Zidane is the main playable character in Final Fantasy IX. He is a Thief who wields daggers and thief swords in battle. His special command is Steal and his skillset is Skill. His Trance transforms his Skill into Dyne, which has various damage-dealing abilities. Zidane is a mandatory party member for most of the game, but can be taken out of the party for the final dungeon.
Zidane has two victory poses, depending on if he is wielding a dagger or a thief sword. When he equips a dagger, he back-flip twice, then hold his right hand in the air. When he equips a thief sword, he will spin it above his head before standing it on the ground.
Abilities[]
Support abilities[]
Zidane, being a melee character, learns most of the Killer abilities as well as MP Attack and Counter. The thief abilities are unique to him, as well as the Protect Girls ability.
Steal[]
Steal items from enemy.
Description
The Steal ability allows players to steal items from an enemy. Some items can only be obtained by stealing, and sometimes, players only get one shot at stealing it. Steal can be augmented with the abilities Flee Gil, Steal Gil, Master Thief, Mug, and Bandit. Zidane's Thievery skill is directly linked to the number of successful steals performed times half of his speed; with enough steals, the player can power it up to deal 9,999 damage.
Zidane can steal more than once from the same opponent; each opponent has between one and four items available and their list is set. Some items are easier to steal than others. After an enemy has been stolen from, it still may drop items upon defeat.
Without Bandit, the formula for Steal hitting a target is as follows:[1]
- Atk = Level + Spirit
- Def = Enemy Level
If Atk is equal or greater than Def, Steal succeeds. If Bandit is equipped, this step is ignored and Steal will always hit the target.
After Steal has successfully hit the target, the chances for stealing from each slot is as follows:
| Item Rarity | Success Rate | Master Thief |
|---|---|---|
| Very Rare | 1/256 | 32/256 (1/8) |
| Rare | 16/256 (1/16) | 32/256 (1/8) |
| Uncommon | 64/256 (1/4) | 64/256 (1/4) |
| Common | 256/256 (100%) | 256/256 (100%) |
Steal will first attempt the rare slot. If that fails, Steal moves on to the next most common slot. A successful Steal from an empty slot results in a failed Steal attempt. If the Master Thief ability is equipped, it changes the Steal rate for rare and semi-rare items to 32/256 instead, and allows Steal to ignore empty slots.
Therefore, with Bandit and Master Thief both equipped, if the target has a common item, Steal will have 100% success of stealing one of the items.
Skill[]
The Skill command is Zidane's unique battle skillset that gives him various abilities that enhance his role as a fighter and as a thief, like detecting what items an enemy holds for stealing and inflicting the status ailment from his weapon upon targets. When learning a Skill, he also learns the adjoining Dyne attack (see below) for use in Trance. If Zidane equips multiple items that teach the same ability, the rate the ability is learned is multiplied by the number of items (e.g. equipping a Dagger and Germinas Boots simultaneously teaches Zidane the ability Flee at twice the speed).
Trance[]
When in Trance, Zidane's Skill command changes to Dyne. Dyne raises his physical attack power and offers attacks that can damage single or multiple enemies. Zidane's Dyne and Skill abilities are connected, as he needs to learn a Skill to unlock the corresponding Dyne. Zidane automatically trances in the battle against Prison Cage.
Stats[]
Zidane has all around good stats.
Equipment[]
Mage Masher artwork.
Zidane wields daggers and thief swords. He wields them in the "icepick grip" style, as opposed to the traditional "hammer grip". Whenever Zidane equips a dagger, he holds it in his right hand, as the left hand wields his unique weapon, the Orichalcum. The Elite Mark Gilgamesh recognizes this as Zidane's trademark weapon, having a fake version of his own in Final Fantasy XII, which is far longer than Zidane's. Zidane's other trademark weapon is the Mage Masher, which he wields in Dissidia Final Fantasy and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy.
He can equip light armor, which consist of vests, arm guards, and hats.
