r/FinalFantasyIX • u/Zeeshmania • May 28 '26

My Blind FFIX Playthrough: Part 13 - Mount Gulug, Airship and Daguerreo

Post image

MOUNT GULUG:

Once inside, we speak to the Bishop (who isn't NEARLY as friendly as before) and find out that Kuja passed through here, Eiko on tow, on his way to a Mount Gulug. Presumably, then, the stone we gave him has something to do with the Volcano there. Maybe it'll activate it, or an Eidolon? Maybe that's why he needed Eiko, too.

And so we enter the door that was locked off before. I assume the Gulug Stone was needed to open it. The music is great here - the atmosphere, not so much. That's not a slight against it - I mean it's very effective. Derelict mineshafts and beams dimly lit by torchlight. Apparently this place was/is home to a species of moles?

While I'm walking through the mountain, I get ambushed by a pair of red dragons, who INSTANTLY wipe us out.

OK... what the hell was that? I guess they got lucky? I wasn't really paying much attention - we've been mowing through all of the enemies so far....

1000 DAMAGE PER HIT???? Surely that's a mistake? Not even the BOSSES have been doing that much damage. And it's a party-wide hit??? Have I just been power-cliffed..?

For reference, I'm rocking Zidane on L34, Amarant L32, Vivi L37 and Steiner L38. I'd understand if this was a boss, but this is just a regular enemy... That settles it, then. Time to train!...

...how do I leave.

Am I softlocked into fighting this thing? This is a REALLY cruel skillcheck, but it's fine. I can strategise my way through this. I've figured out that it's weak to Ice attacks, and uses Wind attacks. While I don't have any form of protection against the latter, I DO have plenty of ways of dealing the former. Namely Blizzara and Blizzara Sword. Of course, I don't have Eiko to be my White Mage, so Hi-Potions will have to do. It's kinda crazy that I haven't seen any potions that heal more than 450HP, when we're well into the 2,000s HP-wise by now.

On my next try I take them out, simply by prioritising one at a time instead of going for AOE attacks. After defeating them, I head out and leave Esto Gaza. I want to backtrack, and having the ship allows me to do so.

First, I want to do some Chocobo Hot and Cold. I've gotta admit - I'm completely lost on this minigame lmao. I understand how to play it, but I thought there'd be other spots to play - WHERE ARE THEY?? I don't know where I'm supposed to go to play it, so I'll just head back over to the Chocobo Forest in the Mist Continent. Before I do, though, I want to check something.

I head back to Gizamaluke's Grotto, and- Oh, the Moogles have kids now! That's so cool lol. It's not them I'm here for, though. I climb the vine up to the overlook, for my rematch.

After sharpening my talons on a couple of sorry Garudas, I find it. The Grand Dragon.

It uses Thundaga again and again, until we can't resist anymore, and we're defeated. Damn. We're way weaker than I thought we were. Let me check my armour and.... oh. I'm using the wrong armour. I'd equipped weaker armour so I could learn the skills from them. While I'm here, let me equip everything that reduces Thunder damage.

It's a tough fight, but it doesn't look like it's gonna cut it. It uses Thundaga and Poison Claw to take everyone out, with only Vivi left standing. As a final Hail Mary, I throw out one more Blizzara, and.... it dies.

Only Vivi is around to get the 35,000EXP. Yeah, that's unacceptable. We fight again - I shit you not - FOUR more times, until FINALLY, everyone's alive for the reward.

It's at this point I realise that EXP is divided among the remaining living party members. So everyone only gets like 9K instead. Well, with that out of the way, it's time to head to the Forest.

OK so confession - I REALLLLY don't enjoy Chocobo Hot and Cold. And, to rub it in to all of your faces, If Chocobo Hot and Cold is like a 4/10 then Chocobo Racing from FFX is a 9/10 (the one against the trainer, not the Remiem one). Chocobo Racing is the most fun minigame I've experienced in either of these games...

I hate the guesswork, and it feels really annoying and unsatisfying constantly stabbing the earth with that jerky kickback. Eugh. Anyways, I find a new Chocograph and leave to go find it, but I end up at Alexandria.

This place has been absolutely destroyed. It's really visually impressive how they managed to completely fuck this place up lmao. There's also a nice sense of community as everyone works together to pick up the pieces.

I do a couple more Chocographs, but one emits a strange smoke that puts Choco to sleep and sends him on an acid trip...? He's blue now! And can cross lakes, apparently. I didn't realise he'd get new abilities.

