*=============================================================================* *~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -* Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition FAQ/Walkthrough By: Dark Vortex (Quan Jin) darkvortexfaqs@ymail.com Version 1.0 *~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ -* *=============================================================================* This guide may be found on the following sites: [http://www.gamefaqs.com]--------------------------------------------[GameFAQs] [http://www.gamespot.com]--------------------------------------------[GameSpot] [http://faqs.ign.com]------------------------------------------------[IGN FAQs] [http://www.neoseeker.com]------------------------------------------[Neoseeker] [http://www.dlh.net]--------------------------------------[Dirty Little Helper] [http://www.cheats.de]----------------------------------------------[Cheats.de] [http://www.supercheats.com]--------------------------------------[SuperCheats] [http://www.honestgamers.com]------------------------------------[HonestGamers] This guide is copyright (c)2008 Quan Jin *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Table Of Contents +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* 1. Introduction...............................................[1000] 2. FAQ........................................................[2000] 3. Basics.....................................................[3000] 3.1. Controls...........................................[3100] 3.2. Battle System......................................[3200] 4. Class System...............................................[4000] 5. Walkthrough................................................[5000] 5.1. The Four Warriors Of Light.........................[5100] 5.2. An Elven Prince....................................[5200] 5.3. Earth Shattering!..................................[5300] 5.4. Volcanic Activity..................................[5400] 5.5. The Airship........................................[5500] 5.6. Citadel Of Trials..................................[5600] 5.7. Waterlogged........................................[5700] 5.8. Fortress In the Sky................................[5800] 5.9. Final Chaos........................................[5900] 6. Soul Of Chaos..............................................[6000] 6.1. Earthgift Shrine...................................[6100] 6.2. Hellfire Chasm.....................................[6200] 6.3. Lifespring Grotto..................................[6300] 6.4. Whisperwind Cove...................................[6400] 7. Equipment Listing..........................................[7000] 7.1. Weapons............................................[7100] 7.2. Shields............................................[7200] 7.3. Headwear...........................................[7300] 7.4. Body Armor.........................................[7400] 7.5. Gloves.............................................[7500] 8. Magic Spells...............................................[8000] 8.1. Black Magic........................................[8100] 8.2. White Magic........................................[8200] 9. Shop Listing...............................................[9000] 9.1. Weapon Shops.......................................[9100] 9.2. Armor Shops........................................[9200] 9.3. Black Magic Shops..................................[9300] 9.4. White Magic Shops..................................[9400] 9.5. Item Shops.........................................[9500] 10. Boss Listing.............................................[10000] 11. Bestiary.................................................[11000] 12. Version History..........................................[12000] 13. Legal Disclaimers........................................[13000] 14. Credits and Closing......................................[14000] To find a section quickly, press Ctrl-F and type in either the name of the section along with its content number (ie. 1., 2., 3., etc.) OR you can use the codes on the far right. Simply type in the brackets with the code number to get a jump. *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 1. Introduction [1000] +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* The Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition was released on the PSP to commemorate the 20th aniversary of the Final Fantasy franchise. The first Final Fantasy has been completely revamped graphics-wise with new character models and textures. While the gameplay hasn't changed all that much (except for a new Labyrinth of Time dungeon), the visuals have improved enough to merit a replay for even those who have already played. I hope you find this guide useful. Thanks for reading this useless intro and enjoy! *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 2. FAQ [2000] +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Roughly how long is this game? [A] Being the first Final Fantasy, the length of this game isn't too long. Without a guide, it should take you a few weeks to find your way through the game as well as defeating the Soul Of Chaos dungeon. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Whenever I engage in battle, sometimes "Preemptive Strike!" or "Ambushed!" appear at the top of the screen. What do those mean? [A] "Preemptive Strike!" basically means you caught an enemy off guard so all of your units will have the first strike. "Ambushed!" means that your opponents caught you unaware. Therefore, they will gain the first strike. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] What does the "Optimal" option mean when equipping my team? [A] The game will automatically select the top-stat items from your inventory for each character. It makes your job easier, but items with special qualities are overlooked. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] How do I get Excalibur weapon? [A] First, you need to get the Adamantite from the Flying Fortress. Take the Adamantite to the dwarf in the Mount Duergar to get it forged. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] How do I get the Deathbringer weapon? [A] The rare Deathbringer can only be obtained by defeating Black Knights. If you use the sword as an item, it can cast Death as many times as you'd like. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] This weapon says that it casts [Insert Magic Spell Here] whenever used. How do I do that? [A] If you equip the weapon, it's not going to cast the spell. Instead, you have to select the weapon from the Item list by clicking on the Item button during battle. A weapon (occasionally armor) can be used for a spell an infinite amount of times, but only once per battle. Some of these special weapons include Thor's Hammer, Razer, Light Axe, Mage's Staff, Healing Staff, etc. These are useful, but don't rely on them all the time. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Where can I find the Tyrannosaur? [A] This hard-to-locate monster can be found around the lake north of Lufenia. A lot of walking around is required. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Where can I find the Death Machine? [A] This special monster is one of the hardest to locate in Final Fantasy I. You can find the Death Machine on the fifth floor of the Flying Fortress. Just walk around a lot and you should get it eventually. However, the Death Machine itself is very difficult to kill so make sure you're ready for it. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Where would be the best places to train later in the game? [A] The Chimeras of the Mirage Tower give a very hefty amount of EXP. Likewise, the Ochus and Neochus of the rivers (canoe required) also provide a lot of EXP. The best area to train is the Flying Fortress. Almost every battle will net you more than 1000 EXP. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Does Temper and Haste stack on top of each other? [A] Temper stacks so you can keep casting it to buff up your fighters. Haste, on the other hand, doesn't stack. If you cast it more than once on the same character, it won't have any effect. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] Can magical barriers stack? [A] The NulBlaze, NulShock, etc. do not stack. Invisira can stack as it continually ups your evasion until you reach the max. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ [Q] What?! The Duel Rapier is only one sword?? [A] Duel (n.) A combat between two persons esp. one fought with weapons. Dual (adj.) Double +-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 3. Basics [3000] +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* Before you begin playing Final Fantasy, I strongly suggest you read the manual. For those of you without a manual, read the text below before you begin. ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------~ ~ 3.1. Controls ~ [3100] ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------~ L Button R Button |________________________________________________|_____ Triangle ,'_____/ \_____`. Button / _ .------------------------------------. __ \ | | _|_|_ | | |__|-----' ,-------|_>_<_| | | __ __ | | | |_| | ||__| |__|----. Directional | | || __ | | Pad | ,-. | || |__| | | | `-' | || | | | | '------------------------------------'| | | | \ _____ === === | __|___/ | `.____\_________________________________|___|___|_,' | Circle | | | | Button Select Button --' | | X Button | | | Square Button Start Button Directional Pad --------------- ~ Move the character. ~ Move the cursor. X Button -------- ~ Confirm. ~ Talk. ~ Examine. ~ Board and disembark vehicles such as an airship. Circle Button ------------- ~ Cancel. ~ Return to previous screen. ~ Move faster in towns and dungeons (press and hold). ~ Press O Button + Select to display the world map. Triangle Button --------------- ~ Status screen. Square Button ------------- ~ Bestiary. L Button -------- ~ Change pages (available in menus where [L] or [R] appears at the edge of the screen). R Button -------- ~ Change pages (available in menus where [L] or [R] appears at the edge of the screen). Start ----- ~ Display the main menu. Select ------ ~ Press O Button + Select to display the world map. ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------~ ~ 3.2. Battle System ~ [3200] ~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------~ Below is a rather crude ASCII depiction of the battle interface. You will see one of these pop up whenever your group engages in battle. ,----------------------[1]----------------------. ||_____________________________________________|| | ____| |,'--------------. ,-------------' | | [2] `----------' | | O | | O R U TUFF -|- | | \|/ ENUFF?!1 / \ | | / \ `------->O | | [3] -|- [4] | | O / \ | | \|/ O | | / \ -|- | | / \ | | O O | | \|/ -|- | | / \ / \ | | __________ | |,---------| |------------------------.