Minigames

Final Fantasy IX has a large number of sidequests and minigames. The largest of these we've split out to be on their own pages, of course, to make it easier for you to find and read. For this page, we're calling things "minigames" that are one-off events, or are time-limited, or otherwise do not impact the scope of being able to complete the game in any way. If you're not finding what you're looking for here, try the Sidequests page instead.

Jumprope

A jump-rope minigame can be played in Alexandria on three discs. On Disc 1, you can play as Vivi before going to see Tantalus; on Disc 3 and 4, you can play in Alexandria's church.

Note that only Vivi and Eiko can play this: if they're not in the party, the minigame can't be started. If they are in the party, talk to the middle girl to begin. A "(!)" icon will come up -- press it as fast as you can so that the cycle keeps going. Prizes are awarded for consecutive jumps.

Jumps	Prize
20	10 Gil
50	Cactuar Card
100	Genji Card
200	Alexandria Card
300	Tiger Racket Card
1000	King Of Jump Rope

I've no real strategies here, since this is more of a "human metronome" thing than full of strategy. Keeping time is crucial, and the time eventually speeds up (~200 jumps?) so it isn't for everyone.

Pluto Squad Round-Up

After control first goes to Steiner, he'll find that most of his knights are off gallavanting and doing things generally unbecoming of their positions. But the princess is missing, and they must be sent out searching. Your reward will be one Elixir, so it'll be worth your while. Here're all the locations.

Laudo is in the castle library. Talk to him, pick either option, and he'll run away. Exit the room and then come right back in. Laudo's still here, and now hides behind a bookshelf (blindspot). Use the action button to find him once again and this sends him off looking for good.

Kohel is shooting the breeze with Blutzen in the guardhouse. Talk to either of them to send both out searching.

Blutzen is in the guardhouse, talking to Kohel. After Steiner tells them to get changed, enter the guardhouse and talk to 'em again to kick them out onto the beat.

Dojebon is that speedy knight running around the castle's twin-stair balcony. When Steiner tries to talk to him, he often runs the exact opposite way, and this goes for any part of the stair. Wait for him to exit one of the doors, then wait to see which door he heads to. Rush to him at this point and talk to him -- turns out he's already looking! You still need to do this, though, if you want the reward.

Breireicht is climbing the western tower's stairway. Talk to him twice and he'll countdown all the knights currently looking. He'll give Steiner the reward (an Elixir) if everyone's out looking.

Mullenkedheim, the hungriest cannoneer in the knights, is found in the east wing dining room. Talking to him once is sufficient in spreading the word, even if he doesn't go out on patrol...

Knight House Fight Club

Getting its name from the owner of the equipment shop (Knight), a fight club of sorts can be done in a one-on-one match. Talk to the lady attendant and she'll let someone fight the monster. Win and get a prize!

Disc Two

Griffin	Type	Level	HP	MP	Gil	Exp	Attack	Magic Atk.
	Flying	16	1470	602	602	1858	29	12
	Evasion	Defense	Mag. Def.	Mag. Evade	Speed	Strength	Spirit	Eaten Magic
	3	10	10	4	23	12	19	White Wind
	Stolen Items			Dropped Items			Dropped Card
	Slot 1: Ore			Slot 1: Peridot Slot 3: Hi-Potion Slot 4: Ether			Sand Scorpion
	Elemental Absorb					Elemental Immunities
	None					None
	Elemental Resistence					Elemental Weakness
	None
	Status Immunity
	Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Float, Vanish, Unknown

Attacks: White Wind (heal self), Aero (wind-elemental damage to one), Aera (wind-elemental damage to one)

Steiner is a good choice here. Equip him with the Blood Sword, for its HP-drain effect; the Gold Choker accessory, which has to be synthed but halves wind damage; and the Bird Killer ability, taught by the Bronze Armor and increases damage against the foe's type. Auto-Potion helps, too, but isn't imperative.

Reward: Tonberry Card

Disc Three

Catoblepas	Type	Level	HP	MP	Gil	Exp	Attack	Magic Atk.
	Beast	32	3727	1069	1421	6609	44	15
	Evasion	Defense	Mag. Def.	Mag. Evade	Speed	Strength	Spirit	Eaten Magic
	4	10	10	5	25	15	25	Limit Glove
	Stolen Items			Dropped Items			Dropped Card
	Slot 1: Soft Slot 2: Hi-Potion Slot 3: Phoenix Pinion Slot 4: Ether			Slot 2: Soft Slot 3: Hi-Potion Slot 4: Hi-Potion			Cerberus
	Elemental Absorb					Elemental Immunities
	None					None
	Elemental Resistence					Elemental Weakness
	None					None
	Status Immunity
	Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Vanish, Unknown

Attacks: Heave (physical damage on target), Devil's Bell (inflicts 'Petrify' on target), Earthquake (earth-elemental damage on target), Thundara (med. thunder-elem damage on target)

Equip the Jelly and Beast Killer abilities, and Feather Boots or Desert Boots if you want to reduce earth-type damage (though E'quake isn't that good, really). The Coral Ring will help out immensely, however, so definitely put that on your character. A stratagem: use the Angel Bless' confusion ability in conjunction with the Soul Blade ability to really make this match easy; it doesn't seem to use any of its skills besides Heave in this state!