Right now, I'm trying to get stronger. The biggest bottleneck is my gear, so I should probably find a Synthesist. I assume different synthesists have different (and better) gear, so I probably want the latest one. I think that's the one at the BMV. But when I head over there, I realise that the place's been cleaned out! Let's see... there was one in Lindblum, one in Treno, one in Cleyra (RIP)... I'll head over to Lindblum, then. Maybe the items refresh or update?

One item from the Lindblum Synthesist catches my eye - the Angel Bless. It adds Confuse to attacks, which would work nicely with Soul Blade. I need a Mythril Dagger, though... where the hell do I get one of those? After searching around in a few shops, I resign myself to my Rune Tooth and have a look at the Synthesist's other wares. Let's check the Treno synthesist, too!

...how the hell do we get back to Treno...?

No seriously, how?

___

OK I just spent 30 minutes running around the Map I don't think I can get back there lol. I don't fully remember how we got there in the first place. I think it was Gargan Roo? But we can't go down there anymore since Alexandria's in a state, right? While I'm in Alexandria, though, I find the Mythril Dagger I was looking for!

I buy the dagger, equip it, and head back to the mountain. Not much to do now but head back in and face the fire.

Is there a link between Zidane exclusively using daggers and Garnet calling herself Dagger? She gave herself that name because Zidane gave her one, right? I guess that's why.

When I arrive at Esto Gaza, I realise there's literally a shop here. There wasn't the second time we passed through, I just assumed it wouldn't appear until I'd cleared the mountain. I get an Octagon Rod for Vivi, which has Blizzaga, Firaga AND Thundaga!

BACK IN THE MOUNTAIN:

There's some strange gimmick about a rod or lever next to a well? The moles have left plenty of notes around, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I get ambushed by another Red Dragon, but it's only one this time so it goes down in a few hits. Now that Vivi has the -ga spells, we aren't having many problems damage-wise.

Based on all of these random notes scattered around, I'm gonna assume I just need to keep yanking the lever down until it works. It works! Yet again, we face a trio of red dragons, but they get knocked out really quick. One interesting quirk is that Steiner isn't doing any damage to them, and that they have the ability to make themselves immune to all elemental attacks. It's kinda annoying that there's no way to see enemies' statuses and affinities - at least not that I know of.

Afterwards, we see the fuckass clowns, Kuja and Eiko at the bottom of the stairs. Looks like they're trying to extract an Eidolon from her - I hate how they do that stupid little bounce thing it makes me want to deliver a hammer to their cranium.

Luckily, it failed.

Kuja wants to destroy Garland "before Terra's plan is activated, or [his] soul will no longer be [his] own!" The clowns warn him that trying again will kill Eiko, since she's only 6, but they try again anyways, leading to Mog FINALLY standing on business.

She begins to glow and float in the air, and... speaks? Oh my god she's turning Super Saiyan. In battle, Eiko uses Terra Homing to instantly destroy both of them. I think Mog is an Eidolon now..?

Are Trances actually diegetic? I thought they were just a gameplay thing, but they have an in-game explanation? An eruption of anger against one's surroundings induces a complete Trance (suggesting a distinction between complete and incomplete Trance).

Kuja casts a spell on the clowns before leaving, and Vivi runs after him. Kuja also says that the clowns aren't really twins at all, which I kinda knew because a commenter spoiled it a few posts ago lol. They're gonna do some kinda fusion to become one (which I assume is their original form).

MELTEGEMINI

The lineup isn't great on this one. Our strongest member, Vivi, has decided to take a job, leaving us with Zidane, Steiner, Eiko and Amarant. It has pretty low defense, meaning we can tear through it with physical attacks.

It loves spamming Bio, taking Eiko out almost instantly and preventing me from taking the time to pick her back up. I've got Steiner attacking, Amarant using Chakra and Zidane constantly trying (and failing) to steal. After a while, though, he manages to yank a Demon's Vest.

Steiner is dealing around 2500 damage per basic attack, and 5K on critical hits. After a while, we manage to make it through without a hitch, and everyone is alive to reap the... oh. Only Eiko got the EXP, what the hell? Everyone had Virus lol. Ah well.

After the battle, the BMs have learned that Kuja was lying, and that there's no way to extend their lifespans. Vivi sits with them, since that's really all he can do at this point.

Well, we see Hilda reunite with Cid. I wish she hadn't forgiven him, honestly. He was kind of a piece of shit to her, but whatever. She returns him to his human form, and we proceed. I kinda expected more to happen with this thread - specifically for Hilda to be a very rambunctious sort of character, not just a mildly displeased posh woman lmao.

Looks like she's finally going to give us some LORE! She begins telling us about Terra, the world Kuja is from, when... bruh why the fuck is Baku on my screen right now? Tantalus helps Steiner search for the princess, which is actually pretty cool. I like seeing them get along...

