Desert Palace

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Vivi inspects a Bloodstone in the Desert Palace.

...Kuja's secret palace is on the eastern side of this continent. It's buried under quicksand. You'll need a ship to get there.

Black Mage No. 288

The Desert Palace (デザートエンプレス, Dezāto Enpuresu?, lit. Desert Empress) is Kuja's lair in Final Fantasy IX, located in the desert on the Outer Continent. It is an immense underground fortress, filled with traps and can only be entered through a mock Antlion pit. Desert Palace is one of only two places where one can obtain the Namingway card, which can be shown to a man in Daguerreo in order to rename the player characters.

Story

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Desert Palace Artwork

The Desert Palace is one of the locations from Terra that ended up on Gaia 5,000 years ago due to Garland's failed attempt to merge the two planets into one.

When the party is captured by Kuja, they are nearly killed when the floors of their cells drop away. Regent Cid manages to save them by releasing them from their cells, and the party begins to search for a way to escape Kuja's fortress.

Navigating the dungeon is tricky and requires the completion of several puzzles, which involve candle lights and hidden passages. The security system of the Desert Palace is the Valia Pira, which the party can make weaker by turning off the Bloodstones scattered across the palace. The Bloodstones also yield treasure for them.

Because of Kuja's request for Zidane and the anti-magic nature of Oeilvert, players tend to send their main physical attackers there, which forces them to rely on magic at the Desert Palace.

Spoilers end here.

Enemies

A battle background in the Desert Palace

• 1x Drakan
• 2x Drakan
• 2x Grimlock
• 1x Ogre
• 2x Ogre
• 1x Torama
• 2x Torama
• 1x Valia Pira (Boss)

Treasures

• Hourglass Key
• Promist Ring
• Fairy Earrings
• Anklet
• Shield Armor
• N-Kai Armlet
• Black Hood
• Venetia Shield
• Namingway card

Shops

Mojito's Mogshop

Item	Gil
Diamond Sword	4,700
Trident	3,580
Mythril Claws	6,500
Magic Racket	1,350
Healing Rod	1,770
Fairy Flute	4,500
Cypress Pile	3,200
Silver Fork	7,400
Pinwheel	200
Rising Sun	500
Chimera Armlet	1,200
Egoist's Armlet	2,000
Diamond Gloves	2,000
Mantra Band	1,500
Dark Hat	1,800
Green Beret	2,180
Cross Helmet	2,200
Brigandine	4,300
Judo Uniform	5,000
Gold Armor	2,950
Potion	50
Hi-Potion	200
Phoenix Down	150
Echo Screen	50
Soft	100
Antidote	50
Magic Tag	100
Remedy	300
Annoyntment	150
Tent	800

Musical Themes

Multiple songs play during the party's time at the Desert Palace, beginning with "The Devil's Ambition," a variation of "Kuja's Theme" also known as "Footsteps of Desire." When Kuja asks Zidane his favor, "Immoral Melody," another variation, plays. "Kuja's Theme" plays as Zidane and his chosen party members make their way to Oeilvert. During Cid's "Red Light, Green Light" minigame, the distinctly cheerful "The Sneaky Frog and the Scoundrel" plays. For the rest of the time spent in this location, "Kuja's Theme (Millennium Version)" plays.

Gallery

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Trivia

• Complementing Kuja's tastes, the Desert Palace contains many works of fine art, including a trio of statues arranged in a triangular fashion. Two of these are decidedly demonic-looking, replete with bat-like wings and tridents, and are referred to as the "Promise of the Evil God" and "Truth of the Devil." The white angelic statue in the middle is called the "Illusion of the Goddess." This is an allusion to the Warring Triad from Final Fantasy VI.
• The Desert Palace can be skipped if the Gold Chocobo Bug is carried out in early versions of the Japanese and North American versions of the game.
• When Zidane is choosing his party for his trip to Oeilvert, the order in which Kuja calls them in their cells depends on the characters' priority. Eiko has top priority over the non-Zidane party members, so she will always be called first regardless of who else is chosen. Steiner has the next highest priority, followed by Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Quina, who can only be called as early as second, and Garnet, who will always be called last.
• The leader of the party in this area depends on whom the player chooses to send with Zidane to Oeilvert. The leader of the party left behind will depend on its members, as well as who has priority over whom. This priority is stated in the above note. Thus, if Zidane's party does not contain Eiko, then she will lead the party through the palace. If Zidane's party does contain Eiko, then Steiner has the next priority to lead. If Zidane takes both Eiko and Steiner, then Vivi has the next priority to lead the party. Finally, if Eiko, Steiner, and Vivi are all sent with Zidane, then Freya will lead the party. Amarant, Quina, and Garnet, the three characters with the lowest priority rankings, are guaranteed not to lead the party in this area.

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