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Final Fantasy VI Walkthrough

Written by  Djibriel
Contributor

1.1: Prelude: The Attack on Narshe

First Cave
10/16
3
6/16
1
1
Second Cave
6/16
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
2

Enemies: Guard, Lobo, Vomammoth, Were-Rat, Vaporite, Repo Man, Whelk

Narshe, a coal mining 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. Three of their most dangerous units are dispatched to claim this discovered treasure for the glory of the Empire, by any and 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.

Once you have control of the characters, open the menu and put all your characters in the Back Row. Magitek attacks, being magical beams and all, won't suffer from the 50% damage reduction of most back row attacks, but you'll be reaping the benefits of the reduced damage that hits back-row characters yourself.

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. Any offensive attack you perform at this point results in death on the other side. With this in mind, the choice is simple. If Terra comes up, have her use the multi-target Bio Blast attack. The Imperial soldiers can make themselves useful by using any of the three single-target beams; they are identical in power and are always fatal, so it doesn't matter what you do. After you've leveled a bit, you can use Terra's OCure out-battle to restore HP. Use it once with a multi-target effect and you're set. Do the same after the forced pincer attack you had to endure from the Lobo, Guard, and Guard monster formation. The next one will feature Vomammoth.

These monsters will start using Snowstorm, a multi-target Ice-elemental attack, 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 instant death on their side of the battlefield, Bio Blast works well enough as it kills all four targets instantly.

There is a minimum of two battles and maximum of five 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 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 Lobo; this is unavoidable. Past that, 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.

You're past the town of Narshe. You can be proud of yourself; you just killed a number of brave men, undoubtedly with happy lives and families. Faintly, you can hear an orphan crying. Note: you will not actually hear an orphan crying. This is not an error in the walkthrough. Don't read everything so literally.

You can pretty much blast your way through these monsters too. In the first cavern, there are Were-Rat and Repo Man, in the second, Vaporite. Were-Rat absorbs Poison, so while it may be tempting to use a multi-target spell against the largest group of enemies you're facing, don't. Vaporite absorbs Lightning, so in any battle you find one, avoid Thunder Beam like the demonic plague it is. Electricity fails at success, anyway.

A Repo Man 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. 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. will knock it down for you, but as soon as you want to continue a Narshe Guard rushes out with quite a nasty surprise...

Whelk
Whelk
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
4
50000
120
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
5
0
102
155
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: Potion
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
  

Whelk (Head)
Whelk (Head)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
6
1600
1000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
22
10
0
100
155
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
This battle is quite simple. and will alert each other about the grave importance of avoiding attacking the shell at all costs. When they're done, you can move in for your very first boss battle.

The shell and the head are two separate entities. The shell will do nothing as long as you don't attack it, but every time you deal damage, it will counter with Mega Volt. Mega Volt 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', disappearing from the battlefield. He'll keep this up for 10 seconds, and he'll pop out again.

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. Whelk should be dead by now if you fought all the battles against the Narshe guards; if not, just go for another round.

Note: If you are beyond the shame of any man, you can go for the Tincture the shell provides. Since the shell only has 120 MP, he can only use six Mega Volt 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 the Tincture and a Potion, and it'll only have cost you over an hour and your dignity. Expand Full Strategy
  
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 not long after the two soldiers grow suspicious, they are removed. 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.

1.2: Escape through the Mines

Cave
6/16
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
Monster formations: Lobo, Lobo, Marshal Vomammoth, Lobo

Enemies: Were-Rat, Vaporite, Repo Man, Lobo, Vomammoth, Marshal

Treasures: Elixir, Fenix Down, Sleeping Bag

Terra wakes up alone, scared, and confused. An old man found you in the mines and nursed you back to health, but 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.

Remember when you were in the Back Row? Let's stick to that.

When you awoke, you received two Sleeping Bags (from the old man, 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.

Remember those Magitek attacks you just did? 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.

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 Were-Rat and Vaporite 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 OFire. Out-of-battle OCure is your friend.

These monsters and monster formations seem awfully familiar, don't you think? The difference is, though, 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 Vaporite should be taken care of with a multi-target OFire spell, as should a double Were-Rat. Start the Repo Man/Vaporite battle off with an multi-target OFire spell and finish Repo Man 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 Fenix Down it now contains is nice, the RelicPod Bracelet Relic it transforms into later will be much nicer.

When you're past the two chests and the Save Point, remove Terra's DirkMithril Knife and ShieldBuckler, 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, and General Celes Chere. A cozy bunch.

Locke arrives to the game! Locke and the old man chat about bygones and memories past, while the old man takes care of some exposition. Basic points: The Empire is evil, the Returners are fighting the Empire, and Narshe should join the Returners, but right now has not done 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 menus, except for one, Mog. How bizarre. Foreshadowing?

Equip Locke with the equipment you snatched from Terra; the ShieldBuckler 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 - it should be either the Locke party or the Mog party. 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..."

There are two battles here. First, I'll talk about the battle you engage in when you meet the walking monsters. This is the Vomammoth and the Lobo formation. Aim all attacks on the Vomammoth at first, then the 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 Dusk Requiem after one battle. Have him use this Dance for the other battles, as it kills stuff dead very seriously.

Steal is a new command, and while you will eventually encounter it in other forms, at this time it's just Locke's. Let's talk a bit more about it.

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 chance of missing before the success rate is even calculated.

Even if both slots are occupied, 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 RelicSneak Ring. The Thief's Bracer doubles your chances at stealing. It won't stack with another RelicSneak Ring (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.

On to Mog! Mog's Dance skill is limited to the Dusk Requiem for now, a Dance he will learn as soon as he has fought one battle here. The Dusk Requiem will have the following random effects every turn:

7/16 Cave In - Removes 75% of target's current HP
6/16 Snare - Sets KO to a single enemy, prevents final counters
2/16 Will o' the Wisp - single-target magical, Fire-elemental attack
1/16 Pois. Frog - single-target magical, Poison-elemental attack, also sets Poison

Marshal
Marshal
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
8
420
150
350
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
60
9
0
110
140
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Potion
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poison
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Strategy
 
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 Marshal. 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 Marshal with Locke until you have stolen a DirkMithril Knife. If you have trouble with the actual 'killing' part of the Marshal 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 Dusk 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 Marshal. 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. Expand Full Strategy
  

Before you engage in the Marshal battle, remove Mog's LanceMithril Pike and ShieldMithril Shield. Equip the Shield on Locke if you're fighting the Marshal 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 excels in other areas and is exhibiting fine moral fiber in supporting her lover in battle anyway. At any rate, the RelicMoogle Charm you'll find later in the game, a Mog-exclusive Relic, is supposed to be given to him by Molulu.

1.3: Adventuring School and the Road to Figaro

Grasslands
10/16
1
6/16
2
1
Forest
10/16
2
1
6/16
2
2
Desert
5/16
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
1/16
1
3

Enemies: Lobo, Leafer, Dark Wind, Sand Ray, Araneid

Treasures: Tincture, Tonic, Sleeping Bag, Monster-in-a-box (Lobo)

It was going to happen regardless of your wishes. This is the place where the game is explained to you. 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.

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 Lobo. Have Terra Defend (press right when in the command menu) and Locke Steal until you've gotten that Tonic. You know you want it. Kill him with violence.

Find the Tincture 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 Tonic in there. Now, exit. The guy in front of the door advises you to skip Advanced Battle Tactics. What a Tonic-hogger, eh?

Should you try to enter Narshe, a Narshe guard will rush to the scene and inquire to your name. You quickly run off. 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.

Equip the newly acquired DirkMithril 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 ShieldMithril 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.

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 Tonics. If Terra comes up, a multi-target OFire spell kills everything.

Desert battles are different. In here, you'll face danger. And sand in your boots. Ahem. If you come across a double Sand Ray formation, have Locke Steal (Antidotes!) and Terra use a single-target OFire spell, which should take one down in a single hit. Repeat for the other. If, however, you come across more than two, a multi-target OFire spell followed by a physical from Locke kills. Do just that. Don't waste more than one OFire 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.

1.4: Figaro Castle

Enemies: M-TekArmor

Treasures: Antidote, Soft, Fenix Down, Tonic

You've reached Figaro Castle to find that everybody's mighty polite. There's not a whole lot to do here. Walk on. In the furthest 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 ShieldMithril Shield from him. Once you've spoken, Locke'll leave. Edgar hits on you! Oh my, I can't see that working out. After the failing of his charms, he too leaves, leaving Terra to question her... sexuality? More or less.

When controlling Terra, equip the ShieldMithril Shield on her and put her in the Front Row as well. There are two shops here, an Item shop and a Weapon shop. There's really not anything that you need to buy at the Item Shop. You could buy a Tent or two if you have the money, but you'll need 1250 Gil for the Weapon Shop. There, buy a ToolsNoiseBlaster and a ToolsBio Blaster; you have, however, already obtained an ToolsAutocrossbow 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. Make sure to find the Tonic, Antidote, Soft, and Fenix Down in the castle. All of them are easy to find so I won't bother pointing them out to you.

You need to find the Matron of the castle; she is located in the left wing. She'll tell you all about the rather tragic past of the Figaro throne. Sabin Rene Figaro, Edgar's twin brother, 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 Matron 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.

Once controlling Edgar, keep him in the Front Row and equip Mog's LanceMithril Pike on him. This is a good chance to do that equipping, as events are about to transpire that might make you forget. Specifically, 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 also 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 SwordMithril Blade. 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. From the forest, you might opt to rent a Chocobo to return to Figaro Castle, too.

That night: Misfortune! Kefka has royally screwed Figaro's alliance with the Empire; for a moment, all seems hopeless, but Locke had a plan! Turns out Edgar and the Chancellor had taken this possibility into account. 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 a platoon of Magitek. We saw how powerful they are, remember? You are going to die a painful but mercifully quick death.

It turns out that M-TekArmors 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. Have Edgar use the ToolsNoiseBlaster 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; Tonics and Potions are nothing to get excited about, but Attack removes the Confuse status. Terra should pump out single-target OFire spells. It'll get you a nice scene. Terra's Magic and their own self-destructive tendencies while confused will grant you victory. Bravo Figaro!

1.5: Through Figaro Cave

First Cave
10/16
2
3
6/16
1
2
Second & Third Caves
6/16
3
5/16
2
1
5/16
2

Enemies: Bleary, Hornet, Crawly

Treasures: Tincture x2, Fenix Down

Figaro Castle is gone, and you still can't go to Narshe (don't try, the situation there hasn't changed since you left and you won't get in). 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. Put 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 nominal point of being in the Back Row - then I have no satisfying answer.

If you didn't use Terra's Magic spells in the battle against the M-TekArmors, you still can trigger the 'flipping-out' scene in normal battles. Throughout the cave you retain this possibility, but if you've not seen it before you step on the tile just in front of the exit, the ability to see the scene is lost. It's an entertaining scene, don't lose it!

Hornets are Floating creatures, but that doesn't make any difference at this point of the game. They attack physically with Attack and !IronNeedle. Crawly are horribly defenseless creatures, but there's something about Crawly monsters I find particularly repulsive, so I don't feel bad about killing them. Besides, !Digestive Fluid sets Sap, of which I'm no fan. When you confuse them with the ToolsNoiseBlaster, they might try to use the Magnitude 8 attack, but they have insufficient MP.

Bleary are the only creatures here that might stand through a single ToolsAutocrossbow attack. They can force you to sleep when you look in their eyes with !Slumber, 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.

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 Crawly with his ToolsAutocrossbow. If you don't meet Bleary monsters, have Terra simply Defend and Locke Steal while you're waiting for Edgar's turn to come up. When Bleary does in fact make an appearance, have Locke still Steal, Terra use a single multi-target OFire on the group, and Edgar finish it off with his ToolsAutocrossbow. If you're scared you wasted Gil on the ToolsBio Blaster, you'll gain use for it soon enough. If there's a choice, always try to Steal from Crawly. A Tonic 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 (Fenix Down upstairs, two Tinctures downstairs) will transform into rad items in the near future. I advise you to let them be.

1.6: South Figaro and Off

Grasslands
6/16
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
1
Forest
6/16
4
5/16
1
2
5/16
1
1
2

Enemies: Rhinotaur, GreaseMonk, Rhodox

Treasures: 500 Gil, 1000 Gil, 1500 Gil, Antidote, Elixir, Eye Drop, Soft, Green Cherry, RelicHyper Wrist, RelicRunning Shoes, Fenix Down, Tonic x3, Warp 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, and talk to NPCs: The usual RPG to-do list. How awesomely groundbreaking.

Item Shop: You might want to buy one or two Softs, as it *is* possible to accidentally get a Petrified character in a bit, and you'll want something to counter its effects.

Weapon Shop: Buy a SwordRegal Cutlass and give it to Terra. Give the SwordMithril Blade 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 DirkMithril Knife. You can buy the two Tools that aren't ToolsAutocrossbows for Edgar (if your ignorant brother saved after the Figaro Castle experience without buying them there).

Armor Shop: Buy two ShieldHeavy Shields, three HelmetPlumed Hats, a ArmorCotton Robe, and a ArmorKung Fu Suit. Equip them with Optimize.

Relic Shop: Buy three RelicStar Pendants and a RelicJewel Ring. I'll leave the verdict on whether to purchase RelicTrue Knight or RelicSprint Shoes up to you. RelicGoggles 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 RelicStar Pendant on every character. The RelicJewel 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 OBreak 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 currently, as well as the items they will become if left to age appropriately:

(items now) (items they become)
Fenix Down - Fenix Down
Tonic - X-Potion
Antidote - Tent
Eye Drop - Remedy
Tonic - Revivify
Green Cherry - Tent
Soft - Elixir
Warp Stone - Fenix Down

There's a Tonic in the barrel between the Weapon and Armor Shop. I suggest skipping this one in order to come back for the X-Potion later; you've got plenty of Tonics, but X-Potions will always be nice to have. There are Eye Drop 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 Tonic that becomes a Revivify (leave it), the Green Cherry behind the Chocobo Stable becomes a Tent (grab the Green Cherry) and the Soft in the box to the far southwest corner of the town becomes an Elixir (definitely leave this until after it changes).

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 Fenix 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. Go all the way to the right until you're facing a wall; from here, go all the way down to the bottom. You should be out of sight now. Next, go right to enter a secret area with a RelicHyper Wrist and a pair of RelicRunning Shoes. The RelicHyper Wrist boosts Strength, increasing your physical attack power; the RelicRunning Shoes give you inherent and unremovable Haste status.

I suggest giving the RelicRunning Shoes to Locke and the RelicHyper Wrist to Edgar. If you had RelicSprint Shoes equipped on either, you can just pass them down to Terra. Exit. Going up will take you to 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 Warp Stone. It'll become a Fenix Down later, but Warp Stones are infinitely cooler at this stage of the game than Fenix Downs will ever be. Finally, there's a Tonic 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 allow you 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 even consider bothering you 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.

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. The enemies on the way are fairly standard stuff by now. GreaseMonks take more damage from ToolsBio Blaster than from ToolsAutocrossbow, so use that on double GreaseMonks. They'll just attack physically and won't start using !Mythril Wrench until they're alone, and they shouldn't have the chance. 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.

Rhodoxes 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 by Suplex. 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 you think about it while drunk.

Rhinotaurs are the first genuinely dangerous-looking creatures you meet. They attack with Attack and !Redline, 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 ClawMithril Claw from him; trust me on this one, even though it's a weapon none of your characters can equip... yet.

Make use of Edgar's ToolsAutocrossbow in almost every encounter (excluding double GreaseMonk, which can be taken down easier with ToolsBio Blaster), have Locke Steal and Terra use Defend. Cure outside of battle when needed. When your level is decently high (9), Edgar should be taking out GreaseMonk in one hit with the ToolsAutocrossbow as well.

1.7: Into the Mountain

Caves
10/16
2
6/16
2
Slopes
11/16
3
5/16
1
3
Great Slopes
10/16
2
5/16
1
1
2
Foothills
10/16
2
1
1
6/16
2

Enemies: Vaporite, Brawler, Trilium, Tusker, Cirpius, Vargas, Ipooh

Treasures: Tonic, DirkGuardian, RelicAtlas Armlet, Tent x2

The three of you come across an odd hut in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, the most appropriate response is 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/Square 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. Duh. There's a Tonic 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.

Mountains are always nasty to cross, and Mount Koltz is no exception. You will be attacked, spied upon, and tested severely. Also, expect a boss fight at the end, I might add. If that sounds fun, you're doing well. Stick everyone in the back row if they're not already there. This is the repetition style of learning.

This is highly frustrating for console players, but Brawler enemies carry HelmetBandanas, which are incredibly hard to obtain right now. They're rare steals, and the common steal is empty. This means that your Steal attempt automatically has a 7 in 8 chance of failing. It's a slightly stronger helmet for Locke, Terra, and a character you're about to obtain, so if you're really adamant about having the maximum equipment right now, try to get a few of them. The ToolsAutocrossbow is a convenient way to kill Brawler. If it doesn't kill them outright, you can finish them off with Back Row physicals or a multi-target OFire spell (although – note - you should really be saving your MP in this 'dungeon').

Cirpius are potentially the most dangerous, but they conveniently 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, however, can be killed in one go with the ToolsAutocrossbow. When they show up with a Tusker enemy, you'll want to confuse them until one of them has petrified the Tusker with either !Beak or the OBreak spell.

Tusker is the only real threat here if you're diligent about handling Cirpius. They have stronger physicals, comparable to Marshal's pounding, and they have a 1/3 chance at countering every Attack command. Ergo, don't use it. A multi-target OFire spell and an ToolsAutocrossbow round will finish them.

Trilium, lastly, are annoying because they Poison you with !Bane Touch. They only use it the first round though, after which they'll take two turns just attacking you physically. This means you can easily use an Antidote or the OAntdot 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 leading to treasure. The first is to the south of the entrance. Around the square-ish bulge, you can reach an exit leading to the chest you saw earlier. It's a DirkGuardian! It's the first weapon you've run into which provides a stat boost, and it's a better weapon for Locke. Grab it and return.

To the right of the path/stairway, there's a hidden passage into another room, which holds a chest containing the RelicAtlas Armlet. The RelicAtlas Armlet is much better than the RelicHyper Wrist; while the RelicHyper Wrist boosts a stat used for physical damage calculation by 50%, the RelicAtlas Armlet simply boosts your physical damage by 25%, period. Equip it on Edgar to boost his ToolsAutocrossbow. With the RelicAtlas Armlet equipped, Edgar should be taking everything out in one hit except for Tusker, which can be finished with a single-target OFire. Locke should Steal. Continue up the wooden pathway. Outside, you will walk around two slopes and reach two entrances into the mountain. Now, for the first time, you'll see a shadowy figure leaping away from you. Who could it be? Beyond this, the first of these two entrances takes you to a chest with a Tent, while 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. 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 you'll eventually 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've made sure that your HP is high enough for boss battles, as well as Terra's MP. Take the RelicAtlas Armlet from Edgar and give it to Locke; give his RelicRunning Shoes to Terra. Equip Edgar with the RelicHyper Wrist or, if you have it, the RelicTrue Knight. The first one will give you a slight increase in offensive power, and the latter will make sure that Edgar takes physical damage in place of characters in Critical. It's a matter of personal preference as neither is going to produce miracles here.

Ipooh
Ipooh
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
11
360
60
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
18
10
0
105
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Potion
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonpetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
  

Vargas
Vargas
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
12
11600
220
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
85
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ClawMithril Claw
Rare: Tonic
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Two Ipooh bears initially protect Vargas; you can't harm him until you have killed them. Ipooh attack physically only, with Attack and !Claw. Vargas will casually switch between Attack and Gale Cut in an 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 jerk.

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 concerning Duncan, their master in the martial arts and Vargas' father. Vargas turned to patricide, and here Sabin is complimenting Vargas on his fine spirit. Morals these days, let me tell ya... Anyway, Vargas executes "Mortal Attack: Blizzard Fist!" Blasting all inferior warriors of the field, the battle is up to Sabin alone.

When Sabin has appeared and Vargas hits 10368 HP - that's 512 more damage - Sabin will lament over 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 pockets (metaphorically) with Locke, have Edgar use ToolsAutocrossbow, and Terra use single-target OFire spells on the Ipooh you looted. After you've taken care of the Ipoohs, switch to the ToolsBio Blaster with Edgar and have Terra on stand-by for a multi-target OCure spell for every Gale Cut that is sent your way. After a successful Steal attempt with Locke, have him attack. The ToolsBio Blaster will facilitate the bulk of your damage anyway, so spending a turn moving to the Front Row and then taking more damage there probably isn't justified.

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 Pummel technique, you've won your battle. Expand Full Strategy
  

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 has now emerged victorious.

Little can be said about your Mt. Koltz experience with Sabin. You can meet Vaporites here, which seem horribly misplaced in space. Aurabolt is the strongest single-target attack you have at this point; take advantage of it, but only after you annihilated everything non-Tusker on screen. If you have a HelmetBandana and/or ClawMithril Claw in your inventory, give them to Sabin.

Oh yeah, there's a Tent in the chest, you can't miss it.

1.8: The Returner's Hideout

Overworld
6/16
2
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
1

Enemies: Rhinotaur, GreaseMonk, Rhodox

Treasures: Antidote, DirkAir Lancet, Tincture, Green Cherry, Potion, RelicTrue Knight, Fenix Down x2, RelicWhite Cape

After descending from Mt. 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 into party strategy here; you were fully capable of handling these enemies without a 400 damage producing righteous killing machine, so I suspect you'll do just fine now that you've got one. If you still don't have a ClawMithril Claw, 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, and a scene will occur in which Sabin has to break the news to Duncan's wife.

Do this scene or no, you'll head to the Hideout eventually. 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. You can find a Fenix Down in the chest in the room you woke up in. Go out and head up. You'll find three chests here: a RelicTrue Knight, another Fenix Down, and an DirkAir Lancet, 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 RelicWhite 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 Tincture. Furthermore, there's a Green Cherry in the pot in the conference room (the one with the large table) and a Tonic in the save point room.

If you examine the top-right part of the large conference table, near Sabin, Terra will crouch down and say: "There's a scrap of paper lying here..." and you'll get two options, to trash it or leave it in place. 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 about the litter 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 in the Hideout, and it's the first shop you can actually buy Potions at, so it might a good idea to stock up on some. A few Eye Drop are also nice if you think those black sunglasses are just so 1983.

You could, before moving on, hike back to Mt. Koltz with Terra alone. 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!"

You need to talk to your three companions before you can talk to Banon. You meet 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 RelicGauntlet. If you decline, you can get a RelicGenji Glove from the Returner walking around in the storage room. If you decline three times, you'll get a RelicGenji Glove from that same Returner in the middle of some important conversation. You'll want to pick the RelicGenji Glove, trust me. Granted, the RelicGauntlet is more of a rarity, but that doesn't mean it's better (it isn't).

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 will come rushing in. After some talk, Locke leaves for South Figaro while Terra, Edgar, Sabin and Banon set out through the back door, the Lethe River. As I promised, a Returner quickly sneaks into the conversation to give you a RelicGenji 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 Lete River, raging river of the wilderness. After the sequence has played out, your party will be without Locke (don't worry, his equipment is in your inventory) but with the addition of Banon. The fact that you can't name him should tip you off to his inferior status in your party. Although he's playable in battle, you cannot access his Equipment and Relic screen. His equipment, though, includes just a RodPunisher, HelmetMagus Hat, and ArmorSilk 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 Lete River later in the game. For a fun little tidbit, go to the room Terra woke up in and stand under the chest and pride yourself on having seen one of the most elusive minor cutscenes in the game! Now get moving!

1.9: Escape on the River

Monster Pack 1
3/4
1
1
1/4
1
2
Monster Pack 2
3/4
2
1/4
1
1
1

Enemies: Pterodon, Nautiloid, Exocite, Ultros

The Empire invaded South Figaro (notice how Edgar didn't respond whatsoever to that notion?) and is now coming to the Hideout. Time to run – er, raft - like the wind. We'll escape using a raft and the flowing water that carries it. Fun! Set everybody in the Back Row. You can strip the RelicStar Pendants from your characters and apply RelicAtlas Armlet/RelicRunning Shoes to Edgar, RelicHyper Wrist and RelicTrue Knight to Sabin, and a RelicWhite Cape to Terra. There's nothing remotely useful you can put in Terra's second Relic Slot (you'll want to have those RelicSprint Shoes in your inventory, and you won't be walking anyway).

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, as mentioned last chapter, you'll catch the poor sap having a nightmare. You can trigger this cutscene every time you re-enter the room.

Welcome to Lete River. The first rule of Lete River is: You don't talk about Lete River. The second rule of Lete River is: You do not talk about Lete River. The third rule of Lete River is when Banon goes down, the game is over. Read: 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..." Read: Annoying. Fun fact: if you level Terra up to level 68 before meeting Banon, you can set Petrify with the OBreak 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 he will always target Banon for a single Attack after every six turns. You should have turned Exocite into 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 ToolsAutocrossbow and Attack commands will do little here. Also, after three turns he'll turn on Banon for an Attack, so beware.

Pterodon 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 a multi-target Fire-elemental attack and particularly dangerous. Pterodon should be subdued by ToolsNoiseBlaster at all times and taken out first if possible.

The strategy is simple. Keep the monsters at bay with ToolsNoiseBlaster, use OFire and Aurabolt to deliver damage, and have Banon recover from any damage you might have taken with his special skill. As soon as you decide to hop on board the raft, you'll be taken down the Lete River. However, there are many ways to Rome, and many ways to travel the Lete 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, with the monsters referenced by number corresponding to the formations chart herein. You'll first be required to have an encounter with a #1 group, and then you'll face a 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 Pterodon, pick 'Straight'. Most of these encounters happen only half the time, so it's possible that you might encounter just one battle, or even zero if you take the left path. If there's no percentage noted, though, you'll definitely have a battle at that point.

Straight:
  1. Set 1 50% of the time
  2. Set 2
  3. Set 1 50% of the time
  4. Set 1 50% of the time
  5. Set 1

Left:
  1. Set 1 50% of the time
  2. Set 1 50% of the time
  3. Set 2 50% of the time

Right:
  1. Set 1
  2. Set 1 50% of the time
  3. Set 1 50% of the time

Regardless of your choice, you will end up at a small cave with a Save Point in it. When you get back on, you'll meet a group from set #1 again, and then reach a decision between up and left.

Up:
  1. Set 2 50% of the time
  2. Set 1 50% of the time
  3. Set 1 50% of the time
  4. Set 1 50% of the time
  5. Set 1

You're back at the Up/Left decision, having circled.

Left:
  1. Set 2 50% of the time

This path leads to a cave with a mandatory Save Point. If you've never stepped into a Save Point before, this will be when you see the the 'strange light fills the air' dialogue, and it will never again appear.

From second Save Point to exit:
  1. Set 2 50% of the time
  2. Set 1 50% of the time

At the end of the Lete River ordeal, assuming you're doing the river for the first time (it's possible to come back later!), you'll encounter what looks like the ultimate Nautiloid. It's a huge purple octopus who goes by the name of Ultros...

Ultros
Ultros
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
13
3000
640
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
3
0
40
140
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Dried Meat
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
firelightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Ultros is a tough octopod 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 a single-target Tentacle attack. If at his next turn another 10 seconds have passed, he'll say "Muscle heads? Hate 'em!" target Sabin with a single-target Tentacle attack and use a multi-target Tentacle attack on his next turn, followed by either Attack, !Ink or a single-target Tentacle in that very same turn; if not, he'll spread the happiness with a multi-target Tentacle/follow up with Attack/!Ink/ single-target Tentacle, wait a turn, and then hate on Sabin for his body. His next turn is devoted to an Attack and either an Attack, !Ink or single-target or multi-target Tentacle attack in the same turn.

Then, he'll say "Your ugly mug gives me the creeps!" and use a single-target Tentacle attack on Banon, from where he'll start at his first multi-target Tentacle-Attack/!Ink/single-target Tentacle turn again. Also, every time he is targeted by a Fire-elemental attack, which at this stage is either a OFire spell from Terra or Sabin's Fire Dance Blitz, he will say "Yeeeouch! Seafood soup is NOT on the menu!" and counter with an !Ink attack... yeah, he's a talkative guy.

Beating Ultros 4 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). For damage output, have Terra use her OFire spells, Edgar fire off arrows with the ToolsAutocrossbow, and Sabin use Aurabolt. If he knows Fire Dance at this point, it's stronger than Aurabolt, but if you're that highly leveled you probably don't need to worry much in the first place. Expand Full Strategy
  

If you defeat him, he'll 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 4 appears to sane people as a generally aqua-themed creature. In other words: Sabin is dead in the water. Pun!

You'll now see a change of pace and a unique menu screen. 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. It's Mog! Unlike your previous moogle encounter, 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 SwordRune Edge, and the ability to de-equip, most likely freeing a RelicAtlas Armlet and RelicRunning Shoes.

Locke: HelmetIron Helmets, a RelicRibbon, one set of RelicEarrings, and a RodThunder Rod if you left the Fenix Down alone when you passed through the Cave of Figaro with Edgar, Locke, and Terra. This scenario ends with a boss fight, so it's dangerous to de-equip at the end.

Sabin: A RelicMithril Glove, a RelicBarrier Ring, HelmetGreen Berets, RelicEarrings, a RelicSniper Sight, a RelicTintinabar and the ability to buy new equipment, including HelmetMagus Hats, ArmorIron Armor, ArmorSilk Robes, and HelmetBandanas. You are able to de-equip at the end.

Thus, I would advise you take the scenarios in the following order: Terra, Sabin, and 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 because Locke's scenario is probably the more difficult of the two and you can't properly de-equip at the end of Locke's means you should save it until the end.

On to the three scenarios: I'll handle them in the same order I advise you to take them in.

1.10: Scenario Terra

River Monster Pack 1
3/4
1
1
1/4
1
2
River Monster Pack 2
3/4
2
1/4
1
1
1
Grasslands
10/16
2
6/16
2
1
Forest
10/16
2
1
6/16
2
2
Desert
5/16
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
1/16
1
3
First Narshe Cave
10/16
3
6/16
1
1
Second Narshe Cave
6/16
3
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
1
Security Checkpoint
3/4
2
1/4
1
1
3
Final Narshe Cave
6/16
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
2

Enemies: Pterodon, Nautiloid, Exocite, Leafer, Dark Wind, 1st Class, Wild Rat, Specter, Rinn, Dark Side

Treasures: SwordRune Edge

Terra's group gets a few more battles on the river.
  1. Set 2 50% of the time
  2. Set 1 50% of the time
  3. Set 1 50% of the time
With Sabin gone, battles will take a little longer. Not to worry, though. Keep the Pterodon Confused, take Nautiloid with a single-target OFire spell, and fight Exocite with the ToolsAutocrossbow. Have Banon on stand-by. You should be used to these guys by now.

You rode that Lete River like a professional. You're right in front of Narshe; this should be a cinch. Now, keepin' it in the Back Row there, boss? 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 RelicEarrings, and have Edgar stick to RelicAtlas Armlet/RelicRunning Shoes.

You can just slaughter the overworld enemies left and right however you please; multi-target OFire spell or ToolsAutocrossbow, your pick. You'll want to work your way to Narshe, though. After some Narshe Guards show you disrespect, it's up to you to find an alternative entrance. Luckily, you remember that secret entrance from the start of the game. No, you do. The one to the left? Enter the cave and walk through it. You'll recognize it as being the one Locke carried the unconscious Terra through. Clear that cave and 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.

Both 1st Class and Wild Rat monsters only attack physically, so there's little point in explaining what it is that they do. 1st Classs 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 cave like this, punishing the weakest fighters in the game to follow its path with legions of undead monstrosities? Drunken wizards? 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. Now, I am assuming that you acted on mistake and you were incapable of avoiding this clumsy 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 Dark Side enemy. Also, there is a small chance (25%) you will encounter here the interesting Specter and Rinn. 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 RodIce 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. There's not much to do there right now. Resuming your quest will get you past the chest in this room; reach it and open it to obtain the SwordRune Edge. It is stronger than 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 SwordRegal Cutlass, as the SwordRune Edge is horribly cost-inefficient at this stage of the game. It also makes more sense to just leave the SwordRune Edge here. Despite the fact that the SwordRune Edge 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 RelicRibbon, which is much better at that time than the SwordRune Edge is now.

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 was Scenario #1... hope you liked it.

The Old Man of Narshe 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.

1.11: Scenario Sabin

Grasslands
6/16
1
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
Forest
5/16
2
2
5/16
5
5/16
2
1
1/16
1
1
2
Imperial Camp
3/4
3
1/4
2

Enemies: Stray Cat, Beakor, CrassHoppr, Rhobite, Leader, Soldier, Templar, M-TekArmor, Doberman, Soldier, Officer

Treasures: RelicBarrier Ring, RelicMithril Glove, Remedy, RelicStar Pendant, Monster-in-a-box (Telstar)

So, Sabin was thrown off the raft and separated from his five-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...

Keep Sabin in the Back Row with a RelicWhite Cape and a RelicStar Pendant. Even if you do have RelicEarrings, Aurabolt kills everything in one shot anyway, so a power boost isn't needed. Beakor's !Down Dust can Poison you, so that's why I advise a RelicStar Pendant.

Walk over to the house. 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. I suggest you buy 99 ShurikenShurikens 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 SkeanInviz Edges and 5 SkeanShadow Edge. You probably won't ever need any more.

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.

Talking to Shadow's dog just sends Sabin hiding behind various objects, so chat with Shadow and accept him into your party. 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 ArmorNinja Gear on him, which is great armor for now. Your additions to his equipment should be a ShieldHeavy Shield and a HelmetPlumed Hat, which you can buy from the merchant if you have none to spare. Like I mentioned in the preparations, you'll want an RelicAtlas Armlet and a filler Relic on him, such as the RelicHyper Wrist. Stick him in the Back Row, as the very purpose of throwing something is ignoring the distance between you and the target.

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 SkeanInviz Edge. This makes him invulnerable for the remaining journey on the Overworld Map. Throw ShurikenShurikens and Aurabolts 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 single-target one-hit KO's.

It seems there is an Imperial obstruction in the way. This is the Imperial Camp Shadow talked about, the one that will try to overcome the defenses of Doma at some point in the near future. We'll have to try to sneak past it. 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 and become 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. However, the retainer, 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: ShieldHeavy Shield, HelmetPlumed Hat or even an HelmetIron Helmet if you went through some pains in Locke's scenario already. 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 Soldiers), but it's of little use, as you'll be forced to fight Soldiers in the near future anyway. I suggest you simply go for the leader.

Leader
Leader
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
12
456
20
50
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
18
10
0
5
110
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: Fenix Down
Rare:
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
None
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
The captain, surprisingly called 'Leader', 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 Leader.

Cyan should be in the Back Row, so Leader's attacks shouldn't really hurt him. Cyan's #1 Bushido skill, Dispatch, will deal sufficient damage to easily kill Leader before Leader can come anywhere near killing Cyan. Bushido skill #2, Retort, will make sure that the Leader is killed in one hit. Bushido skill #3 works as well, although it takes needlessly long. Expand Full Strategy
  

Make sure you end up with a RelicBlack Belt rather than a Fenix Down; the RelicBlack 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, the Soldiers, despite their overwhelming number, decide it would be best to flee, and 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 a Soldier x2 and M-TekArmor 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: Kick it, hit it, and leave it.

If you Kick it, the guard dog outside will be alarmed and will attack you, triggering an attack. You'll be up against Dobermans, either two (25% chance) or three (the other 75%). 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. After Kicking it, the chest is open. It contains a RelicStar Pendant. If you Hit it, you'll fool an Imperial soldier by pretending to be a cat. After the soldier has disappeared, you'll be able to open the chest, which still contains a RelicStar 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 your 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 - springing into action will throw you into battle.

You'll be fighting a character version of Kefka, who runs after taking one hit. He'll simply smack you over the head with his SpecialMorning Star if you let him, so getting your butt kicked isn't even terribly interesting in this case. When he runs, he runs, and you'll follow. Don't immediately follow him all the way, though; there are important things to be done: In a tent, there are two chests. Ignore them for now and walk behind this tent. Automatically, you'll jump off a ledge and walk into another tent. Here, you'll find a RelicBarrier Ring; swap it with Sabin's RelicStar Pendant. He can enjoy the slight Aurabolt damage increase. Now, walk back into the tent with two chests. The right one contains a RelicMithril Glove, which you can ignore for the rest of your life. The left one contains one of NASA's old-time prides: The Telstar. If you already completed Locke's scenario, give the RelicRibbon to Sabin at this point. If not, give him the RelicGenji Glove and move him to the Front Row.

Telstar
Telstar
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
14
1800
250
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
120
13
0
0
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: X-Potion
Common: HelmetGreen Beret
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
DarknessPoisonImpPetrifyDeathSilenceBerserkConfusionSleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
LightningWater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
 
Strategy
 
Telstar will normally use Attack, !SonicBlast, Schiller, Tek Laser and Missile to make your life harder than it already is. Every ninth turn it takes, Telstar will use ODischord to halve a character's level. After 25 seconds of fighting, Telstar will call two Soldiers to aid him. 55 seconds later, he'll call in three Soldiers to help him (if there are Soldiers from the previous calling still standing, he'll fill the number to 3), and 120 seconds later, he'll call four Soldiers (once again, he fills the screen up to four anyway). Finally, Telstar will counter any Blitz attack with Megazerk, making sure that Sabin will be Blitz-less in this battle, like an animal.

Shadow should be Throwing ShurikenShurikens while Sabin can keep on pumping out Aurabolts. If you didn't have a RelicRibbon, he will be Berserked by Telstar's Blitz-counter, Megazerk. 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 Telstar's magical attacks will be striking Shadow, removing the Invisible status. Expand Full Strategy
  

After the fight, you win a HelmetGreen Beret. Equip it on Sabin and swap his RelicWhite Cape with the RelicMithril Glove. Return Sabin to his Back Row Aurabolt-ing 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 Telstar.

After talking to Kefka for the third time, he'll run off and sends a pair of Soldiers and a pair of 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 RelicRunning Shoes 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 and watch the King of Doma die. Do not go into the door to the right when you leave the royal chamber. It contains graphic adultery, you hear? Instead, go to 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 Soldiers. Cyan will fight automatically in these battles, having a 66% chance of using Attack and a 33% shot at Dispatch. Sabin and Shadow can stick to their trusted single-target power-blows, and you'll win the day without breaking a sweat in the battle formations you have to go through, which will be either three or four s.

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 includes combinations of M-TekArmor and Soldiers.

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 you simply murdered everybody you saw, which was half of the Camp's population. Still, you live. That's good.

1.12: Scenario Sabin: The Phantasms

Grasslands North of Camp
6/16
1
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
Other Grasslands
6/16
3
5/16
3
5/16
1
1
2
Forest
5/16
2
2
5/16
5
5/16
2
1
1/16
1
2
Desert
5/16
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
1/16
1
3
Phantom Forest First Two Screens
10/16
1
6/16
1
2
Phantom Forest Second Two Screens
10/16
2
3
5/16
3
1/16
1
Train Platform
5/16
2
1
5/16
2
1
5/16
4
1/16
3
Outside Train Cars
10/16
1
6/16
3
Inside Early Cars
6/16
1
3
5/16
1
5/16
3
Escaping the Ghost Ambush
6/16
1
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
Final Cars
6/16
1
5/16
2
2
5/16
1
1
2

Enemies: Sand Ray, Araneid, Stray Cat, Beakor, CrassHoppr, Rhobite, Ghost, Poplium, Hazer, Whisper, Over-Mind, Bomb, StillGoing, Specter, Siegfried, GhostTrain

Treasures: RelicEarrings, Fenix Down x2, RelicSniper Sight, Monster-in-a-box (Specter)

Having broken out like a bad case of acne, your only hope to reach Narshe is to travel through a dark forest east of Doma Castle. 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. It's just a 1/16 chance per battle, though, and is in no way influenced by the order you in which performed the scenarios (or any way you did anything else), despite the 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 achieved by either saving beforehand and relying on your luck, killing Shadow until the party reaches said destination, or running from every battle.

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. 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. Shadow's still a possible run-away, so keep him down if that's your strategy.

Ghosts are unfriendly undead and they hate you. Every first turn will be a OFire spell or nothing, but the second turn can contain Attack, !Pause (which sets Stop) or ERROR, a very strong single-target 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 single-target attacks that can take out all enemies in one hit. Keep up with Dispatch, ShurikenShuriken, and Aurabolt. Use Tonics when you are hit with an unlucky ERROR or when your HP is running low due to other causes.

You will find a Recovery Spring in which you will automatically heal yourself. Make sure to kill Shadow again if you're a SNES player. 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. Pay little attention to him and climb aboard. 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 that you can use as well. 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.

Whispers are emissaries from a magical world. They use Attack, as is the wont of monsters, and ODemi, 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.

StillGoing 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.

Hazer 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 ODrain to little avail, as you'll be doing one-hit KO's against them, but it's a nice try. Also, !Invizap damages.

Over-Minds 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 single-target 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 Fire Dance by now. While you must've levelled him to level 15 for Fire Dance to be an option, and while level 15 is over levelled at this point, it's not entirely dramatically high. Bombs absorb Fire/Fire Dance, so refrain from using it when facing them. Aurabolt is more powerful on a single target, but both feed off the weaknesses that seem inherent to all undead enemies: Fire and Holy. You'll learn to use Fire Dance, I'm sure. Give Shadow the RelicRunning Shoes, as his single-target attacks will be the most important ones. RelicMithril Glove/RelicAtlas Armlet Cyan in the Front Row, Aurabolt Sabin in the Back Row with a RelicWhite Cape and RelicBarrier 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 those Fenix Downs. 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; it 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 save one Relic: the RelicRelic 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 Tonics and Potions and kill it instantly with Fenix Downs. If it has fallen in battle, you cannot revive him (the Fenix 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.

Enter the cabin. If you look at the switch, you'll see a cutscene in which Cyan's fear of 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 discover.

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 (the first ghost added to a no-ghost party is always the more capable).

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. You'll encounter just one Ghost 75% of the time you prod one of the attacking ghosts, but 25% of the time you'll see three. Nothing particular to worry about. 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. Once outside, you will be cornered by a mob of angry undead. 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. 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.

The ghosts pursue! Instead of making this into a 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. This is the train car you want to be in to find Over-Mind, 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.

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 RelicEarrings. Swap one of Sabin's Relics with it, as you'll need the boost in Aurabolt power in a bit.

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
Siegfried
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
7
100
5
1
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
1
10
0
50
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: Green Cherry
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
DarknessPoisonImpPetrifyDeathSilenceBerserkConfusionSleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
After the introduction between you and Siegfried is done, it's time to fight. Siegfried has 100 HP and opens with a flurry of eight weak physical attacks. Chances are your RelicBlack Belt character or Interceptor kills him before he finishes all eight, but if that's not the case, you can just do whatever (except the Slash Bushido skill!). Expand Full Strategy
  

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. You'll get a Green Cherry for your troubles.

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 RelicFairy 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 completely empty. The second one is lined up with four chests; rejoice. From right to left, they contain a Fenix Down, RelicSniper Sight (you can ignore this Relic for now, nothing evades your physicals at this stage of the game, and you're not using them anyway), Fenix Down, and a Monster-in-a-Box. How frightening.

Specter
Specter
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Undead
19
1500
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
8
0
120
180
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: RelicHyper Wrist
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
DarknessPoisonImpPetrifySilenceBerserkSleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
Poison
FireHoly
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
This is Specter. According to the latest Anthology release, this is the ghost of a murdered person. Oh my.

Specter has normal access to three attacks: Attack, the OIce spell, and Raid, which drains HP. If you damage Specter, 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 Fenix 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 guess that not only are you too good for the Fenix 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, Slash. Don't move with Sabin and Shadow or even the ghost; just skip to Cyan and use Slash. It'll halve his current HP and should do 750 damage. Follow up with an Aurabolt and a ShurikenShuriken and you should be done. Expand Full Strategy
  

You'll get a RelicHyper 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 (but not really). The next car contains a Save Point. Save. That is its point.

Finally, you made it to the locomotive. 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 RelicRibbon you might have. Equip the RelicWhite Cape on Cyan (switch with RelicHyper Wrist).

GhostTrain
GhostTrain
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Undead
14
1900
350
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
10
5
0
30
210
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: Tent
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
poison
firelightningholy
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
The GhostTrain will start with the battle with either a physical attack, !Wheel, or Evil Toot. The next four turns will be spent using normal physical attacks and his Special !Wheel; the fifth turn will be Evil Toot, but only if there are at least two characters still alive.

After every 15 seconds of battle, GhostTrain will use either Acid Rain (2/3) or Scar Beam, an attack that deals multi-target Holy-elemental damage to your party. Finally, if GhostTrain has been damaged, he has a one in three chance of using !Wheel.

For trivia, Scar Beam used to be GhostTrain-exclusive until White Drgn Redux showed its pasty face for the Advance release. Given it's such a nasty move in that fight, its occurrence here at least shows the GhostTrain was on the right track.

The fight against GhostTrain can be real easy and real bad, and it all depends on his Evil Toot attack. This sets one random status ailment on your party out of the following: Darkness, Poison, Imp, Doom, Berserk, Confused, Sap and Slow.

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 Potions to damage GhostTrain. 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 Fire Dance or barrier-piercing attacks.

The GhostTrain battle is very much like the Specter battle in the sense that using a Fenix Down is the coward's way out, and that the strategy revolves around allowing Cyan to start the battle with his third Bushido skill, Slash. After this, have Sabin come in with an Aurabolt and Shadow with ShurikenShuriken. A lot of people have dubbed it 'hilarious' to have Sabin use Suplex on the GhostTrain. If you want to see a tiny sprite lift a huge train, be my guest. Expand Full Strategy
  

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. After all has been said and done, you find yourself on the Overworld Map.

1.13: Scenario Sabin: The Bar(r)en Falls

Formations
6/16
3
5/16
3
5/16
1
1
2

Enemies: Stray Cat, Beakor, CrassHoppr, Piranha, Rizopas

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. 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 ArmorNinja Gear and RelicRunning Shoes to Sabin and pass the RelicAtlas Armlet to Cyan. If you're still suffering from bad status afflictions from GhostTrain's Diabolic Whistle, a Tent might be appropriate. Don't forget to move all but your RelicBlack Belt character to the Back Row.

Wait for Sabin's Fire Dance to kill everything or, should you lack that technique, slave away with those single-target 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 even 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.

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. Before jumping, you might want to de-equip the RelicBlack Belt.

It may seem like you're getting assaulted non-stop with Piranha. What you'll see on-screen is monster formations of Piranha x2, Piranha x3 and Rizopas. What'll happen here is that you'll be fighting Piranha for 60 seconds before Rizopas appears. Which pack of Piranha monsters pops up entirely depends on which Piranha you killed last, but it shouldn't really concern you, as the normal Piranha 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 s for the Rizopas confrontation, and kill the last bugger. On the other hand, Piranha have a rare Tonic drop, so if you want a shot at as many of those possible, kill as many Piranha as you can handle. Since Piranha only have 10 HP even a Back Row Attack command kills them, so do that. It's the fastest way.

Rizopas
Rizopas
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
13
775
39
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
14
3
0
110
175
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: Remedy
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilence
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
lightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
As soon as Rizopas comes, you're in trouble. This little guy has access to the El Niño spell, which will deal up to 250 damage to both characters. Your best bet is to go all-out offensive. While Rizopas has very decent magical defense, Aurabolt still out-damages Pummel (and Fire Dance, but that should be obvious). For Bushido, Slash doesn't work, so just go with Dispatch. If you're really unlucky, Rizopas kills you, and there's nothing you can do about that short of over-leveling. The odds aren't that high, though. Expand Full Strategy
  

1.14: Scenario Sabin: The Wild Boy

Enemies: Most everything you've seen so far; it's the Veldt, man!

Treasures: Elixir

You've managed to survive the Seafood of Doom, and now you're on the Veldt. You may come across a strange boy, dressed in animal hides. Life is strange. Re-equip that RelicBlack 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 name shortly. 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.

Mobliz is a great backwater village supporting itself through hunting. There are some great shops here, so take a look around.

At the weapon shop, you'll want to buy a KnifeKotetsu for Cyan, or two if you want to make him a RelicGenji Glove/RelicBlack Belt character (which is a wise decision). For armor, buy two ShieldHeavy Shields, two HelmetMagus Hats, another HelmetPlumed Hat, and two ArmorIron Armors. The HelmetIron Helmets are ridiculously expensive and you find better alternatives in a short while. At the item shop, you'll need to buy at least one Dried Meat, as it triggers a necessary cutscene. Dried Meat is basically a healing potion that heals a character for 150 HP (so it's inferior to normal Potions), but has the added property of also healing Undead monsters/characters, instead of hurting them like Tonics and Potions do. For relics, it's never a bad idea to have RelicWhite Capes ready, as they make grand filler relics. Make sure you leave at least 2500 Gil in your wallet. Finally, 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. He has a honey in Maranda and you can help him with his situation! 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 parcels that direction: A letter, a record, a Tonic (don't worry, it won't come from your stash), another letter, and finally a book. You can't send new stuff if the wounded soldier hasn't gotten any reply, which he gets if you sleep at the inn, speak to the salesmen of the Item, Weapon, Armor, or Relic shops, or see the scholar's explanation of the Serpent Trench.

That makes no sense whatsoever, I am completely aware of that. After you've sent the five parcels, the poor guy gives you a RelicTintinabar, 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 exactly a RelicTintinabar is, it's probably derived from 'tintinnabulation' 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 RelicTintinabar lets out a chime and heals the wearer a little.

Once you're done dancing and prancing in Mobliz, head to the Veldt again. 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. Equip the RelicGenji Glove and KnifeKotetsu Katanas on Cyan and keep him in the Front Row, or stick with Back Row Cyan if you don't have a RelicGenji Glove. The other Relic should be the RelicBlack Belt if you have the RelicGenji Glove; while Dispatch 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. Use a Dried Meat on him to trigger a long, long, yet surprisingly un-boring cutscene in which Gau joins you.

Gau arrives like a baby, completely naked and screaming nonsense. Equip him with what you have, which probably is a ShieldBuckler, HelmetBandana, and ArmorKung Fu Suit. You will want to swap Sabin's ShieldMithril Shield with Gau's ShieldBuckler 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 RelicAtlas Armlet free. Set the other Relic slot up with a filler Relic (RelicWhite Cape is nice).

Gau joins with a few Rages already: Brawler, Exocite, Hornet, Lobo, M-TekArmor, Rhinotaur, Trilobiter, Were-Rat, and Whisper. Brawler is nice, and Rhinotaur 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:
Enemy
Attacks
Attributes
Inherent Float
Absorbs Water
!Numb (adds Stop)
Blaze
Absorbs Lightning, Inherent Float, Undead
Will o' the Wisp
Absorbs Poison, Undead
!Cat Scratch
Wind Slash
Fireball
Inherent Float
Snare
Inherent Protect
One-Hit KO Protection
Sonic Boom
Inherent Float, One-Hit KO Protection
Blaze
Absorbs Fire, Inherent Float

The most important ones right now are Dark Wind, Trilium, Araneid, Templar and Marshal/Pterodon. If you've completed Locke's scenario already, Primordite is just as good as Araneid for its purpose.

Really, unless you want to obtain as many 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.

Marshal has the strongest multi-target 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 he sucks beyond belief if you don't invest the time in him.

Telstars still drop HelmetGreen 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 HelmetMagus Hat, but ideally, you'll want to stick around until you've won another three HelmetGreen 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!

1.15: Scenario Sabin: Over the Mountain and Through the Trench, to Nikeah We Go!

Pack #1
3/4
3
1/4
1
Pack #2
Always
1
1
1
Pack #3
3/4
2
1/4
3
2

Enemies: Anguiform, Aspik, Actaneon

Treasures: HelmetGreen Beret, X-Potion, Elixir

Well here we are at Crescent Mountain, just southeast of Mobliz; no rest for the weary, eh? Let's take a look around. To the right side of the plateau you're standing on, you can see a little cutscene (Seven steps up, one 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 Tonic (which, believe it or not, is actually added to your inventory!). Proceed and you'll come across a ridge you can walk on.

All the way left, another cutscene will ensue where Gau will scare Sabin out of 500 Gil (which is actually subtracted from your total Gil). 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.

Narshe is a long way if you take the wrong turn at the Lethe 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. The Serpent Trench - a raging current with violent monsters hunting for you – stands in your way. Make absolutely sure you have a fully equipped Gau. There are three monsters in the trench. You can really forget about Actaneon; his physicals shouldn't really bother you that much, and whenever you meet a triple Actaneon monster formation, Dispatch, Aurabolt/Fire Dance and the Templar, Bomb, or Pterodon Rages will clear it quickly. The other two are nastier.

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 OAqua Rake when they are alone. OAqua Rake is an extremely strong multi-target Water/Wind-elemental attack that will hurt for about 170-200 HP damage. Not nice. You should kill with Fire Dance if possible, but if you lack it, you should be careful. Gau's multi-target attacks don't guarantee a KO on multiple Anguiforms. Take them out as fast as possible with Aurabolt, Dispatch, and either Trilium (absorbs OAqua Rake and has very decent offense) or Hazer/Ghost (OBolt 2 slaughters any Anguiform period).

Aspik are the trickiest. Whenever you meet them, keep hold of your precious secondary commands as Aspik will counter any damage not inflicted by the Attack command with a 33% shot at Giga Volt 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 RelicGenji Gloved character to kill it or use Rhinotaur/Vaporite Rages, as they will allow Gau to absorb Giga Volt.

This is the 'map' of the Serpent Trench and the consequences of your choices. You start by fighting pack #1, then 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. On the Left, you'll fight #2 and #3, while on the Right you'll just fight #2 before the cave with the chest, and then the paths will reunite. However, no battle is fought before you are presented with yet another choice. Left again means monsters (#2 then #3 again), Right again means treasure (after another #3). This time, the cave will give you a HelmetGreen Beret, and then 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.

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 back when it was just Sabin and found a way home.

You can buy another LanceMithril Pike at the weapon shop here if you wish, but you won't really use the Attack command with Edgar, so you can save your money.

You should've bought everything available at the Armor Shop a while ago, with the exception of the ArmorSilk Robes. Buy two of them.

How's your supply of 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. The only thing the Relic Shop has going for it is a collection of RelicWhite 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 it.

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. Sabin's scenario is over.

1.16: Scenario Locke: South Figaro and its Secret

Formations
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
2
1

Enemies: HeavyArmor, Cadet, Merchant, Commander, Vector Pup

Treasures: RelicEarrings, SwordRegal Cutlass, ShieldHeavy Shield, Ether, ArmorIron Armor, RelicRibbon, X-Potion

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 the Imperial Troopers themselves. But somehow, Locke has to find a way...

In preparation, equip the RelicGenji Glove and RelicAtlas Armlet on Locke, and stick him with ArmorNinja Gear and a HelmetGreen Beret. Keep him in the front Row for now. Obviously, if you haven't done the Sabin scenario yet, it'll be a RelicGenji Glove/RelicAtlas Armlet with HelmetBandana and ArmorKung Fu Suit. You see why it was a good idea to do Locke's scenario last?

A Magitek Armor soldier has blocked the normal entrance to the rest of town. There are two ways to continue: First, in the Item Shop, there's a Merchant. He insults you by stating your actual profession, so obviously you'll need to kill him. By successfully Stealing his item (either a HelmetPlumed Hat or a DirkGuardian), 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, if you're violent, you could just bust up the HeavyArmor 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 his clothes. Remember where you found the Warp 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 away 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 to the 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 HeavyArmor you can circumvent stealing clothes entirely.

The only soldier you can convince is the one near the Chocobo stable, but 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, so 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 the Cadet, 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 for an 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 his bookcase and descend. Halfway to the basement, you will be asked to change your clothes. Doing so will turn you back into plain Locke. Doesn't matter if you do it or not. 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. The dialogue you have with Celes will change based on your outfit too.

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. Don't forget to equip Celes; she was wearing nothing but a Hair Band. Nothing. But. A Hair Band. If this is your last scenario, which it should be, her equipment is best off looking like this: SwordRegal Cutlass/SwordRune Edge, ShieldHeavy Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorSilk Robe. If you haven't, it'll be SwordRegal Cutlass, ShieldHeavy Shield, HelmetPlumed Hat (or HelmetBandana if you went through the trouble of stealing it), ArmorLeather 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 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. 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.

The strategy here is simple: Both Celes and Locke need to equipped in such a fashion that they can each take out one enemy in one hit. Typically, that means Celes with a pair of RelicEarrings and the OIce spell and Locke with the RelicAtlas Armlet. The RelicGenji Glove isn't necessary unless you're level 10 or lower and otherwise would just be harmful to your defense.

Vector Pups are the more durable enemies, but even they should fall to a single attack. When a Vector Pup is alone, it will Escape, 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 multi-target OIce 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. Once you find the stairs leading to an even lower location, note that there are two visible chests here, one containing Ether and one containing an X-Potion. Below the one with the X-Potion is a hidden chest containing a RelicRibbon. Be sure to grab it. The other visible treasures in the whole passageway include ArmorIron Armor, SwordRegal Cutlass, RelicEarrings, and a ShieldHeavy 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 see 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.

1.17: Scenario Locke: A Cave more Dangerous

Grasslands
6/16
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
1
Forest
6/16
4
5/16
1
2
5/16
1
1
2
Caves
5/16
1
2
5/16
1
1
5/16
2
1/16
3

Enemies: Rhinotaur, GreaseMonk, Rhodox, Trilobiter, Primordite, Gold Bear, TunnelArmr

Treasures: Tincture, RodThunder Rod, X-Potion

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. You know the drill by now. Kill with OIce spells and pointy knives. Rhinotaur will still counter spells with Megavolt, so lay off it when you meet one. Your goal is to reach the cave entrance to the northwest (anything else is blocked, and there's nothing there anyway). You can rest in Sabin's hut if you're hurt.

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!

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 OAntdot spell, whichever you seem to have more resources for; out of battle, a RelicStar 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 Primordite and Trilobiter fall to a single single-target OIce spell. Primordite also falls to Locke's physical. Trilobiters 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 RelicGenji 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 RodThunder Rod now and will become a RelicHero Ring later. The RodThunder 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 RelicHero Ring just because the RodThunder Rod is in no way necessary to make it through TunnelArmr, but it's up to you. You heard strange noises all the time in this cave. 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!
TunnelArmr
TunnelArmr
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
16
1300
900
250
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
10
15
0
29
145
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ToolsBio Blaster
Rare: DirkAir Lancet
Common: Elixir
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
TunnelArmr is more or less a scripted battle; it forces you to use Celes as a Runic user while Locke should Attack, Attack, Attack!

TunnelArmr is boring. He uses Attack, !Drill, OFire, OBolt, and OPoison to hurt you. If he hits 384 HP, he'll swap the possibility of casting OPoison for the ability to fire off Tek 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 TunnelArmr still has anything. If you steal a second DirkAir Lancet, and Locke still has a RelicGenji Glove with a DirkGuardian equipped, you can use the second DirkAir Lancet by equipping it mid-battle. Have Locke use a Potion if either character gets low on HP; the strongest attack he'll be able to successfully use is !Drill, which hits for slightly over 100 HP worth of damage on a RelicGenji Glove wearing, Front Row Locke. Otherwise, he should simply attack. Expand Full Strategy
  

Eventually, you'll beat the burrowing fiend, and you'll be good to go!

1.18: Reunited: Defend that Esper!

Enemies: HeavyArmor, Fidor, Trooper, Bounty Man, Rider, Kefka

Reality split the Returners into factions, but due to the power of Friendship and Plot Device, they all found their way to Narshe to reunite, bigger and badder than before! 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 finish the job Terra started - 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
SwordRegal Cutlass
ShieldHeavy Shield
HelmetMagus Hat/HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorSilk Robe
RelicEarrings

Edgar - Back Row
LanceMithril Pike
ShieldHeavy Shield
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorIron Armor

Locke - Front Row
DirkAir Lancet/DirkGuardian
DirkAir Lancet/DirkGuardian
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorNinja Gear
RelicGenji Glove

Celes - Back Row
SwordRegal Cutlass
ShieldHeavy Shield
HelmetMagus Hat/HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorSilk Robe

Sabin - Back Row
ClawMithril Claw
ShieldBuckler
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorKung Fu Suit

Cyan - Back Row
KnifeKotetsu
ShieldHeavy Shield
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorIron Armor

Gau - Front Row
ShieldMithril Shield
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorKung Fu Suit
RelicEarrings

I'll leave most of the relics up to you. I'd really advise one pair of RelicEarrings on Gau, as he'll be doing monster multi-target magical damage. If you have Fire Dance, equip one more pair of RelicEarrings on Sabin as well. RelicRunning Shoes are great for those you want to attack first: Either Locke (for Stealing before killing) or Gau (for killing ASAP). RelicAtlas Armlet is nice for those you'll be doing physical with (Locke, Cyan; not Edgar), and the RelicBlack Belt is only worth it on Locke.

The teams! The monster hitters at this point of the game are Edgar and Gau. Edgar's ToolsBio Blaster, 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 OFire spells are starting to become really poor when talking damage output, and Edgar will like the OCure spells.

Gau rules this part of the game even more than he rules most parts. He will be doing superior multi-target damage when using Pterodon' Fireball or Marshal'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 Fire Dance, this team will more than make up for its lack of OCure spells; if not, this is easily the weakest team out of the three. Both Cyan and Sabin will have sufficient single-target damage without the ability to heal beyond 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 Marshal's minions; if the soldiers reach Banon, it's Game Over. Your job is to serve and 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 Tonics outside of battle). When you run into a green soldier, you'll either fight a pack of four Troopers (75% of the time) or two Troopers and a Bounty Man (25%). The brown soldiers, meanwhile, put you up against a Fidor and Trooper (75%) or two Troopers and a HeavyArmor (25%). When you get to the end, you will fight a Rider (the last brown soldier) and finally Kefka.

The battle strategy here is simple. If you have a strong multi-target character (Gau, possibly Sabin, Edgar against Troopers), let them do their killing. Strong single-target characters (Locke with RelicGenji Glove, Sabin, Cyan) should pick apart single enemies. Weak offensive characters (Locke without RelicGenji Glove, Terra, Celes) can support the general party by Stealing and Curing.

Troopers fall to ToolsBio Blaster and are generally weak units. Avoid the Attack command against them as their strong point is !Swing, which they'll only use to as a counter to Attack.

Bounty Mans, like their palette swaps, Escape when alone. In a Trooper x2, Bounty Man monster formation, you can take out the Troopers 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.

HeavyArmor 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 shouldn't be using OIce anyway, so that won't be a concern. Don't start using Hazer or Templar, though.

After the two waves of 'normal' enemies are over, there are but two opponents remaining: Rider and Kefka. Rider is surfing around Kefka so you'll need to take him out first.

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. Rider has a common ArmorMithril Vest, a piece of armor everybody can equip that is superior to everything so far but the ArmorNinja Gear. There's also a rare Elixir. Kefka features the same rare Elixir and common Ethers, a superior version to the insanely expensive Tincture. I'd advise you to steal three ArmorMithril Vests (you'll take one ArmorNinja Gear along) and as many Ethers as you want. Ethers are very rare, very useful, and you're not going to get unlimited amounts of them until near the end of the game, 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, the beast has layers, and you peel several ArmorMithril Vests off of him? OnionRider!

Rider
Rider
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
14
1300
170
1290
400
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
48
10
0
120
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
Rare: ArmorMithril Vest
Common: Remedy
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
impconfusion
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
firepoison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Metamorph Package
 
 
Strategy
 
Rider is a durable fellow who has an extremely strong physical attack in !SilverPike, which he also uses to counter a successful Steal attempt. Every fourth attack, he has a 1/3 chance of using Virite, a multi-target Poison-elemental attack with low accuracy that also sets the Poison status.

Gau can take him out in a single hit with Rhodox's Snare and the OBreak spell from Dark Wind and/or Commander. If you have nothing along those lines, Areneid's !Numb and Primordite's !Numblade will stop him in his actions. If you lack Gau (shame on you), Cyan's Slash works great if used first, and any combination of your strongest attacks should suffice. He can also counter any Attack with R.Polarity on that character. Expand Full Strategy
  

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.

Kefka
Kefka
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
18
3000
3000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
25
9
30
55
160
30
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
Rare: Ether
Common:
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Kefka is vulnerable to Stop, so have Gau use the Araneid and/or Primordite Rages 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 a single-target blast, regardless of row. Have your other character(s) give it their best shot. Terra's OFire 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 SwordRune Edge to some very nice result. Locke should Attack, Edgar should unload his ToolsAutocrossbow, Sabin relies on good old Aurabolt, Cyan can use Dispatch or his fourth Bushido, Quadra Slam, 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. Expand Full Strategy
  

When Kefka is defeated, he'll manage to escape, leaving behind an utterly useless, albeit new, RelicPeace Ring.

And that was that. Terra leaves behind the equipment she had on her, thoughtfully.

1.19: Respite at Narshe

Treasures: 5000 Gil, RelicEarrings, Elixir, RelicHyper Wrist, RelicWall Ring, RelicSneak Ring, DirkThief Knife

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. To the west, there are the caves where the Moogles live. To the north are the coal mines 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 also the first time you have to make a choice between your seven characters. Who to take, who 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 his Fire Dance Blitz, a great multi-target 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, OBio, and !Numbclaw. If you found even one third of the Rages I recommended earlier, Gau is a much better choice then whoever 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 Brawler, which, frankly, still puts him above Cyan but doesn't make him superior to Locke or Celes. Celes is a nice addition to your team as a OCure user. You have all the offensive power you could ever need with ToolsFlash (Edgar's new multi-target damage Tool) and Fire Dance, 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 Araneid or Primordite. 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 OCure, 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. Dispatch is so-so and though Cyan learns Quadra Slam, you either have to charge it up while the Figaro Brothers attack, in which case there's nothing left to Slam or put all other characters are on hold, which disrupts the flow of the battle. Also, Quadra Slam is far inferior to ToolsFlash and Fire Dance.

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. Battle-wise, Shadow is a straight offense man with very acceptable single-target damage from a Thrown ShurikenShuriken and extremely strong multi-target damage at the cost of 500 Gil a toss from the elemental scrolls in Kohlingen.

In the end, my personal recommendation is a team consisting of Edgar, Sabin, Gau, and Locke.

New weapons in Narshe include the SpecialFlail and the SpecialFull Moon. The SpecialFlail is a weapon for Terra and Celes; Terra is gone and Celes will still do more damage with and OIce spell than with the SpecialFlail. 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 a moot point. OIce spells do cost MP where a SpecialFlail attack does not, so in theory, it could have its use. The SpecialFull Moon 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.

At the armor shop, ShieldMithril Shields are finally available for everybody! Buy one for the entire team. All other items were previously obtainable.

Especially if you don't bring Celes, Potions might come in handy, so keep an eye out for your stock at the Item Shop. Fenix 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 in a house to the east. While normally that'd include such useless trinkets as paled paintings and broken silverware, what is offered here is very nice indeed. In the small shack, you'll find 5000 Gil, a DirkThief Knife, RelicEarrings, a RelicWall Ring, a RelicSneak Ring and a RelicHyper Wrist. The DirkThief Knife is Locke's superior weapon that I was talking about. The RelicSneak Ring doubles his Steal success rate; the treasure hunter is quite hyped at this point!

If you walk to the north, where you entered the coal mines to find the Esper with Terra and company, 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 Spectre and Rinn from the security checkpoint? Well, guess what: Spectre has a rare RodIce Rod for you to steal, and with Locke, you finally have access to it. The odds are far too small, but while the RodIce 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.

1.20: Getting to Kohlingen (With an Optional Side Trip)

Enemies: Leafer, Dark Wind, Sand Ray, Araneid

Terra flew off. Not only do you personally care for her well-being, but she is also 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 saw 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...

You have three RelicEarrings now to split between those of your party who can use it (Sabin, Gau, and Edgar). Celes' damage will be lower than the rest anyway, so trying to make something out of it will just be a waste of an RelicEarrings. If you have the RelicGenji Glove, Locke and Cyan (in that order) will benefit from it, possibly paired with a RelicBlack Belt for Cyan, though you'll want to equip that RelicSneak Ring on Locke.

There is one small task you can perform before going 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 Aspik. Anguiform performs OAqua Rake, which, although weaker than Wind Slash on multiple targets, will nail the weakness of many more monsters later on. Aspik uses Giga Volt, which is an obscenely strong magical attack that sometimes goes multi-target (far surpassing OAqua Rake and Wind Slash in that aspect), but even its single-target surpasses anything. For comparison, it's almost as strong as a OFire 2 spell hitting a weakness. It's not entirely necessary as Gau's attacks are already stronger than whatever attacks your other characters have.

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 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 at the bottom of the map 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.

In Figaro Castle, there are new Tools for sale! ToolsFlash is a non-elemental, multi-target magical attack, so your RelicEarrings on Edgar will shine even more. ToolsDrill is an attack like Dispatch, Pummel, and ShurikenShuriken: Physical, barrier-piercing, and non-elemental. ToolsDrill beats Dispatch and Pummel 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 if Edgar is your leader. If you lack Edgar in your party but have Sabin, the merchant will notice... but no discount for you.

At this stage, the Suplex Blitz will start becoming more dangerous than Aurabolt when Sabin is without RelicEarrings. With RelicEarrings, the damage difference is marginal, but you'll want to get used to using Suplex when only one monster is on the battlefield as it will do double damage when only one target remains.

Cyan will learn Quadra Slam at level 15. The charge time becomes noticeable now, and the result is hardly worth it: Four hits on random targets with the same total damage as ToolsDrill. I would advise Cyan to stick to Dispatch and Attack (Dispatch is slightly stronger, but RelicGenji Glove Attack is targetable).

Taking either Edgar or Sabin to Figaro Castle will draw a reaction from them. If you go sleep at the Inn of Figaro Castle with both Edgar and Sabin, a special scene will be revealed, however there's a better time to watch this so I'll bring it up later when the timing is right. When you're done, have the man in the room left of the entrance ship you to Kohlingen.

1.21: Kohlingen

Grasslands
6/16
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
Forest
6/16
2
3
5/16
1
1
1
5/16
2
2
Desert
6/16
1
2
5/16
1
5/16
2

Enemies: Sand Ray, Araneid, FossilFang, Vulture, Iron Fist, Red Fang, Mind Candy, Over Grunk

Treasures: Elixir, HelmetGreen Beret

You've safely arrived on the other side of the mountains, on an exciting new continent. New monsters, too! Check the enemy formations!

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 non-narcotic grass grows. 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.

The weapon shop has no new weapons for you, but what is interesting is the fact you can buy scrolls here. 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 SkeanFire Skeans. 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 Final Fantasy 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.