- Hats
- Armlets
- Light armor
- Add-ons
- Battle Boots
- Black Belt
- Coral Ring
- Dark Matter
- Desert Boots
- Fairy Earrings
- Feather Boots
- Germinas Boots
- Glass Buckle
- Gold Choker
- Madain's Ring
- Magician Shoes
- Power Belt
- Promist Ring
- Protect Ring
- Pumice
- Pumice Piece
- Rebirth Ring
- Reflect Ring
- Ribbon
- Rosetta Ring
- Running Shoes
- Sandals
- Yellow Scarf
- Jewels
Zidane starts out equipping Dagger, Leather Hat, Wrist, and Leather Shirt.
Zidane's ultimate weapon is the Ultima Weapon obtained by using a Dead Pepper while riding Choco on the spot where Shimmering Island is marked on the map in the endgame.
Enemy[]
Zidane is a mandatory party member to take to Oeilvert, and thus the player may face a mirror copy of him in battle, spawned by an Epitaph. The enemy will deal 9,999 damage to Zidane, but regular damage to everyone else.
Quests[]
Zidane is the player's controlled character most of the time. Eiko usually takes priority as party leader if Zidane is not available. He fights a boss alone (Black Waltz 1 & Sealion) in the Ice Cavern, and is the player's controlled character in the Festival of the Hunt (see below) though there is no necessity to win it. After the festival, the party splits, and the player alternates between playing as Zidane and as Dagger/Steiner until the parties reunite in Alexandria Castle. Afterward, the party splits again and Zidane's party heads to the Outer Continent, where, if Zidane and Dagger are both alive in the battle party when Eiko summons before they reach Madain Sari, some unique dialogue happens.
After returning from the Outer Continent, the party splits again when most follow Zidane to Treno. During the card tournament story event there, the player can leave and head to the world map and to Dali through the Aerbs Mountains. This is the only time the player can get the Mayor's Key item from the Mayor's House in Dali, which is needed to get the coffee beams Morrid is after. If the player viewed an Active Time Event with Vivi and had him visit home, the player can find him there and have two party members for the trip instead of just Zidane.
Zidane and Quina in Earth Shrine.
When visiting the Desert Palace, the party again splits and Zidane must head to Oeilvert, the player being able to pick whom to send with him out of the rest of the party. During the time the party splits to tackle the elemental shrines simultaneously, only Zidane's portion is playable. Zidane pairs up with Quina to take on the Earth Shrine and fight the boss Earth Guardian. In Bran Bal, Zidane briefly leaves the party but is playable against during the "You're Not Alone" segment, where his party members join him one by one for set battles.
In Memoria and Crystal World, the player can remove Zidane from the active party by interacting with the save points.
Zidane at the Festival of the Hunt[]
Zidane at the Festival of the Hunt.
Though the player participates in the festival in Lindblum as Zidane, the party members Vivi Ornitier and Freya Crescent also take part. Zidane's prize is 5000 Gil. For Vivi to win, one must allow the Zaghnol to defeat both Freya and Zidane. For Freya to win, the easiest way is to avoid the smaller battles and ensure she strikes the killing blow on the Zaghnol. In some versions of the game, Zidane must be KO'd for Freya to slay Zaghnol, otherwise it will not fall regardless of how much HP it should have left. For Zidane to be victorious, one must fight as many battles as time allows, and ensure he puts the final blow on the Zaghnol.
Gambling minigame[]
The Nero Brothers briefly host a gambling minigame in Alexandria's weapon shop after the party returns there from the Outer Continent. The minigame is only available when the player controls Zidane. The minigame is a shell game: the three brothers shuffle their positions and ask the player to identify one of them. After a correct answer, the player can continue or stop and receive a reward. After a wrong answer, the player loses the money they wagered. The only reward is gil, and the prize sum rises all the way up to 25,600.
The player can use the 
to pause the game during the shuffle to make it easier.
Beating the brothers in the game nine successive times earns the Found in the Shuffle achievement/trophy in the latest versions.
References[]
- ↑ Rebirth Flame (n.d.) . Final Fantasy IX – Battle Mechanics Guide. GameFAQs. Archived from the original on 26 June, 2021.