Final Fantasy IX - Tetra Master

Tetra Master

	Tetra Master is Final Fantasy IX's card game. Once you have five cards in your possession, you can challenge people to play with the square button. (If the person you challenge is not a card player, this will just result in a brief conversation.) Cards can be acquired through winning card games, but they can also be found in chests. They sometimes drop after battle, as well, though not all enemies will drop their own cards. At one point in the game, you must play Tetra Master to allow the story line to progress, so it is important to have some decent cards by then.

You can never carry more than 100 cards, so it is important to keep an eye on your card inventory, and dispose of duplicates that you don't want. Cards have a varying number of arrows on them, from 0 to 8, arranged randomly. They also have four letters or numbers on them, which determine how strong they are, and what form that strength takes.

At the beginning of a game, you must choose five cards from your inventory, and then a 4 x 4 square game board appears, with a number of spaces (from 0 to 6) blocked off in a random arrangement. A coin is flipped to determine who goes first - the player (blue) or the NPC opponent (orange). It is something of a disadvantage to have to go first, but the quality of your cards and how you play matters much more.

One of the most confusing things about the game, if you aren't used to it, is the fact that the numbers are given in hexadecimal form. Zero is the lowest and E is the highest. The first character given on the card is the attack power, or strength. The second character indicates whether the card will execute a physical attack (P), a magical attack (M), an attack on whichever defense number is lower on the opponent's card (X), or an attack on the opposing card's lowest attribute (A). The third character is the card's physical defense. The final character is the card's magical defense.

When placed side by side on the game board, the cards will react in one of several ways. If there are no adjacent arrows, nothing will happen. If there is an arrow on one card facing a side without an arrow on the opposing card, the opposing card will be flipped and change to the other color, indicating a change of alignment. If two cards are placed side by side and have arrows facing each other, a battle will occur. If more than one set of arrows is in competition, you will have to choose which card to battle first. Choose carefully, because the order may determine the outcome. If you can choose to battle a weaker card first that has arrows that will flip other cards if it loses, you may eliminate the need to battle any others on that turn.

	The results of a battle will depend on the stats of each card. A certain attack number will appear for the attacking card, and a defense number will appear for the defending card. As the cards battle, both numbers will decrease (as if the cards are depleting their energy), and one card will be victorious. The losing card will change to the color of the opponent's cards. If the losing card has arrows facing other cards of its own color without arrows, these will be flipped also. This is called a combo. Playing a card with lots of arrows can be of great help to you in making combos, but it can also be devastating if your opponent gains control of that card. The player with control of six or more cards at the end of the game is the winner. If each player ends with five cards of his color, the game is a draw. After a game, you will be given the option to play a rematch.

The winner of the game will normally be allowed to choose one of the loser's cards that ended the game with its color changed. However, if one player wins the game with all the opponent's cards changed, this is called a Perfect, and will result in winning all of the cards. If you play very much, you may notice the stats of the cards you are playing with changing. The cards level up, in effect, and their stats increase gradually, making them more difficult to beat. This is a slow process, however.

The card menu will show your Collector's Rank. It is determined by the number of cards you have, their uniqueness in your collection, and their level. If you can manage to obtain one of each of the 100 different types of cards, each having a different arrow alignment, and each having leveled up to attack type A, you will receive the maximum Collector's Rank. (It should be noted that you will not really benefit from this. Unlike in Final Fantasy VIII, in which the cards could be transformed into useful items, the cards in Final Fantasy IX have no other real significance. So the Collector's Rank is all about bragging rights. Consider this before putting a massive number of hours into Tetra Master, unless you just enjoy playing it that much.)

A true card enthusiast should not fail to complete the Chocobo Hot and Cold mini-game, because many rare cards can be acquired through it. If you are missing some rare cards, you should try challenging the five phantom card masters that appear in Memoria at the very end of the game. Each one carries rare cards, but they are tough competitors. I would recommend saving the game before challenging one of them, and saving the game if you win a rare card.