Final Fantasy IX: Attack/Item Only Challenge Walkthrough
--By SetzerGabbiani
--Version 3.12, 08/15/04

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This FAQ is for PERSONAL USE only, copyrighted 2003 to me,
SetzerGabbiani. You are not allowed to use this FAQ on your websites,
magazines or any form of public media without receiving MY permission first.
pursue the legal rights and make you regret it.

The following sites are the only places that you should have found this
guide. If you are looking at this guide from a different website, CONTACT ME
IMMEDIATELY telling me where you found it. It will be greatly appreciated.


NOTE TO WEBMASTERS: If I allow you to use this FAQ on your website, you MUST
have the newest version available. If you're too lazy to have the most current
version, do NOT bother putting this on your site.

Version History:

Version 0.10, 01/12/03:  Started Typing Walkthrough. Added everything to the
                         Ice Cavern.
Version 0.20, 01/13/03:  Continued to the Grand Citadel South Gate.
                         Still under major construction.
Version 0.70, 01/20/03:  Added FAQ, Rules/Strategies. Touched Up/Completed
                         Discs I, II, III.
Version 1.20, 01/24/03:  Disc IV Done. Walkthrough complete.
Version 2.00, 01/26/03:  Corrected some spelling errors.
Version 2.02, 01/31/03:  Added/Corrected HP for all bosses.
                         Added "Thank You" Section
Version 2.03, 02/01/03:  Added "Hall of Fame" and fixed a few errors, added
                         information from omnidom.
Version 2.04, 02/11/03:  Added D.V.S. to "Hall of Fame." Redid "Thank You"
Version 2.05, 04/12/03:  Added GBness to "Hall of Fame." and "Thank You"
Version 2.10, 06/29/03:  Fixed even more errors and re-wrote some sections.

Version 2.11, 07/22/03:  Updated Hall of Fame

Version 3.00, 08/06/03:  Updated Hall of Fame
Version 3.10, 02/01/04:  Fixed _many_ typos.
Version 3.11, 08/11/04:  Been half a year. Fixed some more typos and added
                         some different strategies.
Version 3.12, 08/15/04:  OZMA HAS BEEN BEATEN! Stay updated for strategies!

--Table of Contents--

  I. Contact Info/Preface
 II. Rules/Strategies
III. Frequently Asked Questions
 IV. Walkthrough
      1.00 Disc One
      2.00 Disc Two
      3.00 Disc Three
      4.00 Disc Four
      5.00 Ozma
  V. Hall of Fame
 VI. Thank You's

I. Contact Info/Preface
I am NO LONGER accepting submissions UNLESS you have a *really* great secret
or have found a way to beat Necron.

Well, a while ago people were talking about No-Materia Games, and No-Junction
games and whatnot. I, being the hardcore gamer I am, had to try these for
myself. After completing the No-M game, I moved on. After finishing the No-J
game, I had to move on. Then I was shocked to see no FAQ for a No-A game. Odd,
I thought. People beat this game at level 1, yet do not try it with no
abilities or special commands. So that's why I am writing this FAQ: So people
like me might have another thing to do over a boring weekend with no plans.

If you have anything you would like to add to this FAQ, or you have
discovered valuable boss strategies, you may use my e-mail address above and
give me your information. If I accepted it, I will post it on my next update
and you will be credited, however, if you just have a game play question,
PLEASE DO NOT e-mail me in this case. I don't want to answer it, and I won't
have time to answer it through e-mail, either. Just post your questions on
GameFAQs FFVIX message board and see if I will answer your questions there.
If you still ignore my statement anyway, I promise that I will delete your
mail, and you will NOT receive any reply.

II. Rules/Strategies
There is one rule as follows:
***In a No Ability game the only commands allowed are ITEM and ATTACK. That's
   it. You are not allowed to use any abilities outside of battle either. EVER
   UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. You cannot equip abilities, you cannot use
   abilities. The ONLY option for all battles is Attack/Item. That's it, you
   don't like it? You can play it differently, but don't expect to be put in
   my "Hall of Fame."

***The best team, hands down, consists of Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, and Freya.
   Use them every chance you get. The other 4 are Magi and cannot use Magic
   (because of the rules), so are only good for using items.

***When leveling, you have two pretty good choices:
One: Vepals. They are easier to kill, not as deadly, and often attack in groups
     of 2 or 3. They give about 6500 Exp. 6500(3/4)= 4875 Exp per character if
     your party of 4 is still alive.
Two: Grand Dragons give about 35,000 Exp, so that's around 8750 per character,
     but IMO, are much harder to beat.
It's your choice, I prefer Vepals, but fight Grand Dragons if you wish.

III. Frequently Asked Questions
In the history of this Walkthrough I have gotten a lot of repeated questions.

Q. Is this even possible?
A. Yes, it is more than possible.

Q. Do you get anything special for beating the game without abilities?
A. Nope. Nothing, you just get the satisfaction of knowing you beat it.

Q. Okay, so then why should I do this? Wouldn't it be boring?
A. Well, it makes this game a lot more challenging when you can't use Flare
   or Odin or Ark. If you don't over level too much, this game is really hard!

Q. Am I allowed to equip support abilities?
A. NO. No abilities are allowed to be equipped. EVER.

Q. How about Action Abilities or Skills?
A. Unless the name of this challenge has become Attack/Item/Action Abilities/
   Skills challenge, then no, you are not allowed to use these under ANY

Q. But I like using Steal/Jump/Eat/Flair.
A. Good for you, you know what you like. So do what you like. However, if you
   use any of these skills at any time during the game, you will not be added
   to my Hall of Fame.

Q. Why are your recommended levels so high?
A. They are high because you can't use Cure or Cura in case you get low on HP.
   You have to rely on only Potions, which can easily run out, so you should
   have a definite level advantage on most enemies and bosses.

