=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= FINAL FANTASY IX Hippaul Racing Guide by Sybillium Version 1.0 sybillium2@hotmail.com 1/1/2001 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction/Version History II. Where do I Race Hippaul? III. How to Play IV. Prizes/Details V. Tips/Techniques VI. FAQs VII. Conclusion/Email/Credits ============================ INTRODUCTION/VERSION HISTORY ============================ Of the many minigames in Final Fantasy IX, I have chosen the Hippaul Racing game to write a FAQ for. Why? Well, it's a tough game, and it can be pretty fun! Most people play it once or twice and simply dismiss it as a stupid way to get common carrds. WRONG! I am near the end of the game, and one of the cards I won here is my BEST card (EA7C). Enjoy, and don't forget to email me! Version 1.0 - Completed 1/1/01 - 8:36:20 PM -Initial Release. Coming soon: Information about Athlete Queen Possibly a list of Hippaul's times for each level ============================ II. WHERE DO I RACE HIPPAUL? ============================ At the beginning of Disc 3, when you control Vivi and are walking around Alexandria, you can race Hippaul. Be warned, this is the ONLY place you can race Hippaul. You'll find Hippaul in the long street in Alexandria, on the left side standing with Hippolady. Talk to Hippolady and say that you want to race Hippaul. ================ III. HOW TO PLAY ================ The basic premise of this minigame is simple. All you must do is alterantely tap SQUARE and TRIANGLE as quickly as possible. The faster you do, the quicker Vivi runs. When you do it slowly, each press of each button corresponds to one stride of Vivi's legs. However, when you tap the buttons very fast, the length of Vivi's strides increases, rather than the amount of strides. Hippaul starts out very, very slow. As you beat him, he increases in level and gets faster and faster. You get prizes (mostly cards) for every ten levels he increases. Here are some additional points you should take note of: 1. Most of the time, each time you race Hippaul, his level increases by one. It will increase by more at the beginning. 2. The maximum level Hippaul can reach is 99. Yes, this means you must race him about 85 times. 3. You can and should start mashing the buttons before Hippolady actually says "GO". This ensures that you start ASAP. 4. At the beginning, Hippaul is painfully slow. Once you get to level 40 or so, though, you must really start paying attention. You'll lose a few times, but it can be overcome. ================== IV. PRIZES/DETAILS ================== Here is a detailed list of the cards you will receive when Hippaul reches certain levels. ___________________________________________________________________ |WYERD | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 10 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |2 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|1M01 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |CARRION WORM | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 20 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |3 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|2M11 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |TANTARIAN | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 30 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |4 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|2M21 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |ARMSTRONG | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 40 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |4 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|5M23 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |RIBBON | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 50 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |8 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|0M68 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |NOVA DRAGON | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 60 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |6 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|EX7B | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |GENJI | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 70 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Card Column |8 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |My card's stats|0P56 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| ___________________________________________________________________ |ATHLETE QUEEN - key item | |___________________________________________________________________| |Obtained at |Level 80 | |_______________|___________________________________________________| |Message |??? | |_______________|___________________________________________________| >>>CREDIT: Thanks to PlayOnline for the info about the Athlete Queen. In the >>>next version of this FAQ, I will have full information about it! ================== V. TIPS/TECHNIQUES ================== What to do: DO use one hand, generally the hand you write with. Use your index and middle fingers, and alternate back and forth very quickly, hardly lifting your fingers from the surface of the controller. DO take frequent breaks. DO create a game save before leaving Alexandria if you give up before getting everything. DO look below for more tips. What NOT to do: DON'T use a finger from each hands to hit the buttons. This causes you to tense up, and your hands can't coordinate the hits that well. DON'T play more than a few races at a time if you're having trouble. After a while, your hands get tired. DON'T watch the screen. Either stare at the controller or a picture or something. Looking at the screen and seeing that Hippaul may be catching up to you causes your fingers to go wild and lose a good, tight rhythm. DON'T give up. You can do it! MORE POINTS OF INTEREST: 1) THIS IS IMPORTANT! Remember, you can always change the buttons you want to push by going to "Config" then "Controller" in the main menu. To set the buttons you want, look at the right column on icons. See the circle and square? To the left of these, input the buttons you want to use. Try the following combinations to see which works best for you. Remember, every person has a different set of hands, so there's no single combination that works best overall. TRIANGLE + X L1 + L2 R1 + R2 X + CIRCLE SQUARE + CIRCLE If you have a Dual Shock controller, the right analog button can actually get in the way if you use Square + Circle once Hippaul starts getting over level 60. Use a different combination. 2) Hippaul actually starts out slow at the beginning of each race and speeds up. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security! ======== VI. FAQs ======== Q. What level are you on? Right now, I'm at level 77. SO close to the big prize! More coming soon! ============================= VII. CONCLUSION/CREDITS/EMAIL ============================= Thank you for using this FAQ! You've just read version 1.0, so I'm the only one to have contributed to it. However, if you have a tip to give, a suggestion to make, or an idea for a future section of this FAQ, contact me at: sybillium2@hotmail.com ICQ: 59862917 AIM: Helmacron4 ===================================== VIII. IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT INFORMATION ===================================== This ENTIRE FAQ is copyright protected. 2000. What does this mean? For one, this means that the FAQ cannot be edited in any way or altered from its original state. This also means that you cannot use the FAQ for profitable purposes. That includes selling it for money, trading it for something else, or giving away as an incentive to attract buyers. So what can you do with this FAQ? -You can read it and use it to help you through the game. -You can print a copy for your own personal use. -You can print out several copies and freely distribute them. FREELY! But you can not... -As I said, use it for any profit. -Edit it in any way. -Include it in any printed work. This includes compilation CDs! You can do the following things by asking my permission first. -Link to it from your own website. _________________________________________________________________ | | | I M P O R T A N T !!!! | |_________________________________________________________________| I DO NOT ALLOW ANY OTHER WEBMASTERS TO POST MY FAQ ON THEIR WEBSITE. This FAQ was written for www.gamefaqs.com and ONLY this website. Please do not ask me for permission to post my FAQ on your website. I will delete it. In the same way, if you find my FAQ on another website, please inform me immediately so I can do something about it! THANK YOU!