The only new item of interest at the Armor Shop is the HelmetHead Band. The HelmetHead Band is a ridiculously expensive helmet that is actually inferior to the HelmetGreen Beret. If you have any characters that can equip it without having a HelmetGreen Beret for them, you might consider buying one, but note that you'll get another HelmetGreen Beret somewhere in this city. If you brought Locke instead of Celes, this might be a good time to make sure your amount of Potions doesn't drop to one-digit levels. Never travel without fewer than 5 Fenix Downs and less than 20 Potions, as they're always useful. The most important are the Revivifys; carry a few at all times, as the Zombie status they cure can only be healed by Tents and Revivify and Tents are just a waste to use just for that.

To the northwest is Rachel's House, which houses an Elixir within yet another clock. Rachel 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.

To the northeast, there is a large mansion that houses two points of interest. If you sneak through the back entrance, you'll find a HelmetGreen Beret in a barely-visible chest. If you descend to the cellar, you'll meet a crazy man who apparently keeps a body lying around, preserving it; if you have Locke, you can add some more story to him, and Celes will make a short but important supporting-actress performance when she's also in your party. The old man will refuse to divulge the secrets of the body if Locke isn't in your party, though.

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 but it's important to stress again that Shadow might leave you at any time after every battle. Also, you now finally have access to the infamous Shadow's Dreams!

A burnt 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. We're off to Jidoor, to the South.

1.22: Next Stop: Jidoor

North Grasslands
6/16
2
1
5/16
2
5/16
2
South Grasslands
6/16
2
2
5/16
1
1
5/16
4
Forest
6/16
2
3
5/16
1
1
1
5/16
2
2
Desert
6/16
1
2
5/16
1
5/16
2

Enemies: Sand Ray, Araneid, FossilFang, Vulture, Iron Fist, Red Fang, Mind Candy, Over Grunk

Treasures: RelicHero Ring, Tincture

While searching for Terra, you were told she went to Jidoor. But reaching Jidoor is not an easy task as the road there is a long and dangerous one.

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 RelicHero Ring, which is basically RelicAtlas Armlet and RelicEarrings combined. They work on every character, but are 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 FossilFang 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 Revivify to cure), and Sand Storm 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 of these monsters 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 Fenix Down or Revivify (you can buy three Fenix Downs or six Revivifys 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 Fenix Down/Revivify with Locke, ToolsDrill a hole with Edgar, Sabin can deliver massive pain with Aurabolt (it's super-effective), Celes can make little difference regardless besides a multi-target OCure when a Sand Storm attack kicks in, Cyan can use Slash early on or deliver a Dispatch later, and Gau's Dark Side, Anguiform, Templar and Rhodox 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 Mind Candy, which only appear near Jidoor anyway), are worth crap so you're not really missing out.

The grasslands and forests are littered with fairly useless enemies, but the Iron Fists are fairly dangerous. When they're alone they will use Stone, a horrid spell that not only will do 7.5x 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 ToolsAutocrossbow, Fire Dance, Wind Slash, and whatnot on your own party members. You'll want to avoid this scenario at all costs; kill Iron Fists first.

All other enemies are generally unassuming. and Over Grunk can poison you, so watch out, and give them priority over Mind Candy bugs. These simple pests prolong the battle by putting you to sleep. They're easy enemies and you should destroy them.

Fire Dance and ToolsFlash rule supreme as heavy-hitting multi-target spells that can seriously weaken or kill anything they touch with consistent effort. Wind Slash, Giga Volt, and OAqua Rake 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 Shimsham 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. There's a peninsula to the south of Jidoor, leading to a sole building. This is the Opera House, and it's closed.

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.

Jidoor has new weapons! The ClawKaisers are for Sabin, and they're Holy-elemental. While they're fairly legendary throughout a lot of Final Fantasy games, here they have negligible use. I do suggest you pick up two of them, as there will be one scenario where they will come in handy. KnifeForged are new Knives for Cyan. If you have Cyan in your party, you probably made a RelicGenji Glove/RelicBlack Belt out of him; two KnifeForged improve his usefulness. DirkKodachi blades are for Shadow; disregarding that you're unlikely to actually have him on the team, the fact that any Thrown ShurikenShuriken will surpass any held blade in damage will make sure the DirkThief 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 DirkThief Knife on the treasure hunter.

Jidoor sells expensive new armor. First and foremost, you'll notice ArmorMithril 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 ArmorNinja 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 ArmorWhite Dress: If you have money, buy two. The ArmorWhite Dress is great, giving a hefty Magic Boost and solid Magic Defense.

This is the first time you can buy noteworthy nice Relics! RelicEarrings are for sale in Jidoor. After the many new weapons, potions, scrolls, whatever, it's unlikely you have a lot of money to spare, but if your party can really use a third RelicEarrings (say, if you brought Gau, Edgar, Sabin, and Celes), consider buying one.

All the way to the north is a massive mansion that would be suitable as an attraction in a cheesy amusement park. There's a Tincture in one of the buckets.

Time to explore the town! Beyond everything already described above, there's precious little to explore, actually; like in the case of real 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 information they provide:
  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.

1.23: Zozo

Outside
5/16
4
5/16
1
5/16
1
2
1/16
1
1
Inside
5/16
1
5/16
1
2
5/16
1
1/16
1
3

Enemies: Iron Fist, Harvester, HadesGigas, Gabbldegak, SlamDancer, Dadaluma

Treasures: RelicThief Glove, ClawFire Knuckle, ToolsChainsaw, Tincture x2, RelicRunning Shoes, Potion, Tonic, X-Potion

Lore: OStone

Upon entering Zozo, the image you had of it will quickly abandon 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 twenty-ton step. Corpses rot on the street. Towering constructions reach into the sky. And somewhere in this chaos, Terra is waiting for you.

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, Pterodon, Aspik, or Hornet. It will protect at least him from the dreaded Magnitude 8 attack 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 your shorts down.

First off, how to treat the enemies here. It's incomprehensible why these cretins wield the 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.

SlamDancers should be your first concern, period. If they are alone, they start casting OFire 2, OIce 2, or OBolt 2. Always. A focused single-target level 2 spell will probably kill a character. A multi-target 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 DirkThief Knifes from them and then end their lives.

HadesGigas 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 HadesGigas 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 a multi-target 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. Dark Wind is also an efficient way of dealing with the wall of muscle, but OBreak won't stop the Magnitude 8 attack. Cross your fingers and make sure you have four Tonics or Celes' OCure 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 DirkDirk or a DirkMithril Knife at you. This is crazy high single-target 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! Gabbldegak 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 ToolsNoiseBlaster is far and entirely superior to Gau's Brawler Rage (OStone), but if you didn't bring Edgar, you have precious little choice should you want to employ this tactic. A confused Gabbldegak has a 33% chance of casting OVanish on 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 OVanish 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 ToolsChainsaw 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 a Tincture. Now, you can track back!

The ToolsChainsaw Tower is the one you were meant to explore last. The trick is that there is a mysterious clock 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 clue refers to the nearest clock, not the treasure clock. Examining the correct clock will indicate that the hand is at 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, in other words 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. That is a 50% chance with no penalty for being wrong, but you'll quickly find out once you've tried one of them you know that 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 ToolsChainsaw. It's a powerful new Tool for Edgar that is basically ToolsDrill 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.

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 RelicThief 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 RelicThief 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 RelicSneak Ring 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:


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 Potion and also an Tincture hidden in two pots here. Leave this detour of a building and jump back to the normal one. 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 ClawFire Knuckle hidden in the small chamber here; the door is obvious. Eventually, you will reach Dadaluma.

Dadaluma
Dadaluma
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
22
3270
1005
1210
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
12
3
0
85
143
10
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicJewel Ring
Common: DirkThief Knife
Rare: HelmetHead Band
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonberserkconfusion
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Strategy
 
Dadaluma is...yeah, what the hell is he anyway? He's a crazy lying dog like the entire population of Zozo, charging 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 plus a load of anabolic steroids. Most of his attacks are physical, and his most powerful ones are thrown weapons. Your Invisible characters are relatively safe if he doesn't expose them with Shock Wave, 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 Tonic or Potion three times and cast OSafe 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 thus escape their one and only strength: Stone.

So yeah, you can imagine what to do. Try to nick that rare RelicSneak Ring with Locke. Edgar can play with his new tools. Aurabolt with Sabin. Cyan's Quadra Slam will be better before Dadaluma has cast the OSafe spell on himself, but Dispatch comes out victorious after he's successfully done so. Even when Protect isn't in effect, the wait time might make Dispatch more appealing to you. Celes' OImp spell can seriously cripple Dadaluma, as it actually works on him. His physicals will now always do twice as much damage, but his Shock Wave/Throw days are over, so if you have any characters under Invisible, you're destined to win. Have her pose as a back-up OCure 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 Araneid and Primordite Rages will set Stop on Dadaluma, turning him completely useless. Trilium also offers OBio, which will hit for CRAZY damage. Shadow can simply toss his stuff; his Scrolls (especially when RelicEarrings-boosted) will come out stronger than his ShurikenShuriken, but you might not want to waste them on an easy fight like this. Expand Full Strategy
  

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 off to the sides here, containing rather nice items: an X-Potion and a set of RelicRunning Shoes. 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. 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!

1.24: Back to Jidoor

Enemies: Vulture, Iron Fist, Red Fang, Mind Candy, Over Grunk

As it turns out, Terra is apparently safe in Zozo. All she needs is more time to understand her newfound powers. EsperRamuh, 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, EsperRamuh'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 Southern Continent, they disabled any means of non-military travel to and from there. So how will these Returners reach Vector? Jidoor might hold some answers.

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 (Dispatch fails to measure up to your other offensive options, and Quadra Slam is going to be laughable most of the time). Shadow is still in the Kohlingen Inn if you haven't already taken him from there. However, if you take him now, he will leave the party again later and to replace him you'll have to march all the way back to Narshe. You shouldn't consider Shadow at this point.

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. Between Edgar and Sabin, I'd definitely pick Edgar over Sabin. They're about equal in offense at this point, but Edgar has the option of using the ToolsNoiseBlaster, 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, Aspik, Mind Candy, SlamDancer, Gabbldegak and HadesGigas. HadesGigas' Magnitude 8 will be stronger than Wind Slash in multi-target damage, but it cannot hit Floating targets. Anguiform and Aspik both hit the weakness of pretty much everything in the next real dungeon, so don't feel complete until you've found them. The previous section has instructions for returning to the Veldt.

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 in some cases give you a stat boost when you level up! To unequip an Esper, select a blank slot from the Esper list.

Your job now is to find a proper means of transportation towards the Empire. 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 apparently wearing a bathing suit, swimming is not an option. Maybe you can get yourself a ship in Jidoor? Money buys anything, right? 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 - those are the points you need to learn spells from your Magicite. Multiply the points you get by the learning rates for spells shown when viewing Magicite in the menu, and you can see how close you are to learning a particular spell.

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'll find somebody called the Impresario. He's having a bad time. Talk to him and grab the letter he drops as you leave. The Impresario is the Big Chief of the Opera. Everybody loves that place, especially because of the lead singer, Maria. 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. That's bad for business. However, he also does not want to call off the next show. That's bad for business. He's in a tight spot. Oh, the troubles of capitalism. You might also have noted that Celes is the 'spitting image' of Maria, it seems. At this point, 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.

Once you reach the Opera House, all will be self-explanatory. So, allow me to skip to the next thrilling action sequence, which involves a scene that ranks highly for many Final Fantasy gamers.

1.25: The Opera House

Enemies: Sewer Rat, Vermin, Ultros 2

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. Yes, Ultros followed you here. The reason is not clear; it's doesn't seem to be revenge for beating him earlier, 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 (when convenient to your other goals). Celes needs to be successfully abducted here, and we can't have any octopi ruining the plan. 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 RelicSprint Shoes equipped.

The Impresario predicted Setzer would arrive in the first scene, and since 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 – okay, okay, you get the picture, the assumption is a bit dubious. Nonetheless, Celes needs to survive only through the first scene before she gets her proverbial homerun. Here's what she has to do: Sing. You could and should have memorized the lyrics before hitting the stage, as Locke presses you pretty hard to do so, but in case you didn't, here are the correct options - when first prompted, take the first option, then the second, then the first again. At that point, the flowers will appear, and you should run to pick them up (with the action button), as you will need to ascend the stairs, talking to Draco thrice, and reach the far end of the balcony before the interlude ends. 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 (by messing up the lines, not moving fast enough, or being defeated by Ultros 2 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 clearly hasn't been kind to you and you receive the message "It looks like you weren't exactly born to be on stage..." along with an actual Game Over.

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, as he informed Locke via letter. Notifying your nemesis: 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! The best is 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..."

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. From left to right, we'll call the four switches "1," "2," "3," and "Super!" Why not? Switch 1 makes a sound like a dog barking, an essential feature of any opera facility. 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 entertaining, but there's a threat of imminent squashing by aquatic nuisance and one can't just 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 now.

Just kidding! 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 you run into triggers a battle - 75% of the time, you'll hit a Vermin and two Sewer Rats; the other 25% chance gives you three Sewer Rats and two Vermin. The Vermin monsters (yellow) are the main problem, the Sewer Rats (black/green) the lackeys. If you take out all the Sewer Rats while one or two Vermin still live, they'll call more, prolonging the battle. So have Edgar, Locke and RelicGenji Glove'd Cyan and/or Sabin go for the single-target kill on those before you try to engage in multi-target slaughter.

Vermin are weak against Ice, so if Gau can Rage SlamDancer or Dark Side, that might be a good idea too. They have nothing worth stealing, so don't waste time there. Supposedly 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, do you hear? miss them!) and it's a damn hard feat to boot.

Ultros 2
Ultros 2
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
19
2550
500
2
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
4
0
105
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Dried Meat
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
firelightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Before you try to hurt Ultros, make sure your EsperRamuh-wearing character is equipped with an RelicEarrings relic (or two). If you have a ClawFire Knuckle-wearing Sabin, he should be in the third or fourth position, as this will ensure that he faces Ultros' back at the start of the match. Make sure that your party is covered in RelicPeace Rings/RelicRibbons, 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 fewer 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 completes two turns 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, however, treats this battle as one with four Ultros's, each with his own set of 2550 HP. If you hurt Ultros but let him escape to a different position, you can OScan him and see he will again have 2550 out of 2550 HP. At least, that's what you would see if this Ultros weren't immune to OScan. So, the trick is to kill him as quickly 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 (If he reaches the 3 at the end of the chain, he'll attack four times before sliding back to 2*).

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 ClawFire Knuckle then he will with his Blitz attacks (unless it's Fire Dance, and only if he's hitting with the ClawFire Knuckle 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 OFire (66%)
  3. Attack (33%) or Lv. 3 Confuse (66%)
  4. Attack or Mega Volt or ODrain


Locke is fairly useless; Ultros has nothing to steal whatsoever. If Locke knows OSlow or OBolt 2, have him cast it. Otherwise, just attack. Edgar's ToolsChainsaw inflicts very decent damage, and I've said hopefully enough about Sabin's ClawFire Knuckle already to generate the impression that I actually want you to use it. Cyan should ignore his Bushido command and act like Locke. Gau, finally, can either pick a Rage like Aspik or Hazer for direct violence (Aspik is godly), or Primordite/Araneid for causing Stop if you want to prevent him from changing position rather than going for a speed kill.

Unless it's equipped on Sabin, summoning EsperRamuh takes priority over anything else; you may consider giving it to one of the others in the case that EsperRamuh is paired with Sabin leading up to this battle. It's basically a OBolt 2 spell coming from someone who probably hasn't learned OBolt 2 yet, which makes EsperRamuh incredibly effective against your marine adversary. Expand Full Strategy
  

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. Costume changes like that could have some... utility... in our world, no?

1.26: The Blackjack to Albrook

Treasures: Elixir, Tincture, Potion

My God, Setzer is awesome. He's a world-traveling albino pirate who kidnaps this game's equivalent of Kylie Minogue 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 Wachowskis 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 no one has even yet heard of. First, he is persuaded to listen to your tale of woe rather than kick you off his property. Then, he is converted from a rather pro-Empire guy to a full-fledged Narshesque or Swiss I-don't-knower. Finally, Setzer joins your cause! It was inevitable after all: You were given the option to give him a name, right? Celes will fool him with a double-headed coin. If Edgar is 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.

Here's an interesting note if you are playing the SNES original or Playstation port. Normally, of course, we'd hide such version-specific data if you're not playing that game, but this one's a bit more interesting than most. You'll notice that Setzer joins the party despite pointing out that "the Empire's made me a rich man," making him sound awfully generous for acting against his monetary interests. This, however, is a mistranslation and is corrected in the GBA version of the game to say "the Empire's been bad for business", providing Setzer with a considerably less-noble motivation for helping out. The Japanese phrase in question, amounting to 'business has gone up' actually means that business has 'dried up' or 'evaporated', not increased. Criticize Woolsey if you wish, but Setzer surely appreciates the good press.

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. Good-for-nothing albino pirate gamblers only sharing with the rest of us for profit...

When you hop off the airship, you're near a town you've never seen. This is Square's gentle way of saying, "Oi! Go visit that town!" Well, do it. 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... oh, just re-equip already. Editor's note: See, this is why you should be posting at the CoN forums. They're considerably less creepy than that.

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 HP 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 - foreshadowing!). 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 for you to urinate if you don't watch out). The other one is talking about two ultimate weapons; one a sword, one a monster.

I'm sure we'll never meet either of them.

Weapon Shop: The Weapon shop has SwordEpees (which you can ignore if you want, as neither Celes nor Edgar will ever use it), KnifeForged for Cyan that you previously bought in Jidoor (right?), and ClawPoison Claw for Sabin, of which I recommend you buy two. You can leave Shadow's DirkBlossom for now, as he's not around and you'll be able to buy more of them later.

Armor Shop: The Olde Armore Shoppe sells nothing of value other than HelmetBard's Hats. They're the magical equivalent of the HelmetGreen Berets; where HelmetGreen Berets raise HP by 12.5 percent and give you a 10% bonus on your Evasion rating, the HelmetBard'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 HelmetGreen 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: The Relic Shop has RelicAmulets and RelicWall Rings. The RelicAmulet will be kind of a necessity in later dungeons, but you can wait for now. Make sure to grab four RelicWall Rings here, though. These RelicWall Rings will make a few boss battles in the future much easier. The main attractions at the moment though are RelicEarrings; Relic are almost universally useful. You should have four RelicEarrings and a RelicHero Ring; you might want to buy another one or even two. RelicEarrings are great damage boosters.

Item Shop: Items of +2/+2 using. First place you can buy a Remedy.

The Cafe is plain awesome. I wish there was a place in real-life 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 Potion in a barrel next to the Inn. A hidden Tincture 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.

1.27: Traveling on the Southern Continent

Middle/West Grasslands
6/16
3
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
Southwest/East Grasslands
5/16
1
1
5/16
1
2
5/16
3
1/16
5
Forest
10/16
1
1
2
6/16
5
Desert
5/16
3
5/16
3
1
5/16
2
1/16
6

Enemies: FossilFang, ChickenLip, Joker, Ralph, Wyvern, WeedFeeder, Bug

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? Good. Make sure you have RelicSneak Ring on Locke, as the upcoming monsters might actually have something worth stealing. If any of the characters know OFloat, cast it on the party. If not, have Gau (if present) Rage Hornet or a similar Rage that is Float-inducing.

There's a plethora (expensive word: +500 Exp.) of dangerous monsters around. WeedFeeders are entirely like CrassHoppr, only they're red. They're just as weak to Fire as their green brethren are, they're just as silly with their physical attacks and berserking attempts, and they're just as likely to find themselves in several flaming pieces on the cold earth in a relatively brief period of time.

The Ralph is simple Attack/Special cannon fodder, only it's kinda sturdy and tends to take more than one attack to kill. Also, they have a rare HelmetTiger Mask steal, a nice Helmet for Sabin and/or Gau that you probably want to swap for the HelmetGreen Beret (but only for the sake of being able to; I'd still say the HelmetGreen Beret is the better choice). For a bit of trivia, their Anthology Bestiary entry mentions these dogs were created as a test of using Magitek power. But then again, the Bestiary is so full of crap I tend to ignore it despite the fact it is official Square material.

Jokers are jerks. They're floating, so they're immune to your strongest multi-target 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 OBolt 2, which you will really want to prevent. Summoning EsperSiren is a very good idea if you run into them, as doing so removes the threat of both spells. ToolsNoiseBlaster also works well. Rarely, they will drop RodMithril Rods. You didn't have those yet. If you were greedy, you'll have three different kinds of Rod already, and nobody to 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 RelicDragoon Boots for any Lockes you might have in your party, which also sell for a whole bunch of moola.

ChickenLip are the silliest and potentially the most deadly of the monsters found on the continent. When they're alone, they cast OQuake. Surely, they must've abandoned all hope of getting out of the battle alive, as it hurts them as well. OQuake is an Earth-elemental, barrier-piercing spell that hits every target on screen as long as it isn't Floating; it's seriously powerful. If you kept Stray around long enough for any of your characters to learn OFloat, be sure to cast it if you are still touching the ground. Otherwise, they're weak to Ice and look silly.

The desert houses FossilFang, though you should be used to their presence by now. 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 a normal Attack, that is, and only if they were alone, and only 33% of the time, but still... avoid what ails ya, regardless.

To sum it up: Have Locke try and steal from Ralph and Wyvern monsters, don't let ChickenLip or Wyvern alone, both are weak to Ice attacks, summon EsperSiren when you meet Jokers (and Wyvern and ChickenLip if you're not feeling confident about your ability to take them out first, since EsperSiren stops OQuake 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. If you go to the mountains to see the Imperial Observation Post, 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 has SpecialBoomerangs for sale, a slight improvement over the SpecialFull Moon, HelmetMithril Helms for sale, featureless helmets for everybody but Sabin, and RelicBlack Belt Relics for sale. Maranda also has SpecialBoomerangs and HelmetMithril Helms, but also LanceTridents for sale, a Water-elemental Spear, ArmorMithril Mail for sale, better armor for Cyan and Edgar, and a free Remedy and Revivify to find!

That's not everything, of course, but it's the basics. Hit the next chapter for more detail.

1.28: Optionally Delaying a Scary Trip to Vector

Enemies: Commando, ProtoArmor, Mega Armor

Treasures: Revivify, Remedy

First, to the Empire's eastern post. The base has a bit of a generic name for now, but the real 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 Commandos, and the Armored soldier is a ProtoArmor/Mega Armor combo.

Note on the four Commandos: 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, Commandos 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 stock of Tents to about 20 and gains some sweet spells in the meantime.

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: The Weapon Shop offers nothing you can use other than the SpecialBoomerang. The SpecialBoomerang is a slightly better version of the SpecialFull Moon, so if you were using it I suggest you replace it.

Armor Shop: Here's some Mythril equipment! However, you have plenty of ShieldMithril Shields from Narshe, and you could've obtained enough ArmorMithril Vests from Rider earlier. So, if you played smart so far, the only feature of meaning is the HelmetMithril Helms. It has a slight defensive boost over the HelmetGreen Beret and the HelmetBard's Hat, but it isn't worth the loss of the special properties inherent to those two headgears, in my opinion. And it's flat-out worse than the HelmetTiger Mask.

Relic Shop: Nice Relics for sale in Tzen. The RelicAmulet 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: Present and accounted for.

You might want to grab a Chocobo in the hidden Chocobo Stable in the forest to the east of Tzen.

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 forced 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.

If you sent an item, received her next request and then didn't respond to that subsequent letter, Lola will go back to her "mean heroes didn't help" text.

Weapon Shop: The Weapon Shop has three new weapons. The LanceTrident, a Water-elemental Spear you might want to use later in the game, the mandatory SwordEpee, and the SpecialBoomerang you could've found in Tzen. On the whole, buy a LanceTrident and leave.

Armor Shop: 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 ArmorMithril Mail, heavy defensive equipment for Celes, Cyan, and Edgar. I wouldn't recommend it on Celes though, as the ArmorWhite 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 HelmetGreen 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 more a dungeon than a town.

If you want two free items, find the Revivify in the bottom crate west of the south exit and find the Remedy in one of the two crates near the arguing couple.

1.29: Vector, Seat of Power

Walking Soldiers
3/4
2
2
1/4
2
1
Mechanized Soldiers
3/4
1
2
1/4
2
Facility Guards
3/4
2
2
1/4
2
1

Enemies: Commando, Garm, ProtoArmor, 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. First is the Imperial Palace, home to Emperor Gestahl, General Leo Christophe, and General Kefka Palazzo; the other is 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. In the part of town closer to the Imperial Palace (to the north), soldiers roam the streets. Normal troopers and armored troopers have different monster formations.

There's not much to see in terms of landmarks. 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 OCure 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 HP above zero. The Weapon Shop and Armor Shop sell nothing you couldn't buy in Albrook.

Weapon Shop: You shouldn't need anything here. If you haven't bought a DirkBlossom blade yet, now's your chance. The DirkBlossom 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 weapon - at least for now. Note that the DirkBlossom is Wind-elemental.

Armor Shop: 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.

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 the 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. You 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, anyway.

Now, make sure you're fully healed before you engage in the rescue mission of a lifetime.

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, so try not to do that. If you want out after leaping off the beams, though, it's the only way.

1.30: Magitek Research Facility

First Room
6/16
2
2
5/16
2
1
5/16
1
2
Second Room
6/16
5
5/16
2
5/16
2
1

Enemies: Pipsqueak, Commando, Garm, ProtoArmor

Treasures: RelicDragoon Boots, Tincture, SwordFlame Sabre, ArmorGold Armor, HelmetGold Helmet, ShieldGold Shield, SwordBlizzard, Tent, SwordThunder Blade, Remedy, X-Potion, RelicZephyr Cape

Unbelievable: You managed to reach Vector and actually made it into the IMRF (Imperial Magitek Research Facility) itself. But you didn't think the place would be 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 of these machines is a nature-perverting hybrid of metal and magic, designed and infused for the sole purpose of killing stuff dead. 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, ye ain't no kinda man." If your physical attack isn't specifically barrier-piercing, the result will be analogous to butting your head against a brick wall. So, Front Row is useless. RelicGenji Glove is useless. A weapon's Attack is useless; if your Locke runs around with a SpecialBoomerang, you might as well switch it to a DirkThief Knife as neither will do even a remotely impressive amount of damage, though the DirkThief Knife at least has added benefits. The same goes for swords, so if you have a SwordRune Edge granting you that extra 10% Evasion, go for it.

So yes, if it can't penetrate defenses and doesn't boast any additional properties, 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:

Not useful:

So yes, try to boost your magical attacks. Cyan will be especially boring and useless here, as Dispatch starts to definitely lack in power and is only single-target. Locke, unless he can make use of some of the more-potent magic, such as EsperSiren or a OBolt spell, should do nothing but Steal (wear a RelicSneak Ring; RelicThief Glove is nigh useless) and use some Potions, if necessary. If you have a Gau around who can Rage Anguiform, you should just wait for him to use OAqua Rake and stall with ToolsNoiseBlaster, Runic, OCure, and Steal, as he will end the battle when he attacks with it. If you're low-leveled, some RelicEarringss might help. If you lack Gau and/or his Anguiform Rage but have the Figaro brothers, a ToolsFlash/Fire Dance combo with some RelicEarrings behind it should end all. If you lack both, you'll have to employ some more sneaky tactics.

The ultimate way of dealing with enemies here is having a character with (1 or 2) RelicEarrings, especially Celes, summon EsperRamuh for Judgment Bolt. Judgment Bolt will kill everything it touches, and it's not random like Gau's OAqua Rake. However, it will cost you 25 MP per summon, so unless you switch EsperRamuh around (which is a lot of trouble as it slows spell learning down) you'll have to use Tinctures to keep it up.

The most common foe is the one you found earlier in the Imperial Observation Post and strolling about the streets of Vector: Commando. 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 whereas machines are usually 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.

Commandos are often accompanied by Garm dogs. They're canine versions of the Commando, really. Cid has provided them with 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 Fire Dance Blitz; they will never use it unless they're alone, and you're bound to take them on with multi-target attacks anyway, right?

The metallic vermin of the IMRF are the Pipsqueak 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 isn't rolling over and dying. The ToolsFlash Tool alone will finish them off without a lot of trouble, let alone Fire Dance and OAqua Rake.

The Empire is about to release a new kind of Magitek Armor, but they have created nothing but prototypes for them yet; the ProtoArmor is the pure chassis of the new model, but fully operational. Its powers over the standard M-TekArmor 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 Telstar) to blind the offensive party, and Cid's personal touch, Program 35, which by magical means fuels the body to deliver physical damage. EsperSiren is massively useful to halt all magical attacks should you wish to disable them prior to destroying them. ToolsNoiseBlaster works too. Besides, Scintillation and Launcher, both more dangerous than Missile, are only carried out if the ProtoArmor is either alone or has just been targeted by an Attack command, which is just foolishness to begin with.

You are now entering what the Bestiary refers to 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 SwordFlame Sabre. It's a nice Fire-elemental sword that mildly boosts your Magic; give it to either Celes or Edgar (with a slight preference to Edgar, 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 screen kinda look like eyes. You'll want to enter the right one first to obtain access to the chest - a Tincture - 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 so desire (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 the 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 SwordThunder 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 SwordFlame Sabre, 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. No chest left behind.

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 the two blades you've already picked up here.

To the bottom-left is the first accessible chest, which contains RelicDragoon Boots. Going up the ladder near it will get you (through a door) to the chest you passed earlier, which will contain a ShieldGold Shield. It's also the way out if you still want to sissy out of the mission. Descending the stairs near the RelicDragoon 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 HelmetGold Helmet. 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 ArmorGold 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, go all the way to the right, and take one step back. Go down a while and you'll see the hidden chamber with two chests; one the SwordBlizzard sword, a blade made entirely out of never-melting ice which serves as the Ice-elemental equivalent of the SwordFlame Sabre and SwordThunder Blade, as well as the RelicZephyr Cape, which boosts both Evasion stats by 10% and introduces a spiffy cape animation when you block something with it.

When 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 conveyor belt you were just thinking of continuing.

Get on the conveyor 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 probably enjoy extra ice in his drinks.

1.31: Imperial Magitek Research Facility: The Pit

Formations
10/16
4
6/16
6

Enemies: Trapper, Flan, General, Rhinox, Gobbler, Ifrit, Shiva, Number 024

Kefka. You don't get to fight him or even confront him this time, and all he basically does is prove with his power-hungry 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: Kefka mentions reviving the Statues, 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. There are a tiny few exceptions, but hey, they're zeroes.

Great Scott, 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-scientist-lab setting and he'd have to be Mary bloody Poppins! 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 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. In this game, Flan are entirely unlike their counterparts. Final Fantasy 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 Magicites on them. Flan, by the way, appear in two different groupings. 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 Rhodox's Snare, you won't get any more Flan down your throat. Gotta save room for real flan.

Now, it's time to turn our attention to the two Espers here. Equip as many RelicWall Rings as you have (obviously, one on every character is plenty) and face them.
Shiva
Shiva
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
21
3000
500
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
7
20
200
110
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
lightningpoisonwindholyearthwater
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
  

Ifrit
Ifrit
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
21
3300
600
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
25
7
20
215
115
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
lightningpoisonwindholyearthwater
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
ice
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
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. EsperIfrit, the fire Esper, and EsperShiva, the ice Esper... eternal counterparts.

Ifrit is the fire Djinni. Next to a physical attack, he performs OFire and OFire 2 spells and a deadly Blaze attack that ignores RelicWall Rings and Runic blade alike. If provoked by three Magic spells from you, he will charge up for a massive OFire 3 attack, which you'll want to avoid at all costs if you're not fully protected from the spell by RelicWall Rings, Celes' Runic, or Gau's possible inherent Fire-elemental absorption.

Shiva, the Ice Queen, will come at you with the more basic OIce and OIce 2 spells, on occasion switching on performing a nasty Storm attack which, while not as strong, penetrates RelicWall Rings and Runic. If damaged she can be quick to retort with an OIce spell, and when hit three times with a Magic spell herself she will cast a ORflect spell on one of your characters, which will send any OIce and OIce 2 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 EsperRamuh'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 the magical, behind-the-scenes 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 the Esper is damaged by any means or the Magic skill is used on them (even if it doesn't actually damage 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 OSlow spell if you have it, else it's a wasted turn as it increments bit 3. ToolsDrill/ToolsChainsaw does great damage, especially when backed up with an RelicAtlas Armlet. Celes can cast a OIce 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 RelicWall Rings). Sabin can Pummel Ifrit and perform Fire Dance when Shiva's around. Locke has no business being a thief in this battle, and might as well grab the SwordBlizzard against Ifrit (he might pull off the random OIce spell) and the SwordFlame Sabre against Shiva (or plain cast the OFire spell if he knows it). Cyan's Dispatch is the only thing he can do with some success, useless cretin that he is. Gau's irresponsible nature makes him a bit untrustworthy here. With other characters backing him up, the wisest course of action will probably be Brawler, as it is non-elemental, magical damage against both targets.

Along with the violence, summoning EsperKirin to aid you throughout the battle and casting a lot of OCure spells is a probably a great idea as you may not have RelicWall Rings here. The Runic blade, more often than not, catches an enemy OIce while letting the OIce 2 spell slip by. Expand Full Strategy
  

1.32: Imperial Magitek Research Facility: The Lab

Stairs
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
Tube Room
6/16
2
1
5/16
1
5/16
2

Enemies: Trapper, Flan, General, Rhinox, Gobbler, Number 024

Treasures: SwordBreak Blade

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 EsperIfrit here and miss it forever; note that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to do so. I say you grab EsperShiva and EsperIfrit and equip them if you think their x5 OIce 2 and OFire 2 spell learn rates look yummy to your tummy. EsperShiva's ORasp and OOsmose spells do not hurt your cause at the slightest; ORasp is a great tactical spell, and OOsmose simply means you won't need any MP-restoring potions anymore. Ever. Rather than 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 OL. 4 Flare, and casting OL. 5 Doom. They will throw fits 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, OL. 4 Flare casts a OFlare-like attack on every character whose level is divisible by 4, which means pure sonic death at this stage of the game, and OL. 5 Doom... 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 Magicites from the Flan until you've collectively reached 19, and if your level is 15 or (especially) 20 you'll need to do this, as you'll never make it otherwise. To take care of Trappers with utmost efficiency, summon EsperRamuh or cast OBolt 2 if you have it. If you brought Edgar, ToolsNoiseBlaster works very well, and like you could expect, Gau's Anguiform-induced OAqua Rake kills them straight up.

Generals, finally, are mere humans. Their Defense is high but not sky-high, and they're normal and weak to OPoison attacks. Unleash the new-found fury of EsperIfrit and EsperShiva if you want; these decorated officers are unassuming compared to the enemies you've found so far. They have restorative powers in an actual spell they learned, OCure 2, but they won't make a lot of use out of it, as they're often too busy being dead to use it.

Gobbler. Is it any surprise the Gobbler 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 Shimsham attacks non-stop. They make for a great MP-refiller for Celes, as it's basically a 20 MP gain every turn the Gobbler takes.

Oh, right, then there are the horned demons from the underworld. They're called Rhinox. 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 BaneStrike, but it's not until they are met with solitude that they start showing their true colors, which are very, very, incompetent. When alone, the Rhinox 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 Rhinox 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 ToolsFlash and Fire Dance, not mentioning the trusted OAqua Rake, 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 SwordBreak Blade. The SwordBreak Blade sadly lacks any special stat bonus properties, but makes up for it with having impressive Attack and a rather interesting randomly cast spell in OBreak, a petrifying move.

At this point, if any of your characters stuck with EsperStray long enough to learn OFloat, 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?
Number 024
Number 024
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
24
4777
777
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
20
3
0
170
100
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: SwordDrainer
Rare: SwordRune Edge
Common: SwordFlame Sabre
Rare: SwordBlizzard
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonpetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
Variable
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Machines tend to have that crippling weakness to Lightning, and they also usually have some sort of Program ## move to dish out. This guy has neither. He uses spells and wields swords, so you'd almost assume he was a human if it wasn't for the 'System error!' message that goes off in the middle of the battle. A cyborg, then, like the Commando? We can only guess. The facts remain that Number 024, while no real challenge even if you forget about his status ailment weaknesses, is just so darn versatile we still love him anyway.

The guy's main move, WallChange, 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 this fellow adapts his fighting style according to his weakness. You can sort his weakness from what he hits you with, if you like. If his weakness is fire, you'll see ice attacks. Vice versa, too. If lightning, you'll see water. Again, vice versa. If it's wind, he'll use earth-based attacks like Magnitude8 and Cave In, and if it's earth he'll go to wind attacks like Sonic Boom and Gale Cut. If he's weak to poison, he'll try to cure himself, and if he's weak to Holy-elemental, he'll try to attack you physically or use Reverse Polarity.

Here's what he'll do. He'll simply strike you physically for 30 seconds (this first round doesn't indicate Holy weakness). Then, he'll do his first WallChange. When you manage to strike his weakness (you can figure it out via Libra spell), he'll perform it again. If 30 seconds of action elapses first instead (are you taking a nap?), he'll perform another WallChange anyway. After he has performed a WallChange three times, he'll go haywire, even though you haven't destroyed him; the result of this 'System error' is apparently 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 WallChange of the battle. Weird stuff, man.

But you won't have to see all this madness. The OSleep spell, taught to you by EsperSiren, works on the fiend, as does EsperStray's OImp 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 OSleep again as soon as possible. If Gau is among your forces, just have him relax. Try to steal with Locke; SwordRune Edge or SwordDrainer, both are nice additions if nothing else. I'd especially go for the SwordDrainer if you have any choice in the matter, as it's quite unique. In the end, Number 024's Hit Points will run out, and he will die. Victory dance, coffee break, et cetera. Expand Full Strategy
  

It seems this Number 024 was guarding the room where the remaining Espers are being subdued in their test tubes. We know that EsperRamuh, EsperKirin, EsperSiren, and EsperStray escaped, which might explain the empty test tubes we saw earlier. In this room, six Espers fuel the Empire's power. Meet EsperBismark and EsperMaduin, EsperUnicorn and EsperShoat, and EsperPhantom and EsperCarbunkl. 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.



The IMRF shakes on its foundations. Time to save your own lives first and ponder important questions later. Join Cid on the elevator, and get out of the place.

1.33: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Magitek

Fights 1 and 3
3/4
1
1/4
1
1
Fights 2, 4 and 5
3/4
2
1/4
4

Enemies: Mag Roader P., Mag Roader R., Number 128, RightBlade, Left Blade

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 sentient 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. And he certainly wasn't showing signs of stopping until we stepped in. It's just awfully convenient and nobody seems to want to bring it up again, is all.

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 EsperPhantom, 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. 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 your deity of choice! 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. Best not to dwell on it too much. Right now, you'll face five monster formations before the eventual boss, without time to heal or change equipment in between. Note that this is the only place you can get to the red version of the beasties that appear here. If you want to be sure you encounter every enemy in the game, you might have to reset if you're unlucky.

Anyway: Mag Roader P. are big and weak. Mag Roader R. are small and weaker. Mag Roader P. possess OFire and OFire 2 spells, both horribly weak. Mag Roader R. attack with OIce and OIce 2 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 EsperPhantom 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 – at the end of 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 EsperPhantom. Heal up with Tonics and Potions until you're at full health. Smack the last Roader down. You're good to go.
Left Blade
Left Blade
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
22
700
470
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
5
0
120
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

RightBlade
RightBlade
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
21
400
150
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
20
5
0
120
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Number 128
Number 128
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
23
3276
810
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
3
0
120
125
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: KnifeTempest
Common: Tent
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Number 128 is not so much a human with the cybernetic parts in him as a robot with flesh on it. 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 that 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 RightBlade. They're to the left and right of Number 128. Hence their names. 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 Shimsham, 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 OIce 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 OHaste on himself to increase his amount of turns and begin using almost exclusively magical attacks. Gale Cut and Atomic Ray are both multi-target attacks, and Atomic Ray hurts quite a bundle. Shock Wave 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 you don't have EsperPhantom at your disposal and/or have summoned him earlier: Ignore the blades and try to focus on the main body. Locke should use Potions or Fenix Downs when necessary, and spend all other turns trying to get that KnifeTempest blade rare steal. He's also useful for casting OSlow spells on the blades to dampen their aggression, if he has learned it. Edgar is reliable and powerful with ToolsDrill or ToolsChainsaw, but his brother not so much. If Sabin doesn't know the OBolt 2 spell, I suggest Fire Dance. Eventually it will take out the blades, but EsperPhantom 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 Dispatch. If you obtain the KnifeTempest, give it to him and simply Attack the body. Gau can Rage Anguiform to be sure to hit the body every OAqua Rake, or Rage Aspik if you're feeling lucky. Giga Volt is stronger, yet not always multi-target. A few additional tips:
  1. If (most of) your party is revealed and you can still summon EsperPhantom, do so. Invisibility is definitely a positive status as long as you can keep at least one blade around at all times.
  2. Counter your adversary's OHaste spell with a OSlow spell from your side when possible.
  3. If you find yourself in the rare position of having EsperShoat equipped but not EsperPhantom, 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 KnifeTempest. Expand Full Strategy
  

A note about the common Fenix Downs you were supposed to get for killing 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 disappear, you never actually 'kill' them.

1.34: Robotic Arms Want to Give You a Hug

Formations
5/16
1
3
5/16
4
5/16
1
3
1/16
4

Enemies: Pipsqueak, Commando, Chaser, Crane (Left), Crane (Right)

Well, officially, the mission was a success. You penetrated the Imperial Magitek Research Facility. You didn't exactly rescue the eight Espers you managed to find, but you did take their Magicite remains as per their request, which is just as good, really. 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.

Preparation: Equip the KnifeTempest 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 EsperBismark 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 SwordFlame Sabre and SwordThunder Blade should not stay equipped (go with SwordBlizzard instead), and any ClawFire Knuckle should be swapped with ClawPoison Claw.

Your infiltration didn't go unnoticed, however, and the Imperial forces are now attempting to chase 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.

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 ODischord (which halves their level, as I explained with Telstar, their palette swap). It can also attack with a Plasma attack, which is actually very powerful. Plasma is single-target, 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 Rhodox Snare), and if you meet him with three Pipsqueaks 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. But not nigh enough. Kefka plays a last card in a final attempt to stop you from escaping. 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, which there tends to be from time to time. 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. Setzer comes with GamblerCards, a ShieldMithril Shield, and a ArmorMithril Vest only... So, that's pretty terrible. Fun fact: Setzer's not wearing a helmet in the GBA version because in the SNES and PSX releases of the game, he was wearing a HelmetBandana, a piece of headgear he can't equip. He. Just. Can't.

There are two Cranes, and they're not completely the same.
Crane (Right)
Crane (Right)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
24
2300
447
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
14
4
0
125
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Crane (Left)
Crane (Left)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
23
1800
447
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
14
4
0
145
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ToolsNoiseBlaster
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
water
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Crane (Right) is fire-based. It will attack physically and use the OFire and OFire 2 spell. When hit by a Fire-elemental attack of any kind, it will charge, going through "Heat source LV 1" to "Heat source LV 2" and finally to "Heat source LV 3 - Unleashed thermal energy!" at which point it will, indeed, release all that thermal energy (target the entire party with a OFire 3 spell). When alone, the right crane will boost its defenses with TekBarrier, which 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 (Right) will perform a Magnitude8 attack. Finally, every third time it has been damaged, it will perform a OBolt 2 spell on the other Crane (Left), charging it. It has a rare ToolsDebilitator steal that you might want; it's another Tool for Edgar.

The Crane (Left) is pretty much the same, only lightning-based. From "Electrified LV 1" it will pass through "Electrified LV 2" and "Electrified LV 3 - Unleashed electric energy!" performing a multi-target Giga Volt attack. All other features are the same, only it will cast a OFire 2 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 OAqua Rake attack is incredibly powerful in this battle, up to the point where an RelicEarrings-boosted OAqua Rake will probably kill one Crane in one hit. Do not let him enter a Rage that performs either OFire 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 ToolsDebilitator from the Crane (Right). Focus on one Crane at the time where possible. ToolsDrill / ToolsChainsaw and Aurabolt are songs often sung right now, and Cyan can enjoy his KnifeTempest. 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. Expand Full Strategy
  

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.

1.35: Terra's Flashback

When you arrive in the sanctuary EsperRamuh prepared for Terra, one of the pieces of Magicite you took from the Imperial Factory will begin to glow, much like EsperTritoch did when it and Terra crossed paths. It's Maduin, and he inspires a memory in Terra...

Through Maduin, you get to 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 informs you that there's something going on near the gate. 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 sees them as an ill omen. You can chat to the various other Espers around, but they won't give you much information that is of great import.

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. Once she has been delivered to her bed to rest, the Elder will come to see her. The Espers are not happy about her arrival; history has taught them (and us) that humans and Espers don't mix. While the day has cleared, the moods of the Espers have not; talking to the Espers again will change their responses from earlier, into darker discussions of the human, and the path to the gate will be blocked.

Talking to the girl will wake her up. Her name is Madonna. Maduin gives her a pendant for no apparent reason, perhaps as a gift of good will. It appears to be a unique pendant, that much is for certain.

When Maduin wakes up, he quickly notices Madonna 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 Madonna 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 rapid-fire and metaphorical cutscene sequence, Madonna decides to stay behind with Maduin. They have a baby, and they name the baby Terra.

Fast forward to two years later, and 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, Madonna takes her chance and tries to escape with Terra. When Maduin tries to catch up with her, tragedy ensues... Terra is taken by the Empire, Madonna is killed by the Emperor, and Maduin's fate is sealed to suffer in the heart of the Empire at the hands of Cid.

After this, Terra wakes up, and it's time to go. Regrouping is done. Time for action. From this point on, Terra finally gains access to a second skill: Morph.

1.36: Airship Exploitation Part One

Enemies: Bomb, Grenade, Baskervor, Cephaler, Chimera, Leafer, Dark Wind, Intangir

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 - the first time on an airship. The Blackjack awaits your command! Nothing is off-limits. Well, except for Vector. Guardian is waiting for your arrival, and there's no real way to gain entry to Vector now.

Getting Sraphim


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 EsperSraphim doesn't teach you any spells you couldn't have obtained from other Espers, her learning rates are much more user-friendly. EsperSraphim is far and above the best White Magic Esper you'll get for quite a while. You can wait until later - you'll know when - 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.

The Auction House: Golem and Zoneseek


The Auction House in Jidoor is finally open. It's not so much the bidding here that's annoying. You'll be asked twice if you want to outbid the current price; 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, EsperGolem and EsperZoneseek – and you might have to cycle through the lineup a bit in order to acquire them. Here's how the Auction House works.

There's a 50% chance the item up for bidding is "a gorgeous pair of" RelicCherub Down, 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 EsperGolem Magicite! Nice. Try to buy it. If you already bought it earlier, or the item isn't EsperGolem, we continue. Then, there's a 50% chance it's the EsperZoneseek 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 a RelicCure Ring. Period.

So, the odds of a Magicite showing up in a given round are based on the Magicite you've already bought. The odds of other items change accordingly, too, but you're here for the Magicite, so let's talk about that. If you have neither, EsperGolem will be a 12.5% chance and EsperZoneseek will be 6.25%. If you have one or the other, the remaining one will be a 12.5% chance. If you manage to get outbid by hitting the wrong option or not having enough money, don't worry, the person who buys it will put it back up for sale and it might show up in your next visit or any visit thereafter until bought again. Below you can see tables that explain the odds a bit more clearly.

No Espers
Item
Chance
50%
Chocobo
25%
12.5%
6.25%
6.25%
One Esper (Either!)
Item
Chance
50%
Chocobo
25%
(The Remaining Esper)
12.5%
12.5%
Both Espers
Item
Chance
50%
Chocobo
25%
25%
 

If you're curious what each item will cost you:
  • RelicCherub Down: 10000 Gil
  • The Magicite EsperGolem: 20000 Gil
  • The Magicite EsperZoneseek: 10000 Gil
  • RelicCure Ring: 20000 Gil

If you don't have enough money, fly the Blackjack to an area where FossilFang monsters appear; they give great amounts of money and you should be able to handle them pretty easily by now.

Locating Grenade


Formations
10/16
6
5/16
1
1/16
1

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 Bestiary, you'd better have met one, as you will never come across one by following the story only. Note that the Grenade will possibly appear in a boss battle in the future, where it can get a Bestiary entry but cannot be learned as a rage.

I suggest you bring Edgar, as he has brilliant means of taking them all out in one shot, and at least one character with OCure and/or OCure 2, as Blaze will still hurt every time, no matter how repetitive it will begin to seem.

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 OExploder 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 ODispel before the situation gets too serious.

Obtaining Gaia Gear


Grasslands
6/16
1
1
5/16
1
5/16
2

Forest
6/16
3
5/16
1
5/16
1
2


On the continent to the east of the Veldt, there are three new monsters: Baskervor and Cephaler on the grasslands and Cephaler and Chimera in the forest. I'll tell you how to deal with them when you actually need to go there (check the chapter on Crescent Island if you'd like to hear about them now, I recommend it). The Baskervor have a rare ArmorGaia 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 ArmorGold Armor, for your Edgars and Cyans. ArmorGaia Gear in particular would be very nice to have going in to 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.

Intangir


Grasslands
6/16
2
1
5/16
1
5/16
1

Forest
6/16
1
5/16
3
2
5/16
2
1


On the small triangle-shaped island to the northeast of the World Map, you'll find lots of enemies you've probably seen before. 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 Meteo attack, which is likely to actually kill anybody it hits, as it will damage for over 900 HP.

The SNES and PSX versions allow you to kill Intangir easily with that shadiest of all tactics, OVanish/ODoom. Beyond that, the only ways to kill an Intangir now are to either keep it continuously subdued with OStop or use Joker's Death against it. As for damage output while the Intangir is stopped, here's what to do: since his Defense is very good and he absorbs all elements, you'll want to make use of Edgar's ToolsDrill, Sabin's Suplex and Cyan's Dispatch. Later in the game, should you want to return for extra-hard MP grinding, Relm's Sketch results in a 75% shot at OStep Mine, which is another powerful attack against Intangir, though keep in mind that Sketch always misses monsters under the effects of Invisible. Strago can just use it from the Lore menu, obviously.

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. Here are some slick new rages:

Enemy
Attack
Status Changes
Inherent Darkness
Giga Volt
Inherent Float
!Sleep Stinger
Inherent Float
Magnitude 8
lots of status immunities, one-hit KO protection
Inherent Protect
OBio
Inherent Haste
Reraise
Inherent Protect, one-hit KO protection
Cyclonic
Transfusion
Inherent Invisible, Protect, Shell, Haste, Regen and Float*

*You'll have to prevent the casting of the self-destructive Transfusion attack with Silence before Gau initializes the Rage.

Some older rages you might be missing:

Enemy
Attack
Status Changes
Inherent Float
OBio
Absorbs Water
!Numb (Stop)
Blaze
Absorbs Lightning, Inherent Float, Undead
Will o' the Wisp
Absorbs Poison, Undead
!Cat Scratch
Wind Slash
Fireball
Inherent Float
Snare
Inherent Protect
one-hit KO protection
Sonic Boom
Inherent Float, one-hit KO protection
Blaze
Absorbs Fire, Inherent Float


That's enough exploitation for now. Carry on!

1.37: Allied Narshe

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 EsperTritoch and lost control of herself. 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-unsure 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 an 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 city's stores in preparation for the upcoming war.

In the Weapon Shop, there's a new kind of Rod in town: The RodPoison Rod. You can let it rest for now. The SpecialMorning Star is a Back Row weapon for Celes and Terra, simply an upgraded version of the SpecialFlail. The most interesting sell here is the SpecialHawk Eye for Locke. The SpecialHawk Eye has a 50% chance of doing x1.5 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 RelicGenji Glove together.

The Armor Shop sells new equipment as well. ShieldGold Shields and HelmetGold Helmets for the heavy-equippers (you still have to get ArmorGold Armors from the Chimera if you want them), a HelmetTiara for Terra (the first actual helmet I'll outright recommend over the HelmetGreen Beret), and ArmorPower Sash for those guys whose name isn't Edgar or Setzer.

Relic Shop: Nothing new here, but if you feel like you could use something, don't hesitate.

Item Shop: 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. Except for Albrook. Is that a weird point to mention, then? Yes.

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 Final Fantasy V (if not, the two are so similar there's bound to be a conscious running theme here). The prior Lone Wolf was a thief locked up in a dungeon in some castle. He looked like a humanoid wolf, or a werewolf, which appeared in larger numbers later in the game, though Lone Wolf himself has no clear connection to them and it's even possible he'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. None of that's really relevant to this game's version, though, really.

The old man who gave you his treasures earlier (remember, the house with the DirkThief Knife and RelicSneak Ring 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. Eventually, you'll have him cornered, but the situation suddenly escalates, as Lone Wolf has taken a Moogle hostage. If you try to approach, Lone Wolf will threaten to kill the Moogle. Some folks, unworthy of this walkthrough, will tell you that you can recruit Mog by trying to walk towards Lone Wolf over and over and over until you lose patience and spam message boards or something, 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 RelicGold 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. This 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 EsperRamuh at some point in time and was told to join your cause. So, 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!

Go to the Blackjack and change your party so that 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.
  1. Land in front of Narshe and fight some Leaf Bunnies on the grasslands to make him learn the Wind Song. Stride into the forest for the Forest Suite and enter the desert for the Desert Aria.

  2. 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 Dusk Requiem while protecting Terra earlier, you can head in one of the caves to learn it.

  3. Fly the Blackjack to Zozo and fight a battle there; the Love Sonata will be Mog's.

  4. The Dance that is the hardest to obtain, and the only actually missable Dance in the game, is the Water Rondo. There are currently two places where Mog can learn it: On the Lethe River and in the Serpent Trench, both of which will become inaccessible in the not-so-distant future. Both take you along a one-way route to a radically different place, so that's annoying. I suggest you learn the Dance now. The quickest way is to land in front of Baren Falls, and leap down the raging waters. Don't worry, there won't be any Piranha 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 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.

1.38: Rampage of the Millennium

First Cave
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
1
Basement 1
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
2
2
Basement 2
6/16
3
5/16
1
5/16
1
2
Basement 3
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
2

Enemies: Ing, Apparite, Zombone, Coelecite, Lich, Ninja, Kefka

Treasures: DirkAssassin, Elixir, RelicGenji Glove, RelicCoin Toss, Ether x3, Magicite x3, KnifeTempest, Tent, SwordAtma Weapon, X-Potion

The Empire abducted several Espers about twenty 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 sake of 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.

Once again, I want to stress how nice your life will be if you collect four sets of ArmorGaia Gear, which you can obtain via rare Steal from Baskervor on the grassland of the continent East of the Veldt. Thank yourself for your patience! Listen up, friends: Relics are important in the first few parts of this dungeon. One of the enemies can cast OFire, OFire 2 and OFire 3 (!) so RelicWall Rings are very handy, especially since OFire 3 is really powerful and could kill you. RelicPeace Rings/RelicRibbons 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 Rondo Dance cleans house like nothing before in the next dungeon. El Niño equals death to the most common and most dangerous enemy. A much surer way of making fatal hits is giving RelicDragoon Boots to Mog and equipping a LanceTrident. Sabin is another great choice; go for either a RelicGenji Glove and two ClawKaiser or RelicEarrings and Aurabolt spamming. Edgar's ToolsChainsaw with a RelicAtlas Armlet 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, so be warned). Cyan, KnifeTempest 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 would have to pull something like Dive Bomb or Sun Flare out of his... nose.... in order to finish off Ings, 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 EsperShiva, as that's the fastest route to a powerful spell that isn't OBio or OFire 2 (as both are useless in the upcoming dungeon).

If you have ArmorGaia 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).

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.

The first three rooms are partly filled with monsters you won't find in the rest of the dungeon: Apparite, Coelecite, and Lich.

Apparites are nasty upgrades of your average Whisper. They absorb Fire-elemental attacks, and have a one-third chance of countering any attack that damages them with Imp Song. Sadly, EsperSiren stands helpless against them, so you'll just have to try to kill them in one hit. Aurabolt, ToolsChainsaw, OIce 2, double ClawKaiser, all works great.

Coelecite are small scorpion-like creatures with no special power. They can put you to sleep with !Dreamstinger, and have a slight chance of countering attacks with a Magnitude 8 spell, though they lack the MP to do so. Way to go there, champ. Strong multi-target attacks are particularly helpful here, like ToolsFlash, Chocobop, Magnitude 8, Sand Storm, 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 Fire Dance or something before you do. To top this madness, they can cast OFire 2 with considerable power and can even cast OFire 3. Their OFire 3 attacks taste like burning. You'll want to avoid that. You can't shut them up with EsperSiren or Silence. If you have Edgar, ToolsNoiseBlaster 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 Fenix Down or OLife spell if you run into one, although a single-target OIce 2 spell or something might be more cost-efficient.

If your level is really low, make sure you have four RelicWall Rings, and keep them on your characters at all times. This should prevent Lich's spells from hurting you. Like I said before, RelicPeace Rings and RelicRibbons protect nicely against !Insanitouch.

Every step you take after those three rooms consist out of only two enemies: Zombone and Ing. Zombones are bigger, so you'd assume they're more dangerous. Such folly. RelicWall Rings are useless once you get into Zombone territory, and status-prevention Relics can be removed as well as Ing's !Glare just sets Darkness and Zombone's !Bone attack, while setting the dangerous Zombie status, is so rare and used so late in the encounter you shouldn't even see it.

Zombones 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. Zombones are the only enemies in this blasted cave that don't absorb Fire, so if somebody knows or learns OFire 2 here (Terra learns it naturally at level 22), use it to great effect. Otherwise, you know how to handle monsters now. Gau can flush Zombones nicely with Rhodox's Snare.

Ings are entirely different. Their Lifeshaver move is extremely strong. It's an Earth-elemental attack that functions entirely like ODrain; drains HP, can't drain more than the amount of damage the caster has lost. Since it's such a strong attack at this point, the Ing will most likely recover all of the HP it had lost. If both his lack of HP and the targets possession of it allows, Liveshaver can do up to 750 damage; unless you are equipped with ArmorGaia Gear, in which case you don't need to worry as you'll absorb the attack and the Ing will damage itself. Nice! If you're equipped with ArmorGaia Gear, there's no need to worry about specific tactics, and you can just pound away. But without, the highest priority when facing Ing is this: take them out in one shot. This way, they have no chance of casting Liveshaver (You cannot Silence the jerks). If you brought Locke with you, definitely try to Steal four RelicAmulets here; they are a common steal, so the task requires little work.

You can one-hit KO them in a multitude of ways so long as you set up properly. RelicEarrings/Aurabolt is a good method, while RelicGenji Glove/double ClawKaiser is a nice alternative. Jump/LanceTrident works well on Edgar or Mog, although the latter might enjoy Dancing the Water Rondo better; El Niño not only kills Ing, it sends them flying in the bloody Clouds of Magellan. OAqua Rake, sadly, probably isn't strong enough at this point, even with a RelicHero Ring or RelicEarrings behind it.

If you did bring ArmorGaia Gear for all your boys and girls, Gau can make Baskervor'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 ArmorGaia Gear from Baskervor 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, and can only lead to bad things: Either the soldiers are somewhere else, preparing for a major attack, or the Empire has decided they will let you go the Sealed Gate, which means they've got some nasty trick up their sleeves. Still, we shall 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. At least there's one thing cool here: There's already a chest in the very first room! It contains the DirkAssassin, a brilliant semi-DirkThief Knife that randomly kills in one hit. The comparison with the DirkThief Knife comes from the fact it's both Locke/Shadow only and gives stat boosts, making it a nice option even if you don't plan on using Attack. The DirkAssassin revives the Undead though, all the time, so I wouldn't suggest equipping it here (even if you weren't going to use it for attacking, DirkThief Knife's special abilities are better).

The next room has another chest, this one containing a KnifeTempest blade. If you hadn't stolen one from Number 128, this is the only one you'll find in the game. 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 Cyan-slandering I participate in).

ScreenshotThe next room is a 'puzzle': Every 1.5 seconds or so, the pathway changes from one state to the other. Explaining how to get across would be folly, as any attempt to explain would likely just sound confusing, and it's not that hard in the first place. However, the screenshot to the right does show with white squares each of the safe tiles on which to stand during motion. The chest to the right contains an X-Potion, and the chest to the bottom contains the RelicCoin Toss Relic, a Relic that changes Setzer's ability from Slot into Gil Toss.

If you, like I, think throwing coins is a rather silly way of doing damage, you may be interested to hear that it is not without precedence. Coin throwing was previously featured in Final Fantasy V as a grossly overpowered attack and actually has 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 enforcement 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 RelicEarrings, as he should be. The ToolsFlash Tool is a good indicator of the total amount of damage inflicted by RelicCoin Toss actually splits the damage between its 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 an [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 room's exit 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 Ether in it. Grab it, hike back, and continue. You'll want to go up the diagonal, nature-crafted stairway, at the end of which you will find 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 RelicGenji Glove! A very useful Relic indeed. If you have the equipment and the characters, you can add a double LanceTrident Attacker to the party this way, eliminating the Jumping time. Mmm. 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 nothing otherwise (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 ODoom spell should do the trick, otherwise the Rage or Dusk Requiem will offer a good chance at success. If you don't want to rely on luck, he's weak to Lightning, so OBolt 2 and Gau's Aspik's Giga Volt 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 luckily yours truly is among them.

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:
  • SkeanInviz Edge: One step down and one step to the left from the lowest stairway tile.
  • Remedy: Six steps down from the SkeanInviz Edge.
  • 293 Gil: Three steps up from the treasure chest visible here.
  • SkeanWater Skean: Three steps down and three steps to the right from the lowest stairway tile.


The chest here contains an 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 half a brain could do that, so I won't be helping you. When you emerge, you can open the chest for an Elixir.

This next 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 apart a bridge leading to a 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 Magicites, an Ether, and the SwordAtma Weapon.

The SwordAtma 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 SwordAtma 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 SwordAtma Weapon will do more damage when the wielder at full health and almost no damage when the wielder only has a few HP left. The SwordAtma 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. A few points of rumor and interest:
  • The SwordAtma Weapon is rather famous for starring in the horrid legend claiming you can Throw this weapon for an instant kill against the final boss. You can't throw the SwordAtma Weapon. Case closed.
  • When you combine the SwordAtma 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 that this is a bug, though.
  • An urban myth for... ahem... increasing the size of your SwordAtma Weapon includes wearing HelmetGreen Berets or HelmetRed Caps and equipping RelicMuscle 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. From here on, it's a straight path to the Sealed Gate. As soon as Terra wants to call out to the Espers: Oh noes! 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: OPoison, OFire 2, ODischord, Attack, ORasp, OSlow, 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 Magicites, as those cancel on characters, including opponent characters.

During the battle with Kefka, Terra manages somehow to make 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).

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 sort of haste is for the best...

The identity of the ill-news bringer depends on the composition of 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 or the Beach Boys used to sing about. No sih, not at all. 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. Looking at the path of destruction without discretion in their wake, it's hard to argue otherwise, however validated their anger may be. 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.

1.39: The Imperial Palace

Enemies: Commando, Sp Forces, Mega Armor

Treasures: RelicBack Guard, Tincture, RelicGale Hairpin, Revivify, X-Potion

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. Two hundred forty seconds. You will be 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. 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 Commando unit, and every Armored trooper that confronts you is a single Mega Armor. OBio spells and barrier-piercing attacks work great against the Commando units; one-hit KO attacks work nicely (including OBreak). As far as the Mega Armor goes, one-hit KO attacks go well against him too (although he has Petrify protection for OBreak). 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 will 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 Warp Stone/OWarp spell, you'll find yourself out of 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 and would expend a lot of your precious time. 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 from which Kefka released the Cranes) wants to fight you. Fight him (it's a single Commando) 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 soldier 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.

Forty-four points maximum for this phase and then it's dinner time! At the great Banquet, where you'll hopefully settle matters with the Empire, you'll be repeatedly asked to fill 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.

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?
Answer
Points
To the Empire.
2
To the Returners.
1
To our homelands.
5
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?
Answer
Points
Leave him in jail.
5
Pardon him.
1
Execute him.
3
Gestahl: I am truly sorry about what occured in Doma. No one ever dreamed Kefka would use poison.
Answer
Points
What's done is done.
1
That was inexcusable.
5
Apologize again!
3
Gestahl: By the way...With regard to General Celes...
Answer
Points
Was she an Imperial spy?
1
Celes is one of us!
5
We trust her whether she spied or not.
3
Was there anything else you wanted to ask?
Answer
Points
Why'd you start the war?
2
Why do you want peace now?
2
Why'd we have to talk to your men?
2
Gestahl: With your permission, I'd like to talk about the Espers...
Answer
Points
I still have a few things to ask.
*
Okay.
0
* Every question you ask will get you 2 points, but the same question asked twice will cost you 10 points.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!
Answer
Points
They have gone a bit too far...
5
You're the one who brought them here in the first place!
2
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?
Answer
Points
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?
Answer
Points
(Take a break.)
*
(Keep talking.)
*
* Here, you'll get the option of walking about a bit and talking to the Sp Forces, who will challenge you. You get 5 points for kicking Sp Forces in his bathing suit area within 2 minutes. If you fail, you get 0 points.Gestahl: Is there anything you wish to hear me say?
Answer
Points
That you really want peace.
3
That your war is truly over.
5
That you're sorry.
1
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?
Answer
Points
Yes
3
No
0
* 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 governing bodies, to seek out the Espers who destroyed Vector. General Leo Christophe will accompany you. If you're done, Terra gets 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, a Sp Forces unit will come up to you, and reward you for your troubles in the Palace, based on the number of points you earned in the walkabout and banquet scenes:
  • 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 RelicTintinabar 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 RelicTintinabar from the Emperor! He likes you! You get a RelicCharm Bangle from the Sp Forces 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. Don't you hate when games don't do that for you? For equipment, I'd advise something like this:

Terra:
SwordDrainer/SwordBlizzard/SwordThunder Blade
ShieldGold Shield
HelmetTiara
ArmorWhite Dress
RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Locke
SwordAtma Weapon
SpecialHawk Eye
HelmetGreen Beret
ArmorPower Sash
RelicGenji Glove/RelicThief 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 RelicBack Guard, an X-Potion, a RelicGale Hairpin, a Revivify, and a Tincture. Also, you can find Kefka in jail, who's so annoyed he's about to go soil himself.

1.40: Departing from Albrook

Treasures: 8000 Gil, 13000 Gil, 20000 Gil, RelicBack Guard, RelicCure Ring, RelicCherub Down, Elixir x2, SwordFlame Sabre, RelicRunning Shoes, Ether, RelicWall Ring, X-Potion, Warp Stone

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. It really is a good cutscene and provides some backstory for something you'll have to do later, so go check it out. Setzer will tell you afterwards that the airship will be out of commission for a while and that you might as well take the Emperor's boat in 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, a RelicCherub Down Relic, an Ether, a RelicWall Ring, RelicRunning Shoes, an Elixir, a RelicCure Ring, and a RelicBack Guard, 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 SwordFlame Sabre 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.

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, one of which contains a Warp 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, while 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 (weird, but possible!), this is the first time you'll meet him. So as opposed to 'friendly' banter, he'll mention giving Interceptor a run out before the boat leaves port. 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 for its overnight trip. Events transpire under the stars! When the morning comes, everybody is already awake. You can learn from the soldiers that rumors say magic still exists on Crescent Island – must be 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.

1.41: Crescent Island and Thamasa

Grasslands
6/16
1
1
5/16
1
5/16
2
Forest
6/16
3
5/16
1
5/16
1
2

Enemies: Baskervor, Cephaler, Chimera

Treasures: Echo Screen, Eye Drop, Soft, Green Cherry, Fenix Down

Lore: OAqua Rake

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. Be sure to equip Shadow in the latest fashion fads, and it might be useful to have him equip a nice Esper like EsperSiren to unlock his Magic ability. If you decide to stay around and fight some monsters for whatever reason, summon EsperPhantom; it will be very nice.

The monsters here are pretty interesting. The only one you need to worry about right now is Baskervor. As you don't need to go through the forest, but you might want to, so I'll take a look at the forest beasts too. Baskervor are turtle-like monsters that only attack physically. I've mentioned them earlier for their rare ArmorGaia Gear Steal, a nice addition to your equipment options. If a single Baskervor 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.

Cephaler, to me, stand out because of their overwhelming usefulness with Rage-centered single-character challenge games. Cephaler 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 occasionally employ Ultros' Tentacle attack, which makes them the only random encounter monsters to use it. Tentacle is a very strong attack, so take out Cephaler 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 multi-target attacks, which include OAqua Rake on a regular basis and OIce, 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 OBserk on him; his physical attacks also hurt, but if you're quick, you can simply shrug it off with EsperPhantom.

In short, if you act quickly with Chimera around (he'll always take at least one turn before he employs a magical attack), EsperPhantom gives you invulnerability.

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, five free items are lying around town: There's an Echo Screen in the top barrel next to the mayor's house, a Green Cherry in the barrel next to Strago's house, a Soft in the bottom barrel near the Relic shop, an Eye Drop in the middle barrel near the Item shop, and a Fenix Down in the upper barrel next to the Inn.

The Armor Shop is open! You can finally buy your ArmorGaia Gear if you were too lazy to Steal it earlier. Also, the HelmetMystery Veil, a great helmet for Celes and Terra that you'll want to keep equipped for a long time. Also, ArmorGold Armor, but you really don't want to buy any more, as the next dungeon - where you'll be able to choose your own party members - will need ArmorGaia Gear wearers anyway.

The Weapon Shop is also open. Rods for sale now? Such folly. I suggest you buy an RodIce Rod; leave it at that as far as Rods are concerned (you'll understand why later on). New weapons also include a LanceStout Spear for Edgar and Mog, and GamblerDarts for Setzer. While I can guarantee you none of these characters will really use those weapons, it doesn't hurt to boost their Attack.

There's nothing new or particularly fancy in the Item or Relic shops.

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... his name is Strago Magus, and he's with 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 is not only not attacked by Interceptor, but actually seems to be befriended by him. Disappointed yet suspicious, you leave the house. Around town, odd things happen. Behind Strago's house you can interrupt what appears as a OCure 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, so I 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.

1.42: The Burning Mansion

Wandering Flame
3/4
3
1/4
6
Trap Door
4

Enemies: Grenade, Balloon, FlameEater

Treasures: RodFire Rod, RodIce Rod

Lore: OExploder

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. 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 RodIce Rod, ShieldMithril Shield, HelmetBard's Hat or HelmetMagus Hat, and some ArmorGaia Gear. As far as Espers go, EsperShiva is a brilliant pick, as she teaches five spells that are all very useful in this dungeon and for Strago in general. Also, equip Locke and Terra with SwordBlizzard blades (Hawk Eye with an RelicAtlas Armlet is sufficient).