Q. Can I still do Mini-Games?
A. Yes, you can. In fact, you will NEED to do Chocobo Hot and Cold to get some
   powerful items that will benefit you greatly in your quest.

IV. Walkthrough


1.01 Alexandria
1.02 Alexandria Castle
1.03 Evil Forest
1.04 Ice Cavern
1.05 Dali Village
1.06 Cargo Airship
1.07 Lindblum Grand Castle
1.08 Qu's Marsh
1.09 Gizamaluke's Grotto
1.10 Burmecia

1.01 Alexandria
Grab the Potion in the upper right hand of the room if you wish and then Light
the candle to name Zidane and fight Baku. I won't go into detail on how to
fight him. Just attack. It should take 6-7 attacks. Don't worry about healing.
You can't lose this battle. If you do, turn your system off now and take out
FFIX. Watch the FMV and then you control Vivi. Get whatever items you want.
(I wouldn't worry about the cards, you won't be doing much card-playing
anyway.) Sell all your Ethers and buy some potions to get your stock at 20.
Make sure you also have 10 Phoenix Downs and 3 Tents. Use the rest of your
fortune to buy Eye Drops. (At least 5.) Then go try to get into the show.
Your ticket is fake. Blah blah blah. Go and meet Puck, the rat kid who will
get you into the show. Play the mini games and you will be taken to Alexandria

1.02 Alexandria Castle
Go upstairs to run into Dagger.
You now control Steiner. Find all of the Knights if you want. It's not too
important. When you're finished go to the top of the tower.
You control Zidane now. Talk to Ruby and then follow Dagger until you have
to fight Steiner get the items along the way if you wish.

HP: 169 / 162 / 167
Just attack Steiner for all three battles. If somebody gets low on health,
have Vivi or Dagger give them a Potion. If somebody dies, let them stay dead.
These battles aren't too hard.

1.03 Evil Forest
Save your game at the Moogle. Fight Goblins and Fangs to level up to at least
4. 5 is ideal. Go back and save and then fight the Prison Cage if you think
you're ready.

HP: 515
This guy isn't too tough if you leveled up a bit. He has around 515 HP. When
Zidane hits Trance, go all out and attack. Use potions to heal when you need

HP: 530
This one is easier than the last one because Vivi uses Fire. (Stupid kid,
doesn't he know that's against the rules? ^_^) He has around 530 HP this time.
Just attack and heal when you need to.

Save your game, and then go talk to Vivi. After talking to Vivi you must fight
Baku. He has 150 HP. You should be able to do about 45 damage per hit. You can
easily kill him with 4 slashes. Use a Potion if you need to.

Go talk to Steiner. He joins you. Do the same for Vivi. If you forgot to buy
Eye Drops earlier, GET SOME NOW. Then fill up your inventory as you please.
Save your game when you're done. Venture into the forest. Two screens after
where you fought the Prison Cage, you'll come across a save point. Save and
heal using the Moogle and Spring. Leveling up everybody to at least 4 (Zidane
should be 7 or so if you leveled him up earlier)is recommended but not needed.
If you have nothing better to do, get them up to at least 6. It will pay off
later. Continue on to fight:

HP: 915
Wow. This guy is tough if you didn't level up, but Blank joins you for this
battle about half-way through. Plant Brain has almost 1,000 HP, so you need to
be doing some heavy damage. He uses a Pollen Attack which can inflict
Darkness. NEVER ATTACK WITH VIVI. He can do 10 damage per hit. You will need
him to heal and use Eye Drops if anybody has Darkness but don't have him waste
one oh himself, he shouldn't be attacking. Use Vivi for healing, too. If you
get into a lot of trouble, have Zidane use one every now and then, too. He
should go down in a few rounds.

***Tip from Monty_the_Moogle***
in the plant brain battle, i would kill zidane off right away, because when
you do, blank automatically comes and the plant brain's hp is halved

1.04 Ice Cavern
Level up to 7(to be safe) and then enter the Ice Cavern. The only items you
should worry about are the Mage Masher and the Leather Wrist. You need them
for the upcoming boss fight. Save and use a Tent at the Moogle. Continue on
to fight:

Black Waltz 1: 230 HP
Sealion: 475 HP
If you have the Mage Masher and the Leather Wrist, it makes this battle much
easier. Try to go into this battle near Trance mode, if possible. Take out
Black Waltz first. He's easier to kill and much more annoying. Use Potions if
you fall below 120 HP. If you're in Trance, you can take out the Black Waltz
with two hits and do about 140 damage on Sealion before the effect wears off.

1.05 Dali Village
***Tip sent in by Monty_the_Moogle***
Buy as many wrists as you can afford and save them for Lindblum so you can do
the Cotton Robe trick for some easy cash.

Fight in the fields before you enter the village. Wait until you are almost
dead, then head into the town and stay at the inn. Before doing that, you
could go to South Gate and buy supplies if you wish. Or could you also go to
Morrid's tower. Neither one really matters. After staying at the inn, watch
the ATE's and then do whatever,  Buy an Iron Sword for Steiner and max out
your Potion Stock. You'll end up using them all eventually, why not buy them
now? Also, get Aeries while you're here. It's in the windmill behind the sand.
Go through all the events and then head back to the inn. Vivi is missing, you
know the drill. Go down and save him, collect the items. Continue with the
story and then you will fight the second Black Waltz.

HP: 1050
This guy is probably your hardest battle so far. However, he won't attack
Dagger so you can use her and Vivi for healing. Well, your only option is to
attack him, so go for it. His Teleport attack does 50-80 damage and his spells
hit up to 120. After about 500 damage, he uses Fira that does 100-160 to
Zidane, Vivi, AND Steiner! Thankfully, he only uses this once.