Reward: 15000 Gil

Amdusias (Treno) Can't Flee	Type	Level	HP	MP	Gil	Exp	Attack	Magic Atk.
	Demon, Flying	42	6578	1568	0	0	56	18
	Evasion	Defense	Mag. Def.	Mag. Evade	Speed	Strength	Spirit	Eaten Magic
	5	10	10	6	27	18	30	LV4 Holy
	Stolen Items			Dropped Items			Dropped Card
	Slot 1: Hi-Potion Slot 2: Antidote Slot 3: Phoenix Pinion Slot 4: Ether			None			None
	Elemental Absorb					Elemental Immunities
	None
	Elemental Resistence					Elemental Weakness
	None
	Status Immunity
	Virus, Confuse, Berserk, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Float, Vanish, Doom, Gradual Petrify

Attacks: Horn (physical damage to one target), Bio (non-elem magic damage + % poison), LV4 Holy (holy damage to enemies with levels divisible by 4)

Equip Bird Killer since it's an Aerial type, and Auto-Reflect will help make Bio worthless (and poison it, too!). Alternatively, you can use the tent trick to inflict Silence/Darkness/Poison to get rid of ALL its attacks. Of course, if you've already bought Zidane a Sargatanas, you can use Soul Blade and instantly petrify it. Ya don't get AP/EXP/Drops, anyway...

Reward: Running Shoes

Disc Four

Behemoth Boss Monster Can't Flee	Type	Level	HP	MP	Gil	Exp	Attack	Magic Atk.
	Beast	71	24123	3338	2764	53168	95	25
	Evasion	Defense	Mag. Def.	Mag. Evade	Speed	Strength	Spirit	Eaten Magic
	7	10	10	9	44	25	45	Angel's Snack
	Stolen Items			Dropped Items			Dropped Card
	Slot 1: Phoenix Pinion Slot 2: Phoenix Pinion Slot 3: Phoenix Pinion Slot 4: Phoenix Pinion			None			Ogre
	Elemental Absorb					Elemental Immunities
	None					None
	Elemental Resistence					Elemental Weakness
	None
	Status Immunity
	Virus, Auto-Life, Trance, Defend, Vanish, Unknown

Attacks: Heave (physical damage to one), Strike (physical damage to one, Meteor Counter (counters with 'Meteor' magic)

Just petrify it with the Sargatanas + Soul Blade combination. If you want an actual fight outta the thing (has about 25000 HP), use the Beast Killer ability and inflict Darkness/Silence, which will make it unable to use Meteor Counter.

Reward: Circlet

Racing Hippaul

This can only be done on the third disc, when the player is controlling Vivi before going to Ruby's mini-theater. Go to the alley between the bar and the town entrance to find Hippaul and his mother, who urges Vivi to race her son so he can trim down his physique. To run the race, just like in real life, you will need to press the square and circle buttons in alternation as fast as you can. Losing races will make Hippaul's "level" go up (talk to him to check it) and when he reaches a certain one, his mother will bestow a prize. Here are the prizes:

Level	Prize
10	Wyerd Card
20	Carrion Worm Card
30	Tantarian Card
40	Armstrong Card
50	Ribbon Card
60	Nova Dragon Card
70	Genji Card
80	Athlete Queen

As Hippaul gets faster, this minigame gets progressively harder with a normal controller, but it shouldn't be too hard if you've got a turbo controller. As for how you should hold a controller, I suggest using two hands to press the two buttons. I also find I can perform better on how I press if I concentrate on the presses, rather than how Vivi's faring in the race. This allows me to tighten the input sequence without getting mucked up with distractions. Another option on a Dualshock controller is to turn the analog off and use the right analog stick in place of the square and circle buttons by flicking it left and right. It's pretty dang hard later on...

Rank S Treasure Hunter

Once the Hilde Garde 3 airship is obtained on Disc 3 (post-Esto Gaza), the town of Daguerreo can be accessed. To reach it, fly to the largest landmass south of the Forgotten Continent (Sacrobless Island) and enter. Near the library below the synthesis shop, a four-armed man will be adjudicate Zidane on his treasure-hunter skills. The ranks in order of lowest to highest are:

The lowest rank is "H", and from there the ranks ascend to the top of the alphabet. Beyond "A," though, there's one more rank you can achieve: "S."

Things that contribute towards raising the ranking:

• Opening treasure chests
• Using field icons
• Obtaining Key Items

Upon reaching Rank S, the man will get startled and run away. Follow him back to the town entrance to learn that he's not really famous and is a low-rank hunter himself (rank D, to be precise). He really just wants to be stronger so he's not pushed around and called "four-arms." Before he splits, he gives Zidane the key item Rank S Medal! He also divulges his real name, which no mortal has ever heard before or again...

(Note: If you follow the CoN walkthrough, you should be able to get the medal upon first reaching Daguerreo! Good for us.)

Endgame Blackjack

After getting to the last screen in the game, where the prelude plays, press the following combination to play some blackjack:

R2, L1, R2, R2, Up, X, Right, Circle, Down, Triangle, L2, R1, R2, L1, Square, Square, Start (not using a PlayStation-format gamepad? Check the buttons page.)

You'll now be able to play the card game, which is just plain ol' real-life blackjack. The object is to get cards to add up to twenty-one (21), winning the hand. Face cards (Ace, King, Queen, Jack) are worth ten (10) points, while lower cards (2-10) are worth just what # is displayed.

• 'Hit' gives you one more card.
• 'Stand' stops you from drawing cards; you see what the dealer gets.
• 'Double' means you draw another card and if you win, your wager doubles.
• 'Split' can be used only if your first two cards are of the same value; this will split them into two hands and you each play from there.

If you lose, you'll be sent back to 'The End' screen, but can replay the game again if you want.