A bit of tactical information regarding your future use of Strago. Strago is the FF VI Blue Mage. His special skill is called Lore, with which he can use several monster attacks. Right now, he knows OAqua Rake, a powerful multi-target Water/Wind-elemental attack, OStone, 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 ORevenge, which has a damage output equal to [caster's maximum HP] – [caster's current HP], aka 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 OExploder and attack physically otherwise, so I suggest summoning EsperPhantom or casting OVanish during the first battle. Use a multi-target attack to finish off the six Balloons (multi-target OIce 2 spell, OAqua Rake, EsperShiva's Diamond Dust) and use physical attacks for the three.

You can either use the Confuse spell, EsperStray's Cat Rain attack, or the OStone Lore to confuse Balloon monsters, in which case they're likely to use OExploder on each other. This will make Strago learn OExploder, 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 RodFire 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 RodIce 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 EsperZoneseek helps for the battle, as does EsperKirin (as usual). Try to equip as many RelicWall Rings as possible; you're bound to have two from treasures. You can circumvent the RelicWall Rings by equipping EsperCarbunkl, but while that doesn't take any Relic slots, it's not what a sane man would call permanent.

1.43: The Espers Gather

Caves
6/16
1
2
5/16
2
5/16
5
Slopes
6/16
2
5/16
1
2
5/16
3

Enemies: Slurm, Insecare, Adamanchyt, Mandrake, Abolisher, Ultros 3

Treasures: ArmorChocobo Suit, RodHeal Rod, ArmorTabby Suit, X-Potion

Lore: OPearl Wind

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 as well just spare your sorry lives while he was in the neighborhood. Or so he would have us think. Wotta guy, eh? We now know that Thamasa is the village of the Magi's descendants. Or, to stick with the Latin roots, the Magorum descendants. 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 just as the Espers founded the Esper World, so did the Magi found Thamasa. Their descendants have lost some of the magical potency of their ancestors after those thousand years, but they're still powerful enough to actually use the magic the world had, until recently, forgotten for so long.

As soon as Strago mentions that the mountains to the west might be worth a look, Shadow takes off. 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 moral-deficient individual, employed by the Empire, whose interests are still rather questionable. He's breaking a direct order for no apparent reason. Highly suspicious. Also highly obnoxious for strategic consistency.

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. Obviously 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 RelicMemento Ring, is at this moment entirely useless to you. If you're playing the PSX release, this is one of those rare situations where they changed something, and poorly. For PSX it's called a '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'. Nice.

When you're done, take a nice and uneventful nap at the Inn and head out to the mountains. Thus, a typical Byronian hero accompanies the half-Esper magical prodigy and the elderly sage in search of immensely powerful beings. Glad to know we're back on track with traditional storytelling in the Western heritage. If we find the powers we seek, we can get the peace the Returners have fought so hard for. Maybe. Start by making sure your equipment and Espers are comfortable. It isn't a bad idea to summon EsperPhantom at the very start, as most attacks are physical here. RelicJewel Rings and RelicRibbons are nice to protect against the Petrifying Special of one of the monsters on the slopes, though, as this particular monster also has the power to remove your Invisible status.

There are five entirely new monsters roaming these mountains, two in the caves and three on the slopes.

Slurm is a palette swap, and any resembling a Crawly can be nothing but very, very weak. An RelicEarrings-boosted multi-target OFire spell tends to take them all out (although at lower levels, you might need a follow-up multi-target spell: Boo). They share the caves with Adamanchyt monsters. Rather soon for a palette-swap in this case, don't you think? You only just met Baskervor at the foot of these mountains. That's just not right. There's no penetrating this creature's hide (unless it's with barrier-piercing physical attacks, obviously). You'll want to stick to magical attacks when opposing them. Don't ever use Attack, ever, as they have a one/third chance of using Snort, which will break your ever-so-fragile invisibility.

On the slopes, you'll find a brilliant new enemy called Abolisher. They attack physically only, having a small chance of trying to poison you with !Down Dust. After they've taken three turns, they'll use OPearl Wind, but only if there's some two of them on-screen; when alone, they'll never use OPearl Wind. The first time OPearl Wind appears, have Strago stand there and observe; he'll learn the magnificent move. Witness the power of Blue Magic!

Also, check out the Insecare. Remember CrassHoppr? Remember WeedFeeder? I'm sure you don't, as both are dull as heck. Insecare have a more diverse color pattern, but fail to impress on all other levels.

Mandrakes are without a doubt the most dangerous creatures this mountain has to offer. The Anthology Bestiary says their vines are made out of metal, but that's not important right now. Every second turn, they may use !Petritouch, which sets Petrify to the poor fool that suffers it. The Invisible status, a RelicRibbon and/or a RelicJewel Ring will help you stay soft and limber. The second great annoyance they are capable of is their ability to retaliate against any damage you inflict with a 33% chance of using a Leech attack, draining about 300 HP worth of damage from you and dispelling your Invisible status. OStop spells stop their Leech counter-attacks, or you could even opt to simply run from them. OFire 2 spells are especially effective versus them.

The entrance of the mountains lies north of the forest here. The entrance wasn't here before, if you were wondering, so you haven't been missing anything. The first room houses a chest with a RodHeal Rod - keep hold of this one. The RodHeal 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 RodHeal Rod, Strago and Relm, will usually be too busy doing the exact same thing with a single-target OCure 2 spell, which still allows them the convenience of equipping an offensive weapon, but there are people out there who are in love with the RodHeal Rod because it's MP-free. Much later in the game you can trade your RodHeal Rod for a weapon that is so awesome I'm even at a loss for coming up with a quip to describe how awesome it is. Just kidding, I have one, but it's so awesome that it cannot be put into type. So yeah, definitely don't ever sell the thing. For trivia, the RodHeal Rod was at one time intended to auto-target your party under Attack. Instead, they only succeeded in making it auto-target your party under Throw, though for some reason this would automatically result in Shadow's death. In the GBA release, they simply cut their losses and removed the property whatsoever.

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 foreshadowing being a jerk.

In the slopes here, you can find Abolisher monsters. You'll want to meet them at least once to learn OPearl Wind. OPearl 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 be useless (if Strago is near-fatal, OPearl Wind will do essentially nothing). OPearl Wind is very useful though, as it can heal characters with RelicWall 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 begin to explain. 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). There is a message inscribed in the bases of the statues that explains much more of why they're important.

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 (he jumped at him a little bit too, it seems that Locke has become his personal nemesis since they met on stage), and attacks you.

Ultros 3
Ultros 3
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
25
22000
750
3
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
22
7
0
95
155
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Dried Meat
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
firelightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Strategy
 
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 Lode Stone, 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 OAqua Rake or Magnitude8. You can easily take both (especially the latter if you're equipped with ArmorGaia 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 a Lore, however). 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 OHaste and OSafe on himself. "Hope I'm not making a nuisance of myself! So sorry!" Indeed. Once you've cast five spells on him, he'll go red and the screen will say: "Ultros's form has changed! Beware his tri-elemental attack!" This means that any Fire-elemental spells will be countered by OFire 3, Ice-elemental spells by OIce 3, and Lightning-elemental spells by OBolt 3.

As soon as you bring Ultros down 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...I'm nothing more than a stupid octopus!" and leave.

The strategy is pretty straightforward. I wouldn't bother with offensive spells whatsoever if I were you (other than two OSlow spells, one to start off with and one to counter his OHaste/ OSafe combo with). If you have EsperGolem's OStop 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 SpecialHawk Eye(s) (you can cast OBserk on Locke if you feel like you can sacrifice controlling him). Terra can wield SwordFlame Sabres and/or SwordThunder Blades to hurt Ultros a bundle. If Strago's level is 25, he can rock out with his rock out; OStone will do major damage. Try to Steal a RelicWhite Cape, as it's basically free and generally useful. End the battle with Sketch if you want to. Expand Full Strategy
  

Even if Relm never shows up in-battle, she'll still take all the credit for the victory. Kids these days. Relm's ability is Sketch, and I dare say it's the worst ability in the game. Right now, I suggest you give Relm an Esper to teach her a good spell pronto. EsperShiva is perfect, but Strago is probably still struggling with the whole learning thing, so either EsperIfrit or EsperShoat will make for a generally quick road to success. She starts with the equipment on the left; I'd advise upgrading to the equipment on the right:

BrushChocobo Brush -- RodFire Rod/RodThunder Rod/RodIce Rod (in that order of preference)
ShieldMithril Shield -- ShieldMithril Shield
HelmetPlumed Hat -- HelmetMystery Veil/HelmetTiara
ArmorSilk Robe -- ArmorWhite Dress/ArmorGaia Gear

She also comes equipped with a RelicMemento 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. Odd. Who else could possibly be protected by Relm's dead mother? 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; here you can head to the slopes and find two nice pieces of equipment: The ArmorChocobo Suit and the ArmorTabby 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 we know based on the game's lore to have once been human herself, 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 eighteen 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 absolutely off-the-wall crazy, and that's what happened to Yura and his merry friends. And now they're here, feeling sorry about all that.

1.44: Epilogue

Epilogue time! Every conflict has been resolved, the war is over, the Espers have been calmed down, everybody is happy. Leo and Yura apologize like two lovers after an argument, and Locke makes a light-hearted innuendo about Celes. Everybody smiley face. The End.

Or is it? Kefka appears. How is this possible? Isn't he stuck in jail? Did he escape? Or... was he released? Is everybody safe? Within seconds, Kefka has sent Magitek Armors on you that have knocked down all your party members, killed three Espers, knocked Leo out cold, and caused general unhappiness. During the conversation between Kefka and Leo, it becomes clear that the Empire has 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.

You wake up as Leo Christophe. 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 RelicMemento Ring with him, if you haven't already, but there's little point. There's one sensible thing to do: Talk to Kefka and fight him. He is a disgrace to the Empire.

Leo has awesome equipment and has quite a high level. The Emperor called him his greatest warrior; it shows. Due to the RelicOffering Relic, he attacks four times rather than one time with the Attack command, and his RelicAtlas Armlet really boosts his damage with it. His special skill, Shock, is a multi-target non-elemental magical attack.

This time Kefka uses several attacks, including Attack, OPoison, ODrain, OBio, and OFire 3. 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 Magicites for miscellaneous effects, but it bears no purpose whatsoever and wastes resources. Once you 'kill' Kefka, he'll put on a nice show starring Gestahl.



All in all, a rotten day. You leave Interceptor behind in Thamasa.

1.45: Airship Exploitation II: More Airship, More Exploitation

Treasures: Elixir, Ether, Potion, Fenix Down, RelicBeads, X-Potion

Lore: OCondemned, ODischord, OL. 3 Muddle, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 5 Doom, OPep Up, ORoulette, OStep Mine

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 wreak havoc without fearing any kind of retribution. This is bad.

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'. Ouch. The dialogue expands if you go back in with Strago. Anyhow, you're back airborne now and I'm sure you're simply dying to stop the Emperor from doing nasty things with the Warring Triad, but there's no rush (he'll wait!), and there are quite a few things to do first.

The world is now 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 it. 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.

Lores!

For now, how about a few Lores? I'll explain how to get as many Lores as you can at this point of the game:
OCondemned
Rummage around on the Veldt until Gau encounters and Leaps a Zombone. When you get Gau back, have him Rage Zombone. His special attack is OCondemned, and Strago will learn it if he's paying attention.

OCondemned sets a timer over the target's head and uses an automatic unblockable ODoom spell if the timer runs out. Monsters can be immune to both OCondemned and (Instant) Death, mind. Rather useless.
ODischord
Meet either a Chaser or a Telstar on the Veldt. Telstar will *always* use ODischord after he's taken nine turns, Chaser will use it randomly.

ODischord is an attack that halves the target's level. If the target is immune to one-hit KO, ODischord will fail. The best use of ODischord lies in stealing; lowering an opponent's level increases your chances of stealing.
OL. 3 Muddle
Try to meet up with a Trapper (the hanging robots from the IMRF, remember). They will randomly and happily use OL. 3 Muddle. If Gau already learned the Trapper Rage, Strago can learn it from the feisty kid.
OL. 4 Flare
It's like with OL. 3 Muddle, only you need to make sure that OL. 4 Flare doesn't kill your entire party.
OL. 5 Doom
Trappers, Trappers, Trappers, Trappers. And waiting.
OPep Up
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 OPep Up. Strago will learn it, although I can't see a use for it whatsoever.
ORoulette
Make sure you have Relm in your party for this one. Try to find Pipsqueak enemies on the Veldt. If you Sketch one, there's a 75% chance it will cast ORoulette. Strago can watch and learn.

ORoulette's animation causes the cursor to spin around. You know, as if you had a broken controller. If you hit the action button, it'll slow down and deliver an unblockable ODoom spell (though targets immune to one-hit KO still survive the attack). I'm sure you could get ORoulette targeting down to a science, but it's not really worth it.
OStep Mine
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. GreaseMonk, when confused, will somehow while drooling and flailing their arms around and being generally amusing to look at use the OStep Mine attack. OStep Mine 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 is created by the number of steps your party has taken divided by 32; the MP it costs is calculated by the number of minutes you've played divided by 30.

In case you were wondering, whenever monsters use this attack they use your party's 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. Er, wait, I suppose tax money does both of those things now. Rewrite: It's like tax money!


New Rages!

New monsters you'll want to Leap include Coelecite and Ing. Below is the old list of monsters you're still interested in.
Enemy
Attack
Status Changes
OBreak
Inherent Float
OBio
Absorbs Water
!Numb (Stop)
Blaze
Absorbs Lightning, Inherent Float, Undead
Will o' the Wisp
Absorbs Poison, Undead
!Cat Scratch
Wind Slash
Fireball
Inherent Float
Snare
Inherent Protect
One-Hit KO protection
Sonic Boom
Inherent Float, One-Hit KO Protection
Blaze
Absorbs Fire, Inherent Float
OAqua Rake
Inherent Darkness
Giga Volt
Inherent Float
!Sleep Stinger
Inherent Float
OIce 2
Magnitude 8
OQuake
OAqua Rake
lots of status immunities, one-hit KO protection
OCure 2
Inherent Protect
OBio
Inherent Haste
Reraise
Inherent Protect, one-hit KO protection
Cyclonic
Transfusion
Inherent Invisible, Protect, Shell, Haste, Regen and Float*
Magnitude 8
Absorbs Fire
Lifeshaver
Absorbs Fire and Poison, Inherent Float, Undead

*You'll have to prevent the casting of the self-destructive Transfusion attack with Silence before Gau initializes the Rage.

Doma!

Off to Doma Castle! Doma Castle was occupied all this time, but Gestahl opened it up to you back when he was pretending to play nicely. Doma Castle has generally little and valueless treasure for you. You can find an 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 Fenix Down and some RelicBeads. RelicBeads are broken in all versions but the Advance one, so allow me to talk about them a bit.

RelicBeads 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 RelicBeads, 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. Not too shabby – so long as you're playing the Advance version, which is the only one in which the Beads work.

That'll do for now. Back to our regularly-scheduled heroism.

1.46: Preparation for the Floating Continent

Now, I'm going to have to give you a small 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 travel the whole world anymore for a while. So, if there are things you have yet to do - obtaining Water Rondo, meeting some snazzy, elusive monsters, buying more weaponry - this is the time. Stock up on Fenix Downs, as they're always useful. I specifically want you to have four sets of ArmorGaia Gear, and four HelmetBard's Hats would be nice as well.

I'd like to direct you to Kohlingen now, as I want you to buy a good amount of Ninja tools. Maybe 40 SkeanBolt Edges and 20 SkeanFire Skeans. You can laugh in the face of SkeanWater Skeans, 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 DirkBlossom blades, 10 or so. They make for excellent single-target Wind-elemental Throw objects, the best there are.

When you're done with whatever you want to do, go to the Floating Continent.

Let's see here. As replacement for the Espers you stole from their Facility in Vector, the Empire has obtained a lot of new Magicite. Before long, this might be a real problem. The more pressing issue at the moment, however, 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. As soon as you become an actual inconvenience, he need only wish for your demise in order to make it be so. Eh, we can always try to stop him anyway. We've got an albino who throws coins.

Which is not necessarily to say you need Setzer. Whom, then, to bring to the Floating Continent? It's hard to give proper advice concerning your party for the next round. First off, you can only take three - that seems weird, doesn't it? Second off, your ability to make it through the majority of the dungeon with ease 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 into Rambo mode 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 points 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 go through (an admittedly easy) part of the dungeon with only three characters rather than four.
  • Cyan, as always, should stay behind. He tended to be subpar up until this point, and now he's just plain bad. He would have a shining moment in the battle against the Imperial Air Force, as his KnifeTempest blades make for great Wind Slash spammers, but after that, it's a never-ending road of pain and misery. He can't even equip ArmorGaia Gear.
  • Edgar can't equip ArmorGaia Gear either, but he makes up for it with his ToolsNoiseBlaster. A lot of opponents on the Floating Continent can be easily subdued with this Tool, including the source of Lifeshaver. Though chances are you might still get hit by the attack, it's not quite disastrous enough to warrant that much caution. Though full party ArmorGaia Gear is nice and allows you to have Gau Rage ChickenLip for full-party healing, Edgar's multi-target Confusion move definitely isn't a bad idea.
  • Mog reigns supreme over all characters, 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 EsperSiren'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 SpecialHawk Eyes and an RelicAtlas Armlet if he's going to leave a mark. Fact of the matter is, though, the next dungeon contains a monster with a rare RelicGenji 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.

Equipping the characters kind of depends on which you choose to take, but you'll work that out as you create the party of three. Note that SwordBlizzard, SwordFlame Sabre, and SwordThunder Blade are interchangeable, as are HelmetGreen Berets and HelmetBard's Hats. HelmetGreen Berets give slightly more HP and Evasion while a HelmetBard's Hat raises your MP and increase your Magic Evasion. I'd lean towards the HelmetGreen Berets, but it's your choice. Here are some options!

Terra: SwordBlizzard, ShieldGold Shield, HelmetMystery Veil, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Locke: SpecialHawk Eye, SpecialHawk Eye, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicGenji Glove, RelicSneak Ring

Edgar: SwordDrainer, ShieldGold Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGold Armor, RelicHero Ring, RelicEarrings

Sabin: ClawFire Knuckle, ShieldMithril Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Cyan: KnifeTempest, KnifeTempest, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorPower Sash, RelicHero Ring, RelicGenji Glove

Gau: Empty, ShieldMithril Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicHero Ring, RelicEarrings

Celes: SwordThunder Blade, ShieldGold Shield, HelmetMystery Veil, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Setzer: GamblerDarts, ShieldGold Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Mog: LanceStout Spear, ShieldGold Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Strago: RodThunder Rod, ShieldMithril Shield, HelmetGreen Beret, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

Relm: RodThunder Rod, ShieldMithril Shield, HelmetMystery Veil, ArmorGaia Gear, RelicEarrings, RelicEarrings

If you're all properly equipped, let's roll.

1.47: The Airborne Approach

Airship
3/4
2
1
1/4
1
1

Enemies: Sky Armor, Spit Fire, Chupon, Ultros 4, Air Force, Laser Gun, MissileBay, Speck

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. Lovely. You'll have to fight four battles in succession now. Each battle can either consist of a single Spit Fire and a single Sky Armor, or a Spit Fire 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 a bit of time to use Items and whatnot. Then, you'll notice how "There's something strange up ahead! It's coming this way!" You have to fight two additional battles against the IAF like this. After the third, Ultros hops off that, well, whatever it is that he approaches you on. He just has an unshakeable talent for making one want to tear him a new one. Sky Armors are the weaker of the two. Normally, they simply use Magitek Laser or !Backlash, but if one is alone, it might even consider firing a Missile or two. Spit Fires are the scourge of the low-level player. Every turn, he has a 33% chance of using Absolute 0, a multi-target Ice-elemental attack. If he's alone, he has a 33% of using Diffuser, a multi-target 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. If Strago has access to OL. 5 Doom, he should use it to take out any Spit Fire monsters right away (OL. 4 Flare affects Sky Armor, but that's probably far too expensive). EsperSiren just stops these guys from doing any damage whatsoever (not counting Spit Fire's Specials), so make sure one of your characters has it. Summon EsperSiren, listen to her Hope Song, loot the buggers if you have Locke with you (rare Elixirs on Spit Fire, and the common Tincture isn't half bad either), and kill them all. Wind Song (home Dance!), Cyan's KnifeTempest blades and Gau's Marshal Rage all offer a chance at Wind Slash, which kills all enemies (on both sides of you).

It's worthy of note that the Spit Fire, 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!"
Chupon
Chupon
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
26
10000
40000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
100
55
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: DirkDirk
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathconfusion
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
icewater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
  

Ultros 4
Ultros 4
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
26
17000
8000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
10
3
0
20
10
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Dried Meat
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
firepoison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Ultros is an absolute joke this time, with a very simple script and weak stats. He has three attacks: Attack, !OctopusInk, and Tentacle, so we're back to basics. If he reaches 12800 HP - that's about 5000 damage, something a OBio spell coming from a normally leveled RelicEarrings-boosted Terra can do in ONE hit - he will complain and call his buddy, Chupon. "Ultros: I lose AGAIN! Well, today I've brought a pal! Mr. Chupon! Come on down!" From here, he'll keep attacking like he used to, only he'll talk about the monstrosity now.

Chupon is nothing to worry about either. His attacks are unassuming, his stats fairly weak: Attack and Fire Ball are past their prime. When he dies, he'll use a final Sneeze attack on everybody. Gezondheid!

Strategy? Psh. Summoning EsperPhantom at the very start takes care of Attack and !OctopusInk, and you can Berserk or Silence Mr. Chupon as soon as he comes down. You're invulnerable. Not that a normal OCure or OCure 2 spell couldn't prevent any kind of danger, but... on the offensive side, OFire 2 and OBio work very well on Ultros (yes, he suddenly traded his Lightning-weakness for a Poison one), and Chupon can suck down some OIce 2 spells. It's just acceleration material though, as this is a very easy battle. Expand Full Strategy
  

Chupon sneezed you off the ship! And if he didn't, you probably tripped after completing that obscene victory dance of OVanish/OCondemned. You fall off the Blackjack, tumbling down towards the Floating Continent. On the way down, you'll encounter the head of the IAF, 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.

Laser Gun
Laser Gun
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
24
3300
335
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
12
9
0
130
140
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: X-Ether
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
  

MissileBay
MissileBay
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
25
3000
7000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
12
8
0
135
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ToolsDebilitator
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
  

Speck
Speck
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
25
420
285
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
12
10
0
230
160
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicAmulet
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Air Force
Air Force
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
25
8000
750
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
10
12
0
150
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
Common: RelicCzarina Ring
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightningwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
The parts to this battle: Air Force, Laser Gun (the part to the right of Air Force), and MissileBay (the dark red part below Air Force). In the SNES game, the MissileBay was light grey like the Laser Gun. Why they decided to change *that* of all things will forever be a mystery.

MissileBay fires off Missile attacks. Nothing ground-shaking there. 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 Tek Laser and Atomic Ray. If it hits 1536 HP – after taking 1764 HP damage - it loses the Atomic Ray option, but gains Diffuser, which is slightly weaker than Atomic Ray.

Air Force itself will just use Tek Laser and Diffuser. When Laser Gun dies, a Speck will be released. Speck is an opponent that takes no turns; the only thing it does is float about 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; at this point, the Speck will leave the battlefield and Air Force will use WaveCannon, a very strong multi-target Lightning-elemental attack. By this point, you should be fully healed though, so you won't die from it if all is well. After WaveCannon, Air Force will launch another Speck and start counting again.

The first thing on your mind is taking out MissileBay. If you have Locke in the party, try to Steal for as long as he's around; MissileBay has a rare ToolsDebilitator you probably don't have yet. EsperZoneseek is a brilliant summon here, as the Shell status can really help you out in this battle, and once MissileBay is gone, you can safely summon EsperKirin to override all Sap effects with the positive Regen blessings.

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 RodThunder Rods. Something to remember if you're playing the game blindfolded. Or just blind.

An alternate strategy if you picked three characters that all heavily rely on Magic (Locke, Relm, Celes, for example) is the following. Since you want to prevent Speck from showing up above all else, don't kill Laser Gun. Instead, you can stop his attacks for long periods of time if you combine the Slow and Stop status ailments on it. Kill off MissileBay, use your speed-reducing grey magic on Laser Gun and focus all spells on Air Force. No Speck, no WaveCannon, no fuss. Expand Full Strategy
  

You'll get a RelicCzarina Ring for your trouble, which is about as useless as a traveling carnival prize of the same name.

1.48: The Floating Continent

Floating Continent
10/64
2
10/64
2
1
1
6/64
1
6/64
1
2
5/64
1
5/64
1
2
5/64
1
5/64
3
5/64
3
5/64
3
1/64
2
1/64
2
1

Enemies: Brainpan, Misfit, Apokryphos, Dragon, Wirey Dragon, Behemoth, Ninja

Treasures: HelmetBeret, KnifeMurasame, Monster-in-a-box (Gigantos)

Lore: OL. 3 Muddle, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 5 Doom, OBlowfish

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. Just kidding; I already wrote the second half of the walkthrough, so you're sticking it out whether you like it or not. 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 than 'tricking you with awesome ninjutsu skills of yore.' At any rate, Shadow bears a personal grudge against the Empire, and goes with you to get his revenge. You also notice that Shadow can equip the RelicMemento Ring, which would appear to have been a Relm-only Relic. Hmm. An 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.

Equip ArmorGaia 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 besides Gau, and even he is better off in the Back Row, at the cost of passing over his !Cat Scratch urges in favor of other animal instincts). Make sure you have nice Espers on everybody, and set Shadow on his path of supportive Espers (I'd suggest you switch from EsperSiren to EsperShoat). Shadow's main power lays in his Scrolls now, so go for RelicEarrings rather than RelicAtlas Armlets.

You've met a Ninja earlier, in the Cave to the Sealed Gate. What goes down now is the same as what went down then. 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 OImp them, but they'll still be able to use the Scrolls (Imps can still use Items, or any attack which doesn't use MP). They rarely drop a ShurikenNinja Star, which is an upgraded ShurikenShuriken. Save them for later.

Apokryphos are odd little demon-buggers who attack physically only, until there's only one left. A lone Apokryphos will counter any damage received with OL. 5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, or OL. 3 Muddle. This makes for a great time for Strago if he hasn't learned all of those attacks yet, but annoying for the rest of your party. Try to circumvent this circumstance by taking Apokryphos out first in the groups in which they appear (or all at the same time). If you find yourself stuck against a lone Apokryphos, OBreak and other one-hit KO attacks can kill it without provoking any kind of counter in any way. An even better way of doing this is the ORasp spell, as reducing Apokryphos's MP to 0 kills him. Silence/Hope Song also works. You can rarely Steal RelicCure 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 due to the fact that they can appear in tandem. This means two Behemoths in one fight, for those of limited vocabulary. They tend to use physical attacks, but their Special !Take Down is very strong. If they are alone (which they often are), they'll counter any damage you do with a 66% chance at countering with !Take Down. Luckily, you can use Petrification and other one-hit KO attacks to go around this. They're weak to Ice, but while OIce 2 will deal a nice amount of damage, KO attacks like ODoom, EsperShoat's Demon Eye, and Gau's Rhodox 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 OVanish around or EsperPhantom equipped, make everybody invisible before attacking. Heal regularly. OIce 2 is a powerful spell here, and Strago's OL. 4 Flare is especially fruitful as well.

Brainpan monsters are bloody annoying. They randomly Stop one of your characters with !Smirk, and when they are alone, they will use OBlowfish, 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 RelicEarrings if Locke is with you; any amount lower than 24 is a bad amount. Brainpan are also nice for Sketching, by the way, as both !Smirk and OBlowfish will be unhappily received when released on the other end of the battlefield.

Dragons are even more dangerous than Behemoths, when left unattended. They're also very famous for being the only source of RelicGenji Gloves besides those that chests and events give you (which is often not enough to satisfy our Genji cravings). 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, it can also become very painful), Snowstorm and Cold Dust, an attack that will freeze one character solid, thereby disabling him/her. 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 OSleep or OStop on them, possibly both, and try to shave off as much HP as possible while he's incapacitated. He's weak to Lightning, so OBolt 2, Giga Volt (although you'll probably want to lay off Rages against Dragon as the random physical attack will wake him up), and SkeanBolt Edges work very well. If Locke or Shadow is in the party and you have at least one DirkThief Knife, Steal from every Dragon you encounter. Even one extra RelicGenji Glove is nice.

Misfits are Ing palette swaps, and are, once again, un-Silencable bastards that use Lifeshaver. Luckily, at this point, you should be fully clothed in ArmorGaia Gear, and Edgar and Setzer should just keep themselves healed. They're weak to Fire, which was not the case with the original Ing, so take advantage of that. OBreak and ORasp both kill Misfit in one hit when they connect (OBreak sometimes misses).

Wirey 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. ToolsNoiseBlaster and EsperStray's Cat Rain will make them randomly use Cyclonic on each other, after which you can simply pick them apart with any ol' multi-target attack you have. If you lack multi-target 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. EsperShoat can take care of them all if you summon him, 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 KnifeMurasame, which does not live up to its name in this game and should not be equipped, as Dispatch is better than any Attack you'll pull off with it. Should you have brought Cyan and find yourself using nothing but anyway, the KnifeMurasame'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 approach it. You'll want to grab the blue orb first, but not until after you've finished at least one battle and have summoned EsperPhantom so that you can open this orb with an invisible team.

1.49: The Floating Continent Continued: Evil Approaches

Enemies: Brainpan, Misfit, Apokryphos, Dragon, Wirey Dragon, Behemoth, Ninja, Gigantos, AtmaWeapon

Did you use Phantom last chapter, before coming here? You're going to want to. Seriously. You see, the blue orb holds the monster-in-a-box Gigantos.
Gigantos
Gigantos
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
25
6000
1120
0
7750
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
20
10
0
1
1
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
Rare: X-Potion
Common: DirkHardened
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
confusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Metamorph Package
 
 
Strategy
 
Here's a purely physical fighter that can kill a 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. Boom.

If you're fighting him, one-hit KO attacks work best. OL. 5 Doom offs him easily, as do OBreak, EsperShoat, Snare (Rhodox Rage), and ODoom. 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 OStop/ODoom combo if you're evil enough. For all your trouble, you get a DirkHardened blade, a stronger weapon for Shadow without the DirkAssassin'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 DirkThief Knife or DirkAssassin. Expand Full Strategy
  

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'll need to enter). This bulge delivers you into a crossroads, where you must choose from two new bulges. The right one takes you nowhere, so the left one it is.

The new delivery point immediately features a new stone to step on, so do that. It lowers some part in front of you, but you can't reach that now. Instead, go back and find the other stone waiting for you. You'll need to activate the obvious stepping-stone for another obvious obstacle; continue to 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 in order to find a Save Point and the blue orb to the right of it, which contains a HelmetBeret. The HelmetBeret is a nifty helmet for Relm that increases her Sketch success, improving the frequency but, sadly, not the utility of the ability. I'd stick to the HelmetMystery 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 remain here and won't rejoin to your party until you return to the floating continent, where he will be waiting in the same spot as when you first found him there (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. AtmaWeapon. Before you fight him, have somebody cast Float on those in your team that lack ArmorGaia Gear if possible (Gau, as always, can self-inflict it), equip RelicCoin Toss on Setzer if he's on your team and equip RelicWall Rings, if that's possible.
AtmaWeapon
AtmaWeapon
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
37
24000
5000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
45
5
20
142
97
10
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicRibbon
Rare: Elixir
Common: Elixir
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
AtmaWeapon is quite a challenge. Not quite as disgustingly horrible as Air Force, but you don't have the ability to divide and conquer that made the Air Force battle palatable. AtmaWeapon 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 starts with a pretty rockin' speech, and then it continues to simply pound your character into submission with Attack, OFlare, and Blaze. OFlare is a snazzy new spell you're probably not familiar with yet. OFlare is non-elemental and barrier-piercing, though you can protect yourself with RelicWall Rings and the like. This is, until he reaches 12800 HP, at which point he'll start casting OBio, OQuake, or the enemy version of OMeteor, use either Attack or !Full Power, use an multi-target OFire 2 spell, and end with Mind Blast.

Mind Blast is a multi-target attack that randomly selects a character four times and sets 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 EsperUnicorn if you have it after Mind Blast has been used.

After Mind Blast, AtmaWeapon will get even stronger. The message "Vast energy focused" will appear, and AtmaWeapon 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 a hobby assembly enthusiast, I wonder how the heck they did that), and AtmaWeapon 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 OBio/OQuake/Meteo, etc.

When you knock him below 6144 HP, he'll start using another set of spells: Attack, OQuartr, W Wind, ORasp, and Blaze. Every time he is damaged in this stage, he'll have a 33% chance of countering the attack with OFlare. 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 RelicWall Rings. Celes shouldn't need to use Runic until the final stage of AtmaWeapon, when he gains the ability to cast OQuartr, as this can be absorbed by Celes' Runic blade yet flies past RelicWall Rings.

If a lot of your characters know the ORasp spell (say, three or four), you could try to ORasp 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' offensive scheme (Attack, OFlare, and Blaze), against which EsperZoneseek and RelicWall Rings result in easy victory. Even without those two, it'll still be easier on you to handle it than the standard HP-depletion method will.

If you decide to just smack him to death with your ouchies, beware. Start the battle off with EsperZoneseek to soften the blow of his magical attacks. Make staying alive priority one: OFlare can do over 600 damage, so be prepared for a OFlare spell at all times if you're not covered in RelicWall Rings. Cast OSlow on him to slow him down.

Try to steal a RelicRibbon with Locke; you'll thank yourself for the effort later. If Edgar is in your party and can use a ToolsDebilitator, use it until you've nailed a nice weakness to exploit. Then exploit it (as if you needed me to say that!).

If he uses Mind Blast, cure the most dangerous status ailments and proceed. If the message "Vast energy focused" appears, use ODispel to remove your adversary's positive status effects (and don't forget to cast OSlow again).

Basically, it's a story of heal first and damage later. Terra, Celes, and Relm should just use their level 2 spells (OIce 2 is, by a very slight margin, the strongest of the three – unless, of course, you've ToolsDebilitator'd him to have a weakness). Have Locke steal until he has acquired either an Elixir or a RelicRibbon, and use SpecialHawk Eyes to fight with for the duration of the battle. Edgar can use ToolsDrill and Sabin Aurabolt 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 Mog's attacks: Rock Slide. The Water Rondo, on the other hand, has a more constant damage output, as both El Niño (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 RelicEarrings, his level 2 spells are inferior to Gil Toss and his Slots aren't very useful in this fight. 7-Flush can't compare to Gil Toss, Chocobop misses entirely due to AtmaWeapon's inherent Float and the other attacks are too rare to consider an option.

Cyan's Quadra Slam out-damages Dispatch, so try to have other characters attack while you wait for Quadra Slam to load. It might be safer, if you're less experienced, to simply stick to Dispatch 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 pair of RelicEarrings, a level 2 spell will outdamage Dispatch.

Strago's OAqua Rake attack is the strongest he'll be able to do. If you equipped RelicWall Rings, his OPearl Wind move will be very nice to have around. OStep Mine might be stronger than OAqua Rake, but it should also be much more troublesome on your MP. Try it out and see what works for you. An added benefit of OAqua Rake, by the way, is its dual-elemental nature; if you brought Edgar, there's a double chance Strago can exploit the ToolsDebilitator-induced weakness with the attack.

Gau's best choices are probably Ninja (SkeanWater Skean), Chimera (OAqua Rake), Bomb (Blaze) or Ing (Lifeshaver). Ninja is the strongest offensively, but you probably didn't go back to pick it up. Ing is very defensive; since it makes Gau absorb Fire-elemental attacks, is inherently Floating, and gives the Undead property, Ing will protect against OFire 2, OBio, OQuake, 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. Expand Full Strategy
  

After AtmaWeapon 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.

1.50: Kefka's Ascension and the Escape from the Floating Continent

Floating Continent (Escape)
1

Enemies: Naughty, Nerapa

Treasures: Elixir

Lore: OCondemned, ORoulette

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.

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 a Monday. 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 OMerton, which is un-Runicable!). Kefka gains control over the slowly reviving gods and commands them to unleash their power on Gestahl. They do. Emperor Gestahl, your most constant 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. This is bad.

Suddenly, 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 – even if that means doing so without Shadow. You have six minutes, 6:00, to get off the Floating Continent. Goddess energy takes on the form of monsters (naturally), 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).

You're still covered in RelicWall Rings if you listened to my advice. Keep them on! If Celes joined your party just now, give one to her as well; it's worth the time. The RelicWall Rings protect from the OIce 2 spell the Naughty enemies cast, and it will be nice to have against the boss here as well.

Naughty 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 good at it. Their attacks include Attack, !Hit, OIce 2, Snowstorm and Cold Dust. Sadly, they can use Cold Dust on the first turn, disabling a character. If you hit them with a Magic spell, they have a 33% shot at using Silence. A largely useless alternative, though this Naughty-only Silence attack will not bounce from Reflective targets, nor can it be absorbed by Celes' Runic blade. When you OImp them, their next turn will be spent on de-Imping themselves and using Escape. Keep in mind that when you always use the OImp 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 low-level game, she'll know OImp. I suggest you use it. If Celes is frozen beforehand and nobody else knows the OImp spell, just take advantage of Naughty's weakness to Fire, Lightning, and Holy. OL. 4 Flare works on him as well, so if Strago is around, he'll be able to do quite some damage with it. RelicSprint 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 before being allowed to continue. Behind you, the part you just walked on falls off. Dangerous stuff, 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 with the blue orb you'll need to reach will fall off. Go around the gap here so you can grab the treasure: An Elixir. Now you'll see the big sparkle: Head over to it and prepare yourself.
Nerapa
Nerapa
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
26
2800
280
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
11
10
0
105
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifysilencesleepslow
poisonwindearthwater
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
icelightningholy
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
The big sparkle's name is Nerapa. 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 OCondemned on the party. A bit redundant, if not outright illogical.

Sillier yet, the battle with Nerapa (or a Naughty) will automatically terminate as soon as the global timer hits 0:04 seconds; enough time to dive from the Floating Continent to "safety". What was the point of the timer in the first place? 0:04 isn't enough time to wait for that special someone, though...

Anyway, after the pompous chatter and casting OCondemned on the party, he will finally get around attacking you. He can use Attack, OFire 2, OFire 3, and Fire Ball. Very spooky. OFire 3 actually hurts a bit. Now here's a hoot: If you hit Nerapa with six Attack commands, he'll use ORoulette. Next to the fact that ORoulette can actually take Nerapa himself down, the mere thought that Nerapa could even survive six Attacks is laughable in itself. You'd need a RodHeal Rod or a rat-flail 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 Rhodox Rage can enSnare him for a one-hit KO, as can a fatal ToolsChainsaw attack. Bouncing a few ORasp spells off yourself will kill him. Bouncing a ODoom spell off yourself will kill him. You can even confuse him; enemies don't get any more pathetic than that.

Just use your strongest attacks, be it Giga Volt, or Aurabolt, or Gem Dust, or what have you. Nerapa has 2800 HP. That's it. If you played your cards right, you were doing 2800 in one attack back there against AtmaWeapon. Pushover. Expand Full Strategy
  

Once you've beaten Nerapa, you can walk over to the edge and the Blackjack will appear under you. What's your choice, jump or wait?! 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 choices again 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. Quite frankly, if that's the case, you deserved it.

So, Shadow was going to sacrifice himself to save the planet. However:
  1. He doesn't sacrifice himself.
  2. The planet isn't saved.

Zero for two, there, pal.

In the next cutscene a lot of bad things happen. Congratulations. Things haven't been going our way lately: You try to rally in the Esper troops from behind the Sealed Gate, they go on a murderous rampage; you try to talk peacefully to them, and instead you inadvertently deliver them straight to Kefka; you try to stop Gestahl, you end up destroying the world. Understandably, the Returners must be doubting their competency as heroes.

Planet: I'm apocalypsing!

As a final side note to this initial section of the game, due to a bug you now receive the equipment of the generic Moogle named Kamog, one of the Moogles that helped you rescue Terra way in the beginning. This means you win a SpecialBoomerang and a ShieldBuckler. For free! Now things are looking up.

2.1: Intermezzo; The Solitary Island

Wastelands
10/16
2
6/16
3
Desert
10/16
1
2
6/16
1

Enemies: Peepers, EarthGuard, Black Drgn

Party: Celes

Rise and shine, commander. Rise and shine.

No words can be used to describe the blasphemy of Kefka's act. By moving the Statues he has shaken the very foundations of this world; earthquakes, tremors, eruptions and floods ensued. While trying to escape the Floating Continent, the Blackjack was torn apart from under your feet.

Celes Chere, ex-General of an Empire that may not still exist, wakes up in a dirty shack. One year has passed; by a stroke of coincidence, the person who found her and took care of her was none other than the person who did so during her Imperial-flavored youth: Cid. Cid himself, now, seems weakened and doesn't seem to possess much will to carry on. The entire population of the island has either passed away or have killed themselves, so Celes takes it on herself to take care of him for a while; at least it will keep the ghosts of the past away.

Preparation: Celes is entirely unequipped, so you should help her out a little in said regard. As far as Relics go, make sure she is equipped with either an RelicAmulet or RelicRibbon, as one of the monsters on the Solitary Island uses !BonePowder, which turns a character into a Zombie. This is an instant Game Over if it hits, since you have only one party member, so protect yourself from it.

Peepers are silly buggers that don't so much classify as monsters as they do dying animals in a rotten world. With 1 HP and inherent Seizure, they more likely than not will perish before they make a move. If they do manage to take a turn, it's either Battle, !Tail (Battle * 1.5), or OPearl Wind, for which Peepers don't have enough MP for.

EarthGuard only has one attack: !PoisonTail, which sets Poison. However, EarthGuard shares the fate of Peepers: 1 HP, inherent Seizure. Wandering into the desert without an RelicAmulet or RelicRibbon is incredibly stupid, so !PoisonTail shouldn't affect you.

Black Drgn is the only actual opponent with a fighting chance on the island. The first turn can feature Sand Storm; the second turn Sand Storm and !BonePowder. Sand Storm is the thing to watch out for; Celes is by her lonesome, so she takes quite some damage if hit. You can instantly defeat Black Drgn by casting a OLife spell on him. Personally I don't consider it a shadowy tactic when the undead monster in question lacks Death protection (like this one), but if you don't want to go for it, you can cast OStop on him (perhaps combined with OSlow so that it really takes its sweet time to wear off) and pound on him in the meantime with OFire 2.

Note: Peepers have a rare Elixir steal and EarthGuard have a rare Megalixir steal. Right now, this is of no consequence, as you can't steal; later I'll point it out again.

While exploring, you'll have to note Cid's health. There's a hidden health bar for the guy, which you need to maintain. If you manage to take it up to 256, Cid becomes permanently healthy; if you allow it to drop down to 30, he will die. The health starts at 120. Every second you spend in any place that isn't the Overworld Map, Cid will lose 1 health.

On the beach, there are fish you can catch. You can simply try to grab them when they come near the tiles you can stand on. There are four types of Fish: A slow-moving Fish decreases the health bar by 16 when fed to Cid. A Rotten Fish (with medium speed) decreases the bar by 4 when fed to Cid. "Just a" Fish also swims with medium speed and increases health by 16 when fed to Cid. A "Yummy", fast-moving Fish increases the bar by 32 when fed to Cid.

All of these are Rare items. Once you've captured a kind of Fish, there's no way to get rid of it other than feeding it to Cid. The effects of the Fish you have caught are cumulative; if you have captured a Fish, a Rotten Fish, and a Yummy Fish, Cid will gain 12 health points (-16 - 4 + 32).

Cid has various conversational responses based on his health. This is the only way to tell approximately where his health is on the scale of dead to awesome.
  • 231 - 255: My dear, I ... feel I'm not going to be around much longer...
  • 201 - 230: Celes, thanks for all you've done for me!
  • 161 - 200: HackAck!! I feel a little better!
  • 121 - 160: Cough...wheeze...I can't bear this any longer...
  • 91 - 120: I...I'm not long for this cruel new world ...
  • 61 - 90: My worst nightmare is to think of you alone here on this wretched island ... hack ... wheeze!!
  • 31 - 60: Cough...hack...ACK!! While I can still talk, I...wheeze...pant...want to thank you...cough!
  • 0 - 30: Good-bye...

Whether or not Cid lives or dies has little impact other than, you know, that Cid lives or dies and Celes reacts to it. Regardless of your efforts, Celes will get off the island fairly quickly.

If you want to read about the options in more detail, enable spoilers.

The debate over saving Cid's life is surprisingly heated when you take into consideration that it doesn't really affect the end result. Most people tend to think letting Cid die is the best way out of the situation; not only is catching fish a tedious enterprise, but the consequences of Cid's demise give depth to the character of Celes. Others try to keep him alive for the sole reason that he is one of the major NPCs and this game's 'Cid'.

2.2: The World of Ruin

Grasslands
10/16
2
6/16
1
1
E. Wastelands
10/16
2
6/16
1
2
W. Wastelands
10/16
1
1
6/16
1
1
1
Forest
10/16
4
6/16
2
1
Desert
10/16
1
2
6/16
1

Enemies: Mesosaur, Gilomantis, Peepers, Chitonid, Gigan Toad, EarthGuard, Black Drgn, Osprey

Party: Celes

Staying on an island with nothing but sickly animals to keep you company is not what anybody would consider leading a rich and fulfilling life. It's time to see how badly this world has turned out; if the Empire is still standing with Kefka leading it, if any of that rogue squadron of Returners has survived - in other words, if there is still hope.

Preparation: You can take your Zombie-protection off now if you want. Replace it with something that protects against Petrify for now (RelicRibbon or RelicJewel Ring will do). Try to apply the Clear status ASAP as it protects you from anything if you're smart. Since the enemies here are actually more than a joke, you'll want to equip a SpecialMorning Star and move to the Back Row if the whole OVanish thing isn't working out for you for whatever reason.

You wake up near Albrook. You can go in right away if you'd like, but for now I'll give a quick run-down on the monsters in the area.

Mesosaur is a small dinosaur whose name is derived from the prefix 'meso', which means 'middle'. Mesosaurs in our world were little swimming buggers 'famous' for being the first land-based animals to return to the sea; in this world, they are cannon fodder with a weakness to Ice. This is note-worthy; dinosaurs and lizards in general have a weakness to Ice. Mesosaurs will use Escape unless they are by themselves, in which case they'll stand and fight. !T. Lash causes Seizure.

The Gilomantis uses Battle. When they are targeted by physical attacks, they sometimes use !Sickle, which is a more advanced way of inflicting damage or something. I wonder, if not with their sickles, how they normally attack you. They seem to have a wicked sharp stinger; maybe they slash with it. Regardless, they are kind of boring.

Heh. Gigan Toads are cool. See, they're toads, and they're gargantuan. This makes them inherently violent, attacking with Battle, !Croak (damage), Slimer (sets Slow, looks spiffy), and ORippler. The monsters have access to ORippler, but they lack the MP to pull it off.

Lunaris is Lobo, WoR style. Rather than using !Bite to inflict damage, they use !Face Bite to blind (although I can't imagine a bite to the face that blinds and doesn't actually hurt as well). Stuff to plow through.

Osprey is the only monster that actually is worth recognition right now. Not only can it pull off a !Beak attack in its third turn to petrify you, it will occasionally retort with a Shimsham attack if you use Magic on it.

Chitonid is normal Battle/Special stuff (!Carapace damages: the name itself refers to the dorsal section of an exoskeleton or shell found in a number of animal groups!) with one annoying habit: if it's by itself, it can counter any damaging attack with Sneeze. This tends to come into play if you employ a fatal multi-target attack to the entire monster party. Take out Chitonid first when it's in a group with other monsters.

Just walk around here and kill stuff with your attacks. Should you have Clear status and lose it again due to Slimer, Sneeze, or Shimsham, re-apply it. Kill Chitonid first when you encounter them, never use Magic on Osprey, and don't linger with Gigan Toads and you should be invulnerable.

Eh...yeah. You'll want to go into Albrook now, so, welcome. It's nice to see there are still some signs of civilization left. It's time to gather some info on this strange new world; after all, it can't be expected that everybody took a full year's nap like Celes.

Weapon Shop: You should be both familiar with and have ownership of these weapons. I'd be tight with my cash right now if I were you, though. These weapons should be noted for their great use with the Throw command; they are basically elemental ShurikenNinja Stars; if you have great amounts of cash in the future, you can Throw these for insane damage if the target is weak against the element. For now, keep hold of your GP.

Armor Shop: Nothing new here, and nothing you should specifically want any more of.

Relic Shop: These must be tough times if a Relic shop owner can get away with selling rubbish like this. If you don't have a RelicJewel Ring or a RelicRibbon, definitely buy a RelicJewel Ring here.

Item Shop: If the Floating Continent was harsh on your supplies, you can restock some now. Make sure you have some Revivifies, and Sleeping Bags are, at the moment, cheaper versions of Tents, as you're traveling by your lonesome.

Hidden Items: If you haven't picked them up in the WoB, there's a Potion in the barrel next to the Inn, a Tincture in the pot in the Weapon Shop, an Elixir in the clock in the Relic Shop/Cafe, and a Warp Stone in one of the crates on the docks. Also, there are two empty chests in the Armor Shop.

Smily happy people, walking on sunshine. Only kind of not. Albrook turned into a rather depressing mess of a town. The situation is bad. Kefka is ruling the world. Monsters abound. Albrook's port, once a thriving capital of aquatic travel and trade, is derelict. Your only hope is the rumor of a man who passed through Albrook recently, a man with the same shimmer of hope in his eyes. Hardly constructive, but worth a shot. The Japanese game makes specific mention of a 'monk' here. Albrook doesn't seem like a place to hang around in anyway.

It's time to leave. More specifically, it's time to see what became of Vector, Maranda, and Tzen.

2.3: Tzen and the Light of Judgement

Formations
10/16
3
6/16
2
1

Enemies: Mesosaur, Gilomantis, Peepers, Chitonid, Gigan Toad, EarthGuard, Osprey, HermitCrab, Pm Stalker, Scorpion

Party: Celes

Back on the Overworld Map, you'll soon notice that Vector is no more and has been replaced by a tower. This is Kefka's seat, from where he rules the world. That's nice. Maranda has been broken off the continent to the west. Luckily, Tzen is still there.

Note: As soon as you enter Tzen, you'll be sucked into a side-quest from where you'll emerge with Sabin. If you don't want this, or are not ready yet (you'll want the RelicJewel Ring/RelicRibbon now), don't enter Tzen and skip the next part instead. It is strongly recommended to dive into Tzen rather than skipping it, however, and the game pretty much counts on you doing so, but whatever floats your boat, I suppose.

When you step up the stairs, a disaster occurs! The Light of Judgement hits the town, and it quickly becomes clear that a child is trapped in one of the collapsing houses. Holding up the mansion is a familiar face: Sabin Rene Figaro, wandering heir to the throne of Figaro! It's good to see him still alive, but the situation asks for action. Leaving is impossible, as a citizen will ask you to stay and help: "Come on!! Please help!" As soon as you stand in front of the door Sabin will start talking to you and a timer will start, so let's review what you can do in town beforehand:

Before you enter the house to save the child, you can get some healing at the Inn (you won't spend the night, but you'll get some sparkly action going on) and you can shop at the three shops Tzen has to offer.

Weapon Shop: It's nice to have two of each Claw weapon. The ClawKaiser are too weak by this point in the game so you can ignore it; if you don't have two ClawPoison Claws stock up until you do. You're bound to benefit from at least one ClawFire Knuckle, so grab it, as a boss battle in the future can use double ClawFire Knuckles.

Armor Shop: There are HelmetBerets for sale, so you could buy one if you missed it at the Floating Continent. The rest of the merchandise here is old news.

Relic Shop: The RelicSneak Rings for sale are new, but they won't really help you. What you do want is a RelicJewel Ring if you still haven't bought one. Last chance, honest.

Item Shop: In this time of turmoil, an entirely new item has appeared in the Item Shop: the Super Ball. Unseen by many, shunned by many, forgotten by many, the Super Ball is an item that deals damage in combat to random target for a random amount of damage. To be more precise, Super Ball deals 256, 512, 768, 1024, 1280, 1536, 1792, or 2048 HP damage against 1, 2, 3, or 4 randomly decided targets. If the same monster is targeted twice by the Super Ball, he is hit twice, meaning that the damage can exceed 2048 HP.

In short: Super Balls are very expensive, entirely random and most of the time not impressive enough to warrant their use. Yes, in theory a Super Ball could do a total of 4 x 2048 = 8192 damage against a single target, which is an insane amount at the moment, but I've never seen it do even remotely that kind of damage. Buy one if you want to fill your inventory, but you won't find a lot of use for them in most circumstances.

When you're done shopping (while everybody else is panicking), try to save the child by entering the house. Before you get near the mansion, set Celes' equipment up as so:

Weapon: SwordBreak Blade/ SwordBlizzard/SwordThunder Blade/SwordFlame Sabre
Shield: ShieldGold Shield
Helmet: HelmetMystery Veil
Armor: ArmorGold Armor/ArmorGaia Gear
Relics: RelicBlack Belt (vital!) and RelicJewel Ring/RelicRibbon (likewise!)

As soon as you are standing in front of the door, you'll have a conversation with Sabin and the timer (6:00) will start running. If you are still outside of the house while the timer runs out, you get a Game Over: your screen will display Sabin in an entirely black background. It doesn't matter if you're outdoors or indoors, though: Game Over, man. Better get in there and save that child.

Preparation: RelicBlack Belt and petrification protection, right?

The Scorpion is the main annoyance in this house while the HermitCrab is the most dangerous. Meeting three Scorpion monsters will make you want to use multi-target magic violence, but their Magic Defense is through the roof, you don't have any barrier-piercing attacks at your disposal and using Fight three times takes a long time when time is of the essence. Hence the RelicBlack Belt; Scorpions will use !Doom Sting (sets Condemned) followed by Battle, so there's plenty of physical attacks to take advantage of, especially when the only character they can attack is Celes.

HermitCrab have two attacks to fear. The first is Net; you may remember it from your fight against Marshal way, way back. Net Stops, which is bad if you want to hurry (you want to hurry). They won't use it until their third turn though, so no worries as should have killed them by then. Their other dangerous attack is !Rock. It petrifies, and is only used when a HermitCrab is alone and damaged by you. Sadly, this scenario includes multi-target killing everything on the battlefield. Protect yourself from ridicule and enjoy that RelicJewel Ring or RelicRibbon I advised you.

Pm Stalkers are cannon fodder with a nice name; Pm stands for Post Mortem. Still stalking. They will use ODrain, which is sad as this prevents total invulnerability by means of OVanish. It tends to do either 0 or 6 damage (6 is the damage a single hit from Seizure inflicts). That's it. You can take them all out with a multi-target OFire 2 spell or EsperIfrit's Inferno.

Use Fight and enjoy your counters during Scorpion battles, and multi-target OFire 2 spells or similar kinds of violence will suffice against everything else.

If you started this scenario later, out of order from this walkthrough, you will probably have more characters. Edgar's ToolsAutocrossbow is very nice against the Scorpions, so you don't really need the RelicBlack Belt on anybody. Make sure everybody is protected against Petrify though. I could talk and talk about your options if you have other characters, but since this entire bit was designed to be doable with only one character, a full team will have so little trouble here that explaining what to do would be insulting your position as a person capable of abstract thought.

If you walk through the hallway, you'll come across a chest at the end. This contains a RodHeal Rod; make absolutely sure you grab it. Turn left and you'll see a chamber with a chest in it. The chest contains a RodPearl Rod; go out the same way you got in. Continue to the left and you'll see two chests. The one in reach contains a Tincture, the one near the stairs leading downwards contains a Pm Stalker-y monster-in-a-box.

Go down the stairway and go up to the high living room or whatever it is. The right chest contains a Magicite shard. In the middle of this room is the kid you were supposed to be finding. Remember? Grab it. The left chest contains, again, the same monster-in-a-box: four Pm Stalkers. The one room here you didn't pass through contains a SwordDrainer in a chest. Grab it if you like. Now leave this mess.

Upstairs and to the bottom is one chest you missed: It contains a RelicHyper Wrist. Grab it only if you have the time, as there's really no use for yet another one of these Relics. Sell it or something. If you're done, get out. Outside, both the kid and Sabin will be safe. There's hope! Yatta! Et cetera. Sabin joins the party.

If you haven't bought EsperSraphim yet, now's your chance to do so for only 10 GP. The world's going to heck in a hand basket... just look at this weird stone!

2.4: The Serpent Trench

Grasslands
10/16
2
6/16
1
1
E. Wastelands
10/16
2
6/16
1
2
W. Wastelands
10/16
1
1
6/16
1
1
1
Trench: Grasslands
6/16
2
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
Trench: Wastelands
10/16
1
2
6/16
4
Trench: Forests
6/16
2
1
5/16
2
5/16
1

Enemies: Buffalax, Delta Bug, Bloompire, Mesosaur, Gilomantis, Chitonid, Gigan Toad, Osprey, Phunbaba

Party: Celes, Optional: Sabin

This part, again, is optional. You get another Esper out of it, an encounter with one of your friends, and a boss battle. If you want to press on immediately, there's no rush to take care of this now, since you can always come back later.

In the tail of the Serpent Trench lies Mobliz, a town that was fried by the Light of Judgement earlier on. Maybe it's time to take a look? It's not exactly on your way, but... do you even have anywhere specific to go in the first place?

Preparation: Equip an RelicAmulet or RelicRibbon on Celes and Sabin! One of the monsters can turn you into a Zombie in the very first turn, and you'd be surprised how easy it is for your party to be eliminated when it consists of only two members.

Three new monsters on the Serpent Trench:

Buffalax are sickly animals that attack out of desperation. If you wait for four turns he'll swap his normal Battle attack with a !Riot, Battle, Battle combo. Gasp thrice! !Riot is merely 1.5x its normal attack, so there's nothing to worry about. If he's hit by a Magic spell, he might counter with Sun Bath. So don't.

Delta Bug uses Battle, !Rush (another 1.5x Battle) and Mega Volt. Mega Volt is entirely too weak to warrant worrying about, but it does remove Clear status, and that's annoying. Let's see here... its name comes from the Greek symbol Delta, which was a triangle. I'm introducing you to a whole new world here, am I not? Multi-target OFire 2 spells and/or the Fire Dance Blitz is the way to go.

Bloompire are the most dangerous enemies here. They can start the fight off with Battle or !Energy Sap, which sets Zombie. The second turn can feature the OBio spell, which you don't want. The obnoxious thing about Bloompire is their defenses: 254 Defense, 254 Magic Defense. They compensate by having only 12 HP, but still. Since they're undead, the best way to penetrate those defenses is by a multi-target OCure spell on them. Celes is bound to know it. Otherwise, multi-target OFire 2 spells and Fire Dance can get the job done if tweaked a little. Check how strong your flaming magic is to see if this is a better option for you.

Whenever Delta Bugs appear, Fire Dance is a good idea to clean them all up in one go, as is a multi-target OFire 2 spell if you lack Sabin. Buffalax is also weak to Fire-elemental attacks, so if you find a lone Celes facing one, just go with that element and hope he doesn't use Sun Bath. Bloompire is best disposed of with a multi-target OCure 3 spell (on them, obviously). It's a good idea to cast OVanish on yourself; while the second turn of both Delta Bug and Bloompire can remove your Clear status with Mega Volt or the OBio spell (respectively), you shouldn't let it get that far.

Find the bridge to the Serpent Trench and walk up to the tail. When you're just about to the Trench, you'll find a Chocobo Stable in the forest just south of the town of Mobliz. Doesn't really matter now, you're here: Mobliz.

Preparation: There will be a boss battle here, so I want you to prepare for it. Ideally, you should have Sabin with you, who I suggest you give a RelicHero Ring, RelicGenji Glove, and two ClawPoison Claws. Equipping EsperGolem on either will be a good asset. Just keep Celes the way you like her, but make sure she can use Runic.

If you don't have Sabin, the next battle will be very tough. Equip a RelicWall Ring and a RelicHero Ring, and save on the Overworld Map. Definitely have EsperGolem on Celes if she's flying solo here.

When you enter Mobliz, two dogs will start barking and a kid will come running out of a house before re-entering it. Before you follow him, grab the Fenix Down on one of the three barrels by the other burned house. You can take a nap in the bed of the abandoned Relic Shop for HP/MP restoration.

When you do enter the house that the kid entered earlier, you can grab the Elixir in the clock if you didn't in the WoB. Go down the stairs to find a whole bunch of kids, Duane and Katarin and ...Terra! But as the cutscene progresses, you'll learn the situation is more complicated than 'hey-ho, let's go', and Terra refuses to leave. When you go outside (before you do, make sure you're fully equipped for the fight), a kid will come screaming in that Phunbaba is coming! You heard about Phunbaba in Albrook, a demon from the ancient world. Terra goes out to defend the children.

This battle is a scripted battle. Terra won't be able to deliver any damage as Phunbaba is blessed by the same kind of invulnerability as Guardian from the WoB was. Terra can slave away with physicals: 0 damage. She can cast OFire 2, OBio, and ODrain: 0 damage (although she'll obtain HP from ODrain). Terra is supposed to lose here. So, don't use Morph or Elixirs or anything.

Phunbaba (1)
Phunbaba (1)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
31
28000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
6
0
100
130
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
This is better. Phunbaba (1) will start the battle with a physical attack, be it either Battle or !Solar Plex. Then, he'll start using OBolt 2 and OBolt 3 spells; finally, he can use OBlowfish, which will likely be ill received, as 1000 damage is nothing to laugh at when it's coming for you. Phunbaba (1)'s name, if you're wondering, comes from the old Babylonian heroic poem 'Gilgamesh'. He was a monster there. He got killed, too.

If you have a Celes/Sabin team, have Sabin use his dual ClawPoison Claws for great damage. Don't bother going on the offensive with Celes due to her lower damage output; have her on Runic standby. Both should start the battle by calling up EsperGolem's Earth Wall if they have him equipped. If Sabin is weak, you should break the Runic guard to cure him. Smack Phunbaba (1) with Sabin's fists until he runs off.

If you have a solo Celes party, summon EsperGolem to start, and fill all other turns by casting OBio (or, if lacking OBio, OIce 2) as quickly as you can. Fighting this guy with Celes only is a risk as no matter what you do, OBlowfish is very dangerous and Phunbaba (1) can kill you. If you're low at HP, sneak in an X-Potion or Elixir.

Any other team needs little guidance; you've obviously been around the world, collected at least four characters, and have better equipment than neccessary. OBio spells still come in handy. What else is there to say? Setzer can't spin Joker Doom here. The best Dance is Earth Blues, while the home dance, Wind Song is nigh worthless. Vaporite absorbs OBolt 2 and OBolt 3 while dealing acceptable damage, although a Mag Roader P. Rage with a RelicWall Ring is better. Expand Full Strategy
  

After Phunbaba storms off, Terra once again claims she won't be able to fight with you. When you try to leave, the kid at the entrance gives you your first new gem of happiness: the Esper EsperFenrir. The Japanese game makes mention of the EsperFenrir Magicite being a part of Phunbaba's dropped necklace. Equip it if no other Espers appear to teach better spells at the moment (OX-Zone is nice, but not as strategic as OStop, OVanish, OMute, etc.).

Note: If you already found the Falcon at this point, you can simply leave Mobliz and return to finally put a permanent stop to Phunbaba and recruit Terra.

Leave. We're going to the head of the Serpent Trench now; you can grab a Chocobo if you want from the Chocobo Stable in the forest.

2.5: The Head of the Serpent Trench: Nikeah

Party: Celes, Optional: Sabin

Welcome to Nikeah! This city is pretty much the least important town there is, and some mock it for the useless northern part where only the inn is located. Truly, Nikeah is not the best-looking town you've come across so far, but the in-game equivalent of total blasted doomsday just happened; I don't think it's fair for us to judge its less-then-perfect aesthetics right now.

Weapon Shop: You probably already have at least one SwordRune Edge (either from grabbing the chest in the Moogle Cave or from Stealing it from Number 024 back in the day), but they are actually for sale now. Don't buy them; even with their MP-driven auto-critical they are not as strong as a normal blow from the great new weapon that's also for sale: the SwordEnhancer. Grab three. What does the SwordEnhancer do? It gives a +7 bonus to your Magic Power, which is very nice. Also, it grants the wielder an extra 20% MBlock, which in this game, what with the Evade bug and all, is very, very nice indeed. I suggest you grab three and put two of them on Celes with a RelicGenji Glove. The SwordEnhancer really is a great weapon, and could be considered a weapon you want to keep equipped until the very end of the game in certain scenarios.

Armor Shop: Entirely new items for sale in this Armor Shop! Victory galore. I'd grab one ShieldDiamond Shield, but don't equip it on Celes as her dual SwordEnhancers will be much nicer. Ignore the HelmetDiamond Helm entirely; there are better helmets out there still (HelmetMystery Veil, HelmetBard's Hat, HelmetGreen Beret). Grab one ArmorDiamond Vest and give it to Sabin. There'll be something nicer for Celes in a short while and Diamond equipment is crazy expensive (who would've guessed, huh).

Relic Shop: "You took one look at me and thought I was a loser, right? You're obligated to buy from me now!" Oddest sentence of the entire game, if you ask me. Anyway, his merchandise isn't very special, except for the fact he has RelicBeads for sale, whose only use lies in saving them up for the next Mardi Gras. Also, RelicCure Rings are for sale; they were 20000 GP in the Auction House, so it's a relative bargain here. RelicCure Rings still suck though, and you could've gotten all the RelicCure Rings you ever wanted back on the Floating Continent. Other items for sale that previously weren't include RelicZephyr Capes (useless: RelicWhite Capes are better, period), RelicGale Hairpins (one is enough), and RelicCzarina Rings (Cute, a trigger-spell-when-near-fatal Relic, but hardly useful).

Item Shop: Stock up if you want.

The word on the street is that Figaro Castle has had an accident and that the South Figaro ferry is about to leave. However, if you talk to the captain of the ship, hoping for a lift, he tells you the ship belongs to the Crimson Robbers, the thieves that escaped the cells of Figaro Castle when it had the accident. They're in the Cafe.

In the Cafe, talking to all of them reveals their story. Stuck in jail, they had the fortune of being freed by sandworms. Their boss perished, but their new leader Gerad will lead them into Figaro Castle to get their booty back. The thieves all leave the Cafe, but on-board they are still waiting for Gerad, who's still somewhere in town.

When you walk into town, you'll see the lost king of Figaro! However, he insists he is Gerad, the cunning leader of the Crimson Robbers. It seems the fact 'Gerad' is an anagram of 'Edgar' must be mere coincidence. Follow him every time he tries to walk off, and eventually you'll sneak onto the ferry.

Note: A lot of people find it strange that Sabin doesn't specifically react to this semi-Edgar. One could blame the fact Sabin isn't a mandatory character at this point, but few know there actually is a line for Sabin at this point built into the game, it just isn't ever referenced.

2.6: South Figaro: Pursuing the Crimson Robbers

Grasslands
Always
3
Wastelands
Always
2
2
Desert
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
Forest
10/16
1
6/16
1
3

Enemies: Sand Horse, Maliga, Latimeria, Nohrabbit

Party: Celes, Optional: Sabin

South Figaro had only a taste of freedom again when the world collapsed. Invaded by the Empire, placed under martial law, ruled by a king who has run off leaving other people to govern, put through an apocalypse; South Figaro has had it rough. But the people here haven't given up hope. They're rebuilding the houses and managing their affairs as well as they can. We could admire this kind of determination.

Weapon Shop: The only new item here is the LanceGold Lance. As you could guess, it's a Lance stronger than the LanceStout Spear. While I think the LanceGold Lance looks kinda nice in combat, I would still prefer the SwordEnhancer over the LanceGold Lance any day, so I won't tell you to buy one now, especially since, in the next boss battle, the weapon with the highest Bat. Pwr will be automatically equipped (which would be the LanceGold Lance rather than the SwordEnhancer, which is actually the superior weapon). Although nothing will be said, you'll get a 50% discount if Edgar is your leading party member.

Armor Shop: I told you to hold off buying new equipment for Celes in Nikeah; the ArmorDiamondArmor is the reason. I suggest you buy two if possible; your GP will be running fairly low by now, but you'll thank me for it in the future. You could try selling some stuff you're sure you'll never use again, such as RelicHyper Wrists, RelicBeads and the like. Although nothing will be said, you'll again get a 50% discount if Edgar is your leading party member.

Relic Shop: There's nothing here that you want. Two RelicRunning Shoes will be nice in the future, but you should already have at least that from chests. More importantly, make absolutely sure you don't leave before you have enough RelicAmulets to protect four party members against Zombie (RelicRibbons also do this). This is vital. Again (although still nothing will be said), you'll get a 50% discount if Edgar is your leading party member.

Item Shop: Stock those stockings if your stockings need stocking.

The first time you arrived here, there was plenty to do. Now, the action in South Figaro is slightly more mundane. Points of interest:
  • The four members of the Crimson Robbers can be found all over town, and you can speak to them for a bit of exposition.
  • A couple... well, in flagrante delicto in the trees at the edge of town can be disturbed if you want to
  • Commander and Vector Pup opponents can still be found in the dungeon where Celes and Locke escaped from in the WoB. This is obviously an error as there's really no story-related reason for them to be there anymore.
  • The little daughter of the richest man in town, who mentioned the Clock Key earlier in the WoB, now talks about jumping and turtles. Crazy talk from a crazy person, probably.
  • Duncan is still alive! His wife informs you that he's meditating just north of Narshe. If there's some time in the future, we should definitely get Sabin to Duncan. We owe that to Sabin.
When you find Gerad in the room of the Inn, he'll immediately leave and take the Crimson Robbers with him, still insisting that he is not Edgar. Still, Edgar or not, you'll want to follow him to see what his plans for Figaro Castle are. If it's Edgar, you'll want to know what the hell is going on; if it's not, we should defend the property of Figaro in Edgar's absence.

Preparation: If you have OFloat, cast it on your party. That's about it.

Nohrabbit is one of the few enemies in the game with a Magic Power high enough to surpass that of your characters (30), but you needn't fear; the only spells these guys cast are OCure, OCure 2, and ORemedy, and for some reason unknown to man they cast it on you... when hit by Fight. Under normal circumstances you'll find them smacking you with Battle or !Carrot (1.5x Battle damage), but the concept of bunnies wanting to cure you upon slaughter is just silly. There were healing bunnies in Final Fantasy V as well, but they tended to actually help themselves. Maybe it's a reflex reaction?