After the battle, go back to the inn and save. If you had difficulty, go ahead
and leave town to level up. Zidane and Steiner should be AT LEAST level 8.
Kill off Vivi and Dagger if you feel leveling is taking too long. Don't buy
any equipment yet. The next boss isn't too hard. BE SURE TO HAVE 99 POTIONS.
1.06 Cargo Airship
HP: 1140
Well, the last Waltz is definitely the hardest. Nothing too much to fret about
though. This time Dagger doesn't fight, so that's one less person to help
heal. Zidane will take her place. Black Waltz uses Fira that does 50-110
damage to a single target. After every physical attack, he hovers, and his
evasion rises greatly, so don't bother attacking when he's in the air he will
also now use Thundara which does up to 115 damage to everybody. Use this time
to heal. He will fall to the ground soon enough. Don't be stingy on potions.
They are cheap and easily replaced. There's a reason you bought 99 of them!
This battle takes a long time. You can only do about 130 damage every three
rounds, but it's easily won if you keep healed.

1.07 Lindblum Grand Castle
Go around and do everything you have to do. When you're satisfied go to the
store and max out your Potion supply. Buy another Mage Masher and then Forge
a The Ogre for Zidane. Then buy three Glass Armlets, three Steepled Hats,
three Headgear, and a Leather Plate. Then go and do all the events, but make
sure you pick up the Silver Gloves and the Bronze Vest first. When it comes
time for the festival of the hunt, MAKE SURE FREYA WINS! If she does not,
reset! You want that Coral Ring. Then, fully Equip Zidane, Freya, and Vivi.
You should still have equipment for Quina. If not, go buy some now. Leave the
city when you are through.

1.08 Qu's Marsh
Recruit Quina and move on. Level all members to a MINIMUM of 15. You can heal
for free at the South Gate. Be sure to stay around that area and fight
Ironites. Don't wander into the forest though, the enemies there are strong
and can wipe out your party in a few rounds. After you are leveled up, go to
the Chocobo Forest and get all the Chocographs you can. It's not needed, but
strongly recommended. When done, you can level to 20 if you want to, but you
don't have to, although this is the best place for leveling in Disc 1 because
of the free healing. Might as well level up now. By the time you get to level
20, focus on getting at least 20 Hi-Potions. You can only obtain these by
killing Ironites. Most of them drop one after every battle, so by the time you
are at level 20, you should have plenty. When you are satisfied with your
current level, go back to Lindblum to get Phoenix Downs and Tents. I'd make
sure to have 10 at least. Spend the rest of your fortune on what you wish.

1.09 Gizamaluke's Grotto
If you took my advice and went up to level 20, you will breeze through the
Grotto, but may struggle with Gizamlauke. If you didn't, don't worry if you're
past level 15. It will be easy. Especially if you found the first two
Chocographs. Equip Headgear on everybody before the boss battle.

HP: 3175
I fought him at level 13, to be cocky.  Keep Quina in the back row for this
battle. Just attack this fella' and he will fall in a few rounds. Quina will
help Vivi in healing for this battle. Make sure Vivi and Quina use a Potion on
the member with the lowest HP. Don't let anybody die, reviving is a pain in
this battle because Gizamaluke is fast and can sometimes attack twice a round.

1.10 Burmecia
Before you enter, if you picked up Healing Shore Chocographs, get Choco the
ability to cross rivers. You don't need it yet, but why not have it? Anyway,
just enter Burmecia whenever you get bored fighting enemies. Use a tent first
though. The only items you need to get are Cancer Stellazio and the Mythril
Spear. The others you don't need, but go ahead and grab them if you wish.
You'll need the EXP you get from the monsters for fighting the upcoming boss.
When you get to the Moggle, optimize your equipment, save, use a tent, and
put Quina in the back row. Equip your Coral Ring on Zidane. Check your Phoenix
Down stock. Have at least 10. If you feel like you're set, go ahead and try to
beat Beatrix.

HP: 3650
Wow, this is a hard battle. Unless you are level 20 or above, it's HARD.
Don't let Quina or Vivi attack, under ANY circumstance. They can't hit too
well. (Okay, Quina can, but sometimes (s)he does something like 12 damage.)
Don't worry about staying at full health. Concentrate on staying alive.
Her Shock attack will kill you unless you have 800 HP or so. There is no
point in staying at full health. Don't waste your potions. When she uses
Stock Break, you've won the battle.

++++++++++++++++++ END DISC ONE ++++++++++++++++++

2.01 Summit Station
2.02 Treno
2.03 Gargan Roo
2.04 Cleyra
2.05 Alexandria
2.06 Pinnacle Rocks
2.07 Lindblum
2.08 Qu's Marsh/Fossil Roo
2.09 Conde Petie
2.10 Black Mage Village
2.11 Mountain Path
2.12 Madain Sari
2.13 Iifa Tree
2.14 Madain Sari II
2.15 Iifa Tree II

2.01 Summit Station
Run around talking to people if you want to. Otherwise, just go through the
events and then fight the Black Waltz.

HP: 1292
Dagger heals while Steiner and Marcus attack. That's all there is to it.

2.02 Treno
***Tip sent in from Money_the_Moogle***
Go indside Gargan Roo and fight crawlers. They give a ton of exp and you can't
lose if you have the blood sword equipped.

Lot's to do here. The main thing is find two Stellazio and then trade them all
in for the Blood Sword. As soon you get that, go outside and kill Dagger and
Marcus. Level Steiner up for an hour or so. Get to at least 20. It shouldn't
take too long if you fight Mandragoras the forest. They usually come in groups
of three and will give off a little more than 300 Exp each. That's some quick
leveling, if you ask me. Don't attempt to fight these until you are level 10,
or their Chestnut attack will more than likely kill you. Then, go talk to Dr.
Tot and continue to the Gargan Roo.