| | Dudes 3 | Attack[6]| Quan 999/999 999 | | [5] | Magic [7]| Rich 666/666 666 | | | Items [8]| Jacco 001/001 001 | | | Equip [9]| Steve 069/069 069 | | | Flee [10]| [11] [12] [13]| `----------'----------'-------------------------' [1] Battle Message Display --- Descriptions of spells or items can be located here. Also, important battle speak will also appear hear. [2] Game Field --- All the action and appearance happen on this board. Normally, there will be a background as the battle area. [3] Enemy Side --- All of your enemies can be located on the left side. [4] Your Side --- All of your available units can be located on the right side. [5] Enemies --- All of your enemies are listed here. The amount on the field during the battle is displayed to the right of the name. [6] Attack Option --- Attack your enemy with a physical attack. [7] Magic Option --- If physical attacks won't work for you, use magic. [8] Item Option --- If you need to use an item during any given moment, use this option. [9] Equip Option --- Need to change a character's equipped items? Just give this option a fly. [10] Flee Option --- When all else fails, you can always just run away. Fleeing a battle isn't always guaranteed. [11] Name Column --- All of your characters' names are depicted here. [12] HP Column --- The remaining HP for each unit is right here. [13] MP Column --- The remaining MP for each unit is right here. *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 4. Class System [4000] +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* There are six classes, each with their upgradeable counterparts that can be found and done sometime in Final Fantasy I. Each of them have their ups and downs so there really is "definitive" party to have. However, there are a few no-nos. A party of four Black Mages wouldn't make sense... right? If you have common sense, you should be able to figure things out for yourself. [-----------------------------------------------------------------------------] -------------- Warrior/Knight -------------- The main physical class in Final Fantasy. Warriors are capable of wielding a variety of battle weapons including Swords, Axes, and a bunch of other stuff. Although evade and accuracy usually aren't their strong points, Warriors can still become an admirable attacker usually leading off attacks. Once you upgrade your Warrior into a Knight, he will be capable of using weaker White Magic. Many people choose to have two or even three Warriors in their groups at a time. The benefits outweigh the flaws so the Warrior is a great choice, if not the best possible class choice. ----------- Thief/Ninja ----------- The Thief was a hated character class in the original Final Fantasy. With terrible attack and defense stats, the only real benefit Thieves provided was their evade and luck statistics. Basically, Thieves are just hard to hit and very good at running away. So why do people still use this terrible beginning character? Well, once you upgrade a Thief to a Ninja, you gain many advantages. First of all, the Ninja is capable of casting Black Magic. Second, the Ninja gains the ability to hold a wider range of weapons including the exclusive Monk Nunchakus. Even so, you still might not want a Thief in your group. I prefer to have a Monk in one's place. ----------- Monk/Master ----------- Monks are the TRUE physical units of Final Fantasy. Being martial art masters, they can fight without weapons or with Nunchaku. However, the general public has found that actually fighting without weaponry can be more beneficial to your team as Monks deal more damage. Especially in the beginning of the game, Monks are heavy attackers dealing very high HP damage at lower levels although Monks are nowhere near well rounded in terms of stat growth. Defense growth is usually terrible and Magic stats are practically non-existent considering Monks and even the upgraded Masters are incapable of dealing magical spells. ------------------- Red Mage/Red Wizard ------------------- Red Mages are no doubt, the most versatile magic casters in Final Fantasy. However, their ability to use both Black and White Magic can provide some problems too. Because a mage can only learn three spells of each level, you will have to choose to learn 3 spells out of 8 rather than the standard 3 spells out of 4. Choosing can become difficult. Nevertheless, Red Mages are still good magic casters and at the same time, can be pretty effective even with physical attacks. Just make sure that you keep a good balance or teach it certain magic only as in only Black or White Magic. ----------------------- White Mage/White Wizard ----------------------- The best and probably the only support unit in the game (apart from the Red Mage... optionally) is the White Mage. With spells that can heal, protect, and cure, White Mages are generally useful assets. Rather than using a Potion or Phoenix Down, you can simply cast Cura or Life upon one of your allies. However, White Mages don't have very good attack or defense growth. That's irrelevant as you shouldn't be using a White Mage as an offensive attacker anyway. ----------------------- Black Mage/Black Wizard ----------------------- The offensive magic caster in Final Fantasy is a Black Mage. Capable of casting elemental magic spells along with a number of offensive or supporting spells, Black Mages are very powerful in their trade. The first few learnable spells are useful, but once you get down to castings such as Death which causes an instant KO or Flare which deals heavy damage through light and heat, Black Mages suddenly become way cooler. A full-powered Black Wizard with Magic stats off the charts can terrorize an enemy team. *=============================================================================* +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 5. Walkthrough [5000] +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ *=============================================================================* Well, the walkthrough is listed below. While reading through it, I strongly recommend taking all the advice I give you. If you fail to fully follow every step, your game might be scarred forever. On the same note, don't use this walkthrough unless you are planning to use it from start to end. If used at different interims, certain areas of the game or items might be missed... and that's not cool. Finally, know that you will be using the world map very often. Just remember that the combination to bring it up is "Select + O Button." I will also not mention the Soul Of Chaos dungeons (at least in terms of going to them). For information on that, check the Soul Of Chaos's respective section. Anyhow, enjoy the walkthrough and take any necessary precautions. [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.1. The Four Warriors Of Light ------------- [5100] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] At the very start, you'll be asked to select your party from six possible character classes. Confirm the party that you created and the game will finally begin. A dark entrance cutscene will appear. Read through it if you'd like, but it doesn't really give too much input on the story despite some background information on the legendary "crystals." Anyhow, once that short intermission ends, you will find yourself standing outside a town. (Don't ask me how you got so big.) Walk up a little bit and enter the village by "stepping" into it. __________________________ ---=| Cornelia |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you enter, move around a bit and get a feel for the game's controls. There are a few people to talk to. However, if you'd like to explore the town first, don't converse with the soldier that appears at the exit. Notice the Inn right by the entrance. Although your units are maxed in HP and MP, whenever you need to refresh your party, head to an Inn. The pay to stay in the Cornelia Inn is 30 Gil. That's pretty cheap compared to later towns. Starting with 500 Gil, you don't have too much to spend. However, you can find a bit of stuff by locating the Weapon and Armor Shop. Distinguish between those two as the Weapon Shop has a "sword" insignia while the Armor Shop has a "shield" logo. Cornelia Weapon Shop ~ ==================== * Nunchaku -- Wooden Nunchaku. Cost: 8 Gil Class: Monk, Master, Ninja * Knife -- A small knife. Cost: 4 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard, Black Wizard * Staff -- A wooden staff. Cost: 4 Gil Class: Warrior, Monk, Red Mage, White Mage, Black Mage, Knight, Master, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Black Wizard * Rapier -- A sword with a slender blade. Cost: 8 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard. * Hammer -- A hammer made for battle. Cost: 8 Gil Class: Warrior, White Mage, Knight, White Wizard, Ninja Cornelia Armor Shop ~ =================== * Clothes -- Ordinary clothing. Cost: 4 Gil Class: [All] * Leather Armor -- Armor made of hardened leather. Cost: 40 Gil Class: Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Master, Ninja, Red Wizard * Chain Mail -- Mail of interwoven chain links. Cost: 65 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja There are limited choices considering the amount of Gil you have and being this early into the game. However, try to upgrade some of your characters at least a little. The Rapier and Hammer are both very effective weapons. Likewise, some Leather Armor or Chain Mail for those that can wear them will also be useful. Next, find your way north of the two shops to the two magic shops. The Black Magic Shop is on the left as it has a black fill in its logo and the White Magic Shop is on the right with a white fill in its sign. Cornelia Black Magic Shop ~ ========================= * Fire -- Deals fire damage to one foe. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Sleep -- Puts all foes to sleep. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Focus -- Lowers one foe's evasion. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Thunder -- Deals lightning damage to one foe. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja Cornelia White Magic Shop ~ ========================= * Cure -- Restores a little HP to one ally. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Dia -- Deals damage to all undead foes. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard * Protect -- Raises one ally's defense. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Blink -- Raises caster's evasion. Level: 1 Cost: 50 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight As you buy spells, keep in mind that a magic caster may only learn a maximum of three spells per level. Cornelia only holds Level 1 spells so your mages may only learn three of each spell. As you advance through the game, Level 2 or 3 spells will appear. Even with three Level 1 spells down, you can still learn three Level 2 spells later on. Don't waste your money if you know that you are just going to discard a spell later. Review the spells and fill up your magic units' spell lineup. Exit the shops and head a bit to the east. Cross over a small bridge while moving east and you should come to a church-like building. This is a Sanctuary. If your units ever fall in battle, and you don't have Phoenix Downs or Life spells to use, bring that unit to the Sanctuary, and the bishop will revive them at the cost of a usually hefty fee. Guess mad "skillz" don't come cheap. Since none of your units probably are KOed at this point, I'd suggest bypassing the Sanctuary at the moment. Leave the building and head south across another small causeway over a stream. A building with a "teacup" logo on it should appear to your character's left. This is another form of a shop that sells Potions and that jazz. Enter the Item Shop and see what's around. Cornelia Item Shop ~ ================== * Potion -- Restores 50 HP. Cost: 40 Gil * Antidote -- Cures poison. Cost: 50 Gil * Phoenix Down -- Revives one KO'd ally. Cost: 500 Gil * Sleeping Bag -- Partially restores party's HP. Cost: 50 Gil Suggest buying a few Potions and Antidotes. Don't worry as these items will still be available after the next portion of the game. Now that you finish browsing Cornelia, consider exiting the town. However, all of them are blocked by soldiers. Talk to one of them and he'll be awed at the crystals your characters are holding. (Huh, what crystals?) With that, he ends by exclaiming that YOU MUST SEE THE KING AT ONCE!! *gasp* __________________________ ---=| Castle Cornelia |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Now with your party led inside the castle, you stand before the King. At first, he asks to see the crystals. Laying them out, the King notices that they are indeed genuine. Lukahn's prophecy has certainly come true. While the King's advisor still doubts your team being the four warriors, you have an objective to complete. The princess of Cornelia, Sarah, is missing. Being the four "supposed" warriors of the light, the King orders that you find her. However, it will be somewhat dangerous. One of the finest swordsman EVAR has taken her captive. Although your team aren't really that great of warriors, the King here still believes that you shall save the world. With a quick warning about the swordsman Garland, the King shuts up and leaves you back at the controls. Now that your briefing is complete, leave the castle by heading straight south. Head into Cornelia if the need arises. When ready, leave the town and venture into the wilderness... Now back outside and fully equipped, begin heading away from the town northward. Prepare to meet some of your first fights in this portion of the game. Even at your 00ber level of 1 however, the Goblins that attack you should still fall easily. In fact, before walking too northward, engage and try to gain a few levels. Slowly make your way north and you should notice the incomplete bridge. Ignore that and head in the northwest direction on a wide land bridge. As your party continues, some mountains should appear on your left and right. Notice a small cave on the left side of the valley. Bypass that at this point as it holds no relevance to the task at hand. The path will begin to the lean northwestern-ish so follow closely. Venture through another forest-like area. At this point, the Chaos Shrine should appear ahead. Note the sudden change in enemy types around this area. Instead of the standard Goblins we saw before, some Skeletons will begin popping up here and there. Garland has taken refuge in this shrine. Before you enter, try to level up your units a bit. Level 3 or 4 is a good figure. Some of the monsters around the Chaos Shrine provide a lot of EXP. However, don't let them gang