Maliga is just an upgraded version of Exocite. Their moves are Battle, !Scissors, and a chance at a double !Scissors when they are alone. !Scissors is more boring 1.5x normal damage stuff. Exocite were water-based, but these wretches occupy the deserts; they are weak against Ice and Water.

Latimeria resembles Anguiform, but that's where the similarities end. Anguiform had an exceedingly strong Special; Latimeria has the normal Battle * 1.5 !Wind-Up attack. Instead of being a creature of water and using OAqua Rake, Latimeria uses Magnitude8 on a regular basis, as well as being weak against Lightning and immune to instant death. Finally, Discovery Channel Fact: a Latimeria is a fish! Why they made it a land crawler defies reason.

Sand Horse is the most dangerous enemy here. Under normal circumstances they will repeatedly use Sand Storm or possibly !Clamp (5x Battle!), and if they're alone they start using Battle. You'd assume they would want to keep their stronger attacks for the more dire situations, but oh well. Sand Horse is weak against Ice and Water like most desert dwellers, but its most prominent weakness is ORasp; it dies automatically when its MP reaches 0, and with only 100 MP, any ORasp spell should do one in.

OFloat should circumvent Latimeria's Magnitude8, so just pound away there. Use Fight on Nohrabbit whenever you can, their healing will do you a lot of good. The only threat is Sand Horse; do them in with a ORasp spell or something you know will do significant single-target damage. Summoning EsperBismark will take care of them, but you probably have better things to do than equip that sub-par fiend of an Esper.

Enough dilly-dallying around. There really isn't anything on the entire continent that deserves our interest, so let's head into the Cave of Figaro, where we can assume the Crimson Robbers also headed.

2.7: Pursuing the Crimson Robbers: Cave of Figaro

Figaro Cave
10/16
1
1
2
6/16
1
Corridor
6/16
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
2
Recovery Spring
6/16
4
5/16
2
5/16
1

Enemies: Humpty, Cruller, NeckHunter, Dante

Party: Celes, Optional: Sabin

A lot of monsters here will try to set the Confuse status on you, so equip Relics that protect against Confuse like RelicRibbons or RelicPeace Rings. This is quite important, especially now that your characters are getting stronger; while you freeze in panic your twirling characters may cast OX-Zone on themselves and give you a Game Over.

The first thing you see in the Cave of Figaro is an old acquaintance: Ziegfried! He explains that it would be wise to stay behind and let him - master swordsman that he is - clear all the monsters out of your path. He goes off to complete this goal, but, remembering your previous encounter with him, it's more consistent with his character to keep you out of the way while he goes off to collect treasure that you would otherwise obtained. Note: No matter how long you wait here, nothing will happen. You might want to consider simply pressing on.

Humpty is just really, really fat. Never mind that jolly Buddha or that figurine of the goddess of fertility; Humpty is a grotesquely obese little bugger with as much to offer to the eye as a festering wound. Battle and - ugh - !Hug (sets Confuse) are among the moves in his arsenal. Also, he's undead. That's an interesting twist to the end of the nursery rhyme.

Cruller knows spells. One to be exact: OFire 2. I'd love to comment on other features of it, but... what the heck is it? A glibbering mass of goo and internal organs, or so it seems. Humpty at least had the decency to be overly disgusting in a humanoid form; Cruller can't even take that to its defense. Anyway, Cruller can start battles with OFire 2 and Battle, and if you keep him around long enough he can use Slimer and !BrainStorm (sets Confuse). It is weak to Fire.

NeckHunter uses !Mad Sickle (sets Confuse) and Battle. That's about it. They're probably supposed to be thieves or something; humans in dungeons almost never make sense in RPGs. They're susceptible to instant death, they're Floating, and they're weak to Poison.

Dante. Named after the Italian writer of The Divine Comedy (which is said to have been one of the sources of inspiration for this game by some fans), Dante is kind of weird. He's Undead, but doesn't absorb Poison. In fact, he's weak against it! His attacks consist out of Battle and !QuartzPike (Battle * 3), and he counters Magic spells with OL. 3 Muddle on rare occassion. Dante is slightly more durable than the other enemies in the cave, so you may consider the fact that the OLife spell will immediately put a stop to his existence a nice bit of information. OStop, on the other hand, will put a momentary stop to his existence, but it'll wear off so you'll want to hurt him in the meantime.

Here's the strategy. The theme of this dungeon is 'Confuse'. Almost all enemies can set it, and with new spells such as OX-Zone, Confuse gets all the more dangerous. Wear RelicPeace Rings and/or RelicRibbons to prevent the horror. Boost Sabin's Fire Dance or perhaps even Air Blade (which he learns at level 30) with a pair of RelicEarrings or a RelicHero Ring; Fire Dance offs all Humptys and Crullers. Celes can take care of the remaining NeckHunter with her SwordEnhancer(s). If you encounter Dante, use OLife, OStop, or whatever normally works. This cave isn't too difficult to plow through.

You know what the cave looks like. If you have left all the chests alone (and I've been advising you to do so, haven't I?), they should now contain an Ether, an X-Potion, and a very awesome RelicHero Ring. A RelicHero Ring, rock on! Just walk to the other end; once you get there you'll notice it's blocked, but you'll also notice the Crimson Robbers know a way into Figaro Castle regardless.

Also: The guy once had a turtle.

After the Crimson Robbers have disappeared and Ziegfried has followed them, you're free to pursue both by jumping on the turtle. Use the action button for that. You can think back to the little daughter of the richest man in South Figaro again; this is the second time she's given good advice.

In the next room, you'll find an empty corridor with four chests that already have been looted. Darn that Ziegfried. Press on; we might be able to catch up with him.

In the next room, a crossroad! If you go up, you'll come across Ziegfried opening a chest. As soon as he spots you, he runs off with the contents of the chest, never ever to be seen again. You can't follow him; just let him go. If you press on you come across what appears to be a dead end; a hidden passage to the bottom lets you exit, though.

And then, the scenery changes.

2.8: Pursuing the Crimson Robbers: Figaro Castle and the Tentacles

Figaro Castle Basement
6/16
4
5/16
2
5/16
1
Engine Room
6/16
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
2

Enemies: Humpty, Cruller, Drop, NeckHunter, Dante, Tentacle 1, Tentacle 2, Tentacle 3, Tentacle 4

Party: Celes Optional: Sabin

Preparation: Keep the RelicPeace Rings/RelicRibbons from last chapter on.

As soon as you enter, relief will wash over you like a giant sea of...water. It's Figaro Castle. Gerad seems oddly sympathetic towards a swooning local before running off. Seriously, can we even still assume Gerad is not Edgar? But why this farce?

Drop is probably Edgar's home-built security system or something, there's no other explanation of automatic mechanical beings here. They do nothing but use !Mad Signal every turn, which sets Confuse if you let it. If you use Fight to damage it, it'll counter with Battle. Accordingly, refrain from doing that and kill them with Magic spells (they're weak to Lightning-elemental attacks) and Blitz techniques.

Pushing onward will take you up the stairs, but you can't go out of the castle or to the exterior areas; we're submerged here, remember? The only choice is to walk into the engine room, which was hitherto forbidden territory. You'll come across Figaro soldiers all over; obviously, the lack of food and fresh air has taken its toll.

Simply ascending two stairways will take you into a room with four chests containing, from right to left, a HelmetCrystal Helm (don't bother equipping it), a RodGravity Rod, which is an Earth-elemental weapon that randomly casts OQuartr (what is it with Rods that new ones always appear when nobody can equip them?), an X-Potion, and an Ether. If you enter the door to the far left, you'll be able to go up some stairs, enter a door, and grab a HelmetRegal Crown, which you should equip on Sabin if he is around.

Trace back your steps to the room with the four chests, and enter the middle door. Pass through the corridor and behold: the engine that drives Figaro Castle, its best-kept secret. However, the engine seems to be crawling with... something. It must be the source of Figaro Castle's inability to move around lately. The Crimson Robbers themselves seem rather worried by it.

Before you gently tap the shoulder of Gerad and kindly ask what the hell is going on here, you should know that this is the only room in the game where you can find Drop enemies. Their Rage is useless and they are entirely uninteresting other than their elusive nature.

Talking to Gerad means the start of a boss battle, so let's prepare. RelicRunning Shoes will disable a large part of the boss' strategy, so equip them on both Sabin and Celes if possible. RelicWall Rings and/or Relics that provide immunity to the Poison status will come in handy as well. Summoning EsperGolem and/or EsperFenrir is a great idea, as is EsperSiren. So, to sum up, a party looking like this will be quite prepared:

Celes
Weapon: SwordEnhancer
Shield: ShieldDiamond Shield/ShieldMithril Shield
Helmet: HelmetMystery Veil
Armor: ArmorDiamondArmor
Relics: RelicWall Ring and RelicRunning Shoes
Esper: EsperGolem/EsperSiren/EsperFenrir

Sabin
Weapon: ClawFire Knuckle
Shield: ShieldDiamond Shield/Mithril Shld
Helmet: HelmetRegal Crown
Armor: ArmorDiamond Vest
Relics: RelicWall Ring and RelicRunning Shoes
Esper: EsperGolem/EsperSiren/EsperFenrir

This battle will always have you pincer the enemy. The first two characters in order will be to the right of the monsters, and the others will be to the left. If you have only Celes at this point, Edgar appear to the right with her.

Tentacle 1
Tentacle 1
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
33
5000
600
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
8
0
102
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
impdeathberserkconfusionstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightningwater
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Tentacle 2
Tentacle 2
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
31
7000
800
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
8
0
102
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
impdeathberserkconfusionstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
icewater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Tentacle 3
Tentacle 3
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
34
4000
500
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
8
0
102
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpdeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
earthwater
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Tentacle 4
Tentacle 4
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
32
6000
700
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
8
0
102
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
icewater
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
What's the point of this battle? There are four Tentacles. It gets rather confusing because each Tentacle has its own set of status immunities and elemental properties. But there is one thing that all Tentacles have in common; the attacks they perform, of which the most noticeable is the Seize, the attack both !Seize and Entwine are centered around.

What does Seize do? Seize seizes a character and renders it completely helpless. During a period of about 30 seconds, the Tentacle that used Seize holds the character and gradually drains his or her HP. It's a weird little formula. It's non-elemental and barrier-piercing and has a 5/8 chance of dealing about 60 HP of damage at each interval (which means that damage is taken less regularly if the Tentacle is slowed and more often if Hasted).

Tentacles just use their normal attacks: Battle, !Seize to set Slow, Entwine as a multi-target means of setting Slow, Poison and OBio. If they're damaged, they have a 33% chance of countering with Battle. However, whenever a character is Slowed, a Tentacle will always use the Seize attack and will grab the character from which it drains HP. The Tentacle that has grasped a character doesn't perform attacks, and the character that is under a Seize cannot act. This lasts for about 30 seconds, at which point the Tentacle will use Discard to remove all the effects of Seize. Slow was removed when the Seize attack was used.

This is why RelicRunning Shoes are so nice: with inherent Haste, both !Seize and Entwine will never work and thus Celes and Sabin will never be Seized during the battle.

Start the battle off by summoning one or both of your physical protection Espers, EsperFenrir and/or EsperGolem; both protect against Battle and, more importantly, !Seize. Employ Edgar's ToolsBio Blaster to Poison up to three of the Tentacles. If one of your characters has EsperSiren equipped, send her out to stop the OPoison and OBio spells used by two of the Tentacles. Now that the multi-target offenses and defenses have been cast, it's time to kill off one Tentacle at a time.

Cast ODoom on the bottom-left Tentacle to dispatch it instantly. Obviously, the newly acquired OX-Zone also works, but ODoom's Hit Rate is superior and the ODoom spell is more MP-efficient.

If you summoned EsperSiren, the most dangerous Tentacle right now is the top-left Tentacle, as that's the only Tentacle capable of casting OPoison and OBio. Cast OStop if you have it, and focus Edgar's ToolsDrill and Sabin and Celes's level 2 spells on it until it dies. If you didn't summon EsperSiren, you should cast the OMute spell on both the bottom-right and top-right Tentacles to achieve the same effect. If this isn't an option, it's best to kill the most fragile Tentacle first: the bottom-right Tentacle. ToolsDrill and OIce 2 will kill it very quickly.

From this point, the remaining Tentacles are left to your imagination. Don't bother using OAntdot when a character is Poisoned; the battle won't take that long, so sticking to OCure 2 spells to keep your HP up will suffice. If Sabin knows Air Blade, use it exclusively. Have Edgar focus on his ToolsDrill attacks, and keep Celes around to whip out a level 2 spell that won't be absorbed whenever possible (the lower left Tentacle is the only one that absorbs OIce 2; once you've used ODoom or OX-Zone to dispatch it, this spell is your best elemental option).

The fight against the Tentacles can be a pain, but only if you don't prepare properly. You'll pull through. Expand Full Strategy
  

When the battle is over, Edgar will explain his situation. If Sabin is around, he'll say "Don't treat us like strangers anymore!". The Crimson Robbers will flee the scene with their treasure, assuming that Gerad must have been eaten by the Tentacles. Edgar decides to let them go (the Japanese version's dialogue makes it clear that their 'booty' was useless rubbish anyway) and shows he wants to stop Kefka like the others.

As soon as you can move, equip Edgar with two nice Relics. His headgear will probably be the HelmetCrystal Helm you picked up earlier; you can swap it with a HelmetGreen Beret or Sabin's HelmetRegal Crown if you want.

In the treasure chamber, you'll see eight emptied chests. Looks like the Crimson Robbers had quite a lot of items taken from them by the Figaro law enforcement. On the armor in the middle, you can find a SwordSoul Sabre, which is basically an MP-based version of the SwordDrainer. It also has a 25% chance of casting ODoom with every hit. There's no real reason to equip it, so let's get out.

When you emerge from the engine room, the old man who handles subterranean travel will say "Nonsense! It's been fixed! Next stop, the surface!" I always thought this was a weird line until I realized it's probably supposed to be a reply to Sabin's line said back by the engine.

Thus, Figaro Castle rises amidst the golden sand of Figaro Desert. But we've already seen there's nothing more to do here, so you might as well go ahead and take Figaro Castle to a shiny new continent: time to travel to Kohlingen once more.

2.9: Figaro Castle and the Road to Kohlingen

Desert
6/16
3
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
Grasslands
10/16
1
6/16
1
Forest
6/16
1
2
5/16
6
5/16
3
Wasteland
10/16
2
6/16
2
2

Enemies: Harpiai, Deep Eye, Bogy, Muus

Party: Edgar, Celes, Optional: Sabin

Welcome to Figaro Castle! It's been a rough day, so I suggest you take a nap for some free healing. If you didn't see the Figaro brothers cutscene earlier, Sabin will be off as soon as you advance up in the castle. At this point, a soldier will be stationed at each of the two towers, preventing you from entering until you've taken a nap. They're not being very subtle over at Square.

During the night, a cutscene will ensue. I won't bother describing it as it's mandatory. In short, childhood nostalgia grabs the Figaro brothers, and the memories of days long gone only strengthen their resolve to stop Kefka. One of the girls in the guest room will tell you about the Cult of Kefka. If ever a loved one of a person in the Cult would come to their aid, however, he or she might just snap out of it. Can't imagine that being helpful later on.

Item Shop: What can I say? If you need anything, grab it here. If you have Edgar as your leading party member, all purchases will be 50% off.

Weapon Shop: A new Tool is for sale here! If you didn't Steal a ToolsDebilitator during the battle against the Cranes or Air Force, the same thing can be got now for 5000 GP. And it's only 2500 GP if you have Edgar as the leading party member.

Whether or not you're still enjoying the sun of Figaro, it's time to take Figaro Castle to the other side of the ocean. When you arise and leave the castle, you'll notice three dots on your Map: one to the north and two to the west. To the north is Dragon's Neck Colosseum, which I'll discuss later. To the west, there's Kohlingen and Daryl's Tomb. The northern-most of these is Kohlingen, where you want to go next. Who knows what kind of interesting things are awaiting you there (Besides me, of course)! There's nothing for you now at Daryl's Tomb anyway; it's just a featureless bulge in the ground which offers no exciting activities. For now.

The Harpiai enemy looks pretty dangerous; the last time we saw a sprite that big on a random encounter was the dreaded Behemoth. Harpiai's a big wimp though, so no worries! It uses Battle, !Nail (Battle * 1.5, you shouldn't ever see it unless you're waiting for it as it may appear every fourth turn), OAero, which admittedly hurts pretty badly (it's like a Wind-elemental multi-target level 3 spell), and OPearl Wind. With only 1500 HP, however, you should be able to kill it pretty quickly. It's weak to Wind-elemental attacks, so Sabin's Air Blade technique gets the job done, as does the usual violence.

Deep Eye is one of those odd monsters that begins by attacking you and proceeds to use Escape every other turn. Every first turn they will either lunge at you with Battle or let you sink into that hypnotizing eye of theirs, a process also known as !Dreamland (sets Sleep). And yes, every second turn means a 33% chance of Escape. Kill them all quickly with Fire-elemental attacks such as a multi-target OFire 2 spell and Fire Dance. The interesting thing about Deep Eye is the fact they make for a Rage that uses the Dread attack, but the special property of Dread (only checks for Petrify protection, not instant death protection) isn't important right now, so I'll talk about it later.

Bogy is boring. !Oogyboog (Battle power * 2) sounds kinda stupid too. Inherent Safe and immunity to instant death attacks makes the thing slightly durable, but, since Bogy is still incapable of accomplishing anything of significance against your party, you can just pound away until it dies.

In the end, it's fairly apparent that Muus is as staggeringly dumb as 2006's Samuel L. Jackson flick 'Snakes on a Plane.' It may randomly use OPep Up, and it may also respond with the move as a counter to your Magic spells. Muus will never use OPep Up when it's the last monster standing on the field: it will solely use Battle and !Gunk (Japanese roots: Icky Sticky Goo) to set Slow in this scenario. Like Flan monsters, Muus nulls the effect of every elemental attack that isn't Fire-, Ice- or Lightning- elemental.

In the end, the only attack that could hurt you (if protected by Clear) is Harpiai's OAero, which can be marginalized by setting Mute or simply reacting quickly. Sabin's Fire Dance Blitz technique helps against the Deep Eyes where his Air Blade is very effective against Harpiai.

Now, Kohlingen! The last time you passed through here on a mission you were trying to find Terra. Right now, you're pretty much trying to find everybody. Kohlingen is another example of a city in despair. Nothing seems to work out anymore in this world. A few points of interest in Kohlingen:
  • A girl mentions a man with a 'quaint' way of talking passed through Kohlingen recently. This must be Cyan! It's good to hear that the guy is still kicking. We should pick him up when we have the chance, never mind his sub-par skills in combat!
  • To the north, a woman and a little girl are staring at a tile. They planted some seedlings there, and are trying to see if anything comes from it. Results so far have been disappointing. If you stand on the tile, they will reprimand you and you quickly jump off.
  • An old woman can show you a flashback of WoB Kohlingen. Ah, nostalgia...
  • A Narshe Guard tells you that Narshe has been forsaken and completely overrun by monsters. Poor Mog...
  • The old man who told you earlier of his crazy (younger, by the way) brother who wanted to build a Colosseum now praises him as a visionary; apparently, the Colosseum has been built! We should definitely check it out some day. Also, a mean guy is fighting there looking for a weapon called the DirkStriker. Handy info, lady. We're always looking for interesting new ways to be murdered.
  • Sadly for Celes, Locke isn't anywhere to be seen in Kohlingen. The man who preserves Rachel figures he's returned to his quest of finding the restoration relic to revive Rachel.

For all this, the main attraction in Kohlingen is waiting for you in the Pub, drinking his troubles away: Setzer Gabbiani. What was once a dashing pirate with more bravado than the entire city of Jidoor combined (a lot) is now a broken man burping into his wine and brooding over his lost wings.

Celes snaps him out of it; the sight of a beautiful woman hasn't lost its appeal for Setzer, apparently. Hope fills his heart, and he mentions another airship, in a tomb nearby. He shows you the way. We've got ourselves another mission!

On your way out, you run across the guard from Narshe again, who has also been inspired by Celes's words. The mysterious Esper that was dug up at the very start of the game is still in Narshe. We might just be able to wake it up and harness its power to use in the struggle against Kefka!

Item Shop: Buy a bunch of Revivify potions; 20 is a nice amount of have. Surely, you have Relics to protect against Zombie so you don't need to heal the status, but you can never be too safe when it comes to Zombies. If Night of the Living Dead has taught us anything, by the gods, it is that.

Armor Shop: More of the same, but now that Setzer has joined your party you could use some more of the good stuff. I suggest you buy a ArmorDiamondArmor and a ShieldDiamond Shield; the HelmetGreen Beret is still a superior helmet to the HelmetDiamond Helm, and doesn't cost you anything.

Weapon Shop: There are three weapons of interest here, and two new weapons for Setzer for sale! I'll discuss the GamblerDice last, as they require the largest introduction. The GamblerTrump weapon is oddly misnamed by Ted Woolsey; they look like darts in-battle, while a later weapon called the GamblerDoom Darts look like cards. Later versions have this sorted out again, calling GamblerTrump the GamblerDoom Darts and vice versa. At any rate, the GamblerTrump has the X-type Instant Death ability, like the DirkAssassin Dirk. The next dungeon will be crawling with Undead enemies, making the GamblerTrump entirely useless. They'll have some use in Colosseum though, so if you feel like going there in a moment, buy two. The LanceGold Lance could be bought earlier, but I advised against it as you would want the SwordEnhancer, with its +7 Magic Power and +20% Magic Block. Since the Jump command is about to take a great power-up and Lances are, as opposed to the normal 50% boost, twice as effective with Jump, you'll probably want to pick up the LanceGold Lance now for Edgar. The GamblerDice are a very weird weapon. Allow me to pass judgment first; the GamblerDice are not worth it. The GamblerDice completely ignore any normal kind of physical damage formula (which is why they are always placed all the way down when choosing a Weapon in the Equipment screen). When attacking with the GamblerDice, two dice will be rolled on the target. The result of the dice determine the damage by taking the first die's value multiplied by the second die's value, multiplied by two, multiplied by Setzer's level. Sadly, the GamblerDice are rigged against Setzer, much like the Slot command is rigged against him: 1, 2, 3 and 4 have a 3/16 chance of being rolled, while 5 and 6 only have a 2/16 chance of being rolled.

Fighting with the GamblerDice makes for an unblockable, barrier-piercing attack (as the target's Defense isn't factored in the damage calculation whatsoever). While this will make the GamblerDice ideal in a bit, they are a poor choice of weapon as the damage output is consistently inferior to your normal weapons at this time.

You should buy one, though, as 5000 GP isn't that much and you'll want to use them before you get another chance to buy them. For now, move on.

2.10: Daryl's Tomb

First Room
10/16
1
5/16
2
1/16
1
2
B2F
6/16
1
1
5/16
1
5/16
3
B3F
6/16
1
2
5/16
1
5/16
1
1

Enemies: Orog, Osteosaur, Mad Oscar, PowerDemon, Exoray, Presenter, Dullahan

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Optional: Sabin

Preparation: The theme of the dungeon is Zombie! Of the five random encounter monsters present in this dungeon, four have the power to turn your characters into a Zombie. This is serious business, so you should definitely equip Relics to prevent this madness, even though the monsters here drop Revivifies like they're going out of style.

Osteosaur sure looks rather terrifying; he appears in my top 10 rather-not-meet-IRL list anyway, just below 2004 pop idol Ashlee Simpson. Osteosaurs have three attacks. Battle and !Fossil (sets Zombie) should be obvious, but ChokeSmoke is an entirely new attack. ChokeSmoke sets Zombie, but only hits characters with the Wound status. In other words, it can only revive characters as Zombies. Used without intelligent AI script, it's almost always a wasted turn. Osteosaur is your run-of-the-mill undead opponent, weak against Fire and Pearl and whatnot. No biggy.

Orog looks awesome. Every turn, it can use up to three (Three!) !Zombite attacks, which set Zombie. When damaged, it may retaliate with Battle; if harmed by Magic spells, a OBio spell may be sent your way. Aside from their looks and awesome Zombifying skills, Orog is rather boring. He's undead like almost everything in here, and has the normal weaknesses that accompany that status. May drop an RelicAmulet (12.5% chance) as opposed to the standard Revivify.

PowerDemon's Special is called !Daze Dance and, in a shocking change of style, drains HP rather than setting Zombie. So, does PowerDemon lack the power of Zombie-setting? Nay, not at all. The rarely seen Soul Out attack can target a single character and turn him or her into a Zombie. Yawn. Furthermore, PowerDemon has 'OFlare' written all over it, in its Rage, Sketch, and Control attacks. Luckily, PowerDemon will never actively use it against you.

Exoray are the most common in here. They can use Battle, !DoomPollen (sets Zombie), and Virite, but they will only use Virite when alone. Since all characters should be covered by either RelicAmulets or RelicRibbons, Virite's Poisoning effect will be lost on you, leaving Exoray with a weak, inaccurate Poison-elemental attack. Stick to what works against them, as they are as undead as the rest.

The only living enemy in Daryl's Tomb is Mad Oscar. They are the sturdiest of the monsters here and use, besides Battle and !Drool (sets Seizure), OSour Mouth, an attack that sets Dark, Poison, Imp, Mute, and Muddle. It can be learned by Strago in the future: don't worry, I'll address it again at that time. Even with an RelicAmulet, this move will turn one of your characters into a sleeping Imp that cannot even cast the OImp spell.

I suggest dual ClawFire Knuckles on Sabin, as he will be able to kill every target so long as he is at a remotely decent level, including Mad Oscar. A RelicBlack Belt/SwordOgre Nix combo on Celes works very nicely (make sure she's in the Front Row here). If you didn't bother to grab the SwordOgre Nix at the Colosseum, just give her an RelicEarrings Relic (or RelicHero Ring, obviously) and spam OFire 2 spells all over the place. Edgar can use Tools to inflict consistent damage (give him dual SwordEnhancers if you'd like). His RelicDragoon Boots/RelicDragon Horn/LanceGold Lance is less intelligent in this area as you'll need one of those Relic slots for an RelicAmulet/RelicRibbon. Setzer is the weakest link at the moment. GP Rain does more damage than 7-Flush/Chocobop with double RelicEarrings behind them, so if you ever wanted to use GP Rain now's the time. You can't logically have double RelicEarrings anyway, as you'll want an RelicAmulet/RelicRibbon in there somewhere. Don't attack with Setzer's GamblerTrump, as that will just revive every monster but Mad Oscar (who is susceptible to its X-type Instant Death).

Push through the first room. Make sure you meet an Osteosaur here, as well as a Orog. Both have acceptable Rages you might just want to use.

As soon as you enter the main chamber of the tomb, you'll notice you can go in five different directions. Oh, the choices! I'll tell you where you want to go though, so no worries. First, let's dive into the bottom-right path for some quick chesty action: it's a HelmetGenji Helmet, the strongest piece of heavy headgear in the game (and Crystal equipment hasn't even gone on sale yet!). Equip it on Setzer or Edgar; it even beats the disgustingly over-used HelmetGreen Beret.

Now, get into the top-right room. This looks like just a tombstone in a deserted room, but examine the tombstone and another passageway opens! It leads to a skeleton button of some sort. Push it to raise the water level in a room.

Trace back your steps to the main room, and dive into the bottom-left room. After coming across a chest (ArmorCrystal Mail: something for Celes, Setzer, or Edgar), go down some stairs and continue to find another chest (ArmorCzarina Gown). The ArmorCzarina Gown is a Relm-exclusive piece of Armor that, sadly, isn't all that good. You can bet it later for a ArmorMinerva bustier at the Colosseum though, which is pretty much the best armor option for several characters, including Celes. Enter the door to find yourself in a watery room with another skeleton button. Press it to open
a door you can't reach. Trace back to the main room, and go through the door in the middle, leading inwards...

...where you'll find another turtle! Had you not pushed skeleton button #1, you couldn't have stepped on the turtle. Now, the faithful reptilian carries you across.

On the other side, you'll be met with another skeleton button! Press it, and the water level of the room where you pushed the second skeleton button will rise to your aid, carrying with it another turtle. But don't hop on just yet. Go down for now, and the party will arrive in a room with four tombstones. Clockwise from the top left, they read: "ERAU", "QSSI", "WEHT" and "DLRO."

Collect all four inscriptions, and have a look at it. From bottom-right to top-left, backwards, it reads 'the world is square'. I've always found this to be the surprisingly beautiful jewel in the unholy and disgusting crown of Ted Woolsey. This is supposed to be the final revelation Daryl had while piloting her airship, the revelation that cost Daryl her life: not only is the Overworld Map in the shape of a square, which she might have seen from high above, but the name of the company that created the game was at the time also Square, which would make the world 'Square' as well.

In the Japanese version, it was an entirely different pun. One way, it read 'rest in peace'. The other way, it read 'rot and wither'. Very dark. Very gothic.

Go back to the main chamber, and find the top-left room. Had you examined the tombstone in this room earlier, upon choosing to carve something would have given you a "Nothing appropriate comes to mind..." Now, you get to choose between the four inscriptions you read earlier. Start from the beginning of the backwards sentence (THEW, OLRD, ISSQ, UARE) and you'll be rewarded with the Game Over music and the secret of the hidden RelicExp. Egg in Daryl's Tomb:

"Find the 'RelicExp. Egg' hidden in a back room in the third basement..."

Go to the room where you found the ArmorCzarina Gown (bottom-left room, down the stairs) and find the hidden passage to the chest there. Obviously, this was an option from the start, but I always thought this puzzle was pretty neat and didn't want to spoil it for you!)

Go back to where you traced back for the inscriptions, and cross the water with the turtle. You'll enter a new room, with a Save Point and two chests. The right chest contains a DirkMan Eater dirk.

The DirkMan Eater deals double damage to every opponent with a humanoid appearance. There are some strange things that the game considers human.

Now, multi-target OFloat your party, because the left chest contains a monster-in-a-box, Presenter, which uses a ground-based attack. Make sure Float is set, and be sure to equip EsperShoat (EsperGolem's nice too).

2.11: Presenter and Dullahan

Enemies: Presenter, Dullahan

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Optional: Sabin

Presenter
Presenter
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
19
9230
1600
1000
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
53
10
0
160
195
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: ClawDragon Claw
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
icelightningwater
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
  

Presenter (Head)
Presenter (Head)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
31
9845
1600
1000
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
75
7
0
80
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimpberserkconfusion
poison
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
icelightningwater
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
There are a few oddities about this thing. First off, it's supposed to be a scary Whelk upgrade, a task at which it fails. Second, notice how the shell is Floating but the head isn't? The tale of a creature whose head was too heavy to carry hasn't been new since Catoblepas, but I've never seen it applied to a snail before. Presenter also made an appearance in the 1996 Square game 'Bahamut Lagoon', which never hit the shores of America. Same name, same sprite, has a tendency to appear when you destroy buildings with Thunder-techs.

Also, the game designers made a little mistake we're going to exploit here; we were never supposed to obtain more than one ClawDragon Claw from this fight, but we're getting two. Just watch me.

The AI script of the head is simple. If you damage the head two times, it'll retract into its shell, disappearing from the battlefield. It'll remain there for 20 seconds, at which point is comes out again. It'll use Battle, !Petriblast, El Nino, and Mega Volt without causing itself any difficulties, so be ready for any of them at all times. The shell attacks by itself, and is no longer just an auto-counter dummy. Battle, Mega Volt, and OBlowfish may appear at all times, of which OBlowfish should be watched for especially. When the head has retracted, it'll stop using its normal attacks and switch over to Magnitude8. Whenever the shell is damaged, it has a 33% chance at retorting with Giga Volt.

The strategy we're aiming for is simple. If one of the parts dies, the other one dies as well, but will NOT give us the item. Thus, if we want both sets of ClawDragon Claw (and we certainly do, as Presenter is the only source for ClawDragon Claw in the game), we have to kill them both at the same time.

First, our defenses! If you didn't cast OFloat earlier, do so at the start of the battle. EsperZoneseek helps against Mega Volt, Giga Volt, and El Nino. EsperGolem and/or EsperFenrir protect against Battle and !Petriblast. You could have Celes on Runic stand-by for Mega Volt and Giga Volt, but it's not worth it. Now, let's kill this snail.

Since both targets are susceptible to Instant Death attacks and Petrify, the two best strategies are using OX-Zone and using EsperShoat's Demon Eye. However, we don't want to take any chances, do we? First, if you have the OVanish spell, cast it on the shell to ensure that OX-Zone/Demon Eye will hit it. Remember, this is not a bug exploit; the shell is susceptible to instant death attacks, and setting Clear just makes sure the intended move hits, exactly what it was always supposed to do. Sadly, we can't apply Sleep or Stop to make sure OX-Zone/Demon Eye works on the head, because both attacks check for the target's Stamina (in which case those steps are ignored). So, we'll just have to take our chances here. Since Demon Eye is more accurate than OX-Zone, it takes precedence. If the head is missed, I suggest you reload the game. Expand Full Strategy
  

When you're done, equip both ClawDragon Claws on Sabin. They are Pearl-elemental, so they still do massive damage to everything in the tomb. Not that it's really that big of a deal now, since we're about to leave it; in the next room, we finally come across the tombstone of Daryl herself. Examining it triggers a boss battle, which in my opinion is one of the better yet more repetitive boss battles of this game.

Before you enter the fight, I want you to throw around your equipment and Relics, as Dullahan (the boss) is rather tough and entirely unlike the random encounters you've been facing so far.
  • If you have a RelicDragon Horn, throw it on Edgar with some RelicDragoonBoots. Equip a LanceGold Lance. Put him in the Back Row.
  • The boss is weak against Fire-elemental attacks, so Sabin's dual ClawFire Knuckles are actually preferred here. Give him a RelicHero Ring (or RelicAtlas Armlet) and RelicRunning Shoes to accompany the bashing.
  • Celes' SwordOgre Nix/RelicBlack Belt set-up, if you were using it earlier, will be useless. The battle will require that she use Runic almost non-stop, so equip her defensively. Dual SwordEnhancers are a good choice. Since Dullahan is pretty fast, I suggest RelicRunning Shoes on Celes to keep up with his spell casting.
  • Setzer should just run utility. Give him the RelicCoin Toss to make sure he can just do constant damage when he doesn't need to do anything else. Two sets of RelicEarrings and the Slot command also do the trick, but this isn't nearly as strong at this point and wastes more Relic slots.

Also, make sure that none of your characters possess a level that is evenly divisible by the last digit of your party's gold. I'll explain why later.

Dullahan
Dullahan
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
37
32450
1721
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
55
7
10
130
160
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicGenji Glove
Rare: X-Potion
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Dullahan is a stud. Although he looks like he'd rather impale you with that lance of his any day, he's almost exclusively a spell caster with inherent Haste. Both his spells and Magic Power are relatively strong, so expect a challenge here. The boss' name comes from an ancient spirit from Irish mythology: a headless horseman who only travels to collect somebody's life. His carriage is made of bone, his horses have flaming eyes, and he will stop at nothing...

Dullahan always starts the battle off with OL? Pearl. This is a strong Pearl-elemental attack, in terms of power similar to level 3 spells. Its drawback is that it will only hit targets whose level is divisible by the last digit of your GP. This is why I told you to make sure that it never hits; it will leave quite a mark if it does.

Under normal circumstances, he'll just focus on his three main spells: namely, OIce 2, OIce 3, and OPearl. When he detects any characters in your party with the Reflect status, he'll use OReflect??? on your entire party. It will display "???? on wall-protected person", setting Dark, Mute, and Slow on every character with the Reflect status. If he dives beneath 10240 HP, he'll use OCure 2 instantly. If he passes through four normal turns, he'll regain the ability to cast OReflect??? and/or OCure 2 if the situation calls for it. Finally, there is a 33% chance that it will counter your attack with Battle. Oh, my.

After damaging him eight times, he'll get four turns where he will use some of his nastier spells. OIce 2 and OL? Pearl can make another appearance, but so can !Morn Star, Absolute0, and N. Cross. You can't Runic your way out of these new spells, which makes them harder to stop. N. Cross, while being vulnerable to Runic, is the most dangerous of the five.

N. Cross sets the Freeze status ailment, which you might have already encountered in the fight against Naughty, who could set it with Cold Dust. N. Cross is multi-target, but uses an 'interesting' way to determine whether it hits or not. After the game checks if N. Cross is blocked (after looking for Clear, Magic Block, the usual), it randomly misses from 0 to 4 characters. This ensures that even when all characters are normally hit by the move, you'll almost never see a party entirely frozen. That is good, as it's basically mega-Stop and there is no way to protect against it at all. Remember that the fastest way to dispel the Freeze status is to hit the party with a Fire-elemental attack; the OFire spell is obviously the best one.

There are two strategies you can employ. I'll list them both, as both should be perfectly fail-safe if you know what you're doing. Here they are:

Strategy #1: Hit Points


This is the strategy where we use violence to end Dullahan. First off, let's set up our available defenses. EsperZoneseek is nice should Absolute0 make an appearance, as is EsperGolem or EsperFenrir for !Morn Star and Battle counters. Have Celes use Runic, continuously. If she isn't wearing RelicRunning Shoes, make sure you cast the OHaste spell on her. Now, let's get to the violence! Your main damage dealers here are Sabin and Edgar. Sabin should be in the Front Row with two ClawFire Knuckles. If Celes isn't busy with absorbing one of Dullahan's spells, sneak a OBserk spell on Sabin for increased damage. If Edgar is equipped with the RelicDragon Horn, have him Jump. If not, stick to Tools; you can see what I want to do with him. Setzer should just stand by and use Potions on hurting characters. Since Celes should pretty much absorb all of Dullahan's attacks, you should be safe in that regard. In the end, you should prevail.

Strategy #2: Magic Points


Dullahan dies if you rasp away his MP. Thus, the entire offensive arsenal required for this strategy is ORasp. The advantage of the strategy is that if you have two to four ORasp casters, you'll find that the battle is over far more quickly. Its downside is that it does require two to four ORasp casters, and that, since ORasp is vulnerable to Runic, you can't protect yourself against Dullahan's attacks and will, consequently, have to regularly heal.

On a normally leveled party, I find both strategies equally satisfying; it's your pick, really. Expand Full Strategy
  

After you've defeated Dullahan, a passageway will be opened. Walk behind the tombstone to enter the final part of this dungeon, a long stairway leading downwards that is as much descending into Setzer's memory as into any physical location...

The scenes to follow tell the story of two rivaling friends. Setzer was about 18 here; not yet a gambler, but an airship enthusiast with the dream of building the fastest ship in the world: A dream he shared with his friend Daryl. Sadly, Daryl pulled an Icarus on Setzer and wrecked herself, together with her airship, the Falcon. Upon ascending from the waters, Celes will spot - gasp - a bird. In the sky! A bird - of all places - in the sky! This must be an omen. She quickly urges you to follow it, to the town of Maranda. So Setzer does.

When you fly around, there's a chance you'll be attacked by the monster called Doom Gaze. Doom Gaze will drop the EsperBahamut Magicite, which teaches the OFlare spell. There's no reason to not obtain these skills right away, but it's better to get some new equipment before you take the guy on. If you want to know about Doom Gaze now, take a look at our Doom Gaze guide. Make sure that you save ASAP once you get the Falcon, since you never know when an unprepared party might meet up with this flying fiend.

Another important note: if you really, truly want to gain access to Gau, that can be done now or any time in the future. All you have to do is get rid of a party member, fly over to the Veldt and meet him there. However, how do you tell a party member to buzz off without his/her feelings? If you have a Warp Stone or a character with the OWarp spell, fly over to Kekfa's Tower, descend into it and warp out. Setzer will be piloting the Falcon by himself now, and you can go below deck to assemble a team of your choosing. There you go.

2.12: Airship Exploration: Visiting Maranda

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Optional: Sabin

Welcome to Maranda. The last time you visited Maranda, it was one of the occupied towns and generally featureless. For all intents and purposes, it's pretty much the same - featureless, save for Lola, the girlfriend of the wounded lad in Mobliz. A lot of random information is blurted out by the townspeople here. A thief mentions he visited the tower of the Cult of Kefka, and one of them used to mumble 'to the right of the treasure chest' in his sleep. Since none of the thieves ever made it past the first room, we should examine that place should we ever get there.

The bird Celes saw turned out to be a carrier pigeon for Lola; according to Aishya, the girl running circles below Lola's house, she's been receiving a lot of letters lately. Once you enter her house, you find dozens of silk flowers here. Also, you'll notice a letter seemingly written by the wounded lad in Mobliz, though we know that to be impossible. Somebody must be posing as him. Accept the 'mission' of sending a carrier pigeon out as a reply so we can track the source of this imposter.

The pigeon flies across the ruined lands of this new world until it reaches a town to the north of Jidoor, and although the world map has changed a lot, this town can be none other than Zozo.

Before leaving, enjoy the shops.

Weapon Shop: You've already found a RodGravity Rod, and since it was entirely uninteresting back then I'm sure you can figure out by yourself that you really don't need another one. The DirkSword Breaker is a new Dirk not suited for any of your characters. Sadly, the DirkSword Breaker took a serious blow from the Evade bug; since its main advantage was a +30% Evade - which obviously won't be affecting anything now - it's just a useless piece of Battle Power. The SwordFalchion is useless as-is too, but there's one large reason why you should buy SwordFalchions. You see, they can be bet at the Colosseum for ShieldFlame Shields. And ShieldFlame Shields can be bet for ShieldIce Shields. So ideally, you'll just buy four of them and transform all of them into ShieldFlame Shields (you don't really need ShieldIce Shields if you have ShieldFlame Shields as ShieldFlame Shields nullify Ice-elemental attacks). Forget about the Skeans for a moment; you have nobody to Throw them now anyway.

Armor Shop: Maranda features Crystal equipment! Excellent! Buy two ShieldCrystal Shields if you don't want to go for ShieldFlame Shields at the Colosseum later on, and two pieces of ArmorCrystal Mail as well. Equip them on those that can use it. The HelmetOath Veil is probably supposed to be the ultimate girly helmet, but since it's inferior to both the HelmetCirclet and the HelmetMystery Veil, just leave it. A nice set of ArmorDark Gear is great for Sabin. The ArmorTao Robe is pretty much the programmer's solution to the fact that Strago and Relm really didn't get any store-bought pieces of armor (monster hides like ArmorChocobo Suits and ArmorTabby Suits are never store-bought). Also, it's the ultimate equipment for a character not yet introduced, but we'll discuss that more once we get there. The ArmorCrystal Mail is boring-yet-superior to ArmorDiamondArmor, so get that for characters who still carry around that ancient piece of rubbish.

2.13: Airship Exploration: Finding Duncan and Moving On

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer Optional: Sabin

We have our wings back! And as opposed to the last time we were provided with an improved transportation situation, we now have almost the entire world left to explore. The story obviously directed us to Maranda, but not only is there so much to do before following the carrier pigeon to Zozo, some of it is even easier than the quest we were put on in Maranda. So, allow me to give you some pointers as to where you want to go first.

Duncan is alive! His wife told us that, and Sabin probably is anxious to see his old master again and hear how everything went down. Duncan's wife told us that Duncan was meditating north of Narshe. If you can't find Narshe right now, it's on the continent to the north of the 'head' of the Serpent Trench. Narshe, like it was before, is a dent in the mountains on the map. To the northeast of Narshe, you can find five trees on the map that form a Greek cross (+). Duncan is located in the middle tree.

If you bring Sabin here, Duncan will come out and laugh off Sabin's worries. He'll then proceed to teach Sabin the eighth and final Blitz technique, the ultimate martial arts attack: Bum Rush. Sabin would have learned to perform it himself at level 70, but this sure is quicker. Bum Rush is, contrary to what you would believe, a magical attack, meaning that it can (and should) be boosted by RelicEarrings. It's barrier-piercing and non-elemental and extremely strong, far surpassing anything the rest of your party can do right now (except maybe a lucky 4-hit combo with the RelicDragon Horn, but Bum Rush has consistency). The Japanese game calls it the "Illusion Battle Dance", which, as you would expect is a lot cooler sounding than its American incarnation.

If you go to Duncan with a party lacking Sabin, you'll see him jumping around: "Look out! Move! Cough...wheeze... Darn this old body... Hey...you deaf?" By accessing the menu when Duncan has leapt once or twice, you can make him restart; this way, you can have him jump into the black void around his house... Man, that's way deep down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole if you ask me.

Next, let's return to the Solitary Island. Seems like it's already been a while already, doesn't it? After meeting Cid on the Solitary Island, you'd think he would grab the opportunity to fly over to civilized areas; you can't take him, however. If he lives, he'll just continue to walk around his little cabinet like a senile. If he died, his letter is still there. Who would've moved it? Then again, who put it there in the first place? Mysteries.

Time to ponder them over at the beach. But gasp, something has washed ashore: A piece of Magicite! 'Tis EsperPalidor, one the greatest summons the game has to offer aside from being a great tutor of the OHaste 2 spell. You'll like it.

Let's fly over to Jidoor for a moment now. Jidoor is still a thriving town, filled with people who find the end of the world a moderate inconvenience and an interesting new art theme. I don't think it requires any sort of impoverished background to hate these guys with a passion. Walking around town, you hear that the bird you saw earlier is one of the many carrier pigeons that have been flying to Maranda lately. Way back, when the world was still a shining square of happiness, Sabin and Cyan met up with a wounded lad in Mobliz who corresponded with his girlfriend in Maranda by means of these feathered friends. Sadly, Mobliz was hit by the Light of Judgment, and the wounded lad was killed.

The other story of the day is concerning Owzer. Something is up with the guy; he had a fine new painter arrive at his house - a little girl. Could this be our little Relm Arrowny? If you let Shadow live on the Floating Continent, you can already dive into Owzer's Mansion for the answer to that question, a dungeon, a boss, a new Esper and a character regained. I've got it planned for later times. For now, you'll want to buy a few things here and move on.

Weapon Shop: Interesting new weapons here! Allow me to describe them. You are familiar with the DirkMan Eater. When fighting certain foes, a double DirkMan Eater strike will be superior to whatever else you currently have, but these foes are generally not too much to worry about to begin with, so buying another one would probably be just a waste of money. The LancePartisan is superior to the LanceGold Lance, which means an upgrade for our new Dragoon Edgar. Buy one. The SwordCrystal is just another plain sword whose base power is inferior to the SwordOgre Nix but superior to the SwordEnhancer; it doesn't give any stat boosts and there's no real reason to attack with it. The only interesting feature about the SwordCrystal sword is that General Leo equipped it when he fought Kefka. Stick to SwordEnhancers or the SwordOgre Nix/RelicBlack Belt combination.

The final weapon is the SpecialSniper. It's an upgrade over the SpecialHawk Eye, with the same 50% chance of doing 1.5 times as much damage against normal enemies and triple damage against enemies with the Float status. While it's a great weapon, nobody can use it at the moment, so just forget it for now.

Conclusion: Buy a LancePartisan, than leave.

Armor Shop: The HelmetCirclet is a nice Helmet with an all-round stat boost: +2 Vigor, +1 Speed, +3 Stamina and +4 Magic Power (which really is the only important one). Everybody can equip one, but everybody with one exception should have superior Helmets at this moment (Celes's HelmetMystery Veil, Edgar/Sabin's HelmetRegal Crown, HelmetGenji Helmet), so just buy one and stick it on the unfortunate sap who was still using that ancient HelmetGreen Beret. The HelmetDark Hood is rubbish, superior to the HelmetCirclet in Defense by 1 single point and inferior to it in all other ways. Forget about the HelmetCrystal Helm as well. A set of ArmorDark Gear for Sabin is nice, though. In short: buy one HelmetCirclet and a set of ArmorDark Gear if you didn't buy ArmorDark Gear earlier in Maranda.

Item Shop: They have one.

Relic Shop: The interesting new Relic called 'RelicGuard Ring' sets Safe on your character. Basically, the Relic cuts the damage of physical attacks by 1/3, always. Sadly, physical attacks are past their prime at this stage of the game, so its usefulness is kind of low. If you like the thought of a physical powerhouse who can withstand all blows, buy and equip one to whomever you feel should benefit; you're better off focusing on offense though.

If you plan to use Gau, there's something you can do to make absolutely sure you get one of his best Rages relatively quickly; enter Owzer's Mansion, read the diary if you want, turn on the lights near the stairs and examine the flower painting for a fight with three Nightshade enemies. This only applies if Shadow survived the Floating Continent; if he didn't, the house will just be lit and empty for now. More information is relevant only when you tackle the whole mansion.

The Auction House got a makeover! New items are for sale here. No longer will that talking Chocobo bother you. Sadly, two new useless items have been added to the collection: an Imp robot and 1/1200 of an airship. Debates rage over whether this is a piece of the Blackjack or a scale model of an airship; obviously it's the latter, but what you want to see in it is up to you. Doesn't matter; you cannot buy either of these items. The reason you're here is the RelicHero Ring. You can only buy one RelicHero Ring here, for 50000 GP. The RelicZephyr Cape is also exclusive at the moment, but since the RelicZephyr Cape is more expensive here than in WoR Nikeah (3000 GP more expensive, in fact), don't bother shooting for it here. Once you buy the RelicHero Ring, it won't appear again. If you didn't buy the Espers earlier, you'll want to do that now, too, although I don't see why you should've skipped on that earlier.

The auctions follow a script:
  1. There's a 50% chance the item up for bidding is a RelicHero Ring. If you already bought it earlier, or the item isn't the RelicHero Ring, continue.
  2. Next, there's a 50% chance it's a 1/1200 of an airship. You can never buy this 'item' no matter how much you pay, as the father will always buy it. Continue.
  3. Next, there's a 50% chance it's the EsperGolem Magicite! Nice. Try to buy it. If you already bought it earlier, or the item isn't EsperGolem, continue.
  4. After that, there's a 50% chance it's the EsperZoneseek Magicite. Good. If you already bought this item, or if it still isn't this item, we continue.
  5. Finally, there's a 50% chance it's a RelicZephyr Cape. If you already bought this item, or if it's not the RelicZephyr Cape, continue.
  6. If it's none of the above, it's an Imp Robot, end of story and script. You can never buy the Imp Robot, as the father will always buy it.

That script can be a little hard to follow as you try to do the math around what you have and have not purchased. To be more explicit, if you haven't bought any of the pieces of Magicite yet, the odds will be as following:
  • RelicHero Ring: 50%
  • 1/1200 Airship: 25%
  • The Magicite EsperGolem: 12.5%
  • The Magicite EsperZoneseek: 6.25%
  • RelicZephyr Cape: 3.125%
  • Imp Robot: 3.125%
If you bought both Espers, but not yet the RelicHero Ring:
  • RelicHero Ring: 50%
  • 1/1200 Airship: 25%
  • RelicZephyr Cape: 12.5%
  • Imp Robot 12.5%
If you bought the RelicHero Ring and both Espers:
  • 1/1200 Airship: 50%
  • RelicZephyr Cape: 25%
  • Imp Robot 25%
Yeah, that means you can completely raid the WoR Auction House until nothing but useless junk is left. Don't worry; if another person buys a piece of Magicite, the RelicHero Ring or the RelicZephyr Cape, it will have a chance of appearing next time you pay the Auction House a visit. Since it's not a real auction, the "bids" required to win are as follows:
  • RelicHero Ring: 50000 GP
  • The Magicite EsperGolem: 20000 GP
  • The Magicite EsperZoneseek: 10000 GP
  • RelicZephyr Cape 10000 GP

That means, by the way, that the RelicZephyr Cape is ridiculously overpriced in the Auction House, as it's just 7000 GP from the small merchant in Nikeah. If you don't have enough money, fly the Falcon to the desert south of Maranda, where you'll be able to make a lot of quick cash.

2.14: First Visit to the Fanatics Tower

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer Optional: Sabin

In Figaro Castle, we heard about the Cult of Kefka. It seems they have erected a giant tower in Kefka's honor, located in the middle of the Serpent Trench. From thieves you've heard there are treasures unheard of up there, but that getting there is going to be rough. Trying to climb the tower right now would be stupid, but we can stop by for a look at least, right?

One of our former party members is there! Strago Magus has lost his heart in despair at the state of the world and the apparent loss of his granddaughter. Now one of the Cult of Kefka, he doesn't respond to you at all. We heard earlier that a loved one should be able to break through this self-inflicted barrier. If we could manage to find Relm, we should bring her over here to see if we can break the spell on Strago.

The thieves here are sitting at the foot of the tower, not because they think Kefka is their Speshul Boi but rather because of the treasures on the tower; so close, yet so far... It's revealed the most wondrous thing is at the very top, and one of the thieves offers you a secret for the insane sum of 100,000 GP. Don't pony up the cash, he tells you just two things: one, that there's an ancient castle below the surface of the Figaro desert which is loaded with treasure; two, that an old man in the Weapon Shop in Narshe has been looking for the remnants of the Returners.

Time to check up on the last still-populated city we haven't been to yet: Thamasa!

2.15: Thamasa

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer Optional: Sabin

Sadly, neither Strago nor Relm is present (as you should already know if you're following the walkthrough), so all we can do here is take a look at the equipment they have to offer and talk to the townspeople.

One woman mentions how Ebot's Rock is above water. As soon as we can convince Strago back on our side, we should bring him back to Thamasa to investigate that - he has a history with that rock. There's another mention of Doom Gaze, but that's about it. Pay your respects to General Leo's grave for a moment, and then go shop.

Armor Shop: Do you remember I told you about the ArmorTao Robe? Well, the ArmorLight Robe is like the ArmorTao Robe, only inferior in every single way. Do I hear somebody say 'redundant'? Yes, I believe I do. It was me. If you want to have as many Items as possible, buy one. If not, don't. All other items are familiar to you.

Weapon Shop: Like all Brushes, the BrushDaVinci Brush is about as useful as a 'hurt me' sign in a boxing match. You can buy one or two extra RodPearl Rods as they make great equips for Strago and Relm once you get them and everybody can break them (there's actually a brilliant moment to break RodPearl Rods, against Doom Gaze). All the other weapons have been previously revealed to you. You should also buy some ShurikenNinja Stars; they turn into nice items at the Colosseum, and make for great attacks when you obtain Shadow. 99 ShurikenNinja Stars are actually *less* costly than that single RelicHero Ring you purchased in Jidoor, so don't feel too irresponsible when you overstock on them.

Relic Shop:
Rings! Rings! For the love of God, they have every Ring Relic available. Except for RelicHero Rings. And RelicSneak Rings. And RelicMemento Rings. And RelicCursed Rings. And RelicRage Rings. And RelicRelic Rings. Oh shucks, so they don't have every Ring Relic available. Give me some credit for distracting you from noticing that I don't have anything useful to say about this Relic Shop!

Item Shop:Potions! Potions! For the love of... I'm not getting away with this trick again, am I? How about another movie quote concerning consuming items? Choose Potions. Choose a chest. Choose a command. Choose Smoke Bombs, ArmorCrystal Mail and matching Helmets. Choose your future. But why would anyone want to do a thing like that?

Now, get out. It's time for one more trip to the Colosseum before we dive into an actual dungeon for a change.

2.16: Narshe

Narshe
5/16
1
2
5/16
3
5/16
1
1/16
2
Northern Mine & Western Mine 1st Cave
10/16
2
1
6/16
1
2
Western Mines
5/16
3
5/16
2
3
5/16
2
2
1/16
6

Enemies: Test Rider, Wizard, Nastidon, Psychot, Mag Roader Y., Mag Roader B., Red Wolf

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer Optional: Sabin

A Note of Reminder: The story wanted you to go to Maranda and follow the pigeon to Zozo, and I sent you around the world to optimize your equipment, learn Bum Rush, and so on, and so forth. I haven't sent you into any dungeon. However, for various reasons, I believe it's better gameplay-wise to dive into Narshe first and get down in Zozo second. You get Mog and an entirely new (and hidden) character, access to level 3 spells, and a Relic that allows you to circumvent random encounters, giving you access to some items that you weren't supposed to obtain yet. It's really a sweet deal all in all, but you ignore the story flow here, and miss out on one little detail of the story as well (which I'll give when the time comes, since you won't be able to actually watch it on-screen).

Whom to bring? People with Ice-elemental protection from a source other than shields are preferred (if you don't have enough shields to cover for the entire party). The ArmorMinerva (Celes, Terra) or ArmorSnow Muffler (Gau, Mog) are examples. Otherwise, characters that can deal strong Fire-elemental damage will be good to have along.

Everything started with Narshe and its Esper. Although the Esper itself is still residing in the snowy mountains, Narshe has changed a lot. Arvis is most likely dead; we haven't heard from him since the Empire backstabbed you while Terra and Locke were searching for the Espers near Thamasa. The Narshe Guards, always a force of justice, have been utterly destroyed.

Nastidons don't absorb Ice-elemental attacks. They don't even use them. They're just silly Battle/!Grab cannon fodder. They have inherent Safe, so they're more or less similar to those Bogy enemies you encountered earlier. The way to go is multi-target magical attacks; Nastidons are weak against Fire-elemental attacks.

The same goes for Red Wolf. Attacks include Battle and !Rush (Battle * 1.5). They will, to me, be forever infamous due to the fact that they are one of the two monsters that give a Battle/Special Rage with Death Protection. They are entirely uninteresting as opponents, however.

Test Rider is another Battle/Special opponent. Its Special is !Gold Lance (Battle * 3). Much like the enemy that shares its palette, Rider, Test Rider will counter Steal (and Capture as well, in this case) attempts with a !LanceGold Lance strike. There really isn't a good reason to try to steal its items (a rare LancePartisan) and Test Rider certainly won't be doing anything with it. When Sketched, Controlled, or Raged, Test Rider will suddenly have been granted access to Flash Rain, but it will never use this move on your party in a random encounter.

The Mag Roader B. is inherently Hasted like the Mag Roader R. was. The first turn consists of either Battle or !Rush (Battle * 2) and you'll see Fire-elemental spells (Fire or OFire 2) employed in the second. Due to a bug, the Mag Roader B. takes over a part of another monster's AI script (Wild Cat), causing it to counter all types of attack with a chance at Battle. On rare occasions it can also counter with Fire Ball when damaged while alone.

The Mag Roader Y. lacks the Mag Roader P.'s pre-set Safe. What's left is a monster that's all facade and only possesses skill in the field of rolling over and dying. It uses physicals in the first turn (33% !Wheel) and Ice spells in the second (OIce and OIce 2).

Wizards are annoying. They are mages in the classical sense of the word, almost exclusive spell casters that sport low Defense and high Magic Defense. Wizards use annoying tactics; they can cast OMute or OOsmose (first turn), ORasp or OStop (second turn), or OMuddle or OSleep (third turn). When they are hit by a spell themselves, they can counter with !Doom Step, which sets Zombie. They're also remarkable for their items: they have a common RodIce Rod and a rare RodThunder Rod for stealing and a rare RodFire Rod drop. They're the only source for these three elemental Rods in the WoR (apart from the rare RodIce Rod found on the Spectre enemy on the Veldt...bleh).

A Psychot is a coalescence of psychic energy. And they hate you. The thing to remember about them is that they absorb Fire; none of your current massive damage dealers deal Fire-elemental damage so this shouldn't really be a problem, but now you can't say I didn't warn you. Ice is their weakness. I'd like to make some neat brain freeze puns, but I can't think of any. Just do it.

OL. 4 Flare works on every single one of the above enemies! Sadly, you lack access to the Lore command if you've been following along. Instead, Sabin's Air Blade should be pumped up as much as possible (you probably already had an RelicHero Ring/RelicEarrings combo on Sabin, but if you hadn't this is the time to make it so). It kills and/or severely cripples most enemies here, and those that remain can be taken care of with Edgar's ToolsFlash, a multi-target level 2 spell, or whatever. Test Rider and Psychot are the only notable exceptions; you're better off with a OBio spell or with the ORasp spell against Test Rider (Test Rider dies when its MP reaches 0), and a multi-target OIce 2 spell is the way to go when you're facing large Psychot groups.

Before you go into the derelict city of Narshe, you can visit the Classroom for some free healing. That's just nice. We were told that the owner of the Weapon Shop was looking for us. Sadly, the door is locked, and as Lone Wolf told us, only a treasure hunter could pick that lock. Lacking Locke, we can do nothing but leave the town of Narshe again and dive into its mines; perhaps Mog is still around, and perhaps he is even willing to offer us his help.

Remember how you snuck into the town of Narshe with Terra, Edgar, and Banon and came across the Moogles in the process? We're going to do just that. Just follow the path; there are no new surprises. The Security Checkpoint is gone, however. Eventually you'll come across Mog. After Mog says he's a friend of the sasquatch that you could have spotted during the World of Balance, the screen fades to black for a while. If you had three characters, Mog will now be in your party; if you had four characters, he'll be waiting for you at the Falcon. If this happened (and it most likely did, as you've been a good boy), go find the Falcon and switch Mog with whomever you want out of your party. Honestly, I think Setzer is the weakest link at this point, but as Mog makes a great Dragoon, you can switch one Dragoon with another and leave Edgar back at the airship.

Once ready to proceed, examine the wall Mog was staring at when you found him. You'll receive the RelicMoogle Charm, a little crystal ball given to Mog by his now deceased girlfriend, Kuku. No wonder our little furry friend was lost in thought...

The RelicMoogle Charm is a great relic. It has no use in-battle whatsoever, but it does grant you one small thing; it allows you to circumvent random battles entirely. A time-saving blessing for every player and downright salvation for those playing on a Sony console, the RelicMoogle Charm certainly also has a tactical use: you can dive into dungeons and grab great items that you weren't supposed to receive until you were man enough to actually tackle the dungeon itself. When put into practice, this usually means the items of the Fanatics Tower (except for the prized object at the very top of it) and a lot of items from Kefka's Tower are now within your grasp, many hours of gameplay early.

If you left the SwordRune Edge in the WoB, grab the RelicRibbon in the chest in this room.

Armed with Mog, it's time to head into the mountains and locate the dormant Esper that you haven't been able to properly contact since the beginning of the game. Head out of the mines and head into the mountains, like you did when you first tried to rescue Mog. Exit by the normal exit, which leads into Arvis' old house. On your way, you should pass two chests. If you didn't rob them of their contents earlier, they should contain an Elixir and a RelicPod Bracelet, which is a poor man's version of the RelicMarvel Shoes (it only sets Safe and Shell, which the RelicMarvel Shoes can set in addition to Haste and Regen).

2.17: Narshe Snowfields

Formations
5/16
3
5/16
2
3
5/16
2
2
1/16
6

Enemies: Test Rider, Wizard, Nastidon, Psychot, Mag Roader Y., Mag Roader B., Red Wolf, Tritoch, Ice Dragon

Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer Optional: Sabin

If you want to abuse the RelicMoogle Charm now, skip ahead. Don't worry; both dungeons you'll be visiting now will be visited later for another good reason. For a quick list of what you'll obtain from raiding the Fanatics Tower and Kefka's Tower:

Fanatics Tower: a ArmorForce Armor, an easy battle with the White Drgn from which you'll win a LancePearl Lance upon victory, a ShieldGenji Shield, a RelicSafety Bit, and the ToolsAir Anchor, which is Edgar's eighth Tool.

Kefka's Tower: a HelmetRed Cap, a ArmorNutkin Suit, a RelicGauntlet, a HelmetCoronet, the GamblerFixed Dice, a ArmorMinerva, a ShurikenTack Star, an Aegis Shld, a ShieldForce Shield, an easy battle with the Gold Drgn from which you'll win a RelicCrystal Orb upon your victory, a ArmorForce Armor, and a RelicRibbon.

With Mog in your party, get back into Narshe and go find the snowfields. This is your first chance to learn Mog's last Dance (save it for me... eheheh), the Snowman Jazz. It's a rather crummy Dance considering you can't get it until this late in the game, but Surge looks sweet and works especially well against the Psychot monsters you find here.

In the snowfields, you'll find the Ice Dragon.

Ice Dragon
Ice Dragon
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
74
24400
9000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: ShieldForce Shield
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifysleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
Go ahead and gawk at those status vulnerabilities if you like. However, I can't say that the Ice Dragon is the weakest of the eight brethren; as you'll see in the future, Gold Drgn is about as silly, while White Drgn is even more pathetic. The Ice Dragon can be fairly easily screwed over though. Sadly for Ice Dragon, his element is easily absorbed, his amount of HP rather low, and his status vulnerabilities are downright horrible, but I'll try and treat Ice Dragon with the same amount of dignity I firmly believe everybody deserves. Except for Nerapa, obviously.

What does Ice Dragon do? He can use all three spells normally. If you damage him, he might counter with Battle. If he dies, he might use one final Surge attack before rolling over, but that's about it. Honestly, Ice Dragon might very well be the least interesting boss in the game.

How to stop him? There are tons of ways! It doesn't really matter who you bring here. All you need is the OBserk spell and the Esper that teaches it, EsperPhantom. Set Berserk on Ice Dragon, summon EsperPhantom, and sit back. Use OPoison or OBio to set Poison on the freezing fiend, and even OHaste if you like: it will only speed up the Poisoning, as you'll be immune to everything he does. If you brought Mog, make sure you don't execute a Dance; the only one that doesn't have an inherent chance to remove your Clear status is the Dusk Requiem, which is pretty much useless anyways (there's only a 3/16 chance you'll damage him once you get it working). Gau's (or Gogo's) Io-induced Flare Star attack will do 9999 damage every time it appears regardless of what level the caster is at, while Leafer or the Mag Roader P. make Gau and Gogo absorb the Ice-elemental attacks without any equipment. If you brought Edgar, you can tease the Ice Dragon by trying to make Poison his weakness (if you get it, OPoison will take off about 3200 damage a hit at the peak of its glory).

If you have the equipment and the status ailments to throw around, Ice Dragon is a joke. If you don't, his Absolute0 and Surge attacks will hurt real bad. The Mute status effect will prevent it from being able to use N. Cross and Absolute0. If, for some reason, you don't opt for OBserk/EsperPhantom, try setting Slow, Poison, and Mute (a neat way of doing this is casting ORflect on the guy and have Strago/Gogo execute OReflect???, but that's just novelty). Equip the easily obtained ShieldIce Shields, ShieldFlame Shields, ArmorSnow Mufflers, and/or ArmorMinerva bustier and you won't feel a thing from Ice Dragon's attacks. EsperGolem should be more than sufficient for Ice Dragon's physical attacks, but you can humiliate him further by summoning EsperFenrir in addition. Expand Full Strategy
  

Once you've defeated the Ice Dragon, you'll receive a ShieldForce Shield.

Pushing on, you'll come across a Save Point where you can use a Tent if necessary. In the next screen, you'll walk across a bridge that takes you to the location of the mysterious Esper from the beginning of the game, the same frozen entity that prompted Terra to morph into her Esper form earlier and (possibly) overlooked as Lone Wolf took Mog hostage. As you approach it this time around, it becomes evidence that the Esper is sick of waiting. An eerie glow surrounds it, and the Esper Tritoch attacks you.

Tritoch
Tritoch
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
62
30000
50000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
19
4
0
254
70
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
lightningpoisonwindholyearthwater
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
None
 
Strategy
 
Tritoch is attacking you. That's not very nice of him. Luckily, he has very little to damage you with. OIce 3 is his only offensive spell, and as most of your party is easily covered in ShieldFlame Shields, ShieldIce Shields, or the ArmorMinerva bustier, the spell will do nothing to them. If you lack the above equipment for all characters, it's worthy of notice that the ShieldThunder Shields and ShieldForce Shields both halve damage done by Ice-elemental attacks (dont't forget that the ShieldForce Shield also grants the wearer inherent Shell, reducing damage done by the OIce 3 spell by another 33%).

What Tritoch does is all very basic. The Esper attacks normally with the above three spells, although he hardly ever uses Cold Dust just like that. Whenever Tritoch is hit by a Fire-elemental attack, it has a one-third chance of casting ORasp. Also, whenever Tritoch is hit by either SwdTech, Tools, Blitz, Lore, Sketch, or Rage, it has a one-third chance of casting Cold Dust to freeze the attacker.

The strategy the game wants you to follow is clear. Fire-elemental Magic is the key. You will mainly be casting OFire 2 here. Sabin's Fire Dance deals weaker damage to a single target and may incite a Cold Dust attack, but if Sabin lacks OFire 2, it will have to serve as a suitable backup. If you brought Gau, the Toe Cutter Rage (Shrapnel) works great because it inherently absorbs OIce 3. A Rage like Scrapper is also great, providing you can combine it with an ShieldIce Shield or ArmorSnow Muffler on the Rager. The Io Rage is even better as it will consistently deal 9920 damage every time Gau uses Flare Star and inherently nullifies Ice-elemental attacks, but it's unlikely you have it at this point.

There's little strategy involved beyond this, as the battle is quite easy. If you somehow didn't bring any equipment with elemental properties, EsperZoneseek can help you out there. Cast OHaste on the entire party (now with the OHaste 2 spell, brought to you by EsperPalidor) can shorten the time a character is Frozen; heck, if that's taking too long as well feel free to just cast a Fire spell on the afflicted and watch him turn back to normal. Celes' Runic can absorb the OIce 3 and ORasp spells; it won't be necessary if you prepared enough, but if you haven't it's a great idea. Expand Full Strategy
  

As soon as you defeat Tritoch, he starts talking! Blast, he could've done that earlier and saved us a lot of trouble. "You know Terra, you're a half-Esper, and the Empire is evil and has abused you. Go side with the Returners. Here's my Magicite, it teaches level 3 spells so you can fry anything on your path. Good luck! Oh, and don't stick Skittles up your nose." More or less, that is.

A note on EsperTritoch: He teaches level 3 spells, which is sweet; sadly, he does so at a x1 rate which is tantalizingly slow. In this case, EsperTritoch's summon attack, Tri-Dazer, will actually be your strongest magical attack for characters such as Celes and Terra for a while. Tri-Dazer, though, is an odd attack; it's tri-elemental; Fire-, Ice- and Lightning-elemental and about as powerful as a level 3 spell. How does this work? If a creature absorbs one of the elements, it absorbs the entire attack. If a creature nullifies one of the elements, it nullifies the entire attack. If a creature is weak against one of the elements, it is weak against the entire attack. So, you'll want to use Tri-Dazer against enemies that are weak to Fire, Ice, or Lightning, but don't absorb or nullify any of them.

Now, there's an opening in the cliff. You can hop into it. RPG wisdom tells us that the 'No' option to bail out isn't going to get us treasure. Or danger.