2.03 Gargan Roo
Not too much to do here. Fight Ralvurahva.

HP: 2300
Steiner is level 20. It's easy. Attack. If below, have Dagger worry about
keeping everybody up to full HP. Watch out for Poison.

2.04 Cleyra
Collect all the items as you make your way through the trunk. When you get to
the settlement, stock up on items, heal, save, and get optimal equipment.
Fight Antlion now.
HP: 3000
Hmm, a little bit tough. Oh well, nothing you can't handle. Have everybody but
Vivi attack. Guess what you get to use him for. Healing? You betcha! His magic
attacks are super strong, so Vivi should use Hi-Potions instead of normal ones
for this battle. Save at least 20 though. Whenever you attack, he uses Counter
Horn, which can inflict 220 HP damage. It's no big deal if you are around
level 16. Sandstorm is deadly, but not fatal. Don't heal afterwards, he won't
counter attack anymore, He'll only use Sandstorm.

After defeating him, watch the sequences, do the events, until you are forced
to go back to Cleyra settlement. You then fight Beatrix again.

HP: 4750
Just like last time only twice as hard. =D Use the same tactic as before: Use
Zidane and Freya for damage, Vivi and Quina for healing. If Quina is doing
considerable amounts more than Freya when attacking, switch their roles, just
make sure the healers are in the back row on the formation screen. Keep the
attackers in full health, but you just barely keep the healers alive. There is
a reason you have two.

When finished with her, you will board the airship secretly and will be taken
to Alexandria.

2.05 Alexandria
Free Steiner and Marcus by swinging the cage left and right. Fight some
soldiers if you wish and then climb the ladder to the left. You then meet up
with Zidane, Vivi, and Freya. You only have 30 minutes to get out of
the dungeon, so hopefully Steiner is strong because he'll have to do most of
the damage for the boss battles. Ignore all of the Alexandrian Soldiers
because they waste too much time and don't give good experience when you have
four allies alive. Make your way through the castle. Get the Ice Brand from
the chest when you get the spinning walkway and equip in on Steiner. It
will greatly increase his damage for the upcoming battle.

Zorn: 4900
Thorn: 2984
Focus all your attacks on Thorn to finish him off, while constantly healing
with Vivi. Zorn uses an attack called Meteorite that can does about 800
damage randomly split between all four party members. Not too much to worry
about, but it could kill Vivi if you're unlucky. If that happens, revive him
so he can resume his healing duties. When you finish one of them off, the
battle is over.

Save you game and heal everybody to full HP using Potions. But save your
Hi-Potions for now if you're short on stock. Go back upstairs and you will
have to fight Beatrix for the final time.

HP: 5700
Equip the Ice Brand on Steiner because Beatrix is weak against cold attacks.
If you are having difficulty staying alive, you could reload and then try
again with the Blood Sword. What else can I tell you? She's just a stronger
version of her former self. Same attacks. Same skills. Same everything only
powered up a bit. Use the same tactics. If somebody needs to help Vivi with
healing, it's got to be Zidane because Freya should be a bit more powerful at
this point. This battle is easier because Steiner should do around 900 damage
with his Ice Brand. On a side note: when she's low on HP, she will use Cura
which heals around 900 HP. When she uses Climhazzard, the battle ends.

Beatrix joins you for a little while and she has some nice skills that you
can't use... 'Tis a shame. Anyway, she heals Dagger. Fight all the Black Magi
and Bandersnatches as you make your way downstairs.

HP: 3350
Not hard. Attack with Zidane, he reacts to all attacks by coiling up. Don't
bother attacking him when he's like this, he'll take hardly any damage and use
another counter attack called Earth Power which does big damage to everybody
and heals the boss. Vivi and Dagger should concentrate on healing the party.
This is a long battle, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

2.06 Pinnacle Rocks
Find the Ghosts of Ramuh and then leave this place. Head to Lindblum.

2.07 Lindblum
Go and meet up with Artania and then talk to Cid. Afterwards, upgrade to the
best equipment and make sure to buy an extra of everything to give to Quina.
Get 99 Potions, Phoenix Downs, and Tents. You should have the money. Then get
20 Softs, Antidotes, Eye Drops, and Annoyntments. Talk to Man when you're set.

2.08 Qu's Marsh/Fossil Roo
Go the Qu's marsh and re-recruit Quina and give him all his new equipment.
Leave the Marsh and go back to Chocobo Forest. Get all the Chocographs. Mene
will let you know when he can't find anymore. Go outside and find all the
treasures you can. Go to Fossil Roo now.

Run away from the machine that chases you. It's not hard to pass all three
sets of pendulums without fighting it once. After clearing that section, you

HP: 5700
She isn't too hard, just keep your HP up with Vivi and Dagger and Zidane and
Quina should be able to finish her off in a few rounds. Her attacks are very
strong, so make sure to use Potions constantly. Try to be at least level 15
before fighting her.

After fighting her, go through the cave, flipping the switches when you get to
them. It's not too difficult. You will arrive in the Outer Continent when you
leave Fossil Roo. Go find the Chocobo Tracks near Qu's Marsh and call Choco.

2.09 Conde Petie
Optimize Equipment and then leave this place. Get back on Choco and then go
to the Black Mage Village.

2.10 Black Mage Village
Go the direction of "No Owls" and you'll eventually reach the village. Get the
best Equipment again. Then go to the item shop and max out your stock of what
you wish. The only things you "need" are Hi-Potions. Go back to Conde Petie
now and get married. =)

2.11 Mountain Path
Rescue Eiko from falling and she will join your team. She replaces Quina, so
your party just got a lot crappier. Go back to Conde Petie and get good equip-
ment for Eiko now. Go forward and save your game and use a tent.
You have to fight Hilgigars to continue.

