Festival of the Hunt

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 Industrial District of Lindblum. Begun centuries prior to the main storyline, when the city of Lindblum was a huge forest, 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. Whoever has the most points at the end of the competition wins the status of Master Hunter.

Vivi enters the competition under the impression that he will be seeing animals, not battling them to the death. Zidane offers that whichever of the two is victorious can have a date with the princess, a prospect for which Vivi has no interest. Freya is apparently a regular at the competition, and probably hopes to encounter Iron-Tail 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 Freya, Vivi, and Zidane 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; strongest in the competition, and save two children from its fury.

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.