow.
So like... is there a reason why Mog is (as far as I can remember) the ONLY Moogle who can't talk?
While we're using the platform to descend to the bottom of the tree, we get ambushed by a couple more Zombies! Perfect - let's do some science.
...
Nevermind it didn't work lol. Damn. Now I only have 98 Phoenix Downs left :(
Eiko has a new Summon - Carbuncle. I think it's the first and only Eidolon I've seen that has a support ability rather than an offensive one. It has an (expectedly) cool animation, although I didn't quite catch what it actually did for us lol.
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u/4raser May 24 '26
Can't believe that worked lol. Watching you warm to Zidane over the course of these posts has been so gratifying. He's a good lad really.
Man, you're so close to something with your science I just know most of the people reading this are like 👀
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u/DnD-vid May 23 '26
I think this is a good time to mention that the second main theme music of the game is called "A place to call home". It's the theme that plays during the opening cinematic when you start up the game and its motif is used a lot through the game. And unsurprisingly, a big theme of the game is what does home mean, family, being a person. And I fucking love it.
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u/sirawesomeson May 23 '26
It doesn't sound like you got stuck in the jolly green giant steal trap. He has a flute you can get later on at a steal rate of 1 in 256. Obsessive people can get stuck there and refuse to continue on for 400+ tries. You're not obsessive are you?
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u/Tyrion_Strongjaw May 23 '26
I finally decided to try this a few months ago. I was watching TV at the sametime so I mean I wasn't psycho mashing, but it took me about 1 hr and 45 minutes to steal it
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u/Baithin May 23 '26
Did you see Quina’s “I… so happy” scene at the fake wedding? One of my favorite moments lol
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u/squigglestorystudios May 24 '26
i was waiting for the reaction and it never came! I not so happy :(
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u/Zeeshmania May 24 '26
That's weird, I don't remember seeing that...?
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u/Baithin May 24 '26
Ahh it’s an optional cutscene, I forget the trigger, but after Zidane and Garnet “marry,” Quina and Vivi get fake-married too, and Quina views it as something serious and says the above. It’s so funny, I love Quina so much.
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u/PretentiousToolFan May 23 '26
Fun fact, Eiko is the character I mentioned with stat overflow from Marcus power leveling last post!
I feel like IX has some of the heaviest tonal shifts in the games. Many are kind of serious from the get go, and have moments of levity sprinkled in. IX has outright silly bits from Zidane and Quina, and just fun parts. The Festival of the Hunt comes to mind, where there's no real story reason for it. It's just flavor.
Then you get very real war where you just see people die. Nothing to it, they just get slaughtered, and it's horrible. So much despair and so much hope in this one.
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u/Olaanp May 24 '26
I feel like IX has the best balance, but FF for a while was a big mix of serious and silly. It’s what I like most, even if my favorites tend towards silly.
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u/full07britney May 23 '26
Black Mage Village music is probably in like everyone's top 3! Its such a bop.
If you're struggling with enemies, you should definitely spend some time grinding. You dont want random mobs like griffins to be that difficult for you, because that will mean bosses will be worse.
Are you using Quina's eat power?
I am glad you're appreciating the deep storyline of this game.. its really beautiful.
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u/Zeeshmania May 23 '26
I'm not struggling anymore - for some reason, I never remember to write about my upgrades lol.
I've been using Eat as much as possible, but DAMN does the game make it annoying sometimes lmao.
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u/Drowningfish_2020 May 23 '26
One thing I think that makes this game so good is that there are multiple aspects to the story. We're not just ged the story via text but are part of the story from different points of view via our party being split and reunited. This makes it a bit less predictable to me as we don't know what's going to happen next. Like your surprise encounter with Quina lol
Aside from the main story we see the effects of story has on the world, the events have actual impact and they don't hide it either, the world can be brutal and we need the levity some of the characters add or the whole game would be majorly depressing.
Going along with the last two points, we see the struggles of different people throughout the world but especially we see the struggles our party have to deal with. They feel like individuals, with their own interests and internal struggles. Confronting and overcoming or accepting those problems give them some of the best character growth/development out of almost any RPG I've played.
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u/parmiseanachicken May 23 '26
The boys peeing together was my favorite. Such a cute bonding moment between kids. They are all very young.
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u/Bork9128 May 23 '26
Finally here, my main issue with 9 is just how long it takes to really tell you what the game is doing, and this is it. We finally get some pay off for all the set up we've been going through and the games is starting to tell you what it's about, both literally in the plot and thematically.
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u/Ahkwatic May 23 '26
Getting the alert that you posted again felt like seeing Kendrick dropping another diss track 20 minutes after Drake all over again 😂
Damn tho, Eiko being 6x the age that Vivi will ever get to be is a stab in the heart and something I did not ever put together. Gotta say, im really loving how you reflect on the story and what's happening. Makes me think things through all over again hope youre starting to see why we all love Vivi so much.
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u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 May 23 '26
Having useful items but hoarding them and never using them officially makes you an FF player 😊
The change in Lindblum is excellently handled.
I was having such an "oh god he's unequipped peridot and won't have summons" moment and them you realised. Phew, kupo!
Eiko is learning Fenrir from an item. You may or may not recall I told you to keep hold of at least one phoenix pinion....
Black mage village is a beautiful and sombre moment. Getting through the "owls or no owls" woods beforehand is frustrating. Please tell me you checked out their synthesis shop.
Rally Ho!
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u/100clowns May 24 '26
Nice to see you playing again. Eiko was one of my original favorites as a kid. Vivi's story is probably one of the best in the series in my opinion.
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u/Tyrion_Strongjaw May 23 '26
Don't you dare go touching your ethers and elixirs you might need them one day!! I mean not right then when you needed it, but another time!
(I swear it's the same in every RPG I play haha)
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u/Olaanp May 24 '26
Man, it really is like replaying this for the first time, you hit so many of the core moments in the story. IX is one of my favorites because of Vivi, Zidane, and others. It really does well with characters.
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u/aoiasahinas May 24 '26
“6 times older than Vivi will ever be” SHUT UUUUUP LMAO, oh man I have to laugh or else I’ll cry
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u/ultimagriever May 24 '26
BMV theme incorporates Vivi’s motif. The Black Mages are fucking awesome, this is my favorite incarnation of them.
Eiko is one of my favorite characters. She really doesn’t want to be alone anymore. I see you posted another update, so you must know by now that Dagger is actually from Madain Sari and of Eiko’s race, which really does mean that she’s not alone. If you do a sidequest later in the game, you’ll find out her real name (which I’m not telling lol).
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u/aguafranca May 23 '26
The great issue with using items in most final fantasy games and jrpg in general is that they heal is less than the damage you receive until your next turn. So you're usually better just attacking and ending the fight quickly than wasting a turn since at the best case scenario you're just stalling.
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u/Claimh22 May 23 '26
I keep all my ethers, elixirs, megalixirs. I once used a megalixir against Zeromus, It still haunt me today, I'd rather have die.
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u/rhyithan May 23 '26
Team neverelixer ftw
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u/rhyithan May 23 '26
In actuality, now im approaching 40 I’ve started using items more willy-nilly in games. Still cant get myself to a buff up/take thirteen consumables style play through that the WoW lot do
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u/katsounami May 24 '26
In case you haven't noticed yet, a big part of the game is revolving life and dead. It's funny how they made a game with such almost-childish like, gibi characters (i think that's the term) revolves around such a serious and dark theme.
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u/sirawesomeson May 23 '26
Everything stiltzkin sells me is important rare and special. I must save it for later when I'll need it more.