HP: 8100
This battle isn't too hard. Zidane should attack and Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko
should heal. His attacks do around 300 damage. His earthquake attack deals
near 300 damage to the entire party and seems to use it often. He can also
cast Curaga which can heal him up to 2500 HP, so it's a pain when that

2.12 Madain Sari
Convince Eiko to go to the Iifa Tree and then buy all the items you want from
the Mogshop, especially 99 Softs. You can use them on Stropers to instantly
kill them.

2.13 Iifa Tree
Ask Eiko to break the seal for you (her only use in the entire game...) and
travel the roots to get closer to the actual tree. Save your game when you
find the Moogle. Ride the elevator down and then follow the path, get whatever
items you wish, but I recommend getting the Lamia's Flute, Elixer, and
Brigandine at least. After getting the Brigandine examine the left wall to
fight Soulcage.

HP: 9770
This battle is the biggest joke ever. Use a Phoenix Down on him and then have
somebody attack. That's it. Phoenix Down puts him in extremely critical
condition, so anybody can attack it to defeat it. *NOTE: This tactic works on
EVERY undead monster. Although, sometimes a Phoenix Down may just instantly
kill the monster instead.*

You are transported outside after this battle. Return to Madain Sari now.

2.14 Madain Sari II
Do the events. You have to fight Amarant.

HP: 9000
Zidane fights Armarant alone, so you think it would be tricky. It's not.
Zidane can do around 1000 damage per attack, but only attack when Amarant says
"Here I go" and returns to the middle. Heal generously.

Go back to Eiko's house. A short scene will occur, and Eiko and Amarant now
permanently join you. Make your party consist of Zidane, Amarant, Vivi, and
Dagger. Equip Amarant with your best stuff. You may have to purchase some from
the Moogle. Go back to the Iifa Tree, and do the events and such. Disc II ends

++++++++++++++++++ END DISC TWO ++++++++++++++++++

3.01 Mist Continent
3.02 Black Mage Village
3.03 Forgotten Continent
3.04 Oeilvert
3.05 Desert Palace
3.06 Lost Continent
3.07 Hilda Garde 3
3.08 Ipsen's Castle
3.09 Four Shrines
3.10 Terra/Bran Bal
3.11 Pandemonium

3.01 Mist Continent
You control Vivi now. Go talk to whomever you want in Alexandria and then go
and watch the play in the mini-theatre. More scenes. When you control Zidane
and Vivi, go to the castle and decide to go to Treno to play in the card
tournament. Delete all of your cards that you have and then talk to Dr. Tot,
he will give you some good cards, but only if you have less than 5. If you
haven't been playing cards much, these cards are better than the ones you have,
and you want to win the card tournament. It's not important, but it does help
you a bit. Fight the Catoblepas if you wish. It only has around 3700 HP, so it
shouldn't be too difficult. Equip the Coral ring to help a bit. After the
tournament, Eiko gives you some bad news. Just as you were having fun! Oh well,
back to Alexandria! Order the troops to do whatever. Take all of Beatrix's
equipment when you can, and then fight all the monsters. It's not too hard if
you DON'T equip the Blood Sword. These guy's are undead, so they'd be healed if
they were attacked with it. Kill Beatrix in the first battle and Steiner will
get a total of 22,500 Exp. over the course of 7 battles. When you control
Dagger, have her climb up all the stairs. When the scene switches to Zidane,
you realize that Eiko is suicidal and tries to kill herself. YAY! Unfortunately
she doesn't die. If you're feeling cocky and want to fight Tantarian, good
luck, I didn't attempt to battle him because Running Shoes aren't too great of
an item, and it only gives like 12,000 Exp. Not worth it. 

When you are taken to Lindblum, get the three potions and then go to the
Serpent's Gate and board the Blue Narciss. Put Amarant, Steiner, and Freya in
your party and then go find the Chocobo Lagoon. After you have all the
Chocographs, go back to Chocobo's Forest and find all the Chocographs, and then
go back to the Lagoon and get the remaining Chocographs. Make sure to find all
the treasures in between visits to the Forest and Lagoon. Just make sure NOT to
get the Sky Ability until later. If will mess up your game if your game if you
get it now.

3.02 Black Mage Village
Your party shows up here and it's deserted. Follow Vivi to the cemetery,
watch the chocobo hatch, and then leave. When you try to leave, your party
will decide what to do next. Get back on your Chocobo and go to the North-
Eastern part of the continent. Go into the Northern sinkhole, the one without
the puffs of moving sand. Kuja will tell you that he wants you to run an errand
for him. Simple enough. When you are asked to take people with you, DO NOT, I
repeat, DO NOT choose all the fighters. If you do, you will be stuck when you
have to change parties and it will be impossible to beat Valia Pira. Chose a
girl, Vivi, and Steiner. I recommend Dagger for the girl because she can do
a good (up to 900) amount of damage with the Tiger Racket you found with Choco.

***Tip Sent in my omnidom***
For Desert Palace/Oeilvert, have Zidane and Freya on one team, and Steiner and
Amarant on the other.

I prefer to have Zidane and Steiner. Just a personal preference. I'm sure
replacing him with Freya would work just as well.

3.03 Forgotten Continent
Save your game in a new slot. You will find some Chocobo Tracks just northwest
of the Qu's Marsh that lies a bit north of where your ship landed. Find all
the treasures on this island. You should be able to find the Dusk Plains and
Forgotten Plains Chocographs and the two mountain cracks. After finding all
that, go back to the airship and stock up fully on supplies. Go to Oeilvert.

