Too far too fast?

[X-Meteo]

Did anyone else find that they got through IX too quickly? I played through the whole thing twice and both times I got the final boss with all my characters on about level 40, which meant they were too weak to win the fight and as a result I've never managed to beat the game. The second time through I really tried to work slowly and do as much training as I could at every point, but the game just kept letting me breeze through, and once I was at level 40 there were hardly any monsters in the game that gave me enough experience to level up anything like fast enough. The strongest monsters were the crystal ones in Memoria, but they didn't give out any Exp!

Did anyone else have this problem or was I just playing it wrong?

PS: Don't get me wrong, I still love FFIX. Tetra Master rules and Steiner is one of my all time fav FF characters!

[Xanatos]

While I do agree that Final Fantasy IX was not challenging enough, as far as main story goes, Ozma is a bitch though, it was no shorter than other games in franchise, except for Final Fantasy XII which is massive to begin with.

I actually find Memoria to be a great place to max your characters, with level up ability on grinding is fairly easy, then again it just might be me as I love to grind, strange, I know =D

[Michael Swayne]

I found that Final Fantasy IX's story more involved than others, so I took extra time to complete everything I could. Granted, I haven't fully completed the game, because I have a few side quests I've yet to complete (finding Stellazio coins, all 100 cards, coffee, Mognet quest, etc.).

I know that I spent at least 20 hours just on Disc 1. My characters were at least Level 15, with Steiner being around 22 before he left with Dagger (Level Up Ability was used).

Maybe you should go for a few of the side quests, or perhaps just go back to places you hadn't been in a while. NPCs offer different information as well, so you may want to go back to catch up with some of them.

[X-Meteo]

Yeah, it was a few years ago that I was playing it so I think maybe I found the side quests too hard and just ignored them I don't have my Playstation where I live right now so I can't play it but hopefully I'll have it again soon. Aesthetically it was one of my favourite games and I just love playing Steiner so much, his sword art skills are awesome!

How many city cards are there? They were my favs but I only ever go tAlexandria and Lindblum. Were there others?

[Michael Swayne]

How many city cards are there? They were my favs but I only ever go tAlexandria and Lindblum. Were there others?

There are only two castle cards (city cards^). Alexandria and Lindblum. Here is a list of all, just in case you are missing some.

Monsters
Goblin
Fang
Skeleton
Flan
Zaghnol
Lizard Man
Zombie
Bomb
Ironite
Sahagin
Yeti
Mimic
Wyerd
Mandragora
Crawler
Sand Scorpion
Nymph
Sand Golem
Zuu
Dragonfly
Carrion Worm
Cerberus
Antlion
Cactuar
Gimme Cat
Ragtimer
Hedgehog Pie
Ralvuimahgo
Ochu
Troll
Blazer Beetle
Abomination
Zemzelett
Stroper
Tantarian
Grand Dragon
Feather Circle
Hecteyes
Ogre
Armstrong
Ash
Wraith
Gargoyle
Vepal
Grimlock
Tonberry
Veteran
Garuda
Malboro
Mover
Abadon
Behemoth
Iron Man
Nova Dragon
Ozma
Hades

Spells/Eidolons
Holy
Meteor
Flare
Shiva
Ifrit
Ramuh
Atomos
Odin
Leviathan
Bahamut
Ark
Fenrir
Madeen
Alexander

Weapons and Items
Excalibur 2
Ultima Weapon
Masamune
Elixir
Dark Matter
Ribbon
Tiger Racket
Save The Queen
Genji
Mythril Sword

Airships
Blue Narciss
Hilda Garde 3
Invincible
Cargo Ship
Hilda Garde 1
Red Rose
Theater Ship
Viltgance

Creatures
Chocobo
Fat Chocobo
Mog
Frog
Oglop


Castles
Alexandria
Lindblum

Special Cards
Two Moons
Gargant
Namingway
Boco
Airship

[Mindu]

X-Meteo, if you have all the best weapons and armour (and consequently, spells and abilties) from finding all the chocograph chests, I doubt the final boss would have been too much trouble at level 40, although it may have been tricky. I found this to be one of the FF games that didn't require any grinding to complete.

I remember those diehards who used to go for level 1 challenges. Dunno if any of them ever succeeded.

[Rowan]

I tried to get to level 99 by killing those nams (or yams?) that was a bitch to do. I managed to do so but it hardly seemed worth the effort.

[loaf]

Farming Dragons or Memoria is easier to level then the Yans. You have to set up each character correctly for the yans.

When I first beat FFIX I was around lvl60 for each of my characters and it was hard for me but I sucked at these games 10 years ago. 40 hours it took me.