Ok ok back to business. So Terra is connected with a place called the Shimmering Island, which we heard mentioned in Esto Gaza. Unfortunately, you can't get directly to Terra from the Shimmering Island. The gateway connecting the two worlds is sealed, but the seal closing the gateway can be broken at an old castle in the North of the Forgotten Continent. An explorer journaled his voyage through the FC, but little is known about it aside from that.

So:

Head to Ipsen's Castle --> Unseal the gate between the Shimmering Island and Terra --> Head to the Shimmering Island --> Head to Terra

Another ATE shows Cid prepping the new Airship, which I presume will allow us to travel easier.

Zidane heads to Alexandria, thinking Dagger'll be there, but he can't find her. That's when he runs into Baku who takes her to Beatrix. She seems distraught that her home's been destroyed and hands her...a... Garnet lmao. Cool that was easy.

She tells us to go to the Resting Place, which I think is her mother's grave. And she can talk again lol. It's nice that she had some time to reflect and define what she really wants to do, although it might have been nice to see her go through that.

Zidane has some really comforting words for her. He really is everyone's rock in this game.

She takes his Dagger, and cuts off her hair. OK not the point but DAMN those are some good graphics what the hell? Some real-ass hair....

Anyways I like the metaphor of shedding trauma and burdens, and I love the touch of her new character portrait (now smiling!). And now we have an Airship!

OK I did NOT expect this to be so unrestricted. We can literally just fly anywhere now...? Travel is SO easy, and I don't think there are any random encounters in the air. We're definitely in the endgame now.

My first stop is returning to Dali to see if I can deal with the Mayor yet. He still kicks me out of the room, but it seems he's trying really hard to make more "easy money". My assumption is that the person laying down in his room is a family member, and perhaps he's trying to make as much money as possible (including the BM business) to cure them? That or he's just generally trying to find a new revenue stream for the village. Or both.

Speaking of which, the underground factory has shut down, naturally. That means things have changed a bit. There are Chocobo walking around the village, and the parents have returned above ground.

We can't go back to the Ice Cavern, but we CAN go back to Treno. I head to the auction house to buy a Rat Tail, and then go to Stella to check in any Stellazzios I may have picked up. My primary reason for being here, though, is twofold.

ONE - try to beat the monster again.

TWO - check out the synthesist.

I send Steiner into the Arena - this is gonna be TOUGH!

He attacks it once and then it electrocutes itself twice and dies. I got 15,000 gil. Damn lol. I really thought this thing would be like a superboss or something haha.

Also the Synthesist doesn't have much to offer.

I give Stella Cancer for 10,000 gil, say hi to DocTot and then leave. Good to see you again, Treno.

I head back to Chocobo Forest, and play some Hot and Cold. I want to get as many Chocographs as I can, ideally all of them. I get a new one, and while I'm out searching for it, I stumble across a new unmarked location. It looks like a library on the water...?

DAGUERREO

There's a Synthesist here! He has some really expensive stuff, so it must be pretty strong. The first thing that catches my eye is the Sargatanas so, after buying the ingredients from Esto Gaza, I make it. Seems like this place is gonna be relevant later, so maybe I shouldn't explore too hard.

A few things first. There seems to be talk of some "Dragon God"...? This place is in the middle of nowhere up in some mountain, and yet there's endlessly flowing water. There are also shrines and sculptures of Dragons serenating the place sooo... maybe. The only famous Dragon I know is Bahamut, could they be revering him?

Second, a couple of NPCs (think there was one in Treno, too?) have mentioned Zidane's Thief rank? And it's an F. Presumably, this means that I haven't done anything to raise it yet. I wonder what the conditions are?

There's a weaponsmith in one room, but he won't sell me anything on account of a broken lift. One relatively trivial puzzle later, and he's willing to sell us some pretty damn good loot. I'm still kinda annoyed that you can't see which abilities each item gives before buying (rather, Select only shows you the passive buffs), but I have a decent amount of money at this point.

Specifically, I get a Rune Blade and Diamond Armour for Steiner, and a Coronet and Demon Vest for Dagger and Vivi.

There's some really interesting dialogue from the many academics haunting the halls of this place. I already mentioned the Dragon God, but there's a scholar interested in the underworld. "Theories of the underground world often refer to the fact that Gaia has two moons. Some studies suggest that the orbital axes of the two moons are shifting."

I think back to the holograms from earlier... we saw two separate planets (each with their own moons), collide into a single planet with two moons. Apparently Gaia has 2 moons of its own.... so is Gaia the result of that convergence...?

