Goals and Requirements

Not everyone has the same conception of what constitutes a perfect save. Some are satisfied with getting all items, others with learning all abilities and still others with getting max stats, or any combination of these ideas and more.

Therefore, the guide includes all goals which you may want in your perfect save, and all are accounted for simultaneously. This means that you can complete all of the goals below using the walkthrough; compromise should not be an option for you. This page contains a rundown of the goals behind a perfect save, specifically those that the walkthrough will guide you through.

Obtain "Perfect" amounts of all missable items
A missable item is an item which can no longer be purchased on Disc 4, for example because the shop selling it has changed its inventory or because it is no longer accessible. Once you reach Disc 4, you're left with whatever amount you bought before, if any, and any amount you may find/have found from chests or field icons.

One must define what the perfect amount of missable items is. The general consensus is that this is the highest non-arbitrary amount which can be gotten under the constraints of this challenge, i.e. the 12-hour time limit during which you need to reach Disc 4 and are therefore cut off from all the sources of the missable items.

Specifically, this means "number which can be equipped + 1 copy for your inventory". The former part is clearly the minimum which you should have for your perfect save. The maximum would be 99 (excluding the impractical option of keeping as many as possible equipped and then buying 99). However, this is impossible to achieve for all missable items during this challenge, and any amounts below 99 yet above "number of users + 1" will be arbitrary.

The only amount higher than the minimum which still has some meaningful (i.e. non-arbitrary) use is the above-mentioned "number of users + 1 copy for your inventory". This also avoids the problem of maximum amounts of (missable) synthesized items with missable inputs, the most notorious being Javelin + Silver Gloves = Save the Queen, where all 3 are missable and thus you can't have 99 of all 3 simultaneously. For our purposes, the perfect amount for missable, non-unique items is:

Number which can be equipped + 1

There are 31 items which can no longer be purchased on Disc 4. Of these, 9 are used as synthesis inputs, making another 8 items potentially missable. And 2 of these are needed for further synthesis combinations, which adds 2 more to the count, for a grand total of 41 missable non-unique items in FFIX.

There's no need to buy any of the synthesized items since they can all be purchased on Disc 4 as long as you have the inputs. This means that you only need to buy the 31 basic missables in the right amounts, and can leave the rest of the work for after the challenge. The table below gives an overview:

N = # needed by start of disc 4 P = # needed for perfect amount S = # needed for synthesis of other items B = # bought F = # found or received

NOTE: You won't actually be buying any of these synthesized items until after getting the Excalibur II.

Obtain maximum amounts of all missable unique items
A unique item is an item which is available in a finite quantity no matter how long you play or what you do. Most cannot be bought, and if they can, then only in a limited amount. Naturally, we will want all of these unique copies in our perfect save, and so we'll need to acquire all of the missable ones on the way to the Excalibur II.

With the exception of the Promist Ring (as discussed on its own page), there is little reason to differentiate between maximum and perfect amounts with regard to unique items because all the maximums are less than the perfect amount (or equal in the case of the Blood Sword).

The following table lists all the missable unique items, their maximum quantities and where to get all the copies. Non-missable unique items, such as ultimate weapons and items such as Hammer, are not included since they're not really relevant to the main challenge. Notes
 * Some unique items can be synthesized using other unique items. The quantities provided are maximum quantities without synthesis.
 * There is only 1 Dragon's Claws in the entire game, so do NOT use the Dragon's Claws in a synthesis combination with Tiger Fangs to get Duel Claws. 1 copy of Duel Claws can be stolen from Deathguise. So, you should have 1 Dragon's Claws and 1 Duel Claws in your perfect save.
 * Some of the gems are also temporarily gotten during the Friendly Monsters side-quest, but they cannot be kept without leaving the side-quest incomplete. Those copies are therefore not included here.
 * Ozma holds 4 unique items; 2 Dark Matter, 1 Pumice and 1 Pumice Piece. You must steal a Dark Matter and a Pumice Piece, then end the battle and hope that Ozma drops BOTH a Dark Matter and a Pumice. If not, you will have to reset and try again.

Open all missable chests and search all missable field icons
Since we're going for perfection, we'll want to open all the treasure chests in the game, as well as search all field icons, i.e. the exclamation marks which appear over Zidane's head when he stands near a treasure. Furthermore, you'll be able to collect the Rank S Medal if you do this, which is likewise essential for a perfect save.

However, you'll mainly loot only the missable chests and field icons during the course of this challenge. There really are a lot of them and there's no reason to waste time picking up the non-missable treasures if they aren't useful. Time does really add up doing this!

You can find a complete list of all the game's chests and field icons, with locations and missability, on the Treasure Locations page.

Obtain all missable key items
There are 6 missable key items in FFIX: Moccha Coffee, Burman Coffee, Rank S Medal, Moogle Suit, Autograph and Athlete Queen.