2.18: The Caves of Narshe

Upper Two Levels
5/16
4
5/16
1
3
5/16
1
1
1/16
1
Umaro's Room
5/16
4
5/16
1
2
5/16
2
1
1/16
3

Enemies: Pug, Tomb Thumb, Anemone, Ceritops, Poppers, Kiwok, Pugs, Umaro

Lore: OStep Mine

Party: Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog

Whom to bring? Mog is ideal, as he's needed to obtain the 'sasquatch muscle' you meet later on. Otherwise, the same people that did well in when you first arrived in WoR Narshe will do well again here; the main danger posed by the cave monsters you'll find ahead is Imp-setting, which can be prevented by the RelicWhite Capes/RelicRibbons you already have anyways.

Poppers are Rhodox palette swaps. Like Rhodox, they're un-Suplex-able; I continue to wonder if they're just sitting in holes in the ground or ripple into our existence from a maddening rift in the space-time continuum. If this question doesn't confuse you, the Poppers' OStone attack may; they have a 33% chance of using it in their second turn. Not only does the OStone attack set Confuse on a successful hit, it will also completely make you to eat dirt if your characters are level 33; it's the same level as Poppers, and as you know, OStone deals 7.5 as much damage when the level of the caster and the target as equal. Just make sure this doesn't happen by taking them out ASAP; they're weak to Fire, so make use of either the Fire Dance or the newly acquired EsperTritoch. Noiseblaster also works like a charm. A multi-target charm, to be precise.

Another theory for which I'd like to credit Suonymona mentions that Rhodox/Poppers are this game's version of Final Fantasy V's Nut Eaters/Skull Eaters. They're both squirrel-like in appearance the colors are consistent (brown for the weaker, grey for the stronger). Since Sabin has a childhood fear of 'Nut Eaters', maybe the Rhodox' and Poppers' non-Suplexable nature doesn't come from the fact they are unable to be lifted, but rather comes from the fact Sabin can't bring himself to perform the attack on them. This wouldn't explain Gogo's behavior, though.

Kiwok are boring. Their Special, !Pick, sets Imp. Weak against Fire like everything in the cave, it doesn't really matter if you torch them or just use other kinds of violence. The Sketch command has a 3/4 shot at pulling Cyclonic from this freaky bipod, which works against both Kiwok and Poppers. Kiwok are called 'leaders of the little monsters' by the Anthology Bestiary. What that's supposed to mean is left to anybody's imagination.

Ceritops are pretty sturdy with inherent Safe, Death protection, and the ability to absorb your Lightning-elemental attacks. They're weak against Fire and really don't do anything special AI-wise (Battle and !Pal Maker, which sets *gasp* Imp), so take your time, they're not very dangerous. They have a mouth-watering Rage, though (inherent Safe, Lightning-absorption, instant death protection, Giga Volt).

Pug. Also known as the Tonberry. The notorious creatures that look like they're waddling over for a hug yet actually intend to flay the flesh from your skull while you're still alive. They have a lot of Hit Points (8000) for a normal monster and possess two very strong attacks. Each round, this foe will use OStep Mine. Since OStep Mine is unblockable, non-elemental, and barrier-piercing, there's no protection from it. I can't predict how much damage it will do to your party, but 1700 is a fair estimation, I'd say. Every time you damage a Pug, it will counter with a !Cleaver attack, which is eight times as strong as its normal Battle attack (which he never uses) - an incredible blow - and another OStep Mine attack. This thing slaughters you left and right! How to deal with one? The trick is the Imp status! Turn it into an Imp with the spell of the same name or OSour Mouth. It'll start to do automatic criticals now, so if you aren't under the influence of Clear this is the time to set it. Now, you can just pound away without fear. The quickest ways to a dead Pug are Fire-elemental attacks and the Deep Eye Rage. Since Pug is immune to instant death attacks but not to Petrify, most petrification attacks will fail where Dread will work. These enemies have a rare RelicTintinabar drop, which is pretty spectacular, but as a Pug encounter in itself is rare enough, it's hardly a good way to obtain them.

Anemone are pretty passive enemies. When with other monsters, they will use !Imp Touch every now and then, which sets Imp. If they've been damaged, they will heal themselves a little with Mega Volt; they absorb the element, so don't try to use it against them. If an Anemone will start to use Giga Volt on the party every turn if it is by itself, so you'll want to avoid that. They are weak to Fire, as you suspected.

Tomb Thumb are monsters I find especially annoying for no specific reason. Their Special is called !Dash, and it doesn't set Imp; it sets Haste! That's why they use it on themselves every second turn, too. Otherwise, you just have to worry about physical attacks when they're with others or Imp Song when they're alone. Given that you've only seen Imp Song as a counter-attack so far, I should point out that Imp Song is actually a multi-target attack.

So, in general, slap on as many RelicRibbons as you have and give RelicWhite Capes to the other characters. You don't want to be turned into an Imp, and RelicRibbons are nice in the aspect of Confuse-protection for OStone. Summon EsperPhantom at some point or just cast OVanish a couple of times; invulnerability is the goal here. Poppers' OStone isn't cast until the second round and Giga Volt and Imp Song only when the enemies in question are alone (don't allow it). Pug's OStep Mine is unavoidable, but you can set Imp, possibly revive the fallen characters, and quickly re-apply Clear. Fire-elemental attacks rule here, but the only strong one you probably have at this point is EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer. OFire 3 spells clean house, though.

Umaro's Cave is a cave with two themes. The first theme is out-of-battle, and it's pitfalls. Bloody, bloody pitfalls. They're not there to make you land on poisoned spikes or anything, but they do keep you from getting treasure. The other theme is Imp. Every monster here has the ability to turn you into one of those blasted Kappa water sprites.

When you land, you will have access to three parts of the cave. The far right one just leads you to a pitfall, so you have no business there. The one in the middle leads you to a chest with a Ether (the upper chest). Grab it and then return to the first cave you entered. Now, enter the far left cave-mouth. Make sure you don't stand on the two dark tiles there, as they are pitfalls. Walk around until you get a random battle. Make sure to end it with four characters with the Clear status. EsperSiren is nice to equip as well, but only necessary if you can't set Imp or Mute in any way. Now, open the chest. As you may have guessed, 'tis a monster-in-a-box.

Pugs are the more powerful yet more easily defeated version of Pug. The three of them simply walk up to you and use Battle every time they take a step. If they have taken eight steps, they use !Knife and return to their original position. If you hit them with a Magic spell, they counter with OPearl. Their OPearl spell is fairly weak and not even a direct threat, but it does remove the Clear status, which opens you up to their physical attacks.

When you fight them, do whatever you want, so long as you make sure you stay under Clear. Mute the lot, cast a multi-target OBio, and cast a OHaste 2 spell on them to speed up the Poisoning. They're weak against Fire, so the newly acquired summon attack, Tri-Dazer, packs a nice punch. The battle really revolves around staying invincible. Gau's Io Rage is really grand, as the Pugs' level is really high. You know what hurts by now, I assume. If you have a character with the Steal command, you could try to nick a ArmorMinerva if you don't have two yet; the only situation in which you need more than one ArmorMinerva is a team that features both Terra and Celes, but it doesn't hurt to have the extra around. Do know, however, that due to the Pugs' high level and the ArmorMinerva being a rare Steal, it really makes for a small chance of success.

Once you're done, you'll have cleared the entire top floor, meaning that it doesn't matter if you go back to the first cave, enter the middle cave-mouth and descend the stairs to the lower level or just drop through a pitfall. Regardless, find the RelicGauntlet in the chest here and push on. It's an easily maneuverable cave and you should reach the stairs before long. Ascend to find a switch. Ignore it; it triggers a pitfall right where you're standing. The next switch also does this, but allows you to enter a new part of the cave.

This is the room of the sasquatch that Mog and various townspeople from Narshe were talking about earlier. The stairs up just lead to the point where you could see Umaro (the sasquatch) in the WoB and force you to fall down from there. It's a long hike back, and we still have work to do here, so don't mess around. Examine the bone carving in the middle of the room to find a piece of Magicite in it! Once you choose to remove the remains of EsperTerrato from the carving, an enraged yeti comes for you! You should know better than to mess with art...

Umaro
Umaro
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
33
17200
6990
10
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
25
11
0
100
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceconfusionstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
firepoison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
So, you've had three major battles against relatively easily defeated monsters with a weakness to Fire. Umaro is no different: a relatively easily defeated monster with a weakness to Fire.

Umaro employs all kinds of freaky attacks to try to damage you. Normally, he'll use Battle, !Tackle, and Blizzard. He uses physical attacks only when one of your characters is remains, but I see no reason for that to occur. Every 40 seconds (when 2 or more characters are alive), Umaro will either use Snowball (an unblockable ID attack that halves the target's current HP and sets Seizure), Surge, or Lode Stone (ID attack that takes off 75% of the targets current HP). Umaro may counter Fire-elemental attacks with either !Tackle or Blizzard, and every other kind of damage with !Tackle. Every third time Umaro is hit by a Magic spell, he'll use a Jump attack.

The interesting part of this fight is the Green Cherry Item. When you use it on him or he uses it himself (automatically when he reaches 10240 HP), he will glow red. This means that Umaro sets Safe, Shell, Haste, and Regen on himself. Sadly for Umaro, he has Seizure immunity, so you never get to see Regen in action. The appearance of the Green Cherry means ODispel time for you! ODispel will remove all of his power-ups (so will Strago's ORippler Lore, by the way).

Umaro is a very easy opponent. Since he has Berserk vulnerability, you can set it with the OBserk spell, summon EsperPhantom, and effectively win the match right there. If this is not one of the options in your playbook, combining OSleep with OSlow should really cripple him too. If status ailments are too cheap for you, Umaro is simply weak enough to defeat with damaging (so long as you heal when appropriate). OFire 2 spells work just fine, as does Sabin's Bum Rush, RelicDragon Horn Jump attacks, you name it. Expand Full Strategy
  

After the battle is over, Umaro will be sitting in a corner looking sad and pummeled. But hey, you broke his statue and, I dunno, pummeled him, so I guess that makes sense. Don't be afraid to walk over to the brute; he won't attack you again. If you didn't bring Mog, he'll just go "Ooh..." and continue to sit there. If this happens, you can just return with Mog and talk to him later; he'll still be sitting there.

If you did bring Mog, though, he'll go talk to Umaro on behalf of the party. In a stunning display of taking advantage of the mentally disabled, Mog orders Umaro to join your cause. He'll stomp off to find the Falcon and wait there for you. You don't have to have Mog in your party to use Umaro, and using a Green Cherry on the character Umaro has no special effect over removing Imp like it always does.

Umaro, as a character, is generally considered the weakest character in the game. His stats are awesome: that's not the problem, and his Tackle and Character Toss attacks are nothing to scoff at. Not to mention the fact that with the two Relics made specifically for him (the RelicRage Ring and RelicBlizzard Orb) he absorbs Fire and Ice while nullifying Lightning, taking care of the three basic elements in the game. Then why is Umaro still considered the weakest link? First off, you can't access his equipment. He's stuck with a feature-less, non-elemental SpecialBone Club in his right hand and the ArmorSnow Muffler. Granted, the ArmorSnow Muffler is arguably the best armor to be 'stuck with', but this means that Umaro cannot adapt to a situation. Any character needs at least one Relic slot for sufficient damage output, which doesn't help here. He can't learn or cast Magic like all the other characters (not to mention that he can receive no Esper boosts either, as he can't equip them). He's uncontrollable from the beginning, so he can never react to a surprise KO with a Fenix Down or fall back as a utility character.

In short, Umaro is a completely one-dimensional character. This immediately explains his popularity with many first-time players; it's hard to go wrong with him. Every other character in the game can be tweaked to be superior to Umaro, but you would have to know how to do this in some cases, whereas it's impossible to really go wrong with Umaro: you bring him into battle, he'll do impressive damage.

For now, if you've followed the walkthrough so far, you'll have neither the RelicRage Ring nor RelicBlizzard Orb, so the best Umaro right now is one equipped with a RelicAtlas Armlet (RelicHero Ring works, but Umaro won't benefit from the increase in magical damage) and a RelicGauntlet. Since Umaro comes without a shield anyway, the RelicGauntlet raises both the offense (his normal physicals only, not Tackle and Character Toss) and defense of the raging snowman.

Now, you can just cast the OWarp spell to get out. Or walk, do whatever pleases you. The path Umaro took is the only way to leave Umaro's caves. Note: You just obtained EsperTerrato as well. EsperTerrato isn't as powerful as EsperTritoch, almost nothing is weak to the Earth element and he doesn't hit Floating targets, but EsperTerrato's Earth Aura is stronger than your level 2 spells so it's a nice Esper to summon for Terra/Celes/Relm/Strago if they haven't learned any truly powerful magic yet.

2.19: The Moogle Raid

Party: Mog, Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Umaro

Note that this section is entirely optional and in fact hardly what you're 'supposed' to do, so feel free to skip it. Basically, this little errand is the abusing of a no-encounter Relic to gain all sorts of late-game treasure from two dungeons you're not quite ready for. The spoils you gain here will really help out.

The following excursion will require you to have Mog in your party equipped with the RelicMoogle Charm. After all, that's's the entire point of the quest, silly! Since you'll be walking anyways, you might as well equip RelicSprint Shoes.

The first stop is the Fanatics Tower. We'll see Strago prancing 'round like before, but we're gonna go right past him, onto the Tower. On the first part of the stairway, there's a door we can enter. Enter and raid the chest; it contains a RelicSafety Bit. The RelicSafety Bit protects the wearer from Instant Death-magic; it's basically a RelicMemento Ring for everybody. But wait a minute, didn't that thief in Maranda mention how one of his companions mumbled 'to the right of the treasure chest'? The thieves could never have gone too far, so you'd better check it out. Press the action button when standing to the right of the treasure chest. Something rumbles, and when you leave the door another one will have appeared below you! By entering this one, you can find a chest containing an ToolsAir Anchor: Edgar's most rare Tool.

Once an enemy is hit by the ToolsAir Anchor, it will be allowed one more turn, after which it will die. It never misses, unless the target is immune to Instant Death attacks. The ToolsAir Anchor also deals damage, which is entirely redundant (as no damage will be done if it misses, and the damage is useless if the target dies the next round anyway). I myself have always liked the ToolsAir Anchor because it never fails and you can focus attacks on other opponents while you know the Anchored one has been taken care of; others will claim the ToolsAir Anchor is a scrubby Tool that allows for the enemy to execute one more attack while so many other instant death attacks like ODoom/Snare/Atom Edge do not.

While in the ToolsAir Anchor room, remove your RelicMoogle Charm and walk around! The only battles here feature Magic Urn. Not only do they heal you with a multitude of potions, they also Escape on their own after a while. They have a kick-ass Rage (allows Gau to absorb all eight elements regardless of equipment and immunity to all status ailments while casting OCure 3 half the time), so you'll want to meet one at least once.

We press on! The door in the second part of the stairway contains a Genji Shield, which is a nice enough shield; it boasts the third-best Defense in the game (lower than the legendary ShieldPaladin Shield and oddball ShieldTortoise Shield), respectable Magic Defense, and a boost of 20% Magic Block to the wearer.

The door in the third part of the stairway contains the DirkStunner, the most powerful Dirk for Shadow. It has a 25% chance of casting OStop every time a strike is made, but gives nothing in terms of fringe benefits. This weapon is famous for its value in Colosseum tactics against the likes of Chupon and Siegfried, who are both vulnerable to the ailment and very hard to defeat by other means. The room also features the White Drgn; you can defeat him now if you want for a LancePearl Lance. His strategy is covered in chapter 2.40.

The door in the fourth and last part of the stairway contains a ArmorForce Armor. The ArmorForce Armor is a great piece of armor, especially for those characters that have no other interesting pieces to equip (Locke, Cyan, Edgar, Setzer, and Shadow). It doesn't really have that much for Defense (inferior to ArmorCrystal Mail), but it's quite good in the area of Magic Defense (only inferior to ArmorGenji Armor, rare ArmorSnow Muffler and oddball ArmorImp's Armor), elemental advantages (50% Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, and Earth-elemental damage), and an added 30% Magic Block.

The ArmorForce Armor is inferior to the ArmorMinerva in every way except for the MBlock, so don't equip it on the girls; it's a genuine toss-up for the boys, though. The ArmorGenji Armor is sturdier in both the Defense and Magic Defense departments and gives all-round stat boosts to boot; the ArmorForce Armor makes for a more evasive character that is better suited to deal with elemental magical attacks. I prefer the ArmorForce Armor for non-specific boss battles and the ArmorGenji Armor for random encounters myself, but it's up to you.

The top part of the Tower, where the 'wondrous' item lies, should be off-limits to you at this point; you can try to defeat the boss, but it's an enormous hassle to defeat the guy at this stage. If you want to try the pain-in-the-ass way (which for emulator users means juggling with Sonic Dive and for console players hours upon hours of MP-draining), skip ahead to chapter 2.40. If not (recommended), just hike all the way back, which is my least favorite part of this game by far.

Next and final stop for raiding, Kefka's Tower!

Put Mog with the RelicMoogle Charm in party #1, and fill up the other two positions. You won't be using them, so don't worry about which characters to take.

Walk around with Mog. You'll first come across a chest containing a HelmetCoronet, which boosts the wearer's Magic Power by 4 and raises the success rate of the Control ability (Relm's upgraded Sketch). Walking onward will put us into a familiar area: a part of the Imperial Palace. Open the chest for the GamblerFixed Dice (which makes Setzer infinitely more appealing than he has been thus far).

The GamblerFixed Dice are GamblerDice, but better. GamblerDice always sucked, but the GamblerFixed Dice are a better damage dealer than Setzer's other weapons on average. The main differences include the fact that The GamblerFixed Dice have three dice to multiply with, and upon the situation of three equal rolls (1-1-1, 2-2-2, etc.) the outcome is once again multiplied by the number rolled. Finally, the damage output of the GamblerFixed Dice isn't cut down by the RelicOffering, so Setzer can deal four of these attacks from the Back Row with the relic equipped.

Now, walking on along this passage will get you to a dead end, so either use a Warp Stone, the OWarp spell, or switch to one of your characters and touch the Crane to get out. Now, put Mog in party #2 and continue raiding.

The first chest you find is rather messily stacked on the background in the second room. It contains a ArmorMinerva. Continue to find a split in the road. Go up to grab the ShurikenTack Star in the chest, and then go down. You'll find yourself in the jail of the Imperial Palace, where Kefka was locked up while you were on the mission to find the Esper for that phony peace conference. A monster sits in Kefka's jail; ignore it for now and get out. You'll fall down. Go up the stairs to find two pipes. The right one takes you back to the ShurikenTack Star room; the left one allows you to continue forward (go left). You'll find a Force Shield in the chest you see upon tasting fresh air again. Go down; don't bother with the two doors for now, and get to the far bottom-left to find a ArmorForce Armor in a chest. Get back to the two doors. The left one takes you to a button on the floor and a chest containing a RelicRibbon. Get out and take the right door. You can find the Gold Drgn waiting for you here, but no more chest contents. If you have the OBserk and OVanish spells, you can take him on with Mog alone; an average party at this point should be able to as well. If you want to take the dragon on now, take a look at chapter 2.43. Warp out.

Now, get Mog in party #3. Walk downwards. Going to the right will clearly take you past three chests: a HelmetRed Cap (awesome), a RelicGauntlet, and a ArmorNutkin Suit. Continuing down the logical path will eventually take you to a part of the derelict MagiTek Factory. Pick the chest for a RelicHero Ring and try to find the ShieldAegis Shield hidden to the south. To get there, do the following:
  1. Go down into the darkness to the left of the spinning whatever-it-is.
  2. Go all the way down
  3. Go all the way to the right
  4. Go all the way down
  5. Go 1 step up
  6. Go all the way to the left
  7. Go all the way down
  8. Take a few steps to the right and grab the ShieldAegis Shield
  9. Go back into the darkness and go all the way to the right
  10. Go up and to the right until you don't go any further
  11. Go all the way to the left, and all the way up to re-appear.

That's it! You've raided Kefka's Tower as far as you could. There's plenty more, but you'll need three thoroughly prepared parties to advance any further. Rest assured, there will be a time for that later.

2.20: Encountering Phunbaba (1)

Enemies: Phunbaba

Lore: OBlowfish

Party: Optional: Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Umaro

Whom to bring? Celes is great to bring; Runic is nice if you don't have enough RelicWall Rings to satisfy the entire party, and Celes's ArmorMinerva nullifies Phunbaba's Lightning-elemental attacks. Sabin is a great addition to your team as he'll be able to deliver a lot of damage without disturbing Phunbaba from its sleep via Bum Rush. Gau's not very useful, as his random physicals will wake the boss from its Sleep status, and the same goes for Umaro.

Assuming you haven't fought Phunbaba already, you still have some things to do which you can read about in chapter 2.4. Otherwise, assuming that you fought Phunbaba earlier and talked to Terra in Mobliz as well, this is a good time to check in on the kids in Mobliz again. That pigeon can wait for just a little bit longer (don't worry, we'll get to that next). Terra wasn't doing so hot the last time we saw her. How can you blame her: personal problems, loads of responsibility, and the ancient demon Phunbaba stampeding around would get any average nineteen-year old girl down, I'm sure.

As soon as you enter Mobliz... nothing happens. The dogs have gotten used to you, so they don't bark. Descending in the orphan's shelter will reveal that the three older kids in town are gone; it seems that amidst all of the disaster, safe sex wasn't a priority for Duane and Katarin. Katarin's pregnant, Duane had thought of a better future than sitting in a dump of a town with his knocked-up 17-year old girlfriend (like so many fine young men of our generation), and Terra... Where the hell is Terra? Best search around town.

The Relic Shop's derelict, although there's a nice bed for you to sleep in if you feel like it. The only other standing house contains a dog that quickly sneaks off behind a bookcase and Duane, who laments. Follow the dog and you discover the haven within the haven; Terra and Katarin have retreated here to discuss the existence of the baby. Duane comes in to apologize for his 'awful husbandry'.

At any rate, Phunbaba attacks again. Duane sticks to Katarin, Terra refuses to fight once more, and the kid asks you to rid the world of Phunbaba once and for all. With ten young eyes pointed at you, do you really have a choice? Before you go out, make sure you're properly equipped and healed up. RelicWall Rings will really help here, especially if you lack the Runic ability on your team. Obviously, people with a ShieldThunder Shield and/or the ArmorMinerva bustier don't need a RelicWall Ring, as they absorb (ShieldThunder Shield) or nullify (ArmorMinerva) OBolt 2 and OBolt 3 anyway. If you brought Umaro and already found a RelicBlizzard Orb, equip it on him; not that his Storm attack is specifically strong in this battle, but the RelicBlizzard Orb will at least nullify Lightning-elemental attacks.

Phunbaba (2)
Phunbaba (2)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
31
60000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
53
10
0
102
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
This isn't all that difficult, so I'll make it kinda quick. You rush out of the house to find Phunbaba (2) approaching. You do battle with him. The first round, he'll throw a Battle or !Solar Plex attack. The next round consists of OBolt 2 or OBolt 3, and the third round is OBolt 2, OBlowfish, or Battle. It loops from this point. As soon as it reaches 15360 Hit Points, it'll counter the next attack you throw at him with a double BabaBreath attack. BabaBreath is a Phunbaba (2)-only attack that's exactly the same as Sneeze; it only looks different. Phunbaba (2) targets two random characters and blows them away. They will also be removed from your party and can be found at the Falcon later. Here, the battle ends.

If you somehow managed to completely circumvent this event by doing more than 15360 damage in one turn, he'll use BabaBreath only once and die. This is odd, as the thing going on here plot-wise is that you can't really handle Phunbaba (2). Sure, you pound on him for a while, then he disables two of your characters just like that.

On the offensive, Phunbaba (2) is temporarily resistant to the Sleep status, so that doesn't work. Focus on your strongest attacks; Sabin's Bum Rush, Mog and Edgar's Jump attacks, Setzer's GP Rain attack (his GamblerFixed Dice are stronger if you have them), Cyan's Quadraslam technique, what have you. If you brought Gau to the scene, !Catscratch at decent level (30 and above) is the best bet versus Phunbaba (2) for Gau. If this isn't an option for Gau, Tyranosaur's Meteo is also decent, followed in usefulness by Harpiai's OAero and Trilium's OBio. Vaporite absorbs OBolt 2 and OBolt 3, which is a great defensive choice if you didn't bring RelicWall Rings or a Runic user. Keep in the back of your head that Vaporite is undead, though. Rhinox isn't, but that really kills Gau's offense in the matter. Woolly absorbs the Lightning-elemental spells and has superior offense in OIce 3, but chances are slim you chose to pick up Gogo before Terra. Your Mages and lesser-trained characters have the OBio spell to use, and if any character has learned OQuake then it is pure magic here (don't forget to cast OFloat, obviously). Note that since this battle fades out rather than actually ends, Strago won't be able to learn any Lores (aka OBlowfish) from this battle.

Anyway, despite your perfect set-up and the little amount of damage Phunbaba (2) will be able to do against your party, you still get your face handed to you on an IKEA faux-silver platter according to the storyline. No fair. So, Terra comes to save you! Sensing that her friends are in danger or something cheesy like that, she rushes to the rescue, unleashing the Esper within herself on her way. Round two: Fight!

There you stand, with one or two less characters than what you picked beforehand but with a permanently Morphed Terra as a replacement. Basically, just continue to attack Phunbaba (2) in the same fashion. If Terra knows the OBio spell, have her use it. Since Terra doesn't have a RelicWall Ring and likely lacks the ArmorMinerva as well, it might be a good idea to cast OShell or ORflect on her in this battle, even though she already takes half as much damage from the attacks due to her Morphed state. The Sleep status ailment works now, so have one of your characters cast it if possible and focus on using magical attacks only. Before long, Phunbaba (2) will fall. Interesting tidbit: This is actually the only battle in the entire game in which you can see the fallen Esper Terra sprite. In normal situations, Terra will automatically revert to human form when she is killed, but not so in this battle. Expand Full Strategy
  

After the battle, the kids of Mobliz will rush out of the houses to celebrate the victory. Instead of their Mama, however, they find a naked purple furry thing. Like any good stranger-fearing bunch, they hide behind barrels for safety. One of the toddlers recognizes Terra and then all the kids will surround her. Terra, meanwhile, has concluded that pacifism isn't the way to enlightenment and decides to fight for her loved ones, the children of Mobliz. With the scene over, the party can leave Mobliz behind; we can only hope that all will go well for them, and that the upcoming baby will never serve as a representation of this world reborn when the credits roll. I wouldn't get my hopes up for that one.

An important note to make before we really get back on the Falcon, by the way, is the fact that as of now Terra will receive twice as much Morph time for every Magic Point she gains. That's awesomely sweet. Terra is entirely like Celes on her set-up and the way you should treat her; teach her EsperBahamut's, EsperTerrato's, or EsperTritoch's spells, and equip the ArmorMinerva on her no matter what you have in mind.

2.21: Following the Pigeon

Party: Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Umaro

Finally, it's time to get on with the story and get busy with the pigeon you were prompted to deal with all these eons ago. Once again, the magic question is: whom to bring? The ArmorMinerva bustier is great against the boss you'll fight, so Celes and Terra are nice choices if you have enough ArmorMinervas. Sabin is still a magical powerhouse, but Dragoon Edgar, Dragoon Mog, and GamblerFixed Dice Setzer are pretty powerful too. If Gau has something like Magic Urn or Woolly, I'd bring him along. Never mind Umaro. It boils down to which characters you have proper equipment for, really.

First stop, if you still remember, is Maranda, where the carrier pigeon first took us. Some pigeons surround Lola's house, and as we enter we find the entire room covered in beautiful silk flowers. Lola claims that her boyfriend, the wounded lad in Mobliz, has sent them all, but we just visited that place; that poor guy was killed when Kefka attacked the town with the Light of Judgement. Who has been deceiving this girl, keeping her hopes up? Examining the letters reveals that the handwriting resembles that of Cyan, who, like no other, knows the pain of loss.

Lola asks you if you can attach her reply to a carrier pigeon. Accept, and you'll receive the Rare item "Lola's letter". You can examine it to read the first two lines (Thanks for all the flowers, I'm worried about you...) Go outside and find the pigeon waiting for you near Lola's house; attach the letter (obviously, you'd just lose it) and you'll see it fly across the Overworld Map to Zozo. It seems our characters have incredible eyesight if they can track a single bird that far.

Jump on the Falcon and fly over to Zozo. Zozo still houses the same opponents as it did in the WoB, and thus I'm not going to comment on them again, as they're no real threat to you anymore. In Zozo, you find the pigeon resting for a bit near the entrance; pushing it a little makes it fly on, over, and behind the Small Tower. Up there, you may remember one of the doors being rusted shut; you could climb up there and experience this fact if you want to, but we're better off looking on the ground for help. Besides, didn't that one guy in Maranda say how the honest merchant here might be able to help us out one day?

The honest merchant is willing to help us for a price; for 1000 Gil, we can buy some Rust-Rid. He won't sell you the Rust-Rid if you haven't sent the pigeon all the way, so make sure you did that. The Rust-Rid is a Rare Item you gain if you pay the man. Climb up the stairs, and find the door that was rusted shut. You use the Rust-Rid, and presto: a new dungeon.

2.22: Mount Zozo

Caves
6/16
1
1
5/16
1
5/16
1
Bridge Slope
6/16
2
1
5/16
6
5/16
1
Final Slope
6/16
6
5/16
3
5/16
1
1
1

Enemies: Ursus, Luridan, Scrapper, Punisher, Borras, Storm Drgn

Lore: OAero, OPearl Wind

Party: Optional: Terra, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Umaro

Borras are upgraded HadesGigas. They don't use Magnitude8 and don't absorb Earth-elemental attacks either; they're just really powerful physically and have a lot of HP. They have a very nasty special in !Uppercut, which is five times as powerful as Borras' Battle and has two chances of attacking you every turn. Finally, they have a rare RelicMuscle Belt steal; the RelicMuscle Belt is a Relic that raises your max. HP by 50%, which really helps you defensively. They have Instant-Death protection but no Petrify protection.

Punishers are uninteresting. They're stronger versions of the Harvesters you met down in Zozo, but not nearly as complex. They counter Steal with Steal. You can steal a common SpecialRising Sun or rare SpecialBone Club from them, the sources of which are limited to these enemies and certain Colosseum appearances. They will attack normally for two turns and use their third turn to unleash a frenzy of !Clobber (Battle x 2) in addition to up to two additional Battle attacks. They're Floating (like all thief opponents) and weak against Poison (like all Humans).

Scrappers are strong Brawler-type enemies, but unlike Brawler and Iron Fist lack the ability to utilize the OStone attack. They have inherent Haste and attack with either Battle or !Knife (Battle x 1.5). They also counter any damaging attack with either Battle or !Knife. They have a rare RelicThief Glove steal. Great. In the Sketch, Control, and Rage department, Scrapper has access to Elf Fire, but he won't use it under normal conditions.

Luridan is crazy! Just crazy, I tell you! It knows two silly terrain attacks only normally accessible through Mog's Dances. On the third turn, he may use Harvester (removes Dark, Poison, Petrify, Mute, Muddle, Seizure, Sleep, Slow and Stop), and on the fourth turn it may use Kitty (multi-target, sets Haste). Exactly why a violent delta-shaped bug like Luridan has power over nightingales and young felines is left to anybody's imagination. On every non-Harvester/Kitty turn, Luridan will use either Battle or !ERROR[/eattack] (Battle x 2). Since Luridans tend to travel in large packs of either three or six, the continuous pounding can get rather painful on the whole. They can be quickly dispatched by a decent multi-target OFire 2 spell, and Gau's multi-target magical violence by means of Harpiai's OAero also works wonders (OQuake misses...why are these things Floating?).

Ursus are bears. They don't damage you; they just Steal GP from you. This was never a problem with other monsters that did this (Harvester, Dadaluma), as they never ran, allowing you to just get the money back in the end of the encounter. Ursus, however, will flee the second turn when given the chance. He'll try to Steal from you in the first turn and counter any damaging attack you throw at him with a shot at another Steal attack, so chances are that you'll really want to take this bear down ASAP. OSleep, OStop, and OBserk all work just fine towards this end, and they're weak to the Fire element.

There's a little trick that can be executed with Ursus in light of this information. You won't be able to use it now, so I will mention it again once that time arrives. Here it is, though: return to Mount Zozo with Relm in the party with the HelmetCat Hood equipped, and have either Relm herself or Gogo Control an Ursus. Now, just go ahead and damage it a little with something minor like a OBolt spell, healing him afterwards. Some of the time, he'll counter with Steal. Now, since Ursus will Steal an incredible amount of money over time, and the HelmetCat Hood doubles all GP obtained, you'll get your own money back twice. I'll remind you that the key phrase here is with the HelmetCat Hood equipped. Without it, you're just being stupid.

All of the attacks used by monsters in the Mt. Zozo area are physical, so all you have to do is summon EsperPhantom once or cast OVanish enough times to cover the entire party and you'll be more or less home free until you reach the Storm Drgn here. For some trivia, all monsters in the area have a high Evade rating. You don't notice due to the Evade bug, but you were really supposed to lay off the blockable physical attacks here.

As you enter, you'll find a giant cave with wooden bridges going everywhere and nowhere. If you go up, you'll reach a dead end because both bridges here have collapsed. Go all the way to the left to find a chest containing an ShieldIce Shield. If you go down a little, you'll find a wooden bridge going down and a chest containing a HelmetRed Cap, a brilliant piece of headgear that raises HP by 25%. I love it and suggest using it on every character that's not wearing a HelmetMystery Veil at this moment. Follow the bridge downwards and it'll take you to a long set of stairs going down, to the left, past a chest containing a ShieldThunder Shield, and eventually up again.

The ShieldThunder Shield is the best elemental shield there is. Unlike its Flame and Ice brethren, it has no elemental weakness, and next to absorbing Lightning-elemental attacks and nullifying Wind, it also halves damage done by Fire- and Ice-elemental attacks. I'd advise it over, say, the ShieldGenji Shield if your set-up is left wanting some elemental resistance.

Going up will get you past a chest with an ShieldAegis Shield. Boy, the treasure in this dungeon really rocks, I tell you. The Aegis Shld is a shield primarily for magical attacks; its Magic Defense is better than the ShieldGenji Shield and its Magic Block% is also higher (40% is better than 20%, no?). It's not as good defense against magical attacks as the ShieldForce Shield, and not as good against physicals as the ShieldGenji Shield, but it's a great shield in both areas combined. Its lack of elemental properties makes it primarily a great choice for people who get their elemental resistances from other sources (in other words, that's mostly ArmorMinerva wearers, people with the HelmetCat Hood, or ArmorForce Armor).

Outside, in the opening to the far left, you'll find a chest with a RelicGold Hairpin. The other exit takes you outside on the slopes of Mount Zozo, over a bridge. In the next cave, you will find a Save Point and a button tile. If you stand on the button tile, a chest you can't reach opens to release the Storm Drgn, who flies freely around. Equip ArmorMinervas and ShieldThunder Shields wherever possible now, and EsperGolem/EsperFenrir and EsperZoneseek are great to have around to summon.

2.23: The Nastiest Dragon and Cyan

Enemies: Storm Drgn

Party: Optional: Terra, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Umaro

Storm Drgn
Storm Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
74
42000
1250
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
9
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: ArmorForce Armor
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
wind
lightning
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
Storm Drgn is the toughest dragon out of the bunch, and the specific scourge of the average "Low-Level Game" players (those who intentionally keep their levels low for a challenge) because one of Storm Drgn's attacks is the non-elemental, unblockable Rage attack, which you can't prevent Storm Drgn from using. Luckily, you probably have at least one ArmorMinerva wearer in your party at this point, and, since you just found a ShieldThunder Shield that can be equipped on any given party member (except for Umaro, the useless piece of muscle that he is), you should have at least two party members capable of nullifying the Wind element.

Storm Drgn can use three attacks normally: Battle, Wind Slash, and Rage. Rage and Wind Slash are about alike in power and they're both unblockable. Rage, however, is non-elemental, whereas Wind Slash is Wind-elemental. As soon as Storm Drgn dives beneath 15360 Hit Points, he'll drop Wind Slash and Rage in favor of more physicals (he'll start using !Wing Saber here as well) - OAero and Cyclonic. OAero is about 1.2 times as powerful as Wind Slash, but 2.4 times as powerful when used on a single target (which will only happen if all the other characters are Wounded or in the air due to a Jump attack). Cyclonic, as you know from Wyvern and Wirey Dragon, is a multi-target percentage-based attack that will remove 93.75% of the targets current HP. RelicMemento Rings and RelicSafety Bits block the effects of Cyclonic, as do Rages with the Instant-Death Protection property.

At the start, summon EsperGolem or EsperFenrir to protect against the physical attacks Storm Drgn uses. EsperZoneseek's Wall really helps against Wind Slash and Rage, but you should invest in individual OShell castings if you don't have EsperZoneseek ready. Next, you'll want to use ORasp a few times to take care of Storm Drgn's MP; when it's gone (you can check with OScan, or keep track with a calculator), Storm Drgn won't be able to cast OAero or Cyclonic in its 'dangerous' (second) phase. If one of your party members has learned the OHaste 2 spell from EsperPalidor, make use of it, by all means.

That said and done, just start beating him! Terra's Morph can help boost the damage of her spells (and halve the damage done to her by the magical spells, even though only Rage should ever damage Terra if you've played your cards right). Since Storm Drgn is weak against the Lightning-element, OBolt 2, Tri-Dazer, and OBolt 3 all hurt very nicely. Storm Drgn is rather strong and not to be taken lightly, especially since he won't succumb to your status ailment spells, but with the proper set-up, you shouldn't have a lot of problems. Expand Full Strategy
  

When the fight ends, you'll have defeated another dragon and obtain a ArmorForce Armor, which is great against magical attacks and halves the damage done by Fire-, Bolt-, Ice-, Wind-, and Earth-elemental attacks. After the battle, you can simply pursue the path without any kind of difficulty. Eventually, you'll reach a room filled with the same silk flowers you found in Lola's house, and a letter on a desk that will give confirmation to the hunch you no doubt already had. Also, there's a locked chest! When we leave through the opening to the right, we see Cyan send a letter and recite a poem; when he notices you, he declares his alliance to your cause once again and freaks out about you seeing his silk flowers and reading his letters. It seems the year of solitude has hardly changed him. If you brought three characters, Cyan is now in your party; if not, he'll be waiting on the Falcon for you.

If you go outside, you'll see something shimmering; it turns out to be the key to Cyan's secret chest. You can go back in and open the chest. You'll find two books here: a Machinery Manual (Japanese translation: Machines for Dummies, Machines Explained Through Comics, Overcome Your Fears of Machines Today and the Big Book of Understanding Machines) which supposedly cured Cyan's fear of machines and a "Book of Secrets", of which he's very possessive. If you have Cyan in your party at this moment, he'll make a small scene in which he takes this item from your party leader. The Japanese game just called this "Book of Secrets" a naughty magazine. So it's a fact, poetry-writing, heart-broken samurai get lonely too.

If you take Cyan to Lola, he'll exchange the "Everything's going swell here in Mobliz"-letter with the letter you read on Mount Zozo. Lola will talk a little about her feelings and exclaim how she wants to meet whatever man wrote all the letters; if you brought Cyan and at least one other party member, he or she will be about to break the secret when Cyan steps in and prevents the truth from surfacing by telling Lola simply to enjoy life. Case closed.

Cyan, if you've been following the program a bit, probably learned two new skills in your absence. Empowerer (which you may have already seen in the WoB at level 24) is an attack that drains both HP and MP in a single strike using some dragon-related power. It's strong enough to restore Cyan back to full in both categories if you aren't leveled too high, so unless the damage drained is hampered by the target, it's a great restorative move. Stunner is basically Cyan's version of Sabin's Air Blade, much like Dispatch is Cyan's version of Sabin's Pummel. Stunner is slightly stronger, non-elemental, and has a 55% chance of setting Stop if the struck opponent is still alive and vulnerable to the ailment: It has a 140/256 chance and ignores any kind of Magic Block or Evade stat.

With Quadra Slam still a viable option as well, Cyan's SwdTech skills are truly something to fear; it's the bloody charge time that holds you back. Waiting for SwdTech #6 takes a really long time; even if you skip to all the other characters and input the commands for their long-animation attacks, Cyan won't always be done charging when the other characters are done, and by this point the opponents have often already been defeated.

2.24: The Veldt

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Umaro

The Veldt has been altered a bit. Pray that nobody alters it further. You no longer have access to the town of Mobliz when walking on the Veldt, Crescent Mountain has disappeared and a new cave, mysteriously called the Cave of the Veldt, has appeared. It's been quite a while since you picked up some new Rages, so I suppose it's time to go check up on our friend Gau again. You won't have to rescue him or do anything special to recruit him; just go fight on the Veldt with any party that has a free spot and he'll have the same ol' 57.5% chance of appearing, like always. You've met a great load of monsters, so I'll give a quick rundown on the good ones you can look for:
Behemoth
OMeteor
Ninja
Absorbs Poison, inherent Float, SkeanWater Skean
Wirey Dragon
Inherent Safe and Float, Cyclonic
EarthGuard
OBig Guard
Mesosaur
OStep Mine
Gilomantis
Instant death protection, Shrapnel (Shrapnel is a non-elemental magical attack about as powerful as a level 3 spell. Under Rage, it randomly changes between a single-target and multi-target spell, much like OFire 2, Giga Volt, and attacks like that.)
Osteosaur
Absorbs Poison, Undead, OX-Zone
Orog
Absorbs Poison, Undead, OPearl (a Pearl-elemental spell that you will later learn from an Esper. It's slightly weaker than a level 3 spell.)
PowerDemon
Absorbs Poison, Undead, Flare
Red Wolf
Instant death protection, !Redline (Battle x 1.5)
Mag Roader B.
Inherent Haste, OL. 4 Flare
Ceritops
Absorbs Lightning, instant death protection, inherent Safe, Giga Volt
Luridan
Inherent Float, Land Slide (Land Slide is a single-target non-elemental barrier-piercing attack that's about 1.25 times as powerful as a level 3 spell against a single target. Superior to OFlare in all ways, it was already available to your party as Mog's second-strongest Dance attack.)
Scrapper
Absorbs Poison, inherent Haste, Elf Fire
Black Drgn
Absorbs Poison, Undead, Storm (Storm is exactly what you get when you invent an Ice-elemental Skean and make it not a Skean. Notable as one of Umaro's attacks, it's his strongest Ice-elemental attack until Gau gets his greedy little hands on Woolly.)
Punisher
Inherent Haste and Float, OBolt 3


On how to use Gau in the WoR: It's a common notion that while Gau rocks people's socks in the WoB with his incredible offensive abilities, he's just a tank in the WoR while the offense is lacking. This is only partly true, however. For quite some time yet in the WoR, Gau's special attacks are still powerful enough to make most forms of multi-target damage pale in comparison. The most potent forms of violence available to Gau include ChickenLip/Cluck and Tyranosaur. You should have Chickenlip from the WoB; Cluck is just a slight alternative (absorbs Poison, but lacks instant death protection). OQuake never misses unless the targets are floating, but it also hits your side. With this in mind, you'll want to make sure to always have Floating characters when using this Rage. So long as the opponents get hit and you don't, this is pretty much the best offensive choice in Gau's arsenal. Meteo is about as strong as OQuake, hits all enemies and all enemies only and is non-elemental. What's the problem then? Not only is obtaining Meteo slightly more of a feat than OQuake (you'll have to go into the woods and fight yourself a Tyranosaur), it also misses 20% of the time. That's bad. On Floating targets, or when OQuake doesn't work for any other reason, I still suggest Meteo over pretty much everything else simply because of its pure power.

If you can use neither of the above options, there are a slew of alternatives waiting for you that are satisfactory, though not quite as good as the ones offered by ChickenLip-Cluck and Tyranosaur. Harpiai's OAero is a Wind-elemental level 3 spell that damages all targets. Gilomantis shares its power and is non-elemental, but may appear as either single-target or multi-target, which adds a level of randomness. As far as single-target damage is concerned, Prussian's Land Slide is a great option, as is Punisher's OBolt 3. The Punisher Rage will also induce Gau with auto-Haste and auto-Float, which doesn't hurt its case in the slightest. Always boost by RelicEarrings! If you feel like your newfound Gau has been pumped up enough, find the newly formed Cave of the Veldt.

2.25: The Cave on the Veldt

Formations
10/16
1
5/16
2
1/16
1

Enemies: Rhyos, Toe Cutter, Allo Ver, SrBehemoth 1, SrBehemoth 2

Lore: OCondemned

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

Whom to bring? Gau's a great choice here, as you can practice his new Rages here (which are great if you have some of the proper ones). Edgar is an excellent choice if you have gotten his ToolsAir Anchor already and also great if you don't, as is Relm (although you probably don't have her yet). In Edgar's absence, Mog is a nice addition as well; it's about the LancePearl Lance here. Celes's Runic ability will come in handy in the boss battle here too. For the random encounters, the characters who have learned OFire 3 are excellent.

Toe Cutter is a big nasty Gilomantis upgrade. Toe Cutters absorb Ice-elemental attacks and have Instant Death protection. To top it off, they have just enough HP to survive most multi-target spells, so it's hard to clean them up easily. On the offensive, they are nothing to worry about; they just use Battle over and over again, countering every attack with a 33% shot at !Doomsickle (drains HP). Take them out with Fire- or Wind-elemental attacks. Sabin's Air Blade works really well on them, Cyan's KnifeTempest Knife hurts them badly (although you'll want a RelicGenji Glove/RelicHero Ring combination to ensure death), and OL. 4 Flare also hits the spot (the little Mag Roader B.'s Rage allows Gau to cast it; it's all the way to the bottom of the Rage list). Air Blade and OL. 4 Flare should be boosted by RelicHero Rings and/or RelicEarrings.

Rhyos are very elusive, but pretty dangerous when you do encounter them. They have over 7000 Hit Points, no weaknesses and have Instant Death protection, so they'll be around for a while when you meet them. For three turns they'll just attack physically, but on the fourth turn Rhyos will get all fired up. He'll start with !Rage (Battle * 2), and use three of the following attacks: Blizzard, Fire Ball, Giga Volt, Magnitude8, or OAqua Rake. This triple combination will do the trick. You can stop this madness by casting a combination of OSleep, OSlow and/or OStop on the monster, stopping his actions entirely (if you lay off of the physical attacks).

Gau's Rages in the cave: Harpiai works wonders on the Toe Cutters, but the Mag Roader B. with OL. 4 Flare (bottom) is grand on all monsters here. OQuake is less desirable because it removes Clear even when Floating, and Meteo may miss.

As soon as you enter, you'll see a familiar, yet non-human face: Interceptor! He'll retreat into the cave, so you'll want to follow him. There is nothing to the right anyways.

In the next room, you'll meet a group of four hunters who live in the cave. They'll talk of Gau and tell you that he won't approach if you're with four party members. One of the members will talk about a 'frightful dragon' that no human is able to defeat. Contrary to popular belief, he's not talking about one of the elemental dragons here, but about a rare random encounter: The Brachosaur, the most dangerous random encounter in the game. I'll talk about that bastard when we get there. In this same room is a chest that contains the RelicRage Ring, a Relic that allows Umaro to absorb Ice-elemental attacks (which he already does anyway due to the irremovable ArmorSnow Muffler on him), nullify Fire-elemental attacks, and add the Character Toss attack to his options. Basically, Toss is an improved Umaro Tackle, a non-elemental barrier-piercing physical attack that requires another party member to work. Me, I like to believe he shouts in Sasquatch gibberish: "MAN TORPEDO" before every hurl. That would amuse me. Leave through the door. The RelicRage Ring provides all the elemental resistances Umaro is ever going to get, and, with the added offense, you'll really want the RelicRage Ring on Umaro at all times.

You'll end up in a place where you can go to the bottom and to the left. To the left (you'll have to navigate blindly for a few steps to reach it) is a chest containing a monster-in-a-box, the deity of Death called Allo Ver. Allo Ver was never supposed to be a one-time battle, but due to a formation mix-up, this is the only time you'll fight him. He was supposed to appear on the Veldt, providing you with Magic Points and ClawTiger Fangs before the final dungeon, but that doesn't work out. Here's his deal. Every turn, Allo Ver will use ODoom, OCondemned, or do nothing. He also may counter every damaging attack you make with a ODoom spell (33%). If you allow it to live for more than a minute, it'll cast eight consecutive Atomic Ray spells which, coming from his rather spectacular Magic Power (50!), equates to death for everybody who isn't specifically protected from Fire-elemental attacks.

Don't bother with dealing damage: Allo Ver's weakness is instant death attacks. As soon as you enter battle, have somebody cast OBreak or OX-Zone. You may want to pause to revive a character if she/he fell to Allo Ver's first turn ODoom spell, but OBreak is definitely the way to go. I don't recommend Edgar's ToolsAir Anchor because Allo Ver may counter the Tool with a ODoom spell, which you don't want. Regardless, Allo Ver is really more of a regular enemy than he is a boss, so you shouldn't have any trouble with him. The Lich Rage obtainable here makes any Rager invulnerable in this battle, as ODoom and OCondemned will heal the Rager and Atomic Ray will be absorbed.

After you've defeated Allo Ver, you can equip the non-elemental ClawTiger Fangs on Sabin if you like (if only for the extra increase in Magic Power), and trace your steps a back little to the last junction, taking the southern path this time. The path will take you a long way, but eventually you'll come across a room with a chest and a switch. The chest contains the DirkStriker. The DirkStriker is a rather feature-less weapon with the DirkAssassin's X-type Instant Death ability.

It's a weapon you heard about earlier; a 'mean guy' in the Colosseum was looking for it. That's of little concern to you at this time; we still haven't found Interceptor yet. If you touch the switch, a new path will open up for you to take. Once you take the path: shock and awe! It's Shadow, and he's not looking healthy. If you didn't wait for Shadow at the Floating Continent, he's not here, but it will be Relm who's lying face down on the rocks in the cave. In both cases, Interceptor will be standing guard, waiting for you to come over and help both of them. Ascend the stairs first, and you enter a room with a Save Point. Do your Save Point stuff and enter the room. While you're examining the wounded person, you will be attacked from behind by a behemoth-like monster. Bollocks.

SrBehemoth 1
SrBehemoth 1
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
43
19000
1600
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
11
9
0
120
130
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: ArmorBehemothSuit
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonpetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
firepoison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Note that the game data says that this guy gives you a ArmorBehemothSuit 100% of the time, which is how it is supposed to be. However, they overlooked something with the data concerning the switch between the two SrBehemoth 1s, so the items from the first SrBehemoth 1 get grabbed from some random data location. In the US SNES versions, this means you either get a RelicJewel Ring or a SwordThunder Blade.

The blue SrBehemoth 1, despite his appearance, is almost a pure spell caster. He'll normally attack with OIce 2, OIce 3, and OPearl spells which all hit with considerable force. If he hits the 10240 Hit Point mark, he'll get more OIce 3 spells than before and throw Meteo in the mix, which hurts a bundle (around 1000 on every character, pretty much the same force Intangir used to throw Meteo attacks on you).

If a character of yours is under the influence of Reflect, he'll target the character and use !Evil Claw to remove the Reflect status (the message "Effect of "ORflect" vanished" will appear) and then return to his normal AI script. If multiple characters are under the influence of Reflect, he'll go down from character #1 to character #4, alternating between !Evil Claw turns and normal AI script turns. Note that characters with RelicWall Rings still yield the "Effect of "ORflect" vanished" notion yet keep the status. If SrBehemoth 1 is turned into an Imp, it'll respond by changing its AI Script. The boss will now receive auto-criticals from being turned into an Imp and will proceed to use two Battle attacks every turn for three turns, after which it'll cast the OImp spell to try and remove the Imp status. It won't try to do this if it has the Reflect status at the moment, though.

SrBehemoth 1, if hit by the OPearl spell, will counter with Meteo. Sadly, due to a bug, this overrides the other normal counter (that of having a 33% chance at countering every other damaging attack with battle), so the next time you attack, the party will also be countered with a Meteo attack. In other words, the OPearl spell eventually sends two extra Meteo attacks down your throat, so don't do it. The Orog and White Drgn Rages cast OPearl; ignore them.

What to do? The best way to deal with the blue SrBehemoth 1 is a combination of OImp and OStop. With this done, give it everything you have. Cast OHaste 2 to speed up the process. Summoning EsperFenrir or EsperGolem helps protect against stray physicals from the opposing side. OFire 2 and OFire 3 really hurt him. Gau's Scrapper Rage gives Gau inherent Haste and makes him use Elf Fire; it's great for this battle. If you don't have access to either the Imp or Stop status ailments, Celes's Runic can really help if you brought her. Bum Rush, GamblerFixed Dice, RelicDragon Horn Jumps - you know what works. Expand Full Strategy
  

When you finally defeat SrBehemoth 1, he'll ripple away and the battle will be over. But no! SrBehemoth 1's hatred for all things good has allowed him to survive death itself and return as an undead being to try to wreak havoc once more. Oh no! Everybody runs to the other side of the screen, but don't fear; your Row is still intact (even though it doesn't look like it and it'd be entirely logical if it hadn't been intact), so you won't have to change.

SrBehemoth 2
SrBehemoth 2
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Undead
49
19000
9999
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
27
10
0
105
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: ArmorBehemothSuit
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
poison
fireholy
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring, RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet, RelicCursed Ring
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
This SrBehemoth 2 is a little simpler. He'll just use Battle, !Hypno Gas, the ODoom spell, or Meteo. He won't use ODoom until the second turn, and he won't use Meteo until the third (after which he resets back). If he successfully uses !Hypno Gas on a person, he'll immediately target that person with four consecutive Battle attacks (of which the first one is sure to land). That's about it.

The undead SrBehemoth 2's one weakness is the instant death attack. It can be killed by OX-Zone, Snare, and the ToolsAir Anchor Tool, and it is hurt by Slash, ODemi, etc. Since SrBehemoth 2's first turn isn't dangerous and he has no threatening counters, the ToolsAir Anchor really is a great option to use. The Dusk Requiem from Mog houses both Cave In and Snare which both truly cripple the massive menace. Since SrBehemoth 2 is Undead and lacks Instant Death protection anyway, the OLife spell is a glorious option; the OLife spell also works on an Undead with Instant Death protection, mind you, but here it feels less like taking advantage of the system. Expand Full Strategy
  

When the battle is over, SrBehemoth 2 will ripple away again. He's now a rather indestructible monster that roams the Veldt, attacking you every now and again. He leaves a ArmorBehemothSuit behind every time you meet him though, so it's really not all bad.

After the battle, you'll crouch down and your party's leader will say: "We can't do anything for her here. Let's take her back to Thamasa using the airship." apparently Woolsey let Shadow die on the Floating Continent and found Relm here, prompting him to use 'her' in the translation. Forum newbies have grabbed the opportunity at many occasions to point out that Shadow is actually female, which simply isn't true; this was never his line. In the later games, this was 'fixed'; the line is now turned towards a male subject, making Relm a boy. Oh Square remake team, is there anything you can't mess up?

2.26: Back to Thamasa

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

Back in Thamasa, we will be helping the poor wounded character through a difficult dream. The dream varies based on who you found in the cave, of course; the character will now just lie in bed, recovering from the wounds, which is great. You're back in Thamasa now, but there really isn't anything new to do here since the last time you visited the place, so just leave. As soon as you leave Thamasa, the character you rescued will depart as well. Shadow will have departed for the Colosseum, as indicated by the guy who previously talked about Doom Gaze: "If you're looking for the man dressed all in black, he left for the colosseum.".

If you saved Relm things will be ever so slightly more complicated. She can now be in Jidoor: "One day, a man working for an aristocrat in Jidoor came and took that young woman back with him!". However, it's not a fixed occurance. In order to make Relm appear in Jidoor, you need to step on one of three specific tiles and exit Thamasa, re-enter, step on one of those tiles again, and exit again (which is a given). This process sounds far more unnatural than it comes to most players; one of these tiles lie on the stone path leading out of Thamasa to the southern exit, so as long as you follow that one, you'll be fine.

It's time to go pick them up, I'd say. At the colosseum, perhaps, to start?

2.27: Jidoor; Owzer's Mansion

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

To enter this dungeon, you must have done two things. You must've either saved Shadow at the Floating Continent or let Shadow die there and have saved Relm from the Srbehemoth in the Cave on the Veldt. If you let Shadow die and haven't saved Relm yet, Owzer's Mansion will be empty, yet lit up, and the Nightshade and Dahling paintings (that you'll soon see) will not respond to your presence.

Uncontrollable characters are very poor in the boss battle at the end of this area, so I'd advise against Gau and Umaro. Also, due to the time delay, I'd add Mog to the category as well as neither his Dances nor his Jump attacks are very useful there. ArmorMinerva wearers are favored once again, and if you already have a character that can Steal, that'd be grand (although the chance is small). I'd go for something like Terra, Shadow, Celes, and Sabin, but it's up to you. Shadow is awesome in this dungeon; RelicEarrings-boosted SkeanFire Skeans kill pretty much everything, and the boss is weak to Fire, too.

When you enter the house, it will be dark inside: no sign of Relm or Owzer to be seen. Obviously if you saved Shadow earlier you don't even know Relm is supposed to be here, but you'll never get more evidence than you have now. The game is a little tricky like that, isn't it?

When you try to ascend the stairs to go to where the art collection is held, a mysterious force will hold you back. Stay...away... Yeah, we're not going to listen to that. Once we're at the foot of the stairs again, a diary appears. Read it to work out the obvious - something's up, all right. At least we discovered how to get the room back to normal; just flip the switch on the stairway lamp and the room will light up, and you'll be able to proceed up the stairs. There are three paintings worth discussing here.

The first one is the painting of the pink flowers. When you examine them, they will come alive and attack you! Note that once you've completed this dungeon, the painting won't respond. It's a battle with three Nightshade enemies, which are well known through their Rage; both the Rage and the AI Script of these flowers feature the Charm attack. Charm sets a Confuse-like status, with a few differences. This Rage is great, so have some details about it.
  1. First off, since it's not the Confuse status, you can't protect against it. Charm works on *everything* as long as it connects (Charm has a Hit Rate of 80, meaning that it'll have an 80% chance of connecting on a target with no Magic Block).
  2. Second, the character or monster affected won't show any indication of being under the influence. Monsters won't look the other way, and characters won't spin right round.
  3. Third, it's not dispelled when you use a physical attack.
  4. Fourth, the Charm spell creates a bond between the Charm caster and the target. If the 'caster' of the Charm attack dies, the affected target will turn back to normal. If the caster of the Charm spell tries to attack with Charm on another target, it'll miss as long as the other target is still alive. Due to a bug, when one caster casts the spell on the target of another caster, the original caster - while not really having a target anymore - won't be able to Charm another target until his 'stolen' target is dead.

Needless to say, Charm cripples every boss as it will completely disable their AI Script and they will start to attack themselves. Anyway, using Charm in a boss battle is just evil and sucks the fun out of the entire deal... so just don't use it. Or do. Lazy.

Back to Nightshade. They're immune to every status ailment you throw at them, and can use Charm on the very first turn. What you'll want to do is go head-on with every kind of strong violence you have; they're specifically vulnerable to Fire-elemental attacks, so SkeanFire Skeans, EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer, and OFire 2 work very well. They have a rare ArmorNutkin Suit for Stealing, but as this battle is pretty dangerous you'll probably not want to risk it. Just hope that they'll stick to their Battle and !Poison Pod (sets Poison, oddly enough) attacks for the most part, and that characters hit by Charm will refrain from beating themselves up with any of their stronger attacks.

The second painting of interest is the painting that has replaced the Ultros painting in the WoB; it's the unwanted portrait of Emperor Gestahl that Owzer decided to buy and hang here. The 'last Imperial trooper' at the Colosseum told you to talk to the Emperor twice, so examine the portrait twice; the second time, you'll obtain the Rare Item "Emperor's Letter", which talks about mountains in the shape of a star. Could this refer to the grand treasure of the Empire, the ancient relic with restoration abilities? We should definitely inform Locke once we find him. Now's the time to press on, though.

The picture of the lovely lady comes alive as well... as two Dahling opponents, unfortunately. Dahling use their first turn to set a status ailment, with either the OMute spell or the !Sightless Special, which sets Dark. The second turn will feature either the OIce 2 or OBolt 2 spells. When a Dahling has been damaged, she may use a OCure 2 spell on the character who attacked her. I'm pretty sure that the AI scriptwriter intended for Dahling to use the OCure 2 spell on herself but forgot that counter attacks are typically carried out on the attacker, regardless of the spell's initial targets. Dahlings are nothing to fear. They have a rare ArmorMoogle Suit Steal. You'll notice this is a theme in this dungeon; most monsters have an animal suit Steal. Dahling are, unlike most paintings, weak against Poison and not against Fire, so you can use OBio or strong attacks of other kinds to dispatch them.

Once you defeat the Dahlings opponents, the painting will be entirely destroyed to reveal a door. Enter to find more darkness and a stairway going down.

2.28: Through the Secret Door

Formations
6/16
2
2
5/16
2
5/16
2
1
2

Enemies: Wild Cat, Crusher, SoulDancer, Vindr

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

The enemies change up once you've gone through the door. Wild Cats are cats. They have a rare ArmorTabby Suit steal, and they attack physically. Due to a bug, they may use Fire Ball when alone (this was never the intention; Fire Ball was supposed to be a rare Mag Roader B counter). Normally it just attacks with Battle and !Pounce. Its name might ring bells of that nasty Fidor Special, but Wild Cat's !Pounce is insignificant (Battle * 1.5) and shouldn't be feared.

Crushers look unassuming. Fact of the matter is, they're really kind of not. 2095 HP isn't that unassuming, !Blow (Battle * 5) isn't very unassuming, and the Lifeshaver attack it uses when alone certainly isn't unassuming. It has a common Super Ball steal which makes it the only random encounter enemy here that doesn't have an animal suit for stealing. Kill it with fire; if you brought Gau, his Mag Roader B Rage (OL. 4 Flare) can really put a dent in their hides.

SoulDancer is supposed to be a magician of some kind; with a stellar (for monsters) Magic Power of 30 and up to three spells in its Control menu (ODrain, OOsmose, and OFire 2) it seems likely that she will also attack magically, right? Wrong. She attacks with Throwing Dirks. You may still remember the last time you met an opponent with this ability; it was Dadaluma, who was obscenely strong. You should survive the weaker Dirks, but the stronger ones (the strongest one being the DirkAssassin) can do up to 1750 worth of damage, and remember that most throwing items employ non-elemental (DirkAir Lancet is Wind-elemental so ShieldThunder Shield wearers and ArmorMinerva wearers take no damage from it), barrier-piercing, Row-ignoring, and unblockable damage. The Image status doesn't help, and EsperGolem can't catch the flying blades; only the Clear status can allow you to avoid the attacks of SoulDancer. In the first round, she'll throw a DirkDirk or DirkMithril Knife, followed by a DirkMithril Knife or DirkGuardian, then a DirkAir Lancet or DirkThief Knife, and finally a DirkThief Knife or DirkAssassin. Should she still be living, the cycle will then repeat. Also, she counters any damage done to her with !Red Dance, which drains very little HP. She has a rare ArmorMoogle Suit steal too. Ways to cripple her include Berserk, Confuse, OSleep, and OStop. Noiseblaster and EsperStray's Cat Rain help tremendously.

Vindr are the strongest of all small birds. With only 885 HP and a boring petrification attack (!Beak) to their name, Vindr are pretty worthless. If for some reason you have trouble killing them in one shot, Fire is their weakness (as it is of all small birds). They have a rare ArmorChocobo Suit steal, befitting of their feathered nature.

Overall strategy here is simple yet again: have everybody under the influence of Clear, and don't leave Wild Cat and Crusher enemies alone. Invincibility is nice.

As soon as you've descended the stairs, you will find more paintings. That's just great. These don't seem so threatening though; how could you be attacked by a painting of a door or a chair? But the joke's on you... If you get too close to the painting of the chair, the painting will suck you in, onto the chair, where you'll be attacked by a previously absent old lady. The old lady turns out to be a SoulDancer accompanied by her four cats. How's that for a stereotype? If you smack her around, she'll take her place on the chair and leave you alone. If you leave and re-enter the room, it'll just be a harmless painting of a chair again.

Two doors await you upon continuing forward. The left one leads to a chest containing a ArmorMoogle Suit! The ArmorMoogle Suit is just another animal suit, stronger than the ArmorChocobo Suit but weaker than the ArmorNutkin Suit. It nullifies Poison though, and gives a nice +5 on Magic Power. The best part, however, is the fact that it changes the in-battle sprite of the wearer into that of a Moogle, which is totally sweet.

The right door takes you to...three more doors. Nice. First, make sure you go around the doors and grab the hidden RelicRelic Ring that lies there. The RelicRelic Ring is a Relic that makes its wearer undead. This basically means that healing spells will hurt and the ODoom spells and the eventual effect of the OCondemned status will restore HP back to full. It can make for a nice combo if the equipped also has a weapon with X-type Instant Death; he or she can always restore his/her own HP back to full with one swing of a blade. Anyway, among the three doors, you'll want to pick the far left one. If you enter one of the others, you'll find yourself being thrown out of the door painting you saw earlier. If you've completed this dungeon, you won't even be able to enter the other two doors; they'll just be locked.

Just continue from this point, and don't wonder where you are. It doesn't make sense. When you enter a door, you'll suddenly find yourself in a new area with...floating chests. If you stand on the shadow of the floating chests, they'll come down and you'll be attacked; in every instance, it'll be a single SoulDancer and four Wild Cats. What you actually receive from these chests after the battle will be different from what the game says:

What it says: 2000 GP, Potion, Ether, Remedy
What it is: 293 GP, Tonic, Tincture, Soft

If you're done toying around with the floating chests and gawking at the painting of Maria that appears to change every time you look at it, go examine the picture of the battle armor; it will be another battle, with a creature called Still Life. Still Life pretends to be a semi-boss, but is not. It looks very weird, which is pretty much the most it's got going for itself; it appears to be a cloud of smoke with green lips that comes from behind a painting. It has four attacks up its proverbial sleeve: Battle, !Bane Kiss (sets Poison), Lullaby (a multi-target Sleep-inducing attack that's admittedly annoying), and OCondemned, which Still Life uses to counter every blow he takes. Go all out with strong attacks against him; Bum Rush, SkeanFire Skeans, Tri-Dazer, you know what hurts. He has a rare Fakemustache Steal, the Relic that turns Relm's Sketch ability into Control. You'll be able to meet Still Life on the Veldt, so you'll be able to Steal one later if you want to. Just pound him now, he doesn't have enough HP to make OCondemned a nuisance.

Once Still Life has been defeated, a door will appear. The door, as you've become accustomed to by now, leads to more doors. Use the Save Point to your advantage and take the door to the right; the door to the left will throw you out of a door somewhere in a wall you saw earlier.

You've finally found Owzer now, but he's changed quite a bit; he's changed from your average aristocratic pretty boy into a coughing blob of a man who looks surprisingly similar to Jabba the Hutt. Or any other Hutt, I guess they're all alike.

Another theory states that the scholar-type guy you meet in the WoB isn't Owzer at all, and that Owzer always was a generally inhuman fat blob with a frogface for no apparant reason. Who apparantly lives somewhere in his house where other people can't reach him and despite his wheezing, sickly appearance went out of the house on a fairly regular basis to locate artists. It's not my theory, so I may sound slightly subjective here...then again, it is a silly theory.

When Owzer came across another piece of Magicite in the Auction House, he bought it and felt the irresistible urge to obtain a painting of the Esper therein contained. The large painting of the Esper EsperStarlet created by Relm came alive, like all of her artwork, but with an added problem this time; the demon Chadarnook (Phantasm) arrived, enticed by the magic of the Magicite and the painting. He possessed the living Starlet painting and started to exert an evil influence over all of Relm's paintings, the reality within Owzer's Mansion and finally Owzer himself.

Relm, by the way, is still painting the painting; it's not quite done yet, as you'll learn later. Regardless, it's time to remove the evil demon Chadarnook (Phantasm) from the living Starlet painting to save the life of Owzer so you can take Relm with you. Owzer begs you to keep the Starlet painting intact. Whatever.

Before you talk to him, equip ShieldThunder Shields on as many characters as possible. Characters without the ArmorMinerva take priority, as the ArmorMinerva bustier nullifies the Lightning element (the one that concerns us here). The ShieldForce Shield and ArmorForce Armor both halve damage done by this element, and Umaro's RelicRage Ring nullifies it entirely, even though that furry muscle package is quite useless in this battle. Protection from Water and Ice is also nice, as Flash Rain may appear in the next battle, although Lightning protection should take priority. The ShieldTortoise Shield, HelmetTitanium, ArmorImp's Armor, and ArmorSnow Muffler allow you to absorb the attack in question, while the ArmorMinerva bustier also nullifies it. It's a real dang shame Umaro's uncontrollable nature is, in fact, uncontrollable by nature, as the combination of his inherent ArmorSnow Muffler and the RelicRage Ring really really would've taken care of the majority of the opponents' attacks.

Chadarnook (Goddess)
Chadarnook (Goddess)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
41
30000
7600
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
18
10
0
135
130
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
fireholy
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Chadarnook (Phantasm)
Chadarnook (Phantasm)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
37
56000
9400
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
140
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
holywater
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Interesting trivia: the Japanese game showed much more skin on the Chadarnook (Goddess) image. Nothing horrifying and ungodly like any kind of ladyparts, but still, more skin. Anyway, here's an odd encounter. It's a living painting of the Esper EsperStarlet, possessed by the demon Chadarnook. You already knew that. Even if you don't care about art in general or Owzer's pathetic pleas, there really isn't any point to damaging the painting; as soon as Chadarnook (Phantasm) is exorcized, it won't be a threat anymore. So, the strategy is clear to us; wait until Chadarnook (Phantasm) shows its face, and hurt it until it dies. We've been doing an awful lot of hurting so far, so we should be well prepared. You'll start out facing the Goddess painting. It'll use either Battle or the dreaded, blasted Charm attack. Fortunately, the effects of Charm are undone whenever your opponent changes, so it's not as much a bother as it could have been in this specific case. After that first turn, the demon will reveal itself.

Chadarnook attacks with Lightning-elemental spells (OBolt 2 and OBolt 3) and the confusing Flash Rain; sparkly as it may look, Flash Rain is actually Ice- and Water- elemental and has nothing to do with Lightning. The demon won't use Flash Rain until it starts getting weaker though: when it hits 15360 HP (after taking 14640 HP worth of damage, in other words), to be precise. The demon Chadarnook will always hide when he has been damaged five times, as well as after 40 seconds. Unfortunately, (and possibly unintentionally), it seems that the painting's timer is also used when Chadarnook checks his 40 seconds, so if you faced Chadarnook for 35 seconds and the monster changes, Chadarnook will only be there for five seconds before returning. This is particularly frustrating, especially if you'd just finished putting in all your commands as soon as Chadarnook appeared, leaving you to attack the Goddess a few times in a row. Speaking of which, attacking the Goddess is bad news. Not only is it pointless (as soon as you deplete her HP, she'll just regenerate - she's immortal), it's rather dangerous, as she has a mean counter. 33% Battle, 33% not doing anything, and 33% Phantasm.