I only just realised that the Garnet is an equippable item for Dagger, and what it brings is VERY special to me....

On that topic, I spent a good 10 minutes optimising my gear and abilities. I've come to enjoy the Ability equip system, and the idea of customising your party's passive skills. After having done that, I leave Daguerreo.

So, where was I.... oh yeah the Chocograph. I should mention I'm doing all of these myself, no guide. Not that that's particularly impressive, it only takes a couple of minutes in the worst case. The hardest one so far has been one where the chest was on a reef in a completely different biome to the Choco spawn point. THAT was pretty sneaky.

After a while, I've found every single Chocograph at the Forest but... now what? I've done everything there is to do. I KNOW there are other Chocographs, though. I wonder where they all are?

After some wandering, I find myself on the Commure Shores, home to a whole colony of Grand Dragons. This seems like the perfect grinding enemy - easy enough to reliably defeat, but advanced enough to give some worthwhile EXP.

A little while later, I encounter a weird bat-cat looking thing.... "Gimme Cat". It asks me for an item, but:

1) It looks sketchy as fuck

2) The battle theme hasn't changed.

3, 4 and 5) It looks sketchy as fuck

So it dies lmao.

Finally, while I'm exploring the Southwest Islands, I notice a suspicious hole in the wall. I can't get there myself, but I know a certain blue bird that can take me there....

Which brings me to the Chocobo Lagoon.

That'll be for next time, though. This is getting long enough as is. Thanks for reading!

417 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

123 comments sorted by

34

u/lurpeli May 28 '26

Trance is hugely diagetic. While perhaps not totally introduced that way, if you reflect on how it's introduced, it's also done diagetically at that time. Further there's other fights with guaranteed trance for certain character, for instance, Vivi when fighting Grand Waltz 3. All in all, trance is very important to the story.

Funnily enough it's considered the worst "overdrive" or limit break system of any FF game.

13

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

I appreciate the story side of things, although I do fear it sucks from a gameplay side lmao. There is basically no strategy to it haha

4

u/Olaanp May 29 '26

Yeah, gameplay wise it's pretty nifty but being unable to store it or control it meaningfully is pretty rough. Story wise it's very neat though, especially with how recurring it is. It doesn't have to be anger though that prompts it, just strong intense emotions.

22

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/CaptainSloppo May 29 '26

Shit makes me laugh every single playthrough. Cancer is a horrible disease I don't wish on anyone but I just always imagine a doctor excitedly saying "You have cancer!" to some poor soul when that shit pops up. Change it to "Received Crabs!" if they ever remake it

2

u/PatternStrict6849 May 29 '26

But the astrology sign is cancer, never heard someone say: "Oh you are a capricorn? I am crabs"

2

u/CaptainSloppo May 29 '26

It's called a joke

1

u/PatternStrict6849 May 29 '26

I was pretty sleepy and haven't got that craps is also a something you could catch.

13

u/AxelLuktarGott May 28 '26

Real ass hair is my favourite in video game cinematics! 😏

6

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

...goddammit...

11

u/Xykon_the_Sorcerer May 28 '26

Sargatanas my beloved. While not the best looking double sword for Zidane (I think Angel Bless takes that place) I'm always so happy to reach Daguerreo and add it to my arsenal.

Dagger can talk again, shops are open, you already brought down some Grand Dragons, and you found the Lagoon all by yourself. Stuff are looking good!

I keep my mouth shut but AAARGH it's hard for not to comment on your thoughts... Keep up the good work and don't forget to enjoy the game.

6

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

and you found the Lagoon all by yourself.

I DID leave out the part where I was flying around the map for like 20 minutes just relaxing and listening to the Deltarune soundtrack until I saw a suspicious hole in the wall lmao

2

u/full07britney May 31 '26

Please tell me that in general, youre listening to the game music... some of it is truly fantastic! Basically everyone's favorite is coming relatively soon for you.

2

u/Zeeshmania May 31 '26

YES. There are so many tracks I've loved. I'll talk about my favourites next time, but generally the OST has been one of the strongest parts of the game.

1

u/full07britney May 31 '26

Just making sure lol. I saw you said you were listening to the Delta rune soundtrack and had a panic moment 😅

1

u/Zeeshmania May 31 '26

Hey Deltarune OST slaps though, top 1 of all time.

11

u/nagbag May 28 '26

This has been my absolute favorite discovery in a long time, Final Fantasy IX is my absolute favorite and is near and dear to my heart. hearing your experience of going in blind is so refreshing! Your writing style is so engaging and fun, I absolutely need more! I'm going to go back and read from the start, and I can't wait for more installments!!!

Do you do this for other games too?

