Now you're on stage as Zidane, playing out the story of poor Marcus who can't be with his princess love. You first go into a fake fight on stage with King Leo, You fight with yourself, Marcus, Cinna, and Blanc.

After that, you're in a stage fight which needs some concentration. You need to hit a total of 50 keystrokes very quickly in order to get the perfect 100 score. Screw up completely for one point :) If you make one or two mistakes you can get into the 76 range. Around 75 the audience will start demanding encores. If you get over 90 points the Queen will be impressed. I got up to 94 points and got 863 gil in return. The rumor is if you get a full 100 points that you get 10,000 gil. I wouldn't fight for it myself, it's easy enough to get lots of gil as you go through the game. Usually I have more than I need.

Now you go up the stairs in the castle. You can't go to the sides - you're just told to hide again. At the top of the stairs you find the Princess trying to run out. Look at her face, and talk with her a bit, and she'll run past you. Now you become Captain Steiner, the dim-witted tin man of the game.

Final Fantasy IX Walkthrough Index