Destiny Odyssey IX

Destiny Odyssey IX, subtitled Melodies of Life, is a storyline in Dissidia Final Fantasy which follows the journey of Zidane on his quest for his crystal. Chronologically, it begins shortly before Bartz’s chapter. This chapter has a difficulty rating of three stars.

Story
The story begins with Zidane and Bartz deciding to have a race to see who can find their Crystal first. Though Bartz approaches the contest with enthusiasm, Zidane has doubts about their progress but keeps them to himself. When the two find a Crystal Bartz runs for it, and vanishes. Kefka appears and Zidane attacks him, demanding to know what has happened to Bartz. He prevails and Kefka tells him Bartz has been teleported to enemy territory, and he will never find him. Behind the scenes, the Crystal was a trap laid by Kuja, who had intended for Zidane to be caught instead of Bartz. Zidane blames himself for Bartz's abduction, but vows to find him and continues on.

Zidane heads through Ultimecia's Castle and spies Squall preparing to battle Ultimecia and Garland. Zidane tackles Garland aside and berates Squall for showing off, offering to fight Garland while Squall faces Ultimecia. The two win, and Squall claims his Crystal as Garland departs and Ultimecia fades. Zidane tells him Bartz was captured, and the two set off to find him, following a golden light from the chocobo feather good luck charm Bartz gave Squall. The two find Bartz who has managed to escape Chaos' forces, and shows them a Crystal he stole while wandering their territory, declaring himself the winner of their contest. Zidane reaches for the Crystal to examine it, and a bright light envelops him. As the light fades Zidane opens his eyes to find himself at the Chaos Shrine, Kuja appearing before him: the Crystal Bartz found was another trap that spirited Zidane to him. Kuja tells Zidane he wants to test him as one who shares his fate, and see if Zidane's spirit breaks as he realizes he is powerless to protect his friends. Kuja vanishes to leave Zidane alone.

As Zidane mopes alone, Cosmos appears to him and encourages him to keep fighting, telling him to believe in his friends. Zidane agrees, rationalizing they won't be defeated as easily as Kuja thinks, and runs off to fight his way back to them. Zidane runs across Kuja again, who asks if loneliness has become intolerable for him. Zidane tells him he believes in them, and asks if Kuja feels the same about his own friends. Angered at being associated with "those animals," Kuja attacks Zidane. Zidane emerges victorious and claims his Crystal, but asks Kuja why he doesn't trust others. Kuja says he feels this way because Zidane only clings to his friends to cover his own helplessness, and refuses to listen to his words as he fades. Zidane's Crystal glows and floats away, and as Zidane runs after it he is teleported back to Bartz and Squall, thinking he can face down any hardship to get back to the place he belongs.

Destiny Odyssey IX-1

 * "Separated from the wanderer and the lion, what can the thief steal from the world?"

There is not much difficulty to be had with this stage - the positioning of the enemies is simple, and all of them are low-level. The player begins this stage with five DP.

There are limited chances to end the stage with much DP. Defeat the Capricious Thief at C3, then defeat the Counterfeit Youth at F3. Finally, defeat the Capricious Reaper at H5 and move to the Stigma of Chaos to end the stage with three DP.

Destiny Odyssey IX-2

 * "Only those who understand how difficult it is to face consequences can overcome a crisis..."

This stage is very compact with few enemies, making it simple to chain them to conserve Destiny Points. Kefka is faced as a boss at the end of the stage. The player begins with four Destiny Points.

To earn the most DP, first move to C1 and chain the Counterfeit Youth and Fallacious Wanderer. The player should then move to E3 and engage the Capricious Reaper. It's defeat opens the path to the Chaos Piece and lets the player end the stage with four DP. The chest at D2 and the Delusory Knight at E3 that spawns when it is opened should be avoided, as the Delusory Knight rewards no DP.

Destiny Odyssey IX-3

 * "A castle towering above the heavens... Its strength calls forth a new source of courage in the warrior."

In this stage the Chaos Piece is protected by four locked areas. An Expert Battle Piece here can prove challenging if the player is not prepared, as it is a high level enemy with many Brave to HP attacks. Zidane fights Garland at the end of the stage. The player starts this level with six DP.

As all the enemies in this stage allow the player chances to earn more DP, they have their pick of which enemies to face. The simplest solution to the stage is to use Jump to jump over either the Transient Lion at E1 or the Imitation Despot at G3, then chain either of them with the Delusory Warlock at G1. Then simply move around the board fighting to the Chaos Piece, making sure to fulfill the DP requirements for each enemy. This lets the player finish the stage with six DP. Without Jump, the most that can be earned is five DP.

Destiny Odyssey IX-4

 * "A moment of negligence commands the warrior to a solo performance. Thus is the nature of battle."

The enemies on this stage are very strong, and their placement means the player will have to chain enemies and fight them in succession to proceed. The player begins with five Destiny Points.

Earning the most DP possible is simple in this stage. Move to C2 and chain the Capricious Reaper at C1 with the Transient Lion at C3 to open the locked area at F3. Then move to F2 and open the treasure chest at F1, chaining the two adjacent enemies. This causes the Capricious Reaper at C5 and the Ephemeral Phantom at D4 to spawn: move to chain them and open the locked area blocking the Stigma of Chaos, finishing the stage with seven DP.

Destiny Odyssey IX-5

 * "He cannot stop going forward. Because he knows, someday he will return to that place..."

There are quite a few enemies here, and many barriers that must be unlocked by defeating them. Fortunately every enemy that appears in this stage allows the player to earn more Destiny Points, so maintaining DP is not difficult. The player begins with five Destiny Points.

To earn the most DP in this stage, the player should first fight the Counterfeit Wraith at B1, then move to D1 and fight the Imitation Despot at D2 and the Ephemeral Phantom at E1. Go to G4 and defeat the Fallacious Tree and Capricious Thief, then defeat the Delusory Knight at B5. This opens the way to the Chaos Piece, allowing the player to end the stage with seven DP.