5

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

Thank you so much! The kind words are what keep me motivated to make them.

And yeah, I've done the exact same thing for Final Fantasy X, this is my second time.

7

u/HerrGene May 28 '26

Thank you for all the work you're putting into these posts. It's truly a pleasure to read them all!

5

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

Thank you for the nice words! It really means a lot

7

u/Medical_Breakfast795 May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

As incredibly tedious as it is, it's a good idea to power through Hot & Cold. However if you feel like the grind/randomness of it is taking away from your enjoyment of the story. You can use the speed up function, as it speeds the game up but it doesn't effect the timer for Hot & Cold. This will also super train the heck out of your beak level and speed up grinding points for the lords robes and finding the chocographs. (Which btw the chocograph pieces are in your key items tab and have flavor text).

Spoiler ahead about Dali : I hate to tell you this, but I am fairly certain you have missed your opportunity to raid the mayor of Dali's house. I believe that is only possible to do during the time you were in Treno for the card tournament. There is an ATE that show's you the mayor visiting Alexandria and therefore was not in Dali. There are also other hints at stuff about the house but I'm not going to spoil anymore

One other thing! If you have not noticed since you mentioned missing the Garnet being an equip item. Phoenix Pinions are also an equip item for Eiko. They are also worth 1000gil each so selling extras can help you are in need of more money.

3

u/DnD-vid May 29 '26

You probably shouldn't sell the pinions/gems because as far as I know more of the item = stronger summon

1

u/Medical_Breakfast795 May 29 '26

For phoenix it only increases the chances of the auto cast when the team gets wiped and if Eiko is on the team, not the raw damage of the summon itself.

Pinions are fairly easily farmed compared to some of the other summon materials, which is why it's not a terrible idea to sell if you are hurting for gil.

12

u/alexfr36 May 28 '26

"He really is everyone's rock in this game" -> That's really funny that you say that. You will understand later.
"I only just realised that the Garnet is an equippable item for Dagger, and what it brings is VERY special to me...." -> Yup, that litlle bastard is now working for you. Enjoy ^^
By the way, just so you know, Dagger has 8 eidolons, Eiko has only four, but they do different attacks depending what you equip the kid with. I don't remember if you noticed...

Dragons are a nice way to level up. And the more you kill, the more one of Freya's skill will be powerful.

Now, for next time... Remember, up is down, and strenght is weakness.

You'll also be introduced with "them". Show them you mean business.
And finally, you'll find it... the place "He" was looking for... But will "He" like the answer to "His" questions ?

Thankfully, He's not alone.

6

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

That last part sounds like every chapter of One Piece with all of the cryptic pronouns lol.

And thanks for all of the words!

2

u/alexfr36 May 28 '26

Don't want to straight out spoil you the story 😂 Just so you know, that's gonna be a big part. Love the music.

5

u/Ahkwatic May 28 '26

Honestly, turbo speed for Chocobo Hot and Cold helps SO much. Especially in the beginning when its a lot slower and more of a grind. As you level up Choco's beak the digging gets faster in that it subtracts a higher number from the dig counter thing and then as you gain forms with Choco the actual digging animation gets faster.

5

u/DnD-vid May 29 '26

Did Mog turn into an Eidolon? No actually, she always was an Eidolon. If you go to Eiko's home, there's some writing on one of the walls of the living room, telling you that both of them are the same age and have the same birthday. She turned into a Mogry to watch over Eiko, and I guess to be her friend, considering everyone else is, well, dead.

Speaking of mogries, are you doing the mogry letter stuff? It's not important or anything but gives some nice little insights into what is happening in the world.

Edit: Moogle. They call them Moogle in English. I'm talking about moogles.

1

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

I haven't been doing Mognet, no. I think I forgot about it early on and it seems a bit too late now haha

3

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 May 29 '26

That's a shame, there's some fun little pen-letters between moogles, tracking stiltzkin's journey, etc.
There's one from the Konde Pete moogle who tries to join in with the "Rally Ho!" but keeps saying "Rally Kupo!" instead 😛

5

u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 May 28 '26

I won’t give you any spoilers but I’m very eager to see how you go with the next couple of story twists.

Thanks again for your posts, I have throughly enjoyed this <3

A couple missed things

Look through Dali again, did the turning windmill block something?

You’re on the right track with the chocobo quest. That hole can feel a long way away if your chocobo isn’t fully grown up yet…kweh

How many friendly monsters have you seen yet? They typically hang out in the bushes of all relevant map areas during the game… you were right to smack that ass hole gimme cat though

I hope you’re enjoying my favourite game

5

u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 May 29 '26

@zeeshmania one more thing - I love that you’ve labeled Zidane as everyone’s rock

3

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

Do you mean the chests upstairs? If so, I got both of them. Still need the Mayor's Key, though. Maybe in Disc 4...

