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| Final Fantasy IX owned by Square Enix. Images used for educational purposes only. |
Main Walkthrough
- You'll find your next major destination, Gizamaluke's Grotto, almost directly north of Lindblum. Look for a small cave built into the mountain range in the north. After a cut scene out front you'll gain access to the bulk of the dungeon. Be ready for battles as soon as you enter.
- Speak to the Burmecian soldier on your right upon entering. He'll give you a Gizamaluke Bell. You need this and other Bells to explore the area, as ringing them will open the fortress's doors. You can use it on the door back in the main hallway.
- Once through the door you'll get into a cut scene battle against some Black Mages, which use Black Magic, similarly to Vivi. You can run into them wandering around openly in this dungeon in other places - such as across the first bridge. Defeat it to get another Gizamaluke Bell.
- You have three doors to choose from in the north at this point that you can open with your Bell. We'll start with the small one on the left, as it leads to the fallen soldier on the ramparts above the entrance bridge. He'll give you another Gizamaluke Bell. Seems useless - except you can also pick up a hidden Bronze Vest on the path leading to him. It's behind a pair of thin, rocky pillars.
- Next, the large, central door. Inside you'll hit a small cut scene with a pair of Moogles. Give the female Moogle Vivi's Kupo Nut to release the male Moogle. Once they run off you can grab a Gizamaluke Bell from the chest in the middle of the room. You can follow them by going through the right door in the rear of the room; the female, Mogmi, offers normal Moogle services. She also has a letter for you to read. On your way out you'll receive a Holy Bell.
- Dangerous note! In this small room with the Moogles you can also find a vine. The vine leads out of Gizamaluke's Grotto and into a small forest where you can encounter Grand Dragons, exceptionally powerful enemies which use lightning attacks, poison, and normal strikes to demolish your party. Unless you really know what you're doing (ie you can use Quina's Limit Glove attack with Quina at 1 HP) these things should be avoided at all costs.
- Return to the room with the giant bell and walk down the stairs to the right of the bell, leading under a central bridge. Beneath the bridge you can find a hidden Magus Hat. Continue up and around the room via an upper staircase and you'll find hidden Mythril Gloves on the path to the east side of the room. This winds up as a dead end, as the exit leads to the third locked door in the first area.
- You can use the Holy Bell you received to open the second, left door in the large bell room. Be ready - this leads to a boss battle.
Gizamaluke
This big creep's a fairly tough customer. Gizamaluke is primarily a water-based creature, and will use Water on your characters to inflict close to 200 HP of damage to anyone without water protection (namely, a Glass Armlet). It can also use hefty physical attacks, and will use Silent Voice on anyone that uses magic on it, namely Vivi.
Gizamaluke is best handled with a flurry of physical attacks from Zidane and Freya, particularly Freya's Jump. If Quina's in the party it can dole out a third wave of physical attacks or, like Vivi, focus more on healing your party. The Bird Killer Ability works nicely here, as Gizamaluke is a flying opponent and will take extra damage from normal attacks when Bird Killer is equipped. Zidane's Soul Blade attack, assuming you Synthesized The Ogre back in Lindblum, is great for cutting back on Gizamaluke's accuracy via blind status, and Vivi's Slow, which you can learn from the Magus Hat you found earlier, will further cut down on its attacks. The less Gizamaluke gets to hit you, the better.
There's an alternate strategy you can use here, as well. Gizamaluke is vulnerable to both blindness and silence, and if you use a Tent on the beast - yes, you can use Tents in battle - there's a chance it will inflict both blindness and silence on Gizamaluke. You'll need to sacrifice several Tents to get this effect, more than likely, but it turns the battle into a joke. Tents will also fully restore Gizamaluke, so you'll want to do this right at the beginning of the battle.
Zidane can Steal an Elixir, a Magus Hat, and an Ice Staff from Gizamaluke.
South Gate
- Upon defeating Gizamaluke the perspective of the game will jump to South Gate, watching over Dagger and Steiner. Once you're inside the Gate, check to Steiner's left for a Multina Racket.
- You have two people to distract. First, speak to the green-furred creature on the far left, then to the young man in the far right. This will send the young man dashing away. Second, speak to the young man in the middle of the screen, then Console the woman on the right. This will clear the alley in the east and, after receiving a Gate Pass during a quick cut scene, Steiner will give way to Dagger.
- You'll wind up near a cable car station after the cut scene. (You'll have to come back later to get the second treasure chest on the previous screen.) Check the chest by the cable car for a Potion, speak to the guy in the small shop to the right for basic items, and speak to the attendant on the platform to get underway. Taking your seat will push the action back to Gizamaluke's Grotto, and then to the main map.
Part Eight: Burmecia
Main Walkthrough