Final Fantasy IX is now 24 years old, and has come a long way from its initial PlayStation exclusive release. Now, it’s available to play on pretty much any platform you can imagine, but all of them benefit from one shared thing — cheats.
Okay look, I’m not suggesting that you should dive right in, enable all of the possible cheats and breeze across Gaia without a care in the world. That would cause you to lose half of the joy that is FFIX. However, if you’re neck deep in a battle and struggling to come out the other side, some of the available cheats can come in really handy.
There are two types of cheats: those that can be turned on and off at will, and those that will permanently alter your save file. There are also a few tips and tricks that might help you in specific circumstances, but more on that later.
Understanding the Impact of Cheats on Trophies and Achievements
There’s good news and bad news on this front. While cheats accessed through the pause menu have absolutely no effect on trophies or achievements, those that are enacted through the configuration menu will remove your ability to gain any trophies or achievements whatsoever.
This is worth bearing in mind before you pull out the big guns and confirm your choices, and means that configuration menu cheats should only be used as an absolute last resort, or if you’ve already completed a playthrough and gained all of the trophies or achievements you want to get.
Exploring the Cheat Options in Final Fantasy IX
There are four cheats, otherwise known as ‘game boosters’, which can be accessed through the pause menu. These can be switched on and off as many times as you like with no long-term effects. They all revolve around battle and can be really useful if you’re low on health or time.
To use any of the following cheats, press pause and then press the corresponding button on your chosen platform:
Battle Assistance
Button:
- PlayStation: L1
- PC: F2
- Nintendo Switch: L
- Xbox: LB
Turning Battle Assistance on will instantly fill up the ATB gauge for each party member, ensuring that you don’t have to wait between turns. It will also keep your health and magic points filled up, pretty much guaranteeing that no one in your party will be knocked out unless they’re the victim of a particularly high-damage attack. Battle Assistance will also enable you to enter Trance Mode at any time, significantly increasing the damage your party can do.
9999 Cheat
Button:
- PlayStation: L2
- PC: F3
- Nintendo Switch: ZL
- Xbox: LT
The 9999 cheat gives you a massive boost in any battle, as it enables any attack that you perform to cause 9999 damage to the victim. While you can use this early in your adventure, it’s better saved for tougher enemies with higher health. This cheat has the same effect on healing spells, making them restore 9999 health.
High Speed Mode
Button:
- PlayStation: R1
- PC: F1
- Nintendo Switch: R
- Xbox: RB
While the battles in FFIX are definitely fun to play through, sometimes the animations and transitions can drag on a bit, especially if this isn’t your first time in a particular battle. High Speed Mode speeds up battles and allows you to play them on fast forward.
Safe Travel
Button:
- PlayStation: R2
- PC: F4
- Nintendo Switch: ZR
- Xbox: RT
The Safe Travel boost will enable you to traverse the wild landscapes without being drawn into a single random battle. However, when enabled, it will also prevent encounters with friendly monsters, and it doesn’t have any effect on event battles, which will still occur.
Configuration Menu Cheats: A Double-Edged Sword
These cheats are an absolute game changer, but as mentioned before, the use of them comes at a price. While they can make your playthrough infinitely easier, you’ll be unable to get trophies or achievements, and using them does somewhat cheapen the first-time experience.
The button to access the configuration menu varies by platform:
- PlayStation: △
- PC: V
- Nintendo Switch: X
- Xbox: Y
With the menu open, scroll down to “Config” and then find the three cheats under “Game Boosters”. As stated on the Config screen, these features cannot be disabled once active, so make sure to think about your decision wisely.
Master Abilities Cheat
When activated, all party members will instantly master any abilities associated with items and equipment that you have in your inventory. This works for both equipment that you already have in your inventory, as well as any further equipment you go on to gain.
Level and Magic Stones Max Cheat
Upon activating this cheat, all party members (including those you’ve already met and any that you gain in the future) will be set at the maximum level of 99. This cheat also provides the maximum amount of 99 Magic Stones, allowing you to teach any party member any ability.
Gil Max Cheat
Using this boost will instantly grant you the maximum amount of Gil you can hold, which is 9,999,999. This is easily enough to get you everything you could possibly dream of, and negates the need to grind for funds in order to get specific items.
Unveiling Tips, Tricks, and Hidden Secrets
While the following tips and tricks can’t be considered cheats, they are definitely helpful exploits. These are best used if you avoid the cheats mentioned above but can assist you along the way.
Easy Leveling Technique
Once you’ve got Quina in your party, head to the outside of Gizmalike’s Grotto and use their Level 5 Death ability against the level 60 Grand Dragons you encounter there. This can easily provide around 8,800 experience points for each party member. For some protection from the Dragon’s Thundaga spells, equip Coral Rings.
Cotton Robe Trick for Gil
If you’re hard-up for Gil and want an easy way to make a lot in a short time period, try making some Cotton Robes. You’ll need to purchase the following ingredients:
- Wrist (130 Gil)
- Purchased from Dali
- Stolen from Masked Man
- Steepled Hat (260 Gil)
- Purchased in Lindblum, Burmecia, Summit Station, or Black Mage Village
- Stolen from Black Waltz 2 or 3
With these two items in your inventory, head to a Synthesis Shop and synthesize them into a Cotton Robe. The synth itself will cost you 1,000 Gil, but the Cotton Robe will then sell for 2,000 Gil. This is an easy 610 Gil profit on each Cotton Robe.
Skip Battle Intro for Faster Gameplay
This is something that can be turned on through the Config menu, and will save you approximately 14 seconds per encounter. That’s a lot of time that can be better spent exploring Gaia. In the same vein, you can also increase the speed at which battles take place by tweaking the “Battle Speed” slider in the same menu.