up on you. Considering your low level, they might cause you a few problems. When you feel ready to take on Garland, enter the shrine... __________________________ ---=| Chaos Shrine |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Before moving, get a feel for what the Chaos Shrine looks like. It isn't exactly considered a dungeon seeing as it only is a one floor area. Anyhow, this shrine is symmetrical both vertically and horizontally. Before fighting Garland, look around for treasures. Head to the southwestern corner and find a door. Walk into it and the room the door hid will light up. Inside, you'll find a treasure chest. Open it for a Leather Cap. The other two treasures are in the northwestern corner of the shrine. Venture up there fighting any opposition that appears. Once there, head through another door and two chests will be revealed in front of you. Open the right one for a Potion and the left one for a Tent. Now with the treasures of the Chaos Shrine collected, find your way back to the entrance area. However, don't exit yet as we still haven't defeated Garland. Hopefully, the monsters that you fought while collecting the items have given you some EXP. If you aren't already at Level 4-5, begin to train now or you will be sorry later. Use the Potions that you bought back at Cornelia as needed. If you absolutely have to, run out the Chaos Shrine back to Cornelia and heal at the Inn. Whichever way you choose to level up and stay alive, be ready for Garland. From Chaos Shrine's entrance, head straight up through a door. Talk to the ugly dude... oh wait, that's Garland. Boss Fight: Garland ~ =-----------------= Well, it looks like the King was right in who had kidnapped his daughter. Being the meanie that he is, Garland challenges you and your team to a fight. This is the fight against Garland, the first boss battle of the game. Obviously, you might have a bit more trouble here then with some of the Goblins hanging around. If you are at a legitimate level, the battle will flow much quicker. Garland himself has pretty high attack stats. For the most part, he spends all his turns just hitting your units. Use offensive magic and a bunch of physical strikes to take him down. Use Potions and White Mage Cures when you need them. As long as you're diligent, Garland will fall easily. Once Garland is taken down, his body disappears. (That means that he's dead.) Your team moves forward a bit and the Princess will wake up. Noticing what has just happened, she is instantly grateful for your rescue (Yay). With that, she introduces herself as Sarah, princess of Cornelia as if you didn't already know that. Congratulations on your first boss fight of the game! Once you bring her back to Castle Cornelia, the happy King will give you some words of appreciation. Without a doubt, your team is definitely the four warriors of light that Lukahn's prophecy had stated. If you didn't know it yet, the King will recite some of it for you. Following, he'll tell you of a crystal on the continent toward the north. As promised, his majesty will have the bridge built as quickly as possible. Finally, you have the option to leave the castle. Sarah will stop you for one last moment and give you the Lute (whatever the heck that is). Once you take it, leave the castle and a cutscene will ensue shortly afterward. The director of the bridge operation will order his men to quickly finish up the bridge. Watch it finish and a single worker will ask what the bridge has to do with the prophecy. The four warriors of light are here in Cornelia. Now, the adventure begins. With the bridge complete, a large portion of the overworld will become available to us. Before we go, take some time to head into Cornelia one last time. Heal at the Inn if you'd like and stock up on some Potions and Antidotes before you go. When you feel ready, leave town and head to the bridge north of Cornelia. Now finished, cross over it and a scrolling text-type cutscene will appear. It really kind of leaves you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, doesn't it? The title screen will pop up afterward. While the previous situations paved the path, the real adventure starts now after crossing this bridge. Once the title screen rids itself, step from Cornelia onto the next continent. The Final Fantasy adventure begins... now. As you progress along this thin strip of land, some mountains will appear ahead of you splitting the path ahead in half. The left fork leads you to a special cave, but we can't really do anything over there. Instead, take the "right" turn (BAD PUN ALERT!) and continue along. From this point, continue east through a thick forest. By now, you should begin seeing more dangerous monsters infesting the area. Ogres and Warg Wolfs infest the area. Although they provide a lot of EXP, they can easily kill off your weaker team. So continue trudging east dealing with the enemies you find as best as you can. Use White Magic Cures or Potions to keep your units in tip-top shape. If you can survive, take a few moments to level up your characters. Level 7 is a good figure at this point. If you continue advancing east, you should eventually hit a shoreline. Now begin moving southward and find yourself upon a small town. Enter. __________________________ ---=| Pravoka |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you enter the area, some activity seems to be going on. The civilians are in a frantic state (even though they aren't acting like it), but for what reason? Anyhow, Pravoka's Inn is directly due north of the entrance. Just walk straight up and you should reach it. Heal your units there for a fee of 50 Gil. Also, head to the Sanctuary if any of your units need reviving. Note that the farther away you get from Cornelia, the more expensive the Inns and Sanctuaries become. Exit the Inn or Sanctuary and head to the northwestern area of town. Three pirates are valiantly standing around as if they own this joint. Talk to the dude in the center. Bikke is a pirate who apparently likes to terrorize this town. Talk to him and he'll tell you that you must have "cannon balls of steel" (NOW THAT IS FUNNY!) to be taking him own. Bikke's illiterate henchmen now will engage you. "We'll make their bones go crunch!" Now for the scripted battle against Bikke's nine Pirates. Each Pirate is physically weak, but they do have numbers on their side. With a full count of nine, they can easily overwhelm you. Don't let that happen and slice away at each one. I'd suggest using Sleep to put them out of commission for a little while. Anyhow, defeat all nine of them. They aren't too hard so you shouldn't that much trouble. Now that his Pirates are down and out, Bikke will instantly crack down and apologetically accepts his defeat. Despite not fighting his own battle, Bikke swears he won't do anymore pirate stuff. To really show his true nature, he actually gives you his Ship! Well, we have just turned a mean pirate into an ethical person. Congratulations... er... on that! Now that Pravoka is no longer terrorized by those wannabe pirates, you might want to check out the Ship that you received. Leave the town and get on it. Ride around a bit if you'd like. Before continuing however, I'd suggest heading into town and checking the various stores. Hoorah! Pravoka Weapon Shop ~ =================== * Hammer -- A hammer made for battle. Cost: 8 Gil Class: Warrior, White Mage, Knight, White Wizard, Ninja * Broadsword -- Sword with a wide, double-edged blade. Cost: 450 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja * Battle Axe -- An axe made for battle. Cost: 450 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Scimitar -- A sword with a curved blade. Cost: 160 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard Pravoka Armor Shop ~ ================== * Leather Armor -- Armor made of hardened leather. Cost: 40 Gil Class: Warrior, Monk, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Master, Ninja, Red Wizard * Chain Mail -- Mail of interwoven chain links. Cost: 65 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja * Iron Armor -- Armor made of thinly hammered iron. Cost: 640 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Leather Shield -- A shield made of hardened leather. Cost: 12 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Leather Gloves -- Gloves made of leather. Cost: 50 Gil Class: [All] Pravoka Black Magic Shop ~ ======================== * Blizzard -- Deals ice damage to one foe. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Dark -- Blinds all foes with darkness. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Temper -- Raises one ally's attack. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Slow -- Reduces all foes' number of attacks. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja Pravoka White Magic Shop ~ ======================== * Blindna -- Cures darkness. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Silence -- Prevents all foes from casting spells. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * NulShock -- Reduces lightning damage by half. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Invis -- Raises one ally's evasion. Level: 2 Cost: 250 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight Pravoka Item Shop ~ ================= * Potion -- Restores 50 HP. Cost: 40 Gil * Ether -- Restores 50 MP. Cost: 150 Gil * Antidote -- Cures poison. Cost: 50 Gil * Eye Drops -- Cures darkness. Cost: 50 Gil * Phoenix Down -- Revives one KO'd ally. Cost: 500 Gil As you can see, there's a lot of shopping opportunity here in Pravoka. Out of all of them, I'd strongly suggest picking up a Broadsword, Scimitar, and Battle Axe (depending on what your group is made up of) along with some Chain Mail, Iron Armor, Leather Shields, and some Leather Gloves. A bunch of new Level 2 Black Magic and White Magic spells are also available for sale at a hefty price of 250 Gil. There's a lot to buy, and you probably don't have too much Gil. That's easily fixed by just heading back into the overworld and training with various monsters. Build up your Gil stockpile and refit your team as needed. When you finish shopping and upgrading, head out of Pravoka and take your Ship out to sea. [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.2. An Elven Prince ------------------------ [5200] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] Surprisingly, monsters can still attack you while on the Ship. Obviously, they can swim so expect water-based enemies here. Wait a second, what did we learn in grade school science? Doesn't water conduct electricity? Use your Thunder spells to mess with their weakness and they will fall quickly. Anyhow, when you finish messing around, begin sailing westward. When you reach the fork in the water, take the one leading east. The river will begin to widen up. You should still head west rather than south. You should hit land as well as the edge of Cornelia. Head to the south end of the town and get off at the dock. Well, if you need refreshing, the Inn is always there. Also, buy a few more Potions in case your weakling team breaks down. When you are ready, head back onto the Ship and begin sailing south. If you care to know where you're going exactly, bring up the world map with O Button + Select. There's a continent just below Cornelia. The red dots indicate towns or villages. Judging by the name of this section, we are heading to an elf-infested town, Elfheim. Anyhow, you should eventually hit land. From there, locate the dock to your west and have your team get off. Trudge south through a thick forest and Elfheim should appear in the clear. It's a rather small, yet cozy village inhabiting a number of elves. Loom at the north end is a large castle. Instead of heading inside the castle however, let's head into the village instead. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Elfheim. __________________________ ---=| Elfheim |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Elfheim has all the ingredients for a great rest area. Just as you enter, an Inn should appear a bit forward to your north. Rest up there (live with the "higher" fee) and when your team is refreshed, walk around a bit. The citizens of Elfheim are frantic just like those citizens of Pravoka. However, it isn't pirate problems. Rather, it seems that their Prince is in a terrible trouble! Geez, is every single town in a state of disarray? Guess we need to save the day once more. But hey, this is an RPG after. Before we take any action, let's walk around and browse the stores. From the Inn, head due south and the Weapon Shop will be in sight. Elfheim Weapon Shop ~ =================== * Iron Nunchaku -- Nunchaku made of iron. Cost: 160 Gil Class: Monk, Master * Dagger -- A large knife. Cost: 140 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard, Black Wizard * Crosier -- A staff topped with an iron ring. Cost: 160 Gil Class: Warrior, Monk, Knight, Master, Ninja * Saber -- A long sword made for piercing. Cost: 360 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard If you have a Monk at this point, I strongly suggest keeping him weapon-free. Take my word for it; Monks are much more useful without a weapon at this point. Other than that, the Dagger is good for any weaker Black Mages and the Saber can be useful for your Thief/Red Mage. Your Warrior shouldn't be upgraded at this point. Anyhow, when you are done browsing the shop, exit and head north and west. Pass the Sanctuary as you move on and enter the Armor Shop. Elfheim Armor Shop ~ ================== * Iron Armor -- Armor made of thinly hammered iron. Cost: 640 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Copper Armlet -- An armlet crafted from copper. Cost: 800 Gil Class: [All] * Iron Shield -- A shield wrought from iron. Cost: 80 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Leather Cap -- A cap made of leather. Cost: 65 Gil Class: [All] * Helm -- A small helm. Cost: 80 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja A lot of upgrading opportunities here. One thing I would greatly discourage would be the Copper Armlet. Even though it's only an Armlet, it's the most expensive item in the shop. You are much better off buying it later when your Gil stockpile grows a bit larger. Your Warrior can be upgraded here with an Iron Shield and Helm. North of the Armor Shop is the Item Shop that you might want to check out. Elfheim Item Shop ~ ================= * Potion -- Restores 50 HP. Cost: 40 Gil * Antidote -- Cures poison. Cost: 50 Gil * Gold Needle -- Cures stone. Cost: 500 Gil * Echo Grass -- Cures silence. Cost: 50 Gil * Tent -- Partially restores party's HP and MP. Cost: 160 Gil Again and furthermore, buy whatever you want. I'd suggest against the Gold Needle considering its price. Having a few Tents would be a good idea in dungeons and such. Anyway, when you are ready, exit the Item Shop. But wait, haven't I forgotten to mention something? Ah yes, the White and Black Magic Shops. However, there was a reason I left them for last. Elfheim has something that Pravoka and Cornelia didn't have. That would be two different Black Magic Shops and two different White Magic Shops. In Elfheim, you can actually buy both Level 3 and Level 4 spells! The Level 3 shops are located more toward the middle of the area. The higher end spells (Level 4) can be found more north. Browse each and every shop if you choose. Elfheim Black Magic Shop (Level 3) ~ ================================== * Fira -- Deals fire damage to all foes. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Hold -- Paralyzes one foe. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Thundara -- Deals lightning damage to all foes. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Focara -- Lowers evasion of all foes. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja Elfheim White Magic Shop (Level 3) ~ ================================== * Cura -- Restores HP to one ally. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Diara -- Deals damage to all undead foes. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard * Nulblaze -- Reduces fire damage by half. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight * Heal -- Restores a little HP to entire party. Level: 3 Cost: 1000 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard, Knight Elfheim Black Magic Shop (Level 4) ~ ================================== * Sleepra -- Puts one foe to sleep. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Haste -- Doubles one ally's number of attacks. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Confuse -- Causes foes to turn on each other. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja * Blizzara -- Deals ice damage to all foes. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard, Ninja Elfheim White Magic Shop (Level 4) ~ ================================== * Poisona -- Cures poison. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard * Fear -- Drives all foes away in terror. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard * NulFrost -- Reduces ice damage by half. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard * Vox -- Cures silence. Level: 4 Cost: 2500 Gil Class: White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard As you can see, these magic spells can easily empty your wallet. Therefore, I'd only suggest buying the spells that you REALLY need. Some of the Level 4 spells are very useful, but considering the amount of Gil you probably have right now, I can advise you buy the Black Mage techniques, Haste (Level 4) and Fira (Level 3) only at this point. For White Mages, I'd strongly suggest Poisona (Level 4) as some of the enemies in the near future will terrorize you with poison. Heal and Cura (both Level 3) are also very useful. If you need more funds, there's nothing more you can do but to battle, battle, and battle some more. The Ogre and Ogre Chiefs hanging around can give you a lot of money really fast. Likewise, if you battle some Buccaneers or Sahagins while on the seven seas, you can also get a lot of Gil. If you can't buy everything yet, don't fret. There's always later to come back here once you get rich. When you are ready (or you get sick of working for your money), head into the castle and figure out what's going in Elfheim. __________________________ ---=| Elven Castle |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Once you are in the area, talk to a few of the guards hanging around. They all say basically the same thing. Some dude named Astos had poisoned the Prince into some deep sleep as well as running away with Elfheim's treasures. How original. Anyway, you can find the Prince's chamber by going straight up from the entrance and then taking a left and then going through the door to the north. The Healer is standing beside the Prince who is now in a dazed state of slumber. He tells you of a possible medicine that might exist... somewhere. Well, we are probably expected to find this cure. Seeing as the people here are not really too much of a help, we might as well leave. Enter Elfheim for the last time before we venture off and buy a few Antidotes and Potions. You will see why later. Expect the Marsh Cave to be quite a tough situation. Anyway, from Elfheim, begin moving due west. Some mountains will be there to block most of your path, but there is a small passage that can be found somewhere along that range. Make your way through and follow the mountain to the west's wall. Stick along it while beating up random enemies. Now would be a great time to level up as Marsh Cave is up ahead. The monsters there are very problematic for a dungeon so try to get your levels to at least 13-14. You are currently located inside a rounded area. The mountains surround you in a circle. The only two openings back to the outside world are through the small valley you entered from, and wider exit toward the northwest. A lake borders the northern edge, but we can't cross that from this point. If you are confused about your position, look at your world map and enlarge the picture to get better detail. Find your way to the northwest corner and exit through the small valley opening at that corner. It's not really that hard to find, just hard to describe. Head north, walk a little, and enter the Western Keep. __________________________ ---=| Western Keep |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ The Keep is deserted... or so it seems. Anyhow, begin moving forward and then to your left. There's a door just north of that corridor. Walk inside and you will find a King sitting on his throne. Apparently, his castle really failed to make any form of improvement in this wretched state. The King inside asks of you to find a Crown for him from the Marsh Cave. There's nothing else to do here so just leave. Now that that is over with, begin making your way south. Some mountains will crowd the way a bit, but it is completely possible to get through. Head all the way to the southernmost point. In the ground, you should see a hole. Welcome to the Marsh Cave. Now let's get to retrieving that Crown. __________________________ ---=| Marsh Cave |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Okay, welcome to the Marsh Cave, one of the most annoying dungeons. I hope you taught your White Mage Poisona as you will probably need it down here. Anyhow, from the start, you have two ways to go. The top path leads to the B2 which in turn, leads to nothing. However, there are a few items that you might want to collect. The path leading south is the "real" way to go as you will need it to progress. If you want to bypass the various treasures hanging around, skip the next two paragraphs. Anyway, if you do want to pick up some items, take the path leading north. Walk yourself through the twisting path until you reach a staircase at the end. Descend and you should find yourself one floor below. The enemies here can be pretty nasty. From the stairs, go up and around the pillar wall and then head due west. There will be a doorway to your north. Go through and pick up the 680 Gil in that chest. Exit that room and continue west. When there is a path leading north, take it and have your party walk around the room containing the 680 Gil. Walk all the way to the end and turn south once the wall hits you. Then walk around this next room and enter it once you reach the door. The chest will contain a Dagger. Snatch that and then make your way to the very bottom of this area. Another door will lead into a room containing two chests. One of them has a Broadsword and the other holds 620 Gil. Take your prize. With that, find the staircase leading back to B1. Then make your way back to the Marsh Cave entrance stairs. Now, from the Marsh Cave entrance stairs, begin making your way southbound. Beware of the Ghouls and Crawlers hanging around as they can paralyze you. Another monster that should be noted, the Green Slimes, are only affected by magic. Using physical attacks against them would be a waste of turns. Also, the Green Slimes are capable of poisoning. Poisona, as recommended before, would really help you out with that. Anyhow, continue south until you reach a fork in the path. The east path leads to nothing and basically sends you into a dead end so take the south path. At the very southeastern corner is a room. The door is on the south wall so enter and you will find a ladder leading below. Take it down and you should be in B2 again but in a different location. From this room are three doors leading out. It doesn't matter which one you exit from as they all lead you to the same room. From here, begin heading south against the pillars (they block your path east) until you reach the very bottom point. From there, head east and then go around. Keep moving east and walk through the door at the end. In this room, there's another door even more to the east. Exit through there and you should finally reach a set of stairs to Marsh Cave B3. Unlike the other two floors, Marsh Cave B3 is actually well organized. You might not be able to see it from the start, but this floor is made up of a 4x4 collection of rooms. The room closest to your position in the northwestern corner contains a chest holding a Phoenix Down. Pick that up. From there, venture all the way to the other end in the northeastern corner. In that room, you will find 295 Gil. Walk down to the second row and move to the two western-most rooms. The room second to the wall has a Cottage and an empty chest (if you picked up the Phoenix Down previously). The western-most one in the second row has a Copper Armlet. The third row has the Crown in it. However, before engaging, you might want to pick up the final prize, which is 385 Gil in the room second to the east wall. The fourth row has doors all bound by the Mystic Key. We'll get that little item eventually, but for now, let's find that Crown here. Walk yourself into the room on the third row that is second to the west wall. When you enter, there is a chest on the ground. Run up to it, and the Piscodemons will engage you! I wouldn't know if this really qualifies as a boss fight (I've seen it listed as one in other places), but it is scripted and it is actually pretty tough if you aren't careful. These Piscodemons come in numbers and will jump at you as soon as you step in front of the chest containing the Crown. Anyhow, note that these Piscodemons actually hit you pretty hard. Focus your attacks and use a good balance of offensive magic and physical strikes to take down all of them. Having a White Mage that uses Cura wouldn't be a bad idea. Once those Piscodemons are out of the way, you can open the