The Advance Walkthrough and Battle Tactics Guide; WoB Version 1.0 Djibriel, August 2007 "It doesn't seem fair, does it?" - Final Fantasy IIIus ad ..."The OC guide to beating the game while rabid and one-armed making clever use of a wall" - Imzogelmo Contents No number: Contents Foreword (11/14/2005, by Imzogelmo) 1.0 Version History 2.0 Introduction 3.0 Set-up of the document, and slang you're going to start recognizing 4.0 The Walkthrough 5.0 Menus and Game Options: As boring as a concrete floor in math class 6.0 Characters. Poor saps. 7.0 Game mechanics; real quick, I promise 8.0 Not Infrequently Asked Questions 9.0 Espers and their Magicite 10.0 Final Fantasy VI Junkie links and contact information 11.0 Credits; People I love because they've done things I wanted them to do No number: Disclaimer ********************************** Foreword (11/14/2005, by Imzogelmo) ********************************** The year was 1994. Until that time, humanity seemed a bleak existence -- why, the 20th century alone saw the world ravaged by two world wars, a tense period known as the Cold War, and various regional conflicts. Finally, in the latter decades of the century, a new ray of hope emerged -- the video game. Instead of fighting and killing one another, now mankind could do so vicariously or, if it was preferred, two could team up and do battle against a fictional foe. Like all forms of expression, the video game underwent many reformations (or generations) before the recipe became "just right." Several genres of game sprang into being: platform games, shoot-em-ups, action/adventures, sports, puzzlers, fighting games, and RPGs. Each type of game appealed to a different type of player or interest, and all the while advances were being made both in capacity of games' data and complexity of the hardware used to run it. By the early 1990's, the types of presentation that would work with a given genre were well-established, and players could afford to specialize in a particular genre without narrowing the field of games too greatly. That brings us back to 1994, or, as Nintendo called it, "The year of the cartridge." In that year, _Final_Fantasy_VI_ was released, and there was much rejoicing. The genre was RPG; the fictional foe was the evil Emperor Gestahl, and later, the pompous nihilist Kefka. Sure, there were other RPGs before it, but none that struck the perfect balance of character similarity vs. diversity, importance of storyline vs. gameplay, and plot linearity vs. non-linearity. The depth of characters and robustness of the game engine (plus the time investment required to fully explore the nuances of the game) made this one of the highest-rated games in terms of replayability. Furthermore, the vivid graphics and moving musical score made it a complete experience, not just a game. "But it is just a game!" I hear someone in the back say. No, it is not just a game. In the fast-paced world where information is old as soon as it can be emailed, a video game generally has a very small window of time that it is considered new or exciting. For the early history of video games that may not have been so true, but for the entire history of this game, the internet has been a very influential medium for discussion among players. For many fans of the series, this is still the greatest game, in spite of the hype surrounding some of its successors. So no, it is not "just a game" -- it is a culture. And like many great cultures, it needs great works to explain, enhance, and record its story. To document every piece of useful (and no-so-useful) data on a culture -- that's a difficult task. Many approximations have come forward, but always they have had inaccurate, inconsistent, or insufficient information. That is not meant as an insult on previous guides -- like I said, it's difficult. Much information has been uncovered through deliberate playing and replaying of the game, through hacking its internal code and data, and through combined effort of its many fans. This guide seeks to improve upon and surpass all previous attempts. This guide seeks to be the great work of which I speak. This guide covers _everything_. ********************************** 1.0 Version History ********************************** Version History: - Version 1.0 (10/17/2007) Initial release. This document is primarily a kind of upgrade over my FF VI walkthrough for the SNES. Version 1.7 was used as a basis. You can check the SNES document for a longer version history. ********************************** 2.0 Introduction ********************************** Hi, I'm Djibriel. 'Sup? A very important thing to realize about this document is that it's a translation of a SNES-based document which can be found elsewhere on this site. Too bad for you lot it was done by the document's original author, that being me, so you have little room for complaining about translation 'errors' and my apparant inability to capture the original document's air. Don't forget, oh perfect reader, I know you better than you know yourself >:) The original document was first released in November 2005, and we're roughly two years down the road now. It may seem weird to some that 'simply 'adapting the original 1381 kB file took about as long as writing the monstrosity in the first place, but you'd be surprised at how much work it is! Saint Jerome and Ted Woolsey would've shared my pain I'm sure, had they not passed away 16 centuries ago. At the very start of this document I'd like to mention that none of this would have ever happened if there weren't so many righteous characters out there who advised my walkthrough to people on the message boards, who e-mailed me just to say they enjoyed the FAQ in one way or another or otherwise made me feel like I didn't spend all this time just for personal enjoyment... I had a market to work for. Hotels around the globe replaced their Holy Bible with a printed version of the Battle Tactics Walkthrough. Rumors have comely women carry snippets of my guide in their panties to feel sexier and more confident. Like Stephen King and Robert Jordan, I had to struggle to deliver my ultimate work before Death's ever-fickle hand took me in its grip. Before you, you see the results. The all-inclusive Walkthrough and Battle Tactics Guide for Final Fantasy VI Advance. But what is this document you're seeing? Does it really contain everything? Is it some kind of Hitchhiker's Guide to FF VI Advance? The Encyclopedea CCLV VI Supremea? The Cosmog Sutra, where you'll learn all about Tantric Gameplay (lasts for hours; winning the battle is NOT the main goal)? I think the best mental image of the document can be extracted from all the following possible titles that have passed the revue while creation of the original document was still a process of the present: (by PrattDaBard, of which the last part of his name is more apt than the middle part will reveal) "The Spoiler-Filled Walkthrough" "The Ecumencial FF3 Encyclopedia" "The Compendious FF3 Companion" "The Un-Restricted FF3 Reader" "FF3: an Exhaustive Exhortation" "The All-Inclusive FF3 Compendium" "The Far-Reaching FF3 FAQ" "FF3 for Fools" "A Discursive Dissertation on FF3" "A Panoptic FF3 Primer" "FF3: The Liberal Lexicon" "The Hefty FF3 Handbook" "The Full FF3 Folio" "Djibriel's Dictionary" (by Imzogelmo) "Everything You Always Wanted to Know about FF3 (But Would've Got Flamed for Asking)" "640 KB Ought to be Enough for Anybody" (ed: 640. Heh) "The FF3 Bible" "Detailed Journal of Information By Resolute, Industrious Exploratory Learning" (ed: I especially loved this one, people with thinking brains can figure out why) (by assassin) "Mages are from Thamasa, Warriors are from Doma" "An Idiot's A-Z guide to FF3: from Albrook to Tzen" "Gestahl: The Man, the Dog, the Legend" "101 Easy Pet Care Tips for your Emperor" "Just Hold it 'til Vector: A Globetrotter's Guide to Bladder Control" "I Feel Safe in Suits: Gary Newman's Easy Tutorial to Dancing in Magitek" "Djibriel's Humility Fest" --Warning At the time of writing I have written four documents in total, all meant for Final Fantasy III for the SNES and/or Final Fantasy VI Advance for the GBA. Though the Level # Lore and Sketch Guides are more novelty knowledge than anything, grabbing my Rage Guide off the shelves could be a worthy addition, even though all directly important information is given in this document as well. My style is verbose. This document is meant for players who like to take their time for games, who like to know background information, a little extra suspense, detailed explanation for equipment choices and technique formulas. It doesn't matter if you're a first-time player or a veteran FF junkie as it gives both basic descriptions and advanced info, but as long as you like to dive in there, it's cool. However, if you're repelled by overly verbose descriptions, if you like your walkthroughs clean and quick and to the point with tables and abbreviations and all that, there are other documents for you. The one I'd like to specifically mention is the one written by Lufia_Maxim. As you can read in its final chapter, it was greatly influenced by this very, at the time untranslated document. It's got all but the useless info and it's only half the size, so he must've been doing something right. ********************************** 3.0 Set-up of the document, and slang you're going to start recognizing ********************************** First off: if you have a question, I've answered it. That's the premise we're working with here. If the question you have seems oddly GENERAL to you, as in: is of influence through the entire game, you won't find it in the Walkthrough; you will find it in the FAQ at the bottom. So, if you want to know about stats, or what-does-this-do or something, go there. Obviously, this document will use the new translation used by the GBA version of the game. Boo for Ted Woolsey, give it up for Tom Slattery! SNES: Release Data Final Fantasy VI Square Enix 04/02/94 JP Final Fantasy III Square Enix 10/20/94 US PAL version: Release Data Final Fantasy VI (w/FFX Demo) Sony Interactive Studios America 03/01/02 EU Final Fantasy VI Square Enix 03/11/99 JP Anthology: Release Data Final Fantasy Anthology Electronic Arts 05/17/02 EU Final Fantasy Anthology Square Enix 09/30/99 US GBA: Release Data Final Fantasy VI Advance Square Enix 11/30/06 JP Final Fantasy VI Advance Nintendo 02/05/07 US Final Fantasy VI Advance Nintendo 06/29/07 EU Slang: Ctrl + F: That most holy of combos, the road to salvation. Had enough of the ridicule of those more adapted to today's lifestyle than you? Have you been bossed around by the 'elite' for far too long? Don't take it out on the naturally superior, but Physician, heal thyself: Ctrl + F is the search function. Learn to love it like your long-lost little brother. ST: Single-target. It targets a single target. MT: Multi-target. It targets multiple targets, in most cases all. LLG: Low Level Game. A playthrough in which the level of the characters is kept as low as possible. The current lowest score has been an average of around 7.2, ranging from 6 to 13. NMG: Natural Magic Game. Called a challenge while it's really not, it just prevents you from equipping espers and items which teach spells. Naturally learned Magic and Lores are allowed. !Special: It's great to have an obvious distinction between spells and Special attacks, the modified physical attacks which either set a status effect, do x times as much damage as the normal physical attack or drain HP/MP. Every Special I've listed in this document (that's quite a lot) is preceded by an exclamation point to identify it as such. My Sketch Guide already featured this. The exclamation point doesn't find any feedback in the game whatsoever, and isn't canon in the current other documents out there, but I felt it was a good idea. One-hit KO attack: One-hit KO attacks are attacks that check for the one-hit KO protection bit. Most of the time, these attacks set KO (Death, Snare, ectera), but other attacks also use this feature, most noticeably percentage-based attacks like Gravity and Cyclonic. Several Petrifying spells will check for one-hit KO next to Petrify protection and the oddball Cloudy Heaven and the level-halving attack Dischord also check for it. The X-type one-hit KO of the Assassin's Dagger, Viper Darts, Ichigeki, Wing Edge and the dicing effect of the Zantetsuken also check for one-hit KO protection. The following attacks are one-hit KO attacks: Roulette, Break, Gravity, Death, Graviga, Tornado, Banish, Zantetsuken (Odin), Shin-Zantetsuken (Raiden), Demon Eye (Catoblepas), Oblivion, Tiger, Antlion, Cave in, Cockatrice, Snare, Snowball, Sonic Boom, Air Anchor, Chain Saw's one- hit KO attack, Banisher, Doom, Dischord, Lv. 5 Death, Roulette, Blaster, Cyclonic, Gravity Bomb, Cloudy Heaven, Shamshir, Sabre Soul, Star Prism Note that this makes Joker's Death the only KO-setting attack that doesn't check for the bit, and Dread Gaze the only 'normal' Petrify-setting attack that doesn't check for one-hit KO protection. In addition, while Diablos' Dark Messenger attack and Gravija are both percentage-based attacks, neither checks for immunity to one-hit KO attacks. (Enemy) Meteor, (Umaro) Snowstorm: Both Meteor and Snowstorm, as attacks, have two incarnations in this game. There's the Meteor spell, an unblockable spell that deals non-elemental barrier-piercing damage to all targets. And then there's the enemy attack Meteor, which is blockable to the point of being rather inaccurate but a lot more powerful. When I'm talking about the spell Meteor, I'll just call it Meteor. The enemy attack Meteor is called "(enemy) Meteor" in this document to differate between the two. In addition, there are two kinds of Snowstorm attacks. The enemy attack Snowstorm, which is a weak MT Ice-elemental attack used by the Megalodoth monsters at the beginning of the game. And then there's Umaro's Snowstorm, which is far stronger but not Umaro-exclusive. Gau has access to the attack through, for instance, the Black Dragon Rage. The first will be called Snowstorm, the latter "(Umaro) Snowstorm". Redux: The Dragon's Den features eight new elemental dragons. They're called exactly the same and they look exactly the same. To differate between the two sets of dragons, I've given the Dragon's Den version the title 'Redux'. It sounds cool, and it helps :) It's Latin for 'brought back', and if anything, it references Apocalypse Now: Redux, which is an awesome movie. ********************************** 4.0 The Walkthrough ********************************** Table of Contents: 4.1.1 Prelude: The attack on Narshe 4.1.2 Prelude: The newly dug mineshaft 4.1.3 Prelude: The battle with Ymir 4.2.1 Old Man's House 4.2.2 Escape through the mines 4.3.1 Defending Terra from the Guard Leader 4.4.1 Adventuring School 4.4.2 Traveling to Figaro Castle 4.5.1 Figaro Castle 4.5.2 Fighting off Magitek power 4.6.1 Traveling through Figaro Cave 4.7.1 South Figaro 4.7.2 The Overworld Map around South Figaro 4.8.1 Sabin's Hut 4.8.2 Mt. Koltz 4.8.3 The battle with Vargas 4.9.1 Traveling to the Returners' Hideout 4.9.2 The Returners' Hideout 4.10.1 Escaping over the Lethe River 4.10.2 The first fight with Ultros 4.11.1 Choosing a scenario 4.12.1 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Lethe River continued 4.12.2 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Traveling to Narshe 4.12.3 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Narshe 4.13.1 Scenario Sabin: Meeting Shadow and finding the Imperial Camp 4.13.2 Scenario Sabin: The Imperial Camp and Doma 4.13.3 Scenario Sabin: Satellite and the Imperial Camp continued 4.14.1 Scenario Sabin: Traveling to the Phantom Forest 4.14.2 Scenario Sabin: The Phantom Forest 4.15.1 Scenario Sabin: The Phantom Train 4.15.2 Scenario Sabin: Apparition and the Phantom Train continued 4.15.3 Scenario Sabin: The battle with the Phantom Train 4.16.1 Scenario Sabin: Traveling to Baren Falls 4.16.2 Scenario Sabin: Baren Falls 4.16.3 Scenario Sabin: Traveling over the Veldt to Mobliz 4.17.1 Scenario Sabin: Mobliz 4.17.2 Scenario Sabin: Recruiting Gau 4.17.3 Scenario Sabin: Crescent Mountain 4.18.1 Scenario Sabin: The Serpent Trench 4.18.2 Scenario Sabin: Nikeah 4.19.1 Scenario Locke: South Figaro 4.19.2 Scenario Locke: Secret Underground Passge of South Figaro 4.20.1 Scenario Locke: Traveling to Figaro Cave 4.20.2 Scenario Locke: Figaro Cave 4.20.3 Scenario Locke: The battle with Tunnel Armor 4.21.1 Defending the esper from Kefka 4.21.2 Hell's Rider 4.21.3 The battle with Kefka 4.22.1 Narshe 4.23.1 Traveling to Kohlingen and optional trip to the Veldt 4.24.1 Kohlingen 4.25.1 Traveling to Jidoor 4.25.2 Jidoor 4.26.1 Zozo 4.26.2 Chainsaw Riddle and Zozo continued 4.26.3 The battle with Dadaluma and the meeting with Ramuh 4.27.1 Magicite and Owzer's Mansion in Jidoor 4.28.1 The Opera House 4.28.2 The Dream Oath 4.28.3 Stopping Ultros 4.28.4 The second fight with Ultros 4.29.1 The Blackjack 4.30.1 Albrook 4.30.2 Traveling on the Southern Continent 4.30.3 The Imperial Observation Post 4.30.4 Tzen 4.30.5 Maranda 4.31.1 Vector 4.31.2 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Magitek Factory 4.31.3 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; The Pit 4.31.4 The battle with Ifrit and Shiva 4.31.5 Imperial Magitek Research Facility 4.31.6 The battle with Number 024 4.31.7 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Mine Cart Ride 4.31.8 The battle with Number 128 4.32.1 Escaping Vector 4.32.2 The battle with the Cranes 4.33.1 Zozo; Terra's flashback 4.34.1 Airship Exploitation: Seraph 4.34.2 Airship Exploitation: Auction House: Golem and Zona Seeker 4.34.3 Airship Exploitation: Locating Grenade 4.34.4 Airship Exploitation: Obtaining Gaia Gear 4.34.5 Airship Exploitation: Intangir 4.34.6 Airship Exploitation: Veldt hunting 4.34.7 Intermezzo; espers 101 4.35.1 Allied Narshe 4.35.2 Lone Wolf persecution and recruiting Mog 4.35.3 Dance lessons, including Water Harmony 4.36.1 Cave to the Sealed Gate 4.36.2 Gil Toss and Cave to the Sealed Gate continued 4.37.1 esper rampage; Snake Eyes 4.38.1 Vector; Imperial palace 4.38.2 The Banquet 4.38.3 Items of the Imperial Observation Post and Setzer's cutscene 4.39.1 Departing from Albrook 4.40.1 Traveling to Thamasa; Crescent Island 4.40.2 Thamasa 4.40.3 The Burning Mansion 4.40.4 The battle with Flame Eater 4.41.1 Leaving Thamasa 4.41.2 Crescent Island's Eastern Mountains 4.41.3 The third fight with Ultros 4.41.4 Relm and the espers' gathering place 4.42.1 Epilogue 4.42.2 Leo versus Kefka 4.43.1 Airship Exploitation: Rage and Lore hunting 4.43.2 Airship Exploitation: Doma Castle 4.44.1 Preparation for the Floating Continent 4.44.2 Imperial Air Force 4.44.3 The fourth fight with Ultros 4.44.4 The battle with Air Force 4.45.1 The Floating Continent 4.45.2 Gigantos and the Floating Continent continued 4.45.3 The decisive battle with Ultima Weapon 4.45.4 Kefka's Betrayal 4.45.5 Escape from the Floating Continent 4.45.6 The battle with Nelapa and Exit Take note that this is a walkthrough for the first half of the game; the World of Balance. Right now the GBA version of the second half isn't done yet, but the SNES walkthrough for the second half can be found here: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/final_fantasy_iii_l_2.txt Table of Contents: 4.46.1 Intermezzo; The Solitary Island 4.46.2 Intermezzo; Saving Cid 4.47.1 The World of Ruin 4.47.2 Albrook 4.48.1 En route to Tzen 4.48.2 Tzen; the Light of Judgment 4.48.3 Tzen; the Collapsing House 4.49.1 The Serpent Trench 4.49.2 The tail of the Serpent Trench; Mobliz 4.49.3 The fight with Phunbaba 4.50.1 The head of the Serpent trench; Nikeah 4.51.1 South Figaro; Gerad and the Crimson Robbers 4.51.2 Pursuing Gerad and the Crimson Robbers 4.51.3 Pursuing Gerad and the Crimson Robbers; Cave of Figaro 4.51.4 Pursuing Gerad and the Crimson Robbers; Figaro Castle 4.51.5 The fight with the Tentacles 4.52.1 Figaro Castle 4.52.2 En route to Kohlingen 4.53.1 Kohlingen 4.53.2 Dragon's Neck Colosseum 4.53.3 Daryl's Tomb 4.53.4 The fight with Presenter 4.53.5 The fight with Dullahan 4.54.1 Airship Exploitation: Visiting Maranda 4.54.2 Airship Exploitation: The Overworld Map 4.54.3 Airship Exploitation: Master Duncan; completing Sabin's training 4.54.4 Airship Exploitation: Obtaining Palidor 4.54.5 Airship Exploitation: Visiting Jidoor 4.54.6 Airship Exploitation: The Auction House 4.54.7 Airship Exploitation: Fanatics Tower 4.54.8 Airship Exploitation: Thamasa 4.54.9 Airship Exploitation: Dragon's Neck Colosseum 4.54.10 Airship Exploitation: Doom Gaze 4.55.1 Narshe 4.55.2 Narshe's Snowfields; the battle with Ice Dragon 4.55.3 Narshe's Snowfields; the battle with Tritoch 4.55.4 Umaro's Cave; the battle with three Pugs 4.55.5 The battle with Umaro 4.55.6 The Moogle Raid 4.56.1 The battle with Phunbaba 4.57.1 Following the pigeon 4.57.2 Mount Zozo 4.57.3 The battle with Storm Drgn 4.57.4 Cyan Garamonde 4.58.1 The Veldt 4.58.2 The Cave of the Veldt and Allo Ver 4.58.3 The battle with SrBehemoth 4.59.1 Thamasa and the Colosseum once again 4.61.1 Jidoor; Owzer's Mansion 4.61.2 Owzer's Mansion, the Magic House 4.61.3 Owzer's Mansion, the battle with Chadarnook 4.62.1 Obtaining Strago 4.62.2 Bulking up the Thamasian Two 4.62.3 The battle with Dirt Drgn 4.62.4 Gungho's assignment; Ebot's Rock 4.62.5 The battle with Hidon 4.63.1 Another Colosseum trip 4.64.1 Doma Castle 4.64.2 Cyan's Soul 4.64.3 Cyan's Soul; the battle with the Dream Stooges 4.64.4 Cyan's Dream; the Phantom Train? 4.64.5 Cyan's Dream; Mechanical mines 4.64.6 Cyan's Dream; Doma Castle 4.64.7 Cyan's Dream; the battle with WrexSoul 4.65.1 The road to the Ancient Castle and the fight with Master Pug 4.65.2 The Ancient Castle and the battle with KatanaSoul 4.65.3 The battle with the Blue Drgn 4.66.1 Triangle Island 4.66.2 The world inside of the Zone Eater 4.66.3 Wake me up before you Gogo 4.66.4 The Steal command regained 4.67.1 Phoenix Cave 4.67.2 The battle with the Red Dragon 4.68.1 Locke Cole 4.68.2 Narshe revisited with Locke; Ragnarok and Cursed Shld 4.68.3 Gau and his father 4.69.1 The Fanatics Tower and the battle with White Drgn 4.69.2 The battle with MagiMaster 4.70.1 End-game character evaluation 4.71.1 Kefka's Tower: Preparation and explanation 4.71.2 Kefka's Tower: Reconnaisance 4.71.3 Kefka's Tower: The source of all Magic 4.71.4 Kefka's Tower: The Final Battle 4.72.1 The Ending 4.73.1 The proverbial postcoital cigarette ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.1 Prelude: The attack on Narshe ********************************** Location: Narshe Party members: Terra, Biggs, Wedge Opponents: Guard, Silver Lobo, Vommamoth Narshe, a coalmine city that manages its own business and cares not for the war that is waged far away, has stumbled upon a mysterious find in their mines. The Empire, the all-consuming power-hungry nation to the far south of the world, has learned of this. -Command to the Empire Force in particular. -Commence to launch the attack on Narshe, the coal mines city. Three of their most dangerous units are dispatched to claim this discovered treasure for the glory of the Empire and by all means necessary. Three soldiers of the Empire, piloting Magitek Armors, are sent out. One of them is a very special soldier of the Empire, and a future unlike any other is waiting for her. Preparation: Put all your characters in the Back Row. Magitek attacks, being MAGICAL BEAMS and all, won't suffer from the 50 % damage reduction, but you'll be reaping the benefits soon enough. From the reduced damage you'll be taking, that is. To learn about Magitek attacks: [MAGITEK-LINK] Monster formations: Silver Lobo Silver Lobo, Silver Lobo Guard, Guard Silver Lobo, Guard, Guard (forced Pincer attack) Vomammoth, Vomammoth, Guard, Guard This is the prologue of the game, and it concerns you, being overpowered, blasting your way through poor defenseless Narshe. Enjoy the Magitek powers while they last. You can't really touch equipment right now. Ogle your mystery girl and her Imperial Starsky and Hutch buddies, as the situation is about to change. For trivia knowledge, this is the equipment of your generic soldiers: Mythril Sword Buckler Leather Cap Leather Armor Any offensive attack you perform at this point results into Death on the other side. With this in mind, the choice is simple. If Terra comes up, have her use the MT Bio Blast attack. The Imperial soldiers can make themselves useful by using any of the three beams; they are identical in power and are always fatal, so it doesn't matter what you do. After you've leveled, you can use Terra's Cure out-battle to restore HP. Use it once with an MT effect and you're set. Do the same after the forced pincer attack you had to endure from the Silver Lobo, Guard, Guard monster formation. The next one will feature Megalodoth. These monsters will start using Snowstorm, an MT Ice-elemental on you as soon as Terra (or, if not available, a randomly decided party member) has a level equal to or higher than 7. This is not the case when you encounter them now, so they will only attack you physically. Although they have the second-highest Attack in the game, the fact they're level 1 effectively screws them out of any significant damage output. If you're in the Back Row, you'll see them doing 0 damage. Savor the sight; it'll be a while before you see it happening again on a physical attack. For extra fun, try using Confuser against them; it'll give you a little taste of what Snowstormy violence will be sent your way later in the game. For imminent death on their side of the battlefield, Bio Blast works well enough as it kills all four targets instantly. There is a maximum of 5 battles and a minimum of 2 battles to be fought in this part of Narshe. When you enter, you can try to go right of the Inn. A single Lobo will be sent after you. You have no choice but to press on. You will encounter two Guards when you try to pass the Inn, there's no avoiding them. There are lines of what appear to be vents on the ground. You've been following the vertical line, you now come across a horizontal line of vents. If you stand on the tile where the two cross, two Silver Lobos will be sent after you, and then two Narshe Guards. You can avoid this by going around the tile in question. If you pass the Item Shop, you'll be caught in a Pincer attack of two Guards and a Silever Lobo; this is unavoidable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.2 Prelude: The newly dug mineshaft ********************************** Location: Narshe Mineshaft Party members: Terra, Biggs, Wedge Opponents: Wererat, Spritzer, Bandit You've entered a newly dug Mine Shaft in search of the esper you're supposed to retrieve. You're up for some vermin in the mines. Preparation: Still in the Back Row, are we? There's nothing interesting here to do, so let's move on. Monster formations: First cave: Wererat, Wererat, Wererat (10/16) Wererat, Bandit (6/16) Second cave: Bandit, Spritzer (6/16) Spritzer, Spritzer (5/16) Wererat, Wererat (5/16) You're past the town of Narshe. You can be proud of yourself; you just killed a number of brave men, undoubtedly with a happy life and a family. Faintly, you can hear an orphan crying. You can pretty much blast your way through these monsters too. In the first cavern, there are Wererat and Bandit, in the second, Spritzer. Wererat absorbs Poison, so while it may be tempting to use an MT spell against the largest group of enemies you're facing, don't. Spritzer absorbs Lightning, so in any battle you find one, avoid Thunder Beam like the demonic plague it is. Electricity fails at success, anyway. Bandit...This little goblinoid (is that a word?) is one messed-up little dude with self-destructive tendencies of the worst kind: the kind that can hurt you as well. Every time you'll hurt it without killing it, there's a 33 % chance he'll use !Wrench on himself. If, however, you dealt a fatal blow to him and he decides to execute that !Wrench, he'll find that he can't actually attack himself. Nay, one cannot attack the dead. Only on the GameFAQs Board, and that's limited to kicking and horses. He'll fling the tool in your direction instead. Avoid this by using Banisher, or try to not care. Eventually, you'll come across a barrier. Biggs will knock it down for you, but as soon as you want to continue a Narshe guard rushes out with quite a nasty surprise... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.1.3 Prelude: The battle with Ymir ********************************** Ymir (shell) Level: 4, HP: 50000, MP: 120 Steal: Nothing (always), Win: Ether (always) Absorbs: Lightning Special: !Hit : Attack x 4 Vulnerable to: Nothing Attacks: Megavolt Head (Ymir's head) Level: 6, HP: 1600, MP: 1000 Steal: Nothing (always), Win: Hi-Potion (always) Special: !Slime: sets Slow Vulnerable to: Nothing Attacks: Attack, !Slime This battle is quite simple. Biggs and Wedge will alert each other about the grave importance of avoiding attacking the shell at all costs. When they're done, you can move in your very first boss battle. The shell and the head are two separate entities. The shell will do nothing as long as you won't attack it, but every time you do damage, it will counter with Megavolt. Megavolt won't be strong enough to actually kill a character at full HP, but it will be strong enough to do so in two hits. The head will just attack physically and on occasion slow you down with !Slime. After every 10 seconds, it'll 'retreat in its shell', i.o.w. disappear from the battlefield. He'll keep this up for 10 seconds, and he'll pop out again. Both actions are accompanied with an oh-so-sinister "Grawwwk...". Your strategy? The main thing to avoid is selecting an attack on the head just when it retreats. It's because of this it's best to just go with one attack for each character in one period of 10 seconds. When you can move, make your generic Imperial soldiers attack with a Beam-class attack and the mysterious girl use Magitek Missile. Wait until the head has retreated and appeared again. Repeat. Ymir should be dead by now if you fought all the battles against the Narshe guards; if not, just go for another round. Ymir is, to be honest, nothing more than a big sign saying: "You see, this game isn't about mindless violence...it's about strategy, about good thinking". Yeah... Note: If you are beyond the shame of any man, you can go for the Ether the shell provides. Since the shell only has 120 MP, he can only use six Megavolt attacks. After this, it is helpless. If you whittle down its 50000 HP and make sure you kill both the shell and the head with one attack (use a calculator!), you'll get both an Ether AND a Hi-Potion, and it'll only have cost you over an hour and your dignity. In the second cave, you finally come across the object of your mission: the dug-up esper. But as soon as you get near it, the mind-slave of your party acts very weird indeed, and it's not long after the two soldiers grow suspicious they are removed. Note that we can't say for sure the esper killed them or simply warped to some place, but we never ever see them again. Alone, the esper does *something* to Terra. Her Magitek Armor explodes underneath her, and all turns to an inky black. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.2.1 Old Man's House ********************************** Location: Old Man's house Party members: Terra Opponents: None Container contents: Elixir Miscellaneous items: Sleeping Bag x 2 You wake up alone, scared, and confused. An old man has found you in the mines and has nursed you back to health. To make matters worse, you have to flee as soon as there's somebody to explain the situation to you. Such plot device! You get the fact that Narshe guards outside are trying to get to you. Scones will not be involved in the meeting, so you'd better make a run for it. Preparation: Remember when you were in the Back Row? Let's stick to that. When you awoke, you received two Sleeping Bags (from Arvis, we could assume). Sleeping Bags are like Tents, but for one person only. They completely restore HP/MP and remove any status ailment except for Zombie, but are only usable on a Save Point or the Overworld Map. Before you go, grab the Elixir in the clock. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.2.2 Escape through the mines ********************************** Location: Narshe, Forsaken Mines Party members: Terra Opponents: Wererat, Spritzer, Bandit Container contents: Phoenix Down, Sleeping Bag Remember those kick-ass attacks you just did? Yeah, about those? They're gone. Your party members have been magically consumed, and your magical tank of happiness exploded under your seat. Everything you love is finite. But don't fear too much, for a Final Fantasy tradition of old is about to set in: you can now hurt stuff with pointy things that you push into them using your muscles. Use it to your advantage. Preparation: If you're in for some leveling, I suggest moving to the Front Row. You'll take more damage, sure, but you can also kill Wererat and Spritzer with a single Attack command now, which is much more MP-friendly in the long run. If you seek to breeze through, stick to the Back Row and use Fire. Out-of-battle Cure is your friend. Monster formations: Bandit, Spritzer (6/16) Spritzer, Spritzer (5/16) Wererat, Wererat (5/16) These monsters and monster formations seem awfully familiar, don't you think? The difference is, though, that now you're by your lonesome, without magical machines of malice and maniacal maiming under your command. I guess we can do it the old-fashioned way, then. Double Spritzer should be taken care of with an MT Fire spell, as should a double Wererat. Start the Bandit/Spritzer battle off with an MT Fire spell and finish Bandit off with a physical. You can't do anything about !Wrench now, so suffer in silence. There are two chests here. Feel free to grab the left one; it contains a Sleeping Bag. Later it turns into an Elixir, which is much better, but you can steal them in large quantities by then so there's no need to wait. It'd be best to leave the right chest alone; while the Phoenix Down it now contains is nice, the Guard Bracelet Relic it transforms into later will be much nicer. When you're past the two chests and the Save Point (did you save? Saving is good, word on the street says even Jesus saves!), remove Terra's Mythril Knife and Buckler, and press on. The Narshe Guards will corner Terra, but she has a plan: quickly, she collapses down a conveniently thin layer of rock that caves in underneath her. One could argue this isn't so much a plan as it is sheer luck, but I'm willing to give our heroine some credit here. Three flashbacks will be seen now: Terra getting her Slave Crown from Kefka, Terra being tested as the Imperial weapon she was meant to be, Terra at an Imperial parade. Behind the Emperor here, from left to right: Kefka Palazzo, general Leo Christophe, general Celes Chere. A cozy bunch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.3.1 Defending Terra from the Guard Leader ********************************** Location: Narshe, Forsaken Mines Party members: Locke, Mog, Moglin, Mogret, Moggie, Molulu, Moghan, Moguel, Mogsy, Mogwin, Mugmug, Cosmog Opponents: Silver Lobo, Megalodoth, Guard Leader Miscellaneous items: Mythril Spear (Mog), Mythril Shield (Mog) Mythril Knife (Guard Leader Steal) Locke arrives to the game! Locke and the old man chat about bygones and memories past, while the old man (still anonymous) takes care of some exposition. Basic points: The Gestahlian Empire is evil, the Returners are fighting the Gestahlian Empire, and Narshe should join the Returners but, right now, has not done such a thing. Locke manages to reach Terra before the Narshe guards do, which is a good thing all in all. Terra is still unconscious, so She Needs To Be Rescued. Locke is your new permanent character. That naming screen sure is a dead give- away, is it not? You can now control him using your controller. It won't be for long though, as the half dozen enemies, which come storming into the place, will ensure Terra is captured and Locke smacked around. But lo and behold, there are eleven Moogle friends for you to exploit as well! Sadly, you cannot enter their equipment. Except for one, Mog. How bizarre. Here's the rundown of the Moogles: Mog - Level average + 5 Mythril Spear; Mythril Shield Moglin - Level average + 2 Mythril Spear; Buckler Mogret - Level average + 0 Morning Star; Buckler Moggie - Level average + 0 Mythril Claws; Buckler Molulu - Level average - 5 Chain Flail; Buckler Moghan - Level average + 0 Mythril Sword; Buckler Moguel - Level average + 2 Moonring Blade; Buckler Mogsy - Level average + 2 Chocobo Brush; Buckler Mogwin - Level average + 0 Mythril Spear; Buckler Mugmug - Level average + 0 Mythril Sword; Buckler Cosmog - Level average + 2 Boomerang; Buckler Note that all level adjustments stem from the average of all characters, not just Terra and Locke. This means that (for instance) Molulu is only 2 or 3 levels below Terra, not 5. They're all collected in three teams. These are the teams: Locke's group: Locke Moglin Mogret Moggie Mog's group: Mog Molulu Moghan Moguel Mogsy's group: Mogsy Mogwin Mugmug Cosmog Preparation: Equip Locke with the equipment you snatched from Terra; the Buckler will be especially nice. You can put Mogret, Molulu, Moguel and Cosmog in the Back Row, as their weapons will still do full damage. Now, head into battle. Already know which team you want to use for the boss battle; read below. Try to avoid fighting with this group, and catch the other monsters with your inferior groups. If you fail, the monsters will reach Terra, prompting Locke to say: "No...! I failed her..." Monster formations: Silver Lobo, Silver Lobo, Guard Leader Megalodoth, Silver Lobo Guard Leader Level: 8, HP: 420, MP: 150 Steal: Mythril Knife (common), Win: Hi-Potion (always) Weakness: Poison Special: !Charge: Attack x 2 Sketch : !Charge, Attack Control: Attack, !Charge, Thunder 2 Vulnerable to: Imp, Petrify, KO, Doom, Mute, Berserk, Confused, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Charge, Net There are two battles here. First, I'll talk about the battle you engage in when you meet the walking monsters. This is the Megalodoth and the Silver Lobo formation. Aim all attacks on the Megalodoth at first, then the Silver Lobo. Don't bother using Steal with Locke; they carry nothing of importance. If you use Mog's party, you will notice that Mog learns the Twilight Requiem after one battle. Have him use this Dance for the other battles, as it kills stuff dead very seriously. For information about Steal and how it works: [STEAL-LINK] Mog's Dance skill is limited to the Twilight Requiem, a Dance he will learn as soon as he has fought one battle here. The Twilight Requiem will have the following random effects every turn: 7/16 43.75 % Cave In - Removes 75 % of target's current HP 6/16 37.50 % Snare - Sets KO to a single enemy, prevents final counters 2/16 12.50 % Will o' the Wisp - ST magical, Fire-elemental attack 1/16 6.25 % Poisonous Frog - ST magical, Poison-elemental attack, also sets Poison Unless both Mog's team and Locke's team have been beaten down severely, there's no good reason to use the four-generic-Moogle party against the Guard Leader. Between the other two, the choice is up to you. As you cannot get a Game Over in this part of the game - a defeated party is sent back to a certain point with all characters at 1 HP - you can always fight Guard Leader with Locke until you have a Mythril Knife. If you have trouble with the actual 'killing' part of the Guard Leader battle (Power-wise, not moral-wise), Mog has extremely dangerous attacks to offer, so you can use him for that. If you picked Mog's team, the Twilight Requiem will make short work of the fight regardless. If you picked Locke's team or the third and inferior party, you will want to kill one Lobo and then focus your attack on the Guard Leader. As long as he's not alone, he won't use !Charge, an extremely strong physical attack that can kill weaker units in the Front Row. He will, on the other hand, use the Net attack to stop some of your party members. You can try to stall if Locke is hit if you want to. Before you engage in the Guard Leader battle, remove Mog's Mythril Spear and Mythril Shield. Equip the Shield on Locke if you're fighting the Guard Leader with him. For some trivia knowledge some would appreciate, Molulu is Mog's girlfriend. Molulu is the weakest Moogle you'll find here and stands next to Mog on the battlefield on the second position of his group. Male chauvinist pig explanation of Molulu's weakness: she's a woman. Family-friendly support group -evading explanation: although lacking in combat experience, Molulu shows some proverbial nuts by going with her lover anyway. At any rate, the Molulu's Charm you'll find later in the game, a Mog-exclusive Relic, is supposed to be given to him by Molulu. Previous english releases did not make this connection, though it existed in the original Japanese game. Also, the Japanese Creation Data Collection Book supposedly clearly says the Moogle Charm is a "crystal ball charm given by his lover, Moruru". I've never seen it myself and wouldn't recognize Japanese if it exploded from my stomach like the aliens in the aptly-named movies with Sigourney Weaver, but I have no reason to doubt it either. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4.1 Adventuring School ********************************** Location: Adventuring School Party members: Terra, Locke Opponents: Silver Lobo Container contents: Ether, Potion, Sleeping Bag, Monster-in-a-box (Silver Lobo) It was going to happen regardless of your wishes. This is the place where the game is explained to you. They should've just listed the GameFAQs URL in my opinion, but hey. It's Square. You shouldn't expect anything from them when it comes to logic. If you really want to learn about general Battle Mechanics: [BATTLE-LINK] Preparation: There will be one battle against the weakest opponent in the game. Try finding your chi or something. I hear it's located within you. Monster formations: Silver Lobo When you enter, the first thing you'll see is a man standing over a bucket. While normally I wouldn't advise you to go near people bending over buckets, let alone drink anything those buckets may contain, this specific bucket contains water from a Recovery Spring, magical springs that heal HP, MP, and remove all status effects. There are three rooms in this building. Field Science is the one to the far right, and it's where the only monster here is located. Open the chest to fight a single Silver Lobo. Have Terra Defend (press right when in the command menu) and Locke Steal until you've gotten that Potion. You know you want it. Kill him with violence. Find the Ether in the yellow pot in Field Science and open the chest in Battle Tactics (middle door) for a Sleeping Bag. Then, be bold and walk straight into Advanced Battle Tactics. There's a chest containing a Potion in there. Now, exit. The guy in front of the door advises you to skip Advanced Battle Tactics. What a Tonic-hogger, eh? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.4.2 Traveling to Figaro Castle ********************************** Location: Overworld Map. Between Narshe and Figaro Desert Party members: Terra, Locke Opponents: Leaf Bunny, Darkwind, Sand Ray, Alacran Having been dissed by a Narshe guard, you have no choice but to pursue a career in fighting for the greater good. Locke was told to bring Terra to the king of Figaro, and so he does. Castle Figaro lies in the middle of the desert, denying the rules of logic and reason. You need to cross the Overworld Map in order to reach it. Hold me. Should you try to enter Narshe, a Narshe guard will rush to the scene and inquire to your name. You quickly run off. Preparation: Equip the newly acquired Mythril Knife on Terra. She won't use it, gods no, But it's still a 4 point increase in Attack, and I don't see why the hell not. Keep the Mythril Shield on Locke; he has more Hit Points, granted, but he will be taking more damage as well. For the battles against the grassland and forest monsters, it would be best for both Terra and Locke to sit safely in the Back Row, as neither of them will be using the Attack command. In the desert, put Locke in the Front Row, and keep Terra in the Back Row. Monster formations: Grasslands: Leaf Bunny (10/16) Leaf Bunny, Leaf Bunny, Darkwind (6/16) Forest: Leaf Bunny, Leaf Bunny, Darkwind (10/16) Leaf Bunny, Leaf Bunny, Darkwind, Darkwind (6/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (1/16) There are two kinds of battles here. There are the desert battles and the non-desert battles. The non-desert battles are no threat to you. If Locke comes up first, have him Steal. It'll get you moderately useless junk, solely limited to Potions. If Terra comes up, an MT Fire spell kills everything. Desert battles are different. In here, you'll face danger. And sand in your boots. If you come across a double Sand Ray formation, have Locke Steal (Antidotes!) and Terra use an ST Fire spell, which should take one down in a single hit. Repeat for the other. If, however, you come across more than two, an MT Fire spell followed by a physical from Locke kills. Do just that. Don't waste more than one Fire spell in one battle unless you're close to the castle. Hey, did you know that the Sand Ray was based off an actual creature, the Trilobite? They're related to crabs, scorpions and spiders, but are extinct due to the fact they failed at life in general. There's a Chocobo Stable hidden in the forest south of the desert. There's no reason to go there whatsoever. The owner will charge you 100 Gil to rent-a- bird. If this seems insane to you, remember that this is the same guy who hides his own shop in the woods. And here I was thinking you'd want to promote your shop if it depended on your amount of customers. I'll never understand capitalism. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.5.1 Figaro Castle ********************************** Location: Figaro Castle Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: None Container contents: Antidote, Gold Needle, Phoenix Down, Potion Miscellaneous items: Auto Crossbow (Edgar) You've reached Figaro Castle. Everybody's mighty polite. There's not a whole lot to do here. Walk on. In the farthest room, Edgar Roni Figaro is casually lounging in his throne. Before you talk to Edgar, put Locke in the Front Row (if you hadn't already) and take his Mythril Shield from him. He'll leave. Edgar hits on you! Oh my, I can't see that working out. After the failing of his charmings, he leaves, leaving Terra to question her sexuality. When controlling Terra, equip the Mythril Shield on her and put her in the Front Row as well. There are two shops here, an Item shop and a Weapon shop: Item Shop: Potion 50 Ether 1500 Antidote 50 Gold Needle 200 Echo Screen 120 Phoenix Down 500 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 There's really not anything that you need to buy here. You could buy a Tent or two if you have the money, but you'll need 1250 Gil for the Weapon Shop. Weapon Shop: Auto Crossbow 250 Noiseblaster 500 Bioblaster 750 Buy a Noiseblaster and a Bioblaster; you have obtained an Auto Crossbow by talking to Edgar. One should wonder where Edgar keeps his hands if he has the power to sneak stuff in your inventory without you noticing, especially since he's the token pervert of this game. Haha, now that was a mental image that delivered big funny! Make sure to find the Potion, Antidote, Gold Needle, and Phoenix Down in the castle. All of them are easy to find so I won't bother pointing them out to you. Try to find the High Priestess of the castle; she is located in the left wing of the castle. She'll tell you all about the rather tragic past of the Figaro throne; twin brothers. Twins. Poor Figaro. Luckily, Sabin Rene Figaro ran away leaving his brother as the sole monarch, as things should be. In the Japanese game, she also states here that Sabin was smaller and weaker than Edgar when they were children. When the High Priestess is done telling her story, you can find Edgar again, who has returned to his throne. In the hallway, you meet the second man of the Figaro army, the Chancellor. Have a chat, by all means. As soon as Edgar starts to make small talk again, he is disturbed by the gravest of messages; Kefka Palazzo, a big man of the Empire, is coming for a visit, and something tells you he won't be wanting any of your scones. When controlling Edgar, keep him in the Front Row and equip Mog's Mythril Spear on him. As this is the first time you're actually handling Edgar, this might be the perfect time to learn about his fighting powers: If you'd like to learn about Tools: [TOOLS-LINK] Edgar defies the Empire! He blatantly lies to Kefka when he asks if he knows anything about Terra, the girl who 'stole something of minor importance'. The only thing she stole was the Empire's dignity! Zing! Edgar calls Kefka Emperor Gestahl's court mage. Does that mean that Kefka knows Magic as well? Now, when you're controlling Terra again, take hold of that Mythril Sword. What a switch-happy game it is. You can follow Locke now if you want to. You'll notice that Terra is one level, if not two, behind Locke. Edgar will be even stronger. If you want to equal the situation out a little, you can choose to leave the castle and fight some solo-Terra battles outside. I advise you do the training in the forest, though, as the desert enemies might Numb you and grant you a Game Over of Death. You might opt to rent a Chocobo to return to Figaro Castle, too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.5.2 Fighting off Magitek power ********************************** Location: Figaro Desert Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: Magitek Armor That night: misfortune! Kefka has royally screwed Figaro's alliance with the Empire up its currently non-existent ass. For a moment, all seems hopeless, but Locke had a plan! Turns out Edgar and the Chancellor had taken this possibility in account. But see, I know it's Locke's plan, because his music is playing. Anyway, you escape your castle while said castle is digging its way through the desert. No, I don't know either why they didn't do that right away, before the bad guys set it on fire. You're now being chased by the Magitek Armors. We saw how powerful they are, remember? You are going to die a painful but mercifully quick death. Preparation: You did the preparation thing in the castle, right? All one can do at this moment is pray to whatever god you worship. Monster formations: Magitek Armor, Magitek Armor Magitek Armor Level: 8, HP: 210, MP: 250 Steal: Hi-Potion (rare), Potion (common), Win: Hi-Potion (common) Weakness: Lightning Status: Protect Special: !Metal Kick, Attack x 1.5 Sketch : Magitek Laser, Attack Control: Attack, Magitek Laser Vulnerable to: Mute, Berserk, Muddled, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Metal Kick, Magitek Laser It turns out that, like Uruk-Hai, Magitek Armors are about as laughably incompetent in combat as they were awesome out of it. For this battle, the main objective is to avoid being hit. The enemies are susceptible to Confuse, so use that knowledge to your advantage. By which I mean the Noiseblaster. Have Edgar use it as soon as possible and keep them confused during the rest of the battle. Simply let him bide his time if both are still confused and it's his turn to move again. Locke should Steal; Potions and Hi-Potions are nothing to get excited about, but Attack removes the Confuse status. Terra should pump out ST Fire spells. It'll get you a 'hilarious' scene. I guess it looked good on paper. Terra's Magic and their own self-destructive tendencies (Magitek Laser hit themselves for super-effective damage) will grant you victory. Bravo Figaro! By the way, you won't believe the "son of a submariner" versus "son of a sandworm" discussions out there. You can recognize survivors by their thousand yard stare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.6.1 Traveling through Figaro Cave ********************************** Location: Figaro Cave Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: Hornet, Urok, Foper Container contents: Ether x 2, Phoenix Down Figaro Castle is gone, and you still can't go to Narshe...I guess it's time to quest further into Edgar's Lands, Figaro, to reach the Returners' Hideout. Terra should be useful in their battle against the evil Empire, which is evil. Preparation: Everybody in the Back Row again. I know it gets boring now, but I promise I'll eventually let you keep characters in the Front Row. If you're wondering why Back Row characters still take reduced damage even when there's nobody in the Front Row to protect them - which is the initial point of being in the Back Row - then I have no satisfying answer. Monster formations: First cave: Hornet, Foper, Foper, Foper, Hornet (10/16) Hornet, Urok, Urok (6/16) Second cave and third cave: Urok, Urok, Urok (6/16) Foper, Foper, Urok (5/16) Hornet, Hornet (5/16) Note: if you didn't use Terra's Magic spells in the battle against the Magitek Armors, you still can trigger the 'flipping-out' scene in normal battles. Throughout the cave you retain this possibility, but once you step on the tile just in front of the exit, the ability to see the scene is lost if you haven't already. Hornets are Floating creatures, but that doesn't make any difference at this point of the game. They attack physically with Attack and !Iron Stinger. Urok are horribly defenseless creatures, but something about Urok monsters I find particularly repulsive, so I don't feel bad about killing them. Besdies, !Digestive Fluid sets Sap, of which I'm no fan. When you confuse them with the Noiseblaster, they might try to use the Magnitude 8 attack, but they have insufficient MP. Foper are the only creatures here that *might* stand through a single Auto Crossbow attack. They can force you to sleep when you look in their eyes with !Forthy Winks, but you'll have killed them before they get a chance to use an attack like that. They may try to use Dread Gaze when confused, a Petrifying attack, but it will fail due to insufficient MP. Their name is likely a bastardization of 'faux pas', which is French for 'not done'. Edgar is a very nice addition to your team. In fact, I'd say he's horribly overpowered at this stage of the game. Time to take advantage of it! Edgar can one-hit KO Hornet and Urok with his Auto Crossbow. If you don't meet Foper monsters, have Terra simply Defend and Locke Steal while you're waiting for Edgar's turn to come up. When Foper does in fact make an appearance, have Locke still Steal, Terra use a single MT Fire on the group, and Edgar finish it off with his Auto Crossbow. If you're scared you wasted Gil on the Bioblaster, you'll gain use for it soon enough. If there's a choice, always try to Steal from Urok. A Potion is a Potion, but a Remedy is a Remedy, if you know what I mean! As far as chests go, there are three in this cave. I know you're just dying to grab them, but desist and cease! Know that the amount of chests you shouldn't get is about to rapidly decrease, and these items, while 'meh' at this point (Phoenix Down upstairs, two Ethers downstairs) will transform into rad items in the near future. I advise you to let them be. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.7.1 South Figaro ********************************** Location: South Figaro Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: None Container contents: 500 Gil, 1000 Gil, 1500 Gil, Antidote, Elixir, Eye Drops, Gold Needle, Green Cherry, Hyper Wrist, Hermes Sandals, Phoenix Down, Potion x 3, Teleport Stone You've reached South Figaro! Great. This is the first town you arrive in where you don't try to slaughter innocent inhabitants, so you should be able to shop, sleep at Inns, steal stuff from houses, talk to NPCs, the usual RPG to-do list. How awesome. Item Shop: Potion 50 Antidote 50 Gold Needle 200 Eye Drops 50 Echo Screen 120 Phoenix Down 500 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 You might want to buy one or two Soft potions, as it *is* possible to accidentally get a Petrified character in a bit, and you'll want something to counter its effects. Weapon Shop: Dagger 150 Mythril Knife 300 Mythril Sword 450 Great Sword 800 Noiseblaster 500 Bioblaster 750 Buy a Great Sword and give it to Terra. Give the Mythril Sword to Locke. You'll be switching to a better weapon in no time, but for the time being, it's a free upgrade from the Mythril Knife. You can buy the two non-Auto Crossbow Tools for Edgar if your ignorant brother saved after the Figaro Castle experience without buying them there. Armor Shop: Buckler 200 Heavy Shield 400 Hairband 150 Plumed Hat 250 Cotton Robe 200 Kenpo Gi 250 Buy two Heavy Shields, three Plumed Hats, a Cotton Robe, and a Kenpo Gi. Equip them with Optimize. Relic Shop: Spring Shoes 1500 Silver Spectacles 500 Star Pendant 500 Jeweled Ring 1000 Knight's Code 1000 Buy three Star Pendants and a Jeweled Ring. Knight's Code and Sprint Shoes I'll leave up to you. Silver Spectacles have an actual purpose in this GBA release of the game (as opposed to earlier versions where the Darkness status did close to nothing). They are, however, still crummy as Darkness isn't a dangerous status ailment. Equip a Star Pendant on every character. The Jeweled Ring protects against Petrify. Because you won't be able to get yourself Petrified unless you level Terra up to level 68 (she learns the Break spell at that point) or take tremendously stupid actions when facing Cirpius, you can just let the Relic rest in your Inventory. You'll need it later on. Hidden Items: Like in the first cavern you explored with a lone Terra, there are items hidden here that are best left untouched for a while. Here's a list of the items in South Figaro: (items now) (items they become) Phoenix Down - Phoenix Down Potion - X-Potion Antidote - Tent Eye Drops - Remedy Potion - Holy Water Green Cherry - Tent Gold Needle - Elixir Teleport Stone - Phoenix Down There's a Potion in the barrel between the Weapon and Armor Shop. I suggest skipping this one; you've got plenty of Potions, but X-Potions will always be nice to have. There's an Eye Drops in a box north of the entrance to the port, and an Antidote in the barrel just above it. They become a Tent and Remedy respectively, so it doesn't really matter what you do. The barrel next to the Chocobo Stable contains a Potion that becomes a Holy Water (leave it), the Green Cherry behind the Chocobo Stable becomes a Tent (grab the Cherry) and the Gold Needle in the box to the far southwest corner of the town becomes an Elixir (definitely leave this one to change). Enter the large house in the northwest corner of South Figaro. You'll enter through the left door; exit through the right door. In one of the barrels you see here, there's a Phoenix Down. Continue behind this corner of the house and you'll find yourself in a hidden room! Search the clock for an Elixir. Now, go back in the house and go up the stairs. In one of the rooms, there will be a man writing a letter (who is he writing to? I'm sure it's not important. Couldn't be the enemy, anyway). Behind the bookcase, you'll find a secret entrance to a staircase, which leads to another staircase. Follow it in the next screen. Now, go all the way to the right until you're facing a wall. Now, go all the way down to the bottom. You should be out of sight now. Now, go right to enter a secret area with a Hyper Wrist and a pair of Hermes Sandels. The Hyper Wrist boosts Strength, increasing your physical attack power; the Hermes Sandels gives you inherent and unremovable Haste status. I suggest giving the Hermes Sandels to Locke and the Hyper Wrist to Edgar. If you had some Sprint Shoes equipped on either, you can just pass it to Terra. Exit. Going up will take you two a room with three doors. The first is empty, the second one contains a Save Point, and the third one contains four chests, respectively containing 500 Gil, 1000 Gil, 1500 Gil, and nothing. I, for one, believe the last one is symbolic for the meaning of life. Exit. On the town wall, there's a group of three barrels you can see when standing near the Chocobo Stable. Find your way there (stairs are near the Armor Shop) and grab a Teleport Stone. It'll become a Phoenix Down later, but Teleport Stones are infinitely cooler at this stage of the game than Phoenix Downs will ever be. Finally, there's a Potion in the house of the old servant of the richest man in town. I figured I'd save the best for last. Other stuff to do: In the Pub, there will be a dark man with a dog near the counter. Talking to him will make you be able to name him. Shadow sure is mysterious. If you thought he was going to join your party now, think again. This guy is a ninja; they don't bother in RPGs unless you're at least past the first serious town. In the Japanese game, an old man in the Pub will also say that 'you' (Edgar) look like one of Duncan's students, which is the first hint there that Sabin went off to train under Master Duncan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.7.2 The Overworld Map around South Figaro ********************************** Location: Overworld Map. Around South Figaro Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: Mu, Belmodar, Unseelie Miscellaneous items: Mythril Claws You've had your fun in South Figaro, bought some new armor, equipped some Relics, and met a mysterious stranger with the name of Shadow. I'd say it was worth it. But, time to move on. Go straight north, as there's something of interest there. But woe to those who seek to cross the Overworld Map! Preparation: You prepared in South Figaro. Still keep everybody in the Back Row. Monster formations: Grass: Belmodar (6/16) Unseelie, Unseelie (5/16) Mu, Mu, Unseelie (5/16) Forest: Mu, Mu, Mu, Mu (6/16) Belmodar, Mu, Mu (5/16) Belmodar, Unseelie, Mu, Mu (5/16) Fairly standard stuff, now. Unseelies take more damage from Bioblaster than from Auto Crossbow, so use that on double Unseelies. They'll just attack physically and won't start using !Mythril Wrench until they're alone, which they probably will never be. The Anthology Bestiary claims they're Imperial maintenance troops. It's official media, but one wonders why Imperial maintenance troops would wander off into the lands to smack people with wrenches as opposed to, say, carry out maintenance to Imperial stuff. Mus are obscenely boring creatures as they do nothing but Attack under any circumstance. The only interesting thing to note about them is the fact that they cannot be struck my Meteor Strike. A character you'll meet in the future can lift trains, hold up houses and whatnot, but he cannot lift this squirrel up in the air. It makes sense when think about it while you're drunk. Belmodars are the first genuinely dangerous-looking creatures you meet. They attack with Attack and !Rush, and counter Magic spells with a 1/3 shot at using Megavolt, so don't do that. You'll want to try to Steal a Mythril Claws from him; it's a weapon none of your characters can equip...yet. Any monster fight should include Edgar using Auto Crossbow (double Unseelie can be taken down easier with Bioblaster, though), Locke Stealing and Terra using Defend and Cure outside of battle when needed. When your level is decently high (9), Edgar should be taking out Unseelie in one hit as well with the Auto Crossbow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.8.1 Sabin's Hut ********************************** Location: Sabin's Hut Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: None Container contents: Potion The three of you come across an odd hut in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, you choose to explore it and take a nap if nobody is around. Let's just hope the beds and spoons are decently sized, or some *bear* might come for you. It's a Goldilocks/FF VI cross-reference! The flowers, stove, and dishes all draw a comment from Edgar. What is he talking about? We can rest assured it's a woman, however, since no man would profile himself through tea and domestic ornament like this. There's a Potion in the bucket. Egads! He was talking about his long-lost twin brother, Sabin. Outside, Edgar will show his double-headed coin to an old man and ask if he's seen 'this guy' (Sabin) before. Sabin has headed into Mt. Koltz; his mentor has been killed, and the mentor's son, Vargas, is missing too. Nice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.8.2 Mt. Koltz ********************************** Location: Mount Koltz Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar Opponents: Zaghrem, Trillium, Gorgias, Cirpius Container contents: Main Gauche, Gigas Glove, Tent x2 Miscellaneous items: Bandana (Zaghrem Steal), Mythril Claws (Vargas) Mountains are always nasty to cross, and Mount Koltz is no exception. You will be attacked, spied upon, and tested severely. Also, a boss fight at the end I might add. If that sounds fun, you're doing well. Preparation: I think this section will grow in usefulness once the game progresses. In the meantime, I feel like I should say something about the Back Row and in what fashion everybody should be in it. Monster formations: Caves: Zaghrem, Zaghrem (10/16) Gorgias, Gorgias (6/16) Slopes: Cirpius, Cirpius, Cirpius (11/16) Gorgias, Cirpius, Cirpius, Cirpius (5/16) Great slopes: Trillium, Trillium (10/16) Trillium, Gorgias, Cirpius, Cirpius (5/16) Foot of Mount. Koltz: Zaghrem, Trillium, Spritzer, Spritzer (10/16) Gorgias, Gorgias (6/16) This is highly frustrating for console players, but Zaghrem enemies carry Bandanas, which are incredibly hard to obtain right now. They're rare steals, and the common steal is empty. This means that you automatically have a 7 in 8 chance to fail at your Steal attempt. It's a slightly stronger helmet for Locke, Terra, and a character you're about to obtain, so if you're really adamant/near the entrance anyway/playing on an emulator, try to get three of them. For killing them, the Auto Crossbow works great. If it doesn't outright kill them, you can finish them off with Back Row physicals or an MT Fire spell (although you should really be saving your MP in this 'dungeon'). Zaghrem, by the way, are martial artists who have turned to a life of evil, using their combat skills for personal gain. It's like the Dark Side, only different. Their Special, which you never get to see unless you bring a late-game character around to use Sketch on them, is called !Punch; the Japanese SNES version was Holy Moon Sword. Way to boringify an attack, Flattery. You Woolsey wannabe. Cirpius are potentially the most dangerous, but never live up to that promise. If you allow them to take three turns, they have a rare chance of using !Beak, which sets Petrify on a character. A triple Cirpius formation can be killed in one go with the Auto Crossbow; when they come with a Gorgias you'll want to confuse them until one of them has petrified the Gorgias with either !Beak or the Break spell. Gorgias' are the only real threats here. They have stronger physicals comparable to Guard Leader's pounding, and they have a 1/3 chance at countering every Attack command. Don't use it. An MT Fire spell and an Auto Crossbow round kills them. Trillium, lastly, are annoying because they Poison you with !Poison Touch. They only use it the first round though, after which they'll take two turns by just attacking you physically. This means you can easily use an Antidote or the Poisona spell first and kill them second. The first slopes feature no enemies, so you can safely walk into the cave. The cave is straightforward. The other side takes you to another slope, with monsters this time. You see a chest there, but you can't reach it. This cave has two 'hidden' passages to treasure. The first is to the south of the entrance. Around the square-ish bulge, you can reach an exit where you can open the chest you saw earlier. It's a Main Guache! It's the first weapon with a stat boost you see, and it's a better weapon for Locke. Go back in. To the right of the path/stairway, there's a hidden passage into another room, which holds a chest containing the Gigas Glove. The Gigas Glove is much better that the Hyper Wrist; while the Hyper Wrist boosts a stat used for physical damage calculation by 50 %, the Gigas Glove simply boosts your physical damage by 25 % period. Equip it on Edgar to boost his Auto Crossbow. With the Gigas Glove equipped, Edgar should be taking everything out in one hit except for Gorgias', which can be finished with an ST Fire. Locke should Steal. Continue up the wooden pathway. Outside, you walk around two slopes and reach two entrances into the mountain. Now, for the first time, you'll see a shadow figure leaping away from you. Who could it be? Mystery. The first entrance takes you to a chest with a Tent, the second one continues your way through Mt. Koltz. Misty slopes with a bridge this time. The bridge looks like it might collapse, but it doesn't. Ever. Unlike that one bridge from King's Quest; you'd get a point every time you'd cross it, but while you were having a blast collecting points, a big goofy grin on your young face, it would suddenly go down. Bad pun, the end. The next room contains a Save Point, and when you leave it, you'll be on what I've dubbed as the Great Slopes at the Monster formations section. Follow them all the way down, and... ...eventually you'll meet the shadowy figure that has been stalking your every move. It's Vargas. He believes you have something to do with Sabin, so he commences his violence. You get to hurt him now. Obviously you made sure that your HP is high enough for boss battles, as is Terra's MP. Take the Gigas Glove from Edgar and give it to Locke; give his Hermes Sandals to Terra. Equip Edgar with the Hyper Wrist or, if you have it, the Knight's Code. The first one will give you a slight increase in offensive power, and the latter will make sure that Edgar takes physical damage for characters in Critical. It's a matter of personal preference as neither should really be of any significant use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.8.3 The battle with Vargas ********************************** Ipooh Level: 11, HP: 360, MP: 60 Steal: Hi-Potion (rare), Hi-Potion (common) Weakness: Fire Special: !Claw: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Claw, Attack Control: Attack, !Claw Vulnerable to: Imp, Silence, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Claw Vargas Level: 12, HP: 11600, MP: 220 Steal: Mythril Claws (rare), Potion (common) Weakness: Poison Special: !Doom Fist: sets Doom, Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Doom Fist, Attack Control: Attack, !Doom Fist Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Doom Fist, Gale Cut Two Ipooh bears initially protect Vargas; you can't harm him until you have killed the Ipooh. Ipooh attack physically only, with Attack and !Claw. Vargas will casually switch between Attack and Gale Cut in a Attack-Gale Cut- Attack rhythm. Dance to it. After every 50 seconds, he will taunt you cruelly by saying: "Come on! What's the matter?" and use Attack twice, as if to insult you. What a bastard. Once he hits 10880 HP - that's after 720 damage - he will start getting bored with you and exclaim: "Enough of this! I'll send you all to the great beyond!". Just then, a new character will appear. It's Sabin Rene Figaro, long lost heir to the throne of Figaro and twin brother to Edgar. It seems that Vargas misunderstood the outcome of a successor issue of Duncan, their master and father to Vargas. Vargas turned to patricide, and here Sabin is complimenting Vargas on his FINE SPIRIT. Morals these days, let me tell ya... Anyway, Vargas executes "Blizzard Fist!" Blasting all inferior warriors of the field, the battle is up to Sabin alone. In the Japanese version,this attack was called 'Super Wind Tsunami Fist', which makes a whole lot more sense. When Sabin has appeared and Vargas hits 10368 HP - that's 512 more damage - Sabin will lament about his master's teachings. You'll have to use a Blitz to win this battle. Once the primary Blitz technique has been used, Vargas will ...die or run, it's kind of vague. At any rate, Vargas is never to be heard from again. Your strategy? When you engage Vargas, try to pick some Ipooh possessions with Locke, have Edgar use Auto Crossbow, and Terra use ST Fire spells on the Ipooh you looted. After you've taken care of the Ipoohs, switch to the Bioblaster with Edgar, have Terra on stand-by for an MT Cure spell for every Gale Cut that is sent your way. After a successful Steal attempt with Locke, have him attack. The Bioblaster will do the bulk of your damage anyway, so it's probably not justified to take a turn moving to the Front Row and take more damage there. Eventually, Sabin will crash the party. PAY ATTENTION, AS YOU ARE ABOUT TO DO THE MOST COMPLICATED THING INVENTED IN VIDEO GAME HISTORY. That's right, you're about to execute a Blitz technique. Follow on-screen commands closely. Write them down. Remember. After you've completed a Raging Fist technique, you've won your battle. If you'd like to learn more about Blitz: [BLITZ-LINK] If your life is a complete, miserable failure, try this: http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/file/930370/46958 So there you have it! It's a sad and symbolic story, the rivalry of Sabin and Vargas. As a son to Duncan, he was forced to pursue a career in martial arts, even though Vargas resented it. When Master Duncan, after training (among others? It's not clear) Sabin and Vargas for 10 years, decides he's too old to uphold the title of Master any longer, he decides that Vargas should be his successor. However, somehow Vargas understood that Sabin would be his father's follow-up. The cause of this misunderstanding is never explained, and much like how Judas betrayed Jesus to his death, so did Vargas betray his father and took care of him. After that he went searching for Sabin, who knew that it was Vargas who was supposed to be the next Master. Believing that Edgar had something to do with Sabin, he attacked them, which led to the stand-off between Sabin and Vargas, from which Sabin emerges victorious. Little can be said about your Mount Koltz experience with Sabin. You can meet Spritzers here, which seem horrible misplaced in space. Aura Cannon is the strongest ST attack you have at this point; take advantage of it. Only after you annihilated everything non-Gorgias on screen though. If you have a Bandana and/or Mythril Claws in your inventory, give them to Sabin. Oh yeah, and there's a Tent in the chest, but you can't miss it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.9.1 Traveling to the Returners' Hideout ********************************** Location: Returners Hideout (and surrounding lands) Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin Opponents: Mu, Belmodar, Unseelie Monster formations: Mu, Mu, Unseelie (6/16) Unseelie, Unseelie (5/16) Belmodar, Mu, Mu (5/16) After descending from Mount Koltz, you'll find yourself on the Overworld Map again. The Returners' Hideout is to the north. I won't bother explaining the battles and how Sabin fits in here; you were fully capable of handling them without a 400 damage producing righteous killing machine, so I suspect you'll do just fine. If you still don't have a Mythril Claws, try going for one here. You can, if you want to, hike back to South Figaro with Sabin in your party, which will get you a small cutscene with Duncan's wife. It's not very impressive and it's needlessly time-consuming, but if you're like me, you'll wind up doing it anyway: Duncan's Wife: Sabin, where are Vargas and Duncan...? Sabin: Vargas...turned on our master... Vargas, he... Duncan's Wife: Oh, Vargas... Why would you do such a thing? But my husband was able to pass his techniques along to you, Sabin... I'm sure he'd have no regrets. Sabin: For the past ten years you've treated me like a son. I'll never forget all the things you've done for me! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.9.2 The Returners' Hideout ********************************** Location: Returners' Hideout Party members: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin Opponents: None Container contents: Antidote, Air Knife, Ether, Green Cherry, Hi-Potion, Knight's Code, Phoenix Down x2, White Cape Miscellaneous items: Gauntlet or Genji Glove (Banon or Returner) Once you enter the Hideout, you'll have to follow a Returner and enter the door he points you to. Enter and watch the cutscene. There's a Greek mythology reference here (a rather obvious one) and a symbolic position for Terra. How neat. When the scene's over, you're by yourself again. Hidden Items: You can find a Phoenix Down in the chest in the room you woke up in. Go out and head up. You'll find three chests here: a Knight's Code, another Phoenix Down, and an Air Knife, a stronger weapon for Locke that's also Wind- elemental. A hidden passage to the right of the three chests (walk around them) leads to a White Cape. Be sure to grab it. In the bucket and pot, which are standing next to each other, you can find an Antidote and a Ether. Furthermore, there's a Green Cherry in the pot in the conference room (the one with the large table) and a Potion in the save point room. If you examine the top-right part of the large conference table, near Sabin, Terra'll crouch down and say: "There's a scrap of paper lying here..." and you'll get two options: Toss it in the trash. Leave it. If you toss it in the trash, nothing will happen. If you leave it there, and Banon calls the Returners around the table for a meeting, he'll freak out, say: "Who threw this here? Don't you people know what a wastebasket looks like?" and throw it away himself. This makes Terra laugh (which, incidentally, probably is the only time Terra laughs in a long, long time as far as I can recall). This whole thing is supposed to be a Japanese joke that didn't port so well in the transition. Nobody has ever been able to explain to me why exactly this is supposed to be funny, so let's move on. There's an Item Shop here: Eye Drops 50 Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Echo Screen 120 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 Sprint Shoes 1500 This is the first shop you can actually buy Hi-Potions at, so if you're low on them, it might a good idea to stock up on some. A few Eye Drops are also nice if you think those black sunglasses are just SO 1983. Other stuff to do: You need to talk to your three companions before you can talk to Banon. You find Locke immediately upon crawling out of bed, Sabin is in the conference room and Edgar in the Save Point room where you met Banon earlier. You can now exit the Returner Hideout and talk to Banon. Now, you'll have to make a choice. If you immediately want to go for the offer, you'll get a Gauntlet. If you decline, you can get a Genji Glove from the Returner walking around in the storage room. If you decline three times, you'll get a Genji Glove from from that same Returner in the middle of some important conversation. You'll want to pick the Genji Glove, trust me. Granted, the Gauntlet is more of a rarity, but that doesn't mean it's also better (it isn't). You could, with Terra alone, hike back to Mt. Koltz. However, there will be an Imperial soldier guarding the entrance who'll chase you out on the World Map if you talk to him: "You! You're Returners!" If you declined Banon's offer three times, Terra will walk back into the Hideout and mutter: "Hope... How could anyone put their hope in me?". Just then, a wounded Returner stumbles in with Banon. Locke, Edgar and Sabin come rushing in, Locke leaves for South Figaro and Terra, Edgar, Sabin and Banon will be going to Narshe through the back door, the Lethe River. A Returner quickly sneaks into the conversation to give you a Genji Glove (truly one of the few acceptable reasons to interrupt important dialogue) and off you go. If you did anything else, there'll be a meeting. Banon gets angsty about Magitek power, failing to realize that on the two occasions Magitek power has been employed so far, it accomplished NOTHING. Banon kinda steers towards the 'we need Magic too' topic when a wounded Returner stumbles in. Returners, assemble! Locke goes off to stop Imperial Forces in South Figaro by his lonesome and Terra, Banon, Edgar and Sabin will escape via the Lethe River, raging river of the wilderness. After the sequence has played out, you've had Locke split (don't worry, his equipment is in your inventory) and Banon added. The fact that you couldn't name him should tip you off to his inferior status in your party. Although he's a PC in battle, you cannot access his Equipment and Relic screen. His equipment: Punisher - Magus Hat Silk Robe Don't immediately go to the raft; go up and remember where you came out. You'll need to find the hidden access to the Lethe River later in the game. For a fun little tidbit, go to the room Terra woke up in and stand under the chest. Pride yourself in having seen one of the most elusive minor cutscenes in the game. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.10.1 Escaping over the Lethe River ********************************** Location: Lethe River Party members: Terra, Edgar, Sabin, Banon Opponents: Lesser Lopros, Nautiloid, Exocite The Empire invaded South Figaro (notice how Edgar didn't respond *whatsoever* to that notion?) and is coming to the Hideout. We must run like the wind. We'll escape using a raft and the flowing water that carries it. Fun! Preparation: Everybody in the Back Row. You can strip the Star Pendants from your characters and apply Gigas Glove/Hermes Sandals to Edgar, Hyper Wrist and Knight's Code to Sabin, and a White Cape to Terra. There's nothing remotely useful you can put in Terra's second Relic Slot (you'll want to have those Sprint Shoes in your inventory, and you won't be walking anyway). Monster formations: Okay, this is rather complicated to do right here, so I'll explain it a few paragraphs down the line. First, I want you to exit the hallway you find yourself in through the northern entrance. Not only will you now know where you can find it from the Returners' Hideout, you can also walk over to the room where Terra woke up in and find the wounded Returner in bed. If you stand beneath the chest here, you'll catch the poor sap having a nightmare: The Empire! The Empire's invading! (cue 'Troops march on') (Troops march on fades out) "What the...? ...Sleeptalking?" You can trigger this cutscene every time you re-enter the room :P Welcome to Lethe River. The first rule of Lethe River is: you don't talk about Lethe River. The second rule of Lethe River is: you do not talk about Lethe River. The third rule of Lethe River is when Banon goes down, the game is over. If Banon receives KO status, you'll get a Game Over. Protecting Banon should be your first priority. If you fail, you'll get a neat message saying, "Banon has fallen..." Fun fact: if you level Terra up to level 68 before meeting Banon, you can set Petrify with the Break spell she learned and make him invincible. Then again, if you're leveled like that, you really needn't worry in the first place. Exocite is your average physical attacker. He seems to have a specifically strong, instinct-based hatred for the elderly, as after every six turns, he will always target Banon for a single Attack. You should have turned Exocite in little bits of Exocite nuggets by then, though. Nautiloid is more annoying. Rather than doing damage with his Special, !Ink sets Dark, which is a useless thing to do but still looks rather stupid on your characters. To top that, his Defense is very strong (partly thanks to an inherent Protect status), so the Auto Crossbow and Attack commands will do little here. Also, after three turns he'll turn on Banon for an Attack, so BEWARE. Lesser Lopros are the strongest enemies here. They can use Attack, execute !Wing to set Sap on the party the second turn and can actually use Fireball the third one, which is an MT Fire-elemental attack and particularly dangerous. Less Lopros should be subdued by Noiseblaster at all times and taken out first if possible. The strategy is simple. Keep the monsters at bay with Noiseblaster, use Fire and Aura Cannon to deliver damage, and have Banon use Pray to recover from any damage you might have taken. As soon as you decide to hop on board the raft, you'll be taken down the Lethe River. However, there are many ways to Rome, and many ways to travel the Lethe River. At two points in the trip, you'll be asked to pick a direction. Each direction has an influence on the monsters you face. Here's the run-down of your possibilities: Monster Formation Pack # 1: Nautiloid, Exocite (3/4) Lesser Lopros, Exocite, Exocite (1/4) Monster Formation Pack # 2 Lesser Lopros, Lesser Lopros (3/4) Nautiloid, Exocite, Lesser Lopros (1/4) Start: (Invoke Battle with # 1) You'll reach the Straight/Left/Right decision. You'll want to pick Left for the shortest time of passing through and the potentially least amount of battles. If you're going for the most battles, or want to make sure you encounter a Lesser Lopros, obviously pick 'Straight'. Straight: (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 2) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1) Left: Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 2 50 % of the time) Right: (Invoke Battle with # 1) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) Regardless of your choice, you will end up at a small cave with a Save Point in it. (Invoke Battle with # 1) You'll reach the Up/Left decision. Up: (Invoke Battle with # 2 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) You're back at the Up/Left decision. Left: (Invoke Battle with # 2 50 % of the time) A cave with a mandatory Save Point. Last Save Point you can get the 'strange light fills the air' speech at! From second Save Point to exit: (Invoke Battle with # 2 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) Ultros Battle if you haven't fought him before. At the end of the Lethe River ordeal, you'll encounter what looks like the ultimate Nautiloid, a huge purple octopus who goes by the name of Ultros... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.10.2 The first fight with Ultros ********************************** Ultros Level: 13, HP: 3000, MP: 640 Weakness: Fire, Lightning Special: !Ink: sets Dark, Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Ink, Tentacle "Gwee-hee-hee... You're up the creek without a paddle! And I'm not gonna let you through! ...Does that make me a bad octopus?" Ultros is a tough bastard whose Tentacle attack can be a huge pain if you're playing the game without over leveling. Everybody *must* be in the Back Row. If you are a moron and played with any of your characters in the Front Row, fix that. He'll start by delivering his intro speech and using an Attack. Then, if 10 seconds have passed (and they will have), he'll say "Oh, that one's a tasty morsel! I'd love to get my tentacles around her... *sluuuuuurp*!" and target Terra with an ST Tentacle attack. If at his next turn another 10 seconds have passed, he'll say "Muscle heads? Hate 'em!" target Sabin with an ST Tentacle attack and use an MT Tentacle attack on his next turn, followed by either Attack, !Ink or an ST Tentacle in that very same turn; if not, he'll spread the happiness with an MT Tentacle/follow up with Attack/!Ink/ ST Tentacle, wait a turn, and THEN hate Sabin for his body. His next turn is devoted to an Attack and either an Attack, !Ink or ST or MT Tentacle attack in the same turn. Then, he'll say "Your ugly mug gives me the creeps!" and use an ST Tentacle attack on Banon, from where he'll start at his first MT Tentacle-Attack/!Ink/ST Tentacle turn again. Also, every time he is targeted by a Fire-elemental attack, which at this stage is either a Fire spell from Terra or Sabin's Rising Phoenix Blitz, he will say "Yeeeouch! Seafood soup is NOT on the menu!" and counter with an !Ink attack. ...yeah, it's a talkative guy. Beating Ultros down is relatively simple if you pay close attention to his AI script. Have at the very least Terra and Banon in the Back Row using their Defend skill to reduce the power of Tentacle when you know they'll be targeted by it. Have Banon use Pray at all times, as his Attack is nothing to consider seriously (even though he possesses a snazzy weapon that you won't get on other characters for a long, long time from now). For damage output, have Terra use her Fire spells, Edgar fire off arrows with the Auto Crossbow, and Sabin use Aura Cannon. IF he knows Rising Phoenix at this point, it's stronger than Aura Cannon, but if you're highly leveled like that, you probably don't need to worry about anything. If you defeat him, he'll go "*sploosh*! *blub blub*..." and escape underwater. Sabin won't like this and he'll go after him; sadly, Sabin does not consider he's more of a 'land-based' guy and Ultros appears to sane people as a generally aqua-themed creature. In other words: Sabin is dead in the water. Pun! P.S.: On Ultros being 'obviously' aqua-themed, I suppose several people now think that Lovecraft's Cthulhu is entirely capable of surviving on land. But as it is generally held into account that whoever sees Cthulhu will turn mad within an instant, it still can be said that no SANE man will assume a squid-like creature to be land-based, and my statement still stands. He'll rise and feed upon your brain and soul and is more powerful than anything you could begin to comprehend. Cthulhu will rise. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.11.1 Choosing a scenario ********************************** Location: ??? Party members: Mog Opponents: None There were initial plans for a normal menu screen where you could select your scenario from, but I guess they figured this would be more fun. They were right. Unlike the previous Mog, you can't access this guy's equipment or relics, so don't bother. It's here that you'll need to decide what scenario to do first. Here's a quick list what you can gain from each scenario: Terra/Edgar/Banon: a Rune Blade, and the ability to de-equip, most likely freeing a Gigas Glove and Hermes Sandals. Locke: Iron Helms, a Ribbon, one Earring, a Thunder Rod (if you left the Phoenix Down alone when you passed through the Cave of Figaro with Edgar, Locke, and Terra). Ends with a boss fight, so it's dangerous to de-equip at the end. Sabin: a Mythril Glove, a Barrier Ring, Green Berets, an Earring, a Sniper Eye, a Tintinnabulum and the ability to buy new equipment, including Magus Hats, Iron Armor, Silk Robes, and Bandanas. Ability to de-equip at the end. Now, I would advise you take the scenarios in the following order: Terra --> Sabin --> Locke Terra's scenario is a cinch where no extra items are needed by a long shot. However, it does contain some strong Relics you can't free until you've played through it. Therefore, Terra's scenario first. Now, Locke's scenario could use Sabin's items and vice versa...but the fact that Locke's scenario is probably the more difficult of the two, and you can't properly de-equip at the end of Locke's scenario, made me advise Locke's scenario last. On to the three scenarios: I'll handle them in the same order I advise you to take them in. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.12.1 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Lethe River continued ********************************** Location: Lete River Party members: Terra, Edgar, Banon Opponents: Lesser Lopros, Nautiloid, Exocite Preparation: Ain't nothing you can do, lil' missy. Monster Formation Pack # 1: Nautiloid, Exocite (3/4) Lesser Lopros, Exocite, Exocite (1/4) Monster Formation Pack # 2 Lesser Lopros, Lesser Lopros (3/4) Nautiloid, Exocite, Lesser Lopros (1/4) (Invoke Battle with # 2 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) (Invoke Battle with # 1 50 % of the time) With Sabin gone, battles will take a little longer. Not to worry, though. Keep the Lesser Lopros Confused, take Nautiloid with an ST Fire spell, and Exocite with the Auto Crossbow. Have Banon on stand-by. You should be used to these guys by now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.12.2 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Traveling to Narshe ********************************** Location: Overworld Map Party members: Terra, Edgar, Banon Opponents: Leaf Bunny, Darkwind You rode that Lete River (more commonly known as 1337 River by flourishing people around the world...by which I mean flowers of ACNE) like a professional. You're right in front of Narshe; this should be a cinch. Preparation: Keepin' it in the Back Row there? I promise this is going to change. If you did any of the other scenarios before this one, upgrade your equipment, give Terra one or two Earrings, and have Edgar stick to Gigas Glove/ Hermes Sandals. Monster formations: Grasslands: Leaf Bunny (10/16) Leaf Bunny , Leaf Bunny, Darkwind (6/16) Forest: Leaf Bunny , Leaf Bunny, Darkwind (10/16) Leaf Bunny , Leaf Bunny, Darkwind, Darkwind (6/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (1/16) You can just slaughter these guys left and right however you please; MT Fire spell or Auto Crossbow, your pick. In other versions of the game, you could send your party to the hidden Chocobo Stable south of the desert and witness Banon's lack of rider sprite. They fixed it so that Terra takes over whenever a Chocobo's involved. Boo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.12.3 Scenario Terra/Edgar/Banon: Narshe ********************************** Location: Narshe Party members: Terra, Edgar, Banon Opponents: Wererat, Spritzer, Bandit, Darkside, Specter, Eukaryote, Valeor, Wild Rat. Container contents: Rune Blade Miscellaneous items: Now, that was ridiculously easy; I told you this scenario was nothing to get your underwear in a twist about. After some Narshe Guards show you disrespect (remember to murderalize them later for that), it's up to you to find an alternative entrance. Luckily, you remember that secret entrance from the start of the game. No, yes you do. The one to the left? Preparation: You should've done that on the Overworld Map. Life does *not* start and stop at your convenience. Games do, though, so you can do it anyway. Enter the cave and walk through it. You'll recognize it as being the one Locke carried the unconscious Terra through. Monster formations: Were-Rat, Were-Rat, Were-Rat (10/16) Were-Rat, Repo Man (6/16) You'll walk over a snowy slope. You can see Narshe already to the right of you, but you still can't reach it. The next cave contains new enemies: Monster formations: Wild Rat, Valeor, Valeor, Wild Rat, Wild Rat (6/16) Valeor, Valeor, Valeor (5/16) Valeor, Wild Rat (5/16) Both Valeor and Wild Rat monsters attack physically only, so there's little point in explaining what it is that they do. Valeors are the highest-ranking maintenance troops in the Empire. What the hell are all the Imperial guys doing in places where there's nothing for them to maintain? Pass through it. On the other side, you'll encounter the Dreaded Security Check Point. From the Japanese game, you could have learned this is a testing place for Narshe Guards. Who made it? Who creates something like this *period*, let alone in a desolate cave like this, punishing the weakest fighters in the game to follow its path with legions of undead monstrosities? Drunken wizards? Frat boys who find little pieces of Magicite and, being too poor to buy the pretty girls a drink, try to impress by feats of magic? So here's the deal. Follow the path of the sparkle thingy. Abandon knowledge of the will o' the wisp and DO follow this one. If not, nine revolving lights will quickly surround you. If you manage to tag the yellow one, you'll be given a chance to get back on track. If not, you will have to fight a battle: Darkside, Darkside (3/4) Darkside, Specter, Eukaryote, Eukaryote, Eukaryote (1/4) Suffice to say, if you mess up here, you'll have to fight a battle. Now, I was assuming that you acted on mistake and you were incapable of avoiding this bold act. However, it should be noted that you'll probably want to fight this illuminating magical sphere, as this is the only place where you'll find the nefarious Darkside enemy. Lo and behold, as there is a small chance (25 %) you will encounter here the interesting Specter and Eukaryote. There's no reason you want to meet them and killing them is easy, but you'll make them appear on the Veldt so you don't end up with a needlessly incomplete Rage list. Specter has a rare Ice Rod for stealing, but you sadly lack Locke at the moment. Intruding further into the dark, cold mines will allow you to come across the location where the Moogles live. Resuming your quest will get you past the chest in this room; reach it and open it to obtain the Rune Blade*. It's is stronger then your current blade. Unfortunately, it consumes 12 to 18 MP to inflict a critical hit every time, so grab onto your few MP and stick with the Great Sword, as the Rune Blade is horribly cost-inefficient at this stage of the game. * Actually, it would make more sense to just leave it here. Despite the fact that the Rune Blade allows Terra or Celes to do more damage than she could do without it, you probably will never use it. Much later, the treasure here will change into a Ribbon, which is much better at that time than the Rune Blade is now. Monster formations: Bandit, Spritzer (6/16) Spritzer, Spritzer (5/16) Wererat, Wererat (5/16) When you walk out of the Moogle Den, you're pretty much done. Keep ignoring any closed chests you might encounter; their contents haven't changed yet. When you're out of the cave, you can safely de-equip everything. That just was Scenario # 1... hope you liked it. The Old Man has been given a name! His name is Arvis. Nothing much has changed in Narshe; they're still neutral even though the Empire attacked them, they haven't really done anything with the esper, and are a generally indecisive bunch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.13.1 Scenario Sabin: Meeting Shadow and finding the Imperial Camp ********************************** Location: Overworld Map Party members: Sabin, Shadow Opponents: Stray Cat, Aepyornis, Nettlehopper, Chippirabbit So, Sabin was thrown off the raft and separated from his 5-minute friends. Getting back to Narshe is going to be tedious, as you have no idea which way to go. Your only hope is to find somebody who can point out the way... Preparation: Keep Sabin in the Back Row. White Cape and a Star Pendant. Even if you do have an Earring, Aura Cannon kills everything in one shot anyway, so a power boost isn't needed. Beakor's !Featherdust can Poison you, so that's why I advise a Star Pendant. Clever, no? Monster formations: Grass: Aepyornis (6/16) Rhobite, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Aepyornis, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Forest: Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper, Stray Cat, Stray Cat (5/16) Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Aepyornis, Aepyornis, Stray Cat (5/16) Aepyornis, Stray Cat, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (1/16) You start near a little house. Walk over to it. If you couldn't figure that out by yourself, I advise you to equip a Gun Relic in your mouth and use Pull The Trigger for offense. Here, there are three main points of interest. The guy you met in South Figaro is here, there's a green soldier-type merchant on a chocobo who comes in and leaves pretty quickly, and there's a house to go in. First, go over to the merchant. He has a nice set of items for you: Potion 50 Phoenix Down 500 Tent 1200 Plumed Hat 250 Shuriken 30 Invisibility Scroll 200 Shadow Scroll 400 Sprint Shoes 1500 I suggest you buy 99 Shurikens from him. 2970 Gil is not that much, and it'll stop any worrying about the limit of Shadow's attacks for a good while. Also, buy 5 Invisibility Scrolls and 5 Shadow Scrolls. You probably won't ever need any more. Now, go over to Shadow (you can talk to his dog from various angles and watch Sabin hide behind several objects, that always gets a kick out of me: "Don't get too close... He doesn't like strangers."), chat with him, and accept him in your party. I guess I should note it's not required as such; you can perfectly well finish the scenario without him. It's just that there's no reason whatsoever to ignore him, as not only is he a great asset to your team at this stage, he also comes with some Ninja Gear on him, which is great armor for now. Your additions to his equipment should be a Heavy Shield and a Plumed Hat (you can buy the latter from the merchant if you have none to spare). Like I mentioned in the preparations, you'll want an Gigas Glove and a filler Relic on him, such as the Hyper Wrist. Stick him in the Back Row, as the very purpose of throwing something is ignoring the distance between you and the target. Since this is the moment Shadow is officially a party member, it'd be nice to know what it is that he does in battle. Learn it: [THROW-LINK] Entering the house will be difficult. You'll need to locate the door. It's hidden somewhere on the front side of the house itself, so look carefully. Inside the house, you can touch the stove for a neat little scene about how crazy this guy in fact is, but there's nothing remotely useful for you to do here otherwise. Make sure you talk to the Crazy Old Man in question several times, as his lines change. There are moments in the game Shadow has the annoying tendency to have a chance of running off after every battle. I'll explain that when that chance actually presents itself. For now, Shadow is your loyal sidekick. In other words, Shadow will NOT run out on you right now. On the Overworld Map, all violence directed at you is physical. In the first battle you fight with Shadow, have him Throw an Invisibility Scroll. This makes him invulnerable for the remaining journey on the Overworld Map. Throw Shurikens and Aura Cannons at your heart's delight; you'll find there's little strategy in this scenario as most of your fights consist of taking hits and returning ST one-hit KO's. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.13.2 Scenario Sabin: The Imperial Camp and Doma ********************************** Location: Imperial Camp, Doma Castle Party members: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan Opponents: Imperial Soldier, Doberman, Magitek Armor, Captain Container contents: Barrier Ring, Mythril Glove, Remedy, Star Pendant, Monster- in-a-box (Satellite) Miscellaneous items: Black Belt (Captain drop), Green Beret (Satellite drop) It seems there is an Imperial obstruction in the way. This is the Imperial Camp Shadow talked about, the one that will have to overcome the defenses of Doma at some point in the near future. We'll have to try to sneak past it. Preparation: Keep Sabin in the Back Row, as well as Shadow if you brought him. As soon as you enter the Imperial Camp, a cutscene will ensue. It becomes apparent that general Leo is leading the attack on Doma, and that he's pretty popular with the soldiers. Kefka, on the other hand, is expected to drive Leo out of the mission, becoming a general himself, a thought that inspires fear in the soldiers. Also, Doma is being attacked. Right now. The scene switches to Doma, where chances of overcoming the attack are slim. The retainer however, Cyan Garamonde, has a daring plan: rush out of the castle to kill the leading officer; this might send the soldiers scurrying off for the time being. After the scene, you are in control of Cyan. Equip Cyan with fancy new equipment you can offer him (Heavy Shield, Plumed Hat or even an Iron Helmet if you went through some pains in Locke's scenario already). I suggest you take a moment to check up on the character that is Cyan: [BUSHIDO-LINK] Outside, eight Imperial soldiers are banging their heads against the walls of Doma in a sophisticated attempt to infiltrate it. The leading officer does nothing. You can pick a fight with any of the wandering Imperial soldiers (which will trigger a battle with two Imperial Soldiers), but it's of little use, as you'll be forced to fight Imperial Soldiers in the near future anyway. I suggest you simply go for the leader. Captain Level: 12, HP: 456, MP: 20 Win: Fenix Down (rare), Black Belt (common) Status: Protect Special: !Axe: Attack * 1.5 Attacks: Attack, !Axe The captain, surprisingly called 'Captain', will sometimes use !Axe in between his normal physicals. He has a 33 % of countering any damage with !Axe, and that wraps it up for Captain. Cyan should be in the Back Row, so Leader's attacks shouldn't really hurt him. Cyan's # 1 Bushido skill, Fang, will deal sufficient damage to easily kill Captain before Leader can come anywhere near killing Cyan. Bushido skill # 2, Sky, will make sure that the Captain is killed in one hit. Bushido skill # 3 works as well, although it takes needlessly long. Make sure you end up with a Black Belt rather than a Phoenix Down; the Black Belt is a nice Relic at this point of the game, and you can't get another one for quite some time. When you're done playing around with petty officers, and the Imperial Soldiers, despite their overwhelming number, have decided it would be best to flee, the scene switches back to Sabin and Shadow. Proceed to explore the Imperial Camp. To the left is an Imperial soldier marching around; engaging him will get you an Imperial Soldier, Imperial Soldier, Magitek Armor battle. This walking soldier will re-spawn every time you leave and enter the Imperial Camp, by the way. To the left are a seemingly passive guard dog and a chest in the large military tent. You'll be given three options when examining the chest: Urrgh! It won't open. (Kick it.) (Hit it.) (Leave it.) - If you Kick it, the guard dog outside will be alarmed and will attack you, triggering an attack: Monster formations: Doberman, Doberman, Doberman (3/4) Doberman, Doberman (1/4) They're the only Dobermans you'll ever see in the game, so if you're still cruising for the perfect Rage list, this is the option you'll want. Dobermans, strangely, do NOT appear in the Bestiary. After Kicking it, the chest is open. It contains a Star Pendant. - If you Hit it, you'll fool an Imperial soldier by pretending to be a NEKO NEKO KAWAII. I meant a cat. After the soldier has disappeared, you'll be able to open the chest, which contains a Star Pendant. - If you Leave it, nothing will happen, unlike, say, leaving your wife. If you're done in this part of the Imperial Camp and are ready to continue, you'll come across a cutscene in which general Leo is called home to Vector by Emperor Gestahl, leaving Kefka in charge. You can get up and stretch you muscles for two steps before Leo and Kefka meet before your eyes. Kefka and Leo do NOT get along. Leo hasn't disappeared from your sight for a second when Kefka orders the poisoning of Doma's water supply, which not only goes against the laws of honor and war, but will take out several Imperial prisoners within the walls of Doma castle. Even given your current position, you cannot allow this to happen. You'll be fighting a character Kefka, who runs after taking one hit. He'll simply smack you over the head with his Morning Star if you let him, so getting your ass kicked isn't even terribly interesting in this case. Don't immediately follow him all the way; there are important things to be done: - In a tent, there are two chests. Ignore them for now, walk behind this tent. Automatically, you'll jump off a ledge in walk into another Tent. Here, you'll find a Barrier Ring; swap it with Sabin's Star Pendant. He can enjoy the slight Aura Cannon damage increase. Now, walk back into the tent with two chests. - The right one contains a Mythril Glove, which you can ignore for the rest of your life. - The left one contains one of NASA's old-time prides: the Satellite. If you already completed Locke's scenario, give the Ribbon to Sabin at this point. If not, give him the Genji Glove and move him to the *gasp* Front Row. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.13.3 Scenario Sabin: Satellite and the Imperial Camp continued ********************************** Location: Imperial Camp, Doma Castle Party members: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan Opponents: Imperial Soldier, Templar, Magitek Armor, Satellite, Soldier, Officer Satellite Level: 14, HP: 1800, MP: 250 Steal: X-Potion (rare), Win: Green Beret (rare), Green Beret (common) Weakness: Lightning, Water Status: Float Special: !Supersonic Wave: sets Muddled Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Supersonic Wave, Dischord, Scintillation, Mega Berserk, Magitek Laser, Missile Satellite will normally use Attack, !Supersonic Wave, Scintillation, Magitek Laser and Missile to make your life harder than it already is. Every ninth turn it takes, Satellite will use Dischord to halve a character's level. After 25 seconds of fighting, Satellite will call two Imperial Soldiers to aid him. 55 seconds later, he'll call in three Imperial Soldiers to help him (if there are Imperial Soldiers from the previous calling still standing, he'll fill the number to 3), and 120 seconds later, he'll call four Imperial Soldiers (once again, he fills the screen up to four Soldiers anyway). Finally, Satellite will counter any Blitz attack with Mega Berserk, making sure that Sabin will be Blitz-less in this battle, like an animal. Shadow should be Throwing Shurikens while Sabin can keep on pumping out Aura Cannons. If you didn't have a Ribbon, he will be Berserked by Satellite's Blitz-counter, Mega Berserk. It should be noted that Shadow will, for the first time, be vulnerable to attacks here as there's a large chance at least one of Satellite's magical attacks will be striking Shadow, removing the Invisible status. After the fight, you win a Green Beret. Equip it on Sabin and swap his White Cape with the Mythril Glove (don't worry, it'll soon fade into the non-existence it was created for). Return Sabin to his Back Row Aura Cannon self and move on. Following Kefka further will get you into another battle with character Kefka. Have Shadow re-apply his Invisible status if you lost it versus Satellite. After talking to Kefka for the third time, he'll run off and sends Imperial Soldier, Imperial Soldier, Templar, Templar at you. If Shadow is still visible, take care of that problem. Have Sabin Defend and keep his own HP up, while Shadow takes out the enemies one by one (Templars first). There's a large chance they will use strong physical counters on you, and Shadow can avoid all of them. After Kefka breaks the universal honor code and Cyan learns that everything he loves is subject to Poison, you gain control of the good knight. Equip the Hermes Sandals on him and another nice filler Relic. You don't really have a choice but to go downstairs and watch Cyan rush into the royal chamber. The King of Doma (whose name is King Doma; I like to think his first names are 'King of') is dying. Then, he dies. Do not go into the door to the right when you leave the royal chamber. It contains graphic adultery, you hear? Instead, go on do the bottom of the screen and see two doors there. Pick the right one and enter. There's a Remedy in a pot here. Talk to the Doma Sentry you see in this room, and try to explore the available door next to him. It seems the statement about 'survivors' was too hopeful. When you're done, put Cyan in the Front Row and enter the room I previously forbid you to enter. You regain control of Sabin and Shadow once the scene is done. You can't exit left, as there's poison there (although you'll learn in a little while there's good distance between the Imperial Camp and Doma Castle, plot device laughs in the face of logic). No choice but to help Cyan! For some extra fun, try talking to Cyan when between the two attacking Imperial soldiers: Cyan: Grrr! Art thou an enemy as well!? Sabin: Ouch! Probably shouldn't have gotten in the middle of that... Too bad you don't lose HP there; that would amuse my bitter, bitter self. Cyan will fight automatically in this battle, having a 66 % of using Attack and 33 % shot at Fang. Sabin and Shadow can stick to their trusted ST power- blows, and you'll win the day without breaking a sweat in the battle formations you have to go through: Soldier, Soldier, Soldier (3/4) / Soldier, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier (1/4) Soldier, Soldier, Soldier (3/4) / Soldier, Soldier, Soldier, Soldier (1/4) Officer, Soldier, Soldier After all is said and done, you get to run around in Magitek Armor again! How sweet it is! Heal any damage done to Sabin and Cyan with Healing Force (obviously Shadow wasn't touched at all; he's a non-generic ninja). Use Healing Force anyway, as his invisibility can, believe it or not, become a negative factor in the near future. Put Cyan back in the Back Row and blast your way through any opposition with whatever beam you can use. Everything kills everything, to be blunt. The helpless opposition: Magitek Armor Imperial Soldier, Imperial Soldier, Magitek Armor Magitek Armor, Magitek Armor When you're done, leave. This is, by the way, a good strategy for a large portion of your life, although it doesn't seem to work as effectively after you've taken what you want from girls. Finally! You've managed to sneak through an Imperial Camp without the loss of your life. Of course, you didn't so much 'sneak through' as simply murdered everybody you saw, which was half of the Camp's population. Still, you live. That's good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.14.1 Scenario Sabin: Traveling to the Phantom Forest ********************************** Location: Overworld Map Party members: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan Opponents: Stray Cat, Aepyornis, Nettlehopper, Chippirabbit Having broken out like a bad case of acne, your only hope to reach Narshe is to travel through a dark forest to the east of Doma Castle. Preparation: Save, darn you! Now that Sabin is no longer alone and scared, there is little direct reason for Shadow to linger. That means that starting from your escape from the Imperial Camp, he may randomly decide to leave you after every battle: Shadow: My job is done. I've earned my pay. Shadow: So long... It's just a 1/16 chance though (which, by the way, is in NO way influenced by the order you performed the scenarios in, there are many myths and misconceptions about that). I can say that in a short while, there will be a situation in which Shadow will no longer be able to escape, but you'll need to make it there with Shadow at your side, preferably. This can be reached by: a) Saving beforehand and relying on your luck b) Killing Shadow until the party reaches said destination. c) Running from every battle If you're playing the game on an emulator, I suggest the first (you can always Quick Save after every battle and Quick Load when Shadow decides it's time to hit the road). If you're playing on the console, the Quicksave feature can save you a lot of frustration older games brought you. Quicksave until you reach the destination where Shadow'll stick. Monster formations: Grass north of Imperial Camp: Aepyornis (6/16) Rhobite, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Aepyornis, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Grass south and west of Imperial Camp: Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (6/16) Stray Cat, Stray Cat, Stray Cat (5/16) Aepyornis, Stray Cat, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (5/16) Forest: Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper, Stray Cat, Stray Cat (5/16) Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit, Chippirabbit (5/16) Aepyornis, Aepyornis, Stray Cat (5/16) Aepyornis, Stray Cat, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (1/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (5/16) Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran, Alacran (1/16) You know how to handle the wildlife here. You can travel to Doma Castle, but you'll find it occupied by Imperial troops so you cannot enter. Just travel to the forest to the southeast. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.14.2 Scenario Sabin: The Phantom Forest ********************************** Location: Phantom Forest Party members: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan Opponents: Ghost, Poplium Welcome to Phantom Forest, called the Forest of Illusion in the Japanese game. After entering the forest, something quickly seems...off. Eyes from the darkness leering at you. Sounds from places you can't keep your eye on. You being on fire. Preparation: Shadow's still a possible run-away, so keep him down if that's your strategy. Monster formations: First and second screen: Ghost (10/16) Ghost, Poplium, Poplium (6/16) Third screen and fourth screen: Ghost, Ghost, Poplium, Poplium, Poplium (10/16) Ghost, Ghost, Ghost (5/16) Ghost (1/16) Ghosts are unfriendly, generally unpleasant, Undead, and they hate you. Every first turn will be a Fire spell or nothing, but the second turn can contain Attack, !Time Freeze (which sets Stop) and Dancing Flame, a very strong ST Fire -elemental attack that will probably shave off 150 HP. Poplium are waiting to be relieved from this unlife they're doomed to suffer through. They attack physically and if they're feeling particularly grumpy they might even use !Cling to slow you down. This is, strategy-wise, a very boring and straightforward part of the game. Sabin, Cyan, and Shadow all have ST attacks that can take out all enemies in one hit. Keep up with Fang, Shuriken, and Aura Cannon. Use Potions when you are hit with an unlucky Dancing Flame or when your HP is running low due to other causes. You will find a Recovery Spring you will automatically heal yourself in. Make sure to kill Shadow again if you're a SNES player. Think: "Take this, nemesis! A Shuriken to the face! Oh, wait. Fitting as it is for my dark, brooding character, I myself am my nemesis. My physical agony is without boundaries." Always stick to the next exit on the top of the screen; other exits will lead you in circles. Laugh at their attempts to trick you. Eventually, you'll reach a train. The train was destroyed in the recent war between Doma and the Empire, and Sabin will talk about survivors and taking looks. Cyan will freak, but we're used to that by now and pay little attention to him as we climb aboard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.15.1 Scenario Sabin: The Phantom Train ********************************** Location: Phantom Train Party members: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan Opponents: Cloud, Angel Whisper, Oversoul, Bomb, Ghost, Living Dead, Phantom Train, Siegfried, Apparition Container contents: Earring, Phoenix Down x2, Sniper Eye, Monster-in-a-box (Apparition) Miscellaneous items: Hyper Wrist (Apparition drop), Tent x2 (hidden) Preparation: You can revive Shadow now as, trapped on the Phantom Train as he is, he won't run away anymore. You'll want to keep hold of your high-tech reviving utilities, as a Save Point is nearby. Monster formations: (Outside portions of the entire Phantom Train): Angel Whisper, Angel Whisper, Cloud (5/16) Bomb (5/16) Angel Whisper, Angel Whisper, Angel Whisper, Angel Whisper (5/16) Bomb, Bomb, Bomb (1/16) Behold, the Phantom Train! This is the first area where we'll fight multiple monsters that regularly use spells; learn to love it. The Phantom Train is a luxury, a transportation device unlike any other. Pulled by a locomotive, the Train features a Save Point, two train wagons for the rich, a restaurant wagon, and five normal wagons with the Conductor's working area in the far back. This is it: ( LOCOMOTIVE ) ( SAVE POINT CAR ) (APPARITION CAR, POSH ) ( SIEGFRIED CAR, POSH ) ( RESTAURANT CAR ) ( MAGIC SWITCH CAR ) ( LEAP OVER CAR ) ( NO ESCAPE CAR ) ( HUMEROUS TUMBLE CAR ) ( STARTING CAR ) ( CONDUCTOR CAR ) Angel Whispers are emissaries from a magical world. They use Attack, as is the wont of monsters, and Gravity, a spell that halves your amount of current HP. It's pretty annoying. This is also the first monster you'll see with inherent Sap status. The undead were supposed to be healed by this status, so this was supposed to be a recovering opponent. Instead, due to a bug, Whispers just waste away in their own misery. Living Dead are warrior zombies possessed by an evil spirit. Nice. They attack physically and with !Slip Touch, which sets Sap. They're inherently boring and mediocre. Cloud monsters are NOT undead. This is a surprising feat for a creature on the Phantom Train, and I don't really know why this is. They cast Drain to little avail, as you'll be doing one-hit KO's against them, but it's a nice try. Also, !Unseen Strike damages. Oversouls are undead skeletons born from a coalescence of hatred. Also, they're most rude. Every second turn they take can make them use Dread Gaze, an attack that sets Petrify on a single target. If they're alone they won't ever use Dread Gaze but they can use !Insanitouch, which sets Confused and is potentially even more dangerous than Dread Gaze. Bombs are mostly found when you're walking outside, and they have nothing to do with the Phantom Train and its destination. If they attack at all, they use Blaze, a strong Fire-elemental attack they can either aim at a single character or at the entire party. Always go for Bombs first, but never allow yourself to hit them with a non-fatal attack as they could use Self-Destruct, which harms you as much as the Bomb in question has for current HP. Luckily, as Self-Destruct is all about self-destruction, the Bomb will be dead. Even though a great variety of attacks will be sent your way, there's very little you can do about them. Continue to use your powerful ST attacks, and have Shadow target Bombs and then Whispers before anything else, as their Blaze and/or Demi attacks are the biggest threats you face. It's feasible that your Sabin has learned Rising Phoenix by now. While you must've leveled him to level 15 for Rising Phoenix to be an option, and while level 15 is over leveled at this point, it's not entirely dramatically high. Bombs absorb Fire/Rising Phoenix, so refrain from using it when facing them. Aura Cannon is more powerful on a single target, but both feed off the weaknesses that seems inherent to all undead enemies: Fire and Pearl. You'll learn to use Rising Phoenix, I'm sure. Give Shadow the Hermes Sandals, as his ST attacks will be the most important ones. Mythril Glove/Gigas Glove Cyan in the Front Row, Aura Cannon Sabin in the Back Row with a White Cape and Barrier Ring. Once you decide to board the train, there's no going back. The door will close behind you and the train will start moving. Examine the door, and Cyan will explain about the Phantom Train, which brings the deceased to the afterlife. Business must be small, with all them Phoenix Downs. Monster formations: Bomb (10/16) Bomb, Bomb, Bomb (6/16) When you're done gasping and shaking in fear, head to the right. You'll walk out of the train car and, if you keep that button down, into a new one. You'll see a ghost here. Talk to him and have him join your party! It's only temporary, but I'll discuss the White Robed a bit: The ghost joins on a level quite similar to yours, and can use Attack, Possess, and Item. Since he has no weapons, his Attack is horribly weak. Possess is a quirky command that is only seen here; Possess will remove both the caster and the target from the battle. The caster is gone from the party after the battle ends. This command has a 3 out of 8 chance of succeeding against every target, regardless of one-hit KO protection, Evasion, or Magic Evasion. The ghost comes equipped with NO equipment, and only one Relic: the Lich Ring. This turns the wearer into an Undead creature, which is exactly the story behind the temporary character. This means you will *hurt* the poor bastard with Potions and Hi-Potions and kill it instantly with Phoenix Downs. If it has fallen in battle, you cannot revive him (the Phoenix Down will miss). Outside of battle, however, you can heal with restorative items. If a temporary ghost character dies, he will be removed from the party. If you haven't brought Shadow, you can recruit two Ghost characters. You'll always obtain the stronger one first, and should you have left Shadow behind or allowed him to run off, a weaker one will come second. Enter the cabin. If you look at the switch, you'll see a cutscene in which Cyan's fear or machinery is once again displayed in a humorous manner. If you examine the book, you'll see some dialogue. If you talk to the Conductor, you can ask some questions. In the top-left corner of the car, there's a hidden Tent just waiting for you to be discovered. If you leave again, you'll see another ghost. If Shadow left you/if you haven't bothered with him at all, you can have this guy join you too, although this second ghost is always significantly more useless. Monster formations: Angel Whisper, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud (6/16) Angel Whisper (5/16) Living Dead, Living Dead, Living Dead (5/16) Okay, to the left we go! This is where the Locomotive is located, which we need to shut down. In the next train car, you see all sorts of ghosts. Some will attack you, some will want to join you, and some will want to sell you items. You shouldn't really benefit from the items, but if you feel you could use extra from the following, be my guest to search them out: Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Antidote 50 Green Cherry 150 Phoenix Down 500 Sleeping Bag 500 Shuriken 30 Ghosts that attack you are either: Ghost (3/4) Ghost, Ghost, Ghost (1/4) So don't worry about that. When you exit the train car to the left, you can use a ladder to climb up the car you just abandoned and come across an air vent you fall through should you stand on it. How rad! How entirely useless! Going into the next train car will be a suicidal plan, as it turns out. Just seconds after you entered, a ghost will appear from behind and block your path back. There are no other exits. It's time to fight the bugger! Like all other ghosts that have attacked you when you talked to them, this is either a single Ghost or a triple Ghost formation. When outside, you will be cornered by a mob of angry undeads. And they're not doing the moonwalk either! Time to escape. The roof, however, fits the role of upper surface completely and provides no means of exit. Then, Sabin gets an idea, which apparently requires Cyan to 'come'. Who knows what those years of training have been good for? You escape, Shadow and the ghost carefully secured in your back pocket. Or something. Monster formations: Angel Whisper, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud (6/16) Oversoul, Oversoul (5/16) Oversoul, Living Dead, Living Dead (5/16) The ghosts pursue! Instead of making this a kick-ass pursuit scene, you can simply flick a switch to detach the rear train cars. Do so. Remember, this has no consequences for the otherwise innocent, as the only thing you do is trap dozens of souls in the mortal realms, denying them passage to the afterlife, including, but not limited to, those nice guys who wanted to sell you items and help you on your quest. But hey, you're the good guys, right? Once back inside, you can swap the same switch to clear your path. What, is this some kind of MAGICAL switch that can do whatever you want it to do? Is this some kind of MAGICAL world you play this game in? Balderdash! Humbug, I say! This is the train car you want to be in to find Oversoul, as they don't appear on earlier or subsequent train cars. The next train houses the Dish of the Damned! The Food of the Forgotten! The Cuisine of the Con...demned! Sitting at the middle table will make a ghost waiter serve you some food. Cyan will spaz out (he does that a lot) but you'll be fully healed, just like a meal in real life. You can repeat this for a less dramatic but more personal scene by switching lead characters the next time(s) you sit down: Sabin: All right! Dinner time! I'm gonna eat till I burst! Cyan: Is this train's food tr-truly safe to eat? Shadow: ... Interceptor... Are you hungry, too, boy? Ghost: *gobble*... *snarf*... *slurp*... the Ghost will just go bananas on the food. It's a hoot to see, seriously :D You can't exit to the left, so go out and walk around the train car. Don't forget to go back in the other side and open the chest behind the waiters for an Earring. Swap one of Sabin's Relics with it, as you'll need the boost in Aura Cannon power in a bit. Monster formations: Angel Whisper (6/16) Bomb, Bomb, Cloud, Cloud (5/16) Angel Whisper, Living Dead, Cloud, Cloud (5/16) You can't go around the next train car, so just get in! There are two compartments in this train car. The first one houses a chest, but as soon as you face it from the front (you can't open it from the side), you will hear an ominous voice! Of course, there's really no indication the voice is ominous, so I'm just making that up. Siegfried Level: 7, HP: 100, MP: 5 Steal: Win: Green Cherry (rare), Green Cherry (common) Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Petrify, KO, Doom, Mute Attacks: Attack After the introduction between you and Siegfried is done, it's fighty time. Siegfried has 100 HP and opens with a flurry of eight weak physical attacks. Chances are your Black Belt character or Interceptor kills him before he finishes all eight, but if that's not the case, you can just do whatever (the Tiger Bushdio skill doesn't work!). You'll get a Green Cherry for your troubles. Siegfried is impersonating the legendary swordsman Siegfried and had hoped to scare you off rather than actually having to fight you in any kind of serious battle. In the Japanese version, Siegfried continuously refers to himself as Mr. Me. It gets really annoying really quick. Anyway, the pansy has been beaten. Siegfried runs off with the treasure - Au revoir! Don't worry if you just missed the biggest kick-ass Gamma Sword just there; the chest isn't really a chest with contents anyway. The next room in the compartment appears empty, but this is not the case. See those two empty tiles to the left of the bench? The left one contains a Tent; just face it and press action. The right one contains a Fairy Ring, but you can't obtain it since you can't face it. Stupid programmers are the scourge of gaming. :( On to the next car! Once again, it's a posh car with two compartments. The first one is empty. Completely bona fide empty. The second one is lined up with four chests; rejoice. From right to left, they contain a Phoenix Down, Sniper Eye (you can ignore this Relic for now, nothing evades your physicals at this stage of the game, and you're not using them anyway), Phoenix Down, and a Monster-in-a-Box. How frightening. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.15.2 Scenario Sabin: Apparition and the Phantom Train continued ********************************** Apparition Level: 19, HP: 1500, MP: 10000 Steal: Win: Hyper Wrist (rare), Hyper Wrist (common) Absorbs: Poison, Weakness: Fire, Pearl Status: Undead Special: !Lightning: Attack x 2 Sketch : !Lightning, Attack Control: Attack, !Lightning Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Lightning, Blizzard, Leech This is Apparition. According to the latest Anthology release (I imagine somebody reading this in 2050 and laughing...laughing!), this is the ghost of a murdered person. Oh my. Apparition has normal access to three attacks: Attack, the Blizzard spell, and Leech, which drains HP. If you damage Apparition, he will hate you for it and get a 33 % shot at attacking his attacker with !Lightning, which is nothing even remotely like Lightning-elemental. There are a number of ways to kill this thing humiliatingly easy, but the Top 2 of cheap tactics go right against my game ethics. Of course, there's taking advantage of Square's assumption that even though it's supposed to be a rather difficult enemy, it still should be vulnerable to a Phoenix Down scoring a one- hit KO. Also, you're traveling with a ghost that is capable of delivering a one -hit KO on everything. But I'll take that not only are you too good for the Phoenix Down move, you also don't want to lose your cool ghost guy just yet. So, when the battle begins, wait for Cyan's third Bushido skill, Tiger. Don't move with Sabin and Shadow or even the ghost; just skip to Cyan and use Tiger. It'll halve his current HP and should do 750 damage. Follow up with an Aura Cannon and a Shuriken and you should be done. You'll get a Hyper Wrist for your troubles, which is hardly satisfactory. Then again, it wasn't much trouble. Before you can reach the next car, your ghost companion(s) will leave you. ...How troublesome. The next car contains a Save Point. Save. That is its point. Finally, you made it to the locomotive. Rather than making puns with 'loco' (or worse, with 'motive'), I'll just say that the engineer's compartment will make Sabin and Cyan excited before they even set as much as a single step within it. Sounds promising! In the top-left and the bottom-left corners of the room, you can read that you need to shut the first and third pressure valves. All three are now open, so just flip the first and third one, and go outside near the smoke stack. Before you operate, you should expect a major fight coming up. As preparation, move everybody to the Front Row and equip any Ribbon you might have. Equip the White Cape on Cyan (switch with Hyper Wrist). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.15.3 Scenario Sabin: The battle with the Phantom Train ********************************** Phantom Train Level: 14, HP: 1900, MP: 350 Steal: Nothing (always), Win: Tent (always) Absorbs: Poison, Weakness: Fire, Lightning, Pearl Status: Undead Special: !Wheel: Attack x 2 Vulnerable to: KO Attacks: Attack, !Wheel, Acid Rain, Diabolic Whistle, Saintly Beam The Phantom Train will start with the battle with either a physical attack, !Wheel, or Diabolic Whistle. The next four turns will be spent at using normal physical attacks and his Special !Wheel; the fifth turn will be Diabolic Whistle, but only if there are at least two characters still alive. After every 15 seconds of battle, Phantom Train will use either Acid Rain (2/3) or Saintly Beam, a Phantom Train-specific attack that deals MT Pearl-elemental damage to your party. Finally, if Phantom Train has been damaged, he has a one in three chance of using !Wheel. The fight against Phantom Train can be real easy and real bad, and it all depends on his Diabolic Whistle attack. This sets one random status ailment on your party out of the following: Darkness, Poison, Imp, Doom, Berserk, Confused, Sap and Slow. Due to a GBA-exclusive bug, you can circumvent all effects from this attack by equipping a Relic which protects against Imp (such as the White Cape). It should've still applied other status ailments in that case, but it doesn't. The ones you need to be concerned about are Imp, Berserk, and Confused. If one of your characters is Imped, you'll want to use Hi-Potions to damage Phantom Train. Hi-Potions inflict 250 worth of HP damage, which is superior to your crummy Imped Attack command. Smack your Confused characters, as there's nothing more fatal than Confused characters, especially when they have access to Rising Phoenix or barrier-piercing attacks. The Phantom Train battle is very much like the Apparition battle in the sense that using a Phoenix Down is the coward's way out, and that the strategy revolves around allowing Cyan to start the battle with his third Bushido skill, Tiger. After this, have Sabin come in with an Aura Cannon and Shadow with Shuriken. A lot of people have dubbed it 'hilarious' to have Sabin use Meteor Strike on the Phantom Train. If you want to see a tiny sprite lift a huge train, be my guest. After the fight is over, you're in for the most dramatic moment of your life. If you don't actually have a life, that is. Cyan Garamonde, who has lost everything he ever lived for, has to come face to face with his departed wife and son, only moments before the Phantom Train forcefully takes them away. I suppose it's only justifiable Cyan is slightly in shock after this. You'll be able to leave after a set period of time. Shadow: "Best leave him be." After all has been said and done, you find yourself on the Overworld Map. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.16.1 Scenario Sabin: Traveling to Baren Falls ********************************** Location: Overworld Map Party members: Sabin, Cyan, Shadow Opponents: Stray Cat, Aepyornis, Nettlehopper Monster formations: Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (6/16) Stray Cat, Stray Cat, Stray Cat (5/16) Aepyornis, Stray Cat, Nettlehopper, Nettlehopper (5/16) You've escaped the Phantom Train and find yourself at the southern edge of the Phantom Forest. To your right is Baren Falls, a great waterfall you must get past to reach the Veldt, which is full of dangerous monsters. It seems Sabin's scenario is packed with landmark-esque obstacles. Preparation: Shadow, once again, may run away. Also, he will depart anyway in a very small bit; de-equip him of his equipment and relics. Give the Ninja Gear and Hermes Sandals to Sabin and pass the Gigas Glove to Cyan. If you're still suffering from bad status afflictions from Phantom Train's Diabolic Whistle, a Tent might be appropriate. Don't forget to move all but your Black Belt character to the Back Row. Wait for Sabin's Rising Phoenix to kill everything or, should you lack it, slave away with those ST slayers you've grown so familiar with. Make sure to fight Stray Cats here if you haven't before, as they will prove most useful. Simply walk into the cave to the east and head all the way to the falls. Sabin and Cyan will discuss your bad situation and Shadow will leave you here. He'll be missed, but you'll get an ever better character in a bit, so don't feel too bad about it. You could return to the Phantom Forest, but there's really no point; you'll just find yourself walking through some familiar screens of the Phantom Forest and you'll eventually reach the other side. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.16.2 Scenario Sabin: Baren Falls ********************************** Location: Baren Falls Party members: Sabin, Cyan, Shadow Opponents: Opinicus Fish, Rhizopas Miscellaneous items: Remedy (Rhizopas drop) Lacking your favorite ninja, your first course of action is hurling yourself down a waterfall packed with rabid piranhas with crazy spell casting abilities. I'd say it's clear who the brains in that team was. Preparation: You're still set. You might want to de-equip the Black Belt (read the text below). Monster formations: Opinicus Fish, Opinicus Fish, Opinicus Fish, Opinicus Fish, Opinicus Fish, Rhizopas Yeah, you read that right, but it's more of a data thing. What you'll see on-screen is monster formations of Opinicus Fish x2, Opinicus Fish x3 and Rhizopas. What'll happen here is that you'll be fighting Opinicus Fish for 60 seconds before Rhizopas appears. Which pack of Opinicus Fish monsters pops up entirely depends on which Opinicus Fish you killed last, but it shouldn't really concern you, as the normal Opinicus Fish are extremely weak. What you do in the first 60 seconds is entirely up to you. If you want little fuss, you can just wait the 60 seconds out in the first battle, kill all but one, heal up with Tonics for the Rhizopas confrontation, and kill the last bugger. On the other hand, Opinicus Fish know a rare Potion drop, so if you want a shot at as much of those possible, kill as much Opinicus Fish as you can handle. Since Opinicus Fish only have 10 HP even a Back Row Attack command kills them, so do that. It's the fastest way. Rhizopas Level: 13, HP: 775, MP: 39 Steal: Win: Remedy (rare), Remedy (common) Absorbs: Water, Weakness: Lightning Status: Float Special: !Bite: Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Berserk, Confuse, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Bite, Blizzard, El Niņo, Megavolt As soon as Rhizopas comes you're in trouble. This little guy has access to the El Niņo spell, which will deal up to 250 damage to both characters. Your best bet is to go all-out offensive. While Rhizopas has very decent magical defense, Aura Cannon still out damages Raging Fist (and Rising Phoenix, but that should be obvious). Tiger doesn't work, so just go with Fang. If you're really unlucky, Rhizopas kills you, and there's nothing you can do about that short of over-leveling. The odds aren't that high, though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.16.3 Scenario Sabin: Traveling over the Veldt to Mobliz ********************************** Location: The Veldt Party members: Sabin, Cyan Opponents: It's the Veldt, man! You've managed to survive the Seafood of Doom, and now you're on the Veldt. You came across a strange boy, dressed in animal hides. Life is strange. Preparation: Re-equip that Black Belt if you took it off. Welcome to the Veldt! Here, random encounter monster formations are reproduced for you to fight. You will not gain Experience Points, and its main purpose is obtaining Rages for Gau, the character you will have to name. I'll explain that in a bit. For now, you'll be able to name Gau. I'll call him Gau. For now, you'll have to go find Mobliz, to the east. You'll fight battles in the meantime, and there's a chance you'll see Gau appear when you're done. You probably don't want to hurt the guy, but you can't run from him (the buttons will do nothing), so your only option is to smack him over the head to cause him to flee. The alternative is fleeing from the random encounters themselves, if possible. You've reached Mobliz? Good! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.17.1 Scenario Sabin: Mobliz ********************************** Location: Mobliz Party members: Sabin, Cyan Opponents: None Container contents: Elixir Miscellaneous items: Tintinnabulum (Wounded lad) Mobliz is a great backwater village supporting itself through hunting. Or something. There are some great shops here, so take a look around. Weapon Shop: Mythril Knife 300 Mythril Sword 450 Mythril Claws 800 Kotetsu 800 You'll want to buy a Kotetsu for Cyan, or two if you want to make him a Genji Glove/Black Belt character (which is a wise decision). Armor Shop: Buckler 200 Heavy Shield 400 Plumed Hat 250 Magus Hat 600 Bandana 800 Iron Helm 1000 Kenpo Gi 250 Iron Armor 700 Buy two Heavy Shields, two Magus Hats, another Plumed hat, and two Iron Armors. The Iron Helms are ridiculously expensive and you find better alternatives in a short while. Item Shop: Dried Meat 150 Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Eye Drops 50 Green Cherry 150 Phoenix Down 500 Tent 1200 You'll want to buy at least one Dried Meat, as you'll need it to trigger a necessary cutscene. Dried Meat is basically a healing potion that heals a character for 150 HP (so it's inferior to normal Hi-Potions), but has the added property of also healing Undead monsters/characters (instead of hurting them like Potions and Hi-Potions do). Relic shop: Sprint Shoes 1500 White Cape 5000 It's never a bad idea to have White Capes ready, as they make grand filler relics. Make sure you leave 2500 Gil in your wallet, at least. Hidden Items: There is an Elixir hidden in the clock of the carrier pigeon house. Don't bother paying the Inn fee; you can sleep at the bed in the back of the Relic shop. Take a look at the two kiddos in love; Duane and Katarin will make a more significant appearance in the future. There's a wounded lad from Maranda residing in Mobliz. He left the army when he heard they were heading for Doma, but was busted up for his insolence. They broke every bone in his body for leaving, to be more precise. Poor lad indeed. Him being here makes sense because Mobliz is in no way on route when traveling from Vector to Doma. Anyway, he has a honey in Maranda, and you can help him with it! He receives letters from her, but can't write back. Do it for him, I say! You'll have to send a total of five letters over there: A letter A record Some Potion (which will not be taken from your inventory) Another letter A book You can't send new stuff if the wounded soldier hasn't gotten any reply; he gets a reply whenever you've: - slept at the Inn - have talked to the salesman of the Item Shop - have talked to the salesman of the Weapon Shop - have talked to the salesman of the Armor Shop - have talked to the salesman of the Relic Shop - have let the scholar show you the Serpent Trench That makes NO sense whatsoever, I am completely aware of that. After you've sent the five letters, the poor guy gives you a Tintinnabulum, a nice filler Relic and extremely rare, which gives the illusion it's actually more useful than it in fact is. If you're wondering what the hell exactly a Tintinnabulum is, it's probably derived from 'tintinabulation' which means 'ringing'. I can add that the Japanese game calls it a Cat's Bell; I guess we're supposed to assume that with every step the Tintinnabulum lets out a chime and heals the wearer a little. Once you're done dancing and prancing in Mobliz, head to the Veldt again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.17.2 Scenario Sabin: Recruiting Gau ********************************** Location: The Veldt Party members: Sabin, Cyan Opponents: It's the Veldt, man! The weird kid called Gau repeatedly said he was hungry, but you had nothing to help him with. Fortunately, Mobliz offers you the possibility of buying food, unlike other towns. Because that makes sense. Preparation: Equip the Genji Glove and Kotetsu Katanas on Cyan and keep him in the Front Row, or stick with Back Row Cyan if you don't have a Genji Glove. The other Relic should be the Black Belt if you have the Genji Glove; while Fang still out damages Cyan's Attack (it's pretty close), the counterattack will kill most critters here. You're bound to run into a few battles here, and you're bound to come across Gau while doing so. You'll need both Sabin and Cyan alive for him to appear. Feeding him a Dried Meat (just use it on him) will trigger a long, long, yet surprisingly un-boring cutscene in which Gau joins you. Learn the basics of Gau: [RAGE-LINK] Gau arrives, like a baby, completely naked (and screaming nonsense). Equip him with what you have, which probably is a Buckler, Bandana, and Kenpo Gi. You will want to swap Sabin's Mythril Shield with Gau's Buckler as Gau will have to be in the Front Row and can use the extra defense. Not only does Gau return to his spot in the team in the Front Row at all times, his physicals are important enough on the Veldt to warrant Front Row. As far as Relics go, you should have a Gigas Glove free. Set the other Relic slot up with a filler Relic (White Cape is nice). Gau joins with a few Rages already: Zaghrem, Exocite, Hornet, Silver Lobo, Magitek Armor, Belmodar, Cartagra, Wererat, and Angel Whisper. Zaghrem is nice, and Belmodar has its distant uses, but for the real good stuff (and there really is a lot of good stuff for Gau to Rage, make no mistake), you'll want to obtain these: Darkwind Break inherent Float Trillium Bio absorbs Water Alacran !Numb (Stop) Spritzer Blaze absorbs Lightning, inherent Float, Undead Oversoul W. o' the Wisp absorbs Poison, Undead Stray Cat !Cat Scratch Guard Leader Wind Slash Lesser Lopros Fireball inherent Float Mu Snare Templar Fira inherent Protect Cloud Thundara one-hit KO protection Satellite Sonic Boom inherent Float, one-hit KO protection Bomb Blaze absorbs Fire, inherent Float The most important ones right now are Darkwind, Trillium, Alacran, Templar and Guard Leader/Lesser Lopros. If you completed Locke's scenario already, Primordite is just as good as Areneid for the purpose it's designed for. Really, unless you want to obtain as much Rages as possible, you can ignore other monsters. Keep in mind that Leaping at monsters such as Lobo and Tusker is just losing control of Gau's Leaping for the time being, which could make him miss out on the others. Guard Leader has the strongest MT attack you can possess up to now: Wind Slash. He is, sadly, especially elusive due to the way the Veldt works, so don't feel too bad if you leave the Veldt without having met this one. Obviously, no Rage is mandatory, but keep in mind that Gau's usefulness exceeds all other characters if you find the right Rages, and sucks beyond belief if you don't invest the time in him. Satellites still drop Green Berets, which are superior Helmets for everybody. Terra and a mystery character soon to be introduced (I'm talking about Celes) have an acceptable alternate option in the Magus Hat, but ideally, you'll want to stick around until you've won another three Green Berets (you'll find one extra before long). When you're done chasing Gau around, stick him in the Back Row as the next dungeon will have him rely on magical attacks and go visit Crescent Mountain, located to the southeast. Gau has a gift for you there, and a bloke in Mobliz mentioned you could reach Nikeah by jumping into the raging current of the Serpent Trench. Who knows, those might be connected somehow! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.17.3 Scenario Sabin: Crescent Mountain ********************************** Location: Crescent Mountain Party members: Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Miscellaneous items: Potion (Gau) Upon entering the cave, Gau will fail to do the one thing he was enlisted for. Let's take a look around. To the right side of the plateau you're standing on, you can see a little cutscene (7 steps up, 1 step to the side from the entrance) that is entirely useless. To the left, you'll see a little square sticking out where Gau will find you a Potion (which, believe it or not, is actually added to your inventory!). Proceed and you'll come across a ridge you can walk up on. All the way left, another cutscene will ensue where Gau will scare Sabin out of 500 Gil (which is removed from your amount of money). If you had less than that, Cyan will magically possess the remaining Gil instead of Sabin and nothing will be removed. Proceeding further will allow Gau to find the diving helmet! Many a philosopher has pondered over the impossibility of three men sharing the same helmet, but none have found a satisfactory answer. Regardless, the cutscene will take you outside and plunge you into the cold, cold waters of the Serpent Trench. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.18.1 Scenario Sabin: The Serpent Trench ********************************** Location: The Serpent Trench Party members: Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Anguiform, Aspiran, Actinian Container contents: Green Beret, X-Potion Narshe is a long way if you take the wrong turn at the Lete River! Having passed through an Imperial Camp, the lands of Doma, the Phantom Forest, Baren Falls, and the Veldt, you now need to reach Nikeah where a ferry should be available to take you to South Figaro and finally deliver you close to Narshe. But the Serpent Trench is a raging current with violent monsters hunting for you... Preparation: Make absolutely sure you have a fully equipped Gau, as there are two rather nasty monsters waiting for you here. There are three monsters here. You can really forget about Actinian; his physicals shouldn't really bother you that much, and whenever you meet a triple Actinian monster formation, Fang, Aura Cannon/Rising Phoenix and the Templar, Bomb, or Lesser Lopros Rages go well with that. Anguiform are dangerous not only because they have a murdering physical attack in !Garrotte, which is actually as painful as it sounds, but especially because they like to use Aqua Breath when they are alone. Aqua Breath is an extremely strong MT Water/Wind-elemental attack that will hurt for about 170-200 HP damage. Not nice. You should kill with Rising Phoenix if possible, but if you lack it, you should be careful. Gau's MT attacks don't guarantee a KO on multiple Anguiforms. Take them out as fast as possible with Aura Cannon, Fang, and either Trillium (absorbs Aqua Breath and has very decent offense) or Cloud/Ghost (Thundara slaughters any Anguiform period). Aspiran are the trickiest. Whenever you meet them, keep hold of your precious secondary commands as Aspiran will counter any damage not inflicted by the Attack command with a 33 % shot at Gigavolt for about 330-350 of damage to whatever hit him. Unless you gained more levels then you normally should, that kills you. Counter this with your Genji Gloved character to (Cyan was the wisest option) kill it or use Belmodar/Spritzer Rages, as they will allow Gau to absorb Gigavolt. This is the 'map' of the Serpent Trench and the effects it will have for you: Monster Formation Pack # 1: Actinian, Actinian, Actinian (3/4) Anguiform (1/4) Monster Formation Pack # 2 Anguiform, Actinian, Aspiran (always) Monster Formation Pack # 3 Anguiform, Anguiform (3/4) Actinian, Actinian, Actinian, Aspiran, Aspiran (1/4) Start: (Invoke Battle with # 1) You'll get the choice of going either to the Left or to the Right. The Left features more monsters and a certain encounter with all the creatures of the Serpent Trench, the Right features a small cave with an X-Potion chest in it. Left: (Invoke Battle with # 2) (Invoke Battle with # 3) Right: (Invoke Battle with # 2) (Cave with X-Potion) Here, the two paths will reunite. However, no battle is fought before you are presented with yet another choice. Left again means monsters, Right again means treasure. Left: (Invoke Battle with # 2) (Invoke Battle with # 3) Right: (Invoke Battle with # 3) (Cave with Green Beret. You'll have to stand on a certain tile to let the water out in this cave so you can proceed) After this, you'll safely reach Nikeah. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.18.2 Scenario Sabin: Nikeah ********************************** Location: Nikeah Party members: Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Container contents: Elixir Nikeah is small town that thrives on their ports and ferries. There used to be remote access to the lands of Doma, but due to a recent rockslide, the path there is blocked (imagine, if that hadn't been the case you could've just walked to the west for a while when it was just Sabin and you had found a way home). Weapon Shop: Mythril Claws 800 Kotetsu 800 Mythril Spear 800 You can buy another Mythril Spear here if you wish, but you won't really use the Attack command with Edgar and the character That Might In The Future Join You And Wield Lances To Boot will have a better weapon by then, so you can save your money. Armor Shop: Heavy Shield 400 Plumed Hat 250 Magus Hat 600 Bandana 800 Iron Helm 1000 Kenpo Gi 250 Silk Robe 600 Iron Armor 700 You should've bought everything available here a while ago, with the exception of the Silk Robes. Buy two of them. Item Shop: Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Echo Screen 120 Smoke Bomb 300 Green Cherry 150 Phoenix Down 500 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 How's your supply of Hi-Potions and Fenix Downs looking? If you're low on them, it's never a bad idea to stock some of them up. Also, you might want to buy a few Smoke Bombs, as you don't have any of them right now and they could prove useful in the future. Relic shop: Silver Spectacles 500 Star Pendant 500 White Cape 5000 Fairy Ring 1500 The only thing this guy has going for him is his collection of White Capes. You could buy one if you pulled enough Gil from your Veldt hunting (which means over 10000 Gil), but you might as well leave him. There's an Elixir hidden in the clock of the Inn, as always. Take it. Finally, there's an awesome scene between Cyan and the hooker of the local Pub; you haven't lived a satisfying life without having seen it. In the Japanese game her position as Girl of Entertainment is stated much more blatantly, while Sabin will state how he knows plenty about girls. When you're done in Nikeah, strip the boys of their gear and Relics, then put them on the ferry to South Figaro. Your scenario is over. Time for pie. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.19.1 Scenario Locke: South Figaro ********************************** Location: South Figaro Party members: Locke; Locke, Celes Opponents: Heavy Armor, Merchant, Cadet Miscellaneous items: Iron Helmet (Heavy Armor Steal), Main Gauche (Merchant Steal) Locke has somehow managed to stall the actions of an entire army, safeguarding the Returner Hideout...for now. His mission now is to get to Narshe, but South Figaro is under strict martial law and nobody is allowed to leave, not even Imperial Troopers themselves. But somehow, Locke has to find a way... Preparation: Equip the Genji Glove and Gigas Glove on Locke, and stick him with Ninja Gear and a Green Beret. Front Row for now. Obviously, if you haven't done the Sabin scenario yet, it'll be a Genji Glove/Gigas Glove with Bandana and Kenpo Gi. You see why it was a good idea to do Locke's scenario last? Note: You can skip this entire section of the game by using a bug. This results into you missing the Rare Item Cider, never obtaining Celes as a character for the entire game and getting the Moogle Moghan and lacking Runic on Gogo when you recruit him. I wouldn't advise it in the slightest, especially because it forces power-leveling (Locke needs to defeat the boss by himself where he really isn't supposed to be able to do that, and as you might know Celes needs to solo a small bit of the game by herself). But it's a humorous alternative really. If you want to learn exactly how to do all this: [MOGHAN-LINK] A Magitek Armored soldier has blocked the normal entrance to the rest of town. There are two ways to continue: - In the Item Shop, there's a Merchant. He insults you be stating your actual profession, so obviously you'll need to kill him. By successfully Stealing his item (either a Plumed Hat or a Main Gauche), you also steal his clothes. After the battle is over, you'll be in Merchant outfit. If you just beat him up instead of Stealing his clothes, you'll be plain Locke after the battle and you'll have gained nothing from the brawl. Once dressed up as a Merchant, you can go to the house of the servant (he was the waiter, to be precise) of the richest man in town and peacefully walk through to the other side of town. - OR, you could just bust up the Heavy Armor guarding the area. This is extremely risky and is prone to failure if you're not slightly high-leveled. The other way is definitely the way it was meant to be done. Once in the rest of South Figaro, your plan is simple. Mug a soldier and walk out of town in soldier's clothes. Remember where you found the Teleport Stone here? Walk up the perimeter wall and go over to the three barrels. There's a Cadet walking around. Engage in a fight with him and Steal one of his items; once again, you'll walk off with his garment. Another option is using a secret passage even the game designers forgot while creating this scenario for you: there's a big building that's built over the water here; it's the to left of the Armored trooper, and on the other side you can see it's the Inn/Cafe. Behind the part that's built over the water is a secret bridge you can use to walk over the water. You circumvent having to steal from the Cadet here, and if you're a match for the Heavy Armor you can circumvent stealing clothes entirely. The only soldier you can convince is the one near the Chocobo stable, and the exit is still prohibited. Oh well, might as well gather some more information in the Pub; you learned from the soldier near the Magitek Armor that Narshe is the next target of the Imperial Army, who knows what else you might learn? The Pub is bustling with activity! Chatting here will tell you there's an Imperial general held captive somewhere in South Figaro for treason, and there's talk of a secret passage out of South Figaro from the rich man's house. Too bad you can't enter it. But there also seems to be a secret passage from the rich man's house to another house in town, and what house could be more logical than the one of the servant? Better charm that old coot with some Cider to see if he talks. Go downstairs and you'll find the merchant who continuously brought Cider to the old man when you first visited South Figaro with Edgar and Terra. Obviously, he says something that will make you want to beat him up. Since you're still in the outfit of an Imperial Soldier, you'll want to steal his clothes again (else that kid won't let you pass). If you accidentally beat him up, there's always a merchant waiting for homicide in one of the rooms of the Inn. Bring the Cider (which, by the way, is a Key Item) to the old servant and he will reveal the existence of a secret passage. He cannot remember his own password, nor is he willing to walk five steps to go over to his grandson and tell him it's okay. You'll have to go downstairs and guess. Or, I could just tell you the correct password is 'Courage'. You're in the secret passage to the rich man's house! Once you arrive, you'll see the clock you robbed earlier from his Elixir. If you didn't do that with Edgar and Terra, do so now. Exit, walk around to the door, and enter. Go up to the second floor. The right room has a girl saying something about 'Winding the Clock'. Guess that's what the kids call it these days, eh? The left room contains a grieving rich man, showing how capitalism ruins a man. Find the secret passage behind the bookcase and descend. Halfway to the basement, you will be asked to change your clothes. Doing so will turn you back into plain Locke. It doesn't really matter what you do. Walk on. The next cutscene was subject to much debate. In all other versions of the game, Celes is smacked around quite a bit by the soldier, eventually falling to the floor. This was removed to fit the target audience in the U.S., though many felt the scene added drama to the situation and all. Oh well. If you were plain ol' Locke or in Merchant mode, you'll hide in the rafters; if you're disguised as a soldier you'll simply give a salute. (Locke still disguised as a trooper) Celes: Aren't you a little short to be an Imperial trooper? Locke: What? Oh...the uniform. (Locke still disguised as a merchant) Celes: What could you possible hope to pebble in a place like this? Locke: Oops! Forgot I was still wearing these clothes. (Locke in normal-mode) Celes: And you are... Since Celes is now introduced to your party, it might be a good idea to read about her special skill, Runic: [RUNIC-LINK] When you're done being the chivalrous young male protagonist (Final Fantasy players should be used to that), it's time to bust out. Celes points out that the soldier has something you want. Take it. I love how morals stop you from progressing at this point. :P Don't forget to equip Celes; she was wearing nothing but a Hair Band. If this is your last scenario, her equipment is best off looking like this: Great Sword/ Rune Blade, Heavy Shield, Green Beret, Silk Robe. If you haven't, it'll be Great Sword, Heavy Shield, Plumed Hat (or Bandana if you went through the trouble of stealing it), Leather Armor. Keep Celes in the Back Row; she'll like it there. Walking out of the room there are two more doors for you. The second one contains a Save Point (for Saving) and the third room is a room you should've looted earlier. A lot of junk, a ticking clock, and a clock that isn't ticking. Wind it with the Clock Key, and a cabinet will move, revealing a door. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.19.2 Scenario Locke: Secret Underground Passge of South Figaro ********************************** Location: Secret Passage Party members: Locke, Celes Opponents: Commander, Vector Hound Container contents: Earring, Great Sword, Heavy Shield, Hi-Ether, Iron Armor, Ribbon, X-Potion Way to go, Locke! Not only did you find a passageway out of South Figaro, you also won a powerful new ally. As a former general, Celes is bound to have a huge amount of information you can use. Also, she appears to be able to cast Magic, like Terra. Preparation: If you haven't equipped Celes, you're in trouble. Monster formations: Commander, Commander, Commander (6/16) Vector Hound, Vector Hound (5/16) Vector Hound, Vector Hound, Commander (5/16) The strategy here is simple: both Celes and Locke need to equipped in such a fashion that they can both take out one enemy in one hit. Typically, that means Celes with an Earring and the Blizzard spell and Locke with the Gigas Glove. The Genji Glove isn't necessary unless you're level 10 or lower and would just be harmful to your defense. Vector Hounds are the more durable enemies, but even they should fall to a single attack. When a Vector Pup is alone, it will Flee, so take out Commanders first so you have to kill one less living thing. If everything looks good, simply try to nab some extra items with Locke (nothing to get excited about, sadly) while having Celes kill all with two MT Blizzard castings. It's the most effective way, but don't do it all the time, as her MP isn't high enough to take such a constant toll. Walking through this underground passageway can be frustrating; there are a few rooms seemingly blocked from your path. There is always a hidden path there, though. I tried describing the locations, but since there's no real stable point here, I failed miserably. The only pointer I can give you, though, is the stairs leading to an even lower location; there are two chests here, one containing a Hi-Ether and one containing an X-Potion. Below the one with the X-Potion is a hidden chest containing a Ribbon. Be sure to grab it. All other, more visible treasures in the passageway itself include Iron Armor, Great Sword, an Earring, and a Heavy Shield. Make sure to find all items. The battles can be a tad boring due to their repetitiveness, but Locke and Celes tend to come to Narshe with the lowest levels so the extra experience doesn't really hurt. When you're done, you can leave. You'll see another set of stairs to the south of the stairs you're using to escape; that's the only room you can't gain entrance to. It's the basement of the house where Duncan's wife lives, and should you enter the basement from her house you'll find a Save Point there which you can't seen now. Now you're in South Figaro again, but you have no options besides escaping. You can talk to the Imperial Trooper who was pursuing Locke in the beginning of the scenario, but he will be completely incapable of recognizing either the person he was chasing a while ago and/or a famous general of his own army. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.20.1 Scenario Locke: Traveling to Figaro Cave ********************************** Location: Overworld Map. Around South Figaro Party members: Locke, Celes Opponents: Mu, Belmodar, Unseelie You've finally escaped South Figaro. Now it's all about reaching Narshe, tracking back to where you came from through the Cave of Figaro, Figaro Desert, and into Narshe. Unlike Terra, neither Locke nor Celes are infamous in the town, so walking into Narshe should be a piece of cake. Preparation: Nothing new here. Keep at it. I trust you took the liberty of equipping better equipment where you saw it fit. Monster formations: Grass: Belmodar (6/16) Unseelie, Unseelie (5/16) Mu, Mu, Unseelie (5/16) Forest: Mu, Mu, Mu, Mu (6/16) Belmodar, Mu, Mu, (5/16) Belmodar, Unseelie, Mu, Mu, (5/16) You know the drill by now. Kill with Blizzard spells and pointy knives. Belmodar will still counter spells with Megavolt, so lay off it when you meet one. Your goal is to reach the cave entrance to the East (Mount Koltz is still blocked by Imperial Troopers, and you have no business going to the Returner Hideout anyway). You can rest in Sabin's hut if you're hurt (or if the prospect of Locke and Celes sleeping together gives you a funny feeling in your stomach). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.20.2 Scenario Locke: Figaro Cave ********************************** Location: Cave of Figaro Party members: Locke, Celes Opponents: Cartagra, Acrophies, Gold Bear Container contents: Ether, Thunder Rod, X-Potion Miscellaneous items: Air Knife (Tunnel Armor Steal), Elixir (Tunnel Armor drop) This is one of those nasty Changing Caves (caves that change). Not only do chest contents turn into other chest contents before you can say "Glachenspiell Gazette", monsters also change. No more inferior caterpillars who sport a fetish for attacking you; instead, land crabs will hound your steps. No more cycloptic furries, or even oversized bees to make your life miserable. Nay, purple trilobites inject poison and bears straight from El Dorado wrap their expansive paws around your neck. Danger! Monster formations: Cartagra, Acrophies, Acrophies (5/16) Gold Bear, Acrophies (5/16) Acrophies, Acrophies (5/16) Cartagra, Cartagra, Cartagra (1/16) Only, not really. The only thing that makes this dungeon somewhat annoying is the fact you only have two characters. !Poison Barb is more a nuisance than anything else (use an Antidote or the Poisona spell, whichever you seem to have more resources for; out of battle, a Star Pendant can cure the Poison status by equipping it and removing it), while !Numbclaw can prolong the battle. The only strong attack you need to fear is !Gouge coming from Gold Bear, but as long as you keep your HP up, there's no need to worry. Both Acrophies and Cartagra fall to a single ST Blizzard spell. Acrophies also falls to Locke's physical. Cartagras have a nasty Protect status that makes them pull through single physicals, so let Celes concentrate on them. Gold Bear monsters will have to be taken down with two hits unless you're high-leveled or equipped with the Genji Glove. Cure when needed, as logic applies once again. You know the way. You could pick up an X-Potion from the chest to the west. The other chests will still become better later on so I'd leave them for now. The only real choice you should make is the chest on the upper level; it's a Thunder Rod now and will become a Hero's Ring later. The Thunder Rod can be broken during the next boss fight, pretty much insta-killing the thing, after which it's gone. The Hero's Ring will serve you very well in the future though. I'd go for the Hero's Ring just because the Thunder Rod is in no way necessary to make it through Tunnel Armor, but it's up to you. You heard strange noises all the time. You might have mistaken this for the rumbling of your stomach or the pleasant murmur of Russian tanks rolling through the streets, but nothing could be less true; it was a boss following you! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.20.3 Scenario Locke: The battle with Tunnel Armor ********************************** Tunnel Armor Level: 16, HP: 1300, MP: 900 Steal: Bioblaster (rare), Air Knife (common) Win: Elixir (always) Weakness: Lightning, Water Special: !Drill: Attack x 2 Vulnerable to: Nothing Attacks: Attack, !Drill, Fire, Thunder, Poison, Magitek Laser Tunnel Armor is a scripted battle, more or less; it forces you to use Celes as a Runic user while Locke should Attack, Attack, Attack! Runic is a brilliant command that allows Celes to absorb most spells and a number of enemy moves. Obviously, you've already read all about it; if you haven't, here you go: [RUNIC-LINK] Tunnel Armor is boring. He uses Attack, !Drill, Fire, Thunder, and Poison to hurt you. If he hits 384 HP, he'll swap the possibility of casting Poison for the ability to fire off Magitek Lasers. If he's been damaged, he'll sometimes counter with Attack. Have Celes under continual Runic during this fight. If your enemy casts a spell, have her use it as soon as possible. If the enemy uses a physical attack, just have Celes wait; there'll be a magical attack around the corner. Locke should try to steal something as long as Tunnel Armor still has anything (if you steal a second Air Knife, and Locke still has a Genji Glove with a Main Gauche equipped, you can use the second Air Knife by equipping it mid-battle). Have Locke use a Hi-Potion if either Locke or Celes' HP is a tad low (the strongest attack he'll be able to successfully use is !Drill, which hits for slightly over 100 HP worth of damage on a Genji Glove wearing, Front Row Locke). Otherwise, he should simply attack. Eventually, you'll beat the burrowing fiend, and you'll be good to go! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.21.1 Defending the esper from Kefka ********************************** Location: Mountains of Narshe Party members: Terra, Edgar, Locke, Celes, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Fidor, Hell's Rider, Corporal, Hunting Hound, Heavy Armor, Kefka Miscellaneous items: Mythril Vest (Hell's Rider Steal), Hi-Ether (Kefka Steal), Elixir (Kefka Steal) Reality split the Returners into factions, but due to the power of Friendship and Plot Device, they all found their way to Narshe to re-unite. And lo and behold, it was just in time to thwart the execution of evil plans! As Locke learned in South Figaro, a detachment from the Empire led by Kefka is planning to do what Terra and her two companions were unable to: obtain the mysterious esper located in Narshe. For no particular reason at all, it was moved to the snowy hills behind Narshe, so it is here that the seven of you will have to make a stand. Obviously, Narshe guards will not be helping you whatsoever. Preparation: You have an abundance of equipment and seven characters to equip it on. I'll give a brief overview on how to treat the seven characters now that the good relics seem surprisingly small in number: Terra - Back Row Great Sword Heavy Shield Magus Hat (if you have more than five Green Berets, equip one of them on Terra) Silk Robe Earring Edgar - Back Row Mythril Spear Heavy Shield Green Beret Iron Armor Locke - Front Row Air Knife/Main Gauche Air Knife/Main Gauche Green Beret Ninja Gear Genji Glove Celes - Back Row Great Sword Heavy Shield Magus Hat (if you have more than six Green Berets, you psycho, equip one here) Silk Robe Sabin - Back Row Mythril Claws Buckler Green Beret Kenpo Gi Cyan - Back Row Kotetsu Heavy Shield Green Beret Iron Armor Gau - Front Row Empty Mythril Shield Green Beret Kenpo Gi Earring The Relics...I'll leave this one up to you. I'd really advise an Earring on Gau, as he'll be doing monster MT magical damage. If you have Rising Phoenix, equip an Earring on Sabin as well. Hermes Sandals are great for those you want to attack first: either Locke (for Stealing before killing) or Gau (for killing ASAP). Gigas Glove is nice for those you'll be doing physical with (Locke, Cyan; NOT Edgar), and the Black Belt is only worth it on Locke. The teams! The monster hitters at this point of the game are Edgar and Gau. Edgar's Bioblaster, that one Tool you kept ignoring, will now hit the weak spot of a lot of enemies here and will take them down in one hit. You can complement him with a weaker character, so I would suggest Terra; her Fire spells are starting to become really poor when talking damage output, and Edgar will like the Cure spells. Gau rules this part of the game even more than he rules most parts. He will be doing superior MT damage when using Lesser Lopros' Fireball or Guard Leader's Wind Slash, and is by far the best choice for both 'boss battles' you'll be battling. Gau should be the core of your superior team, and should be complemented by the other two characters that have things to offer besides damage: Locke (for Steal) and Celes (for Runic). This leaves us with Sabin and Cyan. If Sabin knows Rising Phoenix, this team will more than make up for its lack of Cure spells; if not, this is easily the weakest team out of the three. Both Cyan and Sabin will have sufficient ST damage without the ability to heal beyond Hi-Potions, so they'll require your maintenance. As soon as you are done with equipping everybody, talk to Banon to make your teams. My personal choice, as I've explained, is the following: 1. Edgar, Terra 2. Locke, Celes, Gau 3. Cyan, Sabin When you're done, Kefka will appear with a frighteningly large amount of enemy soldiers at his disposal. They will line up and start walking to you. This is very much like defending Terra from the Guard Leader's minions; if the soldiers reach Banon, it's Game Over. Your job is to protect. Block all three pathways to him with your three teams and have out-battle control over the one with Sabin and Cyan (as you'll be needing to feed them Potions outside of battle). Monster formations: Green Soldiers: Corporal, Corporal, Corporal, Corporal (3/4) Hunting Hound, Corporal, Corporal (1/4) Brown Soldiers: Fidor, Corporal (3/4) Heavy Armor, Corporal, Corporal (1/4) Racing Brown Soldier: Rider (always) Kefka: Kefka (always) The battle strategy here is simple. If you have a strong MT character (Gau, possibly Sabin, Edgar against Troopers), let them do their killing. Strong ST characters (Locke with Genji Glove, Sabin, Cyan) should pick apart. Weak offensive characters (Locke without Genji Glove, Terra, Celes) can support the general party by Stealing and Curing. Corporals fall to Bioblaster and are generally weak units. Avoid the Attack command against them as their strong point is !Swing, which they'll only use to counter Attack with. Hunting Hounds, like their palette swaps, Flee when alone. In a Corporal x2, Hunting Hound monster formations you can take out the Corporals and ignore the dogs if you like. Fidor dogs are heavily armored brutes that will probably survive single attacks if they're not really strong ones. They only get stronger when alone (they will start using !Pounce every time as opposed to only 33 % of the possible times), so weaken them/kill them first before you finish of the rest. Heavy Armor are opponents you still recognize from Locke's scenario, where they were used as more-or-less unbeatable monster you had to run around. Here, you'll have to defeat them, which is considerably easier given the fact you have more than one character to work with. When Celes is in your party, the Imperial tank will recognize her and fear her magic, prompting him to use Magitek Barrier, which sets Protect and Reflect. You weren't using Blizzard anyway (unless you've been a naughty boy), so that shouldn't be that much of a concern. Don't start using Cloud or Templar, though. After the two waves of 'normal' enemies are over, there are but two opponents left after the massacre: Rider and Kefka. Rider is surfing around Kefka so you'll need to take him out first. This might be a fun time to learn about your character's feelings at the moment; you can talk to the lead characters of the teams (you can obviously switch around). Here's what they have to say: Terra: Kefka... Is he the one who put the slave crown on me...? Locke: Curse the Empire! I'm not gonna let them walk all over people! Celes: My past is behind me... I have nothing to do with the Empire now! Edgar: Kefka...! What do you hope to gain from all this? Sabin: It's time to put everything Master Duncan taught me to use... Cyan: I will avenge the people of Doma! Gau: Gau fight hard! Banon: If they reach me, we've lost. It's all up to you! There's no Game Over here unless you let the soldiers reach Banon, in which case he'll go: BANON: We've failed... This is the end... If a team is entirely killed, the characters will find themselves with 1 HP on the spot where the Save Point used to reside. This means that you can engage a battle, get yourself killed, and engage again. This also means you can Steal from what is supposed to be a single encounter time after time. Hell's Rider has a common Mythril Vest, a piece of armor everybody can equip that is superior to everything so far but the Ninja Gear. There's also a rare Elixir. Kefka features the same rare Elixir and common Hi-Ethers, a superior version to the insanely expensive Tincture. I'd advise you to steal three Mythril Vests (you'll take one Ninja Gear along) and as many Hi-Ethers as you want. Hi-Ethers are very rare, very useful, and you're not going to get unlimited amounts of them until the late WoR, and even then it's a huge stretch to try to obtain them. I've dubbed it the OnionRider trick, so make me proud and mention it wherever you go! You see, because like an onion, Hell has layers, and you peel several Mythril Vests off of him? Remember now, OnionRider. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.21.2 Hell's Rider ********************************** Hell's Rider Level: 14, HP: 1300, MP: 170 Steal: Elixir (rare), Mythril Vest (common), Win: Remedy (rare), Remedy (common) Weakness: Fire, Poison Special: !Silver Lance: Attack x 3 Vulnerable to: Petrify, KO, Doom, Silence, Berserk, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Silver Lance, Venomist, Reverse Polarity Hell's Rider is a durable bastard who has an extremely strong physical attack in !Silver Lance, which he also uses to counter a successful Steal attempt with. Every fourth attack he has a 1/3 chance of using Venomist, an inaccurate MT Poison-elemental attack that also sets the Poison status. Gau can take him out in a single hit with Mu's Snare and the Break spell from Darkwind and/or Commander. If you have nothing along those lines, his Areneid's !Numb and Primordite's !Numbclaw will stop him in his actions. If you lack Gau (shame on you), Cyan's Tiger works great if used first, and any combination of your strongest attacks should suffice. He can also counter any Attack with Reverse Polarity on that character, so that's kinda silly to do. Now, this is, finally, the confrontation with Kefka. He enslaved Terra's mind, set fire to castle Figaro, and destroyed Cyan's life. It's time to give him some payback for all that he's done. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.21.3 The battle with Kefka ********************************** Kefka Level: 18, HP: 3000, MP: 3000 Steal: Elixir (rare), Hi-Ether (common), Win: Peace Ring (always) Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, Blizzard, Blizzara, Thunder, Poison, Drain, Confuse, Flee Kefka is vulnerable to Stop, so have Gau Rage Alacran and/or Acrophies for best results. Always have Runic in place, as he knows some very powerful spells that can one-hit KO your characters when focused in an ST blast, regardless of row. Have your other character(s) give it their best shot. Terra's Fire cannot be used with Runic in place so she should focus on her other powers; she can cast Magic when Celes isn't on Runic stand-by or simply wield the Rune Blade to some very nice result. Locke should Attack, Edgar should unload his Auto Crossbow, Sabin relies on good old Aura Cannon, Cyan can use Fang or his fourth Bushido, Flurry, if he has access to it, and that's about it. The battle is slightly anti-climactic when you consider the implications of it, but you'll pull through. When Kefka is defeated, he'll manage to escape (leaving behind an utterly useless, albeit new, Peace Ring). And that was that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.22.1 Narshe ********************************** Location: Narshe Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Container contents: 5000 Gil, Earring, Elixir, Hyper Wrist, Reflect Ring, Thief's Bracer, Thief's Knife Miscellaneous items: Ice Rod (Specter Steal) After killing the main part of their defensive force in the beginning of the game and being denied entrance two times in subsequent parts, it is finally time to embrace all that Narshe has to offer. It is quite a city indeed. To the west, there are the caves where the Moogles live. To the north are the coalmines and the passageway leading into the snowy mountains where you protected the esper. The city itself, independent as it is, has many great items to offer you. This is the first time you have to make a choice between your seven characters. Whom to take, whom to leave behind? Since it mostly depends on personal preference, I will write from now on knowing that you could have every character combination possible (although I will expect you to have four party members). As far as best characters at this point go, I'll do my best: Edgar buys two great new Tools in a short while, which definitely beat all other options. Edgar is a must-have at this point in the game. Sabin should reach level 15 if he hadn't already and learn Rising Phoenix, a great MT attack that puts the significant hurt on pretty much everything. Gau is an offensive maniac at this point, only hindered by the fact he only uses the Awesome Attack 50 % of the time. However, he does have access to stuff like auto-Protect, !Cat Scratch, Bio, and !Numbclaw. If you found even one third of the Rages I recommended earlier, Gau is a much better choice then whatever is left. I'd definitely recommend these three characters for this scenario, as they'll have the easiest time coming through. If you didn't pick any of Gau's Rages, though, his only saving grace is Zaghrem, which frankly, still puts him above Cyan but doesn't make him superior to Locke and Celes. Celes is a nice addition to your team as a Cure user. You have all the offensive power you could ever need with Flash (Edgar's new MT damage Tool) and Rising Phoenix, so the fact she can't really damage stuff efficiently doesn't hurt her case. She'll also make a fine asset to the boss battle of the scenario, although nowhere near the usefulness of a good Raged-up Gau with Alacran or Acrophies. Locke doesn't have any offensive power to bring to your team either, but his purpose is the Steal command (obviously). There are quite a few rare Steals that are worth your time, and where Celes heals with Cure, Locke simply adds an extra restorative item to your team in every battle. Cyan is the worst character right now. The only thing he can do is offense, and not only do you not need it, Bushidos are horrible at this part of the game. Fang is so-so and while Cyan learns Flurry, you either have to charge it up while the Figaro Brothers attack (in which case there's nothing to Slam left in most cases) or while all other characters are on hold, which disrupts the flow of the battle. Also, Flurry is far inferior to Flash and Rising Phoenix (although it makes an above-average ST attack, for all that's worth). Finally, you *could* choose to leave Narshe with only three characters and pick up an old 'friend' in Kohlingen: Shadow. Shadow will randomly leave you throughout the entire scenario, and is therefore a risky investment. I would only consider him when playing on an emulator (in which case I'd still pick Locke over him). Battle-wise, Shadow is a straight offense man. Very acceptable ST damage still comes from Thrown Shuriken, and he has extremely strong MT damage at the cost of 500 Gil a toss (you can obtain elemental scrolls in Kohlingen as well, but they are very expensive at 500 Gil a piece). In the end, my personal recommendation is a team consisting of Edgar, Sabin, Gau, and Locke. If you're playing on an emulator, Locke is an even better addition as you have control over what he steals (just abuse those Save States). On a console, it's really a personal toss-up between Locke and Celes. Weapon Shop: Great Sword 800 Mythril Claws 800 Kotetsu 800 Mythril Spear 800 Air Knife 950 Chain Flail 2000 Moonring Blade 2500 New weapons here include the Chain Flail and the Moonring Blade. The Chain Flail is a weapon for Terra and Celes; Terra is gone and Celes will still do more damage with and Blizzard spell than with the Chain Flail. It's an entirely useless weapon, but you might want to buy it for completeness' sake. It deals the same amount of damage from the back row, so it has that going for it, but since the possible wielder at this point (Celes) loses the ability to Runic and shouldn't be attacking anyway, it's still a moot point. Blizzard spells do cost MP where a Chain Flail attack does not, so in theory (when you're stupid), it could have its use. The Moonring Blade is a weapon for Locke that allows him to do full damage from the Back Row; a superior weapon without this feature can be found somewhere else. I'd buy one, as you may want to use it. Armor Shop: Mythril Shield 1200 Magus Hat 600 Bandana 800 Iron Helm 1000 Silk Robe 600 Iron Armor 700 Finally, Mythril Shields for everybody! Buy one for the entire team (as in: your current team of four characters and you probably already have one). All other items were previously obtainable. Relic Shop: Sprint Shoes 1500 Jeweled Ring 1000 Fairy Ring 1500 Barrier Ring 500 Mythril Glove 700 Knight's Code 1000 The first Relic shop that sells those crappy near-death Protect/Shell relics! If you must do anything in this shop, I suggest you mock the owner of the relic shop. Item Shop: Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Gold Needle 200 Phoenix Down 500 Smoke Bomb 300 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 Especially if you don't bring Celes, Hi-Potions might come in handy, so keep an eye out for your stock. Phoenix Downs are ever useful, so make sure you have a few of those to throw around if necessary. Hidden Items: In the clock in the Elder's House, you'll find an Elixir. A helpful peasant allows you to take his stuff. While normally that'd include such useless trinkets as paled paintings and broken silverware, what will be offered here is very nice indeed: in the small shack, you'll find the following: 5000 Gil, a Thief's Knife, an Earring, a Reflect Ring, a Thief's Bracer and a Hyper Wrist. The Thief's Knife is Locke's superior weapon I was talking about. The Thief's Bracer doubles his Steal success rate; the treasure hunter is quite hyped at this point! If you walk to the north, where you entered the coalmines to find the esper with Terra and co., you'll catch a glimpse of a being, dressed in white fur. Maybe at some point in the future you'll learn who, or what, it is. Remember that elusive battle formation you hunted for in the caves of Narshe, the one with Specter and Eukaryote from the security checkpoint? Well, guess what: Specter has a rare Ice Rod for you to steal, and with Locke, you finally have access to it. Granted, without an emulator the odds are far too small, but while the Ice Rod is a weapon you cannot currently equip on anybody, you can break it for massive damage in battle, and it's nice to have at this point. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.23.1 Traveling to Kohlingen and optional trip to the Veldt ********************************** Location: Overworld Map. From Narshe to Kohlingen Desert Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Leaf Bunny, Darkwind, Sand Ray, Alacran Terra flew off. Not only do you personally care for her well being, she is still a key player in your struggle against the Empire; she must be retrieved or it will be a major setback for the Returners. Witnesses say they a soaring light, heading west... The western continent is accessible with Figaro Castle, the subterranean taxi. It's time to split your team between those who will seek Terra, and those who stay behind should the Empire attempt another attack to obtain the esper. And now, you travel... Preparation: I'm not going to bother listing the enemies to Figaro Castle this time, as they only things they'll be able to do by now are rolling over and dying. You have three Earrings now; split them between those of your party who can use it (Sabin, Gau, and Edgar). Celes' damage will be subpar anyway, so trying to make something out of it will be a waste of Earrings. If you have the Genji Glove, Locke and Cyan (in that order) will benefit from it, possibly paired with a Black Belt (although you'll want to equip that Thief's Bracer on Locke). -There is one small 'side-quest' you can perform before going further to Kohlingen and beyond, and that's taking Gau back to the Veldt to have him learn some new Rages. The two new Rages of interest are Anguiform and Aspiran. Anguiform performs Aqua Breath, which although weaker than Wind Slash on multiple targets, will nail the weakness of much more monsters later on. Aspiran, whose Gigavolt is an obscenely strong magical attack that sometimes goes MT (far surpassing Aqua Breath and Wind Slash in that aspect) or ST (far surpassing...anything. For comparison, it's almost as strong as a Fira spell...when the latter is HITTING A WEAKNESS). It's not entirely necessary as Gau's attacks are already stronger than whatever your other characters are capable of, and there will be a more rewarding time for Gau to visit the Veldt in the near future, but it never hurts to boost offense. To visit the Veldt, take the Cave to South Figaro and pass through Mt. Koltz. You'll find the Returner Hideout again, and in Banon's Room, you can find the hidden passage to the raft. Jump on it, and after the same battles you had to fight earlier, you'll now take the path Sabin took when he drifted off. You find yourself near the hut of the crazy man again. Walk to and through the Phantom Forest (no Imperial Camp or Phantom Train this time) and jump down Baren Falls (no battles here either). You're on the Veldt now. Leap around until you're satisfied. Jump down the Serpent Trench and wind up in Nikeah. Take the ferry to South Figaro and you're on known territory. Oh yeah, and you're smuggled out of South Figaro in a chest; that never ceases to amuse the kids. Weapon Shop: Auto Crossbow 250 Noiseblaster 500 Bioblaster 750 Flash 1000 Drill 3000 In Figaro Castle, there are new Tools for sale! Flash is a non-elemental MT magical attack, so your Earrings on Edgar will shine even more. Drill is an attack like Fang, Raging Fist, and Shuriken; physical, barrier-piercing, and non-elemental. Drill beats Fang and Raging Fist in power, though. Since Edgar is king, you can put him as the lead character to obtain a discount; the merchant will whine regardless but will ONLY give a discount of Edgar is your leader. If you lack Edgar in your party but have Sabin, the merchant will notice even that...but regardless of Sabin's position, no discount for you. At this stage, the Meteor Strike Blitz will start becoming more dangerous than Aura Cannon when Sabin is without Earrings. With Earrings, the damage difference is marginal, but you'll want to get used to using Meteor Strike when only one monster is on the battlefield (it will do double damage when only one target remains). On Meteor Strike: Code-wise, it would be better to say that it deals half damage when more than one opponent is on the battlefield. However, since Meteor Strike can never target more than one opponent at a time, it would seem like it deals double damage when only target is around, and that's also how at least one Square-approved piece of media. Cyan will learn Flurry on level 15. The charge time becomes noticeable now, and the result, four hits on random targets whose total add up to be the same as Drill's damage, is hardly worth it. I would advise Cyan to stick to Fang and Attack (Fang is slightly stronger, but Genji Glove Attack is targetable). If you take either Edgar or Sabin to Figaro Castle, this will draw a reaction from them: Edgar: Sabin should come back here with me one time... (should Sabin still be in Narshe) Sabin: Ah, this is just like old times! I'm gonna wander around for a bit! If you go sleep at the Inn of Figaro Castle with both Edgar and Sabin, the tragic past of the Figaro Throne will be revealed in a touching scene. There's a more logical moment to see this scene in the future though, so I'll list it then. When you're done, have the man in the room left from the entrance ship you to Kohlingen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.24.1 Kohlingen ********************************** Location: Kohlingen Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Container contents: Elixir, Green Beret You've safely arrived on the other side of the mountains, on an exciting new continent. Oh, the monsters! Monster formations: Grasslands: Bloodfang, Vulture, Bloodfang (6/16) Bloodfang, Bloodfang (5/16) Vulture, Vulture (5/16) Forest: Over Grunk, Over Grunk, Mind Candy, Mind Candy, Mind Candy (6/16) Over Grunk, Vulture, Iron Fist (5/16) Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Mind Candy, Mind Candy (5/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (6/16) Fossil Dragon (5/16) Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) I'll explain about the monsters when you need to cross the Overworld Map in earnest. Kohlingen is a nice town without anything significantly wrong with it. It doesn't house any gargantuan frozen serpents, it's not being overrun by the Empire, it doesn't consist of hunters, dogs, and Mickey Mouse Club rejects; Kohlingen is your average village where the sun shines and the grass grows (the non-narcotic kind). But since that doesn't attract any tourists, you'll quickly notice that Kohlingen houses crazy people, preserves dead people, and has assassins in every Inn, not unlike whatever the hell the Russians did to Moscow after Lenin died. Weapon Shop: Air Lancet 950 Chain Flail 2000 Moonring Blade 2500 Shuriken 30 Flame Scroll 500 Water Scroll 500 Lightning Scroll 500 Invisibility Scroll 200 On actual weapons, they have nothing new for you. What is interesting is the fact you can buy scrolls here (yes, they are scrolls. Ninja scrolls. I know that sounds like 'Dental Plan of Doom' or 'Waffle of Power', but they are actual Ninja scrolls. I can't help it). At 500 Gil a piece, they are really too expensive for you to buy in mass amounts. If you chose to hire Shadow, buy a few Flame Scrolls. All three are equal in power and only differ in their element, and the Fire-elemental ones are just the most useful. A note on the scolls for those interested: ninja magic/ninjutsu is a factor in earlier and later FF games, but since this game only offers a single secondary ability to every character, the game designers decided to relate Shadow's ninjutsu abilities to items and have him use them with his Throw command, even though you don't really throw scrolls. Since Shadow is one of the two characters (next to Cyan) who is almost exclusively based on Japanese warfare culture, I'll give some translations of his techniques. Japanese name Direct translation Flame Scroll Katon Fire release Water Scroll Suiton Water release Lightning Scroll Raijin Swift Lightning Shadow Scroll Kage Bunshin Shadow Clone Invisibility Scroll Konoha Gakure Hiding in leaves ...believe it! Armor Shop: Mythril Shield 1200 Magus Hat 600 Bandana 800 Twist Headband 1600 Iron Helm 1000 Silk Robe 600 Iron Armor 700 The only new item of interest here is the Twist Headband. The Twist Headband is a ridiculously expensive helmet that is inferior to the Green Beret. If you have any characters that can equip it without having a Green Beret for them, you might consider buying one (Note that you'll get another Green Beret somewhere in this city). Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Holy Water 300 Antidote 50 Green Cherry 150 Phoenix Down 500 Sleeping Bag 500 Tent 1200 If you brought Locke instead of Celes, this might be a good time to make sure your amount of Hi-Potions doesn't drop to one-digit levels. Never travel without less than 5 Phoenix Downs and less than 20 Hi-Potions, as they're always useful. The most important are the Holy Waters; carry a few at ALL times, as the Zombie status they cure can only be healed by Tents and Holy Water and Tents are just a waste to use just for that. Hidden Items: In Rachel's House, there is an Elixir in the clock. If you want the Elixir with Locke in your party without having to see the scene, know that the scene is triggered when you cross the tile directly in front of you after you've entered the house. You can walk around it if you want to. To the northeast is Rachel's House, who has a history with Locke. If Locke is in your party, you'll learn more about his tragic past. If he isn't, you will learn NOTHING, like you always do when you make mistakes. Locke: I... I couldn't protect her... (switch to a cave. Locke and a girl are walking through it) Rachel: Locke! What are we off to find today? Locke: It's almost your... Locke: There's supposed to be an amazing treasure hidden somewhere in this mountain. We're gonna find it! (Locke crosses a wooden bridge, but it starts to collapse underneath him.) Rachel: Locke! Look out! Locke: RACHEL!!! (Locke jumps down) (switch to Rachel's house. Rachel is lying in bed, Locke is standing next to her) Locke: Rachel! Are you awake? (Rachel gets up out of bed) Rachel: ... ...? I... I can't remember anything... (switch to the outside of Rachel's house. Locke is thrown out. A man appears in the doorway) Rachel's Father: Get out of my house! It's your fault Rachel lost her memory! Locke: Wait! Just let me talk to her...! (Rachel appears as well) Rachel: Please, just go away! I don't know who you are, but my parents get upset whenever you come here! (Locke is standing outside of Rachel's house, alone. A man with the appearance of an outlaw walks up to him) Rachel would be better off without you hanging around, Locke. She's going to have to make a new start of it. With you here, she can't even do that... (Locke slowly walks off, out of town) Back to the present: Locke: "A year went by... When I finally returned, I found out that Rachel had been killed in an Imperial attack. Her memory had returned just before she died. The last thing she said was...my name. I never should have left her side. I... I failed her..." To the northwest, there is a large mansion that houses two points of interest. If you sneak through the back entrance (you'll see the door when you're in the house, and you can walk around the house to find the hidden door there), you'll find a Green Beret hidden there (the chest is visible, but barely; it's hidden behind the armor). If you descend to the cellar, you'll meet a crazy man who apparently keeps a body lying around, preserving it. Since the necrophilia jokes are all too obvious, I won't make them. It IS an interesting fact that there are FOUR scenes where an old man watches over a lifeless body of a girl. But I digress; if you have Locke, you can add some more story to him, and Celes will make a short but important star performance when she's also in your party. (Upon entry) "Oh, Locke! It's been a while! Ages even! Oh, that? Worry not, worry not! Your treasure's quite safe! Hee-hee-hee..." (When examining Rachel's body) "It's a good thing I'd just happened to have finished this herbal concoction back then! Now she'll never age a day! Hee-hee-hee... Had to use my herbs, I did! Couldn't very well refuse with you begging me like that... (cut to a flashback in the very same room) Locke: You're sure the stuff will work? Of course, of course! The love of your life will sleep here just like this forever... ...and ever...and ever! Hee-hee-hee... Locke: If there were a way to...call her spirit back... A way to call her back, eh? ...You mean like that legendary treasure? Hee-hee- hee... Oh yes, I suppose if you had that...you might be able to bring her around! Gwee-hee-hee-hee!" (End flashback) I... failed her... (Exit Locke. All team members follow him out) If Celes is present: (Celes comes back, takes a look at Rachel, and bows her head) Celes: Locke... He will refuse to divulge the secret when you lack Locke, though: "That? Oh, that's Locke's... ...Dear me, I almost spilled the beans! Hee-hee-hee..." In the Inn, there's Shadow waiting for you! For 3000 Gil, he will offer to join your team as long as there's room for him (otherwise, he'll simply tell you to piss off). His merit in this scenario has been discussed earlier; I just want to stress again that Shadow might leave you at all times after every battle. Also, you now have finally access to the infamous Shadow's Dreams! If you want to learn about them, go to the end of the document where I talk about them. A burned house here is inaccessible. A 'glowing monster' destroyed it; it seems Terra made a visit to Kohlingen and flew off again. But where? No sense doubting, as there's really only one place to go. A random NPC saying that the strange, glowing creature left to the south removes any hesitation you might have. We're off to Jidoor, to the South. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.25.1 Traveling to Jidoor ********************************** Location: Overworld Map, between Kohlingen and Jidoor Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Shadow Opponents: Fossil Dragon, Vulture, Iron Fist, Bloodfang, Rock Wasp, Paraladia Container contents: Hero's Ring While searching for Terra, you were told Terra went to Jidoor. But reaching Jidoor is not an easy task, as the road to Jidoor is a long and dangerous one. Preparation: Since you didn't really improve equipment-wise, stick to what you know. Monster formations: Grasslands to the north: Bloodfang, Vulture, Bloodfang (6/16) Bloodfang, Bloodfang (5/16) Vulture, Vulture (5/16) Grasslands to the south: Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (6/16) Vulture, Iron Fist (5/16) Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (5/16) Forest: Paraladia, Paraladia, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (6/16) Paraladia, Vulture, Iron Fist (5/16) Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (5/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (6/16) Fossil Dragon (5/16) Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) Before you go all the way to Jidoor, let's take a look at some features this part of the game provides! A man in Kohlingen told you about his brother to the north, at Dragon's Neck, who dreams of building a colosseum. You'll want to pay this so-called lunatic a visit, as one of his buckets houses an ever-so-precious Hero's Ring, which is a Gigas Glove and an Earring combined. They work on every character, but especially nice on those who use both magical and physical attacks, such as Edgar and Gau. The desert is dangerous! While most battles will just feature the same critters you faced on the other side of the mountains, you're more than likely to meet a Fossil Dragon before long. These undead dragons have witnessed their own bones bleaching in the sun, being polished by the never-ending sand storms of the desert. They have a fatal attack in !Bone (for which you'll need a Holy Water to cure), and Sandstorm is a nasty attack that deals about 200 HP worth of damage to your entire party. It's easily evaded, but at this point, your team isn't going to avoid an old man in a wheelchair, so watch out. Beating one will get you 1870 Gil though, so it's worth the challenge if you're low on cash. The easiest way to take care of them is using a Phoenix Down or Holy Water (you can buy three Phoenix Downs or six Holy Waters from one battle, so it's a feasible strategy that goes easy on the wallet), but if you lack those, it's up to your most powerful attacks. Steal a Phoenix Down/Holy Water with Locke, Drill a hole with Edgar, Sabin can deliver massive pain with Aura Cannon (it's super-effective), Celes can make little difference regardless besides an MT Cure when a Sandstorm attack kicks in, Cyan can use Tiger early on or deliver a Fang later, and Gau's Dark Side, Anguiform, Templar and Mu are extremely effective. In the forest near the would-be Colosseum is a Chocobo Stable. If you don't feel like traveling and doing battle, you can always rent one here and reach Jidoor on a whim. To be honest, the monsters here, as well as their corresponding Rages (excluding Rock Wasp, which only appear near Jidoor anyway), are worth crap so you're not really missing out. The grasslands and forests are littered by useless enemies who are just waiting for you to kick their Attack/!Special asses. The most dangerous ones are Iron Fists, crazy monks gone wild. Wild for BEADS! When they're alone they will use Stone, a horrid spell that not only will do 7.5 as much damage to you when you're the same level as the caster (in Iron Fist's case, 15) but will also Confuse anything that survives it. If you're level 15 and are hit with Stone, you die (it's over 1300 HP worth of damage, folks). If you're not and you're still hit, you go medieval with Auto Crossbow, Rising Phoenix, Wind Slash, and whatnot on your own party members. You'll want to avoid this scenario at all costs; kill Iron Fists first. Two legs bad. All other enemies are generally unassuming. Red Fang and Paraladia can poison you, so watch out, and give them priority over Rock Wasp bugs. These simple pests prolong the battle by putting you to sleep. They're easy enemies and you should destroy them. Rising Phoenix and Flash rule supreme as heavy-hitting MT spells that can either seriously weaken or kill anything they touch with consistent effort. Wind Slash, Gigavolt, and Aqua Breath performed by Gau are going to kill everything when they occur. Let these characters do the hitting and have other characters run utility work. Celes can absorb Shamshir with Runic, so you might want to have her ready with it, should those two meet. Locke can Steal some rather uninteresting healing potions and Cyan can waste time in your party. That may seem harsh, but I told you this would be the case, so you obviously brought him along to do just that :) There's a peninsula to the south of Jidoor, leading to a sole building. This is the Opera House, and it's closed. Closed. No, it's closed. Honest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.25.2 Jidoor ********************************** Location: Jidoor Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Shadow Opponents: None Container contents: Ether Remember that day? Remember that day you went to visit your aunt's eccentric and rich sister, who had those beautiful crystal-like glasses you wanted to have so very, very bad? And remember when you told your mom and she told you that you would never ever earn enough money to buy one, no matter how hard you tried? This is like a city full of those rich sisters, but this time you *can't* punch them in the face and take what you like from them. Weapon Shop: Kiku-Ichimonji 1200 Kaiser Knuckles 1000 Kodachi 1200 Moonring Blade 2500 Flame Scroll 500 Water Scroll 500 Lightning Scroll 500 Shadow Scroll 400 New weapons! The Kaiser Knuckles are new weapons for Sabin, and they're Holy-elemental. Aside from being fairly legendary throughout a lot of Final Fantasy games, they're also somewhat, but not entirely, useless. I do suggest you pick up two of them, as there will be one scenario where they will come in handy. Kiku-Ichimonji are new Knives for Cyan. If you have Cyan in your party, you probably made a Genji Glover/Black Belt out of him; two Kiku-Ichimonji improve his usefulness. Kodachi blades for Shadow; disregarding the fact you're unlikely to actually have him on the team, the fact any Thrown Shuriken will surpass any held blade in damage will make sure the Thief's Knife is superior to equip. May be less of a non-factor if you brought Locke AND Shadow and have felt the necessity to equip the Thief's Knife on the treasure hunter. Armor Shop: Mythril Shield 1200 Twist Headband 1600 Mythril Vest 1200 Ninja Gear 1100 White Dress 2200 Jidoor sells expensive new stuff. First and foremost, you'll notice Mythril Vests for sale. You should already have enough of them, but if you don't have enough to keep the Cyans and Edgars in your party pleased, you could get some. The Ninja Gear was thus far an exclusive item you kinda forgot to return to Shadow when he left, but it's likely the majority of your party can enjoy this thing. Finally, the White Dress: if you have money, buy two. The White Dress kicks ass, giving a hefty Magic Boost and solid Magic Defense. Relic Shop: Peace Ring 3000 Barrier Ring 500 Mythril Glove 700 Earring 5000 Knight's Code 1000 Sniper Eye 3000 This if the first time you can buy noteworthy nice Relics! Earrings are for sale in Jidoor. After the many new weapons, potions, scrolls, whatever, it's unlikely you have a lot of money to spare. If your party can really use a third Earring (say, if you brought Gau, Edgar, Sabin, and Celes), consider buying one. Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Antidote 50 Gold Needle 200 Holy Water 300 Phoenix Down 500 Echo Screen 120 Tent 1200 Stock up on stuff you feel like you need. It's very simple! Hidden Items: All the way to the north is a massive mansion that wouldn't really stand out as an attraction in a cheesy amusement park (where, surprisingly, nobody really amuses him/herself). There's an Ether in a bucket. Time to explore the town! There's precious little to explore, actually; like actual rich people, it's all appearance and little content. Remember the huge mansion to the north; the owner of it is Owzer, a famous art lover. The Auction House is closed for the time being; a convenient plot device employed to tell you that whatever you can buy here shouldn't be available yet. The NPCs are generally useless here, but there are three points of interesting to derive from them: *1 Terra apparently headed north, into the mountains. That's where Zozo is. *2 People in Zozo lie. They lie! *3 The inhabitants of Zozo also steal. Why would Terra use her newfound ability to travel by air to go to what sounds like the slums of Jidoor, detached, full of American Presidents? It will forever be a mystery. Or not, because you're about to find out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.26.1 Zozo ********************************** Location: Zozo Party members: Optional: Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Shadow Opponents: Harvester, Veil Dancer, Hill Gigas, Iron Fist, Gobbledygook, Dadaluma Container contents: Brigand's Glove, Burning Fist, Chainsaw, Ether x2, Hermes Sandals, Hi-Potion, Potion, X-Potion Miscellaneous items: Dragoon Boots (Harvester Steal), Thief's Bracer (Dadaluma Steal), Thief's Knife (Dadaluma drop and Veil Dancer Steal), Gigas Glove (Hill Gigas Steal) Upon entry of Zozo, the image you had of it quickly abandons you. You expected poor people; you encounter pure madness. Staggering through the buildings are madmen mumbling about minutes, hours, and seconds. The exotic dancers wield arcane spells no human is to possess. Bulking giants attack you, shaking the ground with every 20-ton step. Corpses rot on the street. Towering constructions reach into the sky. And somewhere in this chaos, Terra is waiting for you. Preparation: You should've equipped all new pieces of armor before entry. If you have Gau in your party, make sure his first Rage is something Float inducing such as Ghost, Lesser Lopros, Aspiran, or Hornet. It will protect at least him from the dreaded Magnitude 8 you may encounter here. Save. Zozo is the most dangerous place you'll set foot into for a while, so make sure you're not caught with yer shorts down. Monster formations: Outside the buildings: Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook (5/16) Hill Gigas (5/16) Harvester, Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook (5/16) Hill Gigas, Harvester (1/16) Inside the buildings: Veil Dancer (5/16) Veil Dancer, Harvester, Harvester (5/16) Harvester (5/16) Veil Dancer, Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook, Gobbledygook (1/16) First off, how to treat the enemies here. It's incomprehensible why these cretins wield destructive power of Magic; there's certainly not a plot-related explanation given. But regardless, these inhabitants aren't going to give you random advice, allow you to raid their homes and take 300 Gil they contained in that bucket for over three generations, or sell you new stuff. They are here to kill you. It's up to you, but I'd say we kill them right back. Veil Dancers should be your first concern, period. If they are alone, they start casting Fira, Blizzara, or Thundara. Always. A focused ST level 2 spell will probably kill a character. An MT spell will hurt your entire party more than anything you've encountered so far. Take them out ASAP when they're alone. If they come with other opponents, try to see if you can steal more Thief's Knives from them and then end their lives. Hill Gigas is your second large concern. They just hit stuff, hard. If you keep your HP up, they're not going to kill you, but keep in mind that a weakened character can quickly fall victim to a devastating physical blow like the ones Hill Gigas delivers. If you kill one, there's a 33 % chance they will end things with a Magnitude 8 attack. This hurts about as much as an MT level 2 spell, and since I just spent quite some words detailing the fact you want to avoid that at all costs, know that once again this is the case. You can avoid this fate by changing the giant into an Imp with Celes, or let him sink in a Snare attack, only employable by a well-trained Gau. Darkwind is also an efficient way of dealing with the wall of muscle, but Break won't stop the Magnitude 8 attack. Cross your fingers and make sure you have four Potions or Celes' Cure spell ready. Harvesters are next. They're weak fighters, but when allowed to take a third turn, they will use Shadow's Throw technique to hurl either a Dagger or a Mythril Knife at you. This is crazy high ST damage that's likely to take a character down in one shot. It ignores defense and Row, so if you see it, you're in trouble. The only way to dodge around these flying blades of death is the Invisible status. And that's where our fourth and final random encounter comes in! Gobbledygook are Zozo's cannon fodder; useless pieces of Hit Points that run into your sharp objects and die from them. Compared to their fellow monsters here, they are doubly pathetic. They serve a grand purpose, though. If you have any means of setting Confuse, use it! Edgar's Noiseblaster is far and entirely superior to Gau's Zaghrem Rage (Stone), but if you lack Edgar, you have precious little choice should you want to employ this. A confused Gobbledygook has a 33 % chance of casting Vanish at a random character of yours. The Invisible status remains after battle and makes you immune to all physical attacks sent your way, including items Thrown by Harvester. Two characters under Invisible is good, three is grand, but four is generally unconceivable as you can't control which character gets to be the target, and a Vanish spell on an Invisible target is just going to remove the status. So, welcome to Zozo! If you walk a bit into the town, you'll notice there are three buildings here. The one you passed is the smaller building, which has some treasure on top. The door says 'Cafe'. All the way to the north is a small building with only a clock to set. The final and remaining tower is what could be defined as the main dungeon, a construction even Gaudi didn't dare dream of. Twisted, man. I'll call the three buildings the Small Tower, the Chainsaw Tower and the High Tower, for readability. Not that hard. Enter the Small Tower first. A Zozo crook shouts gibberish over his counter. Ignore him and continue to ascend. You'll meet a split here: a door to the left and one to the right. The left one takes you nowhere, like studying philosophy. The right one takes you outside, where you climb a frightening stairway to the next level. Here, the left door is rusted shut and the right one opens to reveal an Ether. Now, you can track back! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.26.2 Chainsaw Riddle and Zozo continued ********************************** The Chainsaw Tower is the one you were meant to explore last. The trick is that there is a mysterious clock; its time you can set. By collecting clues from the Zozo inhabitants, you could discover the time you needed to unlock a secret treasure. Here are all the clues you can find: That clock doesn't have a minute hand. Of course, it never points to the right time, anyway! (This 'that clock' means the one nearby. Examining it will get you the message, 'The clock's hand is pointing at the 2...') The second hand on my watch is pointin' at 30. The seconds? They're divisible by 20! My watch's second hand is pointing at the 4. Time, you say? It's 4:00. Don't listen to the others! Trust me, it's 8:00! Oh, it's 10:00! I'd better be getting home. It's already 12:00. It's 2:00. With the options presented to you when trying to set the clock to the right time, it's clear that the hour must be 6:00, as all other options are stated by lying Zozo pigs. The seconds are NOT divisible by 20, and it's not 0:00:30. The minutes can be narrowed to only one option; the man who tells you there is no minute hand on THAT clock proceeds to say it isn't on the right time. Talking to the clock will reveal that the (minute) hand is standing on the two, i.o.w. 0:10. At any rate, after some trying here and there, it's clear that the real time is either 6:10:10 or 6:10:50. Regardless, after you've tried one of them you know what the real answer is: 6:10:50. When you reset the time to match this, a wall will slide away to reveal another pathway to a chest containing the Chainsaw. It's a powerful new Tool for Edgar that is basically Drill on crack with the annoying 25 % tendency to try to go for an instant-kill, which has a small chance of missing, and always misses against targets immune to one-hit KO. For a comparison between Chainsaw and Drill, go to the end of this document and search for the 8.2 section. Now, for the High Tower! It's the one to the southwest, with the Relic shop logo above the entrance. When you enter, another politician in the making is waiting for you to listen to his crap. Leave him. You take a stairway outside to enter the second level, where cycloptic thieves run rampant. There are a total of seven of them, repeating themselves in an endless polonaise of decay and horror. Walk amongst them to leave. Now you're outside again! At the end of the first set of stairs, you can face south and be asked if you want to use the Crane. Using the Crane will simply let you descend to the previous level. The Crane was probably installed so you could easily return to the ground without having to wade through the thieves. Maybe the designers figured it would in fact be impossible to return by those means; by clever navigational skills it's very much possible though. Pressing on, stair after stair, will get you to a dead end! Granted, there was a room with a Brigand's Glove on the way, but you cannot proceed. Time to pick up an ancient Zozo trick: jumping between buildings. There is a small black entrance above the door you passed through to get outside. Enter it and face the west. Now, walk over there and jump! Twice! The Brigand's Glove, by the way, is a Relic for Locke that allows him to change his Steal command into Mug, which is basically Attack + Steal. The Thief's Bracer also boosts the chances of stealing through Mug, and the chances of stealing are just as high for Mug as it is for Steal. The only downside (and very rarely upside) of Mug is that it makes the weapon lose some special powers. None of the weapons you have at this point will lose any effect, but the following weapons do: - The Ultima Weapon; Becomes a normal 255 Attack blade - Ichigeki, Assassin's Dagger, Wing Edge and Viper Darts will not execute X- type one-hit KO any more. - The Zantetsuken won't slice enemies, ever. - The Man-Eater won't double damage on 'Human' targets. - Blood Sword and Soul Sabre won't absorb respectively HP and MP and do normal damage instead. - Rune Blade, Ragnarok, Lightbringer, Punisher and the Organyx can't execute the MP-powered critical hit; in addition, the Organyx can't break on you. - No random extra damage from Hawkeye and the Sniper; the throw graphic won't be used either. - Dice and Fixed Dice become worthless due to the 2 and 3 Hit Rate for them, while graphic glitches ensue. - The Valiant Knife loses defense-ignoring properties and doesn't add the (max HP - current HP) damage. - Kazekiri won't cast Wind Slash. You get back inside on the other side of the building and continue to travel. Ignore the first partly hidden set of stairs to your left; it will only take you behind some counter. The second one gets you to your needed destination: further. There is a Hi-Potion and an Ether hidden in two pots here. Leave. Time to leave this detour building and jump back to the normal one, which has a girl on top. According to the Zozoian below. Or, NOT, so it is. Still with me here? Jump again and you'll find yourself in a huge set of swirling stairs. Climb them. When you find yourself outside again, climb those stairs too. Don't forget to find the Burning Fist hidden in the small chamber here; the door is obvious. Eventually, you will reach Dadaluma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.26.3 The battle with Dadaluma and the meeting with Ramuh ********************************** Dadaluma Level: 22, HP: 3270, MP: 1005 Steal: Thief's Bracer (rare), Jeweled Ring (common), Win: Thief's Knife (rare), Twist Headband (common) Weakness: Poison Special: !Sweep: sets Sap Vulnerable to: Imp, Petrify, Doom, Silence, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Sweep, Jump, Protect, Shockwave, Item (Potion), Item (Hi-Potion), Throw (Dagger), Throw (Mythril Knife), Steal Dadaluma is...yeah, what the hell is he anyway? He's a crazy lying dog like the entire population of Zozo, as he charges at you as soon as he's finished saying he's going to let you by unharmed. He's some hybrid between a martial artist and a thief: the love child of a Harvester and an Iron Fist on steroids. Most of his attacks are physical, and his most powerful ones are him Throwing Daggers and Mythril Knives. Your Invisible characters are relatively safe if he doesn't expose them with Shockwave, which is a weakish attack with the power to hit your Invisible targets. When he's taking enough damage to dive below 1920 HP, he'll use either a Potion or Hi-Potion three times and cast Protect on himself. That's only slightly annoying for Locke, as all other characters are going to attack either with barrier-piercing attacks or those that are magical of nature. There are some more twists and turns to Dadaluma's battle script! When you've hurt him with the Magic command two times, he will Throw one weapon and Jump in the air, being temporarily untouchable. He'll come down to damage a character for some minor physical hurting. He won't do all this if he has the Slow status, but since the only way to set it is by using Gau's Poplium Rage, there are much better things to set on Dadaluma. If you've hit him with the Attack command four times, he will Throw TWO weapons. Such violence. Obviously, you're never going to use Attack that much, but if you brought Locke AND Cyan and went Attack-happy for some reason, watch out. Finally, after 30 seconds, he will call some aid. God knows he needs it by then, if he's not dead already. He'll whistle for two Iron Fists that you'll never face alone and are thus deprived of their one and only strength: Stone. Dadaluma won't be able to whistle when he's Silenced, but you can't silence him at this point of the game, so there's no avoiding it. So yeah, you can imagine what to do. Try to nick that rare Thief's Bracer with Locke. Edgar can play with his new equipment (like you did when you grew hair in weird places...don't deny it). Aura Cannon with Sabin. Cyan's Flurry will be better before Dadaluma has cast the Protect spell on himself, but Fang comes out victorious after he's successfully done so. Even when Protect isn't in effect, the wait time might make Fang more appealing to you. Celes' Imp spell can seriously cripple Dadaluma, as it actually works on him. His physicals will now always do twice as much damage, but his Shockwave/Throw days are over, so if you have any characters under Invisible, you're destined to win. Have her pose as a back-up Cure caster if necessary, and if you choose not to turn Dadaluma into an Imp, you'll want her ready with Runic to disable Protect for the Lockes and Cyans of this world. Gau's Alacran and Acrophies Rages will set Stop on Dadaluma, turning him completely useless. Trillium offers Bio, on the other hand, which will hit for CRAZY damage. Shadow can simply toss his stuff; his Scrolls (especially when Earring-boosted) will come out stronger than his Shuriken, but you might not want to waste them on an easy fight like this. Yeah, when all is said and done, after a dungeon like Zozo a final boss like Dadaluma fails to impress anybody. Stepping over the battered corpse of the Bandit King, you find yourself in a large room. There are two chests here, containing rather nice items: an X-Potion and a set of Hermes Sandals. But most importantly, it houses Terra. I advise you to simply watch the scene yourself, and don't forget to take all your new sources of happiness and power with you. Before I go to the next part of the walkthrough, though, I want to leave you with what Gau would say had you brought an actual solo-Gau party to Ramuh, as it's one of the bits of dialogue that never ceases to amuse me in its brilliance: Gau: Terra...she okay? Gau: Espers...live other world...right? Gau: Why you not tell people you esper? Gau: Gau hear fairy tale... People...espers...before, live same place! Gau: Ma-gi-tek Re-search Fa...ci-luh-tee? ...Your friends there? Gau: Ra...muh... You leave...not come back? Gau: Waoooh... Note that this guy, later in the game, has trouble saying 'yes'. There's a couple more character sentences: Upon entry: Cyan: Is Lady Terra all right? Celes: Is Terra okay? Celes: But don't espers live in another world? Locke: But my grandma told me that humans and espers once lived side by side... Of course, that was only a bedtime story... Celes: ...Huh? The Magitek Research Facility? Your people are in there!? Shadow: You old fool... Why throw it all away...? Cyan: He's...gone, isn't he? Celes: Ramuh... Why...? Cyan: He sacrificed himself to give us the strength with which to fight the Empire... From now on, there will be a wizard/ghost character roaming the streets of Zozo as well as the Adventuring School in Narshe to explain how Magicite works. What great news! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.27.1 Magicite and Owzer's Mansion in Jidoor ********************************** Location: Overworld Map (between Zozo, Jidoor and the Opera House) Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Shadow Oponents: Vulture, Iron Fist, Bloodfang, Rock Wasp, Paraladia As it turns out, Terra is apparently safe in Zozo. All she needs is more time to understand her newfound powers. Ramuh, the ancient esper of Lightning, in the meantime, begged you for a favor. The Empire's forbidden might, Magic, is extracted from espers held within the city of Vector, in the Magitek Research Facility. Releasing them or otherwise disabling the flow of Magic to the Empire would deal a serious blow to its offensive forces. To top that, Ramuh's plea is understandable; no conscious being should be held into submission and tested on like this. But the Empire knows better than to allow offensive forces into their lands, and after conquering the entire continent, they disabled any means of traveling to the Southern Continent. So how will these Returners reach Vector? Jidoor might hold some answers. Preparation: Your choice of team is more limited now, as both Locke and Celes are forced into your party. It's too bad, as both are relatively weak characters at the moment. But hey, forced is forced. Know that physical attacks, unless barrier-piercing, are almost entirely useless in the next scenario, so Cyan is out from the get-go (Fang fails to measure up to your other offensive options, and Flurry is going to be laughable most of the time). Shadow is still in the Kohlingen Inn if you haven't recruited him earlier, but he will leave at a crucial point where, even while you technically CAN go back to Narshe, will be most annoying. Shadow is out. It boils down to Sabin, Edgar, and Gau. If you haven't trained Gau, it's no contest and you'll want to bring the Figaro brothers. If you have, it's no contest and you'll want to add Gau. Seriously, he is *obscenely* strong at this point of the game (provided you go Rage Hunting in a bit, anyway). Between Edgar and Sabin, I'd definitely pick Edgar over Sabin. They're about equals in offense at this point, but Edgar has the option of using the Noiseblaster, and being able to target will be a damn useful function before long. If you picked Gau, you'll want to pick some new Rages from the new monsters you encountered. Useful Rages include: Anguiform, Aspiran, Rock Wasp, Veil Dancer, Gobbledygook and Hill Gigas. Hill Gigas' Magnitude 8 will be stronger than Wind Slash in MT damage, but it cannot hit Floating targets. Anguiform and Aspiran both hit the weakness of pretty much everything in the next real dungeon, so don't feel complete until you've found them. Route to the Veldt, Copy/Paste from the previous section: To visit the Veldt, take the Cave to South Figaro and pass through Mt. Koltz. You'll find the Returner Hideout again, and in Banon's Room, you can find the hidden passage to the raft. Jump on it, and after the same battles you had to fight earlier, you'll now take the path Sabin took when he drifted off. You find yourself near the hut of the crazy man again. Walk to and through the Phantom Forest (no Imperial Camp or Phantom Train this time) and jump down Baren Falls (no battles here either). You're on the Veldt now. Leap around until you're satisfied. Jump down the Serpent Trench and wind up in Nikeah. Take the ferry to South Figaro and you're on known territory. Oh yeah, and you're smuggled out of South Figaro in a chest; that never ceases to amuse the kids. Also, you've received Magicite! Magicite are awesome little gems that allow you to summon the corresponding esper once a battle, learn the spells the Magicite teaches, and even give you a stat boost when you level up! For a more detailed descriptions of espers and how do and do not work, there's a section towards the bottom of the document. I will not fail to mention THIS, though: To unequip an esper, select a black slot from the esper list. There are too many creatures out there that, after having consumed a meal consisting entirely out of Doritos and feces, nose-type a "how to unequip espers" topic. Because, typing the message and waiting for the often verbally violent and inaccurate response somehow takes less time in their dimension of madness than simply trying the option, which has always seemed to me as a product of logic. Monster formations: Grasslands: Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (6/16) Vulture, Iron Fist (5/16) Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (5/16) Forest: Paraladia, Paraladia, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (6/16) Paraladia, Vulture, Iron Fist (5/16) Iron Fist, Iron Fist, Rock Wasp, Rock Wasp (5/16) Desert: Sand Ray, Alacran, Alacran (6/16) Fossil Dragon (5/16) Sand Ray, Sand Ray (5/16) I speak too much! Your job is to find a proper means of transportation towards the Empire. By now, you'll probably stare at the lead character of your party, going, and here I quote one of the best films recently created, Napoleon Dynamite: "Before we get started on our new project, I have a few concerns. First off, I'm concerned about your transportation situation." See, you need to go to Vector, capital of the Empire. This city is on a continent, and while you are also on a continent, it's sadly an entirely different one. While Celes is wearing a bathing suit, swimming is not an option. Maybe you can get yourself a ship in Jidoor? Money buys anything, right? Except for happiness. Happiness and actual quality coffee, when you're living in America. Starbucks my ass. While walking to Jidoor, you'll be surprised to note that every battle ends with an added message of you obtaining Magic AP! That's good. When you've reached Jidoor, you may want to rest at the Inn. The guy standing in front of the counter has some new info about this guy called 'the gambler', who likes operas. Kind of the dumbest thing ever, talking to strangers ABOUT strangers, no? At Owzer's place (you know, that huge mansion? The mansion to rule them all?), you'll find somebody called the Impresario. He's having a bad time. Talk to him and grab the letter on the way out. Resume: The Impresario (trivia: his name is Dancho) is the Big Chief of the Opera. Everybody loves that place, especially because of Maria, the very sexual, the very tight. Setzer Gabbiani, world-cruising playboy of a gambler that he is, has announced in a private letter to the Impresario that he will kidnap Maria right from the stage. The Impresario doesn't want Maria to be kidnapped; bad for business, nor does he want to call off the next show; bad for business. Dancho's in a tight spot. Oh, the troubles of capitalism. Also, Celes is the 'spitting image' of Maria, it seems. I never quite understood this expression. Two women and saliva doesn't sound too bad, but it just seems kinda out of place in a game like this. So yeah, world's most popular fetish aside, you need to go to the Opera House, where you'll try to set up a meeting with Setzer, pilot of the world's only airship, the Blackjack (off-game knowledge!). Once you reach the Opera House (don't tell me you needed any more info on the monsters occupying the way there), all will be self-explanatory. So, allow me to skip to the next thrilling action sequence, which involves the favorite FF VI scene for many. Not me, though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.28.1 The Opera House ********************************** Location: Opera House Party members: Locke; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Shadow (leaves) Opponents: Stunner, Goetia, Ultros So here's the plan. Instead of Maria, who hid her pretty self somewhere, Celes will perform the Dream Oath, the massively popular opera about Draco and Maria (seems like the opera star and her part share the name), a story of love, war, honor, and as bad luck gives us, a squid. Ultros followed you here. The reason is not clear; it's not so much revenge for beating him, as it's entirely possible to use a team that features none of the characters you used to fight him the first time. But let evil be evil as long as you stop it. Celes needs to be successfully abducted here, and we can't have any octopi ruining the plan. Preparation: Celes de-equipped herself when she changed into Maria's opera get-up, so if she was carrying anything other party members might be able to use, that's great. Make sure that one of your remaining party members has Sprint Shoes equipped if you're playing one of the SNES versions. The Impresario predicted Setzer would arrive in the first scene, and as Setzer is an undependable scoundrel who has no ties in life and has much to gain by surprising the Impresario in his abduction in as many ways possible, the prediction can be nothing but 100 % accurate. So, Celes needs to survive only through the first scene before she gets her proverbial homerun! Here's what she has to do: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.28.2 The Dream Oath ********************************** Scene 1 O my hero, my beloved, Shall we still be made to part, Though promises of perennial love Yet sing here in my heart? I'm the darkness, you're the starlight Shining brightly from afar. Though hours of despair, I offer this prayer To you, my evening star. Must my final vows exchanged Be with him and not with you? Were you only here to quiet my fear... O speak! Guide me anew. ...This is where you pick up the flowers. Climb the stairs and toss the flowers from the highest balcony. (Be sure to finish by the end of the interlude! There isn't much time before the start of Scene 2.) - Impresario At least, that's what the score says. Listen to it; it makes sense. Celes will be given three options during her play concerning the proper lines, and then has to successfully climb some stairs and lift flowers. Quite a workout! Here's what the options will do: (Oh my hero...) --> success! GOOD. (Alas, Draco...) --> Alas, Draco! You have left me... The orchestra stops. BAD. (I wish I...) --> I wish I...uh? The orchestra stops. BAD. (I'm the darkness)--> success! GOOD. (Must I...) --> success! GOOD. (Prince Ralse...) --> Prince Ralse will be my groom. I know... that this isn't the right line. The orchestra stops. BAD. Now, you walk the stairs, talk to the phantom Draco three times, pick up the flowers, and stand on the far end of the balcony. If you fail to do this in time, Celes says: "Ah, I'm too late! So much for that...", the orchestra stops and that's BAD. Every time you mess up the Opera (you mess up the lines, you don't move around fast enough, Ultros does his thang, you are defeated by Ultros in combat), the Opera is halted and you find yourself outside of the building, where you can go back in to plead for another chance. After you mess up the first time, you get three chances. That's a total of four tries to get it right. If you fail four times, evolution hasn't been kind to you and you receive the message "It looks like you weren't exactly born to be on stage..." and get an actual Game Over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.28.3 Stopping Ultros ********************************** So, that's Celes' part. You can do it. Meanwhile, Ultros has decided to kill the woman on stage with the combined terror of weight and gravity, which he told Locke with a letter. Because that's useful for your chances of actually pulling it off, you see. Before you alert the Impresario, make sure to talk to your fellow characters. Amusing! Edgar: Go on! Give her some encouragement! Sabin: Huh? Why's everyone singing? Cyan: Where art thou going? Thou should relax and enjoy the show! Gau: Uwao! Pretty song, pretty song! And if you brought Shadow, against all possible odds and rules of logic: Impresario: Your friend left. Said he'd fall asleep if he had to sit here for more than five minutes... I'm sure a lot of you folks thinks that's awesome. You have five minutes to reach the lever on the right side of the Opera House, flip it, go to the rafters, which are accessible on the left side of the Opera House, fight your way through some annoying rats, and stop Ultros. So do it! Flip the far right switch in the room to the right. For you left/right analphabetics out there, I'll lay it out for you: Switch 1 Switch 2 Switch 3 Super Switch! Switch 1 makes a sound like a dog barking. Switch 2 turns out the lights in the opera hall, causing the crowds to make little eyes in the darkness. Switch 3 opens a hole directly under you, causing you to slide on stage! You immediately get off by hopping on the heads of the crowd, bursting in the entrance hall of the Opera House, where the lead character will strike a pose and say 'Whew!'. I suppose all three switches are pretty amusing, but there's imminent squashing and you can't shrug that off, so what you'll want to flip is the Super Switch. Now, sprint all the way to the far left room (you'll pass the Impresario again) and pass the door (which would be locked if you hadn't flipped the switch in the far right room). Now, you're on the rafters. Don't fall down now. Haha, you can't fall down! You can, however, fight rats and get kicked out of the Opera House for another try if you lose. So, you don't want that. Each rat will trigger a battle, which contains either: Goetia, Stunner, Stunner (3/4) Stunner, Goetia, Stunner, Stunner, Goetia (1/4) The Goetia monsters (yellow) are the main problem, the Stunners (black/green) the lackeys. If you take out all the Stunners while one or two Goetia still live, they'll call more, prolonging the battle. So have Edgar, Locke and Genji Glove'd Cyan and/or Sabin go for the ST kill on those before you try to engage in MT slaughter. Goetia are weak against Ice, so if Gau can Rage Veil Dancer or Darkside, that might be a good idea too. They have nothing worth stealing, so don't waste time there. It's said it's actually possible to get by without having to fight a single group of rats, but you'll skip both their Rages (not that good, I'll admit, but you can *miss* them for the sake of the Savior), and it's damn hard to boot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.28.4 The second fight with Ultros ********************************** Ultros Level: 19, HP: 2550, MP: 500 Steal: Nothing (always) Absorbs: Water, Weakness: Fire, Lightning Special: !Ink: sets Dark, attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Ink, Fire, Drain, Lv. 3 Confuse, Imp Song, Acid Rain, Megavolt, Tentacle Before you try to hurt Ultros, make sure your Ramuh-wearing character is equipped with an Earring (or two). If you have a Burning Fist-wearing Sabin, he should be in the third or fourth position, as that'll make sure he'll face Ultros' back at the start of the match. Make sure that your party is covered in Peace Rings/Ribbons, as Ultros has the ability to set Confuse, which is serious business. Ultros is back and he's better and badder then ever. Only not really, because he actually has less HP than he did when you first met him. To compensate, he has quite a few spells to throw at you, and has a nasty Command Script that gives him the power to, at the worst situation possible, actually take 10197 HP of damage before going down. Here's how that works: Ultros has four positions. He starts at Position 1. Every time he takes two rounds, he'll make a comment, switch to another position and start using different spells. Now the story and our eyes will have us believe that it's one Ultros, hopping about; the game treats this battle as one with four Ultros', each with his own set of 2550 HP. If you hurt Ultros but let him escape to a different position, you can Scan him and see he will again have 2550 out of 2550 HP. At least, that's what you would see if this Ultros didn't yield a "Can't probe target" message. So, the trick is to kill him as quick as possible, before he can move around at all. For the record, he will go like this: 1 - 3 - 2* - 4 - 2 - 1 - 4 - 2 - 3** ** = Here, he makes four attacks before he moves on to 2* again. So what does Ultros do? He counters Blitz techniques and Bushido skills with Acid Rain, a nasty Water/Poison-elemental attack that sets Sap. I'd advise against using those skills, especially because Sabin will inflict more damage with the Burning Fist then he will with his Blitz attacks (unless it's Rising Phoenix, unless he's hitting with the Burning Fist in the back of Ultros). After every minute of battling, Ultros will use Imp Song, which changes the living characters on one side of him into Imps. This is very annoying and yet another reason to deal with Ultros as quickly as possible. Finally, his attack pattern is this, depending on his position: 1 = Attack, !Ink or Tentacle 2 = Attack (33%) or Fire (66%) 3 = Attack (33%) or Lv. 3 Confuse (66%) 4 = Attack or Megavolt or Drain But none of this should really matter, honestly. Because if you even get to see Acid Rain or Lv. 3 Confuse, let alone Imp Song, you've already missed the goal and are in actual danger of losing the battle if you're either inexperienced or unlucky. So here's what to do to prevent that. Locke is fairly useless; Ultros has nothing to steal whatsoever. If Locke knows Slow or Thundara, have him cast it. Otherwise, just attack. Edgar's Chainsaw inflicts very decent damage, and I've said enough about Sabin's Burning Fist to make the impression I actually want you to use it. Cyan should ignore his Bushido command and act like Locke. Gau, finally, can pick a Rage like Aspiran or Cloud for direct violence (Aspiran is godly), or Acrophies/Alacran for causing Stop if you want to prevent him from changing position rather than killing him outright. Unless it's Sabin, summoning Ramuh takes priority over anything else. It's basically a Thundara spell coming from someone who probably hasn't learned Thundara yet. The only scenario I can see where the above strategy wouldn't automatically mean you toasted the guy before he could move a muscle is a rather low-leveled Locke, Cyan, and Gau team where Gau just didn't feel like doing his non-Attack. If this is the case, have Cyan and Locke support Gau and cure their own Imp status should this become a problem. Ultros really isn't that much of a deal if you take him down with as much brute force in as little time you could do; if you allow him to wander, he could become quite a nuisance. You'll get a Green Cherry for your troubles at the end. His lines, because there are people who love him as much as I dislike the guy: "It's me again! Long time no see! Did ya miss me?" (Battle Commence) "Here! Over here!" "I ain't no garden-variety octopus!" "Havin' fun yet?" "You called?" "You must hate it when I show up... Too bad!" "Don't worry, I ain't goin' nowhere!" "Imp! Buddy! Pal! " (Imp Song) "Thwarted again! I feel like such a sucker. Well, kids, hate to ink and run... ... but I AM an octopus!" (Defeat) Having stopped the threat that threatened the plan, the plan comes together! Setzer, quite possibly the most awesome character out of video game history as far as looks and style go, swoops down, grabs Celes, and in one awesome spin gets her out of her opera gown, into her normal clothes, and entirely tied up. Wow. And to know that there are some, who shall remain nameless, who at one time had problems with bra clasps! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.29.1 The Blackjack ********************************** Location: The Blackjack Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None My God, Setzer is awesome. He's a world-traveling albino pirate who kidnaps this game's equivalent of Kylie Mynogue to marry her on his own casino-zeppelin. His airship-crash-induced facial scars only make him more of a special case and nicely compliment the rather gothic black trench coat he got way before the Wachowski brothers had even dreamed about bending spoons that aren't there and bullet-time and whatnot. Sadly, he gets punked by a band of unlikely heroes the world has never seen before. First, he is persuaded by you to listen to your tale of woe rather than kick you off his property: Celes: Wait! We heard that your ship is the finest vessel in the world. Locke: And that you were the world's greatest gambler... Edgar: I'm the king of Figaro. If you help us, you'll be well rewarded... Sabin: My brother's the king of Figaro. If you help us, I can ask him to reward you. (only if Edgar isn't there) Cyan: I am a warrior of Doma. Please, I humbly beg for thy aid! Then, he is converted from a rather pro-Empire guy to a full-fledged Narshesque or Swiss I-don't-knower: Celes: You're not the only one suffering. The Empire has been toppling towns and villages left and right... Locke: They're abusing their Magitek power and trying to take over the world. Edgar: My kingdom was allied with the Empire...until recently. Sabin: Maybe you want to be a slave to the Empire, but I sure don't. Cyan: I lost my friends, my family... (he gets all sad after this) Finally, he is joining your cause! It was inevitable after all; you gave him a name and whatnot. Celes will fool him with a double-headed coin. If Edgar's present, he'll give the coin to her. If Sabin is also present, he'll shout at his brother for a bit for obvious reasons (and if they're not obvious, you didn't take them to sleep at Figaro Castle, am I right?). The coin in question is a coin from Figaro, displaying Edgar's face on one side and Sabin's face on the other. You'll see it in action in the credits... but enough about this. You hitched a ride to the Empire. Go Returners. As soon as you get out of the Blackjack, you can re-enter the ship to see its full interior. From this point on, you can take advantage of Setzer's crew and their sweet services. There's a healing guy and an item guy. The item guy sells: Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Holy Water 300 Phoenix Down 500 Remedy 1000 Smoke Bomb 300 Teleport Stone 700 Tent 1200 Good-for-nothing albino pirate gamblers only sharing with the rest of us for profit... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.30.1 Albrook ********************************** Location: Albrook Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Container contents: Elixir, Ether, Hi-Potion You're finding yourself next to an entirely new town. This is called 'hinting'. Square wants you to go in. Do it. Note: Don't forget to re-equip Celes. We don't want her running around naked. Well, I've seen enough GameFAQs posts that say that some of you would, but that's talking 'naked', not "naked". Albrook is one of the three major towns the Empire invaded and currently occupies. The Imperial troopers here won't directly recognize you, and won't attack you outright. If you try to enter the port, the Magitek Armored soldier will prevent your entry by means of hitting you. No Hit Points will be lost, don't worry. Most soldiers will show themselves as patriotic pigs, and most inhabitants of Albrook will sigh and moan about their lot. The only useful information you receive here is that coming from a portrait painter and two scholars. The painter tells of a portrait he must do of the Emperor himself (you'll come across this painting in your travels later, where it serves a special purpose). The first scholar will talk about the fact that the monsters on the continent have only weak magical power (which is a flat-out lie as some of them have the power to outright create several new interesting ways to urinate for you if you don't watch out). The other one is talking about two Ultima Weapons; one a sword, one a monster. I'M SURE WE'LL NEVER MEET EITHER OF THEM. Weapon Shop: Kiku-Ichimonji 1200 Venom Claws 2500 Bastard Sword 3000 Sakura 3200 Shuriken 30 Flame Scroll 500 Water Scroll 500 Thunder Scroll 500 The Weapon shop has Bastard Swords (which you can ignore if you want to as neither Celes nor Edgar will ever use it), Kiku-Ichimonji for Cyan that you previously bought in Jidoor (right?), and Venom Claws for Sabin, of which I recommend you buy two. You can leave Shadow's Sakura for now, as he's not around and you'll be able to buy more of them later. Armor Shop: Twist Headband 1600 Priest's Miter 3000 Mythril Vest 1200 Ninja Gear 1100 White Dress 2200 The Olde Armore Shoppe sells nothing of value other than Priest's Miters. They're the magical equivalent of the Green Berets; where Green Berets raise HP by 12.5 percent and give you a 10 % bonus on your Evasion rating, the Bard's Hat raises MP by that very amount and gives a 10 % bonus on your Magic Evasion rating. It's a popular choice for obtaining a god-like assembly of equipment later in the game, but right now, you're probably better off with the Green Berets as an HP boost is more useful than an MP boost and you'll be taking much more physical hits than magical ones. And yes, the chests in the Armor Shop are now, and will under any circumstance be, empty. Relic Shop: Silver Spectacles 500 Peace Ring 3000 Earring 5000 Sniper Eye 3000 Reflect Ring 6000 Amulet 5000 The Relic Shop has Amulets andReflect Rings. The Amulet will be kind of a necessity in later dungeons, but you can wait for now. Make sure to grab four Reflect Rings here, though. The main attractions at the moment though are Earrings; Earrings are almost universally useful. You should have four Earrings and a Hero Ring; you might want to buy another one or even two. Earrings are great damage boosters. Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Eye Drops 50 Remedy 1000 Holy Water 300 Phoenix Down 500 Tent 1200 Warp Stone 700 Items of +2/+2 using. First Remedies for sale ever. The Cafe is plain awesome. I wish there was a place over here that played Johnny C. Bad continuously; I wouldn't go there because I'd go stark raving mad, but it be nice to have around, just because. Items are hidden throughout the town. There's the mandatory Elixir in the clock in the hallway connecting the Armor Shop and the Cafe. There's a Hi-Potion in a barrel next to the Inn. A hidden Ether in the pot of the Weapon Shop closes the deal. On the whole, Albrook is a rather disappointing hole of a town, not at all worth the hassle of the whole having-Celes-abducted-by-a-flying-albino thing. So I suggest we explore the rest of the continent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.30.2 Traveling on the Southern Continent ********************************** Location: Overworld Map (Southern Continent) Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Fossil Dragon, Litwor Chicken, Joker, Don, Wyvern, Grasswyrm, Sergeant, Bug, Mega Armor, Proto Armor Miscellaneous items: Dragoon Boots (Wyvern Steal), Mythril Rod (Joker drop), Tiger Mask (Ralph Steal) Welcome to what we like to call the Southern Continent. Vector in the middle, Albrook to the south, Tzen to the north, Maranda to the West, and an Imperial Observation Post seemingly built to protect a mountain range to the East. As is the tendency of games like the one we're talking about here, a new continent features new enemies that are stronger than the ones seen before. Preparation: Re-equipped Celes? Make sure you have Thief's Bracer on Locke, as the upcoming monsters might actually have something worth stealing. If any of the characters knows Float, cast it on the party. If not, have Gau (if present) Rage Hornet or a similar Rage that is Float-inducing. Monster formations: (Middle and West grasslands) Grasswyrm, Grasswyrm, Grasswyrm (6/16) Ralph, Ralph (5/16) Ralph, Wyvern, Wyvern (5/16) (Southwest and East grasslands) Don, Joker (5/16) Don, Wyvern, Wyvern (5/16) Joker, Joker, Joker (5/16) Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken (1/16) (Forest) Don, Wyvern, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken (10/16) Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken, Litwor Chicken (6/16) There's a plethora (expensive word: + 500 Exp.) of dangerous monsters around. Grasswyrms are entirely like Nettlehopper, only they're red. They're just as weak to Fire as their green brethren are, they're just as silly in their physical attacks and berserking attempts with their Special, and they're just as likely to find themselves in several flaming pieces on the cold earth before an even remotely long time. Ralph are simple Attack/Special cannon fodder, only they're kinda sturdy and tend to take more than one attack to kill. Also, they have a rare Tiger Mask steal, a nice Helmet for Sabin and/or Gau that you probably want to swap for the Green Beret (but only for the sake of being able to; I'd still say the Green Beret is the better choice of the two). For a bit of trivia, their Anthology Bestiary mentions these dogs were created as a test of using Magitek power. But then again, the Bestiary is so full of shit I tend to ignore it despite the fact it's official Square statements. Jokers are bastards. They're floating, so they're immune to your strongest MT attack (Gau's Magnitude 8). If you allow them to take more than one turn, they start casting Acid Rain on the entire party, which you'll want to prevent. If they're alone, they start casting Thundara, which you will really want to prevent. Summoning Siren is a very good idea if you run into them, as doing so removes the threat of both spells. Noiseblaster also works well. Rarely, they will drop Mythril Rods. You didn't have those yet. If you were greedy, you'll have three different kinds of Rod already, and nobody can equip them. Beautiful. Wyvern are... NOT FLOATING. They have wings, and they are called 'wyvern', a word commonly reserved for flying serpents of death. They are in a flying position in their sprite, which was specifically designed to capture the very nature of the beast in one pose. Yet, not floating. It's a mockery of the concept of wing itself. Wyvern are monsters who will use Cyclonic when they're alone, a percentage-based attack that will remove 93.75 % of the targets current HP. And Cyclonic hits all characters. Don't let this happen. They have rare Dragoon Boots for any Lockes you might have in your party, which sell for a whole bunch of moola. Litwor Chicken are the silliest and potentially the most deadly of the monsters found on the continent. When they're alone, they cast Quake. Surely, they must've abandoned all hope of getting out of the battle alive, as it hurts them as well. Quake is a seriously powerful spell: an Earth-elemental, barrier-piercing spell that hits every target on screen as long as it isn't Floating. If you kept Stray around long enough for any of your characters to learn Float, be sure to cast it if you are still touching the ground. Otherwise, they're weak to Ice and look silly. The desert houses Fossil Dragon, and you should be used to their presence by now. If not, Ctrl + F the thing. Bugs are also found circling their bodies. Bugs are annoying because they tend to go out with a BANG: a BANG of petrifying their killer. Only if they were killed by Attack, and only if they were alone, and only 33 % of the time, but still... Avoid it, as that's good. To sum it up: Have Locke try and steal from Don and Wyvern monsters, don't let Litwor Chicken or Wyvern alone, both are weak to Ice attacks, summon Siren when you meet Jokers (and Wyvern and Litwor Chicken if you're not feeling confident about your ability to take them out first. Siren stops Quake and Cyclonic as well) and don't do drugs. It's by no means mandatory or even very beneficial to visit the other three locations before going into Vector, but it doesn't hurt to do it in any way and it gives more back story to the game. It's up to you to decide if you'll want to do it. Here are the benefits of investing the time: The Imperial Observation Post near the Mountains. Eh...you get to fight monsters that have glands on their back that secrete Tents. A lot of them. You'll be fighting them anyway in the next serious dungeon. Tzen: Boomerangs for sale, a slight improvement over the Moonring Blade. Mythril Helms for sale, featureless helmet for everybody but Sabin. Black Belt Relics for sale. Maranda: Boomerangs for sale, a slight improvement over the Moonring Blade. Tridents for sale, a Water-elemental Spear. Mythril Helms for sale, featureless helmet for everybody but Sabin. Mythril Mail for sale, better armor for Cyan and Edgar. Free Remedy and Holy Water to find! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.30.3 The Imperial Observation Post ********************************** The Imperial Observation Post: Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Sergeant, Mega Armor, Proto Armor Monster formations: (Walking soldiers) Sergeant, Sergeant, Sergeant, Sergeant (always) (Armored soldiers) Mega Armor, Proto Armor (always) Yeah, it's called differently, but the name kinda reveals its purpose so we wouldn't want that yet. All you'll find here is a truly impenetrable Imperial Base, blocking access to whatever lies on the other side. You can fight the walking people here. The normal soldiers, regardless of color, will turn out to be four Sergeants, and the Armored soldier is a Proto Armor/Mega Armor combo. Note on the four Sergeants: this is an easily controllable battle where you don't really have to fear sudden KO's creeping up on you. The thing is, though, Sergeants have a Tent for common steal. So, you have the option of complete restoration after every battle if you steal one. I tend to linger a while. It builds my amount of Tents to about 20 and gains some sweet spells in the meantime. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.30.4 Tzen ********************************** Location: Tzen Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Tzen is a small town. Used to be an independent town, a monarchy no less. The Empire has slaughtered the royal family, and Tzen is currently under even more Imperial watch than Albrook is. There...really isn't much to say about Tzen. The soldiers will be useless and passive as they were in Albrook, the citizens friendly and helpful. One will tell about an Imperial weapon called the Guardian, which can't move by itself but is extremely powerful. Oh well, we can always make a run for it should we come across it. Another man tells of a gate in the mountains to the East. The mountains were heavily guarded and impenetrable for you; could it be that the Empire is looking for something there? Weapon Shop: Air Knife 950 Moonring Blade 2500 Bastard Sword 3000 Boomerang 4500 The Weapon Shop offers nothing you can use other than the Boomerang. The Boomerang is a slightly better version of the Moonring Blade, so if you were using it I suggest you replace it. Armor Shop: Priest's Miter 3000 Mythril Helm 2000 Mythril Vest 1200 Ninja Gear 1100 White Dress 2200 The Armor Shop has Mythril equipment! However, you have plenty of Mythril Shields from Narshe, and you could've obtained enough Mythril Vests from Hell's Rider earlier. So, if you played smart so far, the only feature of meaning is the Mythril Helms. It has a slight defensive boost over the Green Beret and the Priest's Miter, but it isn't worth the loss of those two its special properties in my opinion. And it's flat-out worse than the Tiger Mask. Relic Shop: Earring 5000 Hermes Sandals 7000 Black Belt 5000 Amulet 5000 Nice Relics for sale in Tzen. The Amulet is the first store-bought item that protects you from the Zombie status. You'll need it later, but not now. All other Relics are filler relics. Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Eye Drops 50 Green Cherry 150 Echo Screen 120 Holy Water 300 Phoenix Down 500 Tent 1200 You might want to grab a Chocobo in the hidden Chocobo Stable in the forest to the east of Tzen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.30.5 Maranda ********************************** Location: Maranda Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: None Container contents: Holy Water, Remedy Maranda, Maranda... what do we know about Maranda? The last to fall against the Empire, it was general Celes Chere herself who led the attack to conquer the continent. It's still slightly trashed from the attack. Like Tzen, many of the city's young men were led to fight in the army of the Empire. The wounded man you found in Mobliz was one of them, and his darling Lola still lives here. Lola lives in a little house in Maranda, and if you'll speak to her, her response depends on your actions in Mobliz: Didn't help shit: My beloved hasn't replied to my letter... I'm sick with worry... Sent a letter: He wrote me back! He's all right... Oh, thank goodness... Sent the record: He sent me a record! I'm so happy! Sent the Tonic: He sent a potion for Mother... He's so kind... Sent 2nd letter: He wrote me back! He's all right... Oh, thank goodness... Sent the book: He sent me the book he'd been reading! I've been reading a little bit every night before bed. I'll treasure it forever! If you sent an item, received her next request and DIDN'T respond to that letter, Lola will also say 'My beloved hasn't replied to my letter... I'm sick with worry...' Weapon Shop: Mythril Spear 800 Trident 1700 Venom Claws 2500 Bastard Sword 3000 Boomerang 4500 The Weapon Shop has three new weapons. The Trident, a Water-elemental Spear you might want to use later in the game, the mandatory Bastard Sword, and the Boomerang you could've found in Tzen. On the whole, buy a Trident and leave. Armor Shop: Priest's Miter 3000 Green Beret 3000 Mythril Helm 2000 Mythril Vest 1200 Mythril Mail 3500 The Armor Shop has Mythril Equipment as well, but they're a little better at it. There's only one feature of interest if you visited Tzen earlier: the Mythril Mail, heavy defensive equipment for Celes, Cyan, and Edgar. I wouldn't recommend it on Celes though, as the White Dress is only slightly less protective and gives a very nice Magic bonus. Finally, let's not forget about the fact this is the first time you see Green Berets in shops. It's not like you shouldn't be swamped in those buggers by now, but hey. Item Shop: Say what? This town doesn't have one! I believe that makes it the only town ever, ever, ever in this game. Crazy world. Let's not start on Zozo, as that's a dungeon rather than a town. If you want two free items, find the Holy Water in the bottom crate west of the south exit and find the Remedy in one of the two crates near the arguing couple. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.1 Vector ********************************** Location: Vector Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Sergeant, Belzecue, Proto Armor, Guardian Well, here you are, deep in the heart of the Empire. Vector is the capital of the Empire and houses its two most important structures: the Imperial Palace, home to Emperor Gestahl, general Leo Christophe, and general Kefka Palazzo, and the Imperial Magitek Research Facility, where the very source of Magic is somehow obtained under the eyes of master scientist Cid del Norte Marguez. There's a lot to do here. I'll discuss it feature by feature: In the part of town closer to the Imperial Palace (to the north), soldiers roam the streets. The normal troopers will be: Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant, Sergeant (3/4) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant (1/4) The Armored troopers will be: Proto Armor, Onion Knight, Onion Knight (3/4) Proto Armor, Proto Armor (1/4) The Inn is not very trustworthy. The guy behind the counter looks like a Zozo bum, and sure enough, after he's offered you the room free, there's a 50 % chance he'll come and steal 1000 Gil during the night. If you don't have 1000 Gil you'll see the man sneak around in the night, but the '1000 Gil was stolen!' message won't pop up and no money will be lost. No, you're better off going to the slim house to the left of the Inn, where an old woman will ask you to pledge your allegiance to the Empire. If you do so, all will be fine. If you refuse, she will send two... Narshe Guards after you? After you have beaten them, she will offer you a free healing service every time you talk to her, much like a Recovery Spring. A less successful way of healing yourself is going over to the running kid, who was subject to one of Cid's experiments and now has the power to heal with the Cure spell. Sadly, he's not very good at it, and will be able to only heal 1 HP at the time. He can also 'heal' the dead without actually reviving them; the only chance in the game you'll be able to see a dead character with above-0 HP. The Weapon Shop and Armor Shop sell nothing you couldn't buy in Albrook. The inhabitants of Vector are, understandably, pro-Empire, but will provide you with information nonetheless. You learn that general Leo refused a Magitek infusion, where Kefka was Cid's first experiment, which supposedly turned him into the ranting fool he now is. Imperial soldiers on the higher regions of town will recognize you and engage in a fight. Every time you either win or run away, you'll find yourself on the southern edge of town again. If you managed to elude all the troops and you try to enter the Imperial Palace to the far north of the city, you'll be heard by an Imperial Soldier within the Palace, and you hide. If you walk away again, a member of the Imperial Special Force will send Guardian after you. Guardian is invulnerable in the true sense of the word. You can't damage him in any way, he's immune to any status effect including Invisible, you can't normally spin Joker's Death against him; you name it. He's the very model of a plot device that looks like an enemy: Can't go here, sonny. The only way out of this battle that doesn't include running yourself is using Confuse on somebody who is about to use a Smoke Bomb; the Smoke Bomb will target Guardian, and you cause Guardian to run away itself. This has the same effect as running away yourself, though. Weapon Shop: Kiku-Ichimonji 1200 Venom Claws 2500 Bastard Sword 3000 Sakura 3200 You shouldn't need anything here. If you haven't bought a Sakura blade yet, now's your chance. The Sakura was called the Sakurafubuki in the Japanese game; 'sakura' is cherry blossom' and 'fubuki' is blizzard. Elegant and graceful like the sakura, destructive and ruthless like a blizzard; the perfect ninja warrior. Note that the Sakura is Wind-elemental. Armor Shop: Twist Headband 1600 Priest's Miter 3000 Mythril Vest 1200 Ninja Gear 1100 White Dress 2200 This Armor Shop is exactly the same as the one in Albrook, so you shouldn't see anything new. Item Shop: Heh, yeah. No Item Shop here either, I guess Maranda wasn't all that unique. Now, make sure you're fully healed before you engage in the rescue mission of a lifetime. Monster formations: (Facility Guards) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant, Sergeant (3/4) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant (1/4) Three soldiers guard the road to the Imperial Magitek Research Facility, and you can't just smack them around in broad daylight in the middle of Vector. Luckily, and old man standing behind some crates is a sympathizer of the Returners and offers you his assistance. While he pretends to throw up (great plan, sport), you sneak behind the soldiers' back on the metal rafters. Just walk into the crates and you'll jump onto them, automatically walking over to the other side of the human barrier. If you come too close near the soldiers now, a battle will be triggered (Sergeant and two Belzecue, or two Sergeants and two Belzecue) so try not to do that. If you want out, though, it's the only way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.2 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Magitek Factory ********************************** Location: Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Magitek Factory Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Onion Knight, Sergeant, Belzecue, Proto Armor Container contents: Dragoon Boots, Ether, Flametongue, Golden Armor, Golden Helm, Golden Shield, Icebrand, Tent, Thunder Blade, Remedy, X-Potion, Zephyr Cloak Unbelievable. You managed to reach Vector and actually made it into the IMRF (Imperial Magitek Research Facility) itself. But you didn't think it would go unguarded, did you? The IMRF not only is the laboratory where Cid del Norte Marguez strolls ever onwards in the mysteries of magic, making the Empire both more dangerous and more despicable by the second; it's also the building where the Magitek Armors are created. Each machine is a nature-perverting hybrid of metal and magic, designed and infused for the sole reason to kill. You're walking into THE power source of the Empire. No, I don't think it will be unguarded at all. Preparation: Everybody in the Back Row. This is a theme-based dungeon, and the theme is "If ye can't top 200 Defense, you ain't no kinda man." If a physical attack isn't specifically barrier-piercing, it will be like butting your head against a wall to try to break it. So, Front Row is useless. Genji Glove is useless. A weapon's Attack is useless; if your Locke runs around with a Boomerang, you might as well switch it to a Thief's Knife as neither will do even a remotely impressive amount of damage but the Thief's Knife has added benefits for it. The same goes for Bastard swords, so if you have a Rune Blade granting you that extra 10 % Evasion, go for it. So yes, if it can't penetrate defenses and has a physical nature, you'll be hard-pressed to find a use for it. I think it might be wise to give a quick recap on what's useful here and what's not: Useful: Magic, especially Thunder and Thundara Summon attacks, which especially means Ramuh right now. Flash, Drill, Chainsaw Raging Fist, Meteor Strike, Aura Cannon, Rising Phoenix Fang, Sky, Tiger Rage-inflicted magical attacks, which besides Magic, includes Aspiran's Gigavolt, Anguiform's Aqua Breath, Guard Leader's Wind Slash and Hill Gigas' Magnitude 8. Not useful: Attack Auto Crossbow Flurry Rage-inflicted physical attacks, which include Specials such as !Cat Scratch. So yes, try to boost your magical attacks. Cyan will be especially boring and useless here, as Fang starts to definitely lack in power and is only ST. Locke, unless he can get in an acceptable shot, like casting Siren or a Thunder spell, should do nothing but Steal (wear a Thief's Bracer; Brigand's Glove is nigh useless) and use some Hi-Potions, if necessary. If you have a Gau around who can Rage Anguiform, you should just wait for him to use Aqua Breath and stall with Noiseblaster, Runic, Cure, and Steal, as he will end the battle when he attacks with it. If you're low-leveled, some Earrings might help. If you lack Gau and/or his Anguiform Rage but have the Figaro brothers, a Flash/Rising Phoenix combo with some Earrings behind it should end all. If you lack both, use some more sneaky tactics and attack to your best insight concerning the enemies. The ultimate way of dealing with enemies here is having a character with (1 or 2) Earrings, especially Celes, summon Ramuh for Judgment Bolt. Judgment Bolt will kill everything it touches, and it's not random like Gau's Aqua Breath. However, it will cost you 25 MP per summon, so unless you switch Ramuh around (which is a lot of trouble as it slows spell learning down) you'll have to use Ethers to keep it up. Monster formations: (First room) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant, Sergeant (6/16) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant (5/16) Proto Armor, Onion Knight, Onion Knight (5/16) (Second room) Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight (6/16) Proto Armor, Proto Armor (5/16) Belzecue, Belzecue, Sergeant (5/16) The most common foe is the one you found earlier in the Imperial Observation Post and strolling the streets of Vector: Sergeant. Their most attractive feature is their common Tent Steal, and otherwise they're very straightforward. Cid programmed them with Program 65, which, when executed, will silence the target for the duration of the battle. Their set of elemental weaknesses is rather strange; humans tend to succumb to Poison where machines are more likely to have a problem with Lightning and Water. Maybe this and the fact that they're apparently programmed is a hint they are some kind of cyborgs? At any rate, normal cannon fodder you have to plow through. Sergeants are often accompanied by Belzecue dogs. They're canine versions of the Sergeant, really. Cid's program for them was Program 95, which ignites madness in the target, confusing them for the rest of the battle. Same weaknesses, same treatment. Don't worry too much about them confusing your Sabin when he is about to execute a Rising Phoenix Blitz; they will never use it unless they're alone, and you're bound to take them on with MT attacks anyway, right? The name 'Belzecue' is taken from Dante's Inferno, wherein Belzecue was a leading demon. The metallic vermin of the IMRF are the Onion Knight robots. They're small, have little HP, are kinda weak, and only attack in large numbers. To compensate for their lack in offensive power, Cid set them up to use Program 55, one that turns the target into the illustrious Imp creature that is incapable of doing anything that is more than a little unlike rolling over and dying. The Flash Tool alone will finish them off without a lot of trouble, let alone Rising Phoenix and Aqua Breath. The Empire is about to bring a new kind of Magitek Armor, but they have created nothing but prototypes for them yet; the Proto Armor is the pure chassis of the new model, but fully operational. Its powers over the standard Magitek Armor include, besides the standard electricity-based Magitek Laser, a missile support unit to fire off either a single Missile or go for the massive Launcher attack to attack multiple targets simultaneously, a blinding flash of light called Scintillation - also used by the Satellite - to blind the offensive party, and Cid's personal touch, Program 35, which by magical means fuels the body to deliver physical damage. To properly dispose of these tanks, Siren is massively useful to halt all magical attacks, should you not wish to wait for their demise before disabling them. Noiseblaster works too. Besides, Scintillation and Launcher, both more dangerous than Missile, will only be carried if the Proto Armor is either alone or has just been targeted by a Attack command, which was foolishness to begin with. You are now entering what the Bestiary gives as the Magitek Factory: the part of the building where the Magitek Armors are being created. What you'll want to do first is go all the way to the left, through a pipe, on a conveyer belt, to a chest that contains, oh sweetness, a Flametongue. It's a nice Fire- elemental sword that mildly boosts your Magic; give it to either Celes or Edgar (where Edgar probably has the slight preference as you'll be using him more). You'll notice a crane going back and forth. Face the crane, and when it's on your side, quickly jump onto it with the Action button to let it carry you across the gap. Over here, you'll see two pipes where the ends that are facing the gamer kinda look like eyes. You'll want to enter the right one first to obtain access to the chest - an Ether - before climbing back and allowing your party to climb down the left one. The stairs will drop you on another conveyer belt, which drops you off near a chest and another pipe. The pipe will take you back should you want it to (with an elevator! Oh, my!), but you probably won't. Grab the chest - X-Potion. The path downwards will get you exactly nowhere (you can't make that elevator go down to where you are), so get on the conveyer belt that takes you further into the factory. It delivers you to another chest! The Thunder Blade is waiting for you. If you had an Edgar or Celes left to equip it on, do so (there's really no point in switching it with the Flametongue, but if it pleases ye...). Move down a little and there'll be another chest. Such treasury! It's a Remedy. Get on the newly visible conveyer belt and don't forget about the chest you see on the way down; we'll be coming for it later. There's a slight break from the conveyer belt here. Continuing right on will simply get you to advance the dungeon, but you'll miss treasures! Rather nice ones, actually, although nothing can compare to blades of which the first one is on fire and the second one has electric currents running through it. To the bottom-left is the first accessible chest, which contains DragoonBoots. Going up the ladder near it will get you (through a door) to the chest you passed earlier, which will contain a Golden Shield. It's also the way out if you still want to pussy out of the mission. Descending the stairs near the Dragoon Boots chest again, you'll want to go all the way to the right (just past a crane that has no use here) and all the way to the bottom, where you'll see a door leading to a chest containing a Golden Helm. Exit the door and go all the way to the right, where you'll see a small chamber of which only the inner wall is visible. Here, a chest is hidden with Golden Armor. Exit the room and walk up the stairs for the Tent in the chest. Hike back to the place where the conveyer belt dropped you off in this room, but don't continue just yet; go up the stairs above the conveyer belt. You'll meet plenty of crates here (with, as your sharp eye has probably noticed, the Imperial Logo on 'em). There's a hidden entrance to the right just below the fifth crate. If you're having trouble finding it, face the first crate you come across, take five steps down, all the way to the right, one step back. Go down a while and you'll see the hidden chamber with two chests; one the Icebrand sword, a blade made entirely out of never-melting ice and the Ice-elemental equivalent of the Flametongue and Thunder Blade, and the Zephyr Cloak, which boosts both Evasion stats by 10 % and introduces a spiffy cape animation when you block something with it to boot. If you're done, it doesn't matter if you hike back or continue down; if you go down, you'll fall out of the end, and a while later, appear at the end of a pipe close to the conveyer belt you were just thinking of continuing. Get on the conveyer belt and simply walk on until you meet a friendly face, by which I mean a certain kind of friend who would like to hit you in the abdomen with a rather large and heavy object and who would enjoy extra ice in his drinks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.3 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; The Pit ********************************** Location: Imperial Magitek Research Facility Party members: Locke, Celes; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Trapper, Flan, General, Rhinox, Gobbler, Shiva, Ifrit, Number 024 Miscellaneous items: Blood Sword (Number 024 Steal), Flametongue (Number 024 drop), Icebrand (Number 024), Magicite Shard (Flan Steal), Rune Blade (Number 024 Steal) Kefka. You don't get to fight him or even confront him this time, and all he basically does is prove with his power-horny monologue what you already knew; the facility houses espers, and magic is being drained from them. There's one thing that clings to you, or at least *should* cling to you, like one of those little corn skins between your teeth or barely noticeable migraine during your important exam; Kefka mentions reviving the Warring Triad, as if this would be of great value to him. What is this Warring Triad? Preparation: Nothing special, as the monsters, while changing, will also be annoyingly much like the ones you met earlier in their high regard of physical defense. Except for a tiny few, but hey, they're zeroes. Monster formations: Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan (10/16) Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan, Flan (6/16) Great Scott(y, 1920-2005), would the famous Cid del Norte Marguez wade through tiny metallic leprechauns, stumble over conveyer belts, and fly up on ascending cranes to his lab every single day? Remove the semi-futuristic crazy scientists' lab setting and he'd have to be Mary bloody Poppins, wouldn't he? But I digress. You made it past the factory...at least, it seems you did. Take a look around. You're standing in some kind of...death room. Skeletons everywhere, two lifeless espers who you saw thrown down here. One could pick a nicer spot for a picnic. First, the layout. The blue esper, Shiva, is blocking a door. She (the Anthology Bestiary at least confirmed she's female) won't respond to your calls. There's another door, leading to a small room with no purpose one could easily pinpoint (although there's a Save Point glowing on the ground). A hook provides you escape from the room...but all is not silent in the halls of the dead. The red esper, Ifrit, stirs. And blue goop, all around you, appears to move by itself, splitting and sinking into the tiles. Flan are this game's incarnation of the Pudding, the Jello, the Blobra... they're in every game; semi-liquid monsters who are not particularly dangerous but are rather a pest to take on due to their extreme physical protection and oft-changing elemental weakness. FF VI Flan are entirely unlike their counterparts. FF VI Flan are immune to all the non-basic elements, and their defense is, well, pathetic. A Defense rating of 13. That's...just great. Take them out any ol'way you want, but take note; these monsters have had time to feast upon the 'useless' corpses of many espers thrown here; they might have some Magicite Shards on them. In cooking, flan is a custard-like dessert originating from Spain, and is popular in former Spanish colonies such as Latin America, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. So there you go. Flan, by the way, appear in two kinds of group. The first is your average four-headed party. The second appears to be only a single Flan enemy, but when you kill it, two more will appear. If you kill those, three more will appear, until you've killed them. If you kill the first Flan or the last of the two Flan with Gau's Mu's Snare, you won't get any more Flan down your throat. Now, it's time to turn our attention to the two espers here. Equip as many Reflect Rings as you have (obviously, one on every character is plenty) and face them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.4 The battle with Ifrit and Shiva ********************************** Shiva Level: 21, HP: 3000, MP: 500 Steal: Nothing (always) Absorbs: Ice, Nullify: Thunder, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth and Water, Weakness: Fire Special: !Hit: attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Blizzard, Blizzara, Reflect, Snowstorm Ifrit Level: 21, HP: 3300, MP: 600 Steal: Nothing (always) Absorbs: Fire, Nullify: Thunder, Poison, Wind, Pearl, Earth and Water, Weakness: Ice Special: !Hit: attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Attack, Fire, Fira, Firaga, Blaze The battle against Ifrit and, if you allow it, Shiva, is not your classic battle of good vs. evil. Nay, two scared, dying members of an abused race turn like a dog in a corner on whoever comes near them. Ifrit, the fire esper, and Shiva, the ice esper...eternal counterparts. Ifrit, the fire Djinni. Next to a physical attack, he performs Fire and Fira spells and a deadly Blaze attack that ignores Reflect Rings and Runic blade alike. If provoked by three Magic spells from you, he will charge up for a massive Firaga attack, which you'll want to avoid at all costs if you're not fully protected from the spell by Reflect Ring, Celes' Runic, or Gau's possible inherent Fire-elemental absorption. Shiva, the Ice Queen, will come at you with the more basic Blizzard and Blizzara spells, on occasion switching on performing a nasty Snowstorm attack, which isn't as strong, but penetrates Reflect Rings and Runic. If damaged she can be quick to retort with an Blizzard spell, and when hit three times with a Magic spell herself she will cast a Reflect spell on one of your characters, which will send any Blizzard and Blizzara spell she will cast on you back at her, healing her. The trick here is to defeat one of them. If this happens, the espers will realize they're not fighting someone coming for their death and they will sense Ramuh's soul near you. However, you can't just focus on one just like that, as you will only fight one at a time. Every time bit 3 reaches an amount of 5, they'll switch in for the other. The quickest approach may lie in taking Ifrit down before he can call on Shiva, but that may not always be possible. Bit 3 is incremented when: a) the esper is damaged by any means b) the Magic skill is used on them Their Defenses are through the roof, much like most opponents you've faced so far. You know how to deal with that, although these magical beasts also take no damage from elemental magic unless it's their own element (which they'll absorb) or their weakness. So, you can forget about your Magic skill. If you're sure you won't be able to pull off a Blitzkrieg against Ifrit anyway, you might want to start the battle off with a Slow spell if you have it, else it's a wasted turn as it increments bit 3. Drill/Chainsaw does great damage, especially when backed up with a Gigas Glove. Celes can cast an Blizzard spell (Runic, with frequent counter-spells, doesn't work as well as you'd think and is entirely redundant if you are fully protected by Reflect Rings). Sabin can Raging Fist Ifrit and perform Rising Phoenix when Shiva's around. Locke has no business being a thief in this battle, and might as well grab the Icebrand against Ifrit (he might pull off the random Blizzard spell) and the Flametongue against Shiva (or plain cast the Fire spell if he knows it). Cyan's Fang is the only thing he CAN do with some success, useless cretin that he is. Gau's irresponsible nature makes him kind of a Janos in this battle. With other characters backing him up, the wisest course of action will probably be Zaghrem, as it's non-elemental, magical damage against both targets. Along with the violence, summoning Kirin to aid you throughout the battle and casting a lot of Cure spells is a probably a great idea as you may not have Reflect Rings here. The Runic blade, more often than not, catches a counter- Blizzard while letting the Blizzara spell slip by. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.5 Imperial Magitek Research Facility ********************************** When all is done, Ifrit and Shiva will realize their position and will offer themselves to you as Magicite. It's possible to leave the Magicite of Ifrit here and miss it forever; note that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to do so. I say you grab Shiva and Ifrit and equip them if you think their x 5 Blizzara and Fira spell learn rates look yummy to your tummy. Shiva's Rasp and Osmose spells do not hurt your cause at the slightest; Rasp is a great tactical spell, and Osmose simply means you won't need any MP-restoring potions anymore. Ever. Rather then using the crane to escape, I suggest you press on and open the door. On the other side are stairs. A whole mother lode of them. You'll find new enemies here, of which the most dangerous ones are the Trapper robots. Trapper robots care not for personal safety or any kind of intelligence or battle skill. They care for nothing; as robots, they are nihilists. They perform only three tasks: casting Lv. 3 Confuse, casting Lv. 4 Flare, and casting Lv. 5 Death. They are bitches if you let them be. The spells will do what you would have kind of guessed they did: Lv. 3 Confuse confuses any character whose level is divisible by 3, Lv. 4 Flare casts a Flare-like attack on every character whose level is divisible by 4, which means pure sonic death at this stage of the game, and Lv. 5 Death...well, it kills any character whose level is divisible by 5. If you find that all your characters are level 18, you might want to go back and steal some Magicite Shards from the Flan until you've collectively reached 19, and if your level is 15 or (especially) 20 you'll want to do this, as you'll never make it. To take care of Trappers with utmost efficiency, summon Ramuh or cast Thundara if you have it. If you brought Edgar, Noiseblaster works very well, and like you could expect, Gau's Anguiform- induced Aqua Breath kills them with death. Generals, finally, are mere humans. Their Defense is high but not sky-high, and they're normal and weak to Poison attacks. Unleash the new-found fury of Ifrit and Shiva if you want; they are unassuming compared to the enemies you've found so far. They have restorative powers in an actual spell they learned, Cura, but they won't make a lot of use out of it, as they're often being too dead to use it. Lenergia. Is it any surprise the Lenergia appears to be so weak, especially next to horned demons from the underworld? They're unassuming opponents you can take down any way you want, but know that when left alone, they start attacking with Shamshir attacks non-stop. It makes for a great MP-refiller for Celes, as it's basically a 20 MP gain every turn the Lenergia takes. The horned demons from the underworld I was talking about are called Destroyer. I hope I didn't get you all worried; stress is bad. And they're not that dangerous once you get to know them. They make silly physical swipes with their claws, and on occasion try to poison you with !Poison Strike, but it's not until their solitude arises they start showing their true colors, which are very, very, incompetent. When alone, the Destroyer tries to cast the overly cheap Reraise spell, the spell that grants an automatic revive of a fallen character right after he dies. Sadly, the spell takes 50 MP, and Destroyer only has 35. So sorry. Their incredible defense, one-hit KO protection, and Lightning-absorbing can make them tedious to take down; a combination of Flash and Rising Phoenix, not mentioning the trusted Aqua Breath, will get the job done. The room you enter after the Stairs of Seeming Infinity contain five vacant tubes; three to the top of the screen, two to the bottom. Hidden to the left of the bottom-left tube is a Stoneblade. The Stoneblade sadly lacks in special stat bonus properties, but makes up for it with having impressive Attack and a rather interesting randomly cast spell in Break, a petrifying move. At this point, if any of your characters stuck with Cait Sith long enough to learn Float, have him or her cast it on the party (this can be done outside of battle), as when you continue, you meet the... yes, what the hell is this guy? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.6 The battle with Number 024 ********************************** Number 024 Level: 24, HP: 4777, MP: 777 Steal: Blood Sword (rare), Rune Blade (common); Win: Flametongue (rare), Icebrand (common) Special: !Overflow: sets Confuse Vulnerable to: Imp, Sleep Attacks: Attack, !Overflow, Fire, Fira, Blizzard, Blizzara, Thunder, Thundara, Libra, Cure, Cura, Aqua Breath, Sunbath, Cave In, Arctic Hare, Acid Rain, Fireball, Magnitude 8, Barrier Change, Reverse Polarity, Sonic Boom, Gale Cut On one hand, machines tend to have that crippling weakness to Lightning, or at the very least a Program ## move somewhere to dish out. This guy has neither. He uses spells and wields swords, so you'd almost assume he was a human if it hadn't been for a 'System error!' message he is able to produce in the middle of battle. A cyborg, then, like the Sergeant? We can only guess. Fact remains Number 024 is a darned interesting opponent that is no real challenge even if you forget about his status ailment weaknesses, but is so darn versatile we still love him anyway. The guy's main move is Barrier Change. Barrier Change shuffles all the elemental properties of the caster and picks one element to set as its weakness. Then, it sets one element as the element it absorbs. First effects: you'll never know what exactly your elemental attacks will do; 75 % chance they'll do nothing, 12.5 % chance they'll heal him, 12.5 % chance they'll do double damage. Conclusion: waste of time, think of alternative means of violence. But # 024 adapts his fighting style according to his weakness. Here are his moves: Weakness Fire = Blizzard, Blizzara Weakness Ice = Fire, Fira, Fireball Weakness Lightning = Aqua Breath, Acid Rain Weakness Poison = Cure, Cura Weakness Wind = Magnitude 8, Cave In (Here's where Float comes in handy) Weakness Pearl = Attack, Reverse Polarity Weakness Earth = Sonic Boom, Gale Cut Weakness Water = Thunder, Thundara Here's what he'll do. He'll simply strike you physically for 30 seconds. Then, he'll do his first Barrier Change. If you manage to strike his weakness then (discover it with a Libra spell), he'll perform it again. Even if you just let him perform another 30 seconds of action, he'll perform another Barrier Change. After he has performed a Barrier Change for three times, he'll go haywire, even though you haven't destroyed him, reading 'System error', calling up Arctic Hares (the more successful branch of the Lagomorph family), enjoying Sunbaths, and finding his true self with the Libra spell. After 30 seconds of this, he'll snap out of it again, starting over as if he had cast his first Barrier Change of the battle. But you won't have to see all this madness. The Sleep spell, taught to you by Siren, works on the fiend, as does Cait Sith's Imp spell. Alone, they severely cripple him; together, they are an unstoppable force. Keep him sleeping and make sure you only cast Magic. If that blasted neutral Tapir shows up and awakens him, cast Sleep again as soon as possible. If Gau is among your forces, just have him relax. Try to steal with Locke; Rune Blade or Blood Sword, both are nice additions if nothing else. I'd especially go for the Blood Sword if you have any choice in the matter, as it's quite unique. In the end, # 024's Hit Points will run out, and he will die. Victory dance, coffee et thou. Note: If you want to go for a perfect game, it's nice if you fight one more battle before entering the next room WITH Celes AS YOUR LEADER. This is important. It seems this Number 024 was guarding the room where the remaining espers are being subdued in their test tubes. We know that Ramuh, Kirin, Siren, and Cait Sith escaped, which might explain the empty test tubes we saw earlier. In this room, six espers fuel the Empire's power. Meet Bismarck and Maduin, Unicorn and Catoblepas, and Phantom and Carbuncle. There's a lever over there. It's a fictional universe; I'll be damned if the most prominent button or lever in the room isn't at least slightly self-destructive. Use it. Watch the scene now. That moment was...disturbing in quite a few ways. First, before the eyes of Cid himself, we revealed the secret of Magicite, one that he apparently did not know yet. The Magicite handed itself to you, safe for the moment from the Empire, but only as long as you manage to stay out of their hands. And you're still in the heart of Vector. Then, Celes' true loyalty is questioned. We can assume she has sworn an oath or two, oaths not cheaply dismissed. Cyan, who has waged war with the Empire already and has shown more knowledge about Celes than anyone else, has never trusted her and almost carelessly dismisses the scene as an inevitable one: "Hmph. I knew she was not to be trusted!" Locke, whose bond with Celes has been the strongest so far, is not happy with the situation. Amidst it all, Kefka has made another appearance and shows the upper hand until Celes warps her, Kefka, and the Armored soldiers out of the room. This still proves nothing on the subject of her allegiance, by the way; it's reasonable to assume she just couldn't bear being the witness of their direct death. The espers have ruptured their tubes, something they apparently could only do as Magicite, and spilled dangerous fluids. The IMRF shakes on its foundations. Time to save your own lives first and ponder important questions later. Join Cid on the elevator, and abandon the place. Note: In the Japanese game, Cid casually states that there are hundreds of espers rather than the 26 you eventually obtain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.7 Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Mine Cart Ride ********************************** Location: Imperial Magitek Research Facility; Underground railroad system Party members: Locke; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Magna Roader (purple), Magna Roader (red), Number 128, RightBlade, Left Blade Miscellaneous items: Kazekiri (Number 128 Steal) Cid: Oh, what have I done...? There's no excuse for it, no matter how much Kefka may have threatened me... Cid: Draining the life energy from espers just to make people stronger... Cid: You've helped me come to a decision. I'm going to talk to the emperor and make him realize how foolish this whole war is! I've always thought that Cid comes off very clean very quick in this game. Cid del Norte Marquez is a ruthless scientist who experimented on scientist beings in an attempt to remove their very life energy to the benefit of the Empire. Just because as a scientist he feels the war should be stopped doesn't he mean he feels even the slightest remorse at his actions per se; he regrets them being used for military purposes, apparently, but shows no regret on his glorious victories in the field of science. Preparation: Celes, the poor lass, was de-equipped upon her exit from your party. You'll want to keep everybody in the Back Row here and equip everyone to their best possible ability, as the next opponents will not have as much Defense as those you've seen just now. You've obtained six new espers, and you can check them out if you want. There's NO WAY you'll learn new spells before the next boss, but their effects can be nice. I really, really suggest equipping Phantom, as his Ghostly Veil attack can turn the entire party invisible, which is a good thing against both the monsters and the boss you're about to face. When you arrive, you're bound to notice the Save Point waiting for you there. Cid plays another emo-card by declaring himself as the almost-daddy of Celes, and how sorry he feels her life was dedicated to warfare. Before he can go on, though, Kefka is heard close by, and Cid pushes you into a mine cart. Now, a warning about the upcoming scene: if you're on acid, don't do it. Mindfuck. I guarantee it. I'm not sure what the graphic designers were thinking here, but it can only be interpreted as one of those paintings of which close inspection only reveals rubbish, while standing away a long distance you'll suddenly notice it's a fish! Or a tree! Or even Jesus! At any rate, abstract gaming is not pleasant. I think it's supposed to be some kind of underground railroad from the perspective of a viewer in a speeding mine cart, but I'm not sure. Right now, you'll face five monster formations before the eventual boss, without time to heal or change equipment in between. These monster formations can either be: One purple Magna Roader, one red Magna Roader One purple Magna Roader Two purple Magna Roaders. Four red Magna Roaders. Novalia Spirit has, during the writing of this guide, found out what influences the appearance of the critters. I'll be explaining what you'll want to do in certain situation for several reasons: a) It's important knowledge to Low Level Gamers, who obviously want as little forced Exp. points down their throat as possible. b) It's important knowledge to perfectionists, as it *is* possible to completely miss out on the red Magna Roaders, locking their Rage away from you forever, useless as it may be. c) Because I want to, dammit. If you don't Save your game and reset: - If you followed my advice and fought a battle earlier with Celes as the leader and then entered the Magicite room, you can just talk to Cid here and the first opponents you'll meet are one purple Magna Roader and one red Magna Roader. - If you didn't and your last battle didn't feature Sabin or Cyan as leader, put Sabin or Cyan as your leader now for red Magna Roaders. - If your last battle before the Mine cart ride featured Edgar, Gau, Sabin, Cyan or Celes as leader, you can free your first character slot and you'll meet Red Magna Roaders. - If none of the above can be applied to you (you brought Locke, Edgar, Gau and kept Locke as team leader the entire time), you can Save your game and reset and free your first characters lot. - An alternate method lies in casting Imp on your leader during the Mine Cart ride. Purple Magna Roaders are big and weak. Red Magna Roaders are small and weaker. Purple Magna Roaders wield Fire and Fira spells, both horribly weak. Red Magna Roaders attack with Blizzard and Blizzara spells. Both monsters are cannon fodder with especially low amounts of Defense. Their spells are more annoying than dangerous (as they prevent you from summoning Phantom at the start of the five monster formations and gain invulnerability for the time being). Make sure you're fully prepared - or AS fully prepared as possible - when you leave the fifth monster formation behind you. The next battle will be unpleasantly like being difficult. Here's how to pull that off nice and professional-like. Step one: Silence the remaining opponent(s). Step two: summon Phantom. Note that Heal up with Potions and Hi-Potions until you're at full health. Smack the last Roader down. You're good to go. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.31.8 The battle with Number 128 ********************************** Number 128 Level: 23, HP: 3276, MP: 810 Steal: Kazekiri (rare); Win: Tent (always) Absorbs: Ice Special: !Red Feast: Drains HP, attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Berserk, Slow Attacks: Attack, !Blood Feast, Blizzard, Haste, Net, Blaster, Atomic Rays, Shockwave, Gale Cut Left Blade Level: 22, HP: 700, MP: 470 Steal: Ether (rare); Win: Phoenix Down (common) Absorbs: Ice Special: !Slash: attack x 2 Vulnerable to: Petrify, KO, Doom, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Slash, Shamshir Right Blade Level: 21, HP: 400, MP: 150 Steal: Ether (rare); Win: Phoenix Down (common) Absorbs: Ice Special: !Rapier: attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Petrify, KO, Doom, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Rapier Number 128 is not so much a human with the cybernetic parts in him but a robot with flesh on it. I've only ever seen one thing that vaguely reminded me of it, and that was during a Hellraiser movie. You know, horror. To top it, he's stronger than anything you've ever encountered so far. There are three attacking parts here, and only three party members. The absolute worst part is the fact he carries a very rare sword on him, a sword that will remain useful throughout the entire game, of which only two exist; one in a chest you'll find two dungeons from now, one as a rare steal on this very opponent. It's by no means horrible if you don't obtain it, but it's really nice if you do. There are two blades. Left Blade and Right Blade. They're to the left and right of Number 128. Hence their name. They attack physically every round, and throw in a mean Special if you're in bad luck. If you kill them, they'll be back within 15 seconds. Left Blade knows Shamshir, which is especially dangerous as it reveals invisible characters. The main body is the worst, as you could imagine. Physical strikes more powerful than those of the blades, a Special that drains HP, the ability to cast the Blizzard spell, and cast a Net over a character. The latter two reveal invisible characters. But when both blades are killed, he gets really mean. He will cast Haste on himself to increase his amount of turns and starts using almost exclusively magical attacks. Gale Cut and Atomic Rays are both MT attacks, and Atomic Rays hurts quite a bundle. Shockwave is an attack you saw earlier on Dadaluma, and Blaster is its most dangerous move; while inaccurate, it will simply kill any character it does hit. If you are under the influence of Invisible, you get a Game Over. So here's the strategy if have Phantom at your disposal and/or have summoned him earlier: ignore the blades and try to focus on the main body. Locke should use Hi-Potions or Phoenix Downs when necessary, and spend all other turns trying to get that Kazekiri blade. He's a good character to cast Slow spells if he can use them; focus them on the blades to slow them down. Edgar is reliable and powerful with Drill or Chainsaw, but his brother not so much. If Sabin doesn't know the Thundara spell, I suggest Rising Phoenix. Eventually it will take out the blades, but Phantom gave us a head start at the very least, and you can always summon him again if you entered the battle while invisible. With Cyan, it's the same, only with Fang. If you obtain the Kazekiri for him, equip it and simply Attack the body. Gau can Rage Anguiform to be sure to hit the body every Aqua Breath, or Rage Aspiran if you're feeling lucky. Gigavolt is stronger, yet not always MT. A few tips remaining: - If (most of) your party is revealed and you can still summon Phantom, do so. Invisibility is definitely a positive status as long as you can keep at least one blade around at all times. - Counter his Haste spell with a Slow spell from your side when possible. - If you find yourself in the rare position of having Catoblepas equipped but not Phantom, summon the piglet esper right away. There's a rather large chance he'll take out both blades in one go. Number 128 is one of the most dangerous opponents of the game given its relative setting, and if your luck is just really, really bad it's possible to die even if you're a rather experienced player, especially if you're trying to get the Kazekiri. A note about the common Phoenix Downs you get from the blades; you'll never get them. The blades will always ripple away, which is an action before they disappear. As such, you'll only make them disapppear, you never actually kill them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.32.1 Escaping Vector ********************************** Location: Vector Party members: Locke; Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau Opponents: Onion Knight, Chaser, Sergeant, Crane, Crane Miscellaneous items: Debilitator (right Crane Steal) Well, officially, the mission was a success. You penetrated the Imperial Magitek Research Facility. You didn't so much rescue the eight espers you managed to find, but took their Magicite remains as per their request. Nobody on your side died. Cid is just a scientist, but his promise to try to persuade the Emperor is a glimmer of hope. Yet, the loss of Celes weighs heavily, and you're not out of Vector yet. Monster formations: Chaser, Trapper, Trapper, Trapper (5/16) Sergeant, Sergeant, Sergeant, Sergeant (5/16) Chaser, Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight (5/16) Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight, Onion Knight (1/16) Preparation: Equip the Kazekiri on Cyan if you haven't already. You can once again go for a simply what's-best set-up, as neither impossibly high Defense nor insane flurries of physical attacks are present now. Summoning Bismarck will be very useful in the next boss battle (don't worry; it'll take a while before there's another boss fight after it), so you might want to equip it. The Flametongue and Thunder Blade should not stay equipped (go with Icebrand instead), and any Burning Fist should be swapped with Venom Claws. Your infiltration didn't go unnoticed, and you have Imperial forces chasing you down. The aptly named Chaser robot is one of them. Chaser robots rain death from above, so it's your task to, you know, kinda geyser death from below. Even from below, I think it's more of a raining motion, but I couldn't think of anything that rains upside-down. Unless you're in Australia. Heh. Back to Chaser robots. They're the last of Cid's protective metal golems you'll meet. Chaser robots can shoot Magitek Lasers and weaken opponents by use of Dischord (which halves their level, as I explained with Satellite, the palette swap). It can also attack with a Plasma attack, which is actually very powerful. Plasma is ST, luckily, so if one of your characters dies you can simply revive him. If you encounter them alone, their death will cause three Trappers to appear (unless you kill him with Gau's Mu Snare), and if you meet him with three Onion Knights already present, take him out first, as he will just continue to call more if you take them all down. Save at the Save Point if you want to. You can stroll into the Magitek Factory again here, but one of the pipes collapsed, so you can't go very far. The fact that even this part is shaking hints at the fact the entire building is going down; this was more than you could've hoped for. Simply run down the rails and you'll meet up with Setzer. The Empire was becoming paranoid, and the hustle and bustle in Vector alarmed him. He notices the lack of Celes, but understands the need to escape. The four of you rush out of Vector, freedom nigh. Not nigh enough. Kefka plays a last card in a final attempt to stop you from escaping. Cyan: Gah! What are those mechanical monstrosities!? Edgar: I don't like the looks of those things! Sabin: Whoa! What're those!? Gau: Uwao! Waou!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.32.2 The battle with the Cranes ********************************** Cranes. I don't know about the 'countries' you guys live in, but here in the Netherlands, cranes are not an uncommon sight if there's building going on. They tend not to attack us, though. These two attack in pairs, can use Magic, and can significantly screw you up if you're not careful. You have one character you couldn't equip beforehand: Setzer. I'll talk a bit about the Cranes. Setzer comes with the following equipment: Cards Mythril Shield Bandana Mythril Vest That's pretty shitty. Fun fact: Setzer can't equip the Bandana, so as soon as you take it off of him, you'll never get it back on. Anyway, if you want to know about Setzer's abilities, take a look at [SLOT-LINK]. There are two Cranes, and they're not completely the same. Crane (right one) Level: 24, HP: 2300, MP: 447 Steal: Debilitator (rare), Hi-Potion (common) Absorbs: Fire, Weakness: Lightning, Water Special: !Wrecking Ball: Attack x 2 Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Attack, !Wrecking Ball, Fire, Fira, Firaga, Thundara, Magnitude 8, Magitek Barrier Crane (left one) Level: 23, HP: 1800, MP: 447 Steal: Noiseblaster (rare) Absorbs: Lightning, Weakness: Water Special: !Wrecking Ball: Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Attack, !Wrecking Ball, Thunder, Thundara, Fira, Gigavolt, Magnitude 8, Magitek Barrier The right one is fire-based. It will attack physically and use the Fire and Fira spell. When hit by a Fire-elemental attack of any kind, it will charge, going through "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 1" to "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 2" and finally to "THERMAL REACTION LEVEL: 3 UNLEASHING THERMAL ENERGY" at which point it will target the entire party with a Firaga spell. When alone, it will boost its defenses with Magitek Barrier, which as you know, grants both Protect and Reflect, protecting it from Magic spells. After one minute of fighting, the message "The crane shakes the deck!" will appear and the Crane will perform a Magnitude 8 attack. Finally, every third time it has been damaged, it will perform a Thundara spell on the other Crane, charging it. It has a rare Debilitator steal that you might want; it's another Tool for Edgar. The left one is pretty much the same, only lightning-based. From "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 1" it will pass through "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 2" and "ELECTRIFICATION LEVEL: 3 Electrical energy unleashed!" performing an MT Giga Volt attack. All other features are the same, only it will cast a Fira spell on the other crane every third time it has been damaged. If you brought Gau and he knows how to perform the Anguiform Rage, you're in luck, as the Aqua Breath attack is incredibly powerful in this battle, up to the point where an Earrings-boosted Aqua Breath will probably kill one Crane in one hit. Do NOT let him enter a Rage that performs either Fire or Lightning based attacks, and don't let him enter a Rage with a special attack that is Reflectable. Locke can do little here but try to Steal the Debilitator from the right Crane. Focus on one Crane at the time where possible. Drill/Chainsaw and Aura Cannon are songs often sung right now, and Cyan can enjoy his Kazekiri Knife. Setzer is easily the weakest link at this point, lacking in proper equipment. Just try to nail a diamond or Chocobo on your first spin; that will make for the most consistent damage output. The Cranes are not as hard as Number 128 was, and you're bound to gain the upper hand if you don't make any mistakes. Now, it's time to fly to Zozo. Let's see what Terra has been doing in the meantime; with Celes gone, we need Terra to fill the role of ex-Imperial magic woman. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.33.1 Zozo; Terra's flashback ********************************** Location: - Party members: - Opponents: None When you arrive in the sanctuary Ramuh prepared for Terra, one of the pieces of Magicite you took from the Imperial Factory starts to glow, much like Valigarmanda did when it and Terra crossed paths. It's Maduin, and he inspires a memory in Terra... As Maduin, you relive the history of Terra's birth. Maduin is the Gate Keeper of the esper world, whose job is to make sure whatever needs to stay out stays out. A youthful esper, alarms you there's something going on (the alpha version of this document stated this was Yura. While I still believe this is accurate, it's never stated so I won't do so here). The gate is near Maduin's cave, to the north. The strong winds of the day have already alarmed the Elder of the esper World, who has explained them as an ill omen. Walking around the esper World gives you the following responses from the ancient espers: Hey, Maduin! How have you been? Good evening, Maduin! Is it your turn to watch the gate, Maduin? This is one nasty storm...Be careful, Maduin There's an omnious air about this evening... (the Elder) When you reach the gate, you see a collapsed girl - a human girl. Choosing to let her lay there simply won't continue the plot, so take her with you. After she has been installed in her bed to rest, the Elder has come to see her. The espers are not happy about her arrival; humans and espers don't mix. While the day has cleared, the moods of the espers have not. Walking around the esper World gives you the following responses from the ancient espers: Everyone is worried... The barrier between our worlds must've weakened over the past millennium. I heard there's a human girl in the village! Do you have any idea what you've done? For centuries, no human has wandered into our world. Why has this happened now, after all these years? We ought to kill it right away. Humans and espers are incompatible... (The Youth, standing guard near the gate) Elder's orders...no one passes through the gate. Talking to the girl will wake her up. Her name is Madeline. Maduin gives her a pendant for no apparent reason, perhaps as a gift of good will. Terra carried a Pendant when she invaded Narshe, and kept it with her ever since... When Maduin wakes up, he quickly notices Madeline is gone. The Elder is waiting outside, concerned about the situation, and while outside one esper laments on the worst possible scenario ("If the humans learned of our powers and decided to try to make use of them... That would be a terrible thing indeed."), another one saw Madeline go to the gate. Try to catch up with her. Apparently, she slipped by the guard, as he has no idea what's going on. In a declaration of love that is more sudden than the infamous Neo/Trinity thing from the Matrix, Madeline decides to stay behind with Maduin. They have a baby, and it is Terra. Two years later, the same winds of ill fate howl through the esper World, and the Empire marches in. They beat up and take several espers. Amidst the chaos, Madeline takes her chance and tries to escape with Terra. It seems she could not live in the esper World as much as she wanted. When Maduin tries to catch up with her, tragedy ensues...Terra is taken by the Empire, Madeline is killed by the Emperor, and Maduin's fate is sealed to suffer in the heart of the Empire at the hands of Cid. When Terra wakes up, it's time to go. Regrouping is done. Time for action. From this point on, Terra finally gains access to a second skill: Morph. Learn all about it here: [MORPH-LINK] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.1 Airship Exploitation: Seraph ********************************** Location: Airship Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer Opponents: None We're free to do what we want now. This is the glorious moment I cherish in all the Final Fantasy games I've ever played; first time on the airship. The Blackjack is waiting for your instructions. Nothing is off-limits. Well, except for Vector. Guardian is waiting for your arrival, and there's no way to gain entry to Vector now. Joker Death, due to a bug explained in [SLOT-LINK] can be used against Guardian to gain 'victory', but it'll still be there afterwards, simply triggering another battle. In Tzen, a crook is hiding in the trees next to the Relic shop. During your mission in the Imperial Magitek Research Facility, this guy managed to sneak out a piece of Magicite, and he's offering to sell it to you now. 3000 Gil is not a lot of money, and even though the esper Seraph doesn't teach you any spells you couldn't have obtained from other espers, her learning rates are much more user-friendly. Seraph is far and above the best White Magic esper you'll get for quite a while. You can wait until after a certain point of the story at which point he'll offer you the 'stone' for only 10 Gil (With the world falling apart like it is, I guess it doesn't do me much good to hold on to this glowing stone...). I advise just buying it right now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.2 Airship Exploitation: Auction House: Golem and Zona Seeker ********************************** In Jidoor, the Auction House is finally open. It's not so much the bidding here that's annoying. You'll be asked two times if you want to over the current prize; if you say no, you don't get the item, if you say yes two times, you get the item. It's just that there are two items right now you want: two pieces of Magicite. Golem and Zona Seeker are waiting for your capable hands. Here's how the Auction House works. There's a 50 % chance the item up for bidding is "a gorgeous pair of" Angel Wings, a Relic that gives you the automatic ability to Float. If it's not, we continue. Then, there's a 50 % chance it's a walking, talking Chocobo. You can never buy this 'item' no matter how much you pay, as the father will always buy it. But if this item isn't the Chocobo, we continue. Then, there's a 50 % chance it's the Golem Magicite! Nice. Try to buy it. If you already bought it earlier, or the item isn't Golem, we continue. Then, there's a 50 % chance it's the Zona Seeker Magicite. Good. If you already bought this item, or if it still isn't this item, we continue. If it's none of the above, it's an Angel Ring. Period. So in the end, if you haven't bought any of the pieces of Magicite yet, the odds will be as following: Angel Wings 50 % Chocobo 25 % The Magicite Golem 12.5 % The Magicite Zona Seeker 6.25 % Angel Ring 6.25 % If you bought Golem: Angel Wings 50 % Chocobo 25 % The Magicite Zona Seeker 12.5 % Angel Ring 12.5 % If you bought Zona Seeker: Angel Wings 50 % Chocobo 25 % The Magicite Golem 12.5 % Cure Ring 12.5 % If you bought both: Angel Wings 50 % Chocobo 25 % Angel Ring 25 % Don't worry; if another person buys a piece of Magicite, it will have a chance of appearing next time you pay the Auction House a visit. Prices are as follows: Angel Wings 10000 Gil The Magicite Golem 20000 Gil The Magicite Zona Seeker 10000 Gil Angel Ring 20000 Gil If you don't have enough money, fly the Blackjack to an area where Fossil Dragon monsters appear; they give great amounts of money and you should be able to handle them pretty easily by now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.3 Airship Exploitation: Locating Grenade ********************************** Monster formations: Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb (10/16) Bomb (5/16) Grenade (1/16) In the large forest west of the Veldt, only Bombs seem to appear. There is a rare chance you'll encounter a Grenade, though. Fighting one gets you nothing, but if you want a complete Rage list and/or Beastiary, you'd better have met one, as you will never come across one by following the story only. I suggest you bring Edgar, as he has brilliant means of taking them all out in one shot, and at least one character with Cure and/or Cura, as no matter how repetitive Blaze will seem in a while, it still hurts. Grenade enemies have 3000 HP, but very poor Defense and Magic Defense. Target them with Ice-elemental attacks and just whatever you have. One-hit KO attacks work well, though he is immune to Petrify. If you use Attack on him, he can use Self-Destruct on you, which is likely to kill the initial attacker, so try to avoid it. If he uses !Mesmerize, you have little choice in the matter unless you manage to use Dispel before the situation gets too serious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.4 Airship Exploitation: Obtaining Gaia Gear ********************************** Monster formations: (grasslands) Devourer, Baserkvor (6/16) Briareus (5/16) Briareus, Briareus (5/16) (forest) Devourer, Devourer, Devourer (6/16) Chimera (5/16) Chimera, Devourer, Devourer (5/16) On the continent to the east of the Veldt, there are three new monsters: Briareus and Devourer on the grasslands and Devourer and Chimera in the forest. I'll tell you how to deal with them when you actually need to go there. Ctrl + F their name if you're feeling uneasy. The Briareus have a rare Gaia Gear you can steal from them, and there's nothing in the Common slot, so you can just keep trying. Chimera drop the alternate nice armor, the Gold Armor, for your Edgars and Cyans. Gaia Gear especially will be VERY nice to have at the next dungeon, and this is the only way of obtaining it. To the north of this continent is the town of Thamasa. The Inn charges outrageous fees, the Weapon and Armor Shop will refuse to help you (we reserve the right to deny service blah blah), and you aren't getting anything out of anybody; info, items, nothing. We'll come back here someday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.5 Airship Exploitation: Intangir ********************************** Monster formations: (grasslands) Leafer, Leafer, Darkwind (6/16) Leafer (5/16) Intangir (5/16) (forest) Intangir (6/16) Leafer, Leafer, Darkwind, Darkwind (5/16) Leafer, Leafer, Darkwind (5/16) On the small triangle-shaped island to the northeast of the World Map, you'll find lots of Leafers and Dark Wind enemies. However, you'll also find Intangir monsters. Intangir are massively powerful, absorb all elements, and are invisible. They confuse a lot of first-time players. When you damage them, they retaliate with an (enemy) Meteor attack, which is likely to actually kill anybody it hits, as it will damage for over 900 HP. Though previous versions of the game allowed you to kill Intangir easily with that shadiest of all tactics, Vanish/Death, the current versions rightfully keeps you from doing so. The only ways to kill an Intangir now are to either keep it continuously subdued with Stop or use Joker's Death against it. As for damage output while the Intangir is stopped, here's what to do. Since his Defenses are very good and he absorbs all elements, good choices against Intangir are Edgar (Drill), Sabin (Meteor Strike) and Cyan (Fang). Later in the game, should you want to return for extra-hard MP grinding, Relm's Sketch results into a 75 % shot at Traveler, which is also a powerful attack to use against Intangir, but keep in mind that Sketch always misses monsters under the effects of Invisible. Strago can just use it from the Lore menu, obviously. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.6 Airship Exploitation: Veldt hunting ********************************** It's a great time for the hunting down of some new Rages. You have a whole set of new spells to learn, espers to use, monsters to see...have fun. Great new Rages include: Anguiform Aqua Breath inherent Darkness Aspiran Gigavolt inherent Float Rock Wasp !Sleep Stinger inherent Float Veil Dancer Blizzara Gobbledygook Vanish Hill Gigas Magnitude 8 Litwor Chicken Quake Chimera Aqua Breath lots of status immunities, one-hit KO protection General Cura inherent Protect Magna Roader Bio inherent Haste Destroyer Reraise inherent Protect, one-hit KO protection Briareus Cyclonic Intangir Transfusion inherenst Invisible, Protect, Shell, Haste, Regen and Float, but you'll have to keep it from using the self-destructive Transfusion attack with Silence before Gau initializes the Rage Golden oldies: Darkwind Break inherent Float Trillium Bio absorbs Water Alacran !Numb (Stop) Spritzer Blaze absorbs Lightning, inherent Float, Undead Oversoul W. o' the Wisp absorbs Poison, Undead Stray Cat !Cat Scratch Guard Leader Wind Slash Lesser Lopros Fireball inherent Float Mu Snare Templar Fira inherent Protect Cloud Thundara one-hit KO protection Satellite Sonic Boom inherent Float, one-hit KO protection Bomb Blaze absorbs Fire, inherent Float ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.34.7 Intermezzo; espers 101 ********************************** Finally, now that you have all the espers you'll have for quite some time, I'll give some pointers on how to wisely handle espers: At first, it's important to note that there are basically two kinds of people when it comes to Magicite. There are the characters that need espers to teach them the valuable spells to damage opponents with, and the characters that can damage just fine on their own and would rather benefit from supportive spells. Terra, Locke, Celes, and Relm are all characters that, in the World of Balance, will have a hard time comparing themselves to the other characters in terms of damage as long as you haven't made sure that they know a level 2 spell or Bio. They need it to survive. For this purpose, it's useful to teach them at least one level 2 spell as soon as possible (Ifrit and Shiva excel at this), and then bring in a supportive esper for this newly found magic nature (Zona Seeker or Shiva, both teach the Osmose spell, while Rasp too is nice to have on them). You can expand the pool of options to another level 2 spell or perhaps even more of them, but as soon as you have two, it would be wise to start thinking of tacking on Seraph, Golem, or Unicorn, as Cura is a nice asset to any character, and these characters are definitely making use of Earrings anyway (unless you have made gross errors). The characters who don't depend on damage from the spells can, if they want to, take one or more level 2 spells from espers, but will generally find that their special skill surpasses the Magic spell in almost every way (no MP cost, stronger, that kind of thing). The major exceptions to this rule are Gau, Mog, and Setzer, who could use at least one strong magical attack that always hits and isn't bothered by a factor of randomness. So, these guys will want to focus on supportive espers. Siren teaches three spells that are all very useful to have around at all times, as does Phantom (granted, Gravity sucks, but both Vanish and Berserk can be tactically brilliant...especially when combined). At some points in the game, the possession of Break and/or Death spells can really save you a lot of trouble, so Catoblepas is definitely a consideration if you're done with Siren and Phantom. Golem is good on everybody as Cura, like I said, is always an asset, while Stop especially can be a great spell for everybody. Cait Sith is not as good as its fellow starters, but while Imp and especially Float can take a while to learn and the very nature of Confuse makes you want to ridicule it, Float can be damned handy to have around as preparation for a dungeon with Earth- elemental creatures, and Imp can disable quite a few dangerous enemies. All other espers - Bismarck, Kirin, Carbuncle - their summons can be useful in some situations, but their spells don't specifically merit any interest, so I'd say you should mainly use them if you have a character who's already filled with good spells and you are in need of a rogue Float caster. I've yet to find a specific use for the Reflect spell as long as Carbuncle's MT Ruby Light and Reflect Rings exist, Bismarck teaches subpar spells at insane learning rates, and Kirin just kinda fails at anything other than being summoned. One last piece of advice: a lot of people are looking to learn Magic without gaining levels. The two best places to gain Magic AP without Experience are the Veldt and Triangle Island, where the Intangir roam. Triangle Island is more efficient, but if you're using Gau there's a large advantage involved when walking on the Veldt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.35.1 Allied Narshe ********************************** Location: Narshe Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer Opponents: None Miscellaneous items: Gold Hairpin (Lone Wolf) Well, it's Narshe again. The first time Terra came here, she was violently pulled out of the clutches of the Empire. The second time, she was again touched by Valigarmanda and lost control of her self. Narshe has not been a good city to Terra at all; let's hope it has some good news this time. And so it appears! Narshe, ever-doubting about their role in the war, has finally decided to stand with the Returners against the Empire. A plan is revealed wherein Narshe and Figaro team up to make for war. But the Empire, even without the ever-increasing number of Magitek Armors, is a force far greater then Narshe and Figaro combined. The gate needs to be opened; the espers need to be contacted. Surely, they would be willing to aid against those who have wronged their species so much. Terra is the necessary link; a new mission is given. Narshe is once again bustling with activity! New weapons and equipment are being sold in the stores for the upcoming war. Weapon Shop: Poison Rod 1500 Trident 1700 Boomerang 4500 Morning Star 5000 Hawkeye 6000 Sakura 3200 In the Weapon Shop, there's a new kind of Rod: the Poison Rod. You can let it rest for now. The Morning Star is a Back Row weapon for Celes and Terra, simply an upgraded version of the Chain Flail. The most interesting sell here is the Hawkeye for Locke. The Hawkeye has a 50 % chance of doing 1.5 damage (no visual effect) to non-Floating enemies and 3 times as much damage against Floating enemies (it will appear to be thrown). Very nice. Buy one, or two if you feel you want to use Locke and the Genji Glove together. Armor Shop: Golden Shield 2500 Priest's Miter 3000 Green Beret 3000 Mythril Helm 2000 Tiara 3000 Golden Helm 4000 Mythril Mail 3500 Power Sash 5000 The Armor Shop sells new equipment as well. Golden Shields and Golden Helms for the heavy-equippers (you still have to get Golden Armors from the Chimera if you want them), a Tiara for Terra (the first actual helmet I'll simply recommend over the Green Beret), and Power Sash for those guys whose name isn't Edgar or Setzer. Relic Shop: Earring 5000 Sniper Eye 3000 Hermes Sandals 7000 Reflect Ring 6000 Black Belt 5000 Nothing new here, but if you feel like you could use some of the above, don't hesitate. Item Shop: Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Phoenix Down 500 Green Cherry 150 Tent 1200 Flame Scroll 500 Water Scroll 500 Lightning Scroll 500 There's nothing remarkable here other than the fact this is the first town that sells Shadow's scrolls when he isn't a possible party member. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.35.2 Lone Wolf persecution and recruiting Mog ********************************** But this isn't all. One odd character has chosen to take advantage of the situation of Narshe: Lone Wolf, the infamous thief, has paid a visit. Lone Wolf is a character from FF V, and if not, at least so similar to him there's bound to be a conscious running theme here. FF V's Lone Wolf was a thief locked up in a dungeon in some castle. He looked like a humanoid wolf. A werewolf, as they appeared more in the game, though Lone Wolf has no obvious connection to them and it's even possible it's just a guy with a mask. You had the option of releasing him, but he would just take three treasures you would then be unable to obtain later in the game. The old man who gave you his treasures earlier (remember, the house with the Thief's Knife and Thief's Bracer in it?) worries about the treasure he didn't give you; the locked chest. If you are kind enough to take a look for him, you'll just see Lone Wolf running off with its contents. Follow Lone Wolf to retrieve the treasure! He escapes to the mines. The path is straightforward. On occasion, you'll see Lone Wolf running from you. And eventually, you'll have him cornered, but the situation is looking grim, as Lone Wolf has taken a Moogle hostage. If you try to approach, Lone Wolf will threaten to kill the Moogle. Sweaty mongoloids whose basic garment consist entirely out of underpants will tell you that you can recruit Mog by trying to walk over to Lone Wolf over and over and over until you loose patience and spam message boards, but this is humbug. The trick here is to simply stand still at the spot you automatically back away to. After a while, the Moogle will be able to free itself, and in the struggle that ensues, both are thrown over a side of the cliff. Will you help the Moogle, or will you try to obtain the treasure you initially came for? The treasure is a Gold Hairpin, a Relic that cuts your MP usage in half. It's a Relic I only find useful when playing a Low Level Game, as you will be able to cast spells you otherwise don't have the MP for. But in a normal game, the better (and morally superior) choice is helping the Moogle. The Moogle is an old acquaintance of yours, the leader of the gang of Moogles who helped Locke save Terra. To top that, he appears to be able to talk, something no other Moogle can do. Apparently was contacted by Ramuh at a time and was told to join your cause. He joins your cause, and runs off to your airship. Mog is the unofficial mascot of this game, and everybody thinks he's bloody adorable. Myself, I just appreciate him as one of the strongest characters the game has to offer. Right now, his main power lies in his special ability, Dance, with which he summons awesome power from the very terrain around him and the animals that live there to put the hurt on your enemies. Let's go collect Dances for him, and on the way, I'll explain how Mog works. [DANCE-LINK] Wasn't that easy? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.35.3 Dance lessons, including Water Harmony ********************************** Go to the Blackjack and change your party so it includes Mog. You'll notice his level is very high: 5 levels higher, in fact. Equip him (you'll see he uses Lances, mostly) and head out to the open sky. - Land in front of Narshe and fight some Leaf Bunnies on the grasslands to make him learn the Wind Rhapsody. Stride into the forest for the Forest Nocturne and enter the desert for the Desert Lullaby. - Now, get back on the Blackjack and fly to South Figaro where you can climb Mt. Koltz. On the slopes, Mog will learn the Earth Blues (possibly the most universally useful Dance). If you didn't pick up the Twilight Requiem while protecting Terra earlier, you can head in one of the caves to learn it. - Fly the Blackjack to Zozo and fight a battle there; the Love Serenade will be Mog's. - The Dance that is the hardest to obtain, and the only actually missable Dance in the game, is the Water Harmony. There are currently two places where Mog can learn it: on the Lete River and in the Serpent Trench. Both take you along a one-way route to a radically different place. A while from now, there's a single boss battle which takes place underwater (GBA version only!) where you can bring Mog to learn the Water Harmony. I suggest you learn the Dance now. Here's the quickest way: Land in front of Baren Falls, and leap down the raging waters. Don't worry, there won't be any Opinicus Fish to worry about this time. Walk across the Veldt and enter Crescent Moutain. Jump in the Serpent Trench to re-appear in Nikeah. Grab a Chocobo in the local Stable (to the north) and ride the big bird all the way to Baren Falls again. Now, you've gained 6 or 7 out of 8 Dances in very little time; that's a 75 or 87.5% increase right there! That's more than Cyan can say; he probably has gained about one Bushido since you recruited him, lazy hobo that he is. We've concluded Mog's training. Let's see if we can advance the plot now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.36.1 Cave to the Sealed Gate ********************************** Location: Cave to the Sealed Gate Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog Opponents: Outcast, Provoker, Zombie Dragon, Antares, Lich Container contents: Assassin's Dagger, Elixir, Genji Glove, Heiji's Jitte, Hi- Ether x3, Magicite Shard x3, Kazekiri, Tent, Ultima Weapon, X-Potion Miscellaneous items: 293 Gil (hidden), Amulet (Outcast steal), Angel Wings (Ninja Steal), Fuma Shuriken (Ninja drop), Invisibility Scroll (hidden), Remedy hidden), Water Scroll (hidden) The Empire has abducted several espers about 20 years ago, and kept an Imperial Base around to guard the Sealed Gate. The espers sealed it from the inside, so there's no way for the Empire to actually get in. But you have to try for the Returners. So now it's your mission to sneak through this Imperial Observation Post and pass through the cave to reach the Sealed Gate and...Yeah, do what exactly? Terra seems like the most likely way of getting contact. Let's see what we can do when we get there. Preparation: First: Once again, I want to stress how nice it is if you collect four sets of Gaia Gear, which you can rarely Steal from Briareus on the grassland of the continent East of the Veldt. Thank you for your patience! Now, Relics are important in the first few parts of this dungeon. One of the enemies can cast Fire, Fira and Firaga (!) so Reflect Rings are very handy, especially since Firaga is really powerful and could kill you. Peace Rings/ Ribbons are great to equip against this very same enemy's Confuse-setting Special. Time to choose a new four-headed party out of your eight-headed available party! Mog is the most powerful party member at this point; those five extra levels don't hurt his cause, and his Water Harmony Dance cleans house like nothing before in the next dungeon. El Niņo equals death to the most common and most dangerous enemy. A much surer way of making fatal hits is giving Dragoon Boots to Mog and equipping a Trident. Sabin is another great choice; go for either a Genji Glove and two Kaiser Claws or an Earring and Aura Cannon spamming. Edgar's Chainsaw with a Gigas Glove is another great asset to your team. Terra is a mandatory character, so there's little to choose there (although she is very weak at this point). Cyan, Kazekiri or not, is simply strategically unfit for the next dungeon. Gau is great if he knows Anguiform or Chimera Rages, but not quite as good as the other characters. Setzer's Slot is too unreliable at this moment, and he needs to pull something like Dive Bomb or Sun Flare out of his *cough* nose to finish off Outcasts, so he's a bad choice. Locke, finally, is simply too weak without heavy Relic-boosting. In Terra's case, I'd especially advise you to allow her to have some private moments with Shiva, as that's the fastest route to a powerful spell that isn't Bio or Fira (both are useless in the upcoming dungeon). If you have Gaia Gear, equip it. If you have four sets of it, I suggest you swap Edgar out of the party - he can't equip it - and replace him with Gau (or one of the others; it really doesn't matter that much as long as it isn't Cyan, as he can't equip it either). Monster formations: (First cave) Lich, Lich, Lich (6/16) Provoker, Provoker (5/16) Lich, Provoker, Antares (5/16) (Basement 1) Outcast, Outcast, Outcast (6/16) Provoker, Provoker (5/16) Provoker, Provoker, Lich, Lich (5/16) (Basement 2) Antares, Antares, Antares (6/16) Zombie Dragon (5/16) Zombie Dragon, Outcast, Outcast (5/16) (Basement 3) Outcast, Outcast Outcast (6/16) Zombie Dragon, Zombie Dragon (5/16) Zombie Dragon, Outcast, Outcast (5/16) You need Terra for this mission. As your party leader will point out if you try to enter without her: "The espers wouldn't give us the time of day without Terra... We'd better bring her along." Terra, in the meantime, isn't a happy camper. She needs some support, as when she enters the Imperial Camp by herself she'll go: "...I know I can do this, but still... I really don't want to go there all alone..." and will refuse to continue. First three rooms are partly filled with monsters you won't find in the rest of the dungeon: Provoker, Antares, and Lich. Provokers are nasty upgrades of your average Angel Whisper. They absorb Fire- elemental attacks, and have a one-third chance of countering any attack that damages them with Imp Song. Sadly, Siren stands helpless against them, so you'll just have to try to kill them in one hit. Aura Cannon, Chainsaw, Blizzara, double Kaiser, all works great. Antares are small scorpion-like creatures with no real special power. They can put you to sleep with !Dreamstinger, and have a slight chance of countering attacks with a Magnitude 8 spell, for which it has insufficient MP. Way to go there, champ. Strong MT attacks are particularly helpful here, like Flash, Chocobo Stampede, Magnitude 8, Sandstorm, you name it. Liches are the worst, man. They can start the battle with !Insanitouch. Confused characters are never a good idea; with a little luck you can snap them out of it before bad things happen, but chances always exist you'll have to swallow a Rising Phoenix or something before you do. To top this madness, they can cast Fira with considerable power and can even cast Firaga. Their Firaga attacks taste like burning. :( You'll want to avoid that. You can't shut them up with Siren or Silence. If you have Edgar, Noiseblaster can confuse them to buy you enough time to kill them. Charge for Lich immediately. You won't meet a lot of them, so there's no shame in using a Phoenix Down or Raise spell if you run into one, although an ST Blizzara spell or something might be more cost- efficient. If your level is really low, make sure you have four Reflect Rings, and keep them on your characters at all times. This should prevent Lich's spells from hurting you. Like I said before, Peace Rings and Ribbons protect nicely against !Insanitouch. Every step you take after those three rooms consist out of only two enemies: Zombie Dragon and Outcast. Zombie Dragons are bigger, so you'd assume they're more dangerous. Such folly. Reflect Rings are useless once you get into Zombie Dragon territory, and status-prevention Relics can be removed as well as Outcast's !Glare just sets Darkness and Zombie Dragon's !Bone attack, while setting the dangerous Zombie status, is so rare and used so late you shouldn't even see it. Zombie Dragons just attack physically, unless you wait a really, really long time until they have a slight chance of turning a character into a Zombie with !Bone. Zombie Dragons are the only enemies in this blasted cave that don't absorb Fire, so if somebody knows or learns Fira here (Terra learns it naturally at level 22), use it to great effect. Otherwise, you know how to handle monsters now. Gau can flush Zombie Dragons nicely with Mu's Snare. Outcasts are entirely different. They have a move called Liveshaver, an obscenely strong attack. It's an Earth-elemental attack that functions entirely like Drain; drains HP, can't drain more then the caster is damaged anyway. Since it's such a strong attack at this point, the Outcast will most likely drain all their lost HP. If both his lack of HP and the targets possession of it allows it, Liveshaver can do up to 750 damage; unless you are equipped with Gaia Gear, in which case you don't need to worry as you'll absorb the attack and the Outcast will damage itself. If you're equipped with Gaia Gear, there's no need to worry about specific tactics as you can just pound away. But without, the highest priority when facing Outcast is this: YOU WANT TO TAKE THEM OUT IN ONE SHOT. This way, they have no chance of casting Liveshaver (You cannot Silence the bastards). If you brought Locke with you, definitely try to Steal four Amulets here; they are a common steal, so it requires little work. You can one-hit KO them in a multitude of ways, but you'll have to make an effort to have at least one of the following on the team. Earrings/Aura Cannon is a good one, while Genji Glove/Double Kaiser is a nice alternative. Jump/Trident works well on Edgar or Mog, although the latter might enjoy Dancing the Water Harmony better; El Niņo not only kills Outcast, it sends them flying in the bloody Clouds of Magellan. Aqua Breath, sadly, probably isn't strong enough at this point, even with a Hero Ring or Earring behind it. If you did bring Gaia Gear for all your boys and girls, Gau can make Briareus's Cyclonic work to great effect as every opponent is vulnerable to one-hit KO attacks. Sure, Wyvern works just as well, but since we got the Gaia Gear from Briareus enemies in the first place, let this be a tribute. ;) When you arrive at the Imperial Base, there are no soldiers around. That's mighty suspicious, as reasonably argued that can only mean two things: the soldiers are somewhere else, preparing for an attack, or the Empire has decided they will let you go the Sealed Gate, of which can come no good. Still, you press on. Boy, is it HOT in this cave. The Cave to the Sealed Gate is a volcanic area, and the monsters have adapted to it. The first room has a chest already! It contains the Assassin's Dagger, a brilliant semi-Thief's Knife that randomly kills in one hit. The comparison with the Thief's Knife comes from the fact it's both Locke/Shadow only and gives stat boosts, making it a nice option if you don't plan on using Attack anyway. The Assassin's Dagger revives the Undead though, all the time, so I wouldn't suggest equipping it here (even if you weren't going to use it, Thief's Knife's special abilities are better). The next room has another chest, this one containing a Kazekiri blade. If you hadn't stolen one from Number 128, this is the only one you'll find in the game barring end-game Soul Shrine adventures. It has a 50 % chance of nulling the special effects of the physical strike and casting Wind Slash instead. It's pretty much the most interesting weapon Cyan will ever get his hands on, so cherish it (for all the lack of Cyan I tried to talk into you). Next room is a 'puzzle': Every 1.5 second or so, the pathway changes from one state to the other. Explaining how to get across would be folly, as not only would my hints just confuse, it's not that hard. The chest to the right contains an X-Potion, and the chest to the bottom contains the Heiji's Jitte Relic, a Relic that changes Setzer's ability from Slot into Gil Toss. A little talk on Gil Toss: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.36.2 Gil Toss and Cave to the Sealed Gate continued ********************************** If you think throwing coins is a rather silly way of doing damage, it has been featured in FF V as a grossly overpowered attack and finds its roots in Japanese folklore. The Heiji's Jitte, you see. Zenigata Heiji was a kind of 'Sherlock Holmes' during the samurai era who stopped/killed his foes by throwing a coin at them. A Jitte is a specialized weapon specifically designed to catch an opponent's blade, used in the day by the law inforcement to disarm criminals. What Heiji's Jitte has to do with Heiji's coin throwing antics remains a mystery. Gil Toss, while more consistent, is inferior to Slot, especially when Setzer is equipped with Earrings, as he should be. Imagine the Flash Tool for an indication of the amount of damage to one or two targets, but Coin Toss actually splits the damage between the amount of targets, so the more targets, the weaker it turns out. Besides that, there's no way of boosting it other than level, AND it costs you money every time you use it by a Amount of gold used = Level * 30 ratio. There are times -- in the future -- where it'll be worth it to equip the Relic, but not now. The exit of the room is to the bottom-right of the screen. Here, you come across a choice: right or dead ahead. Going to the right will get you to a chest with a Hi-Ether in it. Grab it, hike back, and continue. You'll want to go up the diagonal nature-crafted stairway and you'll reach a bridge with a switch next to it. If you press the switch, the bridge will collapse under you and you'll fall down, but no HP damage will be done, and you 'hear a distant sound'. Going to the left and up will get you to a chest with...a Genji Glove! A very kick-ass Relic indeed. If you have the equipment and the characters, you can add a double Trident Attacker to the party this way, eliminating the Jumping time. Go back and continue this time. You'll see a plateau with two switches, and a bridge with a switch next to it. Go over to the two switches on the plateau. The left switch opens the door to a Save Point and a chest with a Tent in it; the right switch triggers a battle with a Ninja and accomplishes otherwise nothing (you won't ever make this Ninja appear on the Veldt). If you decide to fight the Ninja, make sure you heal yourself, as he's bound to get in at least one Thrown Scroll. The best way of dealing with the Ninja is by utilizing one-hit KO attacks; the Death spell should do the trick, otherwise the Rhodox Rage or Twilight Requiem will offer a large chance. If you don't want to rely on luck, he's weak to Lightning, so Thundara and Gau's Aspiran's Gigavolt work well. He doesn't have that many HP, and when he dies, he will talk about hidden treasures in the 'plaza beneath the grand stairway'. Few people seem to know actually what he's talking about there, but yours truly naturally does so don't worry. The switch on the bridge (doesn't that sound like a Dr. Seuss novel to you?) is mandatory this time, as it will create a large stairway. Egads, a GRAND stairway I might add. Behold, the plaza! This already is the plaza the Ninja risked his life for, littered with treasure. This is where they are: Invisibility Scroll: One step down and one step to the left from the lowest stairway tile. Remedy: Six steps down from the Invisibility Scroll. 293 Gil: Three steps up from the treasure chest visible here. Water Scroll: Three steps down and three steps to the right from the lowest stairway tile. The chest here contains an Hi-Ether. Let's move on. When you enter the little cave, you'll have to find your way up through a hidden tunnel, but a monkey with brain cancer could do that, so I won't be helping you. When you emerge, you can open the chest for an Elixir. This part is kind of frustrating to 'pin down'. There are two stepping tiles in front of you. The first one accomplishes about as much as I know about car mechanics: absolutely nothing. It creates a stairway to a featureless little six-tile area. The second stepping tile breaks a bridge apart to the chest; you can walk around it or step on it anyway and go another route I'll point out in a bit. The chest in question contains not an item or a monster, but a switch. Switch-in-a-box. Heh. Flick it, or don't, it doesn't do anything remotely interesting. Going down will get you to another stepping tile. This one is more of a friend to you; it opens a door to a small cave with four chests: two Magicite Shards, an Hi-Ether, and the ULTIMA WEAPON. The Ultima Weapon is a nifty sword that's more special than useful. A scholar in Albrook mentioned it, remember? It was created during the War of the Magi, along with a monster with the same name. Meeting the sword was the better choice, I think. The Ultima Weapon will do rather weak, barrier-piercing damage at this point of the game when the wielder is at his maximum HP; its damage is partially based on the max HP/current HP ratio where the Ultima Weapon will do more damage when the wielder at full health and almost no damage when the wielder only has a few HP left. TheUltima Weapon gains strength with the wielder's level, and can achieve three lengths, depending on the damage output (it changes from short to medium beyond 500 HP damage, and from medium to long at 1000). I wouldn't equip it at this point. Points of interest: - The Ultima Weapon is rather famous for starring in the horrid legend where you Throw this weapon for an instant kill against the final boss. You can't throw the Ultima Weapon. - When you combine the Ultima Weapon with Mug, it will lose its special damage formula and it'll become a normal sword with an Attack of 255, which is rather nice. Most people will argue this is a bug, though. - INCREASE YOUR ULTIMA LENGTH WITH NATURAL ENHANCERS. It's folly. Much like the male reproductive organ, there are legions who claim there are fast and easy ways to increase its performance. The urban myth includes wearing Green Berets or Red Caps and equipping Muscle Belts, all to increase maximum HP and boost that blue thing. It doesn't work, as it's the ratio that's important, not max HP. - Isn't it wicked? It's like a lightsaber. Let's walk over to the new pathway. You'll encounter a switch you have to press to raise land to the right of you so you can cross it. Here's a switch as well; if you stepped on the bad stepping tile earlier, you can press it so you can walk over to the chest. The switch, by the way, would block your path IF you had stood on the two useless/bad stepping tiles earlier, and only as long as you didn't fight a random encounter. I really don't know why programmers even bother with things like this. Moving on will get you a chest with a Magicite Shard. From here on, it's a straight path to the Sealed Gate. Finally, there you are. Nobody's too comfortable with the place: Locke: Beyond there is the esper world... Cyan: What an eerie place... Edgar: From here on out, it's all up to you, Terra... Sabin: We're counting on you, Terra... Setzer: Oh, what am I doing in a dreadful place like this...? As usual, Gau and Mog are entirely forgotten by their creators. As soon as Terra wants to call out to the espers: a burden! Kefka has followed you here, hoping you'd be able to open the Sealed Gate and deliver more espers to the Empire. Folly! How could you have been so foolish!? Time to put the hurt on Kefka! Like in the Imperial Camp, you fight a human Kefka. I won't bother really listing what he does and how you should handle it, as the fight ends as soon as you do anything to Kefka, be it helpful to him or damaging. For trivia purposes, I'll list his moves, though: Poison, Fira, Dischord, Attack, Rasp, Slow, and Special. He doesn't actually HAVE a Special attack though, as he's a character, so instead, the attack name pop-up will display nothing, Kefka will take one step forward and raise his arms (like Gau performing a Special), and without any attack animation, the attack will miss. Oh yes, and don't use Magicite Shards, as those cancel on characters, including opponent characters. During the battle with Kefka, Terra manages somehow to explore contact with the espers behind the Gate. The door opens, but something is wrong; rather than asking what you want, several espers bolt out the door, flying off, sending shockwaves of power through your body. When they are gone, the door closes behind you and is blocked with an eerily skull-like barricade of rocks. Terra urges you to get out when she awakens, and maybe it's wise to follow her advice. The cave has a new exit; take it for a shortcut. Make sure that you've collected all the treasures you wanted, as once you get out of the cave and board the Blackjack, there's no going back in unless you go out of your way to do so (ominous foreshadowing). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.37.1 esper rampage; Snake Eyes ********************************** Location: Blackjack Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog Opponents: None Once you pass through the Imperial Base and find your ally at the other end, he'll tell you that the espers have flown to Vector. You were planning to have them attack it anyway, but it's doubtful if this is the best outcome... The ill-news bringer depends on whoever is in your party, but starting from the most likely one, the game works down the list from Locke to Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, and finally Setzer. Actually, it's quite impossible for you to encounter Setzer here, as you'll at the very worst have a Terra/Locke/Cyan/Edgar party, in which case it's still Sabin who delivers the news. Ah, goddess of unnecessary coding! Immediately afterwards, you find yourself flying to Vector. But you start feeling some vibration, and it isn't the good vibration Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch and the Beach Boys used to sing about. No sih, not at all: It's such a good vibration It's such a sweet sensation No sih, not at all. Terra: The espers... They were...angry... Locke: The espers probably headed straight for Vector... Cyan: I could feel the warrior spirit in those espers. Edgar: Somehow we need to convince the espers to lend us their aid. Sabin: We should hurry and check out the situation in the Empire. I'm a little worried... Setzer: Blast it! I guess the skies'll have to wait... Mog: ...Kupo. Gau: ...Oooh...Gau...high place...oooh... ...not good...don't like... You'll find yourself near Maranda. Absolutely nothing has changed in this town, so you might as well go find the hidden Chocobo Stable and hike to Vector. The Stable is hidden in the narrow part in the forest to the East of Maranda. As you can see when you arrive, Vector is in ruins. Seems the espers smacked it around with a club called 'Destruction'. The Returners are, without any apparent reason, exposing themselves to the Empire now that it seems weakened. I'm sure they won't call the soldiers on you, sillies. Even Banon and Arvis are here. Banon will declare you mad for even bringing up the option of talking with espers; clearly, they are barbarians whose bones are filled with violence and manslaughter. Entering the Imperial Magitek Research Facility will accomplish exactly nothing, as you can't. Entering the Imperial Palace, however, will get you an Imperial escort who will take you to the Emperor himself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.38.1 Vector; Imperial palace ********************************** Location: Imperial Palace Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog Opponents: Sergeant, Mega Armor Container contents: Alarm Earring, Ether, Gale Hairpin, Holy Water, X-Potion Miscellaneous items: Tintinnabulum (Banquet performance), Ward Bangle (Banquet performance) It appears that the Emperor has changed from the power-hungry antagonist to the sorrowful ally! The espers destroyed his town, his pride. He's been severely punished already for his arrogant lust for control and domination; but can a man change so quickly, so completely? For now, you can do what Cid has asked you to do, and try to warm the hearts of Imperial Soldiers. At the very least, it'll give you something positive to do until you can start negotiations with the Emperor. There are 24 soldiers to talk to. You have four minutes: 4:00. Later on in this part of the game, you are rewarded for your behavior in the Palace; it starts here. You get a point for every soldier you talk to, and another five for every soldier you manage to convert by shoving his testicles upwards through his throat. For maximum enjoyment and treasure, you'll want to talk to all of them (you can skip 3 of the passive ones without any penalty). Skip any treasure chests for now; you can get them a little while later when the seconds aren't of any importance. Every normal trooper who wishes to fight you turns out to be a single Sergeant unit, and every Armored trooper that confronts you is a single Mega Armor. Bio spells and barrier-piercing attacks work great against the Sergeant units; one-hit KO attacks work nicely (including Break). As far as the Mega Armor goes, one-hit KO attacks go well against him too (although he has Petrify protection for Break). He may counter Attacks with Magitek Laser and non-fatal Magic spells with Missile, so be wary. If you die, you don't get a Game Over but you'll find yourself out-battle after a red flash. You'll get the 1 point for talking to the soldier but not the 5 points for defeating the soldier. If you escape the battle by running, using Smoke Bombs or the Teleport Stone/Teleport spell, you'll find yourself out- battle after a green flash, and you'll get 1 point but not the other 5. You can't run from Mega Armor regardless. If you let the timer run out during a battle, there's a blue flash and you'll get 1 point but, again, not 5. Walk right ahead and talk to the first four soldiers. Take a turn to the right (from your view). Ignore the first door for now; it houses Kefka, who talks too much for your precious time to be wasted on him. Go up the stairs and enter the door on this floor. In this room, you can talk to a soldier, a Special Forces unit, and a soldier in the bathroom. Get out of the room and go up the stairs. Here, you enter the balcony of the palace. You can talk to five soldiers here, and one soldier in the cabin on top (which you might recognize as the one where Kefka released the Cranes from) wants to fight you. Fight him (it's a single Sergeant) and press on. Enter the door to the other side of the little cabin on top. In here, there's a wandering soldier. You should be at 14 by now. Go further down. Enter the first new door. There are four wandering soldiers below the soldier in the bed and one above. One of the four wants to fight you; do so. When you have talked to all in the room, enter the bathroom, where another soldiers wants to fight you. You're on 21 now. Get out, ignore the next door (treasure only), and go out of the palace. There are two soldiers here and an Armored soldier who wants to fight; it's a Mega Armor now. Kill it and you have the final, 24th soldier. 44 points maximum. Dinner time! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.38.2 The Banquet ********************************** At the great Banquet, where you'll settle manners with the Empire, removing the very core of the conflict, you'll be repeatedly allowed to fill in gaps in the conversation. Your choice influences how much the Emperor likes you, and how much he'll reward you for showing up. It's like trying to hit on that hot girl at the bar, only with me showing you what works well and what will get you slapped in the face. Here we go: Gestahl: At last, we can all be together, sharing a meal at the same table! Let us make a toast! To what shall we raise our glasses? 2 ^ To the Empire. 1 ^ To the Returners. 5 ^ To our homelands. Gestahl: As you may know, I've imprisoned Kefka for his crime of using poison against Doma. What do you think should be done with him? 5 ^ Leave him in jail. 1 ^ Pardon him. 3 ^ Execute him. Gestahl: I tam truly sorry about what occured in Doma. No one ever dreamed Kefka would use poison. 1 ^ What's done is done. 5 ^ That was inexcusable. 3 ^ Apologize again! Gestahl: By the way...With regard to General Celes... 1 ^ Was she an Imperial spy? 5 ^ Celes is one of us! 3 ^ We trust her whether she spied or not. Was there anything else you wanted to ask? 2 ^ Why'd you start the war? 2 ^ Why do you want peace now? 2 ^ Why'd we have to talk to your men? Gestahl: With your permission, I'd like to talk about the espers... 0 ^ I still have a few things to ask. (Every question you ask will get you 2 points, but the same question asked twice will cost you 10 points) 0 ^ Okay. 0 ^ I still have a few things to ask. 0 ^ Okay, let's talk about the espers... Gestahl: The Empire has been decimated by the espers that emerged from the Sealed Gate. They're just too powerful... If we don't do something, they'll tear the entire world apart! 5 ^ They have gone a bit too far... 2 ^ You're the one who brought them here in the first place! Gestahl: When the espers came through on their rampage, all of my ambitions faded in an instant. Now I find myself asking why I ever wanted that much power in the first place. Of course, there is no excuse for the atrocities I committed in the name of conquest. By the way...what was that first question you asked me a minute ago? ^ Why'd you start the war? ^ Why do you want peace now? ^ Why'd we have to talk to your men? (if you answer correctly, you get 5 points. If not, 0 points for you) Cid: You must be getting tired... Why don't we take a short break? 0 ^ (Take a break.) 0 ^ (Keep talking.) (Here, you'll get the option of walking about a bit and talking to the Imperial Elite, who will challenge you. You get 5 points for kicking Imperial Elite in their bathing suit area within 2 minutes. If you fail, you get 0 points). Resume the conversation? 0 ^ Yes 0 ^ No Gestahl: Is there anything you wish to hear me say? 3 ^ That you really want peace. 5 ^ That your war is truly over. 1 ^ That you're sorry. Gestahl: I have a Magitek armor transport ship moored in the port of Albrook... I had hoped to send it to Crescent Island with all haste. Would you please go on board? 3 ^ Yes 0 ^ No (If you first answer no, and then answer yes, you won't get the 3 point increase). And this is it. 49 points to earn at the Banquet. Plus 44, that's 93. Nice. The negotiations were a success! You are to be dispatched, now employed of all things by the Empire of all empires, to seek out the espers who destroyed Vector. General Leo Christophe will accompany you. Depending on your party, you'll see old acquaintances meet again: Sabin: Didn't I see that guy in Doma...? Oh, right...! He was the one with principles... So...that's General Leo, eh? Leo: Isn't that...!? Cyan, retainer to the king of Doma! Please, forgive me for not being there to stop Kefka... Cyan: ... What happened was not your fault. If you're done, Terra gets on a solo mission... until Locke mixes himself in it again. That guy has a serious problem with being left behind, it seems. Locke and Terra will go to Crescent Island to search for the espers. Congrats. When you leave, an Imperial Elite unit will come up to you, and reward you for your troubles in the Palace: Always: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. 50-66: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items AND your pride. Things are looking up! 67-76: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items AND your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice. 77-90: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items AND your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice. You get a Tintinnabulum from the Emperor! He likes you! 90-93: South Figaro is liberated. You gain nothing but your pride for it. Doma Castle is liberated. Some minor items AND your pride. Things are looking up! The locked house in the Imperial Observation Post near the Cave to the Sealed Gate is opened. This is very nice. You get a Tintinnabulum from the Emperor! He likes you! You get a Ward Bangle from the Imperial Elite unit you are talking to! He wants to have your man-babies! Run like the wind! Well then, if you'll excuse me... As soon as you have your new Locke/Terra combo (something probably not seen since you tried to locate Figaro Castle in the desert south of Narshe), you'll notice that you have received the items all other characters were equipped with. That's nice. For equipment, I'd advise something like this: Terra: Blood Sword/Blizzard/Thunder Blade Golden Shield Tiara White Dress Earrings, Earrings Locke Ultima Weapon Hawkeye Green Beret Power Sash Genji Glove/Brigand's Glove Roaming the Imperial Palace, you can now find the things you skipped earlier in your rush to be helpful for the Empire. They're hard to miss, and include an Alarm Earring, an X-Potion, a Gale Hairpin, a Holy Water, and an Ether. Also, you can find Kefka in jail, who's so annoyed he's about to go soil himself. You can find your former party members all over Vector: Edgar: Albrook's a port town to the south of the Empire. The plan is to leave for Crescent Island from Albrook on a transport ship carrying Magitek armor... We'll keep a close watch on the Empire. You deal with the espers! Sabin: Is it really safe to trust the Empire? I have an awfully bad feeling about this... Cyan: I will never be able to forgive Kefka... Gau: Smells like cider... Smells like old man......? Mog: Kupo! Banon: So, that's what Gestahl said... Team up with the Empire to look for the espers... Hmm... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.38.3 Items of the Imperial Observation Post and Setzer's cutscene ********************************** Location: Imperial Observation Post Party members: Terra, Locke Opponents: none Container contents: 8000 Gil, 13000 Gil, 20000 Gil, Alarm Earring, Angel Ring, Angel Wings, Elixir x2, Flametongue, Hermes Sandals, Hi-Ether, Reflect Ring, X-Potion Other than the fact Gau seems to remember things about his father who supposedly threw him out seconds after he was born, you notice here that Setzer is missing. I can divulge here that Setzer is not in Vector at all; he's on the Blackjack, over at Maranda. Together with Cid, he's repairing his beloved airship. You can go over there if you want to and watch the often missed and delightful scene between the two. This is it, if you're lazy: (Setzer is fixing things in the engine, Cid is standing around, likely in awe or admiration) Cid: This is a nice ship you've got here! Setzer: The shock from our crash really banged up the engine. It's gonna take a while to fix... Cid: Let me help you! I know my way around an engine! Setzer: I think I'll pass. Cid: You know, we could really speed this baby up if we axed the casino and streamlined her a bit... Setzer: ...That's not open to discussion. Now, will you please get out of here? Cid: Oh well... Would've been at least twice as fast, too... Maybe three times... (exit Cid) Terra: You really love this ship, don't you? Setzer: It may be hard to believe, considering how I live now, but I used to be a driven man. Terra: ...Really? Setzer: I wanted to make this the fastest ship in the world, and fly it across the open sky... That was always my dream. Terra: Is that any different from what you're doing now? Setzer: Back then, there was a person who kept me working towards my dream... The pilot of the Falcon, the fastest airship ever made. At times we were friendly rivals, and at times we were simply friends. We'd always talk about our dreams... Like which of us would be the first to sail beyond the sky to the stars. But then she vanished along with the Falcon, and that was the end of youthful dreams. Setzer: ... Darill... After the scene: Setzer: The repairs will take some time. You're going to have to take a boat from Albrook. Anyway, the real new treasure lies in the Imperial Base at the Cave to the Sealed Gate. Enter the house, and prepare to be stumped; the Empire has made a great gesture of good will with this gift. The chests here include: an X-Potion, an Angel Wings Relic, a Hi-Ether, a Reflect Ring, Hermes Sandals, an Elixir, an Angel Ring, and an Alarm Earring, together with 8000 Gil + 13000 Gil + 20000 Gil = 41000 Gil. There's a hidden chest with an Elixir hidden by the south wall, and there's a Flametongue in the stove. If you want to, you can go and visit Tzen and Maranda; there's really nothing for you there, but you can see how both towns have been abandoned by the oppressive Imperial forces, and how glad everybody is that the war is finally over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.39.1 Departing from Albrook ********************************** At any rate, as soon as you can get to Albrook, you'll find the entry to the port open. You immediately appear next to two crates, of which one contains a Teleport Stone. General Leo is discussing with subordinates here; he tells you to go and take a rest at the Inn, but not before 'introducing' you to two 'strangers': The first is Shadow, the second another general of the Empire, General Celes Chere. Locke spazzes out and Celes runs off. You can bask in Shadow's idea of humor for a while before acknowledging Leo has made arrangements, and you can rest at the Inn free. If you ignored Shadow both with Sabin and in Kohlingen, this is the first time you'll meet him. So as opposed to 'frienly' banter, he'll say "I'd better let this guy stretch his legs before he gets cooped up on the boat..." Resting at the Inn will trigger a sad cutscene in which Locke and Celes exchange their names and offer charged silences to each other. When morning comes, the freighter takes off. A lot is afoot during the night. When the morning comes, everybody is already awake. You can learn from the soldiers that rumors say magic still exists on Crescent Island -- clearly folly -- and you can talk to Leo for your mission briefing. General Celes and General Leo will try to gain information, while Terra, Locke, and Shadow are dispatched by themselves. There's a town to the north called Thamasa, so it might be a good idea to try to learn something there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.40.1 Traveling to Thamasa; Crescent Island ********************************** Location: Crescent Island Party members: Terra, Locke, Shadow Opponents: Chimera, Briareus, Devourer Miscellaneous items: Golden Armor (Chimera drop) You've been dropped off at the southern end of Crescent Island. Shadow, now under employment by the Empire, aids you in your search, and you can at least be certain he won't run out on you this time. Preparation: Be sure to equip Shadow in the latest fashion fads, and it might be useful to have him equip a nice esper like Siren to unlock his Magic ability. If you decide to stay around and fight some monsters for whatever reason, summon Phantom; it will be very nice. Monster formations: (grasslands) Devourer, Briareus (6/16) Briareus (5/16) Briareus, Briareus (5/16) (forest) Devourer, Devourer, Devourer (6/16) Chimera (5/16) Chimera, Devourer, Devourer (5/16) The monsters here are pretty interesting. The only one you need to worry about right now is Briareus, as you don't need to go through the forest, but you might want to, so I'll take a look at them too. Briareus are turtle-like monsters that only attack physically. I've mentioned them earlier for their rare Gaia Gear Steal, a nice addition to your equipment options. If a single Briareus is damaged, there's a 33 % chance it will counter with Snort, an odd attack that basically forces the target to run. There's nothing you can do about it, sadly. Devourer, to me, stand out because of their overwhelming usefulness with Rage- centered SCC games. Devourer is one of the two monsters that combine a Special with one-hit KO protection on Gau, which is very nice. As opponents, they stand out for their great physical defense (auto-Protect) and the fact they rarely employ Ultros' Tentacle attack, which makes them the only random encounter monsters to use it. Tentacle is a very strong attack, so take out Devourer as soon as possible. Crescent Island's Magnum Monster is Chimera. They have a lot of HP, are invulnerable to all prominent status effects, and torment the party with magical MT attacks, which include Aqua Rake on a regular basis and Blizzard, Fireball, and Cyclonic when they're alone. Don't take Chimera for granted; keep your HP up and don't go easy on him. The only way out of a head-on fight is casting Berserk on him; his physical attacks also hurt, but if you're quick, you can simply shrug it off with Phantom. In short, if you act quickly with Chimera around (he'll always take at least one turn before he employs a magical attack), Phantom gives you invulnerability. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.40.2 Thamasa ********************************** Location: Thamasa Party members: Terra, Locke, Shadow Opponents: None Container contents: Echo Screen, Eye Drops, Gold Needle, Green Cherry, Phoenix Down As soon as you enter Thamasa, you'll notice strange things going on. There's an unfriendly atmosphere, and the Innkeeper charges insane amounts of money (well, 1500 Gil a night is very expensive!). But hey, at least the shops are open now! Also, three free items are lying around town: There's an Echo Screen in the top barrel next to mayor's house, a Green Cherry in the barrel next to Strago's house, a Gold Needle in the bottom barrel near the Relic shop, an Eye Drops in the middle barrel near the Item shop, and a Phoenix Down in the upper barrel next to the Inn. Armor Shop: Golden Shield 2500 Tiger Mask 2500 Tiara 3000 Golden Helm 4000 Mystery Veil 5500 Power Sash 5000 Gaia Gear 6000 Golden Armor 10000 The Armor Shop is open! You can finally buy your Gaia Gear if you were too lazy to Steal it earlier. Also, the Mystery Veil, a great helmet for Celes and Terra that you'll want to equip for a long time from now. Also, Golden Armor, but you really don't want to buy more, as the next dungeon, which you'll be able to choose party members for, will need Gaia Gear wearers anyway. Weapon Shop: Mythril Rod 500 Flame Rod 3000 Ice Rod 3000 Thunder Rod 3000 Morning Star 5000 Hawkeye 6000 Heavy Lance 10000 Darts 10000 The Weapon Shop is also open. Rods for SALE now? Such folly. I suggest you buy an Ice Rod; leave it at that as far as Rods are concerned (you'll understand why later on). New weapons also include a Heavy Lance for Edgar and Mog, and Darts for Setzer. While I can guarantee you none of these characters will really use those weapons, it doesn't hurt to boost their Attack. :) Relic Shop: Earring 5000 Sniper Eye 3000 Hermes Sandals 7000 Reflect Ring 6000 Black Belt 5000 Dragoon Boots 9000 Sprint Shoes 1500 Nothing new here, really, although the general layout is nice. All Relics here are nice to have as supplementary stuff. Item Shop: Potion 50 Hi-Potion 300 Ether 1500 Remedy 1000 Teleport Stone 700 Holy Water 300 Phoenix Down 500 Tent 1200 Item Shop. You can shop for Items in the Item Shop. It's what the name tries to indicate, silly. Someone advises you to talk to the old man who lives on the edge of town. It's to the northeast of the plaza. In here, you'll meet a strange man indeed... Meet Strago Magus, and his lovely adopted granddaughter Relm Arrowny. While Strago is explaining to you that he has no idea whatsoever what espers are (even though he's supposed to be the expert in town), Relm barges in and asks if they can 'use magic too'. How odd! How terribly, terribly odd! Relm proceeds to not be mauled up by Interceptor, instead seemingly befriending him. Disappointed yet suspicious, you leave the house. Around town, odd things happen. Behind Strago's house, you can interrupt what appears as a Cure casting, and behind the large mansion a kid is practicing what looks like fire magic. How can this be? Regardless, it's been a tough day, I'd say we'd better take a nap at the Inn, which has suddenly taken on a much more customer-friendly pricing... Important note: Before you take your nap, de-equip Shadow of his equipment, Relics and most importantly, of his esper. All set? Good. If you don't do this, he'll take it all with him when he goes, not to be seen for a while. In the middle of the night: panic! Strago wakes you up as he needs your help; Relm is trapped inside the mansion, and it's on fire! It's getting progressively worse. You go with the old man, while Shadow stays behind. This isn't what he is paid to do, so he doesn't do it. Outside, Strago shows you exactly what you've been 'suspecting' so far. He tries to use magic to calm the flames. The entire population of Thamasa tries to use magic to calm the flames. They fail. Strago goes in, and you rush after him. This all makes sense, as if all else fails, try to stab the flames with your weapons. It'll do some good. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.40.3 The Burning Mansion ********************************** Location: Thamasa Party members: Terra, Locke, Strago Opponents: Balloon, Grenade, Flame Eater Container contents: Flame Rod, Ice Rod Miscellaneous items: Flametongue (Flame Eater Steal) Lores: Self-Destruct The mansion is on fire, and somewhere is a scared little 10-year-old waiting to be rescued by you. Her adoptive grandfather, despite the fact IT'S NOT POSSIBLE, has magical powers. This turns out to be an odd night indeed. Preparation: You have a new party member: Strago. I'll explain in a bit what he's all about, I'll first explain how to properly handle him. He's a mage, but in this dungeon, he'd do well to preserve MP, as his magical skills are grossly overkill. I suggest you equip him with an Ice Rod, Mithril Shld, Bard's Hat or Magus Hat, and some Gaia Gear. As far as espers go, Shiva is a brilliant pick, as she teaches five spells that are all very useful in this dungeon and for Strago is general. Also, equip Locke and Terra with Blizzard blades (Hawk Eye is sufficient with an Atlas Armlet). Monster formations: (wandering flame) Balloon, Balloon, Balloon (3/4) Balloon, Balloon, Balloon , Balloon, Balloon, Balloon (1/4) (trap door) Balloon, Balloon, Balloon, Balloon (always) Strago is the FF VI Blue Mage. His special skill is called Lore, with which he can use several monster attacks. Learn all about them here: [LORE-LINK] Right now, he knows Aqua Breath, a powerful MT Water/Wind-elemental attack, Stone, an inaccurate attack that deals non-elemental damage and does 7.5 times as much damage if the attacker and target have the same level (remember Gau during the Narshe Raid?), and Revenge, of which the damage output is simply caster's maximum HP - caster's current HP, dealing the damage the caster currently has on him. All the roaming flames here indicate flame monsters: Balloon. Letting them touch you means either a battle with three Balloons, or a battle with six Balloons. Balloons rarely use Self-Destruct and attack physically otherwise, so I suggest summoning Phantom or casting Vanish during the first battle. Use an MT attack to finish off the six Balloons (MT Blizzara spell, Aqua Breath, Shiva's Diamond Dust) and use physical attacks for the three. You can either use the Confuse spell, Cait Sith's Cat Rain attack, or the Stone Lore (MT) to confuse Balloon monsters, in which case they're likely to use Self-Destruct on each other. This will make Strago learn Self-Destruct, an attack he will hopefully never, ever have to use, as it's horrid; it kills the caster, and all it does is damage equal to the caster's current HP to a single target. The first two rooms are straightforward. The third room has two doors standing next to each other. The left one opens to expose four flames leaping out, catching you in a four- headed Balloon monster formation that is a fixed Pincer attack. This happens every time you try to enter the door. The right one allows you to continue. In this room, two more doors: The right door takes you to a room with a chest in it containing a Fire Rod. The left one allows you to continue. In this room, two more doors: The right one takes you to a room with a chest in it containing an Ice Rod. The left one allows you to continue. The next room is simply a hallway. It opens into the largest room of the house, where the source of the blaze is located. If you take one step into the room, it will attack you. Equipping Zona Seeker helps for the battle, as does Kirin (as usual). Try to equip as many Reflect Rings as possible; you're bound to have two from treasures. You can circumvent the Reflect Rings by equipping Carbuncle, but while that doesn't take any Relic slots, it's not what a sane man would call permanent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.40.4 The battle with Flame Eater ********************************** Flame Eater Level: 26, HP: 8400, MP: 480 Steal: Flametongue (common) Absorbs: Fire; Nullify: Lightning, Poison, Holy, Earth; Weakness: Ice Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Fire, Fira, Firaga, Protect, Reflect, Fireball, Bomblet FlameEater starts the battle by using Bomblet. The move Bomblet itself doesn't really do anything (although it removes your Invisible status if you had it on you), but it's always followed by Flame Eater summoning allies. Flame Eater can summon from two to four Balloon monsters and even a Grenade. He will always start with four Balloons. Flame Eater is basically a massive floating flame, so you could expect him to have a fire-based AI script. He normally uses Fire spells and Fireball attacks, while countering one third of your damaging attacks with a Fira spell. After you've damaged him six times, he'll cast Protect and Reflect on himself (unless he already had Reflect on him), at which point he will bounce Fira and Firaga spells off his own barrier until it's faded (he'll go back to regular programming at that point. Also, if you would hit him with Gravity or Graviga (a spell you're unlikely to have), he would have retorted with a Graviga or Flare spell of his own; sadly for FlameEater, you can never actually hit him with Gravity/Graviga, as he has one-hit KO protection. Silly programmers. The strategy is simple and Ice-based. Cast Slow as soon as you can. If you have Kirin or Zona Seeker equipped, start it at the start of the battle. Try to steal his Flametongue with Locke; you don't really need it, but there's no harm in it. Whenever Flame Eater summons allies, use a powerful MT attack like Shiva's Diamond Dust, Aqua Breath, or an MT Blizzara spell to take care of them all. First priority would be not dying, second priority is attacking with Blizzara spells and Ice-elemental weapons (especially dual Ice Rods!), and making sure he doesn't get all Reflective on you if you are spamming spells. If Strago is level 26, you can't pass up the opportunity to deal illegal amounts of damage with Stone. FlameEater is a simple boss who's likely to go down easy on you. To sum it all up: "Attacks are the best attack." (RedDemon). When you've put it out, you find Relm in the back of the house. Just in time to be buried beneath flaming rubble with her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.41.1 Leaving Thamasa ********************************** Location: Thamasa Party members: Terra, Locke, Strago Opponents: None Miscellaneous items: Memento Ring (hidden) Remember when you died in a fire? That didn't happen. Shadow came in and saved the day, just to rescue his dog. He decided he might be able to spare your sorry lives free. Wotta guy, eh? Thamasa is the village of Magi's descendents. During the War of the Magi, Magicite-powered humans called Magi fought alongside of normal humans and espers. When the war ended, the espers retreated and the humans hated the remaining influence of the magical: the Magi. They were forced to flee, and much like the espers founded the esper World, so did the Magi create Thamasa. Their descendents have lost a slight tough of their magic after the 1000 years, but they're still powerful enough to actually use the magic the world has forgotten for so long. As soon as Strago mentions that the mountains to the east might be worth a look, Shadow splits. Outside, it seems that he will 'search for the espers his own way'. You shouldn't forget that despite the fact Shadow has fought alongside of you, he is a morally lacking person directly employed by the Empire, whose interests are still rather questionable. He's breaking a direct order for no apparent reason. Highly suspicious. Highly, highly suspicious. With Strago in your party, you get the new mission of finding espers in the mountains. Nice. Relm offered to join, but despite her prominent naming screen, was refused entry into the party, which even has a free spot for her. I'M SURE WE'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN. There's a Relic hidden in Strago's house, on the second floor: hidden in the bulge in the left wall, it's near the small table with the two chairs surrounding it. This Relic, the Memento Ring, is at this moment entirely useless to you. You should know that in the PSX release, they changed the name of this Relic to 'Safety Ring'. At least, that's what it says when you grab it here; if you check your inventory or try to equip it, it'll speak of a 'Safty Ring'. When you're done, take a nice and uneventful nap at the Inn and head out to the mountains. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.41.2 Crescent Island's Eastern Mountains ********************************** Location: Crescent Island's Eastern mountains Party members: Terra, Locke, Strago Opponents: Bonnacon, Land Grillon, Adamankary, Mandrake, Venobennu Container contents: Chocobo Suit, Healing Rod, Tabby Suit, X-Potion Lores: White Wind Thus, a typical Byronian hero accompanies the half-esper magical prodigy and the elderly walking-encyclopedia-on-monsters-and-their-behavior-with-magical- powers to what they hope will be a place filled with Beasts of Doom. If this is achieved, we can get the peace the Returners have fought so hard for. Preparation: Make sure your equipment and espers are comfortable. It's wisdom to summon Phantom at the very start, as most attacks are physical here. Jeweled Rings and Ribbons are nice to protect against the Petrifying Special of one of the monsters on the slopes, though, as these are the same monsters that have the power of removing your Invisible status. There are five entirely new monsters roaming these mountains, two in the caves and three on the slopes. They are: Bonnacon. Anything resembling a Crawly palette-swap can be nothing but very, very weak. An Earring-boosted MT Fire spell tends to take them all out (although at lower levels, you might need a follow-up MT spell). They share the caves with Adamankary monsters. Rather soon for a palette-swap in this case, don't you think? You met Briareus at the foot of these mountains. That's just not right. Adamankary are named like that because their hide is hard. Hard like ADAMANTINE. There's no penetrating it (unless it's with barrier -piercing physical attacks, obviously). You'll want to stick to magical attacks with them. Don't ever use Attack, ever, as they have a one/third chance of using Snort, breaking your ever-so-fragile invisibility. On the slopes, a brilliant new enemy is called Venobennu. They attack physically only, having a small chance of trying to poison you with !Featherdust. After they've taken three turns, they'll use White Wind. Have Strago stand there and observe. Also, Land Grillon. Remember Nettlehopper? Remember Grasswyrm? I'm sure you don't, as both are dull as hell. Land Grillon has a more diverse color pattern on them, but fail to impress on all related issues. The most dangerous enemies of the mountains are Mandrake plants. The Anthology Bestiary says their vines are made out of metal. Metal. The main annoyance with them is the fact they will retaliate your damaging moves with a 33 % chance at casting Leech, which is basically a more powerful version of your Drain spell. It can make battle very long if you're in bad luck and Leech removes the Invisible status that protected you from all other attacks on the entire mountain. The only thing you can do about it is systematically cast Stop spells (learned by Golem) on them and kill them while they're Stopped. The entrance of the mountains lies north of the forest here. The entrance wasn't here before, if you were wondering. The first room houses a chest with a Healing Rod (keep hold of this one!). The Healing Rod is a spiffy Rod that heals all targets, be it living or undead. At this point of the game, a Front Row character using it is likely to fully heal the target character (it'll do about 1000 HP worth of curing). Personally, I think the supposed equippers of a Healing Rod, Strago and Relm, will usually be too busy doing the exact same thing with an ST Cura spell and still having room for an offensive weapon, but there are people out there who are in love with the Healing Rod because it's MP-free. Regardless, much later in the game you can trade your Healing Rod for a weapon that is so kick-ass they might have called it +7/+7 Weapon of kick-ass for all I care, so definitely don't EVER sell it. For trivia, they once made a half-assed attempt at making it auto-target your party under Attack. They simply succeeded in making it auto-target your party under Throw, in which case the Healing Rod resulted in efficient death on the hapless victim of Shadow. In the GBA release, instead of fixing this, they simply removed the property whatsoever, making it target the enemy in all instances. The cave opening to the north and left will just link to each other, so take the right one (to the right). You'll see a quick 'unrecognizable' red flash dash from the corner of your eye, but that's just the shadows being a bitch to you. In the slopes here, you can find Venobennu monsters. You'll want to meet them at least once to learn White Wind. White Wind is a full-party healing move that cures for the same amount of Hit Points the caster currently has. This sounds like a silly move, as you'd guess the more you're damaged, the more you need healing, and that's exactly when this move tends to fail (if Strago is near-fatal, White Wind will do little). White Wind is *very* useful though, as it is a move that can heal characters with Reflect Rings and surpasses Runic. If you cross these slopes and enter a new cave, you see the red movement again. What's with your eyes these days? The new cave can be easily passed through; you see a lot of broken pathways here, but you can't reach them anyway. The next room houses three golden statues. Strago will freak out when he sees them, and explain about the Statues. Remember when Kefka talked about reviving the Statues, and how fun he thought that was going to be? Better learn about them, then. These golden icons are mere representations of the real Warring Triad, and even these shimmer with power. Strago muses that perhaps the espers came here to bask in this power so familiar to them (and obviously, this is where it's said the espers were created all this time ago). The following is inscribed in the statues: The dawn of magic... Three gods descended from the heavens. Fearing one another's power, the gods began to war. Those mortals caught amongst their fighting became espers, and were forced to fight endlessly as slaves to the gods. Realizing their power begot naught but strife, the gods at last agreed to seal away their strength. With the last of their fading magic, the gods returned the espers' free will, then turned themselves to stone. The last words they left to the espers were these: "Never must we be woken." In reverence towards the gods were these statues made, and in prayer that their power would ne'er again be stirred. Let them serve as a warning to future generations of the three gods who once descended from the heavens... As soon as you intend to leave, a familiar octopod crashes the party. It's Ultros. Laugh or die. He mentions something about Siegfried (calls him 'big brother' in the Japanese version), throws a semi-smart retort to Locke's comment (at whose body he jumped a little, Locke's his personal nemesis since he met him on stage), and attacks you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.41.3 The third fight with Ultros ********************************** Ultros Level: 25, HP: 22000, MP: 750 Steal: White Cape (common) Absorbs: Water, Weakness: Fire, Lightning Status: Float Special: !Ink: sets Dark, Attack x 1.5 Sketch : Tentacle (rare), Tentacle (common) Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Ink, Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Protect, Haste, Aqua Breath, Stone, Magnitude 8, Tentacle, Hailstone Ultros isn't very hard this time around. He starts the battle off with the message "Thought you wouldn't see me again? I've got more lives than I do arms!" He'll normally use Attack, !Ink, Stone, and Tentacle. After every minute of battle, he'll use Hailstone, a percentage-based attack that removes 75 % of your current HP. Every other turn, he'll start by taking a little slither in your direction. Once he has slithered eight times, he uses a particularly nasty spell: either Aqua Breath or Magnitude 8. You can easily take both (especially the latter if you're equipped with Gaia Gear as you should be), but you can make him back off one slither if you hit him three times with a Magic spell (not Lore). Not that that's really advisable, but I'll explain that in a minute. When Ultros reaches the low grounds of mere 15360 HP, he'll cast Haste and Protect on himself. "I know what you're thinking... Man, that was cheap! Sorry, so sorry!" Yes. Once you've cast five spells on him, he'll go red and the screen will say: "Ultros alters his body composition! Use elemental attacks at your own risk!" This means that any Fire-elemental spells will be countered by Firaga, Ice-elemental spells by Blizzaga, and Lightning-elemental spells by Thundaga. As soon as you bring down Ultros to 10240 HP, a cutscene will trigger to bring in Relm. She'll chat with Ultros, and some moments later - after the obviously hi-la-rious cutscene has passed - will join you on your side against Ultros. If you use her Sketch ability on him, Ultros will say: "How can this be? I'm just a...washed-up old octopus?" and leave. The strategy is pretty straightforward. I wouldn't bother with offensive spells whatsoever if I were you (other then two Slow spells, one to start off with and one to counter his Haste/Protect combo with). If you have Golem's Stop spell, use it to great effect and cast it every time you see Ultros taking another turn. Strago's Rods, should they have the Fire or Lightning element, will do decent damage overall (especially when that random spell steps in). Ultros Floats, so Locke can horribly abuse that with his Hawkeye(s) (you can cast Berserk on Locke if you feel like you can miss the controllable nature of him). Terra can wield Flametongues and/or Thunder Blades to hurt Ultros a bundle. If Strago's level is 25, he can rock out with his rock out; Stone will do major damage. Try to Steal his White Cape, as it's basically free and generally useful. End the battle with Sketch if you want to. Even if Relm never shows up in-battle, she'll still take all the credit for the victory :p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.41.4 Relm and the espers' gathering place ********************************** Relm's ability is Sketch, and I dare say it's the worst ability in the game. If you're interested in the reason, go to [SKETCH-LINK] Right now, I suggest you give Relm an esper to teach her a good spell pronto. Shiva is perfect, but Strago is probably still struggling with it, so either Ifrit or Shoat is a generally quick road to success. She starts with the left list of equipment, and I'd advise the right one: Chocobo Brush Flame/Thunder/Ice Rod (in that order) Mythril Shield Mythril Shield Plumed Hat Mystery Veil/Tiara Silk Robe White Dress/Gaia Gear She comes equipped with a Memento Ring; you found one earlier in Strago's house. It can be equipped by two people, of which Relm is one. Another character you already know can also equip it, but it's not Strago, and who could possibly be protected by Relm's dead mother besides Relm herself? Checking its properties reveals this character is Shadow... The next room contains a Save Point and three tiles that look like they might cave in underneath you. These cave in underneath you. The top one takes you to a place in the broken walking bridge maze where you can go to the slopes at two places and find two nice pieces of equipment: The Chocobo Suit and the Tabby Suit. Equip Strago and Relm accordingly. You can jump off to a familiar path. The loose tile to the far right will take you to an X-Potion, and the loose tile to the bottom-left will advance your path to the espers. After you pass this last slope, you enter a room brimming with magical energy... The espers have indeed gathered in this mountain, and they don't look too friendly. They've stopped Strago and Relm from leaving and are slowly surrounding you. Even though they have the plot power to wipe three members of your party from this world like excrement from a boot, you still prepare for battle; until an esper who once discovered Terra's mother face-down near the entrance of the esper World, and who even longer ago was human, recognizes the power within Terra and saves the day. It's Yura. The espers are talking peace and non-carnage now. The espers were gathering near the Sealed Gate, plotting how to rescue their captured comrades. It took them 18 bloody years; way to go, champs. Just at that time, in a great coincidence, Terra called out to the espers and, according to Yura, it was her who opened the gate. As we knew from Terra herself, espers in our world tend to go bat-shit bat-fucking crazy, and that's what happened to Yura and his merry friends. And now they're here, feeling sorry about it all. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.42.1 Epilogue ********************************** Location: Thamasa Party members: Terra, Locke, Strago, Relm Opponents: None Epilogue time! Every conflict has been resolved, the war is over, the espers have been calmed down, everybody is happy. Leo and Yura apologize much like two lovers who just came out of an argument (I didn't mean what I said about your mother and the way she smells!), and Locke makes a light-hearted innuendo about Celes. Everybody smiley face. The End. Kefka appears. Or is it? How is this possible? Isn't he stuck in jail? Did he escape? Did the Empire set you up and was Kefka released? Is everybody safe? Within seconds, he has sent Magitek Armors on you that have taken all your party members down, killed three espers, knocked Leo out cold, and has caused general unhappiness. Damn his eyes! During the conversation of Kefka and Leo, it becomes clear that the Empire did set you up. When Shadow heard you mentioning the espers being at the Eastern Mountains, he most likely reported to the Emperor, who sent Kefka and a Magitek Armor division to Thamasa as soon as possible. Who knows what he has done to your friends in the meantime. As Leo Christophe, you wake up. Leo can't leave town, as where ever he ventures, the Guardian will attack him, leaving him no choice but to turn back. Houses are all empty (though you can just shop away; it's like a Wal-mart policy). You *can* pick up the Memento Ring with him if you haven't already, but there's little point. There's one sensible thing to do. Leo Christophe never got himself a naming screen, which bodes ill for the upcoming battle, but he'll be damned if he won't act honorably. Talk to Kefka and fight him. He is a disgrace to the Empire. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.42.2 Leo versus Kefka ********************************** Crystal Sword Aegis Shield Golden Helm Golden Armor Gigas Glove Master's Scroll Leo has awesome equipment and has quite a high level. The Emperor called him his greatest warrior; it shows. Due to the Master's Scroll Relic, he attacks four times rather than one time with the Attack command, and his Gigas Glove really boosts his damage with it. His special skill, Shock, is an MT non- elemental magical attack. This Kefka uses several attacks, including Attack, Poison, Drain, Bio, and Firaga. Strategy isn't really important, as you can't really lose this battle. If Leo is in the Front Row, his Attack command will do more damage than Shock. You can use Magicite Shards for miscellaneous effects, but it bears no purpose whatsoever and is just wasting resources. Once you 'kill' Kefka, he'll put on a nice show that stars Gestahl, and then he proceeds to actually murder general Leo Christophe. The next few scenes are not positive to your chances of making a positive action. All the remaining espers bolt through the gate to attack Kefka, and he kills them all. He leaves you alive, but it's hinted at that he backstabbed Shadow as well. Thanks to Edgar, your party members were able to save themselves from imminent death, but Banon, Arvis, a lot of Narshe guards, and the majority of the Returners have apparently been killed in Vector, though. All in all, a rotten day. You leave Interceptor behind in Thamasa. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.43.1 Airship Exploitation: Rage and Lore hunting ********************************** Location: Blackjack Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: a' plenty. Lores: Doom, Dischord, Lv. 3 Confuse, Lv. 4 Flare, Lv. 5 Death, Transfusion, Roulette, Traveler As soon as you find yourself outside of Thamasa, you'll want to board the Blackjack. A cutscene in which bad things happen is triggered. Gestahl and Kefka have reached the Warring Triad, and have apparently used them to set afloat the continent of the Cave to the Sealed Gate, creating a massive airborne weapon from which Gestahl can probably wreck havoc without fearing any kind of retribution. This is bad shit. Change to a party without Strago in it, and head back into Thamasa. You can find Gungho, an old acquaintance of Strago, near the Inn. The man does little but call Strago a 'monumental coward'. Nice. I am Gungho, Thamasa's most renowned monster hunter. I come back here for the first time in ages, and the place looks like it's been through a war! What in the world happened? Seems you're letting Strago fight with you, but I should warn you... the man's a monumental coward. Back when you were young, you tried so hard to hunt Hidon...but then you gave up and quit before you found him. Note: Ofcourse, that last line could be Gungho muttering to himself, imagining himself talking to Strago. However, since this dialogue was faulty in the SNES version, it's more likely this is just a screw-up. With Strago (you can head back, change, enter again): I am Gungho, Thamasa's most renowned monster hunter. I come back here for the first time in ages, and the place looks like it's been through a war! What in the world happened? Strago: G-Gungho!? Gungho: Oh, Strago! Have you come back to hunt Hidon? Gungho: You haven't changed a bit, have you? Back when you were young, you tried so hard to hunt down Hidon...but then you gave up and quit before you found him. Strago: I didn't quit! It's just... I sort of... I mean... The thing lives in Ebot's Rock, and after the place sunk, well... Gungho: Always have to make excuses, don't you? Gungho: You're pathetic! Now you're airborne and you're simply dying to stop the Emperor from doing nasty things with the Warring Triad, but there's no rush, and there are quite a few things to do right now. First, enjoy your massive pool of character options: Terra: Don't worry. I'm sure a peaceful future is right around the corner! Locke: We'll bring peace back to the world...no matter what! Cycan: I cannot forgive the Empire... Edgar: I'm not just sitting here playing games! ...I'm thinking up our next strategy! Sabin: Let me at the Empire! Celes: I may have served as a general to the Empire, but I still know evil when I see it. Strago: I traveled around the world, too, in my younger days... Relm: Hey! Do you want me to paint your portrait? Setzer: What's important to me...? Bah! If I were attached to things, I couldn't gamble! Mog: Kupoppo! Gau: Gau get stronger on the Veldt. The world is barren of Imperial activity. Vector and the Imperial Palace are completely deserted, and there are no soldiers in Albrook anymore. Albrook is rather overshadowed at the moment, as the Floating Continent is right above them. I don't see why they would want to linger there; if I had a floating landmass the size of Belgium floating over my head, I think I'd high-tail it to Germany before long. - More Lores. I'll explain how to get as many Lores as you can at this point of the game: - Doom Rummage around on the Veldt until Gau encounters and Leaps a Zombie Dragon. When you get Gau back, have him Rage Zombie Dragon. His special attack is Doom, and Strago will learn it if he's paying attention. Doom sets a timer over the target's head and uses an automatic unblockable Death spell if the timer runs out. Monsters can be immune to both Doom and (Instant) Death, mind. Rather useless. - Dischord Meet either a Chaser or a Satellite on the Veldt. Satellite will *always* use Dischord after he's taken nine turns, Chaser will use it randomly. Dischord is an attack that halves the target's level. If the target is immune to one-hit KO, Dischord will fail. The best use of Dischord lies in stealing; lowering an opponent's level increases your chances of stealing. - Lv. 3 Confuse Try to meet up with a Trapper (the hanging robots from the IMRF, remember). They will randomly and happily use Lv. 3 Confuse. If Gau already learned the Trapper Rage, Strago can learn it from the feisty kid. - Lv.4 Flare It's like with Lv. 3 Confuse, only you need to make sure that Lv. 4 Flare doesn't kill your entire party. - Lv. 5 Death Trappers, Trappers, Trappers, Trappers. And waiting. - Transfusion Make sure you have encountered at least one Intangir, and go Rage-hunting on the Veldt. When Gau learns the Intangir Rage, he can execute it to use Pep Up. Strago will learn it, although I can't see a use for it whatsoever. - Roulette Make sure you have Relm in your party for this one. Try to find Onion Knight enemies on the Veldt. If you Sketch one, there's a 75 % chance it will cast Roulette. Strago can watch and learn. Roulette basically lets the cursor spin around. If you hit the action button, it'll slow down and deliver an unblockable Death spell (targets that are immune to one-hit KO survive the attack). I'm sure you can get Roulette targeting down to a science, but it's not really worth it. - Traveler Fly over to South Figaro. You can take a walk there and enjoy the freedom of the town for a moment, but the real treat lies just outside of its borders. Unseelie, when confused, will somehow -- while drooling and flailing their arms around and being generally amusing to look at -- use the Traveler attack. Traveler is a brilliant attack with fixed damage. It's non-elemental, barrier- piercing, and the direct output of a simple mathematical formula: The damage you deal = Number of steps taken / 32 The amount of MP it costs you = Amount of minutes played / 30 In case you were wondering, whenever monsters use this attack they use YOUR amount of steps for it. That's hardly fair. It's like tax money, only they use it to spy on you rather than help your poor family members through the winter. Update: Hollywood Narrator gave me some information about US politics So, for US readers: It's like tax money! Also: new Rages! New monsters you'll want to Leap include Antares and Outcast. Below is the old list of monsters you're still interested in. Darkwind Break inherent Float Trillium Bio absorbs Water Alacran !Numb (Stop) Spritzer Blaze absorbs Lightning, inherent Float, Undead Oversoul W. o' the Wisp absorbs Poison, Undead Stray Cat !Cat Scratch Guard Leader Wind Slash Lesser Lopros Fireball inherent Float Mu Snare Templar Fira inherent Protect Cloud Thundara one-hit KO protection Satellite Sonic Boom inherent Float, one-hit KO protection Bomb Blaze absorbs Fire, inherent Float Anguiform Aqua Breath inherent Darkness Aspiran Gigavolt inherent Float Rock Wasp !Sleep Stinger inherent Float Veil Dancer Blizzara Gobbledygook Vanish Hill Gigas Magnitude 8 Litwor Chicken Quake Chimera Aqua Breath lots of status immunities, one-hit KO protection General Cura inherent Protect Magna Roader Bio inherent Haste Destroyer Reraise inherent Protect, one-hit KO protection Briareus Cyclonic Intangir Transfusion inherenst Invisible, Protect, Shell, Haste, Regen and Float, but you'll have to keep it from using the self-destructive Transfusion \ attack with Silence before Gau initializes the Rage Antares Magnitude 8 absorbs Fire Outcast Lifeshaver absorbs Fire and Poison, inherent Float, Undead There are not a lot of new monsters here, but you'll probably be here anyway, as you're hunting for Lores. Aren't you? You disturbed excuse of a human being. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.43.2 Airship Exploitation: Doma Castle ********************************** Location: Doma Castle Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: none Container contents: Elixir, Hi-Ether, Hi-Potion, Phoenix Down, Prayer Beads, X-Potion Lores: none Doma Castle! Doma Castle was occupied all this time, but back when Emperor Gestahl was punking you, you were very nice to him and he opened up Doma Castle for you. Doma Castle has generally little and valueless treasure for you. You can find a Hi-Ether, an Elixir in the alarm clock in a bedroom, an X-Potion in the room Cyan found his dead wife and son in, and when you go outside on one of the walls, you can find a little room with a Phoenix Down and some Prayer Beads. Prayer Beads were broken in all versions but the Advance one, so allow me to talk about them a bit: Prayer Beads give the character +20 % Evasion, which is a nice effect by itself. However, it goes on. When a physical attack is performed on a character with Prayer Beads, the hit rate of that attack is halved. Attacks which always hit due to a perfect hit rate or another circumstance will still always hit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.44.1 Preparation for the Floating Continent ********************************** Now, I'm going to have to give you a spoiler, as otherwise I'd be constantly busy with trying to get you to do things while I can't explain why they're particularly useful. Here we go: After the next dungeon, you will NOT be able to visit this world again. So, if there are things you have yet to do -- obtaining the Water Harmony, meeting some snazzy elusive monsters, buying more weaponry -- this is the time. Stock up on Phoenix Downs, as they're always useful. I specifically want you to have four sets of Gaia Gear, and four Priest's Miters are nice as well. I'd like to direct you to Kohlingen now, as I want you to buy a good amount of Ninja scrolls. Maybe 40 Lightning Scrolls and 20 Flame Scrolls. You can laugh in the face of Water Scrolls, as they are useless. The entire deal of 60 new scrolls will just cost you 30000 Gil, which isn't that much. Also, tip for the future: if you have excess money at this point, you might consider buying a few Sakura blades, 10 or so. They make for excellent ST Wind-elemental Throw objects, the best there are. If you've been a good boy so far, check out the Bestiary under the Config menu option. Having followed this walkthrough, you should have filled the Bestiary for 33 %, possessing a solid block of exposed monsters from 1 (Guard) to 103 (Venobennu). If you miss one, I helpfully shift your attention to the Bestiary checklist in section 8.0. When you're done with whatever you want to do, go to the Floating Continent. Location: Blackjack Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: none Let's see here. As replacement for the espers you stole from their Facility in Vector, the Empire, by the name of Kefka, has obtained a lot of new Magicite. Before long, this might be a real problem. The problem that is existent right now, though, is the fact that Gestahl is up there on his cozy Floating Island, with the power of three ancient gods at his disposal. He doesn't need Magicite, Magitek Armor, or honorable generals. All he needs is the wish to flail the flesh off your face with a thousand flaming arrows and urinate on the bloody ribbons of what once was your body, and so it shall be done. Eh, we can always try to stop him. We've got an albino who throws coins. Preparation: Whom to bring to the FC? It's hard to give proper advice concerning your party for the next round. First off, you can only take three. Second off, going easily through the majority of the dungeon is largely dependent on your Magic skills; the more prepared (especially with effect magic) the better. A few pointers (not at all meant to discuss every character): - Terra is a person who relies on Magic. When properly equipped, she can always make herself known on the battlefield. Plus, she has the uncanny ability to go all Rambo on monster's ass when she's in Trance. Definitely a solid contender, especially in boss battles. - Celes is, like Terra, a character who is decent in the dungeon and very good against the boss fights. Her Runic ability really helps at some point in the next dungeon, but as she is forced into your party at some point later in the dungeon anyway, bringing Celes means that you'll have to do an (admittably easy) part of the dungeon with three characters rather than four. - Cyan, as always, should stay behind. He tended to be subpar, now he's just plain bad. He would have a moment against the IAF, as his Kazekiri blades make for great Wind Slash spammers, but after that, it's a never-ending quest of pain and misery. He can't even equip Gaia Gear. - Edgar can't equip Gaia Gear either, but he makes up for it with his Noiserblaster. A lot of opponents on the Floating Continent can be easily subdued with this Tool, including the source of Lifeshaver. Though chances are still you might get hit by the attack, it's not quite disastrous enough to warrant that much caution. Though full party Gaia Gear is nice and allows you to have Gau Rage Litwor Chicken for full-party healing, Edgar's MT Confusion move definately isn't a bad idea. - Mog reigns supreme over all character, especially if you waited until now to pick him up and he's five levels above you. Make sure to allow him to learn at least Siren's spells to start with, though. - Should you take Mog, I would advise against Gau, as you don't want to lose control over two characters in the same party. His Rage ability makes for an unnecessary random factor anyway. - Locke is rather weak, a guy who needs dual Hawkeyes and a Gigas Glove if he's going to leave a mark. Fact of the matter is though, the next dungeon contains a monsters with a rare Genji Glove steal, something some people go absolutely wild for. And no, you won't find them anywhere else. It's really just a matter of preference. If pressed, I'd go for a Mog/Terra/ Locke party, but that's assuming they know some spells. It's up to you. Equipment example: - Note that Icebrand, Flametongue, and Thunder Blade are interchangeable, as are Green Berets and Priest's Miters. Green Berets give slightly more HP and Evasion while the Miters raise your MP and increase your Magic Evasion. I'd lean towards the Berets, but it's your choice. Terra Icebrand, Golden Shield, Mystery Veil, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Locke Hawkeye, Hawkeye, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Genji Glove, Thief's Bracer Edgar Blood Sword, Golden Shield, Green Beret, Golden Armor, Hero Ring, Earring Sabin Burning Fist, Mythril Shield, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Cyan Kazekiri, Kazekiri, Green Beret, Power Sash, Hero Ring, Genji Glove Gau Empty, Mythril Shield, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Hero Ring, Earring Celes Thunder Blade, Golden Shield, Mystery Veil, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Setzer Darts, Golden Shield, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Mog Heavy Lance, Golden Shield, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Strago Thunder Rod, Mythril Shield, Green Beret, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring Relm Thunder Rod, Mythril Shield, Mystery Veil, Gaia Gear, Earring, Earring If you're all properly equipped, let's roll. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.44.2 Imperial Air Force ********************************** Location: High up in the sky Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: Sky Armor, Spitfire, Ultros, Typhon, Air Force, Missile Bay, Laser Gun, Speck Miscellaneous items: Debilitator (Missile Bay Steal), Princess Ring (Air Force drop), X-Ether (Laser Gun Steal) Lores: none Monster formations: Sky Armor, Sky Armor, Spitfire (3/4) Sky Armor, Spitfire (1/4) Uh-oh! It's the Imperial air force! They've got us surrounded! We're going to have to engage them! So it seems you still haven't gone through every last one of the Imperial soldiers just yet. You'll have to fight four battles in succession now. Each battle can either consist of a single Spitfire and a single Sky Armor, or a Spitfire and two Sky Armors. It's always a forced pincer, but that's okay, as they have little damaging physical attacks to take advantage of it with. In between, you have some moments to use Items and whatnot. Then, you note how "There's something strange up ahead! It's coming this way!" You have to fight another two battles against the IAF. Then, Ultros hops off whatever it is that approached you, and his mere presence inspires you to pull out his brains through his nostrils. And if he doesn't have the latter, we can always make holes for that very purpose. Sky Armors are the weaker of the two. Normally, they simply use Magitek Laser or !Reverse Thruster, but if one is alone, he might even consider firing a Missile or two. Spitfires are the scourge of the LLG player. Every turn, he has a 33 % chance of using Absolute 0, an MT Ice-elemental attack. If he's alone, he has a 33 % of using Diffractive Laser, an MT Lightning-elemental attack that is about half as effective as Absolute 0 is, so I don't know what's up with that. The strategy is very simple. Siren just stops these guys from doing any damage whatsoever (not counting Spitfire its Special), so make sure one of your characters has it. Summon Siren, listen to her Lunatic Voice, loot the buggers if you have Locke with you (rare Elixirs on Spitfire, and the common Ether isn't half bad either), and kill them all. Wind Song (home Dance!), Cyan's Kazekiri blades and Gau's Guard Leader Rage all offer a chance at Wind Slash, which kills all enemies (on both sides of you, that is). Strago, if he has access to Lv. 5 Death, should use it to take out any Spitfire monsters right away. Lv. 4 Flare affects Sky Armor, but that's probably far too expensive. It's worthy of note that the Spitfire, the proud top model of the Imperial Air Force, is not Floating. And we figured those Wyvern were bad. Ugh. "No, really! This is our last battle! Honest!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.44.3 The fourth fight with Ultros ********************************** Typhon Level: 26, HP: 10000, MP: 40000 Steal: Dirk (common) Absorbs: Fire, Weakness: Ice, Water Special: !Hit: sets Poison Sketch : !Hit, Attack Vulnerable to: Silence, Berserk, Sleep, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, Fireball, Snort Ultros Level: 26, HP: 17000, MP: 8000 Steal: Dried Meat (common) Absorbs: Water, Weakness: Fire, Poison Special: !Octopus Ink: sets Dark, Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Octopus Ink (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Attack, !Octopus Ink, Tentacle Note that you can't normally spin 7-7-7 in this battle. It's still possible to get ahold of the offensive Joker's Death by using the trick described at [SLOT-LINK]. Ultros is an absolute joke this time, with a very simple script and weak stats. He has three attacks: Attack, !Octopus Ink, and Tentacle, so we're back to basics. If he reaches 12800 HP -- that's about 5000 damage, something a Bio spell coming from a normally leveled Earrings-boosted Terra can do in ONE hit -- he will complain and call his buddy, Chupon. "Ultros: Looks like I lose again! But today I brought along a buddy of mine! Mr. Typhon! Come on down!!!" From here, he'll keep attacking like he used to, only he'll talk about the monstrosity now. "Ultros: He's not so great with words, but his strength'll blow you away! Heh- heh..." "Ultros: I'd try not to make him mad... He gets hungry when he's irritated." "Ultros: You know, just the other day I was taking a snooze, when he came along and decided to start gnawing on my head. Let me tell ya-the guy's got sharp teeth!" Typhon is nothing to worry about either. His attacks are unassuming, his stats fairly weak: Attack and Fireball are past their prime. When he dies, he'll use a final Snort attack on everybody. Gezondheid! Strategy? Psh. Summoning Phantom at the very start takes care of Attack and !Octopus Ink, and you can Berserk or Silence Mr. Typhon as soon as he comes down. You're invulnerable. Not that a normal Cure or Cura casting couldn't prevent any kind of danger, but...on the offensive side, Fira and Bio work very well on Ultros (yes, he suddenly traded his Lightning-weakness for a Poison one), and Chupon can suck down some Blizzara spells. It's just acceleration material though, as this is a very easy battle. Typhon sneezed you off the ship! And if he didn't, you probably tripped after completing that obscene victory dance of Vanish/Doom. You fall of the Blackjack, tumbling down towards the Floating Continent. It's like the Satanic Verses, only with less Jihad-inducing properties. Remember the five Magna Roader fights in a row, with their ultra-violent and dangerous gang leader at the end with two fully self-conscious and sentient arms? It's going to be like that again. The head of the IAF is a big machine thingy called Air Force. I wouldn't know if it's piloted or just a sentient machine or what; all I know is it's attacking me with very powerful spells I'm not too fond of. Let's take a look at him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.44.4 The battle with Air Force ********************************** Air Force Level: 25, HP: 8000, MP: 750 Steal: Elixir (common), Win: Princess Ring (always) Weakness: Lightning, Water Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Hit (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Nothing Attacks: Magiek Laser, Diffractive Laser, Wave Cannon Laser Gun Level: 24, HP: 3300, MP: 335 Steal: X-Ether (common) Weakness: Lightning, Water Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Hit (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Magitek Laser, Diffractive Laser, Atomic Rays Missile Bay Level: 25, HP: 40, MP: 15 Steal: Debilitator (rare) Weakness: Lightning, Water Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Hit (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: Missile, Launcher Speck Level: 25, HP: 420, MP: 285 Steal: Amulet (rare) Weakness: Lightning, Water Status: Freeze, Runic Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Hit (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Slow, Stop Attacks: None The parts to this battle: Air Force, Laser Gun (the part to the right of Air Force), and Missile Bay (the dark red part below Air Force). In the SNES game, the Missile Bay was light grey like the Laser Gun. Why they decided to change *that* of all things will forever be a mystery. Missile Bay fires off Missile attacks. If it gets weak and reaches 1536 HP - that's after taking 1464 HP damage - it might get a shot at using Launcher. Laser Gun uses Magitek Laser and Atomic Rays. If it hits 1536 HP - after taking 1764 HP damage - it loses the Atomic Rays option, but gains Diffractive Laser, which is slightly weaker than Atomic Rays. Air Force itself will just use Magitek Laser and Diffractive Laser. When Laser Gun dies, a Speck will be released. Speck is an opponent that takes no turns; the only thing it does is floating on constant Runic stand-by, absorbing all your Magic spells. At this point, Air Force will try to self-apply Haste status (and fail, as he's immune to Slow) and start counting down: "COUNT:6" "COUNT:5" "COUNT:4" "COUNT:3" "COUNT:2" "COUNT:1" At this point, the Speck will leave the battlefield and Air Force will use Wave Cannon, a very strong MT Lightning-elemental attack. By this point, you should be fully healed though, so you won't die from it if all is well. After Wave Cannon, Air Force will launch another Speck and start counting again from 6. In old versions, the Speck remained and after the first time, Air Force would start counting from 3. Why the changes were implemented is anyboyd's guess; Speck doesn't absorb Wave Cannon whatsoever, so it's removed during Air Force's use of it is just weird. The first thing on your mind is taking out Missile Bay. If you have Locke in the party, try to Steal for as long as he's around; Missile Bay has a rare Debilitator you probably don't have yet. Zona Seeker is a brilliant summon here, as the Shell status can really help you out in this battle, and once Missile Bay is gone, you can safely summon Kirin to override all Sap effects with the positive Regen blessings. - If you have Terra on the time, I definitely believe Trance is justified in this battle, as it's one of the hardest in the game, in my opinion. Have her focus on her strongest spells, Thundara if possible. - The same goes for Celes; Runic isn't justified in the battle, as she'll take one Magitek Laser while she lets other attacks past her. - Gau should enter either Chimera or Destroyer Rage. Chimera's Aqua Rake hits quite hard on all targets, and it's superior to Anguiform because that would self-apply a weakness to Fire-elemental attacks in a battle where Atomic Rays might appear. Aspiran's Gigavolt will be absorbed by Speck once it arrives, so Chimera is definitely the way to go. Destroyer, on the other hand, will absorb Magitek Laser, Diffractive Laser and Wave Cannon while being immune to Missile and Launcher. If you have the time and manage to take out Laser Gun, Destroyer wins you the battle. - Locke's usefulness in this battle is limited. If he knows Thundara, he can do some decent damage, but if not you should let him run utility as otherwise his turns will be pretty much wasted (none of the opponents here are Floating; go figure). He can try to Steal if he has nothing better to do; Laser Gun's X-Ether is an extremely rare item in the game, and Missile Bay's Debilitator might prove useful if you didn't nick it from Crane earlier. - Sabin isn't especially helpful in this fight; Rising Phoenix is all he can do. If Sabin knows Thundara, it takes preference over his Blitz abilities. - The same goes for Edgar, although his Drill/Chainsaw attacks can take out a Speck very quickly. Thundara will do more damage to Air Force than his Tools will. - Setzer should fire off Slot attacks if he doesn't know Thundara. H-Bomb and Sun Flare are more powerful than Thundara, but you're likely to mess around with Lagomorph and Prismatic Flash more than you'll see diving squadrons of death or the King of Dragons coming to your aid, so Thundara will be better to stick to. - Strago can simply fire off Aqua Breath attacks rather than Rage like a madman for it, so do just that. Aqua Breath is more powerful than Thundara, mind. If Strago is level 25 at this point, he can hit for a LOT of damage on Air Force, Speck and Missile Bay if Stone connects. - Cyan should use his Kazekiri blade(s), as his Bushido are horrible, absolutely horrible. A disgrace to the very essence of a special skill. - Relm's Sketch is even worse. If you can't use powerful Magic with her like Terra and Celes, she should equip a Thunder Rod and simply attack with it. She's a 10-year-old girl slapping a machine with a rod, but it's still superior to Sketch. - Mog's home dance here is the Wind Song. Wind Slash is decent and Sunbath always nice. If you feel like taking a gamble you can go for Water Harmony. El Niņo and Plasma will both hurt VERY badly, and the Racoon has the added advantage of removing Sap (slim though that chance may be). Heal regularly, keep your defenses up, and you'll defeat Air Force in no time at all. If you're really having trouble, you can break Thunder Rods. Something to remember if you're playing the game blindfolded. Or simply blind. Poor lad. An alternate strategy if you picked three characters that all heavily rely on Magic (Locke, Relm, Celes, for example) is this. Since you want to avoid the presence of Speck here, don't kill Laser Gun. However, you can stop his attacks for long periods of time if you combine the Slow and Stop status ailments on it. Kill off Missile Bay, use your speed-reducing grey magic on Laser Gun and focus all spells on Air Force. No Speck, no Wave Cannon, no fuss. You'll get a Princess Ring for your trouble, which is about as useless as something you'd consider quite extraordinarily useless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.1 The Floating Continent ********************************** Location: The Floating Continent Party members: Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Celes, Shadow, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: Ninja, Apocrypha, Behemoth, Brainpan, Dragon, Misfit, Gigantos, Platinum Dragon, Ultima Weapon Container contents: Beret, Murasame, Monster-in-a-box (Gigantos) Miscellaneous items: Genji Glove (Dragon Steal), Ribbon (Ultima Weapon Steal), Sasuke (Gigantos drop) Lores: Lv. 3 Confuse, Lv. 4 Flare, Lv. 5 Death, 1000 Needles Welcome to the Floating Continent! The Floating Continent is one of the most fun and dangerous dungeons in the game, so if you're not enjoying it, I suggest you quit the game. ;) Kefka and Gestahl are standing with the Statues, sadly on the other end of the Floating Continent. You'd better high-tail it there as fast as possible, as who knows what they're about to do. On the other end, you're likely to die once you get there. But hey, you caused this mess, better try to clean it up as well. Shadow is waiting for you. Although to the untrained eye, it seems like Shadow is more or less 'severely wounded and unable to go anywhere else' rather then 'tricking you with awesome ninjutsu skills of yore'. At any rate, Shadow bears a personal grudge to the Empire, and goes with you to get his revenge. You also notice that Shadow can equip the Memento Ring, which would appear to have been a Relm-only Relic. Hmm. Important detail: Since Interceptor is in Thamasa, he obviously will NOT be defending Shadow in-battle at this moment. You can't go back to Thamasa and pick up Interceptor now that you know where his owner is at, either. Preparation: Equip Gaia Gear where possible, and stick everybody in the Back Row unless it's vital for their strategy (and quite frankly, I can't think of anybody fitting that profile but Gau, and even he should be in the Back Row and ignore his !Cat Scratch urges in favor of other ones). Make sure you have nice espers on everybody, and set Shadow on his path of supportive espers (I'd suggest you move from Siren to Catoblepas). Shadow's main power lies in his Scrolls now, so Earrings rather than Gigas Gloves. Monster formations: Dragon (6/64) Behemoth, Misfit, Misfit (6/64) Ninja, Ninja (10/64) Brainpan, Misfit, Apocrypha, Brainpan (10/64) Behemoth (5/64) Apocrypha, Brainpan, Brainpan (5/64) Apocrypha (5/64) Wirey Drgn, Wirey Drgn, Wirey Drgn (5/64) Apocrypha, Apocrypha, Apocrypha (5/64) Brainpan, Brainpan, Brainpan (5/64) Behemoth, Behemoth (1/64) Ninja, Ninja, Wirey Drgn (1/64) You've met a Ninja earlier, in the Cave to the Sealed Gate. What went down then still goes down here. They use one of the three ninjutsu Scrolls and very rarely use a normal Attack. Lightning-elemental attacks get them very quickly, as do one-hit KO attacks. You can Imp them, but they'll still be able to use the Scrolls (Imps can still use Items, or any attack which doesn't use MP). Rarely they will drop a Ninja Star, which are upgraded Shuriken. Save them for later. Apocrypha are odd little demon-buggers who attack physically only, until there's only one left. A lone Apocrypha will counter any damage you do with Lv. 5 Death, Lv. 4 Flare, or Lv. 3 Confuse. Ideal for Strago if he hasn't learned all of those attacks yet, but annoying on your party. Try to circumvent the possibility by taking Apocrypha out first (or all at the same time). If you find yourself stuck against a lone Apocrypha, Break and other one-hit KO attacks can kill it without provoking any kind of counter in any way, and an even better way of doing that is the Rasp spell, as reducing Apocrypha's MP to 0 kills him. Silence/Lunatic Voice also works. You can rarely Steal Angel Rings from them. Behemoths are legendary Final Fantasy monsters, and in this dungeon they may just be the most dangerous monsters you can encounter, especially so because they can appear in tandem. This means two Behemoths in one fight. They tend to use physical attacks, but their Special !Beatdown is very strong. If they are alone (which they often are), they'll counter any damage you do by having a 66 % chance at countering with !Beatdown. Luckily, you can use Petrification and other one-hit KO attacks to go around this. They're weak to Ice, and Blizzara will deal a nice amount of damage, but KO attacks like Death, Catoblepas' Demon Eye, and Gau's Mu Rage-induced Snare are by far the easiest way out of an encounter with Behemoth monsters. If you are forced to fight them head-on, you're in slightly more trouble, but it still can be done with relative ease. If you have Vanish around or Phantom equipped, make everybody invisible before attacking. Heal regularly. Blizzara is a powerful spell on them, and Strago's Lv. 4 Flare is especially fruitful here. Brainpan monsters are bloody annoying. They randomly Stop one of your characters with !Smirk, and when they are alone, they will use 1000 Needles, an attack that will always deal 1000 HP of damage. Strago can learn it if he's around. The proper way of treating them is mass attack: They are weak to Fire and Lightning, so Shadow's Scrolls should severely cripple them in a small amount of time. Try to Steal some Earrings if Locke is around; any amount lower than 24 is a bad amount. Brainpan are also nice for Sketching, by the way, as both !Smirk and 1000 Needles will be unhappily received at the other end of the battlefield. Dragon! Dragons are even more dangerous than Behemoths, when left unattended. They're also very famous for being the only source of Genji Gloves besides those that chests and events give you (which is often not enough to satisfy some players). If you run into one, your first action should be disabling him, as his attacks include !Tail (which is his Special and will likely kill you), Revenge Blast (with a maximum HP of 7000, that can become very painful), Snowstorm and Freezing Dust, an attack that will Freeze one character solid and disable