Final Fantasy IX served as a homage of sorts to the past of Final Fantasy, especially since the past three titles had opted for a more futuristic setting as opposed to its contemporaries. In that sense, Final Fantasy IX definitely served as a breath of fresh air for long-time fans of the series to stick their teeth into.

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The combat of Final Fantasy IX was also simplified to a certain extent, focusing more on pre-set classes and abilities gained through equipment as opposed to a convoluted system that would take some time wrapping one’s head around. That being said, combat isn’t easy by any means, and players need to master this turn-based system if they wish to take care of the following ten monsters in the game, which are easily the toughest enemies that can be encountered in the title.

10 Marlboro

The Marlboro is one of the most infamous enemies in the Final Fantasy series, and its inclusion in Final Fantasy IX definitely lives up to the moniker of being the most annoying enemy to fight in the game.

A Marlboro’s Bad Breath can completely destroy the party in one fell swoop if they’re not prepared, making every encounter with this a nail-biting one.

9 Mover

The sole purpose of the Movers in Final Fantasy IX is to grant as much AP to the party as possible. However, that’s only if the party manages to beat this trio of Movers, which can prove to be quite a task in itself.

What’s worse is that this entire trio can unleash a Delta Attack, which can heavily damage the party, if not take them out in one go.

8 Grand Dragon

The Grand Dragon is one of the most legendary enemies in Final Fantasy IX, mainly due to how early the party can encounter it. Of course, being the strongest enemy in this game, the Grand Dragon can also wipe out said party in one shot.

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The preparations that one needs to go through to defeat this enemy can be quite extensive, but doing so will help ensure an early source of quick level-ups that will make the rest of the game a complete breeze in comparison.

7 Chimera

The Chimera is one of the strongest regular enemies in the entire game, and any party that encounters this enemy will be in for a tough battle indeed. The fact that it counters every attack with some truly devastating moves means that the party needs to be on their A-game if they wish to take care of this enemy with relative ease.

That being said, casting Doom is an easy strategy to defeat the Chimera and attain a ton of EXP and AP.

6 Yan

The Yans are infamous enemies that can prove to be a massive annoyance in battle, even after players go out of their way to engage in combat with these foes.

However, as tough as the Yans may be, they still don’t hold a candle to another enemy that is extremely similar to them… yet can bring in an entirely different world of hurt that most players would prefer avoiding. In fact, this enemy is so strong… that readers won’t even see it until the list nears its end!

5 Tantarian

The Tantarian is one of the more unique enemies in the game, serving as a boss but without any of the boss music or the lack of EXP that differentiates most standard bosses from the rest of the pack.

In fact, encountering the Tantarian can prove to be quite a task in itself. There are only two instances when the party can encounter this boss — either when the party is rescuing Garnet from the castle basement or when the party has to save Garnet and Eiko during the Battle of Alexandria.

Fighting this boss in the first given opportunity is not recommended at all, since the creature will absolutely wipe the floor with them in seconds. Instead, fighting him the second time around is a viable option — something that the game itself acknowledges with a Moogle that saves the player’s game right before the boss fight.

4 Necron

The true real boss of Final Fantasy IX may come out of nowhere, but there’s no denying the fact that Necron is still a very challenging boss fight that can send the party to an early grave if they’re not prepared.

The player needs to truly be on their A-game if they wish to survive this encounter, especially given the massive number of annoying status ailments that this boss can inflict upon the player. However, there’s no denying the fact that defeating this tough boss and finishing the game off is one of the most satisfying moments in Final Fantasy history.

3 Hades

One of the two “official” superbosses in Final Fantasy IX who can truly challenge the player, Hades is easily one of the hardest enemies in Final Fantasy IX.

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Only an optimal setup will ensure that the party isn’t sent into an early grave. Ideally, the party should defeat Hades before he counts down to Doomsday, otherwise, the fight can prove to be a grueling battle of attrition indeed.

2 Yan (Friendly)

The Friendly monsters in Final Fantasy IX generally run away if attacked… except for the Friendly Yan, that is. Attacking this enemy will ensure that the party is guaranteed a world of hurt, especially since it has the hardest physical attack in the entire game that attacks everyone to boot!

Couple this offense with a high evasion stat, and this battle is going to be a long and frustrating one indeed.

1 Ozma

Ozma’s fight is one of the most challenging encounters in Final Fantasy IX, mainly because he can either string together a series of devastating moves or just use comparatively weaker moves that allow the player to deal a ton of damage to Ozma.

This unpredictability is what makes Ozma such an imposing foe — it’s possible that the player can take chances while Ozma is taking it slow… but there’s no guaranteeing when he’ll go off the deep end and completely wipe out the party with his powerful attacks.

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