chest and find the Crown! Some music will play to notify you of your success. Okay, now what was the whole point of coming to the Marsh Cave again? To find the Crown for that Western Keep dude. You might as well just get out of here. Well, you can get out of here, but don't forget about this dungeon completely. Coming back here will be optional later on to pick up the hidden items once you get the Mystic Key. So if you plan to, remember how to get down here later. Backtrack all the way to the entrance, and find yourself in the overworld once more. Before we go and find that super-duper Astos dude, let's head back to Elfheim and heal up a bit. If you didn't buy anything before because of funds, now would be a great time to purchase some spells that you missed before. Astos is a bad man, so you better get on the training ball and level up your units. The higher the level, the easier defeating him will be. I stopped once I reached level 17 but you can go as far as you wish. Now we better head to the Western Keep and return the Crown to that benevolent King. Walk up to him and give him the Crown once you reach the Western Keep. He will give a hearty laugh and state that he is really Astos in disguise! Had you come to the Western Keep before, this King (in disguise) would have asked you find his Crown. Now that we hand this Crown upon him, Astos will make his appearance. Oh noes! Boss Fight: Astos ~ =---------------= What a clever trick! The freaky-looking guy standing right in front of you is actually Astos. The real King of the Dark Elves has his evil intentions of taking over the world. While engaging, take necessary precautions as Astos really is no pushover. The King of the Dark Elves has a lot of abilities up his sleeves. First off, his physical attack can deal heavy damage with each strike. Keep your vulnerable units protected using a White Mage's Protect. Your White Mage should spend the entire battle keeping your units in tip-top shape. Astos, unlike Garland, is capable of sending magic spells at you as well. His most dangerous, Death, is basically the Level 6 Black Mage spell. With one casting, Death can automatically kill one of your units. However, it is easily evaded. You can prevent it from hitting by raising your unit's evade stats through using Invis. (If you know it.) Astos might be tough for a fat Dark Elf King, but with effort, he is easily overwhelmed and defeated. Once Astos is defeated, you will find the Crystal Eye that he dropped. Although it is a very important item, a Crystal Eye won't revive the fallen Elven Prince. Don't fret however, as we still have another step to complete before finding his cure. For now, head back to Elfheim and heal your team that should be pretty tired from the Astos battle. There's not much else to do here, so get back onto your Ship. Now just so you don't get confused, bring up the world map once more so we can plot our next objective. First off, you should now be Elfheim obviously. Locate Cornelia on the map. North of Cornelia, you should notice a lake. The map really doesn't show an opening, but you are allowed to sail under the bridge that the nice ol' Cornelia King built for you. So sail over to that bridge and then continue west under it. You are now in that lake I pointed out before. Okay, why did I bring you here? Well, it's a pretty small lake (in comparison to the sea in between Cornelia and Elfheim). Sail to the north end of the lake where a dock presents itself. Get off here and walk a little bit north. Once you pass the mountain on your left, head west in that direction. You should now notice a peninsula leading northeast just ahead. A quick check with your map will tell you that there's something on the tip. Begin making your way along this monster-infested area until you reach a cave... __________________________ ---=| Matoya's Cave |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Some weird music will begin to play here. There's nothing out of the ordinary until you walk a few steps. WHOA!! A broom sweeping without a dude sweeping it! There is only one door in this tiny hallway. Go through and some more of those brooms will be sweeping around. A woman by the name of Matoya will hit something and scream out in pain. You automatically walk forward where a witch is stupidly moving around. She'll continually scream about her eye and get hurt again and again. The last thing she says is something about her Crystal Eye. That rings a bell doesn't it? Didn't that Astos dude drop a Crystal Eye? Talk to her and she'll notice that you have her Crystal Eye. Hand it over and she'll be ecstatic with joy (well, not really). Completing ignoring the fact that you might have stolen it, she instantly gives you a reward in return. Matoya offers to you a special potion... or so she calls it. Take the Jolt Tonic from her and leave her cave. Phew... With the Jolt Tonic picked up and in our list, we can hopefully revive the Prince. Make your way all the way south again and find your way to your Ship. Let's head back over to Elfheim. Once there, enter the castle and run up to the Prince's chambers and hand the Jolt Tonic to the Prince's Healer (of whom isn't doing a very good job by just standing there all day). Slowly but surely, the Elven Prince will wake up. Instantly grateful for your appearance, the Prince hands to you a Mystic Key. Yay! We have just saved three civilizations from kidnapped daughters, pirate problems, and a sleeping Prince. That's quite an achievement if you ask me. Anyway, with the Mystic Key in our hands, a lot of treasures are now available to us. For starters, make your way to the rear end of the castle by traveling outside the eastern wall. Don't miss a step or your character will leave Elven Castle "unintentionally." At the far end is a small room that was previously locked. With the Mystic Key, you can open it. Inside are four treasure chests. From left to right, you will find a Mythril Hammer, 800 Gil, 700 Gil, and Bronze Gloves. There are a few other locations where you can use the Mystic Key and find some nice items. In the Marsh Cave, if you head all the way to Marsh Cave B3 and the very bottom row, you will locate four room. You can find an Antidote, 1020 Gil, and a Silver Armlet. However, you will have to fight a few Piscodemons as well, and we all know how much trouble they can provide. In the Western Keep, you will also find some stuff laying around. In the Western Keep, walk all the way to the back and then turn left. Make your way around the room where you fought Astos. The treasures here are in that room within three chests. You will need to fight some Mummies and Wraiths first however. Defeat them and pick up the Falchion, Power Staff, and Steel Gloves. With two dungeons covered, haul yourself over to the Chaos Shrine. You can find them in the corners as the dungeon was basically a rectangle if you remember. You will find a Rune Blade in the southeast corner but you will have to fight Gargoyles. In the northeast, you can find a Werebuster and a Gold Needle. The last area we can find some stuff in is Castle Cornelia. Make your way back south and enter the castle. Instead of actually going in, turn right and walk along the castle's walls until you reach the rear. There, a pathway will lead toward the center. Walk in and head east. A man will tell you that the equipment you find in the doors will help you a lot. Head south and enter the two rooms. Open the chests for a Cottage, a Saber, a Mythril Knife, Iron Armor, a Tent, and some very special Nitro Powder. (It's special enough to make that cool music.) Considering the usefulness of some of the items you collected, that trip back through past dungeons was pretty worthwhile. With the Nitro Powder collected, leave the castle. [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.3. Earth Shattering! ---------------------- [5300] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] Your boat should be parked and bobbling along the Cornelia docks. Take your Ship and use it to sail around the west end of the Cornelia continent as if you were heading over to the Chaos Shrine on boat. Eventually, you will reach a dock. Get off and begin heading southwest as the path east is blocked by a mountain. Walk through a thick forest heading south until you notice a cave in a rock wall. Enter Mt. Duergar. __________________________ ---=| Mt. Duergar |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you enter the cave with the name I can't spell, you should notice quite a bit of activity going on. Talk to a few of the men standing around and they will tell you a little bit about what's going on. Ignore their funny accents (Oh hey lookie at meh, I cairn tairk in funnair accents LOL!) One of them tells you that they are looking for the Levistone, a stone that actually floats! Interesting. Anyway, from the entrance, head all the way west and then south once you can't go any further that way. Now begin heading south as the path narrows. At the very bottom, walk around the wall and enter the room for a lot of useful treasure! You will find a Tent, a Great Helm, a Wyrmkiller, Ether, a Potion, some Mythril Mail, 575 Gil, and a Cottage. Now those are some nice items. Equip them as you need to, and exit the room. Walk to the southeast corner of the treasure room and talk to the man in the green turban. A "!" will appear above his head to signal his surprise! He notices your Nitro Powder (or Nitro Pouder as he calls it) and asks to use it in his blowing up of the canal. Since we need to break through anyway, give it to him. Once he places it, we can now "bluiter this rock tae smithereens!" Geez, why does everyone around here have such a terrible accent? Anyhow, the guy tells you to run off before it blows and your dude runs a good 10 feet back (yeah, that'll really help). A cool-looking cutscene will show the canal breaking off making the pass open for you. Now you have the access to the next area of this world. Find your Ship again and sail over to the canal that you just blew the crap out of. Head through that narrow area and you should notice a whirlpool a bit ahead. Do not sail into this whirlpool just yet. Instead, head west past a small island. You should notice a tiny town on the edge of a continent. Get off your boat at the nearby dock and head into Melmond. __________________________ ---=| Melmond |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Upon first entering the area, Melmond looks pretty dirty. (As in grimy. Not the other way you perverts!) There are a few solemn-looking citizens walking around. Talk to them and hear about their sad story. Some Vampires attacked this small town and left their city in shambles. Take note of the amount of gravestones around. Is there no town we enter that doesn't need some form of saving or helping? Anyway, north of the entrance is the Inn (which is in pretty terrible shape). You can stop there for 100 Gil to heal up your party. The Weapon Shop east of the Inn has a few items that you might want to pick up. Also, head up to the Armor Shop just north afterwards. Melmond Weapon Shop ~ =================== * Crosier -- A staff topped with an iron ring. Cost: 160 Gil Class: Warrior, Monk, Knight, Master, Ninja * Saber -- A long sword made for piercing. Cost: 360 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard * Longsword -- A large, double-edged sword. Cost: 1200 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja * Falchion -- A sword that widens toward its tip. Cost: 360 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard Melmond Armor Shop ~ ================== * Knight's Armor -- Armor crafted from steel plate. Cost: 36000 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight * Silver Armlet -- An armlet of worked silver. Cost: 4000 Gil Class: [All] * Great Helm -- A helm that covers the entire head. Cost: 360 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Bronze Gloves -- Gloves made of bronze. Cost: 160 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Steel Gloves -- Gloves made of steel. Cost: 600 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja There is quite a lot to buy considering the terrible state that Melmond is in. At the Armor shop, you probably should reconsider buying the Knight's Armor. The price is absolutely horrendous, but if you must, purchase it. The Silver Armlet should be equipped by all of your other units. At the Weapon Shop, there really isn't anything to pick up apart from the Longsword which you might want to equip on your Warrior. More south are the two Magic Shops. However, note that there's no Sanctuary here (the Vampires destroyed that) and there's no Item Shop either (they probably destroyed that too). Melmond Black Magic Shop ~ ======================== * Firaga -- Deals fire damage to all foes. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard * Scourge -- Instantly kills all foes. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard, Red Wizard * Teleport -- Transports party to previous floor. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: Red Wizard, Black Wizard * Slowra -- Reduces one foe's number of attacks. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: Red Mage, Black Mage, Red Wizard, Black Wizard Melmond White Magic Shop ~ ======================== * Curaga -- Restores a lot of HP to one ally. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: Red Mage, White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard * Life -- Revives one KO'd ally. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard, Red Wizard * Diaga -- Deals damage to all undead foes. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard * Healara -- Restores HP to entire party. Level: 5 Cost: 4000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard It doesn't seem like anything comes cheap anymore... Anyway, you probably won't be able to afford _everything_ but you can try to pick up Firaga and Scourge. Teleport is very convenient, but it needs a Black Wizard. For your White Mage, consider getting Curaga, Life, and Diaga (which will be very useful against the undead Vampires we'll be fighting in the future). Once you pick everything you need up, leave Melmond. Let's move. Start heading southwest along the coastline. Do your best defeating the various monsters around. Keep going until you reach a fork separated by a mountain. The west path leads to a cave (Giant's Cave). However, you cannot pass because an ugly-looking, rock dude blocks your path. Instead, take the south path and cross the narrow landbridge. As you get to the other side, you should see a cave on the opposite end of the mountain. Move around the mountain and enter it. __________________________ ---=| Cavern of Earth |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ The first step in activating the Earth Crystal is through here, the Cavern of Earth. Be forewarned however, the enemy's here are quite a step up from the previous dungeon. Rather than scripted Piscodemon fights, you actually have to fight them in random battles here. Along with that, Ogre Chiefs are numerous and the Cockatrice is a monster that has the capability of turning your units into stone. You should be able to judge for yourself. If you feel that survival here would be a difficulty, head out and train. I just stuck around Level 20 and continued onward. Anyhow, once you enter the Cavern of Earth, you should notice a bunch of paths leading in different directions. Normally, it would be quite a doozy to find your way through (aren't you glad you are using a walkthrough?). Besides, a lot of encounters here means a lot of EXP and that's always a good thing. As a guide, I should notify you of an optional, yet incredibly useful path. From the entrance, you can choose to head straight to your west. This path will lead you to the "Hall Of Giants/Gigas." Once you reach the corner, for every step you take, you will fight a battle with at least one Hill Giga included. While Hill Gigas are dangerous, they are also provide great EXP. If your units need leveling up, take this challenge and walk through it. However, remember to bring lots of healing items beforehand. Don't venture too far as even on the way back, you will be fighting Hill Gigas. Anyway, once you are done, head back to the entrance stairs. Go directly north and follow the path until you reach a split. Enter the room at the very bottom to find a chest containing 1975 Gil. With the treasure collected here, head all the way back to the entrance. Back there, find the southeast path and begin following it. The path leads you to a maze-like area, but it's fairly linear. From the entrance of this maze-like area, just head east and then south. The way will eventually lead you to another door. The two chests in this room contain 795 Gil and an Antidote. Begin making your way back to the "maze-like" area entrance. However, instead of leaving, move all the way west and then south again. You will find yet another room of two treasure chests. One of them contains a Potion and the other has 880 Gil. Beware, stepping in front of the right treasure chest will trigger a fight with an Earth Elemental -- a very powerful monster. Even so, you can try to beat it for a lot of EXP! With that done, make your way all the way back to the entrance stairs. From there, head eastward. The twisting path will lead you to staircase leading down. Step into it and head below to Cavern of Earth B2. At the entrance, head all the way south until you can't go any further. Then venture east and then north. Follow the path until you reach a fork. Take the one leading east and advance in this direction. A fork will lead south, but ignore that for now. Instead, enter the door up ahead and open the three chests for 330 Gil, a Tent, and a Coral Sword. Exit the room and head back west. Take the path south and ignore any paths leading west. Once you reach the bottom, turn east and then back up again. Finally, you will find the stairs leading even further down to the B3. Getting tired yet? Well, we still haven't found the boss yet. Now at the lower floor, begin heading due east along this narrow passage. When you reach a split, head east to a small room containing one chest. Pick up the Sleeping Bag and head back to the split. Now head north. Walk through this twisted path while fighting off hordes of monsters. At the north end, enter the door to your west and fight off an Earth Elemental before picking up the 3400 Gil inside the chest. Leave the room and begin moving east double time. The forward path is a twisted labyrinth. Take the south path and head all the way to the bottom. The door there will lead you to a chest containing a Gold Needle... after fighting an Earth Elemental (geez those things are annoying). Head out of the room and then back north again until you reach the area where you entered this portion of the level. Once there, back out of that area and head straight west past the door we collected that 3400 Gil in. Head westward along another twisting path. At the endpoint, you should find yet another door. There's no treasure in there, but if you walk around a bit, you will engage some Earth Elementals. Although tough, they are very prominent EXP providers. You can choose to train here if you'd like before the boss fight here. Otherwise, just head south. Continue along this way until the path begins to widen up. Turn east and enter another room. The chest there contains 1020 Gil (after fighting an Earth Elemental of course). From that door, head directly south and then begin moving straight east. After entering the door, talk to the bat (!!!) and he'll talk to you. After a few intimidating words, he'll move back and transform into a Vampire! Boss Fight: Vampire ~ =-----------------= Intimidating as he is, this Vampire is not the real boss that we're looking for. If you taught your White Mage Diaga, now would be a great time to use it! For your magic casters, send your most powerful elemental strike against this nameless vampire. With your physical attackers, just go all-out on him. Hopefully, this Vampire will be overwhelmed. It is easy to defeat him within the first turn before he even gets a chance to fight back! Defeat him and the chest that he was protecting will be accessible. Some cool music will play meaning that the item you have just found is a major key item. Pick up the Star Ruby. With the Cavern of Earth's treasure collected and the boss defeated, slowly make your way back to the surface. I know, it will be tedious indeed. Once back in the overworld, head back to Melmond and stop at an Inn for a needed rest. However, our mission with the Earth Crystal is not over yet. With the Ruby Star collected, another portion of this continent becomes open to us. Remember the Giant's Cave I told you about. If you went in there before, the rock guy wouldn't have let you in. However, one of the people in Melmond had notified us that the rock dude really LIKES gems. To get there, head in the direction of the Cavern of Earth. However, instead of continuing south on the Devil's Tail peninsula, head southwest. The cave is in plain sight. __________________________ ---=| Giant's Cave |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Move upwards a little bit where a big, gray rock dude is standing around stupidly. Talk to him and he'll make a funny noise. "You have Star Ruby!?" Give him the Star Ruby before he has a hissy fit and he'll let you pass. The rock guy will turn his back on you showing his enormous rear (Hey look, he's mooning you.) while eating the Star Ruby. I wonder how that tastes. With that, he slowly walks away into the opposite wall. (!!!) With him out of the way, you have two ways to go. First off, begin heading south for some cool treasures. Enter the room and pick up the Great Axe, 620 Gil, 450 Gil, and Mythril Helm. Re-equip if you want to and exit the room. Begin heading north all the way up. At the end, you will find a set of stairs. Ascend them. Once you exit, you will be out of the cave and back in the overworld. However, note that you're in a whole new area. Whoa! There aren't any immediate areas of interest. Begin navigating through the area all the way to the southern tip of the area. At the very south, you should notice a cave right before the waterline. __________________________ ---=| Sage's Cave |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ For once, a cave that actually doesn't have monsters scuttling through it! Anyway, begin heading north. The door there will lead you to a group of pots. That doesn't help us too much. Instead, continue westward and then go through the next door. Talk to the old man you find in the second room and he'll introduce himself as Sadda. The Vampire you defeated previously was not the mastermind behind it all. The real job can be found deeper in the Cavern of Earth. Sadda will hand to you the Earth Rod and tells you to use it behind the Vampire's area. If you explored that area a bit previously after opening another door, you might have found a rock that was otherwise impenetrable. With the Earth Rod, we can get that rock out of the way. Exit the Sage's Cave and begin the tedious journey back up to the Giant's Cave and then back through the Giant's Cave. Heal up at the Melmond Inn if you absolutely need to. Head down the Cavern of Earth and take ANOTHER tedious trek all the way to the Vampire area. Now that you're here, there really isn't anything around. However, to your right is another door. Go through that all the way to the upper end where a stone slab welcomes you on a wall. It appears to be a dead end, but with the Earth Rod that Sadda gave you, the slab will magically disappear revealing another staircase. Go down into B4. The enemies here are a bit tougher than the previous floors. Take some time to level up among them. From the stairs, head north and some paths will be open to you toward your left. First, take the path leading north all the way to a door containing a bunch of chests. Beware, as in front of most of the chests, you will have to fight either an Ogre Mage or a Sphinx along with some other enemies. Pick up a Staff, 3400 Gil, 1520 Gil, 5450 Gil, and 1455 Gil. Leave this treasure room and head back to the entrance area, but instead of taking the path back to the stairs however, go west through the small doorway. Head south and then west. When you reach the wall, begin moving due south all the way to another treasure room in the southwestern corner. You will find a Tent, a Mythril Shield, and 1250 Gil... after fighting a few Ogre Mages of course! Anyway, with the treasures of B4 collected, exit the room and head straight north. Go all the way to the northwestern corner to find a staircase. Descend. Now in Cavern of Earth B5, I hope you are ready for the boss fight. Make sure your team is fully healed with as much MP as you can spare. The boss fight here will need a lot of fire spells and a lot of Diagas. From the stairs, go south and around the wall to head north. Keep going to the end and then turn west. Follow the path as it twists south and you should reach a door in the wall. This is it folks, the Earth Crystal's answer is right here. As you enter, a glowing ball will appear ahead of you. Examine it and a voice will boom through the air. Suddenly, a totally ugly vampire will appear. Meet Lich. Although he looked smaller from above, Lich is one of the fattest heathens I have ever seen. Boss Fight: Lich ~ =--------------= Fat as he is, Lich is a vampire. Plain and simple, that means that he's an undead creature. Undead monsters have two main weaknesses. Dia and fire spells. Your