GAME · 2000 · JAPAN
Final Fantasy IX
- Developer
- Square
- Publisher
- Square, Square Enix
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows, Xbox Series X and Series S
- Original title
- Fainaru fantajî IX
41 archived facts 4 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Oct 2026
27 Interesting Facts About Final Fantasy IX
- #001
Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the series, said that among all Final Fantasy games this one is his personal favorite.
- #002
Amarant is the only one of the eight main characters the player never controls at any point in the game. Zidane is controlled primarily. Garnet/Dagger is controlled while returning to Alexandria and to Pinnacle Rocks. Vivi is controlled at the beginning of the game. Steiner is also controlled at the start of Disc 1 and at the South Gate. Eiko is briefly controlled at the beginning of Disc 3. Freya is briefly controlled in Cleyra. Quina is controlled during the frog-catching mini-game. During the Desert Palace, Eiko, Steiner, Vivi or Freya can also be controlled.
- #004
A hierarchy exists among the main characters to determine who leads the party when Zidane is absent. For example, Zidane must go to Oeilvert, so the hierarchy determines which character leads the party left behind at the Desert Palace. Eiko is second in command, followed by Steiner and then Vivi. If none of these four are present, Freya will lead the party. This also applies to the characters selected for the final battle and to which character gives the speech to Necron.
- #006
A Final Fantasy IX remake for the PlayStation 2 was considered by Square in early 2001, only a year after the original release. For some reason the project was either scrapped or never began development.
- #009
The cloak Garnet wears while fleeing Alexandria was designed to resemble the White Mage's outfit in the original Final Fantasy.
- #011
Eiko was named after Hironobu Sakaguchi's wife.
- #014
Early versions of the game contained what is known as the Gold Chocobo Bug. On Disc 3 (right after obtaining the Blue Narciss), if the player gets a Gold Chocobo they can fly to Ipsen Castle and skip Oeilvert, the Desert Palace, Esto Gaza and Mt Gulug. They also gain instant access to the Hilda Garde 3. This also shortens the play time for those seeking to obtain Excalibur II. The drawbacks of the bug include: having to buy a Ribbon at the Treno auction (since Mt Gulug is skipped), being unable to rescue the items in the Desert Palace, and Garnet remaining permanently in a 'silent' state.
- #018
The last Final Fantasy game to use text boxes instead of actual voice acting.
- #019
The developers stated that they changed the ending seven times.
- #021
The player will earn 10,000 Gil if they impress all 100 nobles in the game's fight scene. This is useful for levels or speedruns. The button sequence is always the same the first time the player does the fight.
- #022
The last original Final Fantasy game released on the Sony PlayStation.
- #023
Steiner's abilities do not change during Trance; his power is tripled.
- #024
Similar to Edea in Final Fantasy VIII, Beatrix must be fought several times before she joins you.
- #027
This game contains many references to previous Final Fantasy games, including location names (Gulug Volcano) and some characters (such as Gilgamesh).
- #028
The game sold approximately 2.6 million copies in its opening weekend.
- #030
Garnet is the only character who changes costumes.
- #031
Quina is the only character who does not learn abilities from an item.
- #032
Quina's name is a Japanese pun. Quina translates as "to eat," while the surname Quen translates as "cannot eat."
- #033
If the player examines a sword in the Lindblum weapon shop, Zidane will mention that he once met a spiky-haired man who carried a similar sword. This is a direct reference to Cloud Strife.
- #034
In the scene in Evil Forest after the party's airship crashes, a band called "Prima Vista" plays a marching band song from Final Fantasy VII, "Rufus Welcoming Ceremony," which was heard at Junon Harbor in that game.
- #035
Garnet and Eiko are the only characters who have the same abilities despite having different values: Garnet has more Eidolons, while Eiko has more White Magic.
- #036
On Disc Three, there is a scene with Zidane and his friends. As they dive toward Terra, it strongly recalls a scene in Final Fantasy V. This is the scene in which your party goes to the "Magical World."
- #037
Princess Garnet/Dagger is technically the first character in the Final Fantasy series to "speak," because her singing is heard many times.
- #038
On Disc 2, when the player regains access to Lindblum, they can talk to an old woman in the business district. She will ask whether they are having fun, and if the player answers "no," she will tell them to play something else.
- #039
It is Squaresoft's last original game released on the PlayStation video game console.
- #040
Auto Haste is an ability that can be obtained early on Disc 2. When the party visits the castle for the second time, there is an optional boss in the library, Tantarian, that can be fought. If the party wins the battle, they are rewarded with Running Shoes, which have the auto-haste property that can speed up the slow Active Time Bar. If paired with Auto Regen, they can recover more HP faster.
- #041
Only eight main characters have a trance gauge. The others (Cinna, Blank, Marcus and Beatrix) do not.
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