Festival of the Hunt The Festival of the Hunt is an annual competition hosted by the church in the Business District of Lindblum in " Final Fantasy IX " . It began centuries prior when the city was but a huge forest . The festival is held on January 20th . Warriors from around Gaia are called upon to test their strength against ferocious beasts . Various creatures are released onto the streets of Lindblum , and can be defeated , each for a certain amount of points . The hunt lasts twelve minutes and whoever has the most points at the end wins the title of Master Hunter . Story . Vivi is initially interested in the competition because a girl in a shop inadvertently gives him the false impression that he will be seeing animals , not battling creatures to the death . It is assumed that he finds out the truth , as he is frightened when he discovers that Zidane has signed him up for the competition , thinking he would do well with his black magic . Freya calls Zidane ' s actions " inconsiderate " . Steiner has a general disdain for Zidane and both he and Garnet end up cheering on Vivi during the competition . Zidane raises the stakes with betting that the victor can go on a date with Garnet , a prospect in which Vivi has no interest . Freya is a regular at the competition , and might hope 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 Zidane , Vivi , and Freya all participate in the hunt , they fight independently unless they run into a Zaghnol , in which case Zidane and Freya join forces to defeat it , the strongest beast the competition , and save two children from its fury . After the rewards are given out , the celebrations are cut short as a messenger arrives with news of Alexandria ' s invasion of Burmecia . The hunt . The player will partake as Zidane , and can keep track of the high score displayed at the top of the screen whenever someone surpasses the previous high score . Despite there being many participants whose names can be spotted on the high score , the player never meets any of them , and the winner is always someone from the player ' s party : Vivi , Freya or Zidane . The other unseen participants include Lani , Amarant ( under the moniker of " Scarlet Hair " or Red ) , Genero , and Quina ( under the moniker of " Strange Gourmand " ) . The previous hunt ' s champion is someone named Belna , who is also participating , but is never seen in - game . Unlike elsewhere in the game , enemies appear on the field and battles are initiated upon coming into contact with them . The results screen is not displayed at the end of the battles and no EXP or other spoils are gained . Points . After killing a monster , Zidane scores points , which range for every battle ; Mus have the lowest maximums , Trick Sparrow s ' amounts are slightly better , and Fangs give the most points . However , the Trick Sparrow in the first area of the Theater District generally gives only 1 - 3 points . For the unique battle against the Zaghnol , the player can earn up to 99 points , although the " Final Fantasy IX Ultimania " mistakenly gave 100 as the maximum score . Zaghnol is found in the Business District ' s Fountain Square , where the shops are , but it won ' t appear until there is less than four and a half minutes left on the clock . Prizes . Each participant chooses their prize . Although the player must play as Zidane , the entire party can benefit as long as one party member wins . Although the player can only control Zidane , and briefly Freya , it is possible to control who wins the festival . For Vivi to win , one must allow the Zaghnol to defeat both Freya and Zidane . To obtain the Coral Ring , the easiest way is to avoid the smaller battles , particularly against Fangs , and ensure Freya 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 . It is either likely or guaranteed for Freya to win if the player has Zidane KO himself . For Zidane to be victorious , one must fight as many battles as time allows , and ensure he puts the final blow on the Zaghnol . In the Steam version , having Vivi secure the victory earns the achievement A - Hunting We Will Go . Musical themes . The aptly named " Festival of the Hunt " is the musical theme that plays throughout the event , whether the player is running around the city or fighting a monster . The track is also available as part of a downloadable " Final Fantasy IX " package in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . Etymology . 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 . The Festival of the Hunt may have been inspired by the practiced mainly in Spain and Portugal , which involves letting loose a dozen or so bulls on a course of a sectioned - off subset of a town ' s streets , and participants have to run in front of them . Unlike bullfights , which are performed by professionals , in the Running of the Bulls anyone may participate .