Black/Red Mage should be able to cast a good ol' Fira against Lich which should damage him a lot. If your White Mage has Dia/Diara/Diaga, by all means, blast him with that too! Your physical units can't really do anything except for using regular attacks. As a vampire, Lich's physical attacks can do a lot of damage. He also owns some Black Magic spells which can deal some damage against you. If possible, use your White Mage and bring up a NulFrost or NulBlaze barrier. At the same time, cast Protect on every one of your units to soften the amount of impact from each of his strikes. Don't be shy with healing and use Curaga whenever needed. Keep pounding Lich with Diaga and Firaga plus a few physical strikes and he will fall. You will know when he's defeated as the screen will flash white and Lich will slowly fade away. Take the Gil and EXP that Lich provided and the Earth Crystal will begin to glow. Congratulations! Your team has succeeded in activating the Earth Crystal. Only three more to go. As your team shows their appreciation by hopping around, the scene will shift to Earthgift Shrine where a barrier blocking a door will break. Consult the Soul Of Chaos section on it. Behind the Earth Crystal is a warp, use it to get out back to the entrance. [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.4. Volcanic Activity ---------------------- [5400] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] With the vampire defeated, the Earth Crystal will be activated. Make your way back to Melmond and take a well-deserved rest at the Inn. Although you can't see it, the earth is slowly returning to normal (Really?). The townspeople are still as gloomy as ever though except for one or two people. Heal up and bid your farewells to Melmond. Hop back on your boat once again. We're not moving back to the Cornelia continent. Instead, we are to head west. Begin first by moving south along the border of the Devil's Tail peninsula containing the Cavern of Earth. Once you clear the tip, begin sailing due west. If you continue west in this direction, you will hit the edge of the map, but you will sail around and end up at the other side. As you can see, the world of Final Fantasy is designed like a sphere much like the Earth (although on a much smaller scale). If you sail in one direction, you will always reach the opposite side. Anyhow, the continent further west is quite a large one. When you finally hit land, sail south a little bit and you should notice a dock to park your Ship. Get off your boat, and begin walking southwest along the shoreline. You don't have much of a choice considering the mountain blocks further progress west. The enemies along the way are similar to the ones you fought in the Cavern of Earth. Therefore, you might have a bit of trouble with them. Continue to move south along this way until the mountain ends, and your team enters a thick forest. To your west is a very large lake in a shape of a crescent. There's a town on the other side, but the lake blocks our way. Trying to walk around the lake going north will only result in a dead end. Instead, continue south around the lake, and then walk along the lake's edge as it twists west and then north. After quite a bit of walking, head into the city that is logically placed by the Crescent Lake. __________________________ ---=| Crescent Lake |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Crescent Lake is a nice-looking town that really doesn't appear to have something wrong with it. It is also the first town that actually doesn't have a problem that you need to solve! Apart from two people, the streets are deserted. Usually, the first thing that we do when we enter a new town would probably be the sleep at the Inn or revive units at the Sanctuary. Following, you might want to check out the shops. Crescent Lake Weapon Shop ~ ========================= * Mythril Knife -- A knife wrought from mythril. Cost: 640 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Black Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard, Black Wizard * Mythril Sword -- A sword wrought from mythril. Cost: 3200 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja * Mythril Hammer -- A hammer wrought from mythril. Cost: 2000 Gil Class: Warrior, White Mage, Knight, White Wizard, Ninja * Mythril Axe -- An axe wrought from mythril. Cost: 3600 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja Crescent Lake Armor Shop ~ ======================== * Mythril Mail -- Mail crafted from mythril. Cost: 6000 Gil Class: Warrior, Red Mage, Knight, Red Wizard, Ninja * Mythril Shield -- A shield crafted from mythril. Cost: 2000 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Buckler -- A small shield. Cost: 2000 Gil Class: Warrior, Thief, Red Mage, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard * Mythril Helm -- A helm wrought from mythril. Cost: 2000 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja * Mythril Gloves -- Gloves made of mythril. Cost: 2000 Gil Class: Warrior, Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard Crescent Lake Black Magic Shop ~ ============================== * Thundaga -- Deals lightning damage to all foes. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard, Red Wizard * Death -- Instantly kills one foe. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard * Quake -- Calls an earthquake to swallow foes. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard * Stun -- Paralyses one foe. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard Crescent Lake White Magic Shop ~ ============================== * Stona -- Cures stone. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard * Exit -- Transports party out of dungeons. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: Red Wizard, White Wizard * Protera -- Raises party's defense. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: White Mage, Red Wizard, White Wizard * Invisira -- Raises party's evasion. Level: 6 Cost: 13000 Gil Class: White Mage, White Wizard, Red Wizard Crescent Lake Item Shop ~ ======================= * Potion -- Restores 50 HP. Cost: 40 Gil * Hi-Potion -- Restores 150 HP. Cost: 150 Gil * Ether -- Restores 50 MP. Cost: 150 Gil * Phoenix Down -- Revives one KO'd ally. Cost: 500 Gil * Tent -- Partially restores party's HP and MP. Cost: 160 Gil As you can see, Crescent Lake seems to be obsessed with all things mythril! Many of the weapons and armor here are useful so purchase as necessary. The Black Magic and White Magic Shop have hefty prices, but they hold very useful spells of which you should take advantage of. Exit is a great spell in dungeons, but it requires a White Wizard or Red Wizard. I strongly suggest picking up Thundaga, Quake, and Death for Black Mages. White Mages, pick up Protera, Invisira, and Stona. Melmond didn't have an Item Shop so take advantage of Crescent Lake and purchase some more Potions/Hi-Potions along with a few Phoenix Downs. Anyway, with everything that needs to be bought purchased, you might consider leaving. Before that however, head to the northeastern corner of town past the Black and White Magic Shops. Cross the bridge leading east, and make your way through the thick forest path. At the end, you will find a circle of men. Talk to the leader (the blue one), and he'll tell you that his name is Lukahn. You might have heard this name somewhere else if you chose to talk to some village people. He'll tell you what he sees in your future. Talk to the rest of them, and learn a bit more about the crystals. The last one will hand you a Canoe to aid you in your quest for the crystals. There are still three crystals ahead of you. Leave Crescent Lake. With the Canoe in tow, your team can now cross shallow rivers like Crescent Lake! With that, a bunch of new enemies can now threaten you. You might want to be careful with some of the higher end enemies such as Hydras, Ochus, or Neochus. The latter two provide massive EXP so battle one whenever you have the chance. Basically, all of these shallow water inhabitants aren't shy in their attacks and have the capabilities to snuff your team out. Take caution when battling. Try to gain some EXP to get a few more levels before moving out. Anyway, our next objective is to head to Mount Gulg. To get there, first find the river that empties out into Crescent Lake. After all, it can't be a lake without a river to supply it with water. Begin taking your canoe along that stream as your group enters a canyon-like area. Eventually, you will reach a fork. Go west. About a few feet forward, find another split in the river. This time, head northward. Before you really get anywhere, a third fork will appear in the river. Ignore the first portion leading northwest as it's just a dead end. Take the northeast stream instead. Afterwards, take the immediate fork leading straight west. After a long trek westward, get off and begin moving southwest on foot. Mount Gulg is up ahead. Cross the river surrounding it and enter. __________________________ ---=| Mount Gulg |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ As you can probably tell, a large majority of the monsters here are fire- based. A large majority of those are also very tough to defeat. Fire Elementals for example are a major step up from the Earth Elementals you fought before. If you thought those were hard, expect Fire Gigas to be a nightmare. The few Pyrolisks lurking around are capable of instantly KOing one of your units with Gaze so be sure you have a White Mage Life or Phoenix Downs at your disposal. However, being fire-based does have one disadvantage. Using ice techniques, your Black/Red Mage should wreak havoc against fire enemies. Keep that in mind while fighting off the various monsters that throw themselves at you. However, Blizzara can be fairly draining on the MP so don't use it all up unless you have a heavy supply of Ethers. Begin moving forward, and you will notice a strange, pulsating orange liquid on the floor. This is lava if you didn't already know that. Stepping in it would normally be fatal to _normal_ humans, but this IS Final Fantasy where things are messed up. Anyway, for every step you take in the blazing lava, your party loses 1 HP. However, once your party members reach 1 HP, that value will stay that way meaning that your team cannot die in lava. Strange huh? Cross the lava pool to the northwest corner where a staircase is sitting. Once in B2, you have two possible ways to go. First off, heading west will get you out of this floor, but will also bypass all the treasure. If you want the treasures here, go through the door leading north. Follow the path as it twists north and turn left when you see the chest to your west. Fight the two Fire Elementals and open the chest for the Mythril Helm. From there, head west and then begin south. At the lower end, you will find another chest. Open that one for 1520 Gil after fighting two more Fire Elementals of course. Begin making your way back north past the empty chest that held the Mythril Helm. Head eastward from there and then north again. Move west and find the chest there. Open that one for a Great Sword! Now make your way to the northeastern corner where a fourth chest lies in wait just a bit south of the northeastern corner. Open that one for 4150 Gil. Head as far north as possible and then begin moving west along the north wall. When you hit the wall, head southward. When you hit another wall, head east and then around the wall where you'll locate two more chests. Open one for 795 Gil and the other for 750 Gil. Turn back around and begin moving south once back in the open. At the very south end, you will find a crapload of treasure chests! Open them all for a Mythril Helm, Mythril Gloves, 1520 Gil, 1760 Gil, Mythril Shield, Mythril Axe, Phoenix Down, 1455 Gil, Antidote, 1975 Gil, Tent, and a Hi-Potion. Swipe the treasure, then head north and find your way back to the exit or any other of the multiple doors leading out. With that giant room cleared, we can head over to B3. Look to your west and cross over the lava hallway. There's a staircase at the west end. Descend. Lots of lava here. Slowly make your way eastward. The lava is impossible to avoid so step into it when needed. At the far east end, you'll find another staircase leading down. Once again, go down. At the next floor, you'll be on a platform surrounded by lava. From your position, go southeast through the lava pool. Heal whenever necessary but do remember that lava cannot kill you by itself. At the southeast corner are some stairs. Have your team go up. Okay, begin moving when you enter B3 again west. The lava is once again, unavoidable so step into it. You will soon reach a fork leading both west and south. Take the south path and you'll soon reach a four way intersection. Continue southbound and follow the path