The Moccha Coffee and Burman Coffee are gotten as parts of the Mr. Morrid's Coffee side-quest. The Rank S Medal is gotten after the Excalibur II, but it is possible to miss this key item by not picking up enough treasures before Disc 4. However, since we'll be collecting ALL missable treasure (and can pick up the rest on Disc 4), we'll be meeting the requirements for this key item automatically. The Moogle Suit and the Autograph can both be gotten in Lindblum on Disc 1 after witnessing a short scene with Lowell. The Athlete Queen can ONLY be gotten at the very beginning of Disc 3, when you control Vivi.

There is no justification for not getting any of these key items as they can all be gotten within the limits of this challenge and require no compromises to be made in order to get them. The Athlete Queen may require a lot of time and practice to get, but you'll get it eventually.

Complete a level 1 game
Stats pose the biggest problem in this perfect game challenge, because in order to obtain perfect stats, you must start working on them from Lv 1. Furthermore, you can only work on them after getting the Excalibur II as you are not only limited by the Lv at which you begin, but also by the available selection of equipment. Simply put, you do not have access to all of the necessary equipment until after you get the Excalibur II, and if it is available, then you either don't have the time to actually get it or to level up with it to a meaningful degree. What does this mean for you? It means that you will be playing the whole game at Lv 1!

If the game let you, that is. There are many forced battles in the game and most of them can be won without getting any EXP by using the Stop spell and the Needle Fork's Add Status property, which is Petrify. However, there are 3 battles in which EXP MUST be gained, namely the battles against Amdusias, Abadon and Shell Dragon in Pandemonium. Depending on what your priorities for your perfect save are, you may have to defeat Tantarian and gain his EXP as well. That said, there is an important difference between this challenge's Level 1 Game and the "regular" one:

"The characters who gain EXP from Tantarian and the Pandemonium battles are not restricted from being in the active party. The focus here is the benefit of stat gains rather than self-imposed challenge."

-1whoistornapart

In other words this isn't a true level 1 game, you are staying at level 1 to obtain perfect stats, not to simply complete the whole game at level 1 to challenge yourself.

Don't be intimidated by a Level 1 Game; it has its difficult parts, but it's very fun overall! The issue of the Level 1 Game and max stats is covered in detail in the Perfect Stats page. It's a bit complicated and lengthy, but you have to read and understand it if you want a perfect save which you'll be happy with.

Deliver and read all missable Mognet letters
This is a pretty self-explanatory goal. It would not be a perfect save if you missed any of the letters, as they're a part of the story in a way. Moreover, you have to deliver them in order to revive Mognet Central on Disc 4.

Reading and receiving all other mail is also a part of this goal. That means you will receive all letters addressed to Zidane and read all the letters from Stiltzkin and other moogles to each other. The point is to have all the letters accessible at the end of the game under the moogles' Mognet menus. You did say you wanted a complete and perfect save, didn't you?

The easiest way to achieve this goal is to simply check the Mognet option every time you meet a moogle, even if it is for the second time in a row. If there is anything to read, receive or deliver you will immediately be prompted to do so. Don't worry, though, as the walkthrough will always mention whether and which letters a moogle has at a particular time, as there are some rare instances when you can miss a letter if you don't purposely backtrack.

Here is a list of all the letters which you must deliver and read during the course of the challenge, in chronological order:

Buy all of Stiltzkin's deals
This is an easy goal to accomplish. It is also very profitable, as you actually make a profit from most of his deals, get several copies of unique items, and a Ribbon as a reward for buying all of his offers. They are all listed below in chronological order, with prices:

Burmecia : Ether, Hi-Potion, Soft : [333]

Cleyra Settlement : Hi-Potion, Ether, Phoenix Pinion : [444]

Fossil Roo : Phoenix Pinion, Remedy, Ether : [555]

Mountain Path : Magic Tag, Tent, Ether : [666]

Alexandria : Phoenix Pinion, Hi-Potion, Elixir : [777]

Oeilvert : Hi-Potion, Emerald, Elixir : [888]

Bran Bal : Diamond, Ether, Elixir : [2222]

Alexandria : Moonstone, Ruby, Elixir : [5555]

Complete the Mr. Morrid's coffee side quest
This is also a pretty self-explanatory goal. The reason you have to do this is that Observatory Mountain, Mr. Morrid's home, is locked off on Disc 4. Don't worry, though, it turns out that all 3 coffees are actually along the way and delivering them is also along the way. The walkthrough will guide you in completing this side-quest.

Some people insist on keeping all the coffees, as they are just as unique as the Mini Prima Vista, which appears in the Tantalus hideout. Some would also say that having as many key items as possible is the best. This is partly true, except that it leaves the side-quest incomplete. And after all, side-quests are there for a reason, to be completed. Then again, not completing it lets you keep the coffees in your inventory. In the end, this is a decision which every player must make for him or herself. You can leave this decision up until the beginning of Disc 3, after getting the Burman Coffee.

Defeat all the missable Treno weapon shop monsters
Well, that's all there is to it; defeat Griffin, Catoblepas and Amdusias. You want to be as complete as possible in this challenge and you have to defeat Amdusias anyway as the unique Running Shoes are given as a reward. Thus, you may as well defeat the other 2 monsters for the sake of completion.