Phantasm is a multi-target attack that sets the super-duper-special HP Leak status on a target, which can only be seen in this battle. It's the same as Seizure, only it's much more dangerous because it isn't Seizure. This means you can't protect from it with Relics, you can't override it by setting Regen, and you can't cure it in any way. As soon as HP Leak is set, any current Regen status (even if it's from a RelicCure Ring or RelicMarvel Shoes) will be removed. Trying to set the Regen status on a character with the ORegen spell or EsperKirin's Life Guard attack will accomplish nothing. All in all, the constantly dropping HP gets annoying quickly, even dangerous if you don't watch your party's HP. Don't be afraid to spend some turns healing even when it isn't immediately necessary. Chadarnook (Goddess), by the way, will also attack normally after her first appearance; her arsenal consists of Battle, !Doom Kiss (sets OCondemned), the dreaded Charm, and the surprisingly crippling Lullaby, which (as you know) sets Sleep on all characters.

So what to do? You should be covered in equipment that protects against the Phantasm's Lightning-elemental spells and possibly against that Flash Rain attack too. Patiently wait out the first turn against the Chadarnook (Goddess) picture, then quickly throw whatever you have when the demon appears. The monster is extremely weak to Fire-elemental and Pearl-elemental spells, as it has both a weakness to the element and a Magic Defense that really isn't all that stellar.

Terra and Celes's OFire 2 and (preferably) OFire 3 spells will really hurt Chadarnook (Phantasm) (OFire 3 takes priority over OPearl, too), but keep in mind that, because Chadarnook (Phantasm) absorbs Lightning-elemental spells, EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer will be absorbed. Shadow's SkeanFire Skeans should be boosted by RelicHero Rings and RelicEarrings to ensure a lot of damage, although it should be noted that the much more expensive SwordFlame Sabres will hurt considerably more. Setzer should throw his GamblerFixed Dice around if possible; if not, OFire 2, OPearl, and OFire 3 take priority over the RelicCoin Toss-induced GP Rain. Sabin should stick to Bum Rush regardless of his spell selection, whereas Edgar is probably better off sticking to ToolsDrill unless you're really sure that when he lands from a RelicDragon Horn Jump, he'll be landing on the demon (in which case, with the LancePearl Lance, he'll be doing a massive amount of damage). The same really goes for Mog: his Dances are useless, as he will also attack the Chadarnook (Goddess) painting when he's in a trance. Stick to spells if you don't want to risk Jump attacks (or just plain don't have the right equipment). Cyan is horrible in this scenario (as often before), as his charge times mean you would have to waste a lot of time in a battle where speed is top priority. Gau and Umaro (while certainly hard to take down) suffer from the uncontrollable nature. Gau, if used, should stick to his Magic spells if possible, while Umaro should be... Yeah, killing him in the middle of battle seems a little harsh, so you might be better off setting Stop on him if you for some reason defied me and brought him here.

You can't do anything when Charm connects, and you can't do anything when Phantasm connects. EsperFenrir/EsperGolem will help against the physicals (especially !Doom Kiss can be a pain), while the OHaste 2 spell is an asset as always. If you have a few characters unprotected from Chadarnook (Phantasm)'s attacks, EsperZoneseek's Wall attack can help. Basically, throw up your barriers when the demon is hidden and go all-out on the offensive when the demon is around while making sure your HP stays in the four digits at all times wherever possible. Expand Full Strategy
  

After you've defeated the demon, all will return to normal. You'll learn that Chadarnook was probably enticed by the 'weird stone' Owzer bought at the Auction House, and he asks you to take it. It's on the right part of the shelf. With EsperStarlet, you finally gain access to the OCure 3 spell! Relm also follows you out, permanently rejoining the team.

2.29: Team Thamasa

Lore: OAero, OBlowfish, OBig Guard, ODischord, OSour Mouth, OPep Up, ORippler

Party: Relm, Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

You learned from a man in Figaro Castle that a person under the spell of the Cult of Kefka could be freed by meeting a loved one; with Relm in your party, we can try to turn Strago Magus back to our side. At the sight of the little girl, he leaps up in joy; no single word about his year of despair crosses his lips as he demands a primary spot in your party. Just like all the other characters, he either joins your current party if there's room for him or is placed on the Falcon if there's not. Regardless, the next parts of this walkthrough will be dedicated to raising both Relm and Strago to acceptable and even respectable levels of might on the battlefield, so I suggest you make a party that includes Relm and Strago (and no uncontrollable characters) if you are interested. Otherwise, feel free to skip ahead. If you were wondering, you still don't really have what it takes to tackle the top warrior of the Fanatics Tower, so it's useless and rather suicidal to go all the way up there.

First, I want to look at the Control command. There's a respectable chance that you've already gained access to it. If you obtained a RelicFake Mustache from mugging Still Life or already dove into the Zone Eater dungeon that I'll discuss quite a bit later in this walkthrough, you will have this command at your disposal. Control allows Relm to control a monster. What does this mean? The monster will stop its normal AI script. It'll still use counters, though. Relm's hold over an opponent's psyche doesn't end until the opponent in question is attacked physically or either the Controller or the Controllee is inflicted with one of the following status ailments: Sleep, Confused, Berserk, Death, Petrify, Zombie, Freeze, or Stop. The chance of Control working is exactly the same as Sketch working, and is based on both the Controller's level and the level of the opponent you're trying to Control. The HelmetCoronet Helmet raises Relm's Control success percentage, while the HelmetBeret raised the Sketch success rate.

When Relm is controlling a monster and it's her turn to act, you'll be offered the choice between the four (or fewer) Control commands available to the monster she's controlling instead of her usual options. The Control commands are also the ones a monster randomly uses when Muddled, and most of the time there's some reason to the attacks found there. Regardless, Control can be a strategic choice so long as you know what monsters are worth controlling. Most of the time, the 'monster attacks until I say so' is the sweetest part of the deal, but sometimes the Control commands really include some sweet attacks like Cold Dust, Flare Star, Death-setting Specials, and the like. Control is great to get a particularly powerful enemy out of the way (Brachosaur comes to mind), or to have an unlimited amount of Steal attempts without you having to worry about a thing.

I'd say that for the loss of a Relic slot, a Relm with a good Magic arsenal is better off with a second RelicEarrings than with a RelicFake Mustache; I'll address the usefulness of the Control ability later on. For now, if you have a RelicFake Mustache, equip it, as the Control ability helps in getting Lores (although it won't grant access to Lores you couldn't already obtain - it just makes life easier).

Two more notes: first, if you used Mog's RelicMoogle Charm to raid Kefka's Tower earlier, you should have a HelmetCoronet by now. Equip it for increased Control chances. Secondly, the Japanese name of the RelicFakemustache is "Dancho's Mustache"; Dancho was the name of the Impresario of the Opera House. Why a taped-on mustache allows you to control monsters is beyond logic.

Now, it's time to reap the benefits of this strange new world: new monsters, new attacks, new Lores. I'll discuss them step by step.

If Strago hasn't yet learned OBlowfish, take him to the desert just south of Maranda, where Cactrot will use it every single turn it attacks. Make sure you are able to take Cactrot out after he uses OBlowfish, though. With Relm on your side, both Sketch and Control grant access to OBlowfish itself, which kills the Cactrot.

Then, one of the greater Lores you can find: OAero, the Wind-elemental multi-target level 3 spell-like attack. Find a Harpy near Thamasa; you can't not fight a Harpy in the forests. Sketch gives you a 75% shot at OAero, and you can find it with Control as well. You can even wait for it to use the attack randomly. Harpiai near Kohlingen may also use it randomly, and they too can be forced to use the spell through Control. OAero is slightly more powerful than a level 3 spell in both multi-target and single-target situations. Don't let the Wind element blow you away (heh); very few enemies are actually weak to it, and those that are tend to be weak monsters too. But don't be discouraged; even though teaching Strago the level 3 spells is a good idea for elemental flexibility, OAero should be Strago's main form of attack unless elemental properties declare otherwise (or if you are certain OL. 4 Flare can connect). This is all worth noting until you can get Strago's strongest Lore, OGrandTrain. Until then, OAero is for you.

If you missed OPearl Wind for some reason, you can also find it via Harpiai (uses randomly) and Sprinter (uses randomly).

The OPep Up attack is entirely pointless and about as useful as jamming a pencil up your left eye socket and running around in a classic 'Kiss the Cook' apron while religiously chanting Madonna's single "Holiday." In other words, you'll never actually use it, but it's fitting of Strago's character. Near Kohlingen, you can find Muus ad infinitum; just wait for them to use OPep Up. You can force their hand with Control, but unless they're alone it shouldn't take long. Don't Sketch them; executing OPep Up will kill Relm. OPep Up fully heals the targets MP, removes all negative status ailments except for Imp and Freeze (I'm counting Berserk as negative for the moment), and restores the same amount of HP as the target currently has (which seems odd) to the target. The downside? It kills the caster and removes him from battle entirely. When Strago casts OPep Up, his role on the battlefield is over. Really, you should be very, very desperate if you are using this attack.

OSour Mouth can be learned from Mad Oscar in Daryl's Tomb near Kohlingen. It's wise to equip Relics that protect against Zombie while you're in the Tomb. Sketch will get you a 75% shot at OSour Mouth, and it's in Mad Oscar's Control menu as well. This enemy will use it pretty often when he's alone as well. If you meet any Orog opponents down the way, OL. 5 Doom offs them quite effortlessly. OSour Mouth sets a lot of status ailments: Dark, Poison, Imp, Mute, Confuse, and Sleep, to be precise. It's ideal if you want to cripple an opponent but don't quite know what he's protected against; with OSour Mouth, you're bound to hit him in some form or another. A funny thing about OSour Mouth is that while it may set Imp, the sprite of the monster will not change.

For OBig Guard you'll really want to go with Sketch. If you're really scared of the Sketch bug, make sure that you're either level 16 or level 23 and up with a HelmetBeret equipped. Meet an EarthGuard in the desert and Sketch it. There is a 75% chance of the painting using OBig Guard. You can also quickly cast OStop on it if the first character coming up knows the spell and isn't capable of using Sketch. If for some reason you really don't want to use Sketch, you can make Gau learn the EarthGuard Rage on the Veldt and have Gau cast OBig Guard through the EarthGuard Rage with Strago in the party (in order for this to work, you will need to have met the desert version of the enemy).

OBig Guard is, quite simply, pretty neat. It sets both Safe and Shell on all party members, even if you've been Side Attacked. It's a superior version of the EsperZoneseek's Wall attack I've been mentioning so often; the multi-target OSafe isn't that useful with EsperFenrir and EsperGolem around, but certainly doesn't hurt you a bit.

The last Lore easily obtainable right now is ORippler. First, make sure your party is covered in the Clear status. Now, fly over to Jidoor and enter the forests to the north. Mess around until you meet up with four Reach Frogs. They have a 33% chance of casting ORippler every third turn, which will happen after landing from their Jump attack. ORippler trades statuses. It takes all of the statuses of the caster and removes them if possible (Relic/equipment-induced statuses will remain) and applies it to the target if possible (immunities may prevent it). In turn, it takes all of the target's statuses and removes them if possible, and sets them on the caster if possible. Ideally, ORippler trades your status ailments for their positive statuses. Sadly, ORippler is prone to all kinds of more or less disturbing bugs; the most obvious one being that it trades far more statuses than it was ever supposed to, giving you the ability to trade Terra's Morph status (OMuddle/ORippler) to other characters, as well as Shadow's Dog Block. Warning: A monster taking Dog Block from you and then dying will remove Interceptor from you permanently. Another character stealing Dog Block from that very same enemy or directly taking it from Shadow by means of OMuddle/ORippler would also obtain Interceptor permanently. Just make sure you don't lose him forever, you wouldn't want that. Ideally, if you don't mind abusing bugs, you may want to transfer Interceptor to Gogo in the future (he can use the extra protection, and his superior equipment-boosted Magic Power ensures that Interceptor hits extra hard). ORippler as an attack isn't exactly hot stuff. It can copy some positive statuses from a few rare bosses such as Poltrgeist (Image, Float, Haste, Safe), Goddess (Haste, Shell), and Doom Gaze (Float, Shell, Safe). Oh yeah, and the ORippler attack is the only way to get rid of Countdown status (not counting completely random attacks such as Wild Bear).

So for a quick reference, the Lores you could have obtained so far include:

This section is called 'Team Thamasa', so you might be wondering by now how we're going to bulk up Relm. There are three things that can be done, and they're all equipment-related. One is the ArmorBehemothSuit: if you don't have two already, make sure you spend a while on the Veldt as there's no doubt you'll run into one or two SrBehemoth 2s before long. The ArmorBehemothSuit is also available for Strago, by the way. The second thing we'll be doing for Relm is defeating another elemental dragon for the great item it drops, but we'll get to that in a minute. The final equipment boost that Relm is capable of equipping is her best piece of headgear. +2 to Speed, +4 to Magic Power, 10% extra Magic Block, Defense and Magic Defense statistics superior to every other helmet (except for oddballs HelmetThornlet and HelmetTitanium), and 50% damage reduction against Fire-, Lightning-, Ice-, Pearl-, Earth-, and Wind-elemental attacks. And, if all that wasn't enough, it doubles the GP gained from random battles. If that doesn't sound like a sweet deal, there is no pleasing you.

How to get it? It's Colosseum material. The opponent is the Allosaurus, the giant lizard whose only dangerous attack (the ODoom spell) can be easily circumvented with a RelicWall Ring. The trick here is to find the item the Allosaurus is willing to fight for: an LanceImp Halberd. There are two ways to find them, and both are nasty at this point. One is finding a Mantodea (your best bet is the forest to the north of Jidoor) and trying to steal one. It's a rare steal, and your best thief is currently Shadow with a double DirkThief Knife equip, which isn't that great. Chances are very low. Make sure you are all set with the Clear status, as otherwise Mantodea's physicals will rip you apart very quickly. You can increase your chances of success a little by abusing the bug that is OVanish/ODischord. Keep the Mantodea you're stealing from healed, as you don't want it to die without giving you the LanceImp Halberd first. You can go on for eternity without danger of dying, but it will probably take a long time indeed.

The other option is the rare, 12.5% chance drop the LanceImp Halberd is for the Tyranosaur in the Dinosaur forest to the north of the Veldt. Tyranosaurs are extremely dangerous random encounters that are widely known for the fact they, in tandem, give the most Experience Points of any random encounter in the game. On the second turn, they may use OMeteor, which will take about 1500 HP worth of damage from every character. Quickly cripple them with a OSleep spell or the OSour Mouth Lore, and kill them as quick as you can with Ice-elemental spells. Don't bring uncontrollable characters, as they will snap the Tyranosaurs out of their snoozing (sure, Dance won't, but Dance sucks here). If you meet a Brachosaur, run like a madman. Save often, as Brachosaur is this game's Warmech. By that, I mean that it presents death unto you, if you catch my drift. I'd consider the Mantodea method far more feasable, honestly.

If you go to the Colosseum, Equip a RelicWall Ring against its ODoom spell and a RelicStar Pendant, RelicFairy Ring, or RelicRibbon against !PoisonClaw. The reflected ODoom spell may work on Allosaurus, but it doesn't really matter, as Allosaurus is too weak to warrant special attention.

Now, let's go find the ultimate rod of the game (which carries Strago's last name, for the record), the sure-fire drop of the Dirt Drgn.

Before you go, make sure you have RelicCherub Down Relics for those characters that can't equip ArmorGaia Gear. If you sold some of them, you can still buy more in the Armor Shop in South Figaro.

2.30: A Dragon in the Opera House

Enemies: Dirt Drgn

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm,Strago,Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

There's a commotion in the Opera House? Only one year after the Wandering Gambler threatened to kidnap the star of the Dream Oath, a dragon saw it fit to enter the Opera House and make it his den. Or something; I don't know what the hell the Dirt Drgn wants with the artistic bags of hot air in this place. Regardless, dragons are dangerous and need to be killed dead. Equip RelicCherub Downs or ArmorGaia Gear on every character before you go in. If you have Gau in your team and a decent Float-inducing Rage (Harpiai, Ninja, Hornet, Luridan, to name a few), he shouldn't need to bother with wearing one, as any Rage-induced Float status is equally irremovable.

Do you remember the four switches in the right wing of the Opera House? They're referenced in this very guide, much earlier, which is one of the reasons this guide is so stellar. Starting from the left, the first switch 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. Funny! The third switch is the one you want now; before, it dropped you back to the entrance hall, but now it will take you to the stage, which means that for some reason, someone rewired this trap door in the last year. To what end? The final switch was the one you wanted in the WoB, but not now. Hit the third switch when you're ready to fight.

Dirt Drgn
Dirt Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
53
28500
16500
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
23
12
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: X-Potion
Common: RodMagus Rod
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
windwater
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
The Dirt Drgn is fairly unique; he's the only elemental dragon that doesn't absorb his own element (instead, he uses the Float status to circumvent almost all Earth-elemental damage). Why they chose to do this is beyond me, as even with OQuake healing, Dirt Drgn wouldn't have been that crazy of a challenge. We may well never know. Every 20 seconds, the Dirt Drgn will use his 50 Gs attack, a Dirt Drgn-only move that removes the Float status on all targets. Irremovable Float, like the one given by the RelicCherub Down and Float-inducing Rages, will not be removed. Given the fact that Earth's G is, as you might expect, 1 G, 50 G is plain crazy; you'd effectively become 50 times as heavy as you normally are. Shadow would suddenly become 7250 lbs, for instance. But enough with the first-grade science. He has a one-third chance of countering any damage done to him with the dreaded !Honed Tusk attack, which really is quite strong. Any other attack he uses will be either Battle or ground-based. OQuake always misses Dirt Drgn himself, and the Magnitude8 and Slide attacks should either miss or heal you if you've been smart up until now.

Start the battle off by throwing up your barriers. EsperGolem and EsperFenrir are particularly useful, as the only real threat in this battle should be Dirt Drgn's !Honed Tusk and Battle attacks. Strago's OBig Guard should also help in that department. OHaste 2 is great as always, and EsperKirin doesn't hurt either. Cast a combination of OSleep and OSlow on the Dirt Drgn as well: remember that OSleep can also be set with Strago's OSour Mouth attack, which also can set Poison on the Dirt Drgn. Now that you've been bulked up plenty, (and the Dirt Drgn is vulnerable in his extended slumber) it's time to start the magical offensive.

If you want to keep Dirt Drgn sleeping, keep Gau busy with Magic spells. Back Row Gau with 255 Defense and a Float-inducing Rage is invulnerable, but it may come at the cost of fallen party members. If that sounds a bit cheap to you, and since all characters are either draped in ArmorGaia Gear or protected by RelicCherub Down, I should mention that Rages like Harpiai, Ninja, Hornet, and Luridan really help (especially Harpiai). Strago's OAero packs a proverbial wallop, and Shadow's SkeanWater Skeans are pretty strong. If you don't care for the Sleep status, Thrown DirkBlossoms are extremely painful to Dirt Drgn. Sabin's Bum Rush still gets the job done as always, and it is superior to Air Blade even though it doesn't exploit a specific weakness. Mog's Water Rondo is a superior alternative to Jump attacks if you're trying to maintain a snoozing Dirt Drgn. His Wind Song is also an option; Wind Slash is weaker than El Nino, but you might prefer Wind Song's 6/16 Sun Bath to Water Rondo's 6/16 Plasma attack. All other characters should just stick to Magic spells. Umaro should be kept far away from this battle, as usual. His presence makes the Sleep status strategy rather impossible. Expand Full Strategy
  

After you've defeated the Dirt Drgn, you'll obtain a RodMagus Rod, which gives the same +7 Magic Power as the SwordEnhancer does, but gives a 30% Magic Block bonus where the SwordEnhancer only gives a 20% increase. The RodMagus Rod is sweet and is preferable over all other rods.

Now we've gotten all the normal Lores we can easily gather and optimized our equipment, it's time to dive into Thamasa for two things: Strago's ultimate Lore and some quality Esper time that Thamasians both desperately need and deserve.

2.31: Gungho's Assignment

1st Cave, Save Point & Living Chest Area
5/16
1
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
2
1/16
1
3
Main Room
5/16
2
5/16
1
5/16
1
1
1
1/16
3

Enemies: Warlock, Displayer, Slatter, Cluck, Eland, Hipocampus, Opinicus,
Hidon, Hidonite, Hidonite (2), Hidonite (3), Hidonite (4)

Lore: OGrandTrain

Party: Relm, Strago Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

Strago is mandatory for this quest. You've recently obtained Relm, and since her big weakness right now is her lack of contact with Espers, you might as well help her out a little and bring her along as well. Thievery is nice to have access to during some points of the next dungeon, so either Shadow or Locke/Gogo would be a welcome addition. Ragers are welcome as well, so why not bring Gau?

There is a small island to the north of Thamasa called Ebot's Rock. It's closed for now. Foreshadowing? Back in Thamasa, as soon as you cross between the Armor Shop and the Item Shop, Relm will get excited about being back home. However, not all is well on the home front; Gungho, Strago's former battle partner, took on Hidon, the legendary beast Strago hunted together with Gungho when they were young. Hidon was submerged under water along with Ebot's Rock itself, but, now that the cave has resurfaced, Gungho had another go. That didn't go over too well; he's been defeated and is now bed-ridden. After listening to Gungho's pleas, Strago decides to go after the beast, and after a while, accepts Relm's help. Note that, after this scene, Strago is actually required to complete the dungeon that is Ebot's Rock. Relm, however, is not. There's a theme here: Warp stones are found throughout the dungeon and all monsters have a Warp Stone as both their rare drop and rare steal. That's kind of them.

The Warlock is an annoying little... warlock. Evil and vile throughout, it makes a mockery of the holy light by attacking with the OPearl spell, which is actually all it uses for attacking. It may try to drain back some of its lost MP with !MagicDrain, but it'll be attacking you almost exclusively with the OPearl spell (and entirely exclusively when it's alone). The Warlock's Defenses are also very strong; its Defense is high, its Magic Defense extremely so. Barrier-piercing attacks should be your main priority against him; you might even use the OStop spell to make sure he doesn't hurt you in the meantime.

The Displayer needn't worry you. It looks dangerous, but this is not the case. It may randomly use ChokeSmoke on the second, fifth, eighth (etc.) turn but it will be a wasted turn like always; its Special is called !Rib and, unlike what you would expect, does Battle x2 damage rather than setting Zombie. Common Undead weaknesses in Fire and Pearl can also be found in this opponent.

Slatter bears a close resemblance to Prussian, wouldn't you agree? See, it's funny because... Oh man, I'm too funny to bear. Again! If you haven't figured out that I'm stalling because Slatter is a rather boring enemy, you haven't had enough sleep. They attack with Battle and !Choke (Battle * 1.5). They're not very powerful with it. The only interesting thing to say about them is the fact they take a distant liking to percentage-based attacks (75% Shimsham through Sketch, Cave In through Rage) while being immune to it themselves.

Cluck are upgraded ChickenLip. Weak to Ice like their WoB brethren, they now also absorb Poison-elemental attacks. They have OQuake written all over them, in Sketch, Control, and Rage alike; they'll have a 33% chance of using it when alone. Every second turn when not alone, Cluck has a 33% chance at using !Lick, which sets Petrify and should be avoided.

Elands... these little oddities are weak against Lightning, and they attack with Battle and !Stench, which sets Confuse. Control, Sketch and Rage all grant access to the spell. Unlike Humpty, they're not Undead, and that's why they don't absorb OBio attacks either.

Hipocampus is worth nothing. Hippocampus is a lot of things: A mythical sea horse, half horse (the front) and half dolphin thing or whatever (the back). It's the Latin name of the family of seahorses too, and it's also a part of the brain (humans have two Hippocampi). Hipocampus is nothing but a monster, here. It attacks with Battle and !Clamp, which sets Seizure. It may counter any Magic attack with the Poison- or Water-elemental Acid Rain (which sets Seizure), and it can counter any other form of attack with the much more powerful Ice- or Water-elemental Flash Rain attack. Both attacks also feature Sketch and Control potentiality, and the Rage list features Flash Rain. The best way to deal with them is by casting ORasp; they have 82 MP and will die from sub-zero MP, leaving them unable to use final counters.

Opinicus are very similar to Buffalax, almost so much so that there's no doubt it's intentional; just like Buffalax, they will use nothing but Battle for four turns before letting loose with Battle, Battle, and !Riot (which once again is Battle * 1.5, unsurprisingly like Buffalax's Special of the same name). When hit by Magic, Buffalax responded with Sun Bath; Opinicus responds by casting Wind Slash. The main difference is the fact that Opinicus is Undead, with the standard elemental properties of Undeads too.

So, the strategy is clear. Cast OFloat on everybody to protect against a stray OQuake attack, and make everybody invisible with Fader or OVanish. Aside from this, don't let Cluck be the last monster on the battlefield, don't cast Magic on Opinicus, and kill Hipocampus with ORasp and you're invincible here until Hidon.

Here's the deal in this cave. The first warp stone (not capitalized to differentiate from the item Warp Stone) takes you to a living, talking chest that won't grant you passage since he's hungry. He's also a chest, lacking opposable thumbs, abstract thought, or even the most rudimentary of senses. Let's face it; bossing around other people to bring him food is really his most effective way of feeding himself. Your task here is to feed him enough Coral, the stuff of magic you find in the chests all around Ebot's Rock. In every chest, there's an equal 25% chance you find one, two, three, or five pieces of coral. The talking chest will let you pass on two conditions. One: You need to have Strago. If you don't have Strago in your party, you can feed him all you want but won't accomplish anything, either for you or for the chest. He eats, like so many young people of our time, because he's unhappy. It's a destructive and endless cycle of finding consolation in the very weakness he despises. Two: You need to feed him 22 pieces of Coral in one go. If you feed him 18, he'll send you off for more, and in the meantime he'll get hungry enough to need all 22 pieces of Coral again.

So, while you scurry off to find a pencil and a slip of paper to write down how much Coral you're finding all around, I'm going to try to explain how the layout of Ebot's Rock is constructed.

Just kidding. Every warp stone has up to four different locations it can warp you to. They're all in the same room, and in most cases there's only one warp stone to walk towards after possibly raiding a chest. There's no possible advantage of knowing where you are; warp, open chest, warp. Repeat if necessary. In the end, you'll have your 22 pieces of Coral and you can go 'find' the talking chest. It's up to luck how soon you come across it, obviously. Feed him, and you're allowed to continue. Finally, Hidon! The mere sight of the horrid creature sends shivers down Strago's spine. Can we assume Strago knows that this creature can teach him the most powerful of Lores, the fabled OGrandTrain? The Japanese game sure mentions it, so it's time to pound him for the sake of great, sweet justice.

Hidon
Hidon
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Undead
43
25000
12500
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
110
160
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: HelmetThornlet
Rare: Warp Stone
Common: Warp Stone
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
poison
fireholyearth
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Hidon attacks with Battle and OBio. That's what he does. He has a 33% shot at using OBio, and a 66% shot at Battle. If you hit him with something, he has a small chance of countering with the OPoison spell. Whenever a character dies in-battle (aka the Wound status), Hidon will try to revive the fallen character as a Zombie with the ChokeSmoke attack, which will fail if the fallen character is immune to the Zombie status ailment. When Hidon is alone, its first turn will be devoted to glowing with an eerie yellow light and attacking with the magnificent Lore OGrandTrain, which will deal between 900 and 950 damage on your sorry posterior. That's about when you'll notice that Hidon is particularly mean when it's by itself; it'll start attacking with all kinds of crazy spells, including Virite (the multi-target Poison-elemental attack that misses a lot yet looks funky) and Raid (the non-elemental HP draining spell). Eighty seconds after the last of the Hidonite has perished, Hidon will call his minions back into existence. If you kill them all again, Hidon will cast OGrandTrain again, and then revive them again.

Throw up your barriers where possible (OHaste 2, OBig Guard, EsperGolem/EsperFenrir, EsperKirin) and set Slow on Hidon. Evasion of physical attacks is doubly important, as all the Hidonites will try to set nasty status ailments on you with their Specials. Now, it's time to take care of the Hidonites. While EsperBahamut's Sun Flare attack is by far the best way to take care of them all at once, well-timed doses of Cyan's Stunner attack, possibly paired with Edgar's ToolsAutocrossbow or ToolsFlash Tools, should get the job done. The most difficult Hidonites to dispatch is the one in the lower-left corner (it is inherently Reflective, absorbs all elements, and has Instant Death protection). Shadow's stronger throwing stars work well against this one, as does Strago's OStep Mine attack, Setzer's GamblerFixed Dice, and Edgar's ToolsDrill. Also, don't forget to throw around stealing attempts until you've stolen something from Hidon; the common steal is a meager Warp Stone, but the rare steal is a HelmetThornlet, an elusive item that, provided you choose the SwordRagnarok sword over the EsperRagnarok Esper once the time comes, can only be found here.

The HelmetThornlet is an odd piece of Headgear. The only thing it has going for it is the fact that its Defense is superior to everything, not including the HelmetTitanium on Imps. On the downside, the HelmetThornlet grants inherent Seizure to the wearer (thorns inflict pain) and has no Magic Defense whatsoever. The verdict, then, is that the HelmetThornlet should be ignored. The only valid reasons for getting one are either to complete your item list as much as possible or to bet it later for a ArmorMirage Vest.

Now, behold the power of OGrandTrain! As soon as that's all over, it's time to defeat this wretched being. EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer attack, OFire 2, OFire 3, and OQuake spells really hurt, as does Shadow's SkeanFire Skean. Having Shadow Throw a SwordFlame Sabre, RodGravity Rod, or RodPearl Rod hurts Hidon very badly. Equipping Mog or Edgar as a RelicDragon Horn Dragoon paired with a LancePearl Lance can also deal great amounts of damage. Mog should definitely refrain from using Dances; the Dusk Requiem sucks. Bum Rush and GamblerFixed Dice are reliable as always. Strago and Relm themselves really need to rely on their Magic skillset if used; if Strago's selection is extremely poor, I would suggest OAero or OStep Mine. Obviously, if Strago is level 43, his OStone attack surpasses all other options (except OFire 3). Cyan should probably stick to his Quadra Slam SwdTech skill, unless you've put in the time to teach him OFire 3. Gau has a few options, but most of them are kind of odd. Scrapper is nice enough, as it allows Gau to absorb Poison, OBio, and Virite. Inherent Haste and Elf Fire are good enough too. If you're not too concerned about that Poison ailment, have Gau engage Chickenlip (don't forget to cast OFloat on yourselves beforehand, since ChickenLip uses OQuake). Finally, Magic Urn turns Gau into an ever-present tank that heals your party. Nice. And Umaro? Just let him go, man. Expand Full Strategy
  

After the fight, Strago will giggle like a little girl and run off to tell his friend. Gungho seems surprised and oddly vital when hearing the news, and both aging men stay up late to celebrate. Relm, just like the stereotype demands, is smarter and more mature than her old grandpa, and explains to the moronic player that Gungho was faking his wounds. When the player regains control over the party, you may or may not notice that the party hasn't been healed from the fight against Hidon, although they did spend the night in Thamasa. It's possible that some of your characters are still poisoned, so you might as well take them to the cheap Inn and heal them with a good night's rest.

A pretty important note here: after this event, Gungho can be found walking around the outside of Strago's house. Normally he'll just ask you if everything's okay, but any time you talk to him, there's a 12.5% chance that he'll say: "Hidon's appeared at Ebot's Rock again!". As soon as Gungho says this, Hidon will indeed appear on his original spot. To reach him, you'll have to gather another 22 Coral for the living chest that has also reappeared. Re-fighting Hidon is only important if you either haven't learned OGrandTrain from the first fight or need a HelmetThornlet, possibly to wager at the Colosseum for the ArmorMirage Vest. It should also be noted that after the first time you defeat Hidon, Strago is no longer required to find Hidon.

Now, you probably taught Relm at least the level 3 spells or OFlare while she was still equipped with that awesome HelmetCat Hood or possibly the awesome RodMagus Rod, and Strago has the best multi-target damage of any character at the moment, so we can all celebrate their Thamasian existence. I think we've done pretty darn well with our Thamasian friends.

2.32: Doma Castle and Cyan's Dream

Formations
5/16
1
1
5/16
1
3
5/16
1
3
1/16
1

Enemies: Allosaurus, Critic, Pan Dora, Parasite, Barb-e

Lore: OCondemned, ORoulette, OPearl Wind, OL? Pearl

Party: Cyan, Optional: Terra, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

There are a few side-quests left before there's really nothing better to do than break into Kefka's domain, and we've still got a disturbing lead to follow before we can answer Celes's desperate wishes to reunite with Locke. With Cyan on our side, the fact that demons appear to roam around in Doma Castle has some meaning; we should check it out at the very least. Where's Doma Castle you ask? You can ask the old lady in Maranda, but I'll tell you anyway - to the east of the 'head' of the Serpent Trench, where Nikeah is located.

Make sure that you have quite a few Green Cherry items and some Fenix Downs, and if you're planning to bring Shadow (which is a good idea), make sure you have over 30 SkeanFire Skeans as well.

Cyan is mandatory for this part. I can see from your shocked faces (ok, so I assumed that much) that, after all the Cyan-bashing I've done throughout this walkthrough, you not only are all heavily convinced of the fact that he's horrible but have probably neglected to train him for the same reason. Little to no Esper time, no doubt? It's a good thing that I'm completely kidding then! Don't worry, you don't actually need to fight with him. He just needs to be in the party. You'll see what I mean later.

Whom to bring? Terra is especially nice; I really advise you to bring her. You're probably sick of Strago and Relm by now, but if you want to take advantage of their newly acquired powers, be my guest; OGrandTrain really is powerful (plus, there's a new Lore to be learned here as well). Shadow is great, as his Throw attack allows you to select a specific target. The same goes for Setzer, but only if you have his GamblerFixed Dice. Do not bring along Gau or Umaro; they'll have major trouble with the final battle here, which also means that YOU will have major trouble. I wouldn't really advise Edgar and Mog either, as the final battle is yet again an annoying peek-a-boo situation where you won't want to be sitting around waiting for them to come crashing down when you don't want them to.

Nothing seems odd when you first enter Doma Castle. But hey, both the guy in Thamasa and the young man in Nikeah mentioned that the demons came around after nightfall. If you haven't found the Doma Castle treasures in the WoB, you can do so now: You can find an 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 Fenix Down and some RelicBeads. Once you're done raiding the halls of the dead, find the bedroom where the option of sleeping will be presented to you. Do so if you're ready for the dungeon. Make sure you have a decently powerful character in the fourth slot (or in the third if Cyan's in the fourth slot).

When the night has ended (don't worry, you've been healed), you will all get up. But wait, what's this? Cyan remains silent. When you go over to check on him, three creatures that look like little boys appear. They introduce themselves as the Dream Stooges: namely, Curley, Larry, and Moe. This of course is a reference to the Three Stooges bearing the same names, a well-known American comedy act in the forties. Regardless, the Dream Stooges leap into Cyan's mind. Or something. You'll quickly notice this entire ordeal is 73% Lewis Carroll, 26% water, and a tiny bit of magic.

You leap after them.

You start out with the character that was in the fourth slot of your party when you went to sleep; if this was Cyan, it'll be the character who was in the third slot instead. If you brought Gogo the mimic here and don't start out with him, you can see him lying around mimicking Mog's colour scheme; while this fits his role of copycat nicely, it's most certainly a bug. There are detached stairways of unidentifiable material all around the place and a lot of doors. The entire room looks like you've been sniffing Ether (and you might have) recently, and you're by yourself.

Allosaurus is a crazy dino, that's for sure. It does nothing but try to poison you, and let's be honest with ourselves here, pal: that's just not very honorable for a giant lizard with fangs and claws, now is it? At least try to eat something. At any rate, the only thing it'll try to do to you is use !PoisonClaw and attack with Virite. Allosaurus is weak against Fire- and Pearl-elemental attacks and is vulnerable to instant death attacks. The Anthology Bestiary mentions that Allosaurus is 'normally' human, but transforms into Allosaurus in-battle, spewing poisonous breath.

Critic is your gal if you neglected Strago a little during the WoB and brought him along for this ride. Every first turn may feature ORoulette (33% chance), every second turn may feature the as-of-yet unseen OL? Pearl (33% chance), and every third turn may contain OCondemned (33% chance). If you want to, wait around until she has taught these Lores to Strago. Other attacks include Battle and !Slip Seed, which sets Seizure. She's a rare breed, having no palette swaps whatsoever. She's also rather weak defensively; OCondemned shouldn't worry you, ORoulette is a nuisance that's quickly recovered from, and OL? Pearl, should it connect, won't do all that much damage (about 550 when hitting multiple normally-equipped targets, 1100 on a single one).

Pan Dora is Undead. You should be warned that, while they look like the least dangerous enemy here, they're actually the worst. There are two attacks you have to watch out for: Evil Toot and Absolute0. Evil Toot may set one out of the following status ailments on every party member: Dark, Poison, Imp, OCondemned, Berserk, Muddled, Seizure, and Slow. Since they always appear in triple formation here, it can be quite bad if one or two characters have to swallow up to three Evil Toot attacks. RelicRibbons are a must. The other attack that's nasty is Absolute0; it's a straightforward Ice-elemental attack that is capable of dealing about 500 damage to multiple normally-equipped characters or 1000 on a single one. Getting your revenge shouldn't be that much of a concern.

Parasites are Aspik palette swaps. They're almost entirely alike. They attack with Battle and !Mind Stop, which sets Stop (Aspik's !Numbspines also did this). Parasite will counter 66% of fight commands with Giga Volt, which is a strong attack but fails to impress here, due to the fact that Parasite's Magic Power is a stunning 1. The enemy has 1000 HP and is weak to Fire-elemental attacks.

Barb-e smoked in the Japanese game. She quit for the US kids, though. Smoking is bad for you, and such! Barb-e resists almost all status ailments and has an annoying tendency to use an OImp spell at the start of every battle. Her second turn may feature either the ODrain spell or the Love Token attack. Love Token forces the affected character to take physical hits for the caster, similar to the scenario where the caster is a Near Fatal character and the affected has a RelicTrue Knight equipped. The affected will only absorb Fight/Battle and Special attacks; other attacks, physical or not, will be ignored.

Anyway, heal the Imp status if it was set and then pound her as soon as possible with your strongest attacks. Any damage done will be countered with a 66% shot at !Slap, which sets Mute. Barb-e's Defense is rather poor, and she's weak to Poison-elemental attacks, as well as protected from instant death and immune to every status ailment except Slow and Stop.

Whatever character you brought, it's vital you equip a RelicRibbon on him/her. Status ailments like Stop and Muddle are not nice when you're by yourself. Fire-elemental attacks are really strong, so EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer, OFire 3, SkeanFire Skeans, and Fire Dance should help you combat these pests. That RelicRibbon really is necessary; it protects against Barb-e's OImp and !Slap, Allosaurus's attempts at poisoning you, and Pan Dora's Evil Toot horror. If you're shooting for a full Rage list for whatever reason, make sure to encounter Critic and Allosaurus here as you won't be able to return to this place later. The other monsters can be found at other locations too.

You should make a point to encounter any enemy you want to here while you can, because the party can't get back to this place after you've left.

ScreenshotWhen you wake up, you'll be near a Save Point, so you can make use of that. To the left are three doors. It would take a very large block of boring text to describe where all the doors are leading, so have a look at this screenshot. Your starting point is marked with an "S." Doors are marked as dark red numbers, and the destination for each door is marked as a lighter red. Yes, sometimes more than one door leads to the same destination. It's a dream, this is okay.

Explanation: both of your unconscious characters are guarded by a Dream Stooge. When you arrive, the Dream Stooge chickens out and runs off, as he's without his brothers; in the meantime, you reunite with your fallen comrade in arms and press on. Once you find both characters, you can trigger the battle with the Dream Stooges at the final door. If you haven't, nothing will happen there.

The easiest path through this madness is the following:

#0 - #1 - #4 - #6 - #7 - #5 - #10 - #11 - #12 - #13

In plain English: Walk over to the three doors and pick the left one. You scare off the Dream Stooge and find a character. Leave through the door. Take the top door in the next section, which leads to two doors right next to each other. You'll want to take the right door, which leads to another Dream Stooge, who runs off and reunites you with your final character. Exit through the only door here and walk over to the door to the far right in the next section. This door will lead you to the final door, standing between three... things. Out leap the three Dream Stooges, ready to do battle.
Curley
Curley
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
47
15000
2000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
1
4
0
100
110
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
icewater
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
  

Larry
Larry
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
47
10000
2000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
2
5
0
90
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifyberserksleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
icewind
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Moe
Moe
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
47
12500
2000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
4
6
0
80
130
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslow
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Curley is the strongest of the three Dream Stooges, and also the most vital one to take down. He has a random shot at casting OPearl Wind every now and again, which heals the other Stooges and himself. Even worse, he will cast OLife 2 on a fallen comrade when he notices they're down. He'll attack with the status-inducing spells when all three brothers are alive, and with the Fire-elemental offensive spells when a comrade has been slain (which is a useless bit of the AI script, as Curley will always immediately make sure this is never the case with OLife 2). When he's hit four times by a Magic spell, he'll cast ORflect on himself and start bouncing OFire 2 and OFire 3 spells off himself. When all three Stooges are alive, he'll cast Delta Hit every 30 seconds; Delta Hit is an unblockable single-target attack that sets Petrify (doesn't work on targets immune to Petrify, obviously). He has a 33% chance of countering any of your attacks with a OFire 2 spell.

Larry is the weakest of the three Dream Stooges; his amount of HP is the lowest and his status vulnerabilities are horrible; as if Death wasn't enough, he's an almost exclusive spell caster susceptible to OMute and OMuddle. He's the Ice-elemental of the three. Like Curley, he'll cast Delta Hit when all three Stooges are alive and 30 seconds have passed since the beginning of the battle/the last time Delta Hit appeared. He'll cast ORflect once he's been hit by Magic four times and start reflecting OIce 2 and OIce 3 spells off himself. Larry will normally just attack with Battle; he'll start using OIce 2 and OIce 3 spells when one Stooge is down. He'll counter 33% of the time with OIce 2. The interesting thing about Larry is that he may run away in the middle of a battle. When one of the Stooges is down and Larry has been hit by four Magic spells, he'll run away. After 30 seconds (if you haven't won the battle yet), he'll return; his HP will be back to maximum, but his MP won't have changed and any status ailments you might've set will still be there.

Moe is the middle child, and the only one without an elemental weakness. His bane is the Berserk status, and he has the Lightning-element. Like his brethren, he casts Delta Hit after 30 seconds, will cast ORflect on himself after four Magic spells, and start casting OBolt 2 and OBolt 3 on himself which bounce off; normally he uses support spells (OSafe, OShell, OHaste, and OCure 2), but he will start to cast offensive spells (OBolt 2 and OBolt 3) when one of the Stooges is down. He may counter any attack with a OBolt 2 spell. Moe is certainly the most boring of the three.

A note about Delta Hit: when the global battle timer reaches 30, the first Stooge to act will attack with Delta Hit. After that, the global timer is set to 0, so that neither of the other two Stooges can use it. In other words, every 30 seconds only one Delta Hit will appear, not three.

How to fight this battle? Set Mute on Larry (the OMute spell is obviously the most prominent way, but Strago's OSour Mouth is also a highly acceptable means of setting the same effect (not to mention that it'll also set Confuse); and Berserk on Moe (with the OBserk spell, possibly). Don't kill off Larry with a quick ODoom spell just yet; our main priority is Curley. Cast a OSleep spell on him (once again, OSour Mouth works there) and pound him with magical attacks, preferably Ice-elemental attacks. When he's dead, abuse Larry's vulnerability to instant death attacks and dispose of him quickly. What you have left is a Berserked Moe who is no threat whatsoever.

So long as you know what you're doing, it's really an easy battle; barriers like OBig Guard, OHaste 2, Moon Song, Earth Wall, and Life Guard are nice, but really not necessary. You don't get any items for beating the Dream Stooges, but you will receive 6 Magic Points. Expand Full Strategy
  

After you've killed the Dream Stooges, you'll have taken care of the problem you came 'here' to take care of, but you still have to find a way to get out. The door the Dream Stooges guarded is still open, so you might as well pass through.

2.33: Ending Cyan's Dream

Phantom Train Revisited and Dream Doma Castle
5/16
2
5/16
1
2
5/16
1
1
1
1/16
1
1
2
Mechanical Mines
6/16
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
1

Enemies: Samurai, Rain Man, Suriander, Pan Dora, Parasite, Barb-e, Sky Cap, PlutoArmor, Io

Party: Optional: Terra, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

Basically, this area consists of somehow traveling through Cyan's mind, searching for a way out. You're on a train to start; since Cyan has really little experience with mechanical things, it's safe to say that this is a memory of the Phantom Train. We'd best be on our guard; Cyan's mind is likely full of the demons that torture him, and they don't leave us alone either.

A few new enemies exist here. Samurai are very odd. Weak to Poison like most humans, their Defenses are horrible. And I mean just horrible. They have a physical Defense worse than a Flan enemy and a Magic Defense worse than Ultros 4 had. Every second turn they may use !Fatal, so take them out quickly. It'd be very hard to take them out slowly, mind, but you never know. They are protected from instant death, by the way.

Rain Man is crazy on the elementals. Weak to Ice, Pearl, and Water, almost every character should be able to nail these guys' weaknesses one way or another. They attack with physical attacks (!Umbrawler sets Sleep) and Flash Rain, that pesky multi-target Ice-/Water-elemental attack. They aren't very strong, but they are enough of a threat to warrant attention. When one is alone, they'll use OBolt 3, which is even more of a nuisance. They're vulnerable to the Confuse status, so the ToolsNoiseBlaster and the OL. 3 Muddle Lore can keep them busy while you kill them.

Suriander is capable of using Battle or !Yawn (sets Sleep). It too is instant death-protected. The bloated creature is weak to Pearl-elemental attacks and vulnerable to the Sleep status, so if you want to make sure none of your characters get blown away by his omni-counter Sneeze attack, take advantage of that fact.

The train is made up of several cars. When the scene opens, you'll be outside, between cars. To the right of you is a train car you can't enter. You can go up the ladder, but this serves no purpose. To the left of you is another train car, desolate of everything except a Save Point. Just pass through it.

Once you're outside again, you'll see a quick cutscene where Cyan escapes from a ghost, oddly similar to the scene earlier in the game where Sabin and Cyan fled from ghosts. You can't enter the new train car until the scene is over. You can use the ladders to completely circumvent this car, but you don't want to do that, as you'll miss out on two treasures and an important hint. This new train car brings with it a chest, firmly locked away between two crates and a hole in the floor. When you flip the switch to the right of it, the left crates will move. However, after 4 seconds the crates will move back if you haven't raided the contents. If you fight a battle left of that crate (in the immediate horizontal line) the crate will move again; alternatively, if you enter the menu screen immediately to the right of it (stand next to the crate), it will also move.

ScreenshotThe easiest solution would be flicking the switch twice; at the second time the right crate will move, no questions asked, and will remain there until you leave the train car. The chest contains a RelicGenji Glove. Further on is another chest that you will be unable to reach; an empty chest will always block your path. The trick is to walk over to the closed chest to the right; opening it will get you the Rare item "Lump Of Metal", which you can use to pin the empty chest to the ground and walk around it to grab the ShieldFlame Shield inside.

Finally, make sure that you flick the other switch in this train car too; three out of the six chests will close (flicking again will open them all up again). The book on the desk nearby says: "Memorize the positions. This knowledge might save you." Because your memory is poor, here's a screenshot to help.

This next train car is a nasty one. It's a maze, with three switches that all change the furniture to block off your path and/or the other switches. Grab the ShieldIce Shield and the X-Potion in the slightly hidden chest first. There are four switches in this car; for the purposes of the walkthrough, we'll number them from left to right, 1-4. To open a path to the next step, flip the switches in this order: 4 (rightmost switch), 2, 4, 3, 4, 2. Note that switch 1 is not used at all.

ScreenshotNow, you'll find your path is again blocked off by a wall, and there are six chests here, not unlike the chests you saw earlier. Flicking the switch appears to do nothing whatsoever. Close the chests so that they match the pattern you saw earlier, and flicking the switch will clear the path. You can walk outside to find another train car with a Save Point, and finally the locomotive; the switches here do absolutely nothing, so you can leave. When you leave the room, the party will warp out of this train and into a new section of Cyan's Dream.

So, this is the part of Cyan's mind where his still-lingering fear of machines resides. Hulking, steaming technological horrors lunge for you, and the worst part is that your abilities are crippled by the fact that you are, in fact, riding one of those mechanical monstrosities yourselves. Yes indeed, you're all covered in Imperial MagiTek Armor. Terra is the only character that will be able to use all eight attacks. If you brought Gogo, give him the Fight command in the Status menu so he can use MagiTek as well. Umaro (and Berserked characters) will randomly choose a Beam-class attack and will never use Heal Force.

PlutoArmor attacks with Battle, !Crash (Battle x 2), and Tek Laser. When it's alone it'll start using the nastier machine attacks you'll be accustomed to recognizing by now: Launcher and Shrapnel (and Tek Laser too). When hit by Fight, PlutoArmor may counter with either Launcher (on the entire party) or Shrapnel (on the attacker him/herself), but this is only possible on the Veldt or when combining the Imp and Berserk status ailments on a character (which you don't really want). Shrapnel is quite powerful and Launcher annoying as heck (for those of you that have forgotten, Launcher = 8 x ODemi on random targets), so don't leave PlutoArmor alone.

Sky Cap is much less dangerous. It'll use R. Polarity and Tek Laser. When alone, it may start to attack with Missile (which, compared to PlutoArmor's Launcher, is nothing) and !SlipAnchor, which sets Seizure.

Io is most noticeable due to its Rage, which allows the Rager to attack with Flare Star. It will either do nothing (66%) or attack with !Crush (Battle x 3) for three consecutive turns; !Crush isn't all that powerful. On the fourth turn, it'll either use WaveCannon or Diffuser. Io's a little harder to take down, but little threat to your party's safety.

The strategy, you ask? There's little here. Know that the Beam attacks are about as powerful as a level 2 spell, so if you have level 3 spells they'll be more powerful than the MagiTek attacks. You'll want to always be switching between either Heal Force or Bolt Beam in this dungeon, as Bolt Beam hits the weakness of all the enemies here. TekMissile is more powerful than Bolt Beam though, so Terra should stick to that. All enemies can be taken out by Terra's X-Fer, and both PlutoArmor and Sky Cap fall to Confuser. PlutoArmor can be crippled by status ailments such as Mute, Stop, and Berserk while Sky Cap really isn't a threat at all.

Just walk around for a while, there's only one path to take. As soon as you discover that you're walking around in circles, turn back and approach the situation from a different angle; start walking counter-clockwise. Eventually you'll arrive at a slope you haven't seen before, and you'll see Cyan cross a bridge. As soon as you try to follow him, the bridge will collapse underneath you. Awesomeness - the game gives a MagiTek Armor to your leader in the dungeon. If you switch leaders, the new character will also gain MagiTek Armor, but the other character won't lose it. When you exit this part, the MagiTek Armor is taken from the leader, but not from the other characters. Thus, those characters will appear in MagiTek Armor in the next cutscene. Neato!

The group next falls into a recognizable room: The guest chambers of Doma Castle, where you spent the night before Cyan was invaded by the Dream Stooges. You've gained a mission objective now; next to simply escaping Cyan's mind, it seems that his personal demon can be actually battled; Wrexsoul, a composite monster made up of angry spirits, is its name. It's time to seek out this demon, so that Cyan can find redemption and you can get the hell out of this freakshow. When you can move again, it's time to fulfill the request of Elayne and Owain, Cyan's wife and child. They're right: he doesn't deserve this torture, sub-par combat skills be damned! When you walk around, you can find three small cutscenes which all show a proud moment out of Cyan Garamonde's past, retainer to the King of Doma. There are three - to the left of the entrance near the moat, to the right of the entrance (also near the moat), and inside, where in the WoB Cyan found his family perished.

If you still haven't gotten the treasures from Doma Castle in the real world, you can obtain them here, too. You can find an 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 Fenix Down and some RelicBeads.

Wrexsoul is waiting for you in the throne room, sitting on the throne with Cyan lifeless on the ground next to him. The confrontation is inevitable.
SoulSaver
SoulSaver
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
41
3066
566
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
50
3
0
150
175
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimpsilencesleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fireholy
ice
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Wrexsoul
Wrexsoul
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
53
23066
5066
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
27
5
0
70
220
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicMemento Ring
Common: RelicPod Bracelet
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fireholy
ice
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Wrexsoul is obviously the main baddie here. The Ironically-named SoulSavers are the goons. At the start of the battle, Wrexsoul will cast Zinger and leave the battlefield to invade one of your characters. He won't re-appear for you to damage him until the character he invaded receives Wound, Petrify, or Zombie status. When he's out he'll just sit there for a while, attack with Battle or casting OBolt 3. When either one or two SoulSaver(s) has the Reflect status, he'll cast OBolt 3 on it, causing the spell to bounce off and hit your party. Like any proper boss, he'll counter Fight with a 33% shot at Battle.

The SoulSavers are the bane of this battle. Essentially immortal, they'll regenerate as soon as you kill them off. Normally they'll just sit there, slinging level 3 spells at you with a hilariously minimal effect. Whenever they hit 16 MP or less, they'll use !MagicDrain to drain you of your MP (and with a 50 Battle Power, their !MagicDrain is actually quite strong). They'll cast ORflect on themselves as soon as Wrexsoul is around, allowing him to cast OBolt 3 on them to damage you. On all other turns that Wrexsoul is around, they'll spend their time casting OCure spells on Wrexsoul for double-digit healing (in other words, a negligible amount).

Before the rise of normal, honest tactics, the usual method of winning this battle was casting OX-Zone. The SoulSavers restore themselves over and over again, but when you successfully suck both SoulSavers into the parallel dimension with OX-Zone, they can't do that and you'll just win the battle. The downside here is that you won't win the RelicPod Bracelet from Wrexsoul, as you won't have actually defeated him.

Normally, you'll just want to completely ignore the SoulSavers. ArmorMinerva wearers take no damage from them and anybody with an elemental shield should take very little damage all-round anyway (ShieldThunder Shields are the best, as OBolt 3 is cast most often). First, throw up the usual barriers: OHaste 2, Earth Wall, OBig Guard, Moon Song, Life Guard, what have you. Now, just check each character For Wrexsoul by killing him/her and reviving him/her. Strago can commit easy suicide with OExploder (careful: OPep Up removes him from the battle; you don't want that). Shadow can throw ShurikenNinja Stars or ShurikenShuriken to do unblockable and non-elemental damage, while Setzer's GamblerFixed Dice serve the same purpose. If you don't have these characters, just go ahead with spells and Fight attacks where you can; OFlare and OBreak are great for killing party members (provided they hit). OFlare has a superior Hit Rate, but with OBreak you've not technically killed a party member and can therefore bring him/her back without any HP loss by means of a Soft or Remedy Item or spell. If the targeted character doesn't have too much MBlock, Strago's OStone attack can probably take him/her out in one hit; remember that OStone does 7.5 times as much damage when the target shares the caster's level, which is a likely case.

Whenever Wrexsoul appears, act fast and furious! His Magic Defense is a stunning 220, which makes sure that if a magical attack isn't barrier-piercing, it'd have to be an OIce 3 spell coming from Morphed Terra to do a lot of damage. Breaking RodIce Rods and/or ShieldIce Shields counts as a barrier-piercing attack, so that's an option if your team lacks offensive power. Ideally, you'll want to stick to targetable attacks: Setzer's GamblerFixed Dice, Shadow's ShurikenNinja Stars (SwordBlizzard Swords hurt a lot), and Edgar's ToolsDrill are good ones. Barrier-piercing attacks can even be multi-targeted; Sun Flare, OGrandTrain, and Gau's Tyranosaur-induced Meteo attacks work splendidly. A OFlare spell is better than the OIce 3 spell if you have the choice. The pure magicians in your party should either cast OFlare or OIce 3 or simply resort to attacking. If Strago hasn't learned OGrandTrain (or OQuasar) yet, OStep Mine is his best option (dual RodIce Rods are also an option here, if you don't mind unusual equipment set-ups). Celes's Runic really doesn't help that much, as the level 3 spells aren't a real threat, so just keep on attacking and healing with her. Sabin's only hope at leaving a mark is Bum Rush, with which you can only hope to hit Wrexsoul itself. With Umaro, just rage.

In the end, the Wrexsoul battle isn't really dangerous; it's just very annoying, especially if you have your characters geared towards Magic Block and are doing quite well in this respect. Your own characters can be surprisingly hard to take down when necessary. Expand Full Strategy
  

After Wrexsoul has been defeated, Cyan will have a chance to talk to his departed wife and child. They gave him the courage to face his pain and despair, but even then it was too strong for him. With your help, though, he has exorcized Wrexsoul. The love of his wife and child transforms into the image of a blade, which Cyan grasps...

Back in the real world, the blade has been added to your inventory as a lousy KnifeAura Knife, and now that Cyan has cleared his soul and redeemed himself, he'll gain control over all the SwdTech skills he hasn't acquired yet, up to #8, Cleave. Contrary to fairly popular belief, he won't just learn Cleave; he'll learn all SwdTech skills. It's likely you'll gain SwdTech skills #7 and #8 at this point. Number 7, Quadra Slice, is a physical, barrier-piercing attack that hits four times and is pretty powerful; a level 40 Cyan with a RelicHero Ring will reach a total of 8000 damage. Cleave is just Instant Death to everything that's vulnerable to it. The catch with both moves is that, while they are grand, you really have to wait to reach them, even by inputting the commands of the other characters first.

As a finishing touch to this scenario, you can walk into the throne room and find the Magicite remains of the Esper EsperAlexandr, the only Esper to teach the OPearl spell.

If you play the game like me, you turned the KnifeMurasame you found on the Floating Continent into an KnifeAura, the KnifeAura into a KnifeStrato, and the KnifeStrato into a LancePearl Lance a long time ago, and this KnifeAura is the same as the one you bet earlier. Do turn it into a KnifeStrato at the Colosseum (fight a Rhyos) if this is the case; Cyan will appreciate it.

2.34: Into the Ancient Castle

Formations
6/16
1
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
2

Enemies: Figaliz, Goblin, Enuo, Master Pug

Lore: OClean Sweep, OL. 5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 3 Muddle, OStep Mine, ODischord

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

If you had paid one hundred thousand Gil to one of the thieves at the foot of the Fanatics Tower, you'll have heard of an ancient castle somewhere under the desert of Figaro, which is supposedly loaded with treasure. Hopefully you didn't, as you'll feel pretty foolish now that I've told you anyways. Now we're not greedy, but what kind of RPG-player would you be if you didn't take a look?

Whom to bring? The theme of the next dungeon will be magical resistance. The caves leading to the castle and the castle itself will be filled with monsters boasting inherent Reflective tendencies and crazy Magic Defense, making any non-barrier-piercing magical attack useless. The Pearl element is very strong here, though: LancePearl Lance Dragoons in particular are great. So is Sabin with a ClawDragon Claw on each hand, despite the negative impact on his Defense. Gau and Umaro are decent choices too, as their uncontrollable nature is no hindrance whatsoever in the next part of this fine game. Strago can learn ORippler, OBlowfish, and ODischord here, which is hardly worth mentioning due to the fact that he can learn all three on the bloody Overworld Map too. He can, however, also learn OL. 3 Muddle, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 5 Doom, and OStep Mine here (if you missed it earlier), as well as a Lore that's probably new to you, OClean Sweep.

Make your team and fly the Falcon over to Figaro Castle, which is probably on the Kohlingen side of the sea by this point. Send it over to the Figaro desert, and it will reach a bumpy part of the journey where the old man piloting the castle will ask you if you want to investigate. Boy, do we ever! Walk over to the castle dungeons, where the sandworm hole that freed the Crimson Robbers is still present. You can use it to exit this castle and enter the caves leading to the Ancient Castle.

Figaliz is short for Figaro Lizard. They're entirely too much like Crawler enemies, only much harder to take down. !Gunk causes the Poison status, and they'll use either Raid or ODischord. Figaliz doesn't have a weakness to the Pearl element, so I would suggest barrier-piercing magical attacks and physical attacks of any kind; instant-death attacks such as Gau's Wild Cat-induced Blaster attack, OX-Zone, and Cyan's Cleave technique will get the job done. Remember that Figaliz is Reflective though, meaning that ODoom and OBreak will bounce.

Goblin is a nasty enemy that delights in attacking physically, and with some force I might add. Battle isn't that tough, but !Zap (Battle x 4) really packs a punch. Whenever a Goblin is alone, he will start casting OL. 3 Muddle, OL. 4 Flare, or OL. 5 Doom every second turn, with a chance at using Blaze somewhere in between. Its Control, Sketch, and Rage are filled up with level 3 spells, too. A Goblin's Defense is horrid, so their fairly-respectable 5555 HP isn't so bad as it seems. Abuse Goblin's weaknesses by attacking with LancePearl Lances, ClawDragon Claw, and RodPearl Rods. The random OPearl spells won't do anything, but the physical strikes themselves will get the job done nicely. Instant death attacks work as well.

Enuo is a boiling glob of slimy mucus with certain powers over water. Normally it'll just attack with Battle or !Slime, which sets Slow. When an Enuo is alone, though, it'll use OAqua Rake or OClean Sweep, a new Lore for Strago. Wretched Defense and a weakness to Pearl and instant death attacks are two of the many downsides to being a heap of mucus; abuse them at your heart's content.

OClean Sweep is a multi-target Water-elemental Lore for Strago. You're probably wondering why you need another one of those, given that you already have OAqua Rake. There's three benefits to this:
  1. OClean Sweep isn't partly Wind-elemental
  2. OClean Sweep hits both sides in a Pincer attack
  3. While OClean Sweep is weaker, it doesn't split damage on multiple targets, making it stronger than OAqua Rake versus multiple targets
OAero beats both by far, so this is more or less trivia knowledge, but hey, now you know. In the room you first enter, there are two chests. To the left is a chest containing a SpecialWing Edge, the strongest 'Special' weapon for Locke. Its main selling points are +7 to Speed, the DirkAssassin and GamblerTrump's X-type instant death property, and the fact it deals the same amount of damage from the Back Row. The chest to the right contains an Ether. There are three exits below; it doesn't really matter which one you take, but the middle one and the far right one take you directly to a monster-in-a-box while you have to walk around a bit in order to leave via the left path. If you came in through the middle door, don't fret; you can walk through the wall to reach the chest you see. The chest to the top-right of this cave is the chest containing Master Pug, the toughest monster-in-a-box you'll find in this game.
Master Pug
Master Pug
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
73
22000
1200
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
9
0
100
165
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Megalixir
Rare: Elixir
Common: DirkGraedus
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
Variable
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Master Pug is very mean. He'll start the battle off with a Battle attack, and after this the madness will begin. Every 15 seconds, Master Pug takes a step forward; after seven steps, he'll use !Cleaver on a random character and retreat halfway back, meaning that he'll have to take just four more steps after that to reach the !Cleaver position again. Every step is accompanied with the ever-frustrating WallChange attack. Master Pug casts spells of the type opposing his current weakness, not unlike Number 024 way back in the day. Each time he changes his weakness, he has a two in three chance of using a magical attack that will indicate what his new weakness is. This will give you a chance to load up on that weakness until it changes again.
Indicator Attack
New Weakness
Ice
Fire
Wind
Pearl
Lightning
Poison
Water
Earth

One of the worst parts of this battle, though, is Master Pug's OStep Mine counter to every damaging attack you perform. Depending on your actions and style of playing this game, this move can do a lot of damage.

The way to victory lies in the enemy's status ailment vulnerabilities. Cast OSleep on Master Pug, and pair it up with OSlow as well. If you have enough people with control over the ORasp spell, you might try removing all his MP first; better safe than sorry, right? If you're done with that or simply don't want to bother, start attacking him with magical attacks. Physical attacks will wake him; stick to magical ones only. It's highly possible you may manage to kill him before he even wakes up once. If he does wake up, just cast OSleep again; Strago's OSour Mouth Lore also works (sets Poison too, by the way). Expand Full Strategy
  

When you're done, you win a DirkGraedus, a Pearl-elemental Dirk that can be equipped by pretty much everybody. It's a powerful weapon but doesn't have any interesting properties. Its Pearl-elemental nature can make it useful in this dungeon, though.

The only other chest in this cave contains the GamblerDoom Darts, Setzer's most powerful 'normal' weapon. Like the SpecialWing Edge, it deals the same amount of damage from the Back Row and has the DirkAssassin's X-type instant death property, but it doesn't boost any stats. In the PSX releases, you'll find the GamblerTrump here; it's the same weapon, but called GamblerTrump in the recent releases (while the WoR Kohlingen store-bought Trump is called Doom Darts there).

You'll want to exit to the left of the screen to find another cave with two chests. They contain an X-Potion (to the left) and a shard of Magicite (the one to the bottom). The main feature here is the grand stairway leading into a random encounter-less room with a Save Point and another stairway going up.

2.35: Completing the Ancient Castle

Castle Exterior
6/16
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
1
Castle Interior
5/16
1
5/16
1
5/16
2
2
1/16
4

Enemies: Samurai, Suriander, Lethal Wpn, Boxed Set, Figaliz, Goblin, Enuo, Barb-e, KatanaSoul

Lore: OClean Sweep, OBlowfish, L.5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 3 Muddle, ODischord, ORippler

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

If you've forgotten, Barb-e, Samurai, and Suriander could all be encountered in Cyan's Dream, so I won't have to explain them here. You can go back there if you want to learn about them.

Lethal Wpn looks totally badass. It has a relatively high 9200 HP, it's immune to every status effect except for instant death (and OCondemned) and has some nasty attacks up its sleeves. Normally, this is where I would say, "it will normally use Battle and !Metal Arm (Battle * 2) when he's with other monsters, as that's what his AI script says." However, since you always encounter this thing by itself, it'll just randomly use Missile, Launcher, or Diffuser. Launcher is the worst out of the bunch (Diffuser may hurt if your Magic Defense/resistance to Lightning isn't all that hot). You'll want to use instant death attacks against the fellow; he's inherently Reflective like almost everything here, but OX-Zone flies right past that, as does Gau's Wild Cat/Spek Tor-induced Blaster attacks, his Rhodox-induced Snare, Instant Death coming from weapons like the DirkAssassin and DirkStriker, etc. If you lack all that, focus on Lightning- and Water-elemental attacks that defy the existence of Reflect: SkeanWater Skean, Tri-Dazer, OAqua Rake, you know what to do.

Boxed Set is a sweet enemy as well. Inherently Reflective and Floating, you'll be hard-pressed to take this guy out with any kind of magical attack (as you're used to with the monsters around here). Normally a Battle/!Mirror Orb (Battle * 3) zealot, he'll switch to Cold Dust and Meteo when alone. Meteo will hurt real badly: just across the 1000 HP line. Cold Dust induces Freeze like always and is a pain in the ass. A common weakness to Pearl-elemental attacks and instant death attacks combined with a low Defense rating should make it obvious how to treat this bugger. You can Mute them, so you could always summon EsperSiren or have Strago use a OSour Mouth attack to stop them from using their most dangerous attack. Of special note is the fact that both OL. 3 Muddle and OL. 5 Doom will work on these guys (also on the Figaliz monsters often accompanying them). If you brought Strago, you're in luck.

When you approach the derelict halls of the ancient castle, once the proud monument of a civilization destroyed during the War of the Magi, the character most suited to know the story will speak of the attack and the legend of the magnificent battle between Odin and a powerful sorcerer of his time. Maybe we will be able to find the remains of Odin inside? Before you enter the main hall, there are two more or less hidden doors to the left and right of the large doors. To the right is an already open door leading to a chest containing the RodPunisher. The RodPunisher is a weapon that you haven't seen since Banon wielded it, and now that you've acquired the weapon, its special power can finally be seen. Like the SwordRune Edge and SwordOgre Nix, it has an MP-driven auto-critical. It doesn't have any practical use unless you brought Relm or a OGrandTrain-less Strago along for this dungeon, as it's the strongest attacking Rod there is (except for when the RodPearl Rod is hitting a weakness).

To the left is a chest containing the legendary RelicOffering, one of the most talked-about Relics in the game. Guarding this item is a monster-in-a-box, KatanaSoul. I talked about Master Pug being the toughest monster in a box, but KatanaSoul is definitely up there competing for that title.
KatanaSoul
KatanaSoul
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
61
37620
7400
30000
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
25
11
20
115
175
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: KnifeStrato
Rare: KnifeMurasame
Common: RelicOffering
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceberserksleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
First off, a note of warning: KatanaSoul is unique in the fact that he's a monster in a box you can run from. Doing so hurts your game though; you won't be able to fight him when you return to the chest, and thus you'll miss out on the RelicOffering.

KatanaSoul is the perfect hybrid between a Samurai and a Ninja, as will become apparent by his AI script. Normally, his attacks will consist of Battle, any of the three offensive ninja scrolls (SkeanFire Skean, SkeanWater Skean, or SkeanBolt Edge), and Gale Cut, OBlowfish, or Shock Wave. This isn't half bad for an opponent, but nothing spectacular either. It's when the enemy is aggravated that it becomes lethal. When you've battled him for longer than 40 seconds, he'll pump himself up. The message "KatanaSoul's power up!" will appear, and he will self-apply the Image and Reflect statuses, making him immune to every blockable Fight attack for the duration of Image and most Magic spells for the duration of Reflect. He'll also try to set Haste, but with inherent Slow immunity it will fail. Sad thing.

He may counter Fight, Magic, and Lore with a Battle, but that's not the purpose of his counter script there; when hit six times by Fight, he'll use !SlayerEdge on a random party member, which is a simple one-hit Wound attack with an admittedly poor Hit Rate of 100. When hit three times by any combination of Magic spells or Lore attacks, he'll chuck a weapon (either DirkImperial or KnifeAshura) at a random party member, doing about 8000 damage to him/her. He'll then spend the next turn using Setzer's GP Rain, dealing exactly 915 HP worth of damage to four party members (1220 to three if one is still down from the thrown blade).

KatanaSoul's glaring weakness is the combination of vulnerability to the Confuse status and its own Special, !SlayerEdge. By setting Confuse with the OMuddle spell, Strago's OSour Mouth Lore, EsperStray's Cat Rain, Edgar's ToolsNoiseBlaster, or whathaveyou, KatanaSoul has a 50% chance of killing himself with !SlayerEdge. Sketching nets you a 25% shot at !SlayerEdge too. Exploit this weakness for a far easier battle.