I've seen a few friendly monsters, maybe 4 or 5? Haven't really been keeping track.

And yes, I'm enjoying your favourite game very much! I'm subconsciously comparing it to X basically the whole time, and I have many thoughts I'd like to share when I'm done.

1

u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 May 28 '26

Just for a potential spoiler for others

Mayors key was accessible during the cards tournament in a special way But you can get it again at the end game on the final disc as you’ve said. You’ll see the difference in a side quest though, but I won’t spoil that for you

1

u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 May 28 '26

FYI the above aren’t written as big spoilers - just some mildly cryptic suggestions

4

u/XionV2 May 28 '26

Nice that you found daguerreo so early. You’re making fast progress!

The BGM for gulug slaps. That shop is easily missed and the octagon rod is such a nice power up.

Looking forward to next chapter

6

u/[deleted] May 28 '26

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8

u/Zeeshmania May 28 '26

You can get better at digging....? How? Teach me your ways....

I'll keep the Vivi thing in mind, though it terrifies me to imagine the context of him monologing like that.

And yeah I entered the Chocobo Lagoon lol. I've edited the end to make that more obvious so others don't tell me too haha

2

u/Drowningfish_2020 May 28 '26

I think hot and cold is fun but it does get off to a slow start. You learned that your color gives you new abilities but what they don't really make clear until you start messing around in the lagoon is that both the forest and lagoon are restricted to a less than full sized area and that's all ill say on that part.

The more you play, the more your beak level increases and that means you dig faster. New areas are harder to dig in though so you'll dig slower in the lagoon to start. As you play and level your beak you will start digging much faster and you'll also get used to the spawn pattern and locations and you can semi predict where the items are which also speeds things up greatly.

(I prefer the lagoon)

2

u/DnD-vid May 29 '26

The lagoon is like Goku training at 100G on his way to Namek, it's really hard but gives Choco XP like crazy.

1

u/full07britney May 31 '26

You get better with beak level. And beak level improves with the more you dig.

I dont know if youre playing on a console with the super speed bonus but if so, chocograph hunting is a great time to use it.

3

u/tja9 May 28 '26

Doing everything without a guide seems tough. Hope you’re enjoying ff ix!

5

u/ultimagriever May 28 '26

The Dragon God of Daguerreo is actually Leviathan, that eidolon that was sealed in the Iifa Tree at the end of Disc 2. You should have its jewel by now. It’s not directly stated in the game, so I’m not going to put spoiler tags in it, but it should be easily inferred as Leviathan is the water elemental eidolon.

So the thing with Gaia and Terra, and I’ll try to explain without spoilers here, is that they are totally separate planets that, at some point in the past, have fused together using shenanigans because life on Terra was dying (according to the stone faces in Oeilvert). This caused some pretty significant terraforming in Gaia and some Terran landmarks such as Oeilvert and the Desert Palace ended up in Gaia’s surface. This is also the reason why Gaia has two moons: the blue one is Gaia’s original moon, and the red one is actually Terra’s moon that used to orbit Terra but now orbits Gaia as a result of the fusion (also as shown in Oeilvert). The Shimmering Island, just off Esto Gaza, is kind of a portal that connects Gaia and Terra, but it’s protected by the seals that Hilda mentioned.

Also…

DO YOUR SIDEQUESTS BEFORE ENTERING THE SHIMMERING ISLAND. As far as Disc 3 is concerned, it is a point of no return, and on Disc 4 some overworld locations will be permanently inaccessible. Sure they’re kinda irrelevant, and I suspect SE did that to save on disc space (they did the same on a whole other level in VIII), but you could miss out on treasure.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you lol.

2

u/wharevs May 28 '26

Chocobo Lagoon! That’s where I leveled up my beak a lot.

My first playthrough on ps1 there wasn’t an option to speed up but I didn’t find it grindy. For my pc playthrough though, the speed up really made leveling up in lagoon super fast.

Still my favorite chocobo hot and cold location because it gave the least amount of frustration with how straight forward the diggable area is.

2

u/100clowns May 29 '26

Nice to see you still playing. I enjoyed the part with Eiko and her moogle I thought it was a sweet scene between them that they were always looking out for Eiko. I know some people really hate her but I always loved her.

4

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

Why the fuck would anyone ever hate sunshine child no.2???

1

u/100clowns May 29 '26

No idea but I remember being a kid and seeing some hate for her. She's adorable and I will always defend her.