3.04 Oeilvert
At the Mogshop, buy optimal equipment for everybody. Sell all your crap. Save.
When ready, continue forward. I'm assuming you know what to do here, but in
case you don't, go to the top exit and light the projector. Go back and go
left. The big globe should light up. Go down. There are four projectors, hit
the top left, top right, bottom right, and bottom left. In that order. Then
leave the room at the top exit. Go over the bridge. Check out the globe.
Continue. Go in the blue door at the top. Crazy faces talk to you now. Go back
to the lobby and go right. Save at the Moogle and go right. Watch the hologram
and then continue right if everybody's level is over 25. 30 is ideal. Equip
Dagger with the Whale Whisker now, you want Eiko to be able to use the Tiger
Racket when you control her. Equip Vivi with his WEAKEST weapon. Ride the
elevator down, try to take the Gulug Stone, and fight Ark.

HP: 20,002
Your first real challenge. This sucker is hard. Zidane and Steiner attack
ALWAYS. Vivi and Dagger should use Peridots to heal instead of Hi-Potions.
Ark's boomerang attack can do 300 damage the whole party. That's not really
your main threat. Propeller Wind confuses everybody. That's your real enemy.
Whirlwind causes 200 damage or so on the whole party and gives you the Float
Status. Photon reduces a target's HP to 1. Ark tends to use Boomerang,
Propeller Wind, Whirlwind, and then Photon.

De-equip everybody's items after the battle.
3.05 Desert Palace
Play the mini-game and put Clay-Stone-Iron on the Scale. Equip everybody with
the best Equipment in this order: Freya, Amarant, Quina, Eiko. Put Eiko in the
back row. Go to the right and save your game. Stock up on Potions too. Go left
and up two sets of stairs.
Examine the angel statue, run to the right, and then run left. Go on the magic
staircase. Light the candelabra and return. Go left. Light all three fires and
go to the other side through the doorway. Light the bottom left fire. Light
the middle two fires now. The other statues disappear. Light all the fires,
ending with the middle one. Go up the stairs and light the candelabra, circle
to the front and go in the door. Light the candles and go in the bottom door,
then go back and in the middle door. Go up and light all the candelabra.
Return and go left to save. Continue left. Get the Black Hood and the Venetia
Shield. Then put out all the candles except for the left one on each side.
That makes another magic staircase appear. Go forward and light the final

HP: 12,120
Not too hard. Have everybody attack if you got all the Blood Stones. If you
missed a few, don't worry, just have Eiko heal instead of attack.

Un-epuip Eiko and Quina and then examine the candelabra, and then teleport
out. When you control Zidane, go to the teleporter and then go to Kuja's
chamber. When asked to make a party, put Steiner, Freya, and Amarant with
Zidane. Leave this place.

3.06 Lost Continent
Before you enter here, level everybody up to 35. Don't worry about Dagger,
Vivi, or Quina. You won't be using them hardly at all for the remainder of the
game. You may want to boost Quina up to 30 though. Vepals give good Exp. and
are easy to beat, they often come in groups of 3 near the SE tip of the island.
When in Esto Gaza, choose Freya and Amarant to go with you and Vivi. Check out
the shop and then go to the back patio area and enter Mount Gulug.
Make your way through this place. It's not too difficult. There are no puzzles.
Save at the Moogle after sliding down the rope. Fight as many Red Dragons as
possible. They have a mere 8,000 HP but give 22,000 Exp. EACH. That's 11,000
per person, per battle (when you fight two). Pull on the lever 3 times after
getting all the treasure. Continue down. Fight the Dragons. When you fight
Zorn and Thorn, Eiko automatically summons Madeen. (Against the rules...=P)
Vivi leaves and Eiko replaces him.
HP: 24,350
Freya, Zidane, and Amarant attack, Eiko heals. Use Vaccines if you're affected
with Virus. Bio sucks because it hits all your members and can Poison them all.
Ouch, don't worry about it too much, you can take this sucker down in a few

After the battle, Cid is restored.

3.07 Hilda Garde 3
Go through the events and find Dagger. You then get the HILDA GARDE 3! First
thing is to FINISH the Chocobo Side Quest. Do it. Now. Level up to 30 when
you are done with that. Get 99 Dead Peppers from the Chocobo in Chocobo's
Paradise. Go around to the various towns and do whatever pleases you. Then,
go to Ipsen.

3.08 Ipsen's Castle
When asked to form a party, make Steiner, Freya, and Quina join Zidane. When
fighting enemies, use Dead Peppers to attack until you have the weakest weapon
for the attacking character. Make your way through this place until you have
to fight Taharka.
HP: 29,186
Use Dead Peppers all the way. Heal when needed. The Formula for DP is
(Dead Peppers in stock x 30). Each time you use one, the amount of damage
dealt is reduced, so once they start doing less than 1400, attack him
physically, unless he is in Compact mode.

Leave when you're done. Don't worry about the treasures. When you're outside,
you notice Amarant isn't there. Go back in and save him! Be careful, before
you find Amarant, you can be killed easily, and it's game over.

3.09 Four Shrines
Drop everybody off and then go get some more Dead Peppers. Go to the Earth
Shrine when you're ready. Equip armor that defends against Earth attacks if
you can.

HP: 20,756
Use Dead Peppers to attack. They will start out doing around 3,000 damage each,
but will slowly start doing less and less. His attacks are weak if you have
proper equipment that defends against Earth. The most I was hit for was 459.
Make sure you heal if you need to. There isn't too much to worry about in this

3.10 Terra/Bran Bal
After entering the Shimmering Island, chose your party and watch the scene.
Collect the Items if you wish and then follow the girl to Bran Bal. Pick Quina
in place of Steiner. Then go find the Moogle and buy needed Equipment. Then go
to the Inn to watch the scene. Afterwards, follow the girl to the Underground
Lab. When controlling Eiko, go find everybody and then you're on your way to
Pandemonium! Be around level 50.