If you're looking for more of a challenge or for some other reason don't want to muddle the poor warrior into defeat, here's what you'll want to do. First, throw up your barriers. Focus on the magical side; OBig Guard (for Shell) or EsperZoneseek's Wall, OHaste 2, EsperKirin's Life Guard, etc. EsperGolem and EsperFenrir help against !SlayerEdge, but you shouldn't see it directed at you anyway.

Now, let loose with your characters. There's no reason to use Fight, Magic, or Lore on KatanaSoul. Terra, Celes, and Strago should really just wait out this battle. Attack with Bum Rush Blitzes, Cyan's SwdTech skills (Quadra Slice is nice), Jump attacks, the ToolsDrill Tool, etc. If you're really unlucky and brought all the wrong characters, just Fight (!SlayerEdge every sixth Fight attack isn't all that bad). When KatanaSoul powers up, ODispel removes all three positive statuses immediately. If you want to be evil, you can break the no-Lore rule one time and steal all three with ORippler (provided Strago's not prancing around with something like a RelicPod Bracelet or RelicMarvel Shoes). Expand Full Strategy
  

After KatanaSoul dies, you'll receive the RelicOffering! The RelicOffering is often misused and - dare I say it - abused. So, it's time to sit down and discuss the RelicOffering a little. What does the RelicOffering do? It causes Fight to execute four attacks in a row rather than just one. It also makes every Fight attack become unblockable. The RelicOffering Fight is also smart; it will never hit defeated opponents when there are still living ones on the battlefield. That's all good. It also removes random spell casting (but not KnifeTempest's Wind Slash) and criticals (including MP-driven criticals), which is kinda unfortunate in most situations. The downside is that it halves the power of every physical attack of the person equipping it. This makes sure that any person equipped with the RelicOffering would better stick to Fight as things like Quadra Slice, ToolsDrill, Suplex, and Pummel all halve in power.

An often-heard combination is RelicGenji Glove and RelicOffering, allowing for eight physical strikes. Is this combination really that good? It delivers quite a lot of damage most of the time, and it looks flashy to see eight attacks in a row. However, you sacrifice two Relic slots in addition to the ability to equip a shield by doing this, and that's a lot of sacrificing. Is the damage output really that good to justify the sacrifice? Hardly. It's up there as far as offensive prowess goes with a single Bum Rush, Quadra Slice, and a luckier RelicDragon Horn Jump attack, sure, but that's about it. And once again, you're losing a lot defensively here.

Then what are the better applications of the RelicOffering? In short, the odd weapons. The damage outcome of the GamblerFixed Dice isn't cut by the RelicOffering, so Setzer equipped with the RelicOffering and the GamblerFixed Dice will become exactly four times as powerful as a non-RelicOffering GamblerFixed Dice Setzer, all for the loss of only a single Relic slot. The same goes for Locke's DirkValiant Knife, but I'll explain about that weapon once you've gotten it. Cyan's KnifeTempest Wind Slashes won't decrease in power either, but even when all four hits turn into a Wind Slash attack, the damage won't be stellar. Weapons with the X-type Instant Death feature (and the SwordScimitar) don't lose their instant death properties, so you'll have four consecutive shots at a 25% immediate dispatch. A DirkThief Knife still attempts to steal, and a SpecialHawk Eye or SpecialSniper will still randomly inflict more damage.

A quick note about the DirkThief Knife; the game can only store a single stolen item per attack, so if you combine the RelicOffering with a Thiefknife you'll only actually obtain the last item you succesfully stole. All others have been removed from the monsters but are not in your inventory.

Let's press on. Inside, there will just be a big hallway you have to cross. The next room is the throne room, with the statue of Odin in the middle of it (Petrification was the quickest strategy versus Odin in Final Fantasy V, you might recall). Now, you can add the EsperOdin Magicite to your inventory by talking to the statue. The pathway to the right, just next to the thrones, takes you to a room with two chests: a RelicBlizzard Orb for Umaro and a RelicGold Hairpin for absolutely nobody in particular.

Also to the right, a little south of that very pathway, is another pathway leading to the queen's room. There's an X-Ether in the bucket, but what really draws your attention is the sparkle on the bookcase. It turns out to be the queen's diary; it seems that the queen and Odin had a little romancin' going on for a while there. If Terra is in your party at this point, she'll step away from the party to look sad and say, "Love between a human and an Esper..."

At this point, one of the scholars up in Figaro Castle will change his dialogue line to this: "Ancient texts I'm studying speak of a 1000 year-old city beneath the sand. I wonder what this means, '...when the queen stands and takes 5 steps...'" Of course, you needn't wonder, because you're about to find out. The Queen's throne is the one to the right side of the screen. Face the throne, take five steps downwards, and press the 'action' button to make the castle rumble and shake for a slight moment. Now, re-enter the queen's room to find that a stairway has appeared, leading even further down.

This new hallway is devoid of random encounters, but there are two things of interest here; first, the petrified remains of the queen herself. If you have collected the Magicite of EsperOdin and interact with the statue, a tear will come from the stone to drop upon his remains, turning it into EsperRaiden, the EsperOdin upgrade with the superior summon attack, True Edge, and the ability to teach the awesome OQuick spell. Also:
Blue Drgn
Blue Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
65
26900
3800
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: SwordScimitar
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
water
lightning
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
If you have any Imp equipment (ShieldTortoise Shield, HelmetTitanium, ArmorImp's Armor), throw it on! The Blue Drgn is all about Water-elemental attacks, and that's what Imp equipment absorbs. Don't equip ShieldIce Shields, as OAqua Rake will hit twice as hard when you don't have any Imp equipment; ShieldFlame Shields are even worse, as they are weak against Water-elemental attacks in general. ShieldThunder Shields are great as they null the effects of OAqua Rake (as it's part Wind-elemental) and halve all damage done by Flash Rain (as it's part Ice-elemental); ShieldForce Shields halve the damage done by Water-elemental attacks in general, too. ArmorMinerva wearers shine once again; ArmorMinerva nulls OAqua Rake and Flash Rain and halves damage done by all other Water-elemental attacks. Equipping ArmorSnow Mufflers on Gau, Mog, and Umaro will allow them to absorb the Flash Rain attacks. Relics protecting from Seizure (that'd be RelicRibbon, RelicCure Ring and RelicMarvel Shoes) are great, too.

As soon as the battle starts, the Blue Drgn will attack with OClean Sweep. If Strago is in your party and hasn't learned Cleansweep from either the Enuo random encounters or the Master Pug enemy yet, here's your chance. Normally, the blasted creature will attack with Battle and Flash Rain; believe me, Seizure will get very annoying very quickly if you don't have protection against the status. When Blue Drgn dives beneath 16384 HP, he'll also start attacking with OAqua Rake and Flash Rain. Every 40 seconds, Blue Drgn will have stored enough water for a OClean Sweep attack as well. All in all, you will be continuously pounded by multi-target attacks. Any Magic spell or damaging attack you use against the Blue Drgn may be countered by Battle, as usual.

The difficult part of the Blue Drgn's AI script is the ORippler spell. To put it simply (or as simply as possible), Blue Drgn will use ORippler if:
  1. One of your characters has the Haste status. If so, it will target that character; if more than one character has the Haste status, it picks the first one with the status in your formation, going from top to bottom.
  2. If Blue Drgn isn't already enhanced by the Haste status.
  3. If Blue Drgn isn't enhanced with the Safe status.
  4. If it has been two turns since (not counting the 40-second Cleansweep attack) Blue Drgn last used ORippler.

If all those conditions are met, Blue Drgn will cast OSlow on itself and proceed to use ORippler to try to steal the Haste status and give your character the Slow status instead. So what to do? Throw up the boring old blah-blah barriers: OBig Guard, Wall, Life Guard, Earth Wall, Moon Song, and so on. If you brought Shadow, you do not want him to be the victim of ORippler, ever (Interceptor could be stolen). Don't apply the Haste status. Attack with Lightning-elemental spells if possible. EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer isn't absorbed, so that works; OBolt 3 is stronger, though. SkeanBolt Edges work great, but SwordThunder Blades are even more powerful. The same old stuff still works. The mages should stick to Lightning-elemental attacks. Edgar makes a good RelicDragon Horn Dragoon, as usual. Sabin's Bum Rush beats all, like usual. Setzer's GP Rain is still stronger than Slot, while the GamblerFixed Dice (especially when paired with the RelicOffering) are superior to both of them. Cyan can't really do his job as usual (though you can set him up as a utility man). Gau's Aspik Rage allows him to absorb all Water-elemental attacks while making him attack with Giga Volt, a strong Lightning-elemental attack that will really hurt Blue Drgn. Actaneon and Exocite also allow Ragers to absorb Water-elemental attacks.

You know, this battle's ease doesn't mean that the Blue Drgn is weak; on the contrary, with regular multi-target magical spells packing some power behind them and no crippling status vulnerabilities, the Blue Drgn is a fairly solid contender. It's just that the fact that your characters are becoming more overpowered really begins to show by now. If Bum Rush and RelicDragon Horn Dragoons weren't enough, you get to use GamblerFixed Dice/RelicOffering, equip armor like the ArmorMinerva and HelmetCat Hood, and have access to all the awesome no-questions-asked attacks such as OGrandTrain and Bum Rush. Expand Full Strategy
  

When you have defeated the Blue Drgn, you'll be rewarded with the SwordScimitar, one of Ted Woolsey's biggest goofs. The Japanese name of EsperOdin's attack is 'Zantetsuken', 'Iron Cutting Blade'. The SwordScimitar was called Zantetsuken in the Japanese version; the SwordScimitar was therefore intended to be Odin's weapon. The link is lost on the average American/European gamer though, as SwordScimitar/Atom Edge doesn't ring any immediate bells other than the slicing effect of both. Anyway, it's the only non-Knife weapon Cyan can equip and pretty much his best option (while his 'ultimate' weapon is slightly stronger, it has none of the neat side-effects the SwordScimitar does).

With EsperRaiden obtained and the Blue Drgn defeated, there is nothing more for you here. You can leave this place and tell the old man in Figaro Castle to advance with the castle. You can revisit this place any time you want to, as every time you travel under the sea with Figaro Castle the old man will be surprised by the oddness of the stratum. The guy probably has trouble remembering his wife's birthday too.

2.36: The World Inside the Zone Eater

Island
1
All Caves Except Gogo's Room
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
5/16
1
2
1/16
2
2
Gogo's Cave
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
5/16
2
1/16
1
1

Enemies: Zone Eater, Covert, Ogor, Wart Puck, Karkass, Tap Dancer, Woolly

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Umaro

"The island is home to a monster that could suck up an entire ocean. What do you suppose might happen if it sucked you inside? That much I don't know!"

Now here's an odd monster indeed. It absorbs Ice-elemental attacks, is weak against Pearl-elemental attacks, and nullifies all other elements. And all it seems to use is a rare ODemi spell and the Engulf attack. Engulf is pretty much the same as Sneeze; it removes a single character from battle. If you run away with some characters 'in the body of Zone Eater', you'll just find them in your party at the end. If you kill the thing after some of your characters have been eaten, likewise.

However, if your entire team falls victim to the Engulf attack, you'll find yourself in one of the worlds this Zone Eater ate; a cave, filled with humans (or at least, humanoids) bent on your destruction for some reason that doesn't involve logical thinking. Best to be on your guard. You find yourself within the Zone Eater cave. To the north is a beam of light; you can use this whenever you want to leave the innards of the Zone Eater and face the light of day again. However, for now it might be interesting to intrude further into the bowels of this strange creature. Who knows what oddities of another world we may find here that may help us in the struggle against Kefka.

Preparation: A lot of elemental attacks and status ailments are thrown around, but rather than using full force you'll want to play it defensively this time. A ShieldThunder Shield is a grand choice for everybody you can put one on; never use ShieldIce Shields and ShieldFlame Shields, as the former is weak to Wind Slash and the latter is weak against the SkeanWater Skean (and both will appear here). Equip RelicRibbons where possible; you'll want something to block Ogor's !Zombite (Zombie) and Karkass's !Figaro Tea (Imp). The RelicRibbon also protects against the Woolly's !Frenzy, which sets Berserk, but that's not really a threat.

Do you remember those Ninjas from the Floating Continent, bane of our existence that they were? Coverts are like super-Ninjas. Though you'd think that a ninja smart enough to dress in dark garments would be inherently superior to those flailing along in bright-red outfits (screws over the entire 'hide in the shadow' theme ninjas tend to be all about), Coverts can be a real pain, especially since Coverts lack the Ninjas' main defensive weak point; Covert is immune to instant death attacks. On every odd-numbered turn, you will be faced with either a physical or a Wind Slash, and on every even turn he'll throw a Skean at you (all three may appear). Both of these are about equally strong. When hit by a Thrown weapon, Covert will respond by Throwing a ShurikenShuriken or ShurikenNinja Star of his own; avoid this at all cost. Finally, any Fight attack you select may make Covert use !Disappear on himself, which sets Clear. Cast OSleep, OStop, OSlow 2, or OBserk to derail their magical multi-target attacks and snuff them out quickly; they're not weak to Lightning as the Ninjas were, but they are weak to Pearl. Consequently, the OPearl spell employed by a decent caster will serve you well here.

Ogor is annoying, as he will use up to three !Zombite attacks every turn, which can quickly turn very fatal for you if you're not protected from Zombie. When hit by a Magic spell, Ogor has a 33% chance of countering with the OBio spell, and every other kind of damage may be countered with a Battle attack. Ogor is weak to Lightning- and Pearl-elemental attacks, and both OStop and OBserk will prevent him from using those blasted !Zombites.

Wart Puck is the only non-humanoid enemy in the cave. Wart Puck is as good an example of Battle/Special cannon fodder as they come in this game. !Yawn sets Sleep and is randomly used next to Battle, every turn. When hurt, Wart Puck may counter with an annoying Sneeze attack, so you'll want to take Wart Puck out in one shot to make sure nobody misses out on Magic Points. Since it is immune to instant death and every status ailment except for Sleep, your best bet is a single target OFire 3 spell as Wart Puck is weak to Fire-elemental attacks.

Karkass, like all Ing palette swaps, is a pain. The only Undead random encounter immune to instant death attacks (outside of the Fanatics Tower), Karkass is a superior opponent. Every Fight attack may be countered by Battle, every Magic spell will be countered by either OBolt 3, OBreak, or OFlare, and everything that damages Karkass and is neither Fight nor Magic will be countered by a Lifeshaver attack. In between all these counter-attacks, Karkass will only use !Figaro Tea, which sets Imp. Use OLife spells to take them out cleanly, and strong Fight attacks will also work (you'll want to avoid the magical counter- attacks, they're quite strong). Karkass is weak against Pearl-elemental attacks, so next to GamblerFixed Dice, LancePearl Lance RelicDragon Horn Dragoons are very nice (note that Jump will be countered by Lifeshaver if they survive the slaughter).

Tap Dancer uses Battle and !WaistShake, which seduces and confuses you. That's about it. You don't want to see these enemies appear, however, as they are always paired with two Coverts, but they're not very dangerous themselves. If you have Shadow or Gogo Throw something at them, they will counter by Throwing either an SwordEnhancer or SwordCrystal sword, so just don't use Throw on them and you'll be fine.

Woolly is one of the most elusive monsters in the game, as they only appear randomly at a 1/16 rate in a few rooms where you'll want to breeze through. As an opponent, they're pretty straightforward unless you're very unlucky; they will just use !Frenzy (which sets Berserk), and, when they're targeted by Fight, they'll counter with Battle. Aside from that counter business, their big thing is elemental absorption; they absorb all elements except for Fire (weakness) and Pearl (normal reaction). There's no reason to be equipped with any weapon that's elemental based in this area. Woolly makes a great Rage, casting OIce 3 randomly and absorbing six elements (its Fire weakness tends to be overruled by Gau's ArmorSnow Muffler), so you won't want to leave this place until you've encountered these guys at least once if you're a Gau fan.

ScreenshotTake the stairs down. You'll see another set of stairs going further down, but these'll just take you to a blocked-off path. You'll want to go to the right, to a crazy section of unstable wooden pathways with strange green men walking on them. These cretins will push you off the pathway whenever they get a hold of you, so you'll want to jump pathways when they're not around. Be sure to be pushed off at least once though. This way, you'll reach the other side of the blocked-off cave below to gather the Ether and the ArmorRed Jacket lying there.

On the pathway, there are two chests next to each other: ArmorGenji Armor to the right and a BrushMagical Brush for Relm to the left (like all Brush weapons, it's utter crap). The ArmorGenji Armor is the ultimate heavy-class armor. ArmorMinerva is better by sheer elemental resistances and the MP +25% bonus, but the ArmorGenji Armor is all-round the most useful armor for the heavy-equipment guys (Locke, Cyan, Edgar, Setzer, and surprisingly, Shadow). It tends to be outclassed by stuff like the ArmorForce Armor against bosses (for elemental resistances and MBlock and all), but all in all, ArmorGenji Armor is awesome.

To the far left is a chest containing a RelicFake Mustache. You could have obtained this thing earlier by stealing it from a Still Life, but this is the sure-fire way of getting access to Relm's Control ability. If you want to learn about that, take a look at the chapter that talks more about Control.

If you safely crossed the bridges, you'll now wind up in a room with a Save Point, devoid of monster formations as rooms like those usually are. Do your stuff, and equip some RelicSprint Shoes. I suggest you save here. In the next room, I should note first off that there are no monster formations. Second, you can't access the Menu. Third, there's a big damn ceiling falling down every few seconds. If you are crushed under the ceiling, it's an instant Game Over. You don't want that. That's where the RelicSprint Shoes come in.

Sprint to the left and grab the contents of the first chest in sight, which is a RelicZephyr Cape. Wait for the ceiling to fall and grab the next chest (RelicHero Ring) before it moves back up again. Wait in front of the chest until the ceiling drops and rises again. Now, sprint as far to the left as you can, take one step back and two down. You'll be caught safe in a hole in the ceiling now. From here, make a run for the final chest, which holds a ShurikenTack Star for Shadow. There's no need wait now, just exit below; there's a little, meaningless cave here with random encounters again. Pass straight through.

A jumping puzzle faces you now. First, take the one-chest path to the left and the two-chest path above you to reach the pathway near a button; you can jump on the platform with the action button. It'll extend two extra tiles of pathway: One for you to leave and one to reach the treasure. Jump off. Take the same one-chest path to the left, another one-chest jump, and then a one-chest jump up to the chest containing a ShieldThunder Shield. Now go around again until you can jump on the platform with the button again; just take the one-chest jump to the left instead, leading you to a door.

Except for a whole new set of new monster formations without any new monsters, the point of interest here is the creature draped in fabric standing just ahead of the party. It's Gogo, the last character you will recruit in this game. After introducing him/her/itself as a master of the simulacrum, he/she/it will decide to both hone his/her/its own skills and help you on your quest by joining the party's cause. Gogo (let's refer to this thing as it from here out) will join your ranks now; if you were traveling with less than four characters, it'll now be in your party. If not, it'll be waiting on the Falcon for you, as is always the case with new characters.

For now, you can either use a Warp Stone or the OWarp spell to get back out. Or, just hike all the way back and find the pillar of light waiting for you, if you lack warping means (but, warping's the only way to travel!).

2.37: Phoenix Cave and the Red Dragon

Basic Floors
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
2
5/16
2
1
1/16
1
2
Lava Floors
5/16
3
5/16
5
5/16
1
1
2
1/16
1
2

Enemies: Uroburos, Phase, Parasoul, Chaos Drgn, Sea Flower, Aquila, Necromancer, Trixter

Lore: OBlowfish, OL. 4 Flare

Party: Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Almost a year ago, you met a man in the Auction House in Jidoor that talked about a relic that could 'bring back wayward spirits', but he had to admit that only in the Imperial capital of Vector could a relic like that be found. We haven't come across any object of this great a power yet, but a hidden letter in the painting of Emperor Gestahl mentioned 'the treasure' lying somewhere where the mountains form a star. It's more than likely this is the same item, and it's also possible this is the item Locke has been searching for. We can use all the power we can get, and, with Locke still nowhere to be found, it doesn't hurt to head to where he might be. Once we get the relic he's likely searching for, we may be able to find him.

The Phoenix Cave is indeed hidden where the mountains form a star; just north of Tzen (where you found Sabin earlier), there is a large mountain range with a hole right in the middle. Once above this point, you can use the 'cancel' button to lower two teams of four characters down into the dungeon.

You know, this is the first time that it occured to me this area is probably just a volcano. Square calls it 'Phoenix Cave' and you kinda just stop thinking.

Whom to bring? It's kind of a toss-up. On the one hand, the stronger the characters you bring, the easier a time you'll have in this dungeon. And make no mistake, even though it lacks a proper boss battle at the end, this is pretty much the Zozo/Floating Continent of the WoR; you get used to the royal treatment when, all of a sudden, the battles heat up and you're in danger again. On the other hand, this is the last dungeon before we dive into the final one, so you'll want to train the ones you've been neglecting so far. I tend to take the eight characters with the lowest level, but you might like to bring the stronger ones and level the weaker ones later. Of course, there's always the option of over leveling a set of stronger characters so that they can make up for the deficiencies of the weaker ones once the time comes; character selection here really depends on what kind of strategy you prefer.

You now have two parties to control; use the Y button to switch between the two. Know that there's no shame in sharing the really great equipment between the two groups; the RelicOffering is a one-of-a-kind Relic you might like on Setzer and Gau while they're each in different parties; the same goes for items like the HelmetRed Caps, the RelicGem Box, the SwordIllumina, and the ShieldPaladin Shield (although you probably don't have them yet).

Most of the enemies here absorb Fire-elemental attacks and are weak to Ice. It's interesting, in this light, that the character best prepared for this scenario is the one who is most personally interested: Celes Chere.

You'll recognize Uroburos from its palette swap Bloompire. Uroburos shares the latter's incredible defenses, but it isn't Undead, meaning the OCure spell will be ineffective against them. This time around though, you have plenty of barrier-piercing attacks you can utilize to straight-up murder these things. Like most enemies in this cave, Uroburos absorbs Fire-elemental attacks and has a rare Fenix Down to both Steal and receive for winning. On the offense, it uses OBio spells every second turn and !Doom Touch (which sets Zombie) on the fourth. It loops from here, as you'd probably have guessed.

Phase uses Battle and !Smirk, which sets Stop. When alone, it'll start using OBlowfish, which deals 1000 damage as always, and it'll have a 33% chance of retorting with OBlowfish whenever it's damaged. Try to take them out in a single shot; OIce 2 and OIce 3 spells work like a charm.

Parasoul are annoying, as they may use their Special !Spin Slice on their first turn, which sets Confuse. Every second turn may feature the Ice-/Water-elemental Flash Rain, though this should be absorbed or nullified by a large portion of your characters by now. When alone, it will start to use El Nino on you, which is about twice as powerful. Parasouls are weak against Ice and vulnerable to Instant Death.

Chaos Drgn attacks rarely, but when it does it's probably bad news for you. Most of its turns are spent doing nothing; the only exceptions are its second turn and its seventh turn, after which it spends another five turns waiting before looping. There is a 33% chance of seeing Chaos Drgn use Disaster on its second turn, an attack that you probably haven't seen; it can be multi-targeted and sets Dark, Imp, OCondemned, Mute, Muddle, and Float. The AI script for its second turn has it use !Cinderizer one-third of the time, a Special that sets Death.

Sea Flowers are kinda annoying. They often attack in large numbers and have quite a few Hit Points (4200) for an average encounter. They also have a Special, !Feeler, which sets Poison. Mass Ice- and Lightning-elemental attacks are the way to go; OX-Zone also gets the job done very nicely.

Aquila is famed for its rare Steal: the RelicEconomizer, a Relic which cuts MP usage for every Magic spell and Lore technique down to 1. Aquila has mean physicals (!Flap hurts especially bad), absorbs Fire, and sometimes uses Cyclonic out of the blue. It may counter any form of damage with a 33% chance of using a Shimsham attack (which you can have Celes absorb with her Runic blade, just to be on the safe side).

Necromancers, according to Anthology, are unfortunate mortals that have been hit by a !ZombiStick attack. They're like vampires; a spreading plague over the lands. Necromancers are extremely dangerous, make no mistake about that. Why? They can use !ZombiStick on their very first turn, which obviously sets Zombie. That's annoying enough, but it doesn't stop there. Every time Necromancer is damaged, even if this damage is fatal, it may counter with a ODemi or OQuartr spell on the character that damaged it. Also, when only a single Necromancer is alive, it will drop its normal, physical-oriented AI script and randomly cast ODoom, OX-Zone and OFlare spells, all of which are bad. Their OFlare spells deal around 1000 damage. The way to get at these enemies is the OLife spell: Necromancers are Undead. Since OLife spells don't technically deal damage, you won't have to worry about the counter-attacks, so as long as you make sure no Necromancer is left alone you shouldn't need to witness their wrath.

Trixters are the only opponents in this volcano that don't absorb Fire. They like to use it, though: OFire 2, generally. If you use ORflect spells, they'll get into all kinds of crazy shenanigans, too. If any of your characters has Reflect status, they'll start casting OCure 2, ORflect and OHaste spells on you; if any of them has the Reflect status, they'll start casting Fire, OFire 2 and OFire 3 spells on themselves. Very fun. They have incredibly high Magic Defense, so stick to physical attacks, especially Pearl-elemental ones.

Let's make the first party you'll act with upon entering the dungeon Party #1 and the other party Party #2. Easy enough, right? Let's dive into this volcano! Since most of the 'puzzles' in this dungeon consist of clever switching between the two parties, I've taken care in the section ahead to be extremely clear on the matter of when to switch.

Note the spikes in this cavern: They deal 400 damage every time you land or walk on them. They disregard status ailments, so a Petrified character may still be hurt by them. Also, the spikes will never kill a character outright; if a character has 400 HP or less, it'll set the amount of current HP to 1.

Party #1: There are no enemies on the cliff, but there is the crane of the Falcon waiting for you; you can grab it any time you like to return to the Falcon with all your characters waiting onboard. Walk inside the cave. Find the pressure tile inside and stand on it; it should open a pathway. When you step off the tile it will close again, so you'll have to stay put. Change to the other party.

Party #2: Walk inside and enter the door being held open by Party #1. On the other side, there are spikes to the top-right, a chest to the left and a passage leading to another pressure tile to the bottom-right. If you try to get the chest, you'll fall down through a gap in the floor onto some spikes, which deliver 400 HP of damage to your entire party. If you did this, you can go around to the bottom, up the stairs and stand on the pressure tile to permanently extend a bridge to the chest, which you can now open for a SpecialWing Edge. Later, you'll be able to do this without taking 400 spike damage. Regardless, you'll want to move your party on top of the pressure tile right above the pressure tile Party #1 is standing on. Once this has been done, switch to the other party.

There are two options here. The first requires taking spike damage to the party:

Party #1: Take the party over the spikes. If you're smart, you can minimize the damage to 800 a character (two spike-tiles). Go down, ignoring the spike-guarded chest (it's empty), and go to the right and up. Stand on the pressure tile there, go back, and trace back down the pathway. Go all the way (you'll find an empty chest along the way) and switch.

Party #2: Walk over the spikes (they'll deal a total of 1200 damage to your party) and go down the stairway to the left. If you haven't picked up the SpecialWing Edge in the chest, do so now. If you have already or if you're done, jump over the newly formed tiles. Switch back to Party #1.

This second option is longer but doesn't incur spike damage:

Party #1: Go up until you come across another pressure tile: it shouldn't be far from your starting point. Stand on it to remove the spikes that were in the way of Party #2 earlier. Switch.

Party #2: Walk across the now-disappeared spikes. To your left is a stairway going down; you can use it to enter a lower level, allowing you to claim the SpecialWing Edge chest on the other end. The other path, a wooden bridge over the lava, is broken off for now, so there's no reason to go down here if you grabbed the SpecialWing Edge earlier. On the upper level, you'll want to walk to the far right, where you come across a stairway leading to another pressure tile. It removes some spikes in the area where Party #1 is standing. Switch.

Party #1: Finally, some real action with #1! Walk over where the spikes were previously until you come across a stairway. Past the stairway is another now-spikeless pathway leading to a chest, but the chest is Empty! You never know, any random scoundrel or even Ziegfried might have emptied these chests. But could it have been Locke? Regardless, turn back and descend the stairway. On the lower level, there are two paths; ignore the right one for now, in favor of the left. Here, you will find an empty chest and a pressure tile which causes some rocks to rise out of the lava, creating a pathway for #2. Switch.

Party #2: Go the left and descend a level. Now, jump over the newly raised rocks once to reach the other side and again to reach the new area. On the other side, there's a chest with some spikes in front of it. You can risk your life and limbs to open it, but this chest is as empty as the ones preceding it, so don't. Before you enter the narrow passage, notice the pressure tile near the big rock blocking the path to the right. Stand on it to cause another passageway to open, blocking your current one. Switch.

Once you've gone through one of the two options, you'll be ready to proceed.

Party #1: There's really no other way to go but down, following the path across the lava. You'll come across another chest, but it'll be just as empty as the others. Pressing on, enter the passageway #2 created for you. Go around and ignore the path leading over the spikes. Step onto the pressure tile, which restores the passageway to make room for #2. Switch.

Party #2: #2 can take the opportunity to use the Save Point to the left, but you'll just want to be standing on the pressure tile before switching parties.

Party #1: Move up and to the left, over the lowered spikes. You'll come across a stairway; go down the stairway to the lower level. You'll get a shot at a jumping puzzle now! Jump over the rocks to the left, then below and to the right. From here, the first jumping option takes you to an empty chest, while the other one takes you to a stairway going up again. Do this, and you'll come across a skeleton switch shortly; flip it to allow all the water from the upper level to flow over the lava in the lower one, solidifying it so that you can walk on it. Going down the little stairway will only show you that you won't be able to go on any further with this party, so switch.

Party #2:There's another pressure tile to the far left. Stand on it to clear the path for #1.

Party #1: Don't go all the way down yet: there's a boss battle here, and you'll want the option to choose between your two parties. Go up the little stairway, and you'll see three pressure tiles: one up and two below. You'll want to hit the single one. Switch.

Party #2: As soon as you get off the pressure tile, your path to the other side will be cleared. You can only go one way, which will take you to some solidified lava. You can now get to the unopened chest in the middle, which, in a shocking turn of events, isn't empty but instead contains a RelicRibbon. Go up the stairway that you couldn't get to by rock jumping earlier, and you'll find yourself on the upper level once more. Walk under the ceiling (that blocks the view of your characters) until you reach what would have been a dead end, had #2 not created a pathway for you by raising the two rocks via pressure switch. Jump to the other side. Now, occupy either one of the two pressure tiles that are right next to each other. Switch.

Party #1: Get off the first pressure tile and occupy the other pressure tile right next to #2. A pathway will permanently clear. On the other side, you'll find a stairway leading to the exit of this dungeon.

Party #1 or #2: Either party can go fight the dragon ahead. I should note that the dragon is seemingly guarding a chest, which contains a RelicDragon Horn that you might find interesting.

Party #2 or #1: Continue down the only path you can follow. Eventually, you'll find the last person you were missing: Locke Cole. It turns out that he has just reached his life-long ambition too; Locke has finally found the lost relic able to restore life: The Magicite remains of the EsperPhoenix Esper. The scene switches to the village of Kohlingen.

Note that you can return here later if you want to; there will be a red sparkle to the right of the EsperPhoenix Esper chest. This is merely a warp sparkle that you can use to return to the Falcon. At some point, though, you're going to want to fight the dragon in this dungeon.
Red Dragon
Red Dragon
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
30000
1780
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: KnifeStrato
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceberserksleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
icewater
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
The Red Dragon is red and lives in a volcano. It may shock you to discover he's a Fire dragon! You'll be laughing by now, I assume; not only have you already spotted his weakness to the Confuse status, but the Fire element is the one most easily protected against. The ArmorRed Jacket, ShieldIce Shield, ArmorMinerva, and RelicBlizzard Orb all nullify it, the ShieldFlame Shield and RelicRage Ring absorb it, and, if those resources aren't enough, the ShieldForce Shield, ShieldThunder Shield, HelmetCat Hood, ArmorSnow Muffler, and ArmorForce Armor all halve damage done by the element. Even though the Red Dragon tries to counter this by employing OFlare spells and the OL. 4 Flare attack, he's still fairly easy.

Every 40 seconds, Red Dragon will use a particularly powerful attack; either S. Cross, Flare Star, or OL. 4 Flare. Flare Star still deals Fire-elemental damage based on your level, S. Cross is just a strong multi-target Fire-elemental attack and OL. 4 Flare deals non-elemental, barrier-piercing damage to every character whose level is divisible by 4.

Normally, Red Dragon switches between OFire 2 (66%) and Fire Ball (33%). When he reaches 10240 HP (after having absorbed 19760 HP damage), he'll switch to OFire 3 (66%) or a OFlare spell (33%). All these spells (with the exception of Fire Ball) can be Reflected, but that may not be the wisest action to take; any character under the influence of Reflect will be targeted every second turn by !Eraser (from top character to bottom character), just like the living Srbehemoth and his !Evil Claw attack. !Eraser removes the Reflect status, though not when the status is inherent (through RelicWall Rings or Rage). Like most bosses, the Red Dragon has a 33% Battle counter to every damaging attack he takes.

What to do? He has a fairly low amount of MP, and all his dangerous attacks need MP to function. In his less dangerous phase, throw up your barriers (summon EsperFenrir and/or EsperGolem, EsperKirin's Life Guard is useful as always, OHaste 2, OBig Guard, you name it). When you're done, start casting ORasp! You can check if he's out of MP with OScan if you can't keep track yourself. You should have him crippled before his first 40-second attack comes around. Now that Red Dragon is nothing but a big lizard of fire, attack him with all the standard repertoire. It doesn't really matter, as he's pretty much done by now, but the most effective attacks tend to be Ice-elemental ones: the OIce 3 spell, thrown SwordBlizzard swords (or SkeanWater Skeans), the usual Bum Rush and RelicDragon Horn Jump attacks, whatever works. Note that Tri-Dazer is absorbed, though. You can toy around with Confuse if you want, but it's not necessary. Expand Full Strategy
  

In the end, it's an easy battle. The KnifeStrato you get is little to celebrate, as you should be neck-deep in the buggers if you've ever had the wish to.

Locke re-enters the party after having finally completed his life-long task. With him, Locke brings the remains of the EsperPhoenix Esper and the treasures of the Phoenix Cave he collected along the way: An X-Potion, a Fenix Down, an X-Ether, an Elixir, a ShieldFlame Shield, and Locke's primary source of pride, the DirkValiant Knife. Note that there were but four empty chests in the Phoenix Cave; the Fenix Down might have been a rare drop from a monster, but we're still left with an extra item. Bleh, who cares?

First off, if you haven't yet gotten Gogo, this is where the Steal command re-enters your game. Beyond that, in terms of Locke's defense, there are few things to say. Locke has the more or less standard equipment options, which he shares with the likes of Setzer, Cyan, and Shadow. The ArmorGenji Armor is his strongest option, which is nicely complemented by the ShieldThunder Shield for elemental resistances. If equipped with the DirkValiant Knife, the HelmetRed Cap is especially nice on Locke, as it indirectly boosts his average damage output with that weapon.

On the offensive side, there are three weapons worth noting for Locke:

The SpecialSniper. Remember the SpecialHawk Eye from the late WoB? The SpecialSniper is exactly that, only with updated Battle Power to make a stand in the WoR. It has no stat boosts, but it does hit for 1.5 as much damage 50% and three times as much damage against Floating targets.

The SpecialWing Edge is Locke's strongest normal weapon. Back Row compatible, a +7 bonus to both Vigor and Speed (which both matter little), a +1 bonus to Stamina, a +2 bonus to Magic Power and the DirkAssassin's X-type Instant Death ability: This weapon is a powerhouse. There are two in the game, so you could RelicGenji Glove it up if you want. This is nice if you're going out to Steal anyway, but in the WoR Locke can finally dish out damage like other character, and that's because of the...

DirkValiant Knife. The first noticeable feature of this awesome weapon is the fact that it is barrier-piercing. With it, every normal strike is stronger than a Pummel or Dispatch attack. The second feature is even more important: every time Locke attacks, (max HP - current HP) damage is added to the base damage inflicted. In other words, that's what ORevenge does; the more hurt Locke is, the more damage he'll do. It's prone to sometimes leaving Locke a bit beat up - let's walk around while we're all busted up so we can do three times as much damage as usual - but the strategy does work. The disadvantage over the other two weapons mentioned is that it isn't Back Row compatible and doesn't give any stat boosts.

So, we're complete! Time to take on Kefka? Close, but not so fast. There are two more things to do here, and we're going to get a few very broken items/abilities out of it. And you like that, dontcha?

2.38: Narshe Revisited for Treasure

Enemies: Test Rider, Nastidon, Red Wolf

Party: Locke, Optional: Terra, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Welcome to Narshe! Lone Wolf tipped us off earlier; only a true treasure hunter could pick the locks of these houses. When Narshe was abandoned for reasons never exactly explained in the game, the inhabitants were clearly planning to return, as they locked their stores and houses carefully. Meh, those items won't be needed by them when Kefka kills them all, so it's only logical we should be able to take them. Besides, we need to find the owner of the Weapon Shop anyway; the thief at the bottom of the Fanatics Tower, where we found Strago, told us he was looking for us.

Locked buildings include the Inn; unlocking this building will get you nothing. Unlocking the item shop is the same - neither salesmen nor leftover items are to be found. Same story with Relics! Once you're in the Weapon shop, though, things change a bit. Here, you'll find the owner of the shop. He shows you a piece of Magicite and offers to forge a weapon out of it. In other words, you get to choose between the EsperRagnarok Magicite and the SwordRagnarok Sword. For a full comparison between the two, I suggest reading our handy miniguide.

In short: The Esper's summon attack is pretty crappy but does grant access to some rare items you could otherwise obtain only in very limited supply. The Esper also teaches OUltima at a x1 rate, which is the strongest spell in the game. On the other hand, the SwordRagnarok Sword gives a +7 bonus to all stats except for Speed (where it grants a +3), randomly casts OFlare, deals MP-driven constant criticals and adds 30% MBlock. You can bet it at the Colosseum for the SwordIllumina, which gives +7 on all stats, has the same MP-driven criticals ability, randomly casts OPearl with twice the power of a normal OPearl spell (due to the automatic criticals; OFlare doesn't get to enjoy a similar power boost), has Back Row compatibility and gives 50% MBlock. I'd advise the sword unless you're really bent on a 254-item list, as you can learn OUltima in another way.

The house above the Relic Shop has been empty throughout the WoB, but now you will find an old man sick in bed inside. He will give you the ShieldCursed Shield, a possessed shield of awesome power that is useless at the moment due to a curse. It's up to you to break it in order to unleash its awesome abilities, if you're up to the task.

The curse is broken when the shield is equipped on a living character other than Gogo for 256 battles. It doesn't matter if the character dies during the battle, as long as he or she is alive at the end of it. Gogo can't uncurse the ShieldCursed Shield as the counter is semi-tied to gaining Magic Points, which Gogo doesn't gain.

Equipping the ShieldCursed Shield is bad. It makes the equipped character weak to all elements and lowers all stats by 7. Also, it inflicts the equipper with inherent Muddle, Berserk, Seizure, Mute, and OCondemned. You wind up with a Berserked character that hits your own team every turn with a physical and dies after a while. You can either counter these effects with a RelicRibbon/RelicRelic Ring combo (the RelicRibbon protects against all but OCondemned, and the RelicRelic Ring makes sure you're revived when the counter reaches that final 0), or hijack the system to make it work to your advantage by equipping the RodHeal Rod (possibly in conjunction with the RelicOffering) for mad, random healing.

Upon lifting the curse, the ShieldCursed Shield will transform into the ShieldPaladin Shield, which is awesome. It allows the equipped to absorb Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Pearl while nullifying the effects of Earth, Poison, Wind, and Water. In other words, the wearer becomes entirely immune to elemental attacks. Combined with the second-best Defense rating (ShieldTortoise Shield on an Imp beats it), the third-best Magic Defense rating (ShieldTortoise Shield and ShieldForce Shield beat it) and a +40% boost to MBlock, it's clear you've found yourself the ultimate shield. The big bonus on top of all this is the fact it teaches OUltima at a x1 rate to the wearer.

The quickest way to uncurse the ShieldCursed Shield is fighting battles on Solitary Island. If you want some kind of extra meaning to the hours on the Solitary Island, you can bring Locke, Gogo, and Shadow to try to steal as many Elixirs (and possibly Megalixirs) as possible. If you want to go into the desert, be sure to equip RelicAmulets or RelicRibbons to protect against EarthGuard's !PoisonTail and Black Drgn's !BonePowder.

If you went with the Sword, you absolutely want to trade it in for the SwordIllumina at the Colosseum; aside from SwordRagnarok's random OFlare being non-elemental and SwordIllumina's random OPearl being Pearl-elemental, there is no reason to stick to the original sword. Bet the SwordRagnarok and you'll fight a Didalos. Didalos attacks with Battle, OFlare, Flare Star, and Blaster. If you equip a RelicWall Ring and a RelicSafety Bit/RelicMemento Ring, OFlare and Blaster won't be a threat anymore; a ShieldFlame Shield/ShieldIce Shield or the ArmorMinerva bustier can take care of Flare Star and the Fire Wall Didalos sometimes uses to counter Fight attacks with. Battle is all that's left to this opponent, and that's nothing to worry about. Don't send in Relm; her Sketch attacks will usually make a OQuake spell appear, which hurt her as well.

Obviously, from now on, I won't be assuming that you have either the SwordIllumina or the ShieldPaladin Shield; choosing the Esper over the Sword is a legitimate choice, and obtaining the ShieldPaladin Shield is quite a bit of work. Obtaining either piece of equipment, however, will provide great benefit to your party. Just remember, whichever choice you make, use it wisely and when appropriate since I can't tell you what to do any more. Get your big-kid pants on.

2.39: Gau and His Father

Party: Sabin, Gau, Optional: Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gogo, Umaro

This sidequest is just to see a cutscene. You won't get anything out of it, but the event helps develop Gau's character and strengthens the relationship of Gau and Sabin, making it worth watching. It's kinda funny too. Relatively speaking. You'll want to bring, ideally, Locke and Edgar to accompany Sabin and Gau, as that'll net you the most individual cutscenes.

You can see the first part of the cutscene by bringing Sabin to the shack any time, with or without Gau. Sabin will question who the old man could be, but the scene will continue only if you have Gau as well. At that point, a further conversation will take place and the scene will switch to Jidoor. A few sub-scenes can take place at this point, one for each of the following party conditions:
  1. Terra has been recruited
  2. Celes has been recruited (in other words, this part will always happen)
  3. If Cyan has been recruited but is not in the active party
  4. If Setzer is not in the active party
  5. If Locke and Edgar are both in the active party

When returning to Gau's father, there is also another check made. This dialogue can also be accessed outside the Gau-centric cutscene, but there's no other logical time to visit this guy so I wanted to include it here.

Additionally, there's another odd cutscene with the old man available when you have obtained the Emperor's Letter after talking twice to the portrait in Owzer's Mansion in Jidoor, but before you have recruited Locke. This happens independently of the rest of the Gau-centric scene, and the party will ask the old man about the Emperor's map. For the record, this 'map' is never mentioned outside of this cutscene, and neither is there any information about why our characters apparantly decide this guy should know something about Gestahl's possessions. And that he somehow actually does. It's just weird.

Back to Gau's scene, though - the rest of the cutscene both always occurs and is quite sad, so I won't be giving the information away here. You can't even get it with our spoiler settings, so there!

2.40: Climbing the Fanatics Tower, For Real

Cultist's Tower Interior
5/16
1
5/16
1
6/16
2
Air Anchor Room
2
Top and Fourth Tier
5/16
1
1
5/16
2
5/16
1
1
1/16
2

Enemies: White Drgn, Magic Urn, L.10 Magic, L.20 Magic, L.30 Magic, L.40 Magic, L.50 Magic, L.60 Magic, L.70 Magic, L.80 Magic, L.90 Magic

Party: Optional: Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Welcome to the Fanatics Tower! You've almost certainly been here before; if not for some Moogle raiding, you likely picked up Strago here with Relm earlier. Regardless of the actions you've taken (or not) so far, I've always advised you to put off fighting the final opponent at the very top until later. Now is the time for that showdown. The tower has a series of enemies that are found nowhere else, and they all have a bevy of magical attacks warranting description:

Magic Urn is an odd enemy, if you can even call it that. The only chance of this opponent actually harming your party is if you're undead, and it has no intent of setting the status itself. On the first turn, it'll use either a Remedy item or a Tincture, a Potion or Elixir on the second, and a Tincture or an Ether on the third. If any of your characters has the Wound status set, it'll use a Fenix Down on him/her (due to a bug, it'll have that response to the Reflect status in the PSX versions). If one is Petrified, it'll use a Soft item (due to a bug, it responds to OSafe in the PSX versions). After it has used an item, it has a 33% chance at fleeing the battle using Escape; it'll also sometimes flee when you damage it. With 100 HP, absorption of all elements and status ailment invulnerability, it's difficult to harm the thing without killing it. If you have trouble accepting help or simply want to speed things up, the only way of killing these things is OBserking a character, casting ODrain, OMeteor, or OUltima, or summoning EsperBahamut, EsperMaduin, EsperRagnarok, or EsperPalidor. If you smell great Rage potential here, you're absolutely right.

L.10 Magic casts level 1 spells every turn, and will counter any damage done to him with either a OSlow, OStop, or OHaste spell. They're undead, and they have the normal Undead weaknesses: Fire and Pearl, while absorbing Poison. They are vulnerable to OMute, non-Reflective, Floating. No threat to a RelicWall Ring party.

L.20 Magic casts instant death attacks. ODemi, OQuartr, and OBreak are all potential occurrences on the first turn, with ODemi, OQuartr, and OX-Zone available to the enemy on the second turn, followed by a loop of the same. OX-Zone is its most dangerous by far. This mage counters any time damage is dealt with either a ORasp, OMuddle, or OSafe spell. It is weak to Poison, vulnerable to Instant Death, Reflective. These are one of the more dangerous enemies to run into with a RelicWall Ring party; make sure you take them out quickly.

L.30 Magic casts level 2 spells, and will counter every move you use against it with either an OImp, OOsmose, or ORflect spell. They are weak to Poison, absorbs Pearl, non-Reflective.

L.40 Magic casts ODrain, OBreak, or OVanish every turn. It will counter your attacks with either OMute or OSleep. This one is floating, weak to Lightning, absorbs Poison, non-Reflective, vulnerable to Mute.

L.50 Magic is your typical undead mage, casting OPoison, OBio, and ODoom the first turn. The thing spends the next turn casting either Remedy (33%) or ODispel (66%) on a monster. When damaged, it will retort with a OBserk, OSlow, or Haste2 spell. It's also got a random spattering of the typical strengths/weaknesses: Undead, weak to Fire and Pearl, absorb Poison, vulnerable to instant death and Mute, non-Reflective.

L.60 Magic casts OQuake, OW Wind, and OPearl. When damaged, it'll cast OOsmose, OSlow 2, or ORegen on a single character. Weak to Fire-elemental spells, L.60 Magic also absorbs Ice-elemental spells, is Floating, and is vulnerable to instant death and Mute. Non-Reflective, too.

L.70 Magic casts the level 3 spells. When damaged, it'll respond with OSleep, ORasp, or OShell. It absorbs Fire, and is weak to Ice and Water. L.70 Magic is Reflective, but vulnerable to instant death and Mute.

L.80 Magic is finally an opponent with some sophistication; she's a lady, after all. She'll cast OCure 2, ORemedy, or OHaste when a character is Reflective. If that's not the case and a monster is Reflective instead, she'll cast level 3 spells on all monsters. If nobody on the battlefield has the Reflect status, she'll just go with OPoison or OBio spells. When damaged while your characters have the Reflect status, she'll counter with OCure 3, OCure, or OLife 3 (which can't be Reflected...poor confused gal). When damaged while monsters with the Reflect status are around, she'll cast OStop, ODispel, or OPearl on a monster. If she's damaged with no Reflective targets around, she'll do nothing. She is weak to Poison, non-Reflective, vulnerable to instant death.

L.90 Magic is the strongest random encounter here. The first three turns may feature OFlare, OMeteor, or OMerton. OMeteor is the most dangerous of these three, but OMerton is especially annoying, as L.90 Magic absorbs Wind. Every fourth turn, the guy can cast a ODispel spell and up to three OFlare spells. When damaged, he may counter with OStop, OBolt 3, or OLife 3. L.90 Magic is reflective, Floating, and vulnerable to Stop.

So yeah. I've never found much satisfaction in the Fanatics Tower's specific kind of challenge, but maybe you're just itching with excitement, I dunno. Here's a set of small tables to remind you of the opponents' statuses:
Reflective
Undead
Floating
Death Immune
Can be Muted
Can be Berserked
Can be Stopped
L.10 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
L.20 Magic
Yes
L.30 Magic
Yes
L.40 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
L.50 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
L.60 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
L.70 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
L.80 Magic
L.90 Magic
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

How to handle them:

L.10 Magic: a OLife spell
L.20 Magic: OX-Zone or OBreak spells (bounce off RelicWall Ring characters)
L.30 Magic: OBreak spells
L.40 Magic: OMute
L.50 Magic: a OLife spell
L.60 Magic: OMute
L.70 Magic: OX-Zone or OBreak spells (bounce off RelicWall Ring characters)
L.80 Magic: OBreak spells
L.90 Magic: OStop (bounce off RelicWall Ring characters)

On the whole, especially against the weaker opponents, you may just want to go all-out on the offensive. Spells such as OMeteor and OUltima never fail to deliver damage, no matter who the opponent is, and since nobody here absorbs Lightning-elemental attacks, cast OBolt 3 on all four or your RelicWall Ring characters to hit them.

Whom to bring? That really depends. Know that the Fanatics Tower is very special, and that ascending the tower means that you will temporarily lose all your skills except for Magic. Obviously, those with high Magic Power are favored, but much more important is how much you've built up your Magic skillset. If somebody knows OUltima, bring him or her along no matter what else he or she has going on; next to that, OMeteor, OFlare, OBolt 3, OStop, OMute, OLife, and curative/restorative spells are pretty much what you'll be wielding, so you'll want to bring those with you. Typically, assuming their Magic skillset is roughly the same as mentioned above, you'll want something like Terra, Celes, Relm, and whoever. If only one or two characters know OUltima, bring Gogo along so that it can miraculously know OUltima too.

Preparation: RelicWall Rings are vital. You will need a RelicWall Ring on every character, period. Inherent Reflect status makes climbing the tower much easier, and it is a very important factor when fighting the strongest mage this world has to offer: The MagiMaster. Also, know that you'll be casting and receiving Magic spells only, so the Battle Power of weapons and Defense rating of equipment is useless. Equip accordingly. RelicRibbons are very nice as well, by the way, as a lot of status ailment spells will be coming your way, sometimes reflected off barriers and therefore capable of penetrating your magic shield of justice and sunlight known as a RelicWall Ring.

Also, make sure you cast OFloat on the party. A surprise OQuake is easily countered but can be equally painful.

At the Fanatics Tower, Fight is turned into Magic and every secondary skill disappears. Item's still there, but that's it. If you send Gogo up the tower, give it the Fight command as that'll turn into Magic (while its Magic command will be removed). Umaro doesn't suffer a bit from the Fanatics Tower's strange effect, as he will perform normally. When Berserked, characters will just use Fight.

There's a door we can access on the first part of the stairway. Enter and raid the chest; it contains a RelicSafety Bit. The RelicSafety Bit protects the wearer from Instant Death magic; it's basically a RelicMemento Ring for everybody. But wait a minute, didn't that thief in Maranda mention how one of his companions mumbled "to the right of the treasure chest?" The thieves could never have gotten very far, so you'd better check it out. Press the action button when standing to the right of the treasure chest. Something rumbles and, when you leave the door, another one will have appeared below you! When you enter this one, you can find a chest containing an ToolsAir Anchor, Edgar's most rare Tool.

The ToolsAir Anchor does the following. Once an enemy is hit by the ToolsAir Anchor, it is allowed one more action, after which it dies. The tool never misses, unless the target is immune to Instant Death attacks. The ToolsAir Anchor also deals damage, which is entirely redundant (as no damage will be done if it misses, and the damage is useless if the target dies the next round anyway). I myself have always liked the ToolsAir Anchor because it never fails and you can focus attacks on other opponents with the knowledge that the Anchored one has been taken care of; others will disagree on account that, unlike instant death attacks, the ToolsAir Anchor allows an opponent to squeeze off a final attack.

The only battles in the ToolsAir Anchor room feature Magic Urn. Not only do they heal you with a multitude of potions, they also Escape on their own after a while. They have a kick-ass Rage (allows Gau to absorb all eight elements and provides immunity to all status ailments, regardless of equipment, while casting OCure 3 half the time), so you'll want to meet them at least once.

We press on! The door in the second part of the stairway contains a ShieldGenji Shield, which is a nice enough shield; it provides for the third-best Defense in the game (lower than the legendary ShieldPaladin Shield and oddball ShieldTortoise Shield), respectable Magic Defense, and +20% Magic Block added to the wearer. The door in the third part of the stairway contains the DirkStunner, the most powerful Dirk for Shadow. It has a 25% chance of casting OStop every time a strike is made, but gives nothing in terms of fringe benefits. This weapon is famous for Colosseum tactics against the likes of Chupon and Siegfried, who are both vulnerable to the ailment and very hard to defeat by other means. I suppose now would be a good time to mention the White Drgn in the corner.
White Drgn
White Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
71
18500
12000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
9
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: LancePearl Lance
Rare: X-Potion
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
holy
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet, RelicCure Ring, RelicCure Ring, RelicSafety Bit, RelicPod Bracelet
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
Wow. There is just so little I can say about White Drgn here. He casts up to three OPearl spells every turn. When hit by a Magic spell, he has a 66% chance of countering with ODispel. And that's it. Heck, you've even seen a palette swap of the thing earlier.

White Drgn casts nothing but spells, and is vulnerable to Mute. That's all there is to it, just cast a OMute spell and you're done. You don't have to bother with OSlow, OStop, and all that, just cast OMute and attack the thing with offensive spells. If you're getting low on MP, use OOsmose. Try not to swallow anything sharp while playing, as that's the only situation I can imagine where a loss on your part is actually possible. If you brought either Locke or Shadow, equip a DirkThief Knife and go for White Drgn's steal items, as both are nice.

If you arrived here with a solo-Mog party (with the hopes of raiding chests), the strategy is only slightly different; since you don't want to take any chances, be sure you're equipped with a RelicWall Ring. If Mog doesn't know the OMute spell, equip EsperSiren so Mog can summon her for the Hope Song attack. Now that White Drgn is at Mog's mercy, just attack until he's dead. Expand Full Strategy
  

After the battle, you'll get a LancePearl Lance from an event. This is to make sure you don't get a LancePearl Lance every time you see the White Drgn on the Veldt: yes, the cretin appears there! It makes for quite a solid Rage too, casting OPearl and instant death protection and all.

2.41: The Top of the Fanatics Tower

The door in the fourth and last part of the stairway contains a ArmorForce Armor. The ArmorForce Armor is a great piece of armor, especially for those characters that have no other interesting pieces to equip (Locke, Cyan, Edgar, Setzer, and Shadow). It doesn't really have that much on Defense (inferior to ArmorCrystal Mail), but it measures up quite well in Magic Defense (only inferior to ArmorGenji Armor, the rare ArmorSnow Muffler, and oddball ArmorImp's Armor), has great elemental advantages (50% Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, and Earth-elemental damage), and an added +30% Magic Block.

The ArmorForce Armor is inferior to the ArmorMinerva in every way except for the MBlock bit, so don't equip it on the girls; it's a genuine toss-up for the boys, though. The ArmorGenji Armor is sturdier in both the Defense and Magic Defense departments, and it gives an all-around stat boost to boot. The ArmorForce Armor, on the other hand, makes for a more evasive character that is better suited to deal with elemental magical attacks. I prefer the ArmorForce Armor for non-specific boss battles and the ArmorGenji Armor for random encounters myself, but it's up to you.

Welcome to the roof of the Tower, where the 'wondrous' item lies. Enter the little room to find a chest. As soon as you stand in front of the chest, a bit is set; when you leave the room, with or without the contents of the chest (the RelicGem Box Relic), you'll be surrounded by members of the Cult of Kefka and a wizard will come for you, so be prepared.

The RelicGem Box (or Soul of Thamasa, as it was called in the Japanese game) turns the Magic command into X-Magic. This means that you can cast two spells in one turn. This is obviously great, and best applied to those who rely heavily on their Magic skillset. The only drawback is the fact that you will lose the ability to summon whatever Esper you have equipped. Aside from this one setback, the RelicGem Box is lovely.

So, we've battled mages from level 10 to level 90; at the very top of the tower we found Kefka's most treasured item, a gem-covered box containing the very soul of the town of Thamasa, home to 1000 years of Mage Warrior generations. This prized relic greatly enhances a character's magical capabilities, allowing you to prepare two spells simultaneously and casting them in quick succession. The treasure is guarded, though, by what may just be Kefka's strongest henchman. Cue the ultimate mage: MagiMaster.

After all the pompous introductions, I suppose we'd better slap him around a little bit until he allows us to leave.
MagiMaster
MagiMaster
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
68
50000
50000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
1
25
100
250
100
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicCrystal Orb
Rare: Elixir
Common: Megalixir
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
Variable
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
Yeeesh. First turn, he casts a level two spell. Then, he casts a level 3 spell. Then, he casts two level 3 spells. After that, it'll follow up with another double cast of two level 3 spells. On the fifth turn, it'll use a single level 3 spell, and, on his last turn before looping, MagiMaster can make use of ODoom, OBio, or OMute. All of this is coupled with a spectacular 50 Magic Power, which means that if you don't absorb the attack or have the Reflect status, you'll likely die a painful death. If MagiMaster has the Reflect status, he will bounce a level 3 spell off of himself every turn; MagiMaster will never self-apply the status though, and there's no reason for you to cast it.

You may have noticed that every spell MagiMaster uses is reflectable; yes, that they are. However, the thing about MagiMaster is that not only is he the ultimate mage, he's also fiercely loyal to Kefka. Given this, it's only logical that MagiMaster would be able to cast the strongest spell in the game: OUltima, and he won't let you go before casting it. As soon as you kill the MagiMaster, he will cast OUltima. It will deal between 5400 to 6100 damage to all of your characters; unless you've overleveled (level 53 with RelicMuscle Belt, 58 with HelmetRed Cap, 67 without any HP boosting equipment), that gonna kill you dead.

Let's go through a few potential situations now:

If you've followed the walkthrough, or know OLife 3 at the very least, keep yourself draped in RelicWall Rings at all times, as this will essentially make you invincible. Do not attack MagiMaster; as soon as you do this, he will use WallChange and he start countering all your attacks with WallChange, making him that much harder to take down. He will also counter to his own spells reflected back at him. If you just keep still, he won't start using WallChange, not even under the torment of his own attacks. Cast OLife 3 on all your characters, and just wait this one out. Eventually, when MagiMaster has killed himself, he'll cast OUltima: everybody dies and is subsequently revived. You're free to go.

Without OLife 3, this one's a tricky pony. You can cast ORasp over and over and over again until his 50000 MP are all gone; he won't be able to cast OUltima as a result. You'll have to keep him alive this way. This is easily done by casting the OBserk spell on MagiMaster while casting OVanish or summoning EsperPhantom to protect yourself. Now, ORasp away. It'll take a very long while. You can check his MP periodically with the OScan spell. When he has less than 80 MP, you can kill him. There you go.

Alternately, you could just damage the boss a lot and summon EsperPalidor; the trick here is to kill MagiMaster with one or more characters in the air. OUltima won't hit them, so you win. If you want to do this, carefully keep track of his HP with OScan; for optimal damage output, you'll want to equip barrier-piercing weapons where possible (SwordAtma Weapon on Terra/Celes/Edgar/Locke, Valiantknife on Locke, GamblerFixed Dice or GamblerDice on Setzer) to try and circumvent MagiMaster's crazy 250 Defense.

If you don't have ORasp... and you don't have EsperPalidor either... eh... yeah. Last chance, honest. Equip a character (Terra, Celes, Edgar) with a RelicWall Ring, RelicGenji Glove, SwordRune Edge/ SwordRagnarok/SwordIllumina, and the SwordSoul Sabre. The MP-critical weapon in the Right Hand, the MP draining weapon in the Left Hand. Now, cast OBserk on MagiMaster, vanish your party, and then cast OBserk and OHaste on your magical weapon character. Every turn, he or she will attack and deal twelve to nineteen MP damage. If you're setting this up so you can go do something else in the meantime (I trust you have taken a liking to your sanity?), OBserk a RodHeal Rod character to make sure MagiMaster doesn't die from the physical blows. Go take in a museum or something. Honestly, this is going to take ages. Expand Full Strategy
  

2.42: Kefka's Tower

Party 1 (Garbage Slopes)
6/16
1
1
1
5/16
4
5/16
1
1
Party 1 (Garbage Caves)
10/16
1
2
6/16
1
1
1
Party 1 (Imperial Castle)
10/16
2
6/16
2
1
Party 1 (Facility Rooms)
6/16
3
5/16
3
5/16
1
1

Enemies: Retainer, Dark Force, Steroidite, Doom Drgn, Mover, Madam, Vectaur, Brontaur, Land Worm, Scullion, Evil Oscar, Outsider, Hemophyte, Dueller, GtBehemoth, Vectagoyle, Fortis, Junk, Innoc, Didalos, Veteran, Sky Base, IronHitman, Prometheus, Inferno, Rough, Striker, Gold Drgn, Skull Drgn

Lore: OCondemned, ORoulette, OClean Sweep, OAero, OBlowfish, OBig Guard, ORevenge, OPearl Wind, OL. 5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 3 Muddle, OReflect???, OL? Pearl, OStep Mine, ODischord, OSour Mouth, OPep Up, ORippler, OQuasar, OExploder

Party: Optional: Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Since Kefka's Tower is so incredibly large and sports such an incredible variety of monster formations, monsters and areas, I'm going to describe the monsters as you reach the room where they can be found.

Let's get this baby cracking. Naturally, since you're in the final dungeon and all, you're probably assuming that these cretins are going to be very, very tough on you. This would be semi-right. They can be mean if you let them, but, as that went for quite a few other monsters out there, there's really nothing special to really worry about. If you've made it this far, I'm sure you're capable.

Vectaur is short for 'Vector Dinosaur' or something mind-numbingly unoriginal like that. They like to attack physically (this includes !Tusk, which is just a tad stronger than Battle) and use Fire Ball. They're weak to Ice-elemental attacks, like all lizards, but also to Water, so a OClean Sweep attack isn't a half-bad idea if you like using obscure moves to target elemental weaknesses. They're immune to instant death attacks, and you can Sketch (75%) and Control them for OPearl Wind attacks, which may help you.

Evil Oscar is spunky and nasty. These nasty plants attack with physicals only under normal circumstances. When hit by a Magic spell, they have a 1/3 chance of attacking with a !Demon Kiss attack, which sets Death. When alone, they will use OSour Mouth, just like their brethren. They absorb every element except Fire, to which they are weak like any good little plant should be. They are vulnerable to every status ailment too (including Death), so use that to your advantage. Note that while Magic is usually a big no-no against these guys, they obviously can't counter once they are dead, so fatal Magic spells are okay. If you're sure you're going to do more than 7000 HP of damage or plan to cast OBreak, ODoom, or OX-Zone, there's nothing to worry about.

GtBehemoths like to think of themselves as bigger, better versions of Behemoths, possibly because they are. They attack physically and with the OMeteor spell (shaves off about 1500 HP, which is quite painful), and they counter any damage done with !Hay Maker (Battle * 4). They're weak to Ice like normal Behemoths, but they have instant death protection, which certainly makes their omni-counter all the more annoying. Thankfully, they are vulnerable to OSleep and OStop. It's a good idea to set one of these before attacking, as !Hay Maker is pretty painful. I should add a final note about the fact you can't run from them. Oh yeah, and you can steal rare ClawTiger Fangs from them. ClawTiger Fangs are fairly pointless on Sabin by this point, especially if you already have one, but you might appreciate the novelty behind having more than one: If you're one of those Sabin + RelicGenji Glove + RelicOffering + dual ClawTiger Fangs crazies, be my guest.

Retainers may very well be familiar faces to you as you could've brawled with them in the Colosseum. They're not quite as annoying in 'real life', but they come bloody close and that's bad enough. They attack physically, often two times every turn. Every fourth turn, a Wind Slash attack may make an appearance, sometimes even two in a row. The kicker, as always, is that it pulls a !Tradeoff attack out of thin air every time you kill it. The strategy to use here is the Imp status; set Imp and kill them. The Imp status will transform their physicals into automatic criticals, but it's worth it. They have the KnifeAura Knife as a rare steal; you shouldn't need any at this stage of the game, but you can change them into KnifeStrato Knives at the Colosseum, which are stronger weapons for Shadow to Throw than ShurikenTack Stars.

Dark Force is generally hailed as the ultimate Lore resource, and for a good reason too. Dark Force uses all the Lores available to Strago except for OBig Guard, OForce Field, OGrandTrain, and OPep Up. OClean Sweep can only be accessed by Dark Force when they are Confused or Controlled, however. Since this means that Dark Force can throw a wide array of nasty attacks your way, you'll want to kill them as quickly as possible. Instant death attacks work well, especially OL. 5 Doom. Lacking this, OX-Zone and OBreak spells are your best options. If Strago lacks Lores at this stage, here's Dark Force's AI script for the ultimate learning experience. Each possible outcome has an equal chance of being randomly selected each turn:

The two Lores that you are likely to not know at this stage are OReflect??? and OQuasar; the former is a ridiculously horrible attack that sets Dark, Mute, and Slow on every Reflective opponent on the battlefield (which would have been mildly useful one hundred years ago, while scouting the Ancient Castle, a place you have no business returning to), while OQuasar is just a non-elemental, barrier-piercing attack that would have been extremely fine had it not been for the fact that OGrandTrain is better in every relevant category other than MP cost.

Madam is a tough opponent, and as she often appears with two Outsiders, things are looking even more grim. I'd say that any battle with a Madam/double Outsider formation is more dangerous than most of the boss battles you have to engage in this dungeon. Madam is difficult to describe, as what she basically does is throw powerful spells around in a manner loosely related to her current situation. Any time she is damaged, she may cast either OCure 2 on herself/her party, the OMeteor spell on your party, or both. When all monsters are Reflective, she'll cast OCure 3 on your party, which makes no sense whatsoever. Getting the enemy party Reflective, though, takes a lot of effort in a situation where you otherwise achieve nothing, so that scenario shouldn't present itself. In no particular order, the spells she can cast are (all on the targets you'd naturally assume): OCure 2, OCure 3, ORemedy,OLife 3, the level 3 spells, OFlare, OPearl, OSafe, OShell, ORegen, and OHaste. Oh yes, and she occasionally throws in a completely useless !Sightless attack to blind a character. All in all, you want to stop those spells. OImp, OBserk, and OStop are all ways to do just that. Make this a priority when facing that dreaded Madam/Outsider/ Outsider combo, as a OBserk spell never fails.

Outsiders are the most universally damaging opponents in this game. Not the most dangerous, mind you, as they are easily dispatched, but with inherent Haste, the ability to use the Throw command every turn, and a Throw counter to every non-fatal attack you perform, they're more than likely to sneak at least one blade down your throat. Every turn, they either Throw a ninja blade or a katana in this order:
  1. DirkImperial or KnifeAshura
  2. DirkKodachi or KnifeKotetsu
  3. DirkBlossom or KnifeForged
  4. DirkHardened or KnifeTempest
  5. DirkStriker or KnifeMurasame


When damaged by the Fight command, any Outsider will respond with a ShurikenShuriken; in response to every damaging attack that's not a Fight command, they will throw either a ShurikenNinja Star or a ShurikenTack Star. Funnily enough, Outsiders appear to have a strong yet bizarre sense of honor; if they have not succeeded in killing your entire party by the time they Throw either a DirkStriker or KnifeMurasame, they will kill themselves with their !Ruin attack. Whenever you meet Outsiders, you will want to stop their actions immediately. You may Confuse them with the Noiseblaster of the OL. 3 Muddle Lore to divert their attention for a moment before attempting to kill them using OX-Zone or OBreak. They have a rare SwordBreak Blade Steal. If, for some unthinkable reason, you want to risk it and go for the item, cast OStop to make your life a lot easier.

IronHitman's sprite doesn't intimidate. And, with 2000 Hit Points, physical attacks and the ODischord Lore there's no reason to fear these tiny metallic soldiers. They're weak to Lightning. Consequently, they succumb easily to a multi-target OBolt 3 spell, a EsperTritoch summon, a SkeanBolt Edge, or something along those lines.

Junk is scrap metal with just enough self-conscience to explode when you come near. That's basically what they do; at the slightest hint of danger, they sacrifice themselves by using OExploder or OPep Up. There's also a chance that, on the first turn, the AI script will have them do nothing; if this is the case, there's a small chance they will use !Parallout on themselves on the second turn, which sets Clear. Regardless, act fast when you meet them. 2000 HP of damage to a character isn't something you were really looking for, so make sure you take them out ASAP. They're weak machines. OBolt 3 spells and SkeanBolt Edges galore will finish the job.

Fortis attacks with Fire Ball, Snowball, and Missile. Fire Ball is entirely too weak to worry about, especially since most of your characters will either absorb or take reduced damage from the attack. Missile is annoying when it hits, but Snowball is what stands out, as it's unblockable and unlikely you have characters running around with RelicSafety Bits or RelicMemento Rings. When struck by a Lightning-elemental attack, Fortis will respond with a !Double Arm (Battle * 1.5) and Battle attack. Obviously, the Battle attack is supposed to be part of the whole !Double Arm ordeal there.

Where do these armors come from? Who makes them anymore? Who'd be demented enough to ride around in one to protect a guy like Kefka all day? Senseless as they may be, Duellers can be a real pain. They have the ability to cast OL. 4 Flare and OL. 5 Doom, and, since you can't really prepare for them, you may suddenly find two of your characters facedown before you blink twice. Whenever damaged, a Dueller may counter with a Shrapnel attack, which is nasty enough too. The Mute status followed up with instant death spells is the way to go. Dueller has a ToolsChainsaw as a rare steal, so you can try your luck here if you never bothered to grab the thing in Zozo.