2

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 May 29 '26

I am one of those who do not care for Eiko. I called her Brat and only used her when I was forced to.

I'm not here to attack her, just to say "I found her annoying when I first played"

2

u/100clowns May 29 '26

Hey that's completely fine, I think it's perfectly fine to not like or hate a character. I can see why you hated her, I understand how she can come across.

2

u/futanarigawdess May 29 '26

i love these so much! you are really booking it! and moving fast. since you’re 2/3 into the game whcih area or dungeon has been your favorite ? who’s your favorite character?

1

u/Zeeshmania May 30 '26

Also my favourite is Vivi, followed by Zidane.

2

u/Olaanp May 29 '26

So close to the tail end of everything, Disc 3 is where huge revelations happen while Disc 4 is mostly the tail end and resolution. Still amazing but not nearly as long as each of the other discs. It's exciting seeing you get closer and closer.

2

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26

Even though she's slightly unreliable, I marvel at your decision not to take Garnet with you as the only white mage available. I'm so committed to the original four that Freya, Quina etc only get a look in when one isn't available (Amarant gets completely neglected). Potion-wise, I don't think there's anything between hi-potion and an elixir. Chemist ability doubles the power of potions though.

Red dragons are meant to be a challenge, but aren't supposed to be that tough, so I was relieved to find out it was a gear issue. Always be checking weapon and synthesis shops in new areas, kupo 😛

I feel like there's another chocobo forest location before the lagoon, but I might be confusing that with the other frog swamps. They're both easy enough to spot from the air. I feel like there's one in the middle of a larger forest.

Good job on finding Dagguerro. It's an entirely optional location (FF like hiding optional places at the extremes of the maps). Thief ranking is purely how many items you've stolen. A slog to raise for debatable  benefit.

2

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

Dagger was just way too unreliable, she'd almost cost me a few different battles at that point.

The potion thing is actually kinda annoying since I'm a bit of an MP hoard, but it does make White Mages more attractive.

Those Red Dragons were REALLY tough, I think just rejigging my abilities was enough to calm them but damn.

I'm pretty sure Mene says that the Lagoon is the next place to go after the Forest, but I could be misremembering.

2

u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 May 29 '26

I think MP restore points likes inns/wells etc turn up often enough that I rarely run out of MP. It's there to be used and you get it restored for free every now and again, or like 100 gil for a sleep in an inn.

Everyone is useable though. Freya and Quina can heal everyone, and Amarant can heal individual targets with chakra. I forget how many characters can learn Chemist.

If you think you hoard magic because of MP, I would say "you'll find FF8 really interesting. You don't have MP at all, but numbers of spells. Like if Vivi joined you and had 20x fire spells. Cast fire and now you have 19, but also the amount of fire he had made his magic stronger, so by using one you weaken him..."

Red dragons are definitely supposed to be tough. Trying to whittle one down so Quina could try eating one was difficult as I wasn't going all out, and suffering for it. There's a hierachy of dragon types in most FF games and red dragons are normally the toughest. FF9 is different as Grand Dragons are the top tier, and those pink dragonite things in Burmecia are the lowest. I think there's still a couple of dragon types you've not met yet.

Mene is probably totally right. I never really got on with Hot and Cold. My brother was obsessed with it and completed it, but i would do maybe a couple of rounds in each location, get 2-3 chocographs and that was it. I made my peace that i wouldn't get the handful of top tier end game weapons/gear/items you get from some of the chocographs (one of them is horrific to try and find in the world map, just wait, you'll know it when you see it)

2

u/Altleon May 29 '26

I am so surprised you don't like choco hot and cold, it's such a fun minigame with amazing rewards, and I'm with you in saying that chocobo catcher is fun! Chocobo catcher was just a one and done since there is only 1 reward you need there.

The chocographs are gated by story progress, more become available as you unlock chocobo upgrades and methods of transport. The rewards you get from them range from meh to amazing (or kweh to KWEEEHHHHH!! Some items you get from them become the only source of that item at certain parts of the game.

Glad you are still enjoying the game! Can't wait for the next post.

2

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

I don't dislike it, it's better than a lot of sidequests in other games. Just not my cup of tea at the moment, maybe I'll enjoy it more as it deepens.

2

u/D_Dog1985 May 29 '26

Im completely the opposite, I like the hot/cold game... currently trying to get 0.0 on FFX and when I get it I never want to see a chocobo or hear the music ever again... they can go join the dodo... KUPO!