I now get it done in about 20 hours if I'm lucky with some parts. But for that Excalibur 2 I'll need more luck, more time, and skip all those movies.

[X-Meteo]

X-Meteo, if you have all the best weapons and armour (and consequently, spells and abilties) from finding all the chocograph chests, I doubt the final boss would have been too much trouble at level 40, although it may have been tricky. I found this to be one of the FF games that didn't require any grinding to complete.

I remember those diehards who used to go for level 1 challenges. Dunno if any of them ever succeeded.

I suppose my point was that because it's so easy to get through the whole game right up to the final boss (including all the other bosses in Memoria) without getting all the best equipment, spells etc. It's also very easy to reach the final battle and find yourself under-levelled and under-powered.

This is probably more to do with my playing style than the game, it was quite a long time ago that I played through it, but i was just wondering if anyone else had had a similar experience with it?

[Rowan]

Farming Dragons or Memoria is easier to level then the Yans. You have to set up each character correctly for the yans.

When I first beat FFIX I was around lvl60 for each of my characters and it was hard for me but I sucked at these games 10 years ago. 40 hours it took me.

I now get it done in about 20 hours if I'm lucky with some parts. But for that Excalibur 2 I'll need more luck, more time, and skip all those movies.

I used Quinas LVL.death on those dragons but after level 65 it took too long to level up. I think 42,000 was the cap on what it takes to level up from beyond there and the dragons gave about 8000exp divided between 4 characters.

[Mindu]

I remember Necron giving me a lot of grief the first time I fought him, but that's because I didn't know what to expect, like his attacks. It doesn't matter what level someone is at, if they're not prepared for Grand Cross they're going to be in a world of trouble.

Farming Dragons or Memoria is easier to level then the Yans. You have to set up each character correctly for the yans.

I remember a good place for grinding on disk 4 is one of the islands below Quan's cave. It's been many years since I've played it, but if I remember correctly the big leeches there would give around 11,000 for each character.

I suppose my point was that because it's so easy to get through the whole game right up to the final boss (including all the other bosses in Memoria) without getting all the best equipment, spells etc. It's also very easy to reach the final battle and find yourself under-levelled and under-powered.

I used to have this problem. I remember in FFIV I got all the way to the end of the game in about 35 hours. I was at around level 50 and got hammered by the final boss. Ever since then I got into a bad habit of over-grinding in RPGs, to the point where characters are stupidly over powered. Now, I only make a conscious effort to level up if beating a boss is mathematically improbable, and at that I try again after a few levels. If I could have all those hours back I spent grinding in RPGs when I didn't need to, I'd be a couple of months younger.

[Fantasy]

i found the game to be of fairly good length, my characters were always around level 60 and up to 75 by the end but i always did the side-quests and all that kind of stuff. i remember when i played ff8 i was so far behind i couldnt even beat ultimecia......that game still confuses the crap out of me.

[Nidogod]

X-Meteo, if you have all the best weapons and armour (and consequently, spells and abilties) from finding all the chocograph chests, I doubt the final boss would have been too much trouble at level 40, although it may have been tricky. I found this to be one of the FF games that didn't require any grinding to complete.

I remember those diehards who used to go for level 1 challenges. Dunno if any of them ever succeeded.

Yes, level 1 is not that hard to pull off in this game because equipment is more beneficial than level. If you go back and do Chocobo H&C all the way through for some ultimate weapons and armor, level 40 isn't too low for taking on the final boss. I'd recommend trying to get the team to at least 45, though. 40 is fine for Kuja but the other guy is a bit much.

[Nas Lost]

I finished it fairly quickly. but i didnt do much of the sidequests either, i wanted to know what happened at the end so i kind of rushed it.

[Cry For Garnet]

You can usually get through the game if your characters are level 50-55 and you have a decent understanding of the last booses' battle tactics, but this is only if you have been picking up most of the best equipment and abilities, otherwise, you may need to level your characters up a bit further.

Also it is virtually impossible to get through this game too quick if you power level at certain key areas, they say its possible for a decent player to get through the game in 16 hours if you know how, personally I have done it in 10 and a half, but I did have quite a bad migrane later that night.

The best thing to do in the case of FFIX and all the other final fantasy games in fact, is to spend lots more time than you need on the game rather than trying to rush through it. If you rush through the game you don't appreciate it, and if you take your time you do. Plus its also much more satisfying having just completed a completionist playthrough rather than a proffessional playthrough.

The most gameplay time I have ever had on FFIX without wasting time and having completed all of the side quests is 61 hours, but this does depend on some things like your luck in chocobo hot and cold for example.

As I said, completionist playthroughs are much more satisfying than rushthroughs.