Now for some directions. You'll start out with Party #1, which is good enough. Walk down to come across two conveyor belts: the left one goes down, the right one goes up. If you attempt to go up a conveyor belt not going in your direction, you'll just be set back a tile. With the RelicMoogle Charm, this could potentially catch you in an endless loop that builds your OStep Mine damage output all the way up to 9999, but seriously considering this is a sign of mental illness, so I won't mention it again. In these slopes of the garbage tower, you'll see a chest; it contains a HelmetCoronet. By now, it's rather outdated when it comes to defenses. It boosts the chances of Control working, but I'd say the HelmetCat Hood is better suited to that end.

Next room: More slopes, more conveyor belts. Enter the door with the flashing yellow triangle above it.

This is recognizable! It's a part of the former Imperial Palace. It seems Kefka formed his garbage fortress around the former seat of Emperor Gestahl. How deliciously ironic. You'll meet several new enemies here (Retainer, Dark Force, Hemophyte) and a chest containing the GamblerFixed Dice. If you haven't gotten them before, Setzer must have sucked throughout the entire World of Ruin; if not, this is his shot at redemption.

The GamblerFixed Dice are Dice, but better because they allow three dice with which to multiply. Upon the situation of three equal rolls (1-1-1, 2-2-2, etc.) the outcome is once again multiplied by the number rolled. Finally, the damage output of the GamblerFixed Dice isn't cut down by the RelicOffering, so Setzer can deal four of these attacks at full power from the Back Row with the relic equipped. Much better.

When you leave the room, you'll be outside again. Not for long though, as you quickly dive back in a door. There's more Imperial design here (and more new enemies: Junk, IronHitman, Dueller, and Fortis), but you won't have the chance to recognize this. It seems you've been halted in your progress; you can see a switch on the other side, but there's nobody to press it. Let's wait this one out, gang. Switch to party #2!

2.43: Kefka's Tower: Continued Ascent

Party 2 (Garbage Slopes)
6/16
1
1
1
5/16
4
5/16
1
1
Party 2 (Garbage Caves)
10/16
2
6/16
3
Party 2 (Imperial Jail Cells)
10/16
1
1
6/16
2
1
Party 2 (Imperial Stairway)
10/16
3
6/16
1
Party 2 (Facility Rooms)
6/16
3
5/16
3
5/16
1
1
Party 2 (Garbage Passageway)
10/16
2
6/16
2
Party 2 (Gold Dragon's Room)
10/16
3
6/16
1
1
Party 2 (Imperial Corner Room)
5/16
2
1
5/16
1
1
5/16
2
1
1/16
2

Enemies: Retainer, Dark Force, Steroidite, Doom Drgn, Mover, Madam, Vectaur, Brontaur, Land Worm, Scullion, Evil Oscar, Outsider, Hemophyte, Dueller, GtBehemoth, Vectagoyle, Fortis, Junk, Innoc, Didalos, Veteran, Sky Base, IronHitman, Prometheus, Inferno, Rough, Striker, Gold Drgn, Skull Drgn

Lore: OCondemned, ORoulette, OClean Sweep, OAero, OBlowfish, OBig Guard, ORevenge, OPearl Wind, OL. 5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 3 Muddle, OReflect???, OL? Pearl, OStep Mine, ODischord, OSour Mouth, OPep Up, ORippler, OQuasar, OExploder

Party: Optional: Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Party #2 is going to encounter some new enemies, too. Let's dive in. Brontaur has always kinda stood out for me, as it's the opponent most prone to instant death attacks while being immune to instant death attacks, if that makes sense. It's one of the strongest monsters susceptible to the Dread attack coming from a Deep Eye Rage, and the EsperRagnarok Esper has a 100% Hit Rate too. For a dinosaur, it sure knows some funky attacks; it borrowed Lifeshaver from those blasted flying skeletons and is also able to produce the Atomic Ray attacks usually found on machines. Their Special, !Wail, is very powerful too. The Imp status really cripples them, as does the Stop status. They are weak to Ice, as logic would imply.

Hemophyte is one of the biggest anti-climaxes of the game. Honestly, Hemophyte had everything going for it. Despite sharing a sprite with the likes of Orog and Ogor - a very awesome sprite too – Hemophyte, the big old scary demon warrior, really...doesn't do anything. He throws ChokeSmoke attacks around, which we have previously appointed the most useless attack ever when not used with some thought, and, when alone, it starts to use Shock Wave. Shock Wave very well may just be... hang on...yes, the weakest monster attack in the game. It counters with !CursedGaze which sets Seizure, still ranking as #1 laughable status ailment that actually works. Way to go, pal. Just trash it with what you normally do.

Poor Movers; they were really hurt by the Evade bug. The thing about Mover, or what it was supposed to be at least, is that it has 254 Magic Defense (that's real high) and near perfect Evade, so that neither physical nor magical attacks can hit it! The Evade bug kicks in, however, so Fight commands will actually beat the heck out of them. It gets better, though: Don't forget that our characters are crammed full of barrier-piercing and unblockable attacks in the first place. With 120 HP, you don't need a lot of strategy. Normally, Mover attacks physically and with !Silencer (take a wild guess). When alone, it uses OBlowfish and OBig Guard. If Strago is around and hasn't learned OBig Guard yet, there is no reason to leave this area before taking it with him. Spells such as OMeteor solve the Mover problem very quickly.

Steroidite is pretty much the opposite of Mover: More HP than you can shake a stick at with crappy Defense. It uses Blizzard and Giga Volt to attack, while using Cold Dust and N. Cross to freeze your party. OSlow and OStop both work on the guy, and Pearl-elemental spells hit its weakness. Set the statuses and rough it out. The most notable thing about Steroidite is its rare steal: A ShieldThunder Shield. Experience tells us that you can never have enough ShieldThunder Shields, especially since they can be transformed into ShieldGenji Shields at the Colosseum.

Vectagoyle. They're not as dangerous as the Chimera was when you first met it and not as cool or elusive as Rhyos. It is immune to all status ailments though, and it has a large pool of elemental attacks that are kinda too weak to worry about. Blizzard, Blaze, OAqua Rake, and Giga Volt may all appear when going head-to-head with a Vectagoyle. Four attacks, four heads, there's probably a link there. When attacked by Fight, they'll often counter with !Counter (Battle * 2).

Veteran is all about instant death attacks. OCondemned and Dread feature in its normal AI script, and it has a 1/3 chance of countering Magic spells with a ORoulette attack. Strago fans that haven't had their gambling fix all month, here's your chance. Veteran lacks elemental weaknesses, has a lot of HP (10000), and is immune to instant death attacks, so taking them out is difficult. OMute or OBserk eliminates the threat, and OStop works too. Disable them, attack, and simply revive the characters that might expire from OCondemned.

Didalos uses OL. 5 Doom, which is annoying. It also uses the OBio spell, Virite, the ODemi spell and the OReflect??? attack whenever a character is Reflective. Didalos is the easiest source for the Lore too. Didalos counters Fight attacks with Fire Wall 1/3 of the time. They're not very special: They're Undead, so a OLife spell will take them out quickly. They also have a nifty Metamorph set, I must admit (RelicCursed Ring, RelicRelic Ring, HelmetThornlet).

Party #2 will begin its journey in front of a broken conveyor belt. Go down and enter the door. You're now in a cave made out of garbage. There's a chest smacked in a random corner, containing a ArmorMinerva armor. All the conveyor belts here are broken. You'll come across two doors now: One is more or less hidden, but both are indicated by the signs hanging over the doors. The one to the top will lead you to a ShurikenTack Star in a chest. To the south, you'll enter the door and find yourselves in the cells of the Imperial Palace. The toilets are broken now... Boy, it really burns me up when that happens.

There's a monster waiting for you in the far left cell. Fighting it is entirely optional, and you don't get anything necessarily positive out of it. Still, it's fun, so go ahead and do it anyway if you'd like. Cast OFloat on your party if you can, and, if you have Celes or Gogo in your party, you'll want to make sure they can use the Runic skill.
Atma
Atma
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
55000
19000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
20
10
0
75
70
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicCrystal Orb
Rare: SwordDrainer
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
poisonwindholyearthwater
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Remember when some scholar-type guy told you there were two so-called Atma Weapons? Strangely enough, you ought to own one and have defeated the other, so what's the deal with this guy? Clearly, now that Kefka has control over the Goddesses, he's made them craft an even stronger version of the legendary beast of mass destruction we destroyed a year ago. Or something.

I'm Atma... Left here since birth... Forgotten in the river of time... I've had an eternity to ponder the meaning of things... And now I have an answer!

Atma isn't as interesting as it hypes itself up to be. Normally, he uses the level 3 spells, switching to a N. Cross or S. Cross attack every now and then. When he hits 32640 HP, he'll revert to OFire 3, OQuake, OMeteor spells, OClean Sweep, and Flare Star. When you hurt the fiend, he may counter with Battle, but what Atma is actually doing here is storing the hate he develops from your blows into the ultimate attack: whenever he is hurt 12 times, he will stop acting and start storing energy: "Unknown light surrounded Atma!" The boss will proceed to glow yellow and do nothing for two turns before unleashing the strongest attack known to man: OUltima. It hurts really bad (count on around 2400 HP worth of damage), and you don't want that.

Atma's unique elemental coverage makes LancePearl Lance Dragoons useless, so give them LancePartisans at the start of the battle. Summon your barriers: OBig Guard, OHaste 2, EsperZoneseek's Wall, Earth Wall, Moon Song, Life Guard, you know what works. Don't forget to set Slow on Atma, and you might try Stealing too, although there's nothing especially grand to obtain in this fight.

Keep yourself healed and make sure you only execute the strongest attacks. Ideally, if you don't have Runic, you want to take out Atma in twelve hits or less, which makes for a needed average of around 4600 damage a hit. That shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? If it is, there's a few ways around the situation:
  • The OLife 3 spell;
  • Have a character summon EsperPalidor around the time Atma flashes yellow for the second time, causing OUltima to miss all your characters.
  • Don't attack Atma - just set ORflect and keep yourself healed with RodHeal Rods, Potions, and OPearl Wind until his own level 3 spells have damaged him enough to lower him into his 'dangerous phase'. ToolsDebilitator might help to speed things up there. Now that he's already fairly damaged, you should be able to kill him before he gets to OUltima.

Obviously, if you do have Runic at your side, there's nothing to worry about as, when Atma starts glowing, you can just initiate the Runic skill and watch the attack be absorbed by the blade. Expand Full Strategy
  

You can use the crushed, bloody remains of the monster to rest, gather your mind, zone out for a few moments. This hollow carcass is your Fortress of Solitude, your little haven in the chaotic fast-paced world around you. Yeah, I'm talking about a Save Point that's now here. When you're done peace-ing out, exit through the door.

Alas, it was a fake! The party will tumble down towards the ground. In this new room, you'll fight nothing but Movers and Steroidites. Go up the stairs into the next room, which is chock-full of pipes going everywhere. You want to enter through the far right tube; the one to the left of it takes you all the way back to the ShurikenTack Star room, should you so please (escaping this hellhole without having OWarp spells or Warp Stones would be your only motivation to do so). The far left tube takes you outside again to the trash-slopes.

The next chest you see contains a ShieldForce Shield (excellent!). Ignore the doors for now and go all around the conveyor belts to find a ArmorForce Armor in a chest. Now, find the two doors again and enter the left one to find your other party members waiting! You're on the other side of this odd room, so you can find the RelicRibbon in the chest and push the button on the floor. Do so, and leave.

Enter the other door. A small garbage passageway filled with Vectagoyles and Brontaurs greets you before you can exit. You'll find the Gold Drgn at the other end of this tunnel; it should be one of the two still alive, so take it on to reduce that number to one.
Gold Drgn
Gold Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
62
32400
4000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: RelicCrystal Orb
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
imppetrifydeathsilenceconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
water
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
What does Gold Drgn do? First off, every four Fight commands, it will get especially pissed and the message "Gold Drgn begins to store energy!" will be displayed. Gold Drgn will spend a turn doing nothing (aka, charging for OBolt 3) before casting a OBolt 3 spell on the entire party. We faced a level 3 spell with fair warning halfway through the WoB, for crying out loud! If any living character has the Reflect status, Gold Drgn will cast the ORflect spell on itself and will start bouncing OBolt and OBolt 2 spells off at the party. Every Magic spell can be countered by a OBolt or OBolt 2 spell normally, but Gold Drgn will not counter Magic spells when he is charging for the OBolt 3 spell. Normally, Gold Drgn will just attack with OBolt and OBolt 2 spells, and Giga Volt attacks.

Gold Drgn is an incredibly easy enemy at this point; all of its attacks are either Battle or Lightning-elemental. The magic attacks are all vulnerable to Celes's Runic, and Lightning is very easily absorbed or nullified by equipment such as the ShieldThunder Shield, ShieldPaladin Shield, ArmorMinerva, or RelicRage Ring. The bane of Gold Drgn's existence, however, is summoning EsperPhantom in conjunction with the OBserk spell. Heck, set Berserk in some other way; the neat thing about late-game battles is that you have so many options. Expand Full Strategy
  

You'll win a RelicCrystal Orb from the guy. The RelicCrystal Orb could have been obtained earlier throughout the game (rare Steal from both Magimaster - Berserk a character with a DirkThief Knife equipped to steal on the Fanatics Tower - and Atma), but this is likely your first encounter. RelicCrystal Orbs aren't very special; they raise maximum MP by 50%. Yeah, with MP not really being an issue in this game, and with the existence of RelicEconomizer Relics, the RelicCrystal Orb fails to stand out.

After the battle, you can leave through the door, walk through one small featureless room, and find yourself in a grand metal hall. There's a button on the floor on the far end, but it doesn't seem to do anything by itself. Just for giggles, let's switch back to Party #1 and meet more new enemies.

Sky Base can be trouble if you don't know how to take them. They start every battle with the OL. 5 Doom attack to weed out those unfortunate enough to be vulnerable to it. They then spend three turns using !Mind Slap (sets Stop) or casting the ODoom spell. Their true strength, though, lies in the fact that they will counter any damage done to them, besides damage coming from a Fight command, with up to four Blaster attacks. Know that when the initial attacker is killed before this counter is fully completed, Sky Base will default to 'random' targeting. This means that your entire party might be targeted, and I'm talking multi-target here. Never let this happen. Take out Sky Base with instant death attacks or set the Mute status to prevent its counter from ruining your life.

Innoc is short for 'innocent'. And that's how they kinda work you, too. You'll come to despise these satellites very quickly, let me assure you. They attack with !BrainBlast (sets Confuse), Plasma, Cold Dust, and very rarely OL? Pearl. Unless you made a conscious effort to set the last digit of your GP amount to 1 (so Strago could abuse the move), OL? Pearl won't hit very often. A lot of your characters should nullify or even absorb Plasma, so the main annoyance is Confused or Frozen party members. You'll want to Confuse them with Noiseblasters and/or cast OX-Zone to get rid of them. OL. 4 Flare also works if the simple "deplete HP until I win"-based strategy is your kind of plan. They're also weak to Lightning- and Water-elemental attacks.

Now here's a modern Prometheus! It stands out because it has no Rage, which is quite surprising for a random encounter such as Prometheus. It attacks with !ToolsDrill (Battle * 1.5) and Shrapnel, which hurts a bit. It may use S. Cross (on the attacker only) when hit by a Fight command, and it may counter with N. Cross (on the attacker only, so it hardly ever actually sets that Freeze status) when hit by a Magic spell. Prometheus is a durable machine, I'll give it that, but there's nothing very dangerous about it. It's weak to Lightning- and Water-elemental attacks, as you'd suspect. If for some reason you never Stole or simply bought a ToolsDebilitator, you can Steal one from Prometheus.

Doom Drgn is one of the toughest enemies in the game, so make sure you're prepared when you enter an area where you may face one or two (I'll point it out). Every turn, they have a 33% chance of using S. Cross, that super-strong multi-target Fire- elemental attack. Every fifth turn may feature either N. Cross or Flare Star (both of which suck) followed up immediately by !Melt, which the Doom Drgn uses on itself to set Clear. Every turn these monsters don't use a sophisticated attack such as a Cross or Flare Star, they'll use Battle. Every time you damage them, they have a 1/3 chance of using Fallen One. You may remember this attack from Sketching Black Drgns or facing Doom Drgns in the Colosseum, but to refresh your memory: Fallen One sets the HP of every character to 1. If you meet them, Sketch may produce Fallen One (25%) or N. Cross (75%), and Control certainly makes things easier. Otherwise, there are no status ailments worth setting and instant death doesn't work either, so you'll just have to rough it out. Grab some ShieldFlame Shields mid-battle if you're not prepared for Fire-elemental attacks and use your strongest attacks. Like all dragons, they sport a weakness to Ice-elemental attacks. If you're Controlling them anyway, they have a rare RelicPod Bracelet for Stealing, which is kind of nice.

You can continue! Pass through the tubes room. Note that you can find the SwordBreak Blade chest here again, but it will be empty, whether you picked up the SwordBreak Blade in the WoB or not. The next room is a featureless one that contains the dreaded Doom Drgn opponents. Once you've survived the area, you'll be free to head outside again! Here, your progress is once again impeded. Let's switch to Party #3 and see what happens.

2.44: Kefka's Tower: Continued Ascent, Continued

Party 3 (Garbage Slopes)
6/16
1
1
1
5/16
4
5/16
1
1
Party 3 (Garbage Caves)
10/16
1
2
6/16
1
1
1
Party 3 (Metal Corridor)
6/16
1
5/16
1
5/16
3
Party 3 (First Garbage Passageway)
6/16
2
5/16
1
2
5/16
3
Party 3 (Magitek Facility)
10/16
2
6/16
2
1
Party 3 (Other Two Garbage Passageways)
1
Party 3 (Skull Dragon Room)
5/16
2
1
5/16
1
1
5/16
2
1
1/16
2

Enemies: Retainer, Dark Force, Steroidite, Doom Drgn, Mover, Madam, Vectaur, Brontaur, Land Worm, Scullion, Evil Oscar, Outsider, Hemophyte, Dueller, GtBehemoth, Vectagoyle, Fortis, Junk, Innoc, Didalos, Veteran, Sky Base, IronHitman, Prometheus, Inferno, Rough, Striker, Gold Drgn, Skull Drgn

Lore: OCondemned, ORoulette, OClean Sweep, OAero, OBlowfish, OBig Guard, ORevenge, OPearl Wind, OL. 5 Doom, OL. 4 Flare, OL. 3 Muddle, OReflect???, OL? Pearl, OStep Mine, ODischord, OSour Mouth, OPep Up, ORippler, OQuasar, OExploder

Party: Optional: Terra, Locke, Cyan, Shadow, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Strago, Setzer, Mog, Gau, Gogo, Umaro

Party #3 will encounter yet another new set of enemies - the last set. Land Worm is a big, big enemy that takes little effort to defeat. It uses the area around you to crush you: Magnitude8 comes from below, and Lode Stone (that unblockable 75% instant death attack) from above. Occasionally, it uses !Compress, which is nothing more than an unimpressive physical attack. The only status ailment Land Worm is protected against is Imp, so ODoom/OBreak/ OStop away. How about a OStop/Blaster combo?

Scullion: The last random encounter I get to describe. And it's all exciting too! Its most redeeming feature is the fact that it has a rare ToolsAir Anchor to Steal, so if you never bothered to go up the Fanatics Tower or forgot to listen to one-eyed bums in Maranda, here's a shot at the precious Tool. Let's not forget that Scullion is actually kind of a challenge; it starts the battle off with !Gamma Rays, which sets OCondemned. Shucks. Its attacks may include more !Gamma Rays, WaveCannon, Launcher, and Grav Bomb, a percentage-based attack you've never seen before unless you Raged a Lethal Wpn. It's not that big of a deal; it only halves your current HP. When Scullion dies, it fires off a final Atomic Ray on its slayer, which can do a fair bit of damage if the character in question is shield-less, or Gogo or something. Set Stop, cast OBolt 3, Throw SkeanWater Skeans and all that to kill it.

The party should be standing in front of moving conveyer belts. Fun! Stand on the left one and allow it to take you down. First, you'll come across a door to the left. There's a HelmetRed Cap to the door, and, when you enter the door and fight your way through the passageway, you'll find a metal ramp which holds up two chests: a RelicGauntlet to the left and a ArmorNutkin Suit to the right. This ramp contains enemies such as Innoc and Scullion, which are both quite tough, so be on your guard. Get back out and head through the other door which (through another featureless room filled with enemies) leads the party to what appears to be a part of the MagiTek Facility. The enemies in this section are Fortis, Dueller, and Sky Base: Again, great caution is advised. There's a RelicHero Ring in the chest and a hidden ShieldAegis Shield in this room. The path is obscured, and there are several steps to follow.
  1. Go down into the darkness to the left of the spinning whatever-it-is.
  2. Go all the way down
  3. Go all the way to the right
  4. Go all the way down
  5. Go 1 step up
  6. Go all the way to the left
  7. Go all the way down
  8. Take a few steps to the right and grab the ShieldAegis Shield
  9. Go back into the darkness and go all the way to the right
  10. Go up and to the right until you can't go any further
  11. Go all the way to the left, and all the way up to re-appear.

Get on the conveyer belt to continue. When you exit, you'll see a tube to the left of you. This will suck you in when you stand in front of it and take you back to the other end of the conveyer belt. Walk past the new Save Point and save if you must; you're only seven steps away from a surprise boss battle with Inferno. Down below you'll see an empty chest; it'll always be empty.
Striker
Striker
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
11000
2600
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
7
0
75
185
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common:
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
ice
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Rough
Rough
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
69
8000
770
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
80
190
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ShieldFlame Shield
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightning
ice
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
  

Inferno
Inferno
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
30800
9700
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
130
145
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ShieldIce Shield
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fire
lightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control
 
Strategy
 
The battle against Inferno is a rather simple one, although it is frustrating that the main body and the blades don't share elemental properties. As you would expect, the main body is the one with all the fancy spells and with the most HP.

Rough is the left blade, and it just attacks physically with Battle and !Rapier. Once you destroy it, it'll take 20 seconds to grow back. Striker, the right blade, is a tad meaner than Rough; next to Battle, it also uses Shrapnel, the magical non-elemental attack that's as strong as a level 3 spell. Like Rough, it grows back 20 seconds after you destroy it.

Inferno uses a barrage of magical and mostly elemental attacks, such as OBolt 2, Atomic Ray, Shock Wave, and Giga Volt. When Inferno has both blades, it will use Delta Hit every 30 seconds. Delta Hit is still an unblockable attack that sets Petrify, so watch out for it. When Inferno has only one blade, it will only use OBolt 3 and OMeteor spells (OMeteor is especially nasty). The first time you destroy both blades, Inferno will use TekBarrier to set both Safe and Reflect on itself. Every time you damage Inferno, it may respond with an annoying !Sobat attack.

Your strategy is simple. You have no business caring about Rough and Striker whatsoever. Cast OSlow 2 at the start of the battle and cast OStop spells on both blades to make sure they are out of the action for a while. Cast OHaste 2 and summon EsperZoneseek, or call out a OBig Guard attack if Strago is around. Now, focus all your offensive prowess on the main body. Let's not bother with OMeteor and TekBarrier.

The biggest weakness of Inferno is the OBolt 3 spell. It's an incredibly strong Lightning-elemental spell you can easily target to hurt Inferno exclusively (it'll heal Rough if you multi-target it), and one or more of your characters should be able to cast it with considerable power. If Shadow and/or Gogo is around, you can have him/it chuck a few SwordThunder Blades at the infernal machine for large amounts of damage. Expand Full Strategy
  

In the end, Inferno is the only 'random' boss of the entire dungeon, and it isn't incredibly hard if you prepared for the dungeon properly. Sadly, you get nothing out of the battle with Inferno besides some measly Magic Points.

When you've given this ghost from the past a smackdown, you can continue. You'll Have to walk through yet another garbage hallway to reach the garbage clearing again. This passageway contains nothing but Land Worms, by the way. You'll see a chest that contains a Megalixir to your right, and to your left is a pathway to a new door, a conveyer belt, and an opened chest with a red sparkle on it.

Remember this chest if you plan to leave the dungeon at some point. After you've hit this switch once to extend the path for Party #1, leave and return. The red sparkle will be gone, so you'll have nothing but an open chest to look for. Don't go through the door quite yet, but go with the conveyer belt; it'll take you to a chest containing the BrushRainbow Brush, the strongest Brush weapon for Relm. Sadly, it still sucks horribly and is in every notable way inferior to the RodMagus Rod, which you should keep equipped on her. Now, go around to enter the door. Through another trash hallway filled with Land Worms, you'll come across another elemental dragon. This is the last one; it's time to see what this Dragon Seal is all about.
Skull Drgn
Skull Drgn
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
62
32800
1999
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
10
0
140
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: RelicMuscle Belt
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
poison
fireholy
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Metamorph Package
 
SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail, SwordCrystal, HelmetCrystal Helm, ShieldCrystal Shield, ArmorCrystal Mail
32/256 Success Rate
 
Strategy
 
Skull Drgn just isn't very assuming. It's a generally subpar dragon as-is, once you ignore the fact it has no status vulnerabilities to exploit, but, at the very end of the game, your party is a force to be reckoned with. It's kind of ridiculous and sad all at the same time.

Battle, OCondemned, Elf Fire, and Specter all show up on the boss' first three turns, OCondemned easily being the most popular one. Every fourth turn, Skull Drgn may use Disaster, which is clearly its most crippling attack. It will be randomly single or multi-targeted by the semi-Undead dragon, and it sets Dark, Imp, OCondemned, Mute, Muddle, and, oddly enough, the Float status. One interesting little tidbit about the Specter move is that the graphic designers never expected any monster to use it, so, instead of a graphic of the caster (Skull Drgn in this case), you'll see a half-baked sprite of your leading party member instead. Every damaging attack it takes may be countered by Battle.

Throw on RelicRibbons where possible. You shouldn't need any special protection for Elf Fire, as it's about as powerful as OFire 2, but you can equip ShieldFlame Shields, ShieldIce Shields, ArmorMinervas, or RelicRage Rings to absorb or nullify the attack. On the offensive front, just do whatever you have learned works. Since it's possible you have EsperRagnarok's Metamorph at your disposal, you can try that for a quick win. OFire 3 spells are extremely powerful (more so than the OPearl spell). Ragers can Rage Srbehemoth to cast OFire 3 and become immune to OCondemned (the eventual death trigger will heal him), and the Imp, Mute, and Confuse statuses that Disaster may set (the remaining Dark and Float statuses that will be set are nothing to worry about for obvious reasons). Gogo should Rage like Gau. If you bought SwordFlame Sabres for Shadow, know that they are superior to other weapons Shadow can throw. Expand Full Strategy
  

With the successful completion of this fight, you will have (if you've been following this walkthrough) defeated the last of the eight dragons of this world, and the message "Defeated all 8 dragons...Dragon Seal broken!!" will appear. The screen will shake, frightful sounds will echoe through the halls of Kefka's fortress, and you'll obtain the last of the Espers: EsperCrusader.

Now that you're done, it's time to continue. We must make haste! Go through the featureless Imperial corner and you'll find yourself in the same grand Imperial hall as Party #2. There's a button on your side of the elevated pathway as well. Stand on it, and when Party #2 is standing on the other button, you'll see the door begin to open. Sadly, nobody is there to enter the door; let's switch back to Party #1, shall we?

Now that Party #3 has extended the broken conveyer belt by hitting the sparkling chest on the other side (see? the sparkle is gone...), you may continue. After crossing the conveyer belt, you can find a ShurikenTack Star in a chest to your left. When you enter the door, you'll find yourself on the grand elevated pathway. The door is open, with four trusted friends on either side of you. You've been lucky so far that nothing disastrous has happened... but we can rest assured that the going will be increasingly rough from here on, and the fate of this world lies behind the doors ahead. There is no telling just how powerful Kefka is. We have our Magicite, but he doesn't need it: He has the power of the three Stone Goddesses as well.

2.45: Kefka's Tower: The Source of All Magic

Swap Room
6/16
1
5/16
1
5/16
3
Guardian Room
10/16
1
2
6/16
2
Party 3 (Garbage Caves, Slopes)
6/16
1
1
1
5/16
1
1
5/16
4
So, we have Party #1 in the middle on the elevated pathway, Party #2 on the left and Party #3 on the right. We're going to switch around now. We now want the strongest party in the middle, the average party to the right, and the weakest party to the left. To do that, here's what you have to do:

Take Party #1 through the door. You'll come across a button on the floor: Standing on it won't achieve anything as far as you can see. Walk to the left, and the path will close behind you. To the top, there's another button tile; like the previous one, it doesn't appear to do anything. Go down and you'll face a 4-ton weight, which you can drop on the button tile down below where one of your teams is currently standing. Obviously, you can't push it while the team is standing on it, so switch to that party to get out of the way first. Drop the weight! It seems the increased weight of the falling weight does something else entirely than simply standing on it; it opens up a path towards the elevated pathway. With Party #1 now, get back in to stand on the button tile. Switch to the Party that just gained entry to the elevated pathway (which should be Party #2 if you followed my instructions).

With Party #2, pretty much repeat what you did with Party #1, only mirrored. Doing this should give access to Party #3. Go stand on the other button tile: again, nothing happens. Let's see what happens when we stand on all three button tiles simultaneously, okay? Switch to the remaining party down below.

With the remaining party (Party #3), go stand on the third and final button tile; the ground beneath you will change and a pathway will form. Your initial reaction would be to continue; what you want to do, however, is go back down, where you'll gain access to a new button tile that opens up two doors for the other teams to pass through. With this accomplished, you may continue ahead to face a relic of old...
Guardian
Guardian
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
60000
5200
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
25
0
150
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicRibbon
Rare: ArmorForce Armor
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
lightningwater
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Truth be told, the Guardian is one of the few battles in which a high amount of Magic Power (25) and strong magical attacks are combined in such a fashion that things could look grim for your party due to the sheer force of Guardian's attacks. Thankfully, most of this can be circumvented one way or another.

Guardian has a puny, unimpressive AI script when he's 'normal': It features such outdated attacks as Tek Laser, Missile, and Atomic Ray. Guardian quickly detects you are far too strong to be beaten in this manner, however, and after two turns Guardian will load one of its battle programs. It'll try this out on you for a while, before powering down to its 'normal' state for another two turns before loading another battle program. Here's the rundown on Guardian's four battle programs:
"Ran Ultros' battle program!"
This is what could be considered the boss' weakest program. It'll use Tentacle here (which is nowhere near as painful as it once was) in addition to Entwine (unblockable, but you can counter this with a OHaste 2 spell), !Ink, and OStone. It'll spend four turns emulating Ultros before settling back into its normal AI script, and Entwine will always be the last move it'll use.
"Ran battle program!"
This nameless battle program heavily resembles the combat style of Dadaluma, so we can chalk it up to that foe should we really need a name (the PSX Anthology Bestiary also mentions Dadaluma as the source of this battle program). Shock Wave and Battle are nothing to be worried about, but, on the third turn, Dadaluma Guardian will throw a Mithrilknife or KnifeAshura (doing extreme amounts of damage and killing non-OLife 3 characters) and use three healing potions (either Tonics or Potions) just before using TekBarrier to set both Safe and Reflect. You'll want to use ODispel or ORippler as happens result. After this has happened, Guardian will go back to its normal.
"Ran Air Force's battle program!"
This is simply Guardian's upgraded machine phase. It'll use such predictable beauties as Tek Laser, Diffuser, and Launcher. In its fourth turn mimicking Air Force, the opponent will say:

"Wave Cannon! Count down!!""Count 3!""Count 2!""Count 1!"

All in one turn and use WaveCannon on you, which is pretty impressive noting that 25 Magic Power we've been taking hits from so far. It'll hurt a bundle if you're not protected from it. After WaveCannon, it's back to normal for Guardian.
"Ran Atma's battle program!"
Far and away the most dangerous of Guardian's battle programs, Atma's battle program will have Guardian use Battle, cast OFlare, and use Meteo. On the fourth turn, Atma Guardian will say "Vast energy focused", glow yellow twice and use Flare Star, which actually isn't as threatening as you might have feared.

After this sequence is complete, Guardian will revert back to normal, after which it will load the Ultros program and start the process all over again.

The trick here is to act fast. If you have prepared decently thus far, you shouldn't need to see Air Force's battle program in action whatsoever, let alone Atma's. And this is good, since facing Atma Guardian is something you want to avoid if you're going for a victorious battle. Cast OSlow on Guardian and OHaste 2 on yourself ASAP and throw up a OBig Guard (if you have Relm but not Strago, Sketch will give it to you 3/4 of the time) or Wall. EsperGolem and EsperFenrir won't be a real asset now since the only physical attacks worth fearing - Tentacle and the Thrown blades - will hit you anyway. It might be a good idea to cast OLife 3 on all of your characters when he's not pulling out the big guns. That said, go all out on the guy!

The fact that Guardian is a machine and therefore weak to Lightning really helps out here, as OBolt 3 is a spell most (if not all) of your mages should have. If you have ShieldThunder Shields to spare, you could break them for barrier-piercing OBolt 3 attacks too. If you have a Stealer in your midst, Stealing is definitely a swell idea: A RelicRibbon isn't too shabby, and the ArmorForce Armor is one of the useful yet finite items in the game. Quadra Slice, EsperTritoch's Tri-Dazer, Bum Rush, EsperBahamut's Sun Flare, GamblerFixed Dice, DirkValiant Knife, and Jump attacks are all effective. Expand Full Strategy
  

Unbelievable. It took you how many hours of your life exactly to get from 'Guard' to 'Guardian'?

When you're done, another Save Point will be left behind. When you've Saved and rested, press on; the path will take you to yet another garbage tunnel with an opposing conveyor belt. Upon exiting, there's a hidden RelicRibbon for you to find to the south of the door you came out of. Go down until you hit the wall, go two steps to the right and one down. There's the RelicRibbon! Press onward until you find a familiar looking idol: You've reached the resting place of one of the three Goddesses, the stone statue of the goddess Poltrgeist.

2.46: Kefka's Tower: The Goddesses

One doesn't just waltz into battle against a Goddess. Equip stuff that allows you to absorb Fire-elemental attacks (ShieldFlame Shields, the ShieldPaladin Shield, a RelicRage Ring for Umaro), since that'll be really useful. Never equip ShieldIce Shields, as OAero will rip them apart. ArmorMinerva armor and ArmorRed Jackets both nullify Fire-elemental attacks too. If you have nothing left, ShieldThunder Shields are a good option (attacks such as OAero and WaveCannon will be absorbed/nullified while Fire-elemental attacks will be halved in damage). Don't forget to heal, though that should be obvious. If you have a few OQuake casters on your team, OFloat up.

Poltrgeist is the Goddess of Fire and appears to be the most 'evil' of the three. Her Japanese name was 'Kishin', a word that roughly translates into 'divine'. If you accept the fact the three Goddesses stand for three major religions, Poltrgeist most likely stands for a feminine incarnation of Satan, fire-themed and evil and all (yeah, I know, there's Holy Fire and Dante had Satan frozen up to his waist in ice, I don't care. The immediate and popular theme of hell is 'fire' and that's what is important now).
Poltrgeist
Poltrgeist
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
67
58000
18900
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
15
13
0
180
145
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
Common: LanceAura Lance
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
firewind
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Poltrgeist would have started out with inherent Image too, but since the game designers also gave her Image immunity, this status is never applied. Too bad for her. Poltrgeist is the least inventive Goddess of the bunch, as she shows us no new attacks. But we can forgive her, as she's so especially awesome. So, what will she try to do to us?

Her normal AI script has her use Battle, !Psygrip, Shrapnel (this one is kind of painful when it hits), and the OStop spell. You should immediately remove the Stop status with a ODispel spell if a character is affected, since, as soon a character suffers from the Stop status, Poltrgeist will use a Blaster attack to kill the person off. If the Stopped character isn't immune to instant death attacks, this will hit, so beware. A little note about !Psygrip: The Japanese game calls this Special attack 'Tyrfing', after a cursed sword from gothic folklore.

Poltrgeist becomes increasingly mean once you damage her beyond 32640 HP, as she will start the heavy artillery with the powerful multi-target attacks: OAero, S. Cross, Flare Star, and Meteo. At this point, you don't have to worry about any kind of physical attack or the OStop/Blaster combo anymore. Finally, every time Poltrgeist is damaged, she may cast a OFire 3 spell on the attacker. After she has been damaged eight/sixteen/etc. times, her next move will be WaveCannon.

You have two proverbial trump cards against her. First off, you're draped in equipment that absorbs and/or nullifies her elemental attacks. Make Fire-elemental protection a priority, as you'll see that element the most, especially with the existence of that OFire 3 omni-counter. Second, Poltrgeist is vulnerable to the Stop status, so what are we even worrying about? Do note that since Poltrgeist is inherently Hasted, the status won't stick around as long as you would usually expect, so barriers and Fire-elemental protection certainly aren't excessive luxuries.

Set Stop on Poltrgeist right away and make multi-target OShell your next priority by means of OBig Guard, Wall, or individual OShell-casting. OHaste 2 is grand as usual to keep up with Poltrgeist, and while buffs such as ORegen and physical protection aren't really necessary or all that useful, it wouldn't hurt either. Now, start pounding Poltrgeist with everything you have! Make no mistake; the Poison-elemental weakness is nothing you can really work with, as a neutral level 3 spell is stronger than OBio even when the latter is hitting a weakness. You might even want to set a better elemental weakness with the ToolsDebilitator to speed things up.

Your Dragoons will have a hard time penetrating Poltrgeist's Defense and Safe status, so you might want to keep them around for utility shift this time. Shadow can throw RodPoison Rods for great (barrier-piercing) damage. Gau is great Raging certain monsters, including Woolly (OIce 3, absorbs every element but Fire which the ArmorSnow Muffler takes care of), Evil Oscar (same story, casts OBio), Uroburos (absorbs Fire-elemental attacks, casts OQuake), or just an offensive Rage such as Stray Cat (care to give Gau a RodPoison Rod?), Prussian, Tyranosaur, or whatever. Locke, Sabin, Cyan, Setzer, and Strago shouldn't have any trouble penetrating Poltrgeist's defenses. For the pure Magic skillset characters, the OQuake spell is the second-best option after OUltima. If you don't have it or OFloat isn't an option, it's all about OFlare.

In the end, Poltrgeist is the easiest of the three Goddesses to defeat, and that's all due to the Stop status vulnerability. If it hadn't been for that, I would've ranked her in the middle. Poltrgeist is all about the multi-target violence, and, if you have the defenses and elemental resistances to keep up with that, you're basically in the clear even if you choose not to apply the Stop status. Expand Full Strategy
  

After you hand Poltrgeist her defeat, the statue will glow and disappear entirely. That's one down, two to go... Since the battle between the Goddesses is said to have been an equal one, this means that we should also be able to defeat the other Statues, right? The LanceAura Lance, by the way, is the strongest Lance in the game, although it has no random spell casting whatsoever, so it's difficult to say if LanceAura Lance's superior Battle Power and non-elemental nature outweigh the 25% chance of casting a OPearl spell with the LancePearl Lance.

With this party, you can just walk through the door and find a nice Save Point to heal up and Save. The room is devoid of monsters. Jump down the hole in the ground to reach one of three button tiles in a monster-less room. You can go out and find yourself back near the opposing conveyer belt, but there's no point in that, as this is where this party needs to be. Switch to Party #1! With Party #1, go down and pass through the door Party #3 made for you. Going around will allow you to pass through the room Party #3 fought Guardian in, and eventually into a room where the broken test tubes once used by Cid surround the statue of another of the three Goddesses, Doom.

Doom's Japanese name was 'Majin', a word many Dragonball Z fanboys should recognize. It roughly means 'demon'. Once again, going with the three-religion theory, this goddess originates in Hinduism, where demons are opposing the several true gods at every turn.
Doom
Doom
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
73
63000
4800
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
60
9
0
110
160
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: RelicSafety Bit
Common: KnifeSky Render
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
icepoison
holy
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Doom is one heck of an ice queen, I tell you. Not just a shell, this one! Luckily, she's also pretty predictable and one-dimensional, which in my opinion makes her quite easy to defeat (certainly easier than Goddess or Poltrgeist, even ignoring OStop). Her normal moves include the ever-present Battle, OIce 3 spells, Absolute0, and the annoying N. Cross attack, from which one can be easily recovered by a simple Fire spell. Of course, she gets extra mean when you damage her enough. Once Doom hits 32640 HP, the message "Doom's aura is shaking!" appears, and, my goodness, so it appears.

By doing this, Doom self-applies the Image, Reflect, and Haste statuses, meaning that you will want to cast ODispel to get rid of all three of them and quickly cast OSlow or OSlow 2 to reduce her speed even further. From this point on though, she will ignore her single- and multi-target Ice-elemental options and focus on a few select attacks.

Every twenty seconds, Doom will use the OForce Field attack, which is a Lore Strago will only be able to learn in this battle. OForce Field takes an element (one not previously selected by OForce Field, if using it a second time) and renders it completely ineffective. It doesn't matter how strong the caster is or if the target is weak to said element: Once the element has been picked, this element will do exactly 0 damage for the duration of the battle. Once all eight elements have been rendered useless, OForce Field will do nothing. Aside from OForce Field, Doom will use Battle and Targetting. Targetting does absolutely nothing more than 'store' that target in her memory, and the very next turn she will use !Demon Rage on that person, period. Should this person suddenly be unavailable, !Demon Rage will be used on a random person. Of course, the game would have us believe that the Targetting move somehow makes !Demon Rage unblockable, but !Demon Rage is unblockable in itself, so the act of using Targetting is really just for show.

That's it! Pretty easy, I'd say. Set Slow at the start of the match, throw up the barriers you like, and pummel Doom with the strongest attacks you have. Strago might be able to get some play out of his OL? Pearl attack now that you've a) obviously brought him here and b) made sure to rig it into always hitting. Have Gau engage in a Rage that will have him produce non-elemental damage, since you won't be able to easily stop him once Doom starts nullifying the elements. The OPearl spell is really useful when Doom is in her 'easy' phase, but beware that you don't waste turns casting zero-damage OPearl spells when she's left said phase. Make sure you don't allow Doom to maintain her Image, Haste, or Reflect statuses: everybody who knows the OPearl spell knows ODispel too, and Terra learned it naturally at level 37. Expand Full Strategy
  

Once the second of Kefka's magical goddess pillars has been broken down, you'll obtain Cyan's strongest weapon: The KnifeSky Render, or Mutsu no Kami. Since Dispatch will always out-damage any Fight attack and KnifeSky Render doesn't have any fringe benefits other than that broken 20% Evade, you won't find it very useful, so you might want to stick with the SwordScimitar (insta-slice) or KnifeTempest (Wind Slash) instead.

When you've defeated Doom in battle, a Save Point will be created for you so that you can heal up and save your game. Walk on to find another one of the three conveniently placed button tiles. Upon doing this, switch to Party #2. With Party #2, the route is exactly like that of the party you just commanded around. Go around to find the door, walk through Guardian's room, and eventually you will reach a room draped in Imperial symbols and banners. Amidst these rests the last of the three Goddesses, the statue of... Goddess.

Before you engage in combat with this Goddess gal, make sure you're properly prepared. ShieldThunder Shields are a must on every character that isn't protected from Lightning-elemental attacks, but even more important is instant death protection. RelicMemento Rings and RelicSafety Bits should be equipped on every possible character. Obviously, Gau and Gogo will be able to self-apply instant death protection with the Rage command, so if you have more characters than instant death protection Relics, spare these two. Equip the LanceAura Lance or a LancePartisan if your resident Dragoon is wielding a LancePearl Lance.

Goddess was called 'Megami' in the Japanese version. This pretty much translates as - gasp - "Goddess." It's more along the line of Shinto, Roman or Greek deities when compared to the two that proceeded it: not quite as omnipotent but rather 'human' in emotion. I personally feel that Goddess represents the ancient Roman/Greek polytheistic religion(s). She holds a ArmorMinerva as a Steal. Minerva was the Roman goddess of (among other things) wisdom and war; her Greek name was Athena. She is the most pronounced 'female' of the three Goddesses. She resembles the character of Athena/Minerva pretty closely: Cunning and tricking could be used to describe her battle style (Love Token, Charm), and wings, which are not uncommon on pictures of Athena/Minerva, can be found on Goddess as well. Within the context of her two fellow goddesses, she comes across as the most righteous of the three: Poltrgeist as the evil Satan, Doom as the neutral Hindu demon, Goddess is the 'good' Goddess.
Goddess
Goddess
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Lightning, Holy
68
44000
19000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
14
0
85
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: ArmorMinerva
Common: SwordExcalibur
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control
 
Strategy
 
Goddess is, in my eyes, the toughest of the trio to defeat. Not only are there no crippling status ailment weaknesses to exploit (not even Slow!) and no elemental weaknesses, Goddess also tends to use your own characters against the party, and that's just plain rude. Her Lightning-elemental nature isn't your biggest concern as you can easily absorb or nullify those attacks; it's her sneaky manipulation attacks you need to watch out for.

Her normal AI script features Battle, OBolt 2, OBolt 3, Lullaby, and Charm. Lullaby is the same multi-target Sleep-inducing attack as it was when fighting Still Life, and Charm is still as grotesquely annoying as ever. Since this is the only battle in the game where the danger of Charm isn't limited by quickly eliminating the monsters that use it, it might be wise to kill off the character affected to make sure no really horrible things come shooting out of the affected character (OX-Zone, Spiraler, OPep Up, OMeteor, and OUltima all come to mind).

When damaged below the 32640 HP mark (that's the critical number of Atma and all three Goddesses; coincidence?), she actually becomes less of a threat. She'll focus more on plain damaging attacks: Flash Rain, more OBolt 3 spells and the non-elemental barrier-piercing Lore, OQuasar, which is for all relevant purposes a slightly weaker version of OGrandTrain. But we haven't touched the true power of Goddess yet.

When she is hit by a Fight command, she has a 1/3 chance of employing the Love Token attack, which I discussed earlier (when facing Barb-e). It basically causes every Fight and Special attack your characters perform to hit the affected character. This is bad news for the Lockes, Gaus, and Setzers of your party. When damaged in any other way, she might counter with a OBolt 2 spell, which is nowhere near as bad.

But here's the kicker: When damaged eight times, Goddess will use her unique Overcast attack. It looks all swirly and features those cute little angels that have thus far been seen only when using OLife, OLife 2, or OLife 3. What exactly does Overcast do? Basically, two things. First off (and this would be bad enough by itself), it sets OCondemned on the entire party. This means that once the timer reaches 0, your entire party will die unless you managed to get rid of the timer, either by using ORippler or by dying and reviving preemptively. There's yet another catch, however. When a character hit by Overcast dies, it doesn't simply receive the traditional Wound status, but is infected with the Zombie status instead. This means that your deceased characters may attack you as well, and that reviving them back to maximum HP is impossible.

Thankfully, OBig Guard covers the entire team, even when they're split across the screen. OHaste 2 isn't quite as strategic in the area, even though you still may want to speed up your characters, especially since Goddess herself has inherent Haste status. Throw out your most damaging attacks, and know that Goddess (with her high Magic Defense and inherent Shell status) is most susceptible to OUltima, OQuake, and OFlare (in that order of potency, too). Your LancePearl Lance Dragoons are useless, as Goddess will absorb their Jump attacks. Switch to the LanceAura Lance or a LancePartisan if you haven't already. Make sure you keep an eye out if Love Token is in effect and act accordingly.

Quickly throwing out your strongest attacks, covering the party in ShieldThunder Shields and RelicSafety Bits, and just having a little bit of luck are the keys to success against Goddess. Lacking any one of those three elements can really break this battle in Goddess's favor, so be prepared, keep yourself healed, and make sure Charm, Love Token, and Overcast don't catch you off-guard. Expand Full Strategy
  

When you prevail, you'll obtain the legendary sword SwordExcalibur. Its majestic light illuminates the area around you, and you can feel its hunger for justice over the forces of evil. It also stinks. It's Pearl-elemental and as you might expect fairly strong, but since your characters have no business actually wielding weapons without kick-ass special properties, the SwordExcalibur simply loses out to SwordIllumina and SwordRagnarok swords, the DirkValiant Knife, Lances of decent forge for Edgar, and even the store-bought SwordEnhancer.

"Defeat the Statues, and magical power will not disappear...Kefka drained the Statues' power, the source of magic...?"

If this was the third Statue you bested, you'll notice that nothing really interesting has happened. The party will have noticed this too, and one of your characters will think aloud to him or herself how this is possible. It seems Kefka has drained the Statues of their awesome magical properties (which might explain your being able to beat them in the first place). Next to controlling the magical powers that hold together this world, he has actually absorbed these powers into himself.

Facing him is a suicide mission for sure, but hey, you've come too far to make it out alive, and you never had much chance to succeed in the first place. All you can do now is press on and face Kefka Palazzo, the man who became a god. So, great, there's a Save Point now. Use it, as it's the last chance you'll get to Save before the final apocalyptic battle between good and evil. That's the kind of thing you really, really want to have a Save option for.

Walk on to find the third button tile. If all three parties stand on all three button tiles, three warp beams or whatever they are come down to take you to Kefka. Heal up, make the five or six characters you like the best hog all the awesome relics and equipment and equip useful Espers such as EsperGolem, EsperFenrir, EsperPalidor, and EsperBahamut. The amount of attacks you'll face is so large it's impossible to give real advice here. There are a couple things that can really help you out, though. First, the final battle features a large array of status ailments, including an unblockable attack that sets Mute (and Dark) on all characters, a Zombie-inducing Special, two Petrify-inducing attacks of which one is unblockable, et cetera. You'll want to protect your characters from these statuses with RelicRibbons. Since the multi-target OMute is possibly the most crippling of all, RelicWhite Capes make the best alternative once you're all out of RelicRibbons. Also, whereas EsperBahamut and especially EsperPalidor can really give a boost to your offenses, EsperGolem and EsperFenrir are extremely awesome to have around. There are Specials up ahead that set Zombie and Death, and the final enemy has some extremely powerful physical attacks. Equip them on the characters you plan to take up there.

2.47: The Final Battle

So, that's it. There was never a grand master plan. There was never a hidden motive, a noble cause unknown to us. All Kefka ever wanted was power, and now that he has it all he seeks is destruction. Your happiness infuriates him, as your will and love for life are the polar opposites of everything Kefka is. There is no choice but to end him. Welcome to the final battle of this game. Fittingly, it is set up differently than any other. You are given a menu with a Reset option, all the characters' names, and an End option. Your job here is to pick an order of characters. The first four are the four that will be sent first into battle. Every time you defeat a tier with one or more characters suffer from Wound, Petrify, or Zombie, he or she (or they) will be removed and the next character on the list will take the empty spot. Reset just resets all the characters you've picked so far, and End defaults any openings in your personal list with the natural order of the characters you see on the left side.

As alluded last paragraph, the battle is divided into tiers. Every time you defeat a tier, you will be lifted up to fight a new battle. Some battle properties are carried over to the next battle, and some are not. What are carried over:
  • Current HP/current MP
  • Statuses and status ailments
  • The RNG uses for determining Slot possibilities
  • The temporary Hide status induced by Jump and EsperPalidor's Sonic Dive
  • If you have executed a Desperation Attack with a character
  • If you have summoned an Esper with a character


What are not carried over:
  • Rage and Dance status; you will be able to select a new one at the start of the next tier
  • The effects of OForce Field
  • The effects of EsperGolem's Earth Wall
  • The status on Cyan's SwdTech bar if you were charging
  • Runic and Retort 'statuses'


A few miscellaneous notes about the final battle:
  • Strago will not be able to learn Lores in the final battle.
  • Joker Doom cannot be spun in the final battle unless you are facing Kefka (Final) himself, in which case it is possible.
  • All targets in the final battle have Clear immunity, so no combination of OVanish/whatever will work.
  • No target in the final battle is vulnerable to the powers of EsperRagnarok's Metamorph.
  • All targets of the three tiers before Kefka cannot be Scanned, Suplex'd, Controlled, or Sketched.


Character assessment in light of the final battles:
  • Terra can really dish out some damage up there if you took the time to teach her OFlare and/or level 3 spells. If she knows OUltima, take her. If she is equipped with the RelicGem Box, take her.
  • Locke is a guy I find particularly useful in the fifth slot. Since he is incredibly more useful in the actual final battle than in the preceding battles, he makes a great back-up unit versus Kefka himself should you lose a character beforehand.
  • Cyan, even if he does know OQuick, isn't all that hot in the final battle. He can do some incredible damage versus Kefka, but he kinda stinks in the other three battles, which are dangerous enough on their own. I advise against him, or at least putting him in an on-deck slot.
  • Shadow just isn't very special compared to other characters. He has his moments and can use Throw, which means targeting, but, with enough OFlare casters, there's really nothing Shadow can do that other people can't do equally well while having other benefits. If you've been favoring mages through the game, you're best off sticking with them; if not, Shadow will perform about as well.
  • Edgar's ToolsAir Anchor is something I personally like to see in the final battle, as you can basically use it twice while never having to worry about the struck targets again. Jump is a little too random to be really good, but he's not too bad. If you take him up there, make sure to give him the LanceAura Lance, as one important opponent absorbs the Pearl element.
  • Sabin's defenses are just crap. He can't target his Bum Rush technique, and it's not much stronger than the tweaked damage output of other characters. Accordingly, I would advise against him.
  • Celes is awesome. Runic is a blessing against Kefka. A large Magic skillset is a prerequisite to her usefulness, but, once she has it, she can work it very nicely. Be sure to equip the ArmorMinerva to take care of a lot of the elements you'll run into.
  • Strago's merit in the final battles lies in OPearl Wind, OBig Guard, and OGrandTrain, but that's not quite enough to close the deal if he has a limited Magic skillset, in my opinion. If he can help in that department with grey Magic and such, he's a grand competitor.
  • Sketch and Control is just worthless, so, when it comes to Relm, everything boils down to nice elemental properties. If she's got a good Magic skillset she can hold her own, then keep her. If she isn't outstanding in this regard, Relm is pretty much useless.
  • Setzer. Random damage x 4 (via GamblerFixed Dice/RelicOffering) worked like a charm for all those bosses, but, now that you have to fight ten targets paired in groups of up to four, the GamblerFixed Dice lose quite a lot of their shine. While it will still be decent against Kefka like all the other RelicOffering/Quadra Slice guys, it doesn't work that good against all the multiple targets leading up to him.
  • Mog is basically Edgar with better defenses and without the ToolsAir Anchor. It's an even trade, especially since Mog can pretty much nullify one of the most dangerous attacks Kefka has to offer due to his 255 Defense. If he has that and some support Magic to help the team, go for it. If not, leave the cute little guy on the sidelines.
  • Gau has the 255 Defense trump card like Mog in addition to one other grand thing going for him on the SNES release: RelicOffering/SpecialSniper. With pretty much every target Floating sky-high, his damage output will exceed that of the Wind God himself. If he lacks RelicMerit Award capabilities due to your having purchased an inferior version of the game, I wouldn't bother with him at all.
  • Gogo's bad defenses really, really hurt him, and his ability to assign skillsets doesn't help him enough to warrant usage.
  • Umaro should only be used if you hate yourself.


While I've given my guidelines, the final party is entirely up to your discretion. I've appraised the game's characters based on their special abilities and what can be done with their base statistics, but a major factor in the value of a character is (as mentioned earlier), their magic skillset. In the end, go with a party you're comfortable with - it's time to climb another tower.

First Tier


Short Arm
Short Arm
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
73
27000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
50
10
10
115
155
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathconfusionsleepstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
water
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Long Arm
Long Arm
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
73
33000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
35
30
5
110
150
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimpdeathsilenceconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
wind
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Face
Face
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
74
30000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
63
12
10
140
140
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
poisonimppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
fire
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Short Arm is incapable of doing anything magical, and it will normally just use Battle. It has a 66% chance of countering any damage it takes with Battle too. When it hits 10112 HP, Short Arm may start to use !VacuumWave, which is a tad stronger. Did you know '112' is the Dutch alarm number? Did you care? Long Arm is only slightly more inventive than its shorter twin; it switches between Battle and Shock Wave. When it hits 10240 HP, Long Arm takes a break from the Shock Wave attacks and uses either Battle or does nothing whatsoever. Bold strategy, Cotton. If Long Arm is the last target to be taken out in this first battle, it'll use up to three Shock Wave attacks before going palm-up.

Face is one that only a mother could love, I suppose, and since there is no mother to speak of, it only makes sense that this creature is trapped in a state of continuous furious torment. It doesn't really do a lot normally, very rarely using either R.Polarity or !Slip Hit. Every fifth turn it'll use either OSafe or OHaste on one of its Arms. Of course, the trouble begins once you pound it enough and it hits 10240 HP. From this moment on, it'll never rest and use either !Slip Hit or the Petrify-inducing Dread attack. In this damaged state, every fifth turn may feature Dread, Magnitude8, or R.Polarity. If Face is the last target to be killed, it'll go with a OQuake spell.

The first tier of the final battle is beyond any doubt the easiest tier, and, since every succeeding tier will be more difficult to handle than the previous one, it makes sense to use the relative harmlessness of this titan to your advantage. Start the battle off by reducing the damage you're taking. Take out Long Arm easily by employing an instant death attack: either use the ToolsAir Anchor on it or cast OBreak spells until one hits. Now, cast OSlow on Short Arm and you're good to go. Make sure that you do not summon EsperGolem or EsperFenrir right now: Their effects won't carry to the next tier and you'll need them much more up there.

Now that you're just taking !Slip Hits and occasional physical hits from the fiend, it's time for your barriers. Cast OHaste 2, OBig Guard, ORegen, OLife 3, you've got all the time in the world and there's nothing stopping you from applying all the positive status ailments you see fit. Know that if you brought Terra to this battlefield, you can have her Morph and let her Morph timer run out while she's Sleeping to make her Morph status permanent. If you're done, it's time to finish this titan off.

You'll want to take out Face before Short Arm, so focus your attacks on it. Since Face is weak to Fire-elemental attacks, an single-target OFire 3 spell leaves a huge dent, as do Thrown SwordFlame Sabres. There's nothing particularly interesting to say about the do's and don't's of this battle: focus your powers mainly on Face, as you want to take it out first, and simply inflict damage as efficiently as possible. You've had much more experience with your characters than I have, so go with what has proven itself in your particular situation. Expand Full Strategy
  



Second Tier


Tiger
Tiger
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
70
30000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
7
0
120
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknessimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
earth
ice
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Tools
Tools
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
73
24000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
13
10
0
105
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifysilenceberserkconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
lightning
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Magic
Magic
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
72
41000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
1
8
0
145
125
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
earth
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Hit
Hit
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
73
28000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
6
9
0
115
153
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: Elixir
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceconfusionsleep
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
poison
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Sketch, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Tiger will act very rarely, but, when it does, the effects tend to be less than desirable for your part of this ordeal. Characters that absorb Fire are relatively safe from Tiger's attacks, but it'll be rough for the others. Tiger's normal AI script reads Nothing - strong attack - Nothing - 1/3 Battle - loop, but once you pound it below 11520 it'll get mad and start using the strong attacks every turn, with a 1/3 chance of using !Doom Tusk in the same turn immediately afterwards. This frenzied Tiger is far and away the most troublesome opponent of this tier and is priority number one as a result. Since his elemental weakness is the popular and easily exploitable Ice-elemental variant, OIce 3 spells and Thrown SwordBlizzard blades are extremely strong attacks versus the ferocious feline. Did you know: Tiger's image is the exact same one as Sabin uses when he executes his Desperation Attack 'Tiger Break'?

If you'd thought that you had seen the last of those repetitive machine moves when you destroyed the Empire's most powerful weapon, you had better think again. Tools is less than picky with its AI script and will randomly use any of its attacks in any situation with only one quirk: Once Tools hits 11520 HP, it'll stop using Atomic Ray and start using the ever-so-slightly stronger Absolute0 attack.

Magic uses spells. A lot of them. It has all kinds of conditions too, so allow me to present them to you: Normally, it's OPoison, ODrain, OBio, OFire 3, OMuddle, OHaste, OImp, OHaste 2. When its HP drops below 30720, it's: OIce 3, OBolt 3, OPearl, OFlare, OSleep, OStop, ORflect, OSlow 2, OLife 3. Below 20096, another change: OIce 2, OFire 3, OBolt 3, OPearl, OFlare, ORasp, OMute. Below 10240, same story: Starts using 33% OQuartr spell as an omni-counter. Finally, below 5120: Starts using 33% OQuartr and up to two ODispel spells as an omni-counter. Note that when Magic dies, its Mute status will be removed and its final counter will definitely produce results.

Hit hits you. Every turn it uses Battle. It never rests or does something remotely interesting; it just sits there and pounds every character it can get its hands on. When it dies, it uses !10 Hits once and follows up with nine Battle attacks before croaking for good. Obviously you were supposed to expect a tenth hit here, but luckily you have me to suck the fun out of every single one of those little tricks.

You should still be buffed up from the previous battle, so there's no need to redo it now. Don't touch EsperGolem/EsperFenrir yet. Start by killing Tools ASAP; once again, the ToolsAir Anchor really helps. ODoom spells are a suitable replacement. Cast the OMute spell on Magic, or use the OSour Mouth Lore. If Magic managed to set Haste on Hit, cast OSlow to counter the effects. By this point, you should have killed Tools, crippled Magic into uselessness, and Slowed the inherently inferior Hit. What's left is Tiger.

Focus all your attacks on Tiger. Like I said, OIce 3 spells and Thrown SwordBlizzard blades really hurt it. When N. Cross hits home, use a Fire spell to recover. Don't let Zombies roam either; cure immediately and make destroying Tiger a priority over healing as Tiger is the only dangerous opponent on the field (not to mention the fact that, if you're in trouble, he can't be more than 10000 HP away from defeat based on his AI). Once Tiger is down, recover from any wounds you might've obtained and go for Magic instead.

After you've killed Magic (there's no special tricks), you'll probably have one or more characters who have lost their positive statuses due to !Doom Tusk, dying in some other manner, or ODispel. Re-set them (since Hit won't be KO-ing anybody anytime soon) before finally going for the kill on the final part. Hit's !10 Hits shouldn't hurt too bad; even in such large numbers, its weak and inaccurate physicals fail to impress. Expand Full Strategy
  



Third Tier


Girl
Girl
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
None
58
9999
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
73
9
0
150
155
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: SwordRagnarok
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
fireicelightningpoisonwindholyearthwater
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control, Sketch, Scan
  

Sleep
Sleep
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
71
40000
10000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
63
6
0
140
120
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
Common: SwordAtma Weapon
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
darknesspoisonimppetrifydeathsilenceberserkconfusionsleepslowstop
None
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
Control, Sketch, Scan
 
Strategy
 
Girl just isn't that interesting. OPearl Wind can show up at any turn, and !Calmness may make a cameo appearance too. If you dare to kill off Sleep before Girl, Girl will respond by casting OLife 2 on Sleep, reviving it. Note that Sleep won't revive back to its max HP, but to 9999 HP instead, which is good news for us.

Girl is just there to keep Sleep around, which is bad enough for you, as Sleep is a particularly nasty enemy to have around. Every odd turn, Sleep may cast either OW Wind or OMerton, and, on every even turn, Sleep will either use Battle or OCondemned. Since this tends to be a long battle, OCondemned quickly becomes a burden. Sleep really goes for the kill once it dips below 10240 HP, though. Once you've brought this disaster on yourself, Sleep will use Meteo. Always. Not only this, but it will also gain access to an omni-counter: 33% Meteo, 33% nothing, and 33% Train, a new attack. Train is unblockable and sets Dark and Mute, which is pretty bad as unless your characters are RelicWhite Cape-, RelicRibbon-, or Rage-protected. Once Sleep is killed, it'll use at least one and possibly two !Calmness attacks to set Death on a character, which is, again, pretty bad, since characters killed this way cannot be revived right after and disappear from your team.

The first priority of this battle is EsperGolem or EsperFenrir. As soon as this is in place, Girl needs to go down. It is vital you have non-elemental and targetable attacks to use for this purpose. Edgar's ToolsDrill Tool, Shadow's ShurikenNinja Stars, SwordFalchions, ShurikenTack Stars or LanceImp Halberds, GamblerFixed Dice, OFlare spells, and SwordRagnarok or SwordIllumina swings are all grand. Obviously, nothing is stopping you from hurting Sleep in the meantime, so OGrandTrain and OUltima aren't out of the question either. Taking down Girl can be quite tedious, as she is constantly healed by both her own OPearl Wind attacks and Sleep's OMerton spells. If you brought Locke or Gogo with a Steal command, you might try to Steal Girl's SwordRagnarok sword; if one of your characters is wielding an SwordEnhancer, replace it.

Once Girl has been killed, you just need to rough it out with Sleep. Keep yourselves healed and always recover from Train right away. You just need to bridge the dangerous gap between Sleep having 10240 HP and Sleep having 0 HP, as in this window Sleep is simply strong enough to kill you whenever his AI script gives him the chance. The best route in the end is to go all-out on the offensive and give Sleep as little time as possible to use Meteo. When Sleep dies, it'll use either one or two !Calmness attacks. This is why we kept EsperGolem and/or EsperFenrir around for all this time: Avoiding the gruesome fate of a successful !Calmness attack. Having circumvented this dirty last trick, it's time to rise even further up in the Heavens and face the Fallen One himself. Expand Full Strategy
  



The Angel of Death



Boys and girls, can you say "Hallelujah"? Now that we have survived his insane creation, Kefka will descend from the heavens to destroy us personally. I'm sure it's not easy to commit deicide, but dammit, we've got to try. Kefka is a being that has stolen powers capable of pretty much everything. He has seen to it that both Atma Weapons were recreated. He has enslaved the Statues and absorbed their energy. He wields the Light of Judgment with ease. 'He's mighty powerful' would be the idea to take from this paragraph.

Kefka (Final)
Kefka (Final)
Type
Level
HP
MP
Gil
EXP
Humanoid
71
62000
38000
0
0
Strength
Magic Atk.
Evasion
Defense
Mag. Def.
Mag. Evade
80
8
45
117
135
0
Stolen Items
Dropped Items
None
None
Status Immunities
Elemental Immunities
StopShellProtectReflectDarknessZombiePoisonClearImpPetrifyDoomImageSilenceBerserkConfusionSapSleepSlowHaste
Poison
Elemental Absorb
Elemental Weakness
None
None
Lores
Command Immunities
None
Control, Scan
 
Strategy
 
So how does the final boss of Final Fantasy VI do battle? He'll start the battle with that demented little speech of his. Characters that were in the air when you defeated the third tier could land from their attacks before he starts it: That's kinda humorous. His first attack is Fallen One, which will reduce all of your characters' HP to 1. After that, it's all about physicals, !Havoc Wing, level 3 spells, and that most annoying of attacks, Train. !Havoc Wing is his most popular and, in most instances, most powerful attack Kefka will perform.

As soon as Kefka hits 32640 HP, he will become quite a bit meaner. Calling a head into existence, he'll say "The end comes beyond chaos." and the screen will start to shake. The next turn, he'll execute the Goner attack. Goner is a multi-target magical non-elemental attack that, in terms of pure power, is the strongest attack in the game. It lacks the barrier-piercing ability, however, so sufficient Magic Defense should ensure that your characters all survive a single Goner slaughter. After this is completed, Kefka will use two attacks in two turns: !Havoc Wing, Train, or Revenger. Revenger is also a new attack: it's like a multi-target ODispel that only removes positive status ailments. It removes Clear, Image, Regen, Haste, Shell, Safe, Reflect, Life 3, and Float. After those two turns, Kefka will once again start to charge up for Goner.

2560 HP later (at 30080 HP), Kefka will start employing a horrible omni-counter: For every attack directed at him, he may counter with either Battle or HyperDrive. HyperDrive is an extremely strong attack that's both unblockable and barrier-piercing, so any character struck by it is likely to die unless he or she was really power-leveled. At 10240 HP, this HyperDrive counter even changes into an OUltima spell, which is obviously even worse, as it's fairly stronger than HyperDrive, though the power is cut since it targets every character. Keep in mind that OUltima may be absorbed by a Runic blade. The HyperDrive and OUltima counters are not employed when Kefka is charging for Goner. This is vital information, as, quite frankly, Kefka's counters are what make him a mean opponent. The last 'stage' of Kefka's battle tactic is when he hits 7680 HP, which is when he just charges up for Goner, uses it, cast a OMeteor spell, and charges up for Goner again. OMeteor is especially troublesome since it cannot be absorbed by a Runic blade. Kefka has a lot of strong spells that will fly past all your fancy elemental protection. The trick here is to keep reviving characters that die (I find this is mostly due to !Havoc Wing attacks) and try to avoid being hit by HyperDrive and OUltima as much as possible. If you can employ the Runic skill, both attacks are vulnerable to its powers, so take advantage of that. If not, I suggest you only attack when Kefka is charging for Goner.

Locke should definitely try to Steal the Megalixir Kefka possesses; it's a great way to heal up after a Fallen One attack. Mog should Jump as usual; he's a real asset in this battle since, in addition to doing a lot of damage, his 255 Defense means that he will be practically immune to !Havoc Wing. The same goes for Gau. The best Rages for him are the pure offensive ones. Stray Cat, possibly paired with a SpecialSniper or DirkMan Eater, will really hurt Kefka. Edgar should do nothing but Jump. If you've taken Cyan up there, try to reach Quadra Slice. OQuick is a real asset to Cyan in this battle, as it is in all. For Setzer, it's GamblerFixed Dice, which should be obvious. Shadow should first empty your stash of LanceImp Halberds. Other weapons that are more powerful than ShurikenTack Stars/ShurikenNinja Stars that you are unlikely to have equipped include DirkGraedus, DirkStunner, SwordExcalibur, LancePearl Lance, KnifeSky Render, KnifeStrato, RodHeal Rod, and SpecialWing Edge. Strago should use OGrandTrain. Sabin and Gogo should use Bum Rush. If Terra is Morphed, she should definitely stick to level 3 spells, but if she's not, OFlare is the superior option. Relm should just use OFlare or level 3 spells too. If Celes is around, I suggest keeping her on Runic stand-by, as it's really awesome in this battle. If Runic conflicts too much with your other characters' offensive plans, it should be avoided, obviously, so take a look at your options and decide what's best.

Kefka isn't extremely tough; he can just catch you off-guard with some of his more powerful attacks. So long as you make sure that doesn't happen, he's an entirely beatable final boss. If your characters are all decked out with OQuick spells, a RelicGem Box here, an RelicOffering there, and OUltima everywhere, the final battle with Kefka will feel like a walk in the park. Expand Full Strategy
  


Done and dusted.

Caves of Narshe: Final Fantasy VI
Version 6
©1997–2024 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)

All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.