3.11 Pandemonium
As Zidane, go through the passage until you meet Garland. Watch all the scenes
as Zidane goes crazy. Fight all the event enemies. They really aren't too hard.
When Zidane recovers, go back the way you came, save, and return to the left.
Figure out the puzzles and then Save at the final Moogle of Dice 3.

HP: 24,055
At the beginning of this battle use a Tent on SD. If it doesn't inflict
Darkness AND Silence, reset. once he's Darkened and Silenced, this battle is a

HP: 40,728
Garland is much harder than Silver Dragon, but isn't too much to worry about.
He can cast stop on your characters, so watch out for that, use a Remedy on
them if this happens. If a character Trances, abuse their attacks so you can
get the most out of it. He can also cast Flare which does over 1,000 Damage
each shot.

HP: 42,382
Kuja uses high level magic, so it's good if you have a few things to protect
against various elements, but if you don't, don't worry about it. Kuja can
wear you down fast, so be sure to use plenty of the restorative jewels. Lapis
Lazuli is the best followed by Topaz. (It depends how many you have in stock.)
Just keep your attacks up and he will go down shortly.

+++++++++++++++++ END DISC THREE +++++++++++++++++

4.01 Black Mage Village
4.02 Memoria

4.01 Black Mage Village
Stock up on supplies, get 99 Lapis Lazuli, and as many Topaz as possible. Then,
leave and find the last Chocobo treasure at the exact spot of the Shimmering
Islands. Synthesize anything you want at Black Cat's Synthesis Shop. You don't
need to get anything, but it will help you if you have better equipment. I
didn't worry about it and I finished the game fine.

4.02 Memoria
This is it. The last section of the game.

HP: 59,940
Use a Tent right away until it's bitten by a Snake. It will help greatly, then
assault this guy with attacks until it goes down. Heal if needed.

Move on and save at the ball thing. Follow the path until you have to fight:

HP: 59,500
This dude can inflict Cold and Heat. That's the only real big threat. Keep
everybody alive and FULLY HEALED. When this guy dies, he uses Raining Swords
attack that does 2,000 or so damage to EVERY CHARACTER.

Heal up and move on. Eventually you will fight Tiamat.

HP: 59,500
Equip Armor that protects against Wind and keep your attacks up. Be sure to
heal often because this guy can do serious damage quickly. Use Amarant to heal
because his attacks will heal Tiamat if you don't have the proper claw. He can
"Snort" your characters off the battle field, so be careful when he "Snorts"
your fighters.

Heal up, save, move on. Fight Kraken.

HP: 59,500
Not too difficult. Two people should be immune to Water (Ribbons), which makes
this battle impossible to lose. Don't worry about healing, Kraken will take
care of you.

Equip Amarant with Fairy Earrings or something that Raises Wind Elemental
Attack if you have the Kaiser Knuckles. Find the hidden save point to the
right of the messed up clock and move onward and up the ladder.

HP: 60,000
Attack. Heal. You know the drill. BEWARE: Lich uses Lv. 5 Death. Be sure to
have at least one character NOT a multiple of 5. Lich also uses many "Instant
Death" attacks. So be cautious.

Save at the invisible crystal to the left of the doorway and then float into
space. Follow the Crystal World, running from ALL battles. Save at the FINAL
SAVE POINT and fight Deathguise. If you have trouble with him. Check your
levels. There is little chance you can win with levels less than 60. 65 is
more realistic.

HP: 55,535
Attack. Heal. Repeat. These battles don't have much strategy to them...

After beating this dude, go back. Heal. Save. Return to the room with Kuja.


HP: 42,400
He doesn't have much HP, but he has some awesome attacks that do major damage.
Two people should be all time healers. Most likely, Freya and Amarant will
take this job while Zidane and Steiner attack. However, if a healer Trances,
don't be afraid to have Zidane or Steiner take over healing while the Tranced
person attacks. Use common sense here.

Choose the four members to survive. Hopefully you aren't stupid and you choose
Zidane, Steiner, Freya, and Amarant. They are fully healed. Yay!

HP: 54,100
Again, not much HP, but NASTY status effects. I'm sure you're all familiar
with Grand Cross. Stay healed. One attacker at a time. Try to have the other
three able to use commands at the same time. You *NEED* to be able to heal at
ANY given time. Use Elixers to heal HP and Remedies to heal Status. Don't be
stingy. Don't worry about wasting items. Keep your attacks up and you should
be fine. Just heal. I cannot stress this enough. Stay at Maximum power at ALL
times. With a lot of luck, you'll win this battle and the game is over.

++++++++++++++++++++ END GAME ++++++++++++++++++++
If you finish this game and followed the rules, email me with your name, final
levels, completion time, and any tips or hints you have. You will be added to
the Hall of Fame and Thank You sections.

5.00 Ozma
Well... the impossible boss has been bested by (at least) two people.
Aqua Black Mage Roscoe was the first to claim to beat him. He has not sent in
any strategies yet, but he has sent in exactly what happened during the battle:

 -Ozma does Doomsday. Heals all party and Ozma loses 8468 HP
 -Freya does Dark Matter item. Ozma loses 9999 HP 
 -Zidane attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 4200 HP 
 -Amarant attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 7740 HP 
 -Ozma uses Curaga. Restores 6936 HP to itself 
 -Steiner attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 7473 HP 
 -Ozma does Mini. All allies are in "mini" status 
 -Freya attacks Ozma. Ozma loses a whole 32 HP 
 -Zidane attacks Ozma. Ozma loses a whopping 70 HP! 
 -Amarant attacks Ozma with a lot less force than Zidane. Ozma loses 45 HP
  this time. 
 -Steiner uses a Remedy item on Zidane. Zidane is regular size. 
 -Ozma casts Flare on Steiner just in time. Steiner is K.O.ed by losing 6762 HP 
 -Freya uses a Remedy item on Amarant. Amarant is regular size. 
 -Zidane uses a Remedy item on Freya. Freya is regular size. 
 -Amarant uses a Remedy item on himself and feels like a major idiot cuz he has
  no negative statuses already 
 -Ozma casts Curaga. Restores 8364 HP to itself. 
 -Freya attacks Ozma. Critical hit done to Ozma, making it lose 9999 HP 
 -Zidane attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 5180 HP 
 -Amarant attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 7560 HP 
 -Ozma casts Flare Star. Zidane and Freya lose 4950 HP and misses Amarant.
  Zidane goes into trance. 
 -Freya attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 5312 HP 
 -Zidane attacks Ozma. Ozma loses 7420 HP 
 -Ozma finally goes down. I still coulda won if I were cursed. I was one attack
  near trance on almost all my characters, so Trance would negate the negative
  status effects. 