it. Every time a Dragon has been damaged, it'll have a 33 % chance of using Snort. There's danger all around here, and they're immune to one-hit KO attacks. To handle them, cast either Sleep or Stop on them, possibly both, and try to shave off as much HP while he's incapacitated. He's weak to Lightning, so Thundara, Gigavolt (although you'll probably want to lay off Rages against Dragon as the random physical attack will wake him up), and Lightning Scrolls work very well. If Locke or Shadow with one or two Thief's Knives is in the party, Steal from every Dragon you encounter. Even one extra Genji Glove is nice. Misfits are Outcast palette swaps, and once again, they are inSilencable bastards that use Lifeshaver. Luckily, at this point, you should be entirely clothed in Gaia Gear no matter what you did, and Edgar and Setzer should just keep themselves healed. They're weak to Fire, which is a great plus over the original Outcast, so take advantage of that. Break and Rasp both kill Misfit in one hit when they connect (Break sometimes misses). Platinum Dragon is the last random encounter monster we'll see in this dungeon. Imagine Wyvern, Floating, with a very high amount of Defense. That's basically it. The trick to defeating them easily is turning them on each other. Noiseblaster and Cait Sith's Cat Rain will make them randomly use Cyclonic on each other, after which you can simply pick them apart with any ol' MT attack you have. If you lack MT confusion devices, you can try to Sketch them if Relm is around for Cyclonic, or simply use one-hit KO attacks on one at a time. They CAN use Cyclonic themselves when they're alone, so keep that in mind. Catoblepas's Demon Eye can take care of them all if you have him equipped, although he might miss sometimes. Pick up Shadow, and after some "I am not worthy" dialogue he will join your party for the time being. Note that bringing Shadow along is entirely optional, although not bringing him is just not very smart. Walk to the right, and a passageway will automatically open for you. This is a theme in the dungeon; a lot of passageways will open or have to be opened. Walk on and you'll open another passage. Now, you'll come across a blue orb to the north of you; these are the Floating Continent's version of chests. Open it for the Murasame, which does NOT live up to its name in this game and should not be equipped, as Fang is better than any Attack you'll pull off with it. Should you have brought Cyan and find yourself using nothing but Bushido anyway, the Murasame's 10 % Evasion boost is nice. Now, you'll encounter again what seems like a dead end. To the north, a stairway will open into a bulge in the landscape, and to the south, one will open towards a blue orb if you near it. You'll want to grab the blue orb first, but not until after you've finished at least one battle and have summoned Phantom to open this orb with an invisible team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.2 Gigantos and the Floating Continent continued ********************************** Gigantos Level: 25, HP: 6000, MP: 1120 Steal: Elixir (rare), X-Potion (common), Win: Hardened (always) Status: Protect Special: !Throat Jab: Attack x 5 Sketch : !Throat Jab (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Imp, Petrify, KO, Doom, Silence, Berserk, Slow, Stop Attacks: Attack, !Throat Jab You see, the blue orb holds the monster-in-a-box Gigantos, a purely physical fighter that can kill Front Row character in one go with !Throat Jab. Gigantos will start the battle off with THREE !Throat Jab attacks, and continue to switch between Attack and !Throat Jab while countering any damage you do with two Attacks and a !Throat Jab. That's a lot of physical damage. If you self-applied the Invisible status like I advised, you're invulnerable in this fight. If you're fighting him, one-hit KO attacks work best. Lv. 5 Death offs him easily, as do Break, Catoblepas's Demon Eye, Snare (Mu Rage), and Death. You can, of course, toy with him a little bit; try to steal his rare Elixir or common X-Potion. He's vulnerable to Stop as well, so for ensured victory, you can use a Stop/Death combo if you're evil enough. For all your trouble, you get a Sasuke blade, a stronger weapon for Shadow without the Assassin's Dagger's one-hit KO property. Since you should not be using Attack at all, I recommend sticking to your current blade, which should be either the Thief's Knife or Assassin's Dagger. Now, enter the bulge, which will swallow you and deliver you at another point in the dungeon. Go down and you'll come across an odd stone that you need to stand on to proceed. The landmass will expand, allowing you to cross where your path was previously impeded. Just walk over to the other side of this part, as there's only one way that gets you anywhere (another bulge you need to enter). The bulge delivers unto you a decision when you arrive and notice two new bulges. The right one takes you nowhere, so the left one it is. Left = right, what a world. The new delivery point immediately features a new stone to step on, so you do that. It lowers some part in front of you, but you can't reach that now. Go back and find the other stone waiting for you. You'll need to activate the obvious stepping-stone for another obvious obstacle, see. Continue and now you can reach the lowered part. Walk on and on, to the left, down, right and then northwards until you reach yet another stepping-stone. It'll reveal a familiar bulge, but before you enter it, you should go down the stairway below you for a Save Point and open the blue orb to the right of you, which contains a Beret. The Beret is a nifty helmet for Relm that increases her Sketch success, allowing her to be entirely useless with it more often than before. I'd stick to the Mystery Veil. If you're done, continue. You'll be asked if you want to return to the Blackjack now. There's no real reason to unless you're really out of resources, as at this point, you've almost completed the dungeon, and should you return to the Blackjack and fly up to the Floating Continent again, you'll have to do the entire dungeon again. Plus, Shadow will leave here and won't return to your party until you're back on the FC, where he will be waiting in the same spot as he was when you found him there for the first time (although he will be brooding rather than suffering face- down). If you do decide to hop off, remember that Shadow will take the equipment and esper he has on him with him. Pressing on opens another pathway, where a beast is waiting for you. A beast created long, long ago, during the War of the Magi. A beast of mass destruction. A beast of pure power. Ultima Weapon. Before you fight him, have somebody cast Float on those in your team that lack Gaia Gear if possible (Gau, as always, can self-inflict it), equip Heiji's Jitte on Setzer if he's on your team and equip Reflect Rings, if that's possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.3 The decisive battle with Ultima Weapon ********************************** Ultima Weapon Level: 37, HP: 24000, MP: 5000 Steal: Ribbon (rare), Elixir (common), Win: Elixir (always) Status: Float Special: !Full Power: Attack x 2 Sketch : !Full Power (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: Slow Attacks: Attack, !Full Power, Fira, Bio, Flare, Graviga, Quake, Tornado, Rasp, Mind Blast, Flare Star, (enemy) Meteor, Blaze Ultima Weapon is quite a challenge. Not quite as disgustingly horrible as Air Force, but you could maim the two cannons off Air Force and he'd be at your mercy as long as you had something to do about Speck. Ultima Weapon starts like a rather tough monster, and as he has the most HP of any normal monster so far (Intangir excluded), he'll be quite the little troublemaker. His normal battle script from the start consists of saying: "My name is Ultima... I am power both ancient and unrivaled... I do not bleed, for I am but strenght given form... Feeble creatures of flesh... Your time is nigh!" and then simply pound your character into submission with Attack, Flare, and Blaze. Flare is a snazzy new spell you're probably not familiar with yet. Flare is non-elemental and barrier-piercing, yet can be protected from with Reflect Rings and the like. This is, until he reaches 12800 HP, at which point he'll start casting Bio, Quake, or (enemy) Meteor, use either Attack or !Full Power, use an MT Fira spell, and end with Mind Blast. Mind Blast is an MT attack that randomly selects a character four times and sets on them one randomly selected status ailments out of the following possibilities: Darkness, Zombie, Poison, Imp, Petrify, Doom, Silence, Berserk, Confuse, Sap, Sleep, Slow, and Stop. If a character is never chosen, he won't be affected by the spell; if a character was randomly selected three times, he'll get three randomly selected status ailments set on him. As you can imagine, you can come away from this attack with relatively minor damage, or with some fairly severe damage. It might be a good idea to summon Unicorn if you have it after Mind Blast has been used. Due to a GBA-exclusive bug, you can circumvent all effects from this attack by equipping a Relic which protects against Imp (such as the White Cape) or gaining Imp immunity with a Rage. It should've still applied other status ailments in that case, but it doesn't. After Mind Blast, Ultima Weapon will get even stronger. The message "Focusing energy" will appear, and Ultima Weapon will give himself Protect, Shell, and Haste status and glow an eerie yellow. He'll wait for his next turn and glow yellow again. That next turn, he'll glow yellow for a long time, some cogwheels will spin (as the hobby assembly enthusiast, I wonder how the hell they did that), and Ultima Weapon will use the move Flare Star. Flare Star is a neat attack. It's fire-elemental and its damage depends on YOUR level. It multiplies the level of a random party member by 80 and splits the damage by the amount of characters you have. So, if you have a four-headed party, all level 25, the damage will be 500 per party member. After Flare Star, he basically starts over again with Bio/Quake/(enemy) Meteor, etc. When you knock him below 6144 HP, he'll start using another set of spells: Attack, Graviga, Tornado, Rasp, and Blaze. Every time he is damaged in this stage, he'll have a 33 % chance of countering the attack with Flare. He'll keep this up until he dies. You can basically do two things here. In both scenarios you'll want your party covered in Reflect Rings. Celes shouldn't need to use Runic until the final stage of Ultima Weapon when he gains the ability to cast Graviga, as that can be absorbed by Celes' Runic blade yet flies past Reflect Rings. If a lot of your characters know the Rasp spell (say, three or four), you could try to Rasp his 5000 MP down to 0 and kill him that way. It will take longer than HP violence will, but if you just stick with attacking his MP, he'll never leave the 'safe' area of using Attack, Flare and Blaze, with which Zona Seeker and Reflect Rings means easy victory. Even without those two, it'll be easier on you to handle it than the HP violence will. If you decide to just smack him to death with your ouchies, beware. Start the battle off with Zona Seeker to soften the blow of his magical attacks. Make staying alive priority one: Flare can do over 600 damage, so be prepared for a Flare spell at all times if you're not covered in Reflect Rings. Cast Slow on him to slow him down. Try to steal a Ribbon with Locke, and if Edgar is in your party and he can use a Debilitator; use it until you've nailed a nice weakness to something you can exploit. Exploit it. If he uses Mind Blast, cure the most dangerous status ailments and proceed. If the message "Vast energy focused" appears, use Dispel to remove the positive status effects (and cast Slow again). Basically, it's a story of heal first and damage later. Terra, Celes, and Relm should just use their level 2 spells (Blizzara is, by a very slight margin, the strongest of the three). Have Locke steal until he has acquired either an Elixir or a Ribbon, and use Hawkeyes to fight with for the duration of the fight. Edgar can use Drill and Sabin Aura Cannon for superior damage. Mog's Dance is up for debate. The Earth Blues is the home Dance, so it will never fail, and it also has the most damaging attack of all of Mog's attacks: Rock Slide. The Water Harmony, on the other hand, has a more constant damage output, as both El Niņo (most common attack) and Plasma (2nd most common attack) will work. In contrast, Earth Blues' Sonic Boom will fail whenever it's used. I'm leaning toward Earth Blues myself, but it's more a matter of personal preference. Setzer will probably want to stick to Gil Toss. Even with double Earrings, his level 2 spells are inferior to Gil Toss and his Slots aren't very useful in this fight. Prismatic Flash can't compare to Gil Toss, Chocobo Stampede misses entirely due to Ultima Weapon's inherent Float and the other attacks are too rare to consider an option. Cyan's Flurry out-damages Fang, so try to have other characters attack while you wait for Flurry to load. It might be safer, if you're less experienced, to simply stick to Fang and have him run utility work if that's necessary. If you seriously brought Cyan for some reason I expect you to have taught him at least one level 2 spell; with one Earring, a level 2 spell will outdamage Fang. Strago's Aqua Breath attack is the strongest he'll be able to do. If you equipped Reflect Rings, his White Wind move will be very nice to have around. Traveler might be stronger than Aqua Breath, but it should also be much more troublesome on your MP. Try it out and see what hurts more in your case. An added benefit of Aqua Breath, by the way, is it's dual-elemental nature; if you brought Edgar, there's a double chance Strago can exploit the Debilitator- induced weakness with the attack. Gau's best choices are probably either Ninja (Water Scroll), Chimera (Aqua Breath), Bomb (Blaze) or Outcast (Lifeshaver). Ninja is the strongest offensively, but you probably didn't go back to pick it up. Outcast is very defensive; since it makes Gau absorb Fire-elemental attacks, it's inherently Floating and gives the Undead property, Outcast will protect against Fira, Bio, Quake, Blaze, Flare Star and (due to a bug) all the effects of Mind Blast. If you have level 2 spells on Gau, I'd advise you to use Magic rather than Rages in this battle, as the level of control will be nice to have and with all the Attacks Gau uses, damage output will be higher overall. After Ultima Weapon has been defeated, you get an Elixir for beating him. Shadow will leave you, and it will only take you five steps to come face to face with Emperor Gestahl and Kefka. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.4 Kefka's Betrayal ********************************** Before your eyes, Gestahl absorbs more and more of the power of the Warring Triad. Celes will arrive if you didn't bring her, and in both cases, she will be spared from Gestahl's paralyzing spell, as Gestahl has an offer to make. Even after all this time collaborating with the Returners, he is still willing to allow her to return to his side. It certainly looks like the winning party, but Celes decides differently. In other words: DIS! Celes uses the sword given to her to stab Kefka. The desired effect (death) does not take place, however. Kefka, in a fit of rage, rushes into the field in the middle of the Goddesses and commands them to give him power. Nothing happens. Kefka repeats the statement. The Warring Triad glows a little, about as enthusiastic about the job as a McDonald's employee on Mondays. Gestahl starts shouting about actually reviving the statues; according to Gestahl, reviving is bad. It was Kefka's plan all along though, so what gives? It's at this point that Gestahl realizes that he cannot have Kefka around; his practical use is over now that Gestahl has everything he lusted for, and the man is simply unstable. But when Gestahl tries to use the awesome power the Warring Triad has bestowed upon him, nothing happens. The field of the Warring Triad absorbs all Magic sent their way (even Meltdown, which is unRunicable!). Kefka gains control over the slowly reviving gods and commands them to unleash their power on Gestahl. They do. Emperor Gestahl, your most important enemy throughout the game, dies. After that, Kefka does the unthinkable. Strago warned you earlier about the Warring Triad. Move them from their spot, and this world they partly created will go haywire. At this time, Shadow arrives! Eager to deliver a payback from getting back-stabbed (and maybe even feeling guilty of being the tool of the Empire), he rushes in and traps Kefka between the field of the Statues. The paralyzing spell on your party members is lifted, and it's time to run. Recap: Celes stabs Kefka in his body. He reacts by swearing and killing Gestahl, much like how Bush responded to unaligned terrorist threats by going after Iraq. Kefka than proceeds to fuck everything up by moving the statues. Shadow arrives to stop him and tells you to get away; the Floating Continent is going down. Celes and co. run off while Shadow sacrifices himself to save the planet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.5 Escape from the Floating Continent ********************************** Location: The Floating Continent (breaking apart!) Party members: Celes; Optional: Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Gau, Setzer, Mog, Strago, Relm Opponents: Naude, Nelapa Ribbon (Ultima Weapon Steal) Container contents: Elixir Lores: Doom, Roulette Monster formations: Naude (always) You have six minutes, 6:00, to get off the Floating Continent. Goddess energy naturally takes on the form of monsters, and you have to plow through these newly born entities to reach the end (which is also the landing point of a particularly big sparkle, AKA a particularly powerful new creature). Preparation: You're still covered in Reflect Rings if you listened to my advice. Keep them on! If Celes joined your party just now, give one to her as well. The Reflect Rings protect from the Blizzara spell the Naughty enemies cast, and it will be nice to have against the boss here as well. Naude enemies are a pain because they take time to defeat and you can't run from them. They're about wasting time, and they're fairly competent at it. Their attacks include Attack, !Hit, Blizzara, Snowstorm and Freezing Dust. Sadly, they can use Freezing Dust on the first turn, disabling a character. If you hit them with a Magic spell, they have a 33 % shot at using Silence (Note: this is NOT the Spell Silence; it's a monster attack with the same name, animation, and effect. Delightfully useless, but note that it penetrates the Reflect barrier where the normal spell would not). When you Imp them, their next turn will be spent on de-Imping themselves and using Flee. Keep in mind that when you always use the Imp spell to make them run, you'll never get their listing in the Bestiary. Since Celes is a mandatory character and she'll be above level 14 unless you were really going for an LLG, she'll know Imp. I suggest you use it. If Celes if frozen beforehand and nobody else knows the Imp spell, just take advantage of Naughty's weakness to Fire, Lightning, and Holy. Lv. 4 Flare works on him as well, so if Strago is around, he'll be able to do quite some damage with it. Sprint Shoes are great in any situation with a timer; while you shouldn't need them, they cut back the time you spend walking. Walk on, and the ground will crack underneath you. You'll make a surprised jump and can continue. Behind you, the part you just walked on falls off. Dangerous shit, this dungeon! Walk on, another crack, another part breaks off behind you. Walk on. Another crack. If you go to the featureless part below you now, a small part will come off. You'll want to press on, though. You now reach for a small plateau with a blue orb on it, but when you get near it the ground cracks beneath you. Should you now simply continue, the part you'll need to reach the blue orb will fall off. Go around the gap here so you can grab the treasure: an Elixir. Now you'll see the big sparkle: go over to it and prepare yourself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.45.6 The battle with Nelapa and Exit ********************************** Nelapa Level: 26, HP: 2800, MP: 280 Absorbs: Fire, Nullify: Poison, Wind, Earth, Water Weakness: Ice, Lightning, Holy Status: Reflect, Float Special: !Hit: Attack x 1.5 Sketch : !Hit (rare), Attack (common) Vulnerable to: KO, Doom, Berserk, Confuse, Stop Attacks: Attack, Fira, Firaga3, Doom, Roulette, Fireball The big sparkle's name is Nelapa. He gets 10 out of 10 for style, but minus one billion for good thinking. I mean, here you are, with a timer quickening your pace, and he thinks it's a good idea to cast Doom on the party. It's like: "If I give them TWO timers simultaneously, they'll have to move TWO times as fast!" If this is what Japanese logic is all about, I fail to see how they even managed to make this game work. Then again, it *is* the most bugged game currently mapped, so I guess that still doesn't say much. Anyway, being a pompous annoyance "Mwa-ha-ha... You thinkg I'm going to let you escape?" and after casting Doom on the party, he will now try to attack you. I very much doubt he won't be looking like a kitten that just came out of your microwave at this point, but let's give this guy some credit and assume that he's still standing. He can use Attack, Fira, Firaga, and Fireball. Very spooky. Firaga actually hurts a bit. Now HERE'S a hoot: If you hit Nelapa with six Attack commands, he'll use Roulette. Next to the fact that Roulette can actually take Nelapa himself down, the mere thought that Nelapa could even survive six Attacks is laughable by itself. You'd need a Healing Rod or a rat-flail or something in order to pull that off. Anyway, back to not insulting this guy into submission (although you could). He's weak to Lightning AND Ice AND Holy. He's also Floating. Just make sure you keep in the back of your mind this guy is inherently Reflective, which means you'll need to resort to your skills and summon attacks. There are literally hundreds of ways to off this guy, and they're all very easy. Gau's Mu Rage can enSnare him for a one-hit KO, as can a fatal Chainsaw attack. Bouncing a few Rasp spells off yourself will kill him. Bouncing a Death spell off yourself will kill it. You can confuse him; you don't get any more pathetic than that. Just use your strongest attacks, be it Gigavolt, or Aura Cannon, or Diamond Dust, or what have you. Nelapa has 2800 HP. If you played your cards right, you were doing 2800 in one attack back there against Ultima Weapon. Once you've beaten Nelapa, you can walk over to the edge and the Blackjack will appear under you. The airship's below. Jump! Wait. But Shadow is still back there! If you choose to Jump!!, the entire Floating Continent will come crashing down with Shadow on it and you will never, ever see him again. If you choose to Wait!!, you'll do nothing and you'll get the option Jump! Gotta wait for Shadow... every time you walk up the ledge. You'll want to keep standing there. He might still show up. And he does, once the timer hits 0:04 Shadow will appear, make a smart remark in the middle of the Tempest of Destruction and Doom you find yourself in, and will jump down on the Blackjack with you. If you were goofing off in the menu during 0:04 he still appears if you get out of it between 0:04 and 0:01, but if you wait until time runs out you're just going down. So, Shadow was going to sacrifice himself to save the planet. Only: a) he doesn't sacrifice himself and b) the planet isn't saved. In the next cutscene, a lot of bad things happen. Congratulations. You try to rally in the esper troops from behind the Sealed Gate; you send them on a murderous rampage. You try to talk peacefully to them; you deliver them straight to Kefka. You try to stop Gestahl; you destroy the world. A competent bunch of heroes, these Returners. Real smart. Planet: I'm apocalypsing! As a side note, due to a bug you now receive the equipment of the generic Moogle Kamog, one of the Moogles that helped you rescue Terra way in the beginning. This means you win a Boomerang and a Buckler. For free! This is the end of the World of Balance walkthrough. Right now the GBA version of the second half isn't done yet, but the second half of my SNES walkthrough can be found here: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/final_fantasy_iii_l_2.txt ********************************** 5.0 Menus and Game Options: As boring as a concrete floor in math class ********************************** Table of Contents: 5.1 Item 5.2 Abilities 5.3 Equip 5.4 Relics 5.5 Status 5.6 Formation 5.7 Config 5.8 Quicksave 5.9 Save The large screen will feature your character(s). The one highest on the list is the character you'll see walking around when you're controlling the team. Next to a menu portrait which is directly based off of Yoshitaka Amano's concept artwork, you'll see status icons if they are affected by them, Level info, maximum and current HP and current and maximum MP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.1 Item ********************************** There are three functions within Item. You'll start off in Use, where you're able to select and possibly use an item. When moving the cursor on an item, a short description of its use will appear in the second text box. If it's an actual Item (meaning it has no symbol in front of it), a Tool or a Scroll there's nothing you can do with it but move it around. If it's anything else, you'll be able to learn more about it by selecting it and pressing the A button (i.e. , pressing it twice). By doing this, you'll enter a screen which tells you: If it's a weapon, the 'Damage type', e.a. the element it attacks with (if any) and the characters who can equip it. Hitting A again tells you if it's compatible with Bushido, Runic and/or Two-handed (Gauntlet's effect) and its stat boosts (which includes Attack). If it's a shield, helmet, piece of armor or relic, the elemental properties of it, divided over Halves, Absorbs, Negates (0 damage) and Increases (200 % damage). Hitting A again tells you its stat boosts. By pressing R you can jump 18 Items down; by pressing L you'll jump 18 items up. Sort lets you automatically arrange all the items in your inventory, sorting them out and putting them together in the following fashion: Items - Shuriken - Scrolls - Daggers - Ninja blades - Swords - Spears - Katanas - Rods - Brushes - Special - Gambler weapons - Claws - Shields - Helmets - Armor - Tools - Relics Rare simply allows you to view the Rare, Key Items you have obtained during your quest. You can't really use Rare Items but they'll be used in events/are necessary to continue, have plot-related value, etcetera. You can select the different Rare Items and marvel at their descriptions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.2 Abilities ********************************** In the second text box you'll see the same info you saw in the menu screen; statuses, Level, HP/MP info. Also, you'll see the name of the esper equipped here, if an esper is equipped. To the top-left there's a list of skills. They are only available if the character you selected can actually use the skill. Espers is always available. When moving the cursor on an esper, you'll notice that in the bottom text box you'll see a short description of their summon attack and the amount of MP required to summon the esper. By selecting an esper you'll learn about the spells he/she/it teaches, the Learning Rate by which it does so and how well you're underway to learning the spell (obviously, 100 % means you can use it). TO UNEQUIP AN ESPER, SIMPLY CHOOSE AN EMPTY SLOT. In the Magic menu, provided the character in question knows any, you can take a look at all the spells the character knows. If they are simple and white you can use them right now; spells which are usable outside of battle include: Float (to set the Float status, can be MT'd in the menu by pressing L or R) Imp (to set or lift the Imp status) Teleport (to Teleport out of dungeons outside of battle) Dispel (to remove Float, as that is its only use outside of battle) Cure, Cura and Curaga (for healing) Raise and Arise (for reviving) Poisona (to cure the Poison status) Remedy (to cure Darkness, Poison and Petrify) Spells not yet fully learned have a percentage behind them. If you haven't even bothered trying to learn the spell and are stuck at 0 % the spell won't even appear, otherwise the percentage indicates how far you're on your way. Bushido allows you to BEHOLD! This is where you could change the Bushido names in the Japanese version for the Super Famicom, but the American version just shows the Bushido moves to you and gives a slight description. Blitz allows you to view the button combination necessary for the Blitz attacks. Lore gives you all the Lores Strago and Gogo can use with their respective MP cost. A full Lore list looks like this: Doom Roulette Tsunami Aqua Breath Aero 1000 Needles Mighty Guard Revenge Blast White Wind Lv. 5 Death Lv. 4 Flare Lv. 3 Confuse Reflect ??? Lv. ? Holy Traveler Force Field Dischord Bad Breath Transfusion Rippler Stone Quasar Grand Delta Self-Destruct Rage lists all the Rages you have collected. Nothing more. Skip through them by 10 at a time with L and R if you want to. Dance simply lists the Dances available to Mog and Gogo while giving a short description. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.3 Equip ********************************** You can multi-target the Equip feature by pressing 'left'. Selecting it while MT'd will get you the equipment and relics of all characters, but you can't change them. This is the only way to see equipment from PC's whose equipment you're restricted from altering (such as the Moogles, Leo, etc.). When ST'd, you enter a screen of the character selected and his equipment. In this screen, you can press L or R to switch between characters. With Equip, you get to select a new piece of equipment for one of the four slots. With Optimize, your equipment will be automatically decided. The decision is based on Attack for weapons and Defense for Shields, Helmets, and Armor. There are 10 items that are never equipped with Optimum; these include Blood Sword, Soul Sabre, Ultima Weapon, Impartisan, Healing Rod, Cursed Shield, Tortoise Shield, Thornlet, Saucer and Reed Cloak, all because their Attack/Defense stat doesn't say anything about their actual nature in-battle (except for Thornlet, but with that inherent Sap, who wants to equip it anyway?). With Remove you can remove a piece of equipment. If a character has no weapons, he or she automatically obtains the semi-weapon of his or her Fists, which add 10 to his or her Attack. With Remove All, you automatilly de-equip the character of all pieces of equipment, not counting Relics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.4 Relics ********************************** Like with Equip, you can multi-target it to access the Equipment and Relics of all character without being able to change it. ST'd, you get to appoint new Relics with Equip and remove them with Remove. You can press L or R to switch between characters. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.5 Status ********************************** All information about your character's current situation is displayed with Status. Over the screen, the following information is shown: Name Class Level Current HP and maximum HP Current MP and maximum MP Status effects currently set Amount of Experience Points needed to obtain the next level Amount of Experience Points gained so far Commands Stats Pressing A will get you to the next screen, where equipment, relics and the junctioned esper is shown Like Equip and Relics, you can switch between characters with L & R. Gogo can alter its command in the Status screen, setting and confirming its commands with 'Select'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.6 Formation ********************************** Formation is a GBA-only command. Selecting it will allow you to take your cursor to the left screen and switch around character. This way you can switch the leading party member and put the characters in the Front or Back Row, which is the one they'll start each battle with. The 'Cancel' button allows you to leave the Order function. Formation's a rather useless addition. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.7 Config ********************************** - Battle Mode There are two types of Battle Mode: Active and Wait. When Battle Mode is set to Active, all characters and monsters with automatic AI scripts - Umaro, Berserked/Confused/Zombie characters, Ragers, Dancers, all monsters unless affected by Control, etcetera - will take actions while you are busy selecting stuff from in-battle menus. When Battle Mode is set to Wait, ATB Gauges will stop when you are selecting a spell/skill/whatever from in-game menus. Unless you have three automatic characters and one character with an extensive menu list - and that's only Throw and Rage -, you'll want to stick to Wait. - Battle Speed You'd expect a general Battle Speed-affecting option to actually affect the entire battle, no? In fact, all that Battle Speed does is control the rate at which monster ATB Gauges fill up. You could say that Battle Speed is more a difficulty-level option. Note that 1 is by no means 'Hard', but 6 is simply 'even easier'. - Battle Messages Does NOT handle out-battle text and in-battle dialogue, much to the surprise of well-thinking individuals. The only thing Message Speed controls is the amount of time attack names are seen in-battle when they are used. With Setzer's Slot becoming completely unrigged during the period Battle Messages are shown, it'd be positive for the Slot command to set this to 6. - Command Settings You can play this game with a 'Shortcut' menu. The 'Shortcut' feature itself adds very little to the game, allowing you to select a command with only a single directional button (as opposed to the maximum of three) but you get to customize the location of the four commands as soon as you're done picking 'Shortcut', and these changes affect the Window version menu too (put the Attack command in slot #3 in Short, it'll also be in slot #3 in Window). With 'Window', you'll get the Attack Dance Magic Items lay-out, and with the 'Shortcut' version you will get a Attack Dance Magic Items lay-out. Whatever gets you hot, I suppose. - ATB Gauge This handles the ATB Gauge of the game. Turning the option 'On' will show you the progress of the ATB bar in-battle for you. Turning it 'Off' will leave it off, making room for the maximum HP next to current HP for your characters: 349/1509 (current HP/max HP) I prefer turning the Gauge on as it's the default option, and I've always played like this; both options have their merits though, so it's up to you. - Reequip There are certain Relics that force your equipment to be re-decided when you equip or de-equip them. These Relics are the Merit Award, Gauntlet, and Genji Glove. The Re-equip option lets you decide in what fashion this is done: With Optimize, your equipment will be automatically decided. The decision is based on Attack for weapons and Defense for Shields, Helmets, and Armor. There are 10 items that are never equipped with Optimum; these include Blood Sword, Soul Sabre, Ultima Weapon, Impartisan, Healing Rod, Cursed Shield, Tortoise Shield, Thornlet, Saucer and Reed Cloak, all because their Attack/Defense stat doesn't say anything about their actual nature in-battle (except for Thornlet, but with that inherent Sap, who wants to equip it anyway?). With Remove All, you'll be free to pick as the character once again starts with an empty list. - Cursor Position When setting the Cursor Position to Remember, the game will remember what action you took and set the cursor for that character at that very command, so you don't need to select Throw and then search for those Shurikens; the cursor will just start on Throw, and after being selected, start on Shuriken. Advised, especially when you're working with an Active Battle Mode. When you set Cursor to Reset, it does none of the above and simply rests on the first command in your character menu. You can press A to go down a list to acces even more options. - Magic Order Changes the order of your spells. Here are the possibilities: 1: Healing, Attack, Effect 2: Healing, Effect, Attack 3: Attack, Effect, Healing 4: Attack, Healing, Effect 5: Effect, Healing, Attack 6: Effect, Attack, Healing The traditional, default setting is #1 and the way the data in the game is governed is true to #3. It doesn't really matter what you do. - Window Pattern Lets you select a background for out-battle dialogue, menus and in-battle spell and event announcements. There's not a lot to say as you can see for yourself what it all looks like; the only thing I can add is that I really, really hope nobody has ever finished the game while using Window #8 :) - Font Color This allows you to alter all the colors of the letters in your windows. It works with the traditional fail-proof mixing and matching of 32 shades of Red (R), Green (G) and Blue (B). 0 means nothing, 31 is the hardest/brightest shade of the color. If you don't like the changes you've made, you can always reset back to Default by pressing 'Select'. - Window Color This allows you to alter all the colors in your window of choice. It works with the traditional fail-proof mixing and matching of 32 shades of Red (R), Green (G) and Blue (B). 0 means nothing, 31 is the hardest/brightest shade of the color. If you don't like the changes you've made, you can always reset back to Default by pressing 'Select'. - Bestiary This new feature displays a list of all the enemies you've encountered so far and the number of that type of enemy you've managed to kill. You need to have killed at least one of that type of enemy to make it appear in the Bestiary; fleeing the battle are causing it to flee/end the battle will not make it appear. The three yellow stars indicate that you haven't looked at that specific type of creature yet. There are some enemies that will not appear in the Bestiary. These include: Doberman (dog guards in the Imperial Camp) Typhon (Colloseum version) Darkside (Security Check Point enemy) Specter (Security Check Point enemy) Eukaryote (Security Check Point enemy) Guardian (invincible) Merchant (Locke's scenario) Soldier (Imperial Camp enemy) Officer (Imperial Camp enemy) Cadet (Locke's scenario) All four Glutturns (Soul Shrine) Opening the Bestiary and selecting a monster will display, over three pages: First page: Number Slain, Level, HP, MP, Attack, Defense, Evasion, Magic, Magic Defense, Magic Evasion, Gil earned when killed, Exp given when killed, Steal (rare on top, common below), Drops (rare on top, common below). Second page: Elemental Attributes Third page: Type (Humanoid and Undead) and Status Immunities You can switch between monsters with L and R. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.8 Quicksave ********************************** The Quicksave feature saves your game in the quicksave slot, which is cleared the moment you load from the quicksave slot. Though with quicksave you can't keep a certain position around for you to load from over and over, the advantage of Quicksave is that you can save anywhere without needing a Save Point if you want to take quick break. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5.9 Save ********************************** There are three Save files. A star indicates that you have concluded the final battle at least once. All other things are self-explainary. ********************************** 6.0 The Characters. Poor saps. ********************************** Table of Contents: 6.1 Terra Branford 6.2 Locke Cole 6.3 Mog 6.4 Edgar Roni Figaro 6.5 Sabin Rene Figaro 6.6 Cyan Garamonde 6.7 Setzer Gabbiani 6.8 Shadow 6.9 Gau 6.10 Celes Chere 6.11 Relm Arrowny 6.12 Strago Magus 6.13 Emperor Gestahl 6.14 Kefka Palazzo 6.15 Cid del Norte Marguez 6.16 Leo Cristophe 6.17 Banon This section misses information on two characters, which are listed in the second half of this walkthrough. Right now the GBA version of the second half isn't done yet, but the SNES version can be found here: http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/final_fantasy_iii_l_2.txt Table of Contents: 6.18 Gogo 6.19 Umaro The following data contains spoilers about their history and current situation. It doesn't so much spoil the story though, as everything listed here already happened before the game starts off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.1 Terra Branford ********************************** Terra (original name: Tina) Branford Magitek Elite Strength 31 Speed 33 Stamina 28 Magic 39 Attack 12 Defense 42 Evasion 5 % Magic Defense 33 Magic Evasion 7 % Equipment: Sword, Helmet, Armor Starting equipment: R-Hand Mythril Knife L-Hand Buckler Head Leather Cap Body Leather Armor Age: 18 Height: 5'7" Weight: 105 lbs. Birthdate: October 18 Blood Type: ?? Hometown: The esper World Treasure: A broken piece of Magicite Likes: Animals Dislikes: Crowded places Often pets Moogles. Terra's past is a dark one indeed. Conceived by the esper Maduin and a human girl called Madeline who one day stumbled into the esper World, Terra is unique in being the only half-esper in existence. At the tender age of two, Imperial forces invaded the esper World, killed Terra's mother Madeline, and took Maduin away to be experimented upon. From that day on, Terra was raised as a biological weapon to work for the Empire, and has never left the laboratories of Vector until she is dispatched for the very first time on a mission in Narshe... - Both general Leo and Celes have known about Terra's existence. - At early development stages, Terra was designed to be male, and she would perish at the end of the game. Special skill: Trance. [TRANCE-LINK] When Terra uses Trance, she turns into her esper form for a while, tapping into the awesome power of these beings. When Terra is in Trance, she will do twice as much physical and magical damage, and take 50 % damage from all non-barrier-piercing magical attacks. Being in Trance is only temporary, and will wear out in time. The length of the time she can stay in Trance depends on the amount of Magic AP she receives (unlike other characters, she will also receive MagicAP if she isn't equipped with an esper or piece of equipment that teaches spells). The minimum value of the Trance bar is 00, the maximum 256. Her Trance bar will increase with Magic AP gained * 2. You can't Trance if the Trance bar has value 16 or lower. When in Trance, the Trance bar gets more complicated: the entire time you can Trance is set to 65535, and is slowly reduced by the outcome of the following formula: ((65535 / Trance duration counter) / 8) + 1 Spoilers ahoy: In the WoR, you have to find her two times before she agrees to join you. In the second time, she'll save your ass against Humbaba. During this fight she is continuously under the effect of Trance. After the fight, her control over her esper form is much better, which results in a much more positive Trance bar: ((65535 / Trance duration counter) / 16) + 1 In other words, her Trance bar effectively becomes twice as slow. Long story in one sentence: Terra gains Trance energy from Magic AP and loses it when she's in Trance status, so try to save up on your Trance energy for particularly tough battles. Terra is also one of the two characters that learn natural Magic: Level 1 - Cure Level 3 - Fire Level 6 - Poisona Level 12 - Drain Level 18 - Raise Level 22 - Fira Level 26 - Teleport Level 33 - Cura Level 37 - Dispel Level 43 - Firaga Level 49 - Arise Level 57 - Holy Level 68 - Break Level 75 - Graviga Level 86 - Meltdown Level 99 - Ultima ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6.2 Locke Cole ********************************** Locke (original name: Lock) Cole Adventurer Strength 37 Speed 40 Stamina 31 Magic 28 Attack 14 Defense 46 Evasion 15 % Magic Defense 23 Magic Evasion 2 % Equipment: Dagger, Sword, Plain Sword, Helmet, Light Mail Starting equipment: R-Hand Dagger L-Hand Head Leather Cap Body Leather Armor Age: 25 Height: 5'9" Weight: 147 lbs. Birthdate: November 24 Blood Type: O Hometown: ?? Treasure: Bandana Likes: Maps Dislikes: Mushrooms Often takes naps in open fields What we know of Locke Cole's past starts in Kohlingen, where he had a relationship with Rachel, a girl he also went on expeditions with. One time, however, Locke almost tumbled down a pathway that broke away underneath him. Rachel saved him, but opened her eyes with a severe case of amnesia. Her parents blamed Locke for this, and as Rachel didn't know any better, she kindly asked Locke to leave as he was upsetting her parents. Locke, with a broken heart, left. Rachel regained her memory just before an Imperial attack on Kohlingen (which, surprisingly, apparently didn't work out as Kohlingen at no point in the game is occupied), where she was killed. Before she died, however, she said: "If a man named Locke returns, please tell him I love him..." When Locke heard this, he devoted his life to bringing her back from the dead. There are legends of a hidden treasure that has the power to restore life. It's in Imperial hands though, and Locke joins the Returners in an effort to make something out of his life during his search for this ancient relic. In the Returners, Locke Cole is the link between Banon and Edgar, king of Figaro and a spy in the Empire. - There is no in-game representation or explanation about his hate for mushrooms whatsoever. Allergy? - At early development stages, Locke Cole was supposed to be a much more angsty character than he turned out to be. - Also, his special skill would have been Runic rather than Steal, which would have made no sense whatsoever. Special skill: Steal [STEAL-LINK] Steal allows a character to, you know, steal. Each monster has two slots in which they can carry items. One slot holds the item you'll most commonly see being stolen, which is generally called the 'common steal'. The other item is the one you'll want, and this is the 'rare steal'. Locke has, when he successfully steals, an 87.5 % chance of going for the common steal, and a 12.5 % chance of going for the rare steal. If one of these spaces is empty, it *will* be ignored in the decision between the two items. If the common steal slot is empty, you're already looking at a 7/8-miss chance before the success rate is decided. Your Steal attempts won't always be successful. Remember, it is the opponent's interest to keep hold of its belongings. The chance of Steal working depends entirely on your level and the opponent's level. Speed is no issue, so raising it won't increase the success rate of Steal. What will make for a better thief is the Thief's Bracer. The Thief's Bracer doubles your chances at stealing. It won't stack with another Thief's Bracer (the +5 on Speed will, but the special effect won't). Steal will let you steal all sorts of items: Healing potions, weapons, armor, relics, you name it. What you can't steal: vital body parts, girlfriends, money, dignity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.3 Mog ********************************** Mog Moogle Strength 29 (Nintendo's Final Fantasy III Player's Guide falsely claims it's 12) Speed 36 (Nintendo's Final Fantasy III Player's Guide falsely claims it's 14) Stamina 26 (Nintendo's Final Fantasy III Player's Guide falsely claims it's 33) Magic 35 (Nintendo's Final Fantasy III Player's Guide falsely claims it's 12) Attack 16 Defense 52 Evasion 10 % Magic Defense 36 Magic Evasion 12 % Equipment: Spear, Hat, Light Armor Starting equipment: R-Hand Mythril Spear L-Hand Mythril Shield Head Body Age: 11 Height: 4'0" Weight: 95 lbs. Birthdate: May 11 Bloodtype: ?? Hometown: Narshe Treasure: The crystal ball given to him by his lover, Molulu Likes: People who pet him Dislikes: People who pull his tail or the red ball on his head Often sings and dances Mog, as a mascot and optional character save for the very beginning, doesn't have a lot of story going for him. We know Mog is male, that he has a girlfriend named Molulu, and that he's living in the caves near Narshe, not bothering much with people's affairs. On occasion, he feeds the Yeti who lives in the area. - Mog is the official mascot of the game, and many more Moogles with the name Mog or a variation on it have appeared in other Final Fantasy games. Mog starred in the very first Final Fantasy III (at the time) commercial, zapping enemies he deemed unfit for apperance in the fine game. Special skill: Dance [DANCE-LINK] By using the Dance command, Mog can use the power of the terrain around him. There are eight Dances, each in correspondence with a type of terrain. To learn a Dance, Mog must have completed a battle fighting with a proper background. If he or Gogo himself changes the background (I'll get into that in a bit) he won't learn the Dance. He can be dead by the end of the battle, you can even drag his lifeless body through a battle. Doesn't matter, he'll learn the Dance. Maybe going face-down in the dirt gets him in touch with nature or something zen-esque like that (note: zen teachings in no way involve being dragged face-down through the dirt). There are eight Dances: Wind Rhapsody (grasslands and plains of the Overworld Map) Forest Nocturne (forests of the Overworld Map, Phantom Forest) Desert Lullaby (deserts of the Overworld Map) Love Serenade (towns and houses; Zozo, the Imperial Palace, the Ancient Castle) Earth Blues (slopes of Mt. Koltz, Floating Continent) Water Harmony (Serpent Trench, Lete River) Twilight Requiem (caves) Snowman Rondo (snowfields) All Dances have four moves listed, with different odds of being used: Wind Rhapsody 7/16 43.75 % Wind Slash - MT Wind-elemental attack 6/16 37.5 % Sunbath - MT healing move 2/16 12.5 % Plasma - ST Lightning-elemental attack 1/16 6.25 % Cockatrice - ST barrier-piercing non-elemental attack that also sets Petrify. Misses if target is protected from one-hit KO attacks. Forest Nocturne 7/16 43.75 % Leaf Swirl - MT non-elemental attack 6/16 37.5 % Forest Healing - MT move that removes Dark, Poison, Petrify, Silence, Confuse, Sap, Sleep, Slow and Stop 2/16 12.5 % Will o' the Wisp - ST Fire-elemental attack 1/16 6.25 % Wombat - ST non-elemental barrier-piercing attack. Doesn't hit Floating targets Desert Lullaby 7/16 43.75 % Sandstorm - MT Wind-elemental attack 6/16 37.5 % Antlion - ST attack that sets KO, prevents final counters. 2/16 12.5 % Wind Slash - MT Wind-elemental attack 1/16 6.25 % Meercat - MT move that sets Haste on all characters Love Serenade 7/16 43.75 % Will o' the Wisp - ST Fire-elemental attack 6/16 37.5 % Apparition - ST attack that sets Confuse 2/16 12.5 % Snare - ST attack that sets KO, prevents final counters 1/16 6.25 % Tapir - MT move that removes Darkness, Zombie, Poison, Imp, Petrify, Doom, Silence, Berserk, Confuse, Sap, Sleep, Slow and Stop; also restores HP and MP back to full when the target has the Sleep status. Earth Blues 7/16 43.75 % Rock Slide - ST non-elemental barrier-piercing attack 6/16 37.5 % Sonic Boom - ST attack that deals (current HP * 0.625) damage. Also sets Sap 2/16 12.5 % Sunbath - MT healing move 1/16 6.25 % Boar Brigade - ST non-elemental barrier-piercing attack. Doesn't hit Floating targets Water Harmony 7/16 43.75 % El Niņo - MT Water-elemental attack 6/16 37.5 % Plasma - ST Lightning-elemental attack 2/16 12.5 % Apparition - ST attack that sets Confuse 1/16 6.25 % Racoon - MT healing attack, removes all status ailments. Dusk Requiem 7/16 43.75 % Cave In - ST attack that deals (current HP * 0.75) damage. Also sets Sap 6/16 37.5 % Snare - ST attack that sets KO, prevents final counters 2/16 12.5 % Will o' the Wisp - ST Fire-elemental attack 1/16 6.25 % Poisonous Frog - ST Poison-elemental attack, also sets Poison Snowman Rondo 7/16 43.75 % Snowball - ST attack that deals (current HP * 0.5) damage. Also sets Sap 6/16 37.5 % Avalanche - MT Ice-elemental attack 2/16 12.5 % Snare - ST attack that sets KO, prevents final counters 1/16 6.25 % Arctic Hare - MT healing move Every battle is 'home terrain' to one Dance; you could learn the Dance in the battle, and when executing the Dance in this area Mog will never fail. If you try to use a Dance other than the one learned by the area, there's a 50 % chance Mog will stumble, aka do nothing that turn other than falling down. If you do manage to execute the Dance in alien surroundings, the background will change to accommodate the new Dance (if the Water Harmony is successfully executed in the desert, the background will change to an underwater battlefield). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.4 Edgar Roni Figaro ********************************** Edgar Roni Figaro Machinist Strength 39 Speed 30 Stamina 34 Magic 29 Attack 20 Defense 50 Evasion 4 % Magic Defense 22 Magic Evasion 1 % Equipment: Spear, Sword, Knight Sword, Helmet, Armor Starting equipment: R-Hand Mythril Sword L-Hand Buckler Head Leather Cap Body Leather Armor Age: 27 Height: 6'0" Weight: 169 lbs. Birthdate: August 16 Blood Type: O Hometown: Figaro Treasure: Two-headed coin Likes: Ladies Dislikes: Lectures and the people who give them Often creates odd weapons and redecorates his room Edgar Roni Figaro has been born a prince to the throne of Figaro, together with his twin brother Sabin Rene Figaro. His mother died at childbirth. At the age of 14, Edgar participated in the 'hunting of the Antlion', a Figaro rite of passage into adulthood. With the help of his brother, he succeeded. When Edgar was 17, the Empire poisoned his father, Stewart Remy Figaro. At this point, Sabin decided he wanted out of his role as the next successor of the throne, and Edgar proposed a coin toss. Picking "heads" for Sabin, he threw a coin with on one side his own face, and on the other side Sabin's. For the dense among you; he was cheating, making sure that Sabin would win. Sabin accepted his victory and ran away, leaving Edgar as the new king of Figaro. As the king, he has no choice but to play nice when the Empire is looking. In the meantime, Edgar hasn't forgotten which nation had his father murdered, and collaborates with the Returners. - At the age of 15, Edgar got into trouble for hitting on the wife of his uncle. - Gold is the color of sand, blue the color of water. This is why Edgar always dresses in yellow and blue. - Blue eyes are a sign of nobility in Figaro, which is a good thing for Edgar as his eyes are so blue it's downright creepy. Special skill: Tools [TOOLS-LINK] Edgar has eight different Tools he can use, but you'll have to acquire them first. One Tool is enough; multiple copies of the same Tool have no added effect, and Tools will never break or wear out. Auto Crossbow - MT physical, non-elemental damage Noiseblaster - MT, sets Confuse on all targets Bioblaster - MT magical, poison-elemental attack that sets Poison Flash - MT magical, non-elemental damage that sets Darkness Drill - ST physical, barrier-piercing damage Chainsaw - ST physical, barrier-piercing damage. Has a 25 % chance of trying to set KO without dealing damage Debilitator - Adds an elemental weakness to a single target Air Anchor - Sets KO to a single target upon the next turn ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.5 Sabin Rene Figaro ********************************** Sabin (original: Mash/Matthew) Rene Figaro Monk Strength 47 Speed 37 Stamina 39 Magic 28 Attack 26 Defense 53 Evasion 12 % Magic Defense 21 Magic Evasion 4 % Equipment: Knuckles, Hat, Light Armor Starting equipment: R-Hand Metal Knuckles L-Hand Head Leather Cap Body Kenpo Gi Age: 27 Height: 6'3" Weight: 233 lbs. Birthdate: August 16 Blood Type: O Hometown: Figaro Treasure: Two-headed coin Likes: Nuts Dislikes: Nut-Eaters (a specific kind of weak monster resembling a squirrel) Often trains. Sabin Rene Figaro has been born a prince to the throne of Figaro, together with his twin brother Edgar Roni Figaro. His mother died at childbirth. At the young age of 3, Sabin is attacked by a Nut-Eater (a squirrel-like monster), and he developed a severe disliking for them. At the age of 8, Sabin became very ill, which is a trend in the family. To restore his health and build up resistance, Sabin began his physical training (not under Duncan yet, though). At the age of 14, he succeeded in passing into adulthood by catching an Antlion with his brother Edgar, even though Sabin was very ill. At the age of 17, his father died. Sabin took this very poorly. He developed hatred for the Empire and for those who were already busy with the preparation of the installment of the new successor. He told his brother he had enough and wanted to leave. Edgar suggested a coin toss, and picked "heads" for Sabin. Sabin never knew that Edgar cheated in the coin-toss, throwing a double-headed coin ensuring victory for Sabin. Sabin won and left the castle. After a certain period of time, he met master Duncan, who accepted him as his pupil in the martial arts. - His original Japanese name is supposedly derived from the apostle Matthew. Special skill: Blitz [BLITZ-LINK] Sabin can execute the Blitz attacks by means of pressing the correct button sequence. Blitz attacks are learned by gaining levels: Level 1 - Raging Fist - ST physical, non-elemental barrier-piercing attack Level 6 - Aura Cannon - ST magical, Pearl-elemental attack Level 10 - Meteor Strike* - ST physical, non-elemental barrier-piercing attack Level 15 - Rising Phoenix - MT magical, Fire-elemental attack Level 23 - Chakra - Heals all characters but the caster for the amount of the caster's current HP / number of characters. Level 30 - Razor Gale - MT magical, Wind-elemental attack Level 42 - Soul Spiral - Heals all characters and removes negative status effects. Kills caster Level 70 - Phantom Rush - ST magical, non-elemental barrier-piercing attack The Blitz techniques can be executed as follows: Raging Fist: Left, Right, Left Aura Cannon: Down, Down/Left, Left Meteor Strike: R, L, Down, Up Rising Phoenix: Left, Left/Down, Down, Down/Right, Right Chakra: R, L, R, L, Up, Down Razor Gale: Up, Up/Right, Right, Right/Down, Down, Down/Left, Left Soul Spiral: R, L, Up, Down, Right, Left Phantom Rush: Left, Left/Up, Up, Up/Right, Right, Right/Down, Down, Down/Left, Left An alternate way to do Blitzes which most people find more fail-proof and easier to input, is by converting the diagonals into double arrow input. This means for four of the Blitz techniques the following: Aura Cannon : Down, Down, Left Rising Phoenix : Left, Left, Down, Down, Right Razor Gale : Up, Up, Right, Right, Down, Down, Left Phantom Rush : Left, Left, Up, Up, Right, Right, Down, Down, Left ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Meteor Strike is a special attack that needs its own paragraph. It has its own "immune to Meteor Strike" byte in the game so it deserves it. Meteor Strike deals double damage when only one opponent is around. Code-wise, it would be better to say that it deals half damage when more than one opponent is on the battlefield. However, since Meteor Strike can never target more than one opponent at a time, it would seem like it deals double damage when only target is around, and that's also how at least one Square-approved piece of media depicts it. Furthermore, there are quite a few monsters that cannot be struck by Meteor Strike at all. Al Jabr, Apocrypha, Angel Whisper, Mu, Lesser Lopros, Fossil Dragon, Fiend Dragon, Darkwind, Vulture, Vasegiatta, Trapper, Hornet, Nettlehopper, Trillium, Vampire Thorn, Slagworm, Typhon, Sky Armor, Satellite, Spritzer, Outcast, Brainpan, Bomb, Still Life, Lunatys, Mover, Aspiran, Ghost, Darkside, Urok, Joker, Devil, Provoker, Peeper, Wyvern, Zombie Dragon, Cirpius, Lenergia, Marchosias, Dropper, Rock Wasp, Grasswyrm, Paraladia, Schmidt, Landworm, Chaser, Poplium, Misfit, Grenade, Pandora, Parasite, Moonform, Specter, Bonnacon, Outsider, Zeveak, Nightwalker, Knotty, Caladrius, Eukaryote, Land Grillon, Black Dragon, Platinum Dragon, Psychos, Shambling Corpse, Balloon, Spitfire, Lich, Rukh, Galypdes, Junk, Mandrake, Necromancer, Clymenus, Baalzephon, Ahriman, Mega Armor, Vargas, Shiva, Ifrit, Number 128, Inferno, Crane, Crane, Air Force, Valigarmanda, Ultima Weapon, Tentacle x4, Deathgaze, Chadarnook, Fiend, Goddess, Demon, Kefka, Ultros, Siegfried, Kefka (Narshe), Storm Dragon, Skull Dragon, Opinicus Fish, Rhizopas, Naude, Zone Eater, Ultima Buster That's quite a list. What you need to remember is this, though: Meteor Strike picks an opponent from the ground and slams it, after leaping in the air, back into it. Logic tells us that, for instance, flying enemies can't be picked up from the ground. In summary, you can be almost entirely sure your Meteor Strike attempt will fail if the opponent is: (PL means 'palette swap', meaning the sprite is the same, the colors (palette) is different) - Emerging from the ground in one way or another (Mu PL, Slagworm PL, Urok PL, Fossil Dragon PL, Trillium PL, Apocrypha PL, Cranes, Ultros 1, Fiend, Goddess, Demon, Tentacles) - Attached to the wall or ceiling (Trapper PL, Still Life, Chadarnook) - Attached to other 'monsters' (Number 128, Inferno, the four blades that go with these bosses, Air Force, Laser Gun, Missile Bay, all targets in the final battle. - Obviously flying as opposed to floating opponents (Joker PL, Lesser Lopros PL, Darkwind PL, Vulture PL, Marchosias PL, Hornet PL, Nettlehopper PL, Sky Armor PL, Satellite PL, Ahriman, Speck, Deathgaze, Kefka) - Weird opponents of which you kinda guessed they flew but couldn't be really sure of (Angel Whisper PL, Sprizter PL, Outcast PL, Bomb PL, Lunatys PL, Aspiran PL, Mover, Ghost PL, Naude PL, Utlima Weapon PL) - Fish throwing themselves out of a waterfall just to bite you in the knee (Opinicus Fish PL) - Miscellaneous: Typhon, Brainpan, Moonform, Outsider, Baalzephon, Mega Armor, Vargas, Shiva, Ifrit, Valigarmanda, Ultros, Siegfried, Kefka (Narshe) If you command Sabin to use Meteor Strike in a monster formation which contains monsters both susceptible and immune to Meteor Strike, Sabin will always go for the targets he can Meteor Strike; in other words, Sabin will never miss unless he really can't get anything done with Meteor Strike. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phantom Rush can be learned at level 70, but also through a plot-related event. Spoilers ahoy: In the WoR, you can find Duncan training by himself near Narshe. Enter his house by finding the five trees that form a cross and enter the middle one. By bringing Sabin, you'll see a cutscene in which Sabin completes his training. When the cutscene is over, Sabin will know Phantom Rush. He will not know any of the other Blitz techniques he has yet to acquire, though. Spoilers end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6.6 Cyan Garamonde ********************************** Cyan (original: Cayenne) Garamonde Samurai Strength 40 Speed 28 Stamina 33 (Nintendo's Final Fantasy III Player's Guide falsely claims it's 32) Magic25 Attack 25 Defense 48 Evasion 6 % Magic Defense 20 Magic Evasion 1 % Equipment: Katana, Helmet, Armor Starting equipment: R-Hand Ashura L-Hand Buckler Head Leather Cap Body Leather Armor Age: 50 Height: 5'10" Weight: 158 lbs. Birthdate: January 3 Bloodtype: A Hometown: Doma Treasure: A watch