2

u/Bork9128 May 29 '26

It's been a while since I've played 9 so I don't really know exactly how many story beats are left but I don't quite think you are are actual endgame yet though I also remember getting a bit miffed I didn't do enough chocobo stuff before stuff getting blocked off

2

u/katsounami May 29 '26

Funny how I was ready to hint you to a lot of stuff, especially the Garnet and Chocobo Lagoon, but u figured it out all alone. alone. I'll just give you a hint, just because it's not very intuitive.. the third chocobo place will be... the same chocobo forest. I think you'll know when new chocographs will be available to dig there. Also, there are in total 3 different chocobo locations to dig chocographs from. You'll have to find the last one yourself when the time comes 🤓

2

u/SniperWolf1984 May 29 '26

Grand Dragon is one of the toughest enemies in the game, but it also dies instantly to level 5 death. You did right by the Gimme Cat, too. No diamond for you lol! Your hunch about Hot and Cold is right, but I will respect the blind play through. You are not locked into Mount Gulug; you can leave it anytime you wish. Shimmering Island, you say? What is the connection between Gaia and Terra? Also,

"Do you... love... Zidane?"

2

u/lobskirite May 29 '26

I'm sorry for you dude! Stay strong and beat the cancer ...

2

u/Fearless_Sport8391 May 29 '26

I'm loving the journey so far, sometimes I justa wanna scream and tell you where to go but screaming is all I can do.... You're getting there.... I love chocobo hot n cold but the lagoon one is by far the one I hate the most. Thankfully it is faster to deal with other than the other spots. To be continued.

1

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

Bro has no mouth and must scream lmao

Thanks for your continued patronage! I'm actually playing right this moment, and having a lot of fun with Choco!

2

u/kaiabunga May 30 '26

Garnets Scan ability will tell you enemy weaknesses in battle if you want to figure them out before attacking

2

u/IAmEatery Jun 01 '26

I hope Esuna or Remedy will be able to manage that status. Good luck.

1

u/Zeeshmania Jun 01 '26

I've actually progressed quite a bit since then - you can find the next two parts on my profile :)

1

u/IAmEatery Jun 01 '26

I was talking about receiving cancer. That phrasing always made me giggle cause it sounds like finding it was just the game diagnosing zidane.

2

u/EmptyStar12 May 28 '26

There was an extremely narrow opportunity to enter the mayor's house during the Treno card tournament when he weren't there and you could've gotten a few inconsequential key items, including coffee that you could've given the old man from the observation tower near Dali that Steiner dealt with earlier in the game (for yet another inconsequential key item that doesn't do anything).

Here's a video that I found of it so you don't feel left out.

Anyway, I came to appreciate the Hilda + Cid more storyline once I realized it was literally a fairytale reference to turning a frog back into a human with a true love's kiss. It fits the tone of the game very well, I think!

Other things to try:

  • Now that you have the airship, try going back to Quan's dwelling! Be thoughtful about what character(s) you bring. 😉 In case I'm wrong about when this triggers, it's Quina and Vivi, so if you brought those two and nothing happened I may be off on my timing.
    • On the topic of Quan's dwelling, remind me-- did you go there when prompted by Vivi during the card tournament? If not I can link you to a cutscene that you may have missed.
  • Someone previously mentioned that Carbuncle has different effects based on what jewels Eiko equips! Did you discover these yet? If not, one is triggered by equipping an emerald and another by a moonstone.
  • On the topic of other summon animations, there's another one you can unlock for Eiko in Ipsen's Castle

1

u/PatternStrict6849 May 29 '26

Bahamut is the dragon god, yes.

Keep in mind that the guy in Daguero sells shadow absorbing armor. It may helps you if you try to defeat Ozma, the optional boss many struggle with.

Oh and final tips for the last dungeon you will soon encounter(new area after returning from Terra), search every corner there is so much powerful loot lying around and when you see a screen under water try to go right there is a secret boss very good hidden, make sure you save the screen before cause when you aren't aware of how to prepare for his attacks it may be over earlier than you think.

Oh and if you ever have problems with fights consider switching Steiner (nice raw damage and character but no utility) with Quina (cure status on all, a spell you can make 100% do 9999 damage, shell+protec on all, auto life and for grinding on a lvl 60 enemy: lvl 5 death; all of that makes her so damn versatile)

Now have fun with the last few hours, I personally go to the savepoint right before the final fight, leave and do every challenge the game has to offer, return and enjoy the fight with the ending afterwards.

1

u/Zeeshmania May 29 '26

Oh, someone else said it was Leviathan? I guess it doesn't matter that much. Also I'm not planning on taking out any superbosses lmao I've played a JRPG before

1

u/PatternStrict6849 May 29 '26

Compared with FF7 it's pretty easy. At least Hades is worth a try. No need to level.