V. Hall of Fame
This is where I shall put the names of all the people that have completed this
game by using only the Attack/Item commands.

SetzerGabbiani - 39:51
  Zidane ---- 64
  Dagger ---- 23
  Steiner --- 62
  Vivi ------ 26
  Freya ----- 62
  Quina ----- 32
  Eiko ------ 21
  Amarant --- 61

  No comment. Read my FAQ if you want some opinions! =P

Daniel Von Steiner - 36:27

  Zidane ---- 73
  Dagger ---- 29
  Steiner --- 71
  Vivi ------ 69
  Freya ----- 37
  Quina ----- 45
  Eiko ------ 45
  Amarant --- 68
  My preferred party is Zidane, Steiner, Vivi and Amarant. Zidane, Steiner and
  Amarant for attacking, and Vivi for using items (to save my strong people
  wasting their turns).

Gbness - 36:59

  Zidane ---- 57
  Dagger ---- 21
  Steiner --- 56
  Vivi ------ 25
  Freya ----- 48
  Quina ----- 46
  Eiko ------ ?? (Level not sent in)
  Amarant --- 55

  I randomly use either Quina or Freya because once you catch 99 frogs with
  Quina, he very rarely does laughable damage.

Peco_Master_Onion_Moogle - 47:38

  Zidane ---- 60
  Dagger ---- 30
  Steiner --- 62
  Vivi ------ 28
  Freya ----- 55
  Quina ----- 27
  Eiko ------ 27
  Amarant --- 64

  -Save often
  -Use phoenix downs on undead enemies
  -Sell ethers and phoenix pinions for money
  -Do chocobo hot and cold as early as possible
  -Keep a good stock of hi-potions and elixers, remedies and tents
  -If possible, try to get Steiner to overdrive first!
  -Use Freya for healing, as she has the lowest attack power of the fighters

Aqua Black Mage Roscoe - 100:46 (Thought ExII could be gotten if timer reset)

  Zidane ---- 74
  Dagger ---- 31
  Steiner --- 78
  Vivi ------ 39
  Freya ----- 71
  Quina ----- 23
  Eiko ------ 26
  Amarant --- 71

  -Complete Chocobo sidequests including the one where you go to every beach
   in the world so you can heal.
  -Synthesize 4 Coral Rings
  -Go to Salvage Archipelago and fight Grand Dragons.  Heal at shores from
   the Fat Chocobo mini-quest.
  -When I fought Necron, I had Steiner equipped with Excalibur I and a
   Mythril Helm and a Rebirth Ring to raise his Holy Elem-Atk.  He did
   around 6,000-7,000 with each hit.
  -Equip the party with earth absorbing equipment and thunder nullifying 
   equipment. Then go to the island with Chocobo's Paradise on it and
   there is an edge that has nothing but Adamantoises. If you have a turbo
   controller, just tape down X and right and you will level to 99 in a few
   days (and you get a healthy amount of Gil doing so!)

monty_the_moogle - 42:37

Zidane ---- 99 
Dagger ---- 22 
Steiner --- 99 
Vivi ------ 30 
Freya ----- 99 
Quina ----- 38 
Eiko ------ 31 
Amarant --- 99 

 -get everyone near trance before ozma 
 -equip  as much holy elemental attack as possible against ozma (magic
  defense and strength if holy isnt available) 
 -use ultimate weapons against ozma (cept excaibur for steiner and holy
  lance for freya) 
 -do the friendly creatures quest if you are going to fight ozma
 -know the basic ozma pattern and when to attack
  (every even turn he has a high percentage of using curse, if not that
  then beserk [yay!], mini [ouch, cure with remedies if possible, cept
  freya use for healing], or curaga. attack only when he is doing an
  attack himself or he gets a free turn. for more ozma attack pattern
  info go to Hyprophant's level one ozma challenge guide here on
 -99 topaz for healing/or a few elixers will work (i didnt heal the
  battle i beat him in, but good to have just in case) 
 -use the dark matter with freya first turn (remember, only use
  commands when he is attacking so he doesnt get a free turn) 
 -thats all the info, but all in all it is a good faq and a fun

VI.  Thank You's
I'd just like to say thank you to everybody that's helped me along the way. In
alphabetical order.

|  Myself   |   Well, without me actually playing the game and writing this FAQ
|           |   it wouldn't be here. =D
|Aqua Black |   First person to claim to beat Ozma (with some sort of proof.)
|Mage Roscoe|   Congrats, man!
|  BGness   |   Strategies, and completing the challenge.
|           |
|  Brady    |   HP totals of some bosses.
|  Games    |
|Daniel Von |   Beating this challenge, and being very clear and direct in the
|  Steiner  |   email I recieved.
|  GameFAQs |   Accepting this guide and putting it on their site.
|           |
|   KADFC   |   Constructive Criticism.
|           |
|monty_the_|   Corrections, strategies.
|  moogle  |
|  OMNI 22 |   Support
|          |
|  omnidom |   Constructive Criticism, strategies.
|          |

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