Festival of the Hunt

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A battle in Lindblum during the Festival of the Hunt.

Hunters, on your mark! Ferocious beasts swarm about the castle town! The bigger the catch, the higher the score!

Description

The Festival of the Hunt refers to an event in the world of Final Fantasy IX. The Festival of the Hunt is an annual competition hosted by the church in the Business District of Lindblum. It began centuries prior to the main storyline, when the city of Lindblum was a huge forest.

Rules

Warriors from around Gaia are called upon to test their strength in combat against ferocious beasts. In the streets of Lindblum, various creatures are released, and can be defeated, each for a certain amount of points. The Hunt lasts 12 minutes. Whoever has the most points at the end of the competition wins the title of Master Hunter.

Points

The leader is displayed at the top of the screen.

After killing a monster, Zidane's score will increase by a random amount which ranges differently for every battle. Mus have the lowest maximums, Trick Sparrows amounts are slightly better and Fangs give the most points.

As for the one-time-only battle against the Zaghnol, the player can earn up to 99 points. The Final Fantasy IX Ultimania mistakenly gave 100 as the maximum score for the Zaghnol fight.

Monster	Location	Description	Range
Mu	Theater District	outside the station	10-12
Trick Sparrow	Theater District	outside the station	01-03
Trick Sparrow	Theater District	outside the hideout	10-12
Fang	Theater District	by the theater	19-21
Fang	Industrial District	chasing a cat	19-21
Mu	Industrial District	running down the stairs	10-12
Mu	Industrial District	hiding in the pub	10-12
Mu	Industrial District	end of the street	07-09
Trick Sparrow	Business District	outside the station	13-15
Mu	Business District	running out of a house	13-15
Fang	Business District	left area of market	16-18
Fang	Business District	outside the church	19-21
Trick Sparrow	Business District	on church doorstep	04-06
Fang	Business District	chasing Vivi	25-27
Zaghnol	Business District	by the fountain	50-99

Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. (Skip section)

Vivi is initially interested in the competition because a girl in a shop inadvertently gives him the false impression that he will be seeing animals, not battling creatures to the death. However, it is assumed that he finds out off-screen, as he is very frightened when he finds out that Zidane has signed him up for the competition without his knowledge, thinking he would do very well with his black magic. This disturbs not only Vivi, but Freya, who rightly calls Zidane's actions "inconsiderate".

However, Zidane offers that whichever one of the two boys is victorious can have a date with Garnet, a prospect in which Vivi has no interest. Freya is a regular at the competition, and probably hopes to encounter Sir Fratley, her lost love, should he choose to test his prowess. Zidane enters for his typical reasons; to show off in front of Garnet and win the prize money.

Although Zidane, Vivi, and Freya all participate in the hunt, they fight independently unless the Zaghnol is encountered, in which case Zidane and Freya must join forces to defeat the beast, the strongest in the competition, and save two children from its fury.

Spoilers end here.

Each character chooses a different prize. Although the player must play as Zidane, the entire party can benefit as long as one party member wins.

Cid gives the prize to the winner.

Prizes:

• Zidane gil: 5000 Gil
• Freya Add-on: Coral Ring
• Vivi Tetra Master card: Theater Ship card

Although the player can only control Zidane, and briefly Freya, it is possible to control who wins the festival. For Vivi to win, one must allow the Zaghnol to defeat both Freya and Zidane. To obtain the Coral Ring, the easiest way is to avoid the smaller battles, particularly against Fangs, and make sure Freya strikes the killing blow on the Zaghnol. In some versions of the game Zidane must be KO'd in order for Freya to slay Zaghnol, otherwise it will not fall regardless of how much HP it should have left. Obviously, for Zidane to be victorious, one must fight as many battles as time allows, and make sure to let him put the final blow on the Zaghnol.

Finding Zaghnol

Zaghnol is found in the Business District's Fountain Square, where the shops are, but it won't appear until there is less than four and a half minutes left on the clock.

Music

Template:Listen The aptly named "Festival of the Hunt" is the musical theme that plays throughout the whole event, whether the player is running around the city or fighting a monster.

Gallery

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Trivia

• Lani, Amarant (under the moniker of "Scarlet Hair" or Red), Genero, and Quina (under the moniker of "Strange Gourmand") all take part in the hunt, as shown by messages at the top of the screen, but not seen in person.
• The previous hunt's champion is someone named Belna, who is also shown participating via the messages at the top of the screen. This character is never seen in-game.
• The Festival of The Hunt's name may derive from the name of an Ancient Greek hunting festival in honor of the goddess Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, moon, and newborn creatures.
• The Festival of the Hunt may have been inspired by the Running of the Bulls practiced mainly in Spain and Portugal, which involves letting loose a dozen or so bulls on a course of a sectioned-off subset of a town's streets, and participants have to run in front of them. Unlike bullfights, which are performed by professionals, in the Running of the Bulls anyone may participate.
• "Festival of the Hunt" is a quiz answer on an Academia quiz terminal in Final Fantasy XIII-2.

References

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