50 Fun Facts About Final Fantasy IX

Which physical trait marks Zidane, the hero of Final Fantasy IX, as one of the manufactured Genomes?

A monkey-like tail is shared by every Genome in the game, and Zidane's is prehensile: early on he uses it to dodge a knight who is chasing him.

What alias does Princess Garnet adopt in Final Fantasy IX, taking the name from Zidane's weapon?

Dagger is the name she picks before entering the village of Dali, to hide that she is a runaway princess. Later she borrows the same blade to cut off her ponytail.

Which composer wrote the whole Final Fantasy IX soundtrack and has often called it his favorite score?

Nobuo Uematsu spent a year writing about 160 pieces, 140 of which made the final game.

Which soft drink brand featured the Final Fantasy IX cast in computer-generated ads before the game launched?

Coca-Cola ran the campaign in Japan from March 2000, four months before launch, and handed out figurines of the characters as prizes.

Which frog-loving gourmand in Final Fantasy IX learns blue magic by eating enemies during battle?

Quina joins the party to taste foods from all around Gaia, and sorts the world into just two groups: "things you can eat and things you no can eat".

Which powered-up state in Final Fantasy IX triggers once a character's gauge fills from enemy attacks?

Trance is said in the game to be "induced by a surge of emotion", and it upgrades commands too: Vivi's Black Magic becomes Double Black, casting two spells at once.

Which armored captain of the Knights of Pluto in Final Fantasy IX does Zidane nickname "Rusty"?

Steiner treats the name a player types as his surname, not his first name: rename him Steve and he becomes Captain Adelbert Steve.

Which six-year-old summoner in Final Fantasy IX was raised by moogles in a ruined village?

Eiko lost her parents when she was very young and her grandfather a year before the story, after which the local moogles took her in. In the ending she calls Regent Cid and his wife her parents.

Which collectible card game in Final Fantasy IX has its own tournament that Zidane enters during the story?

Tetra Master is played on a four-by-four grid and replaced the Triple Triad of the previous game. It later ran as a standalone online title until the end of 2010.

Which rat-like dragoon in Final Fantasy IX joins Zidane while searching for her lost love, Sir Fratley?

Freya finds Fratley at last, only to learn he has lost his memory and does not know her. By the ending the two are rebuilding their homeland together.

In which US state was Final Fantasy IX developed, as a compromise for team members living in America?

Hawaii was the base for a game whose planning began in July 1998, before the previous entry in the series had even been finished.

Where does the theater ship crash in Final Fantasy IX after Queen Brahne shoots it down over Alexandria?

Evil Forest turns to stone once its boss is beaten, trapping Blank as he shoves Zidane clear. It can never be revisited: the game only says "Petrified. Cannot enter."

Which theater airship carries Tantalus to Alexandria at the start of Final Fantasy IX?

Prima Vista is a luxury liner with a built-in stage, registered in Lindblum, and it serves as the troupe's mobile base until it is shot out of the sky.

Which being is the final boss of Final Fantasy IX, intent on returning all existence to a "zero world"?

Necron appears only after Kuja has been beaten, and even in defeat it vows to exist for as long as living things do.

Which moogle-run postal service in Final Fantasy IX asks Zidane's party to deliver its letters?

Mognet later shuts down altogether, because the moogle in charge used up the supplies meant for its machine on making his own fur glossy.

Which kingdom of rat-like people in Final Fantasy IX is known as the Realm of Eternal Rain?

Burmecia raises its people to be dragon knights, yet it falls early in the story to an invading army of black mages.

Which landmark on the Outer Continent in Final Fantasy IX sends out the Mist that blankets the lowlands?

Iifa Tree hides most of itself: what shows above ground is only part of its roots, while the true trunk reaches down to the planet's core.

Which dying twin world in Final Fantasy IX, hidden inside Gaia, is where Zidane and Kuja were created?

Terra planned to survive by merging with the younger Gaia, and its people lie asleep, waiting to be reborn into soulless bodies built for them.

Which general of Alexandria's all-female army is fought three times in Final Fantasy IX yet never beaten?

Beatrix cuts each fight short by dropping the whole party to 1 HP. She later turns on her queen to protect Garnet and briefly fights beside the heroes.

Which red-haired bounty hunter is the last playable character to join the party in Final Fantasy IX?

Amarant is called Salamander in the Japanese version. He holds a grudge against Zidane, who once framed him for a mansion raid, and joins only after losing a duel to him.

Which annual Lindblum contest in Final Fantasy IX does Zidane enter hoping to win a date with Garnet?

Festival of the Hunt lasts twelve minutes, and the top scorer is named Master Hunter. Zidane enters to show off in front of Garnet and win the prize money.

Which Final Fantasy IX minigame has Choco dig for buried treasure against the clock, run by the moogle Mene?

Chocobo Hot and Cold costs 60 gil for a 60-second dig, and the maps it turns up, called Chocographs, point to treasure buried out on the world map.

Which eidolon does Queen Brahne use in Final Fantasy IX to obliterate a refuge hidden inside a sandstorm?

Odin strikes with the spear Gungnir and leaves only a crater. Garnet later gets him back by finding his orb on sale at an auction house.

Which eidolon does Kuja seize and turn against Queen Brahne's own fleet in Final Fantasy IX?

Bahamut is summoned by Brahne herself to kill Kuja, but he enslaves the beast with the airship Invincible and has it blast her ship to pieces.

Which eidolon does Queen Brahne summon in Final Fantasy IX to suck up the soldiers defending Lindblum?

Atomos is little more than a giant mouth. It swallows soldiers, buildings and even Brahne's own black mages, and the city surrenders at once.

