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

—Description

A battle in Lindblum during the 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. It began 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.

Story

Vivi is initially interested in the competition because he has the impression that he will be seeing animals, not battling creatures 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 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 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.

Prizes:

• Freya Add-on : Coral Ring
• Zidane Gil : 5000 Gil
• 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, you must allow the Zaghnol to beat 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 Zanghol. Obviously, for Zidane to be victorious, just fight as many battles as time allows, and make sure to let him put the final blow on the Zanghol.

Music

"Hunter's Chance" is the musical theme that plays throughout the whole event, whether the player is running around the city or fighting a monster.

Trivia

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.