Which settlement in Final Fantasy IX sits on a giant tree in the desert, shielded by a sandstorm?

Cleyra was founded by people who broke with their kin over a taste for war, and its storm is powered by one of four fragments of a summoning jewel.

Which city of nobles and paupers in Final Fantasy IX lies in permanent darkness and hosts an auction house?

Treno has no middle class at all: its rich live down on the waterfront while the poor crowd the slums above.

Which dwarf settlement in Final Fantasy IX only admits visitors who give the greeting "Rally-ho!"?

Conde Petie also guards a mountain path open only to married couples, so Zidane and Garnet go through a wedding ceremony to get past.

Which ruined village on the Outer Continent in Final Fantasy IX was once home to the summoner tribe?

Madain Sari still has its Eidolon Wall, carved with the beings its people could call. Oddly for a village full of moogles, it has no moogle save point.

Which late dungeon in Final Fantasy IX swaps the usual moogle save points for glowing orbs?

Memoria is conjured from the planet's own memories, so the party walks back through scenes from the past on the way to the last battles.

Which playwright wrote "I Want to Be Your Canary", the play Tantalus stages in Final Fantasy IX?

Lord Avon is a nod to Shakespeare, who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon. The plot of doomed lovers from opposing sides borrows from Romeo and Juliet.

Which role in "I Want to Be Your Canary" does Garnet improvise on stage while fleeing in Final Fantasy IX?

Cornelia was meant to be played by Ruby of Tantalus. When Garnet pretends to die in the part, Queen Brahne calls it the best version of the play she has ever seen.

Vivi's forged ticket in Final Fantasy IX swaps the last word of "I Want to Be Your Canary" for which bird?

Crow is what the fake ticket says, so Vivi is turned away at the booth and has to sneak in over the rooftops with a local kid's help.

Which quiz-giving enemy in Final Fantasy IX pops up on the world map to ask true-or-false questions?

Ragtime Mouse flees if attacked, so the only way to beat it is to answer all sixteen of its questions by striking a True or False target.

Which swirling sphere hidden in Chocobo's Air Garden is the optional superboss of Final Fantasy IX?

Ozma is half light and half shadow, and finishing the friendly monsters sidequest first makes it possible to reach it with physical attacks.

Which sword in Final Fantasy IX can only be claimed by reaching the final dungeon in under twelve hours?

Excalibur II is the strongest weapon in the game. On European PlayStations the race is harder still, because the game runs slower while the clock does not.

Which travelling moogle in Final Fantasy IX keeps turning up to sell Zidane's party bundles of three items?

Stiltzkin has golden fur, wears a leopard-skin hood and rarely says "kupo". In Western versions he hands over a Ribbon if every one of his bundles is bought.

Which twin court jesters in Final Fantasy IX extract the eidolons from Princess Garnet for Queen Brahne?

Zorn and Thorn mirror each other's sentences: when one asks "Are you sure of this?", the other answers "Sure of this, are you?"

The three winged black mages sent to capture Garnet in Final Fantasy IX are each named after which dance?

Waltz follows the word Black in each name. Black Waltz No. 1 favours ice, No. 2 fire and No. 3 thunder, and all three are far stronger than ordinary black mages.

In which Final Fantasy IX location do weapons hit harder the weaker their attack power is?

Ipsen's Castle flips the damage formula, so a moogle inside sells deliberately weak weapons. Its upside-down rooms resemble an M.C. Escher drawing.

Which Final Fantasy IX director designed its battle system and had the idea of making Zidane a flirt?

Hiroyuki Ito had earlier devised the fully customizable Job system of Final Fantasy V, and he went on to direct Final Fantasy XII.

Which veteran series artist designed the Final Fantasy IX logo and painted its promotional concept art?

Yoshitaka Amano had illustrated the series since its first game. Shūkō Murase and Toshiyuki Itahana worked as character designers on this one, and the cast took on a comic-like look.

Square moved the Japanese release date of Final Fantasy IX to avoid clashing with which rival role-playing game?

Dragon Quest VII came from Enix, then Square's great rival. The two publishers merged in 2003, less than three years after both games came out.

Which 1980s fantasy film inspired the look of the world and characters of Final Fantasy IX?

The Dark Crystal, Jim Henson's all-puppet film, guided designers who wanted a style halfway between realism and a comic book.

Which vocal theme of Final Fantasy IX shares its tune with the lullaby Garnet sings during the game?

Melodies of Life was sung by Emiko Shiratori in both the Japanese and English versions, and the same tune returns in the world map music.

What has Regent Cid been turned into by his angry wife when Zidane first meets him in Final Fantasy IX?

An oglop is a beetle-like farm pest. Hilda cast the spell after catching him womanizing, and a botched cure later turns him into a frog instead.

Which item in Final Fantasy IX calls Choco to the party when used on chocobo tracks on the world map?

Gysahl Greens double as medicine: used in battle, they cure the Berserk status that makes a character attack without control.

Which website did the official Final Fantasy IX strategy guide send buyers to for tips left out of the book?

PlayOnline held the answers behind keywords printed in the guide, which angered buyers so much that the plan was dropped for the next game.

Which Final Fantasy IX feature lets players watch optional scenes of what other characters are doing?

Active Time Events show what other cast members are doing elsewhere at the same moment, and some of them reward the player with items or prompt choices that alter the story.

Which ancient overseer in Final Fantasy IX created both Kuja and Zidane as his "angels of death"?

Garland shares his name with the villain of the very first game in the series. He built Zidane to replace Kuja, whose lifespan he had cut short by design.