as it twists west. The stairs out of here are at the far end. Descend. There's a good amount of treasure here to collect. At the staircase, find the doorway leading north. Walk through and open the two treasure chests for a Gold Needle and 2750 Gil. Leave the room and follow the path west. It will twist south and then west again. By that point, you'll reach a three way intersection. There's a door that leads to a treasure chest containing 1760 Gil. Snag that. Leave that room and continue to move west. It will turn northward and then west again. At the end is a door. Enter and find five chests. Open them all for an Antidote, 7340 Gil, 880 Gil, an Ice Brand, and a Flame Shield. The latter two items are VERY valuable so do not miss them. Exit the room and find your way back to the three way split. Take the south fork. Don't forget to watch your health as the lava drains it by one with every step. Another three way fork will present itself after a little bit of walking. There's also a door right in the middle of it. Inside, you'll find 155 Gil and 10 Gil...? Talk about cheap chests. Leave that room and take the east fork. The room at the end has three chests. One of them is empty so bypass it. The other two contain 2000 Gil and a Cottage. With those two collected, move all the back to the three way fork. The only path we haven't trudged upon is southward so begin moving. There's a door along the way. The two chests in that room contain 1250 Gil and a Staff. Once again, move south. The stairway down is just around the corner. We're nearing the boss here so get ready. Move straight west all the way to the end where you'll find a door leading into a room with a chest. At the far end, you'll have to fight a Red Dragon to pick it up. However, the Flame Mail is very worthwhile. With that collected, make your way back to the north end of the room and exit. When you're back out, head south while sticking to the west wall. After a bit of walking, you'll find yourself at a door. The boss of Mount Gulg is here. Heal up and ready yourself for a fight. Examine the red orb on the ground. Some very useful (not!) information will find its way into your ears. Maralith time. Boss Fight: Maralith ~ =------------------= Is it getting hot in here or is it just me? Maralith is a gigantic serpent-like creature with many blades. She has one main element. As a fire-caster, consider putting up NulBlaze with your White Mage. Her HP is high so you'll need to deal a lot of damage fast before she takes you down. Casting Haste on your physical units will work well in doubling the damage dealt. Likewise, raising attack with Temper can easily turn the tide of battle in your favor. When Maralith casts her spells or attacks you head on, prepare to be hurt. Your White Mage will barely have a free turn as long as he keeps your group in tip-top shape. A large part of winning this battle is consistency. If your White Mage falls, you are at a major disadvantage. Pound Maralith continually while doing your best to get around her attacks. Eventually, the hellspawned Maralith shall fall. With the fire-based Maralith defeated, the crystal she was holding will be activated! After a bit of celebration from your team, control will be given back to you. Elsewhere, a strange statue will break revealing another door... Consult the Soul Of Chaos section on it. Step into the warp behind the now activated crystal to leave Mount Gulg. Good riddance! [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.5. The Airship ---------------------------- [5500] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] So we have two crystals activated. With that down, you might want to tackle the last two. Before that however, we are going to find the Levistone. If you remember, a dwarf a long time ago might have told you a bit about a special rock that levitates! First off, head back to Crescent Lake (hopefully, you know how to get back) and heal up at the Inn. Restock at the Item Shop if you need to. Now leave Crescent Lake and find your way back to your Ship back onto the high seas. From that port, go due north along the mainland coast. We're aiming for another port somewhere to the north. The port can be found inside a bay area after positioning your Ship through a small canal. When you reach the port, get off and begin heading southwest along the mountain. There is a river running from the sea which you should get your Canoe to. Follow the river into the mountaineous area until you reach a four way intersection. There are two rivers leading north. Taking either one doesn't matter. Be sure to turn right at the fork. After a bit of smooth sailing, your team will reach another split shaped like a sideways "h". Ignore the branching river and go straight westward. Momentarily, you'll find yourself at a three way fork. Go west and navigate your canoe through this (rather long) stream area. After a few twists and turns, you'll reach land. It's a short walking distance to another cave. This marks the beginning of yet another dungeon. Prepare yourself as necessary. The enemies around this area don't provide a lot of EXP. If you want to level up, head back to your Canoe and fight off Ochus and Neochus. When you're ready, walk into the Cavern Of Ice. __________________________ ---=| Cavern Of Ice |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Judging by the dungeon's name, you can probably expect the enemies here to be ice-based. A few preliminary engagements might tell you that Ice Gigas and Winter Wolves frequent. You've fought their lesser cousins but the monsters here are a major step up. There is one thing to keep in mind, most monsters here are weak to ice. That also includes the majority of the undead creatures in the Cavern of Ice. Along with that, prepare to battle some Piscodemons (and their more powerful counterpart, Mindflayer) that you're probably already familiar with. Forget about obscure, those critters are almost everywhere. Even at your much higher level, they can still deal some damage to your weaker units. Anyway, getting to work now. Start off by navigating your group through this linear first floor. Get a feel for some of the enemies here. After a bit of tedious walking, you should reach a staircase. If you look a bit to the west, you'll see another staircase to the west but that one is inaccessible. Go down to B2. This room is shaped in a large rectangle with the lines being the pathways. The staircase brings you to the northeast corner. Head either west or south to the opposite end where another staircase resides. Descend that one to find yourself in a small, crystallized room. The other staircase is plain in sight so navigate your team to it (so difficult), and ascend to B2 again. There doesn't appear to much activity here although you'll be meeting some more difficult enemies. There's only one path forward. Take it all the way to the opposite end of this room to find a door. When inside this room, take note of the floor. There are two treasure chests ahead plus a weird, diamond thing on the ground. Also take note of the cracks. Don't step on them yet or you'll fall through them to somewhere we don't want to go. Actually, walk around the cracks first and open the two chests. It's pretty easy to see the cracks so don't step on one. The two chests contain a Flame Sword and Clothes. The latter is useless and the Flame Sword should have been picked up in Mount Gulg. Oh well, take them for collection's sake. Now here comes the fun part (well, not really), have your guy step onto one of the cracks and fall through! It doesn't matter whatever hole you fall through as they all take you to the same room. Defeat the scripted battle with some undead creatures and leave the room. Now this is where things get hardcore (pmg wut?). To your west, you should note some spikes sticking out of the ground. Stepping on these will obviously hurt your team a bit. These ice spikes work much like the lava in Mount Gulg. Stepping on them will have you gradually lose 1 HP for every step you take. Cross the spikes on your west to reach a door. Enter and find two chests just chillin' (pun completely intended). You'll have to fight some White Dragons for it though. All I have to say is WATCH OUT for Icestorm. That move deals heavy damage to all of your units. Pick up the Ice Armor and Mythril Gloves. With that collected, leave the room and head back to the center area. Head southbound across another bed of ice. Keep moving south until you reach an "h"-like split. Take the left one leading south to a room. There are six chests here containing 7900 Gil, 5454 Gil, 180 Gil, 9900 Gil, 5000 Gil, and a full 12350 Gil. Keep in mind that you might be forced to fight some Winter Wolves. They are easily defeated so no worries here. Now make your way back to the "h"-like fork. This time, take the east path leading south. After rounding a corner, you'll find a staircase leading back to B1. Ascending it will bring you to a rather cramped section of B1. As you can see, there's nowhere else to go but through the door. Walk south a bit and open the chest for an Ether. A bit to the east of that chest is a door which you should move through. Walk south around the stub (which is really a room). There's a door there that you should go through. The chest in that room holds 10000 Gil. Getting rich now aren't we? Exit the room and move back north. Then begin advancing south around the barrier. Head east in this direction to find a door. At the upper end, you'll find a crack in the floor along with a few chests. Open them for 9500 Gil, a Sleeping Bag, and an Ice Shield. Now it's time to step on the crack. Let your team fall through and you'll find yourself in the middle of that ring of cracks from before. The diamond thingy that was unreachable before is now just ahead. Navigate your team to it. Heal up before you touch as a scripted fight will begin. The boss (semi) of the Cavern Of Ice is an eye-creature with an incredibly low HP value. As low as his defense and HP may be, he is still capable of taking down your team if you choose to be complacent. Doom should be avoided at all costs as it will instantly KO one of your members. Even so, the Evil Eye is still easily defeated so bleh. With that freak defeated, you now can access the Levistone. The cool music that appears whenever a nice item is find will play. Now you'll have to fall down one of the cracks. Getting out of here is pretty easy. Simply move through this area as if you were attempting to re-visit the Evil Eye and the Levistone. When you reach the door leading to the single crack that leads to the Levistone, bypass it and continue east and then north. The stairs there will lead you outside. What was the whole point of the Cavern Of Ice? To pick up the Levistone of course! With that key item in tow, there's nothing more to do but to head back to Crescent Lake. Find your way back to your Canoe and begin sailing through the rocky area. Your main objective now is to head back to your Ship. Navigate through the area back to the open sea. If you need to, use your world map to find your way out. Back on the water now, begin sailing southward back to the port at Crescent Lake. It's not too long of a journey. Get off and begin heading southwest to the familiar Crescent Lake. You should still remember how to get there. Take a quick stop in town and heal up at the Inn. Purchase a few more items if you need them. Once that's done, exit. We'll be doing some more Canoe work here. Find your way onto the river that led you originally to Mount Gulg. However, instead of taking the west fork at the first split, go straight southward. Don't be surprised if the journey takes a bit longer than you expected. You should see that the land begins to get a bit more sandy. At the end, get off and venture into the desert-like area. __________________________ ---=| Ryukahn Desert |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Once in the desert, your team will bring out the Levistone and a cutscene will begin. The wall will crack to reveal a very large ship. Watch in awe as the majesty flies out. This, my friend, is the Airship. Once the cutscene ends, your team will have access to it. Step onto it and give it a whiz if you'd like. Note that the camera shifts a bit to give it a better "flying" feel. You can do a lot of stuff with the Airship. For starters, you can fly it wherever way faster than your walking speed. While in the air, you also don't encounter enemies! You can land anywhere you on green grass. However, you can't land on forests or any type of land OTHER than green grass. That really bites. [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] 5.6. Citadel Of Trials ---------------------- [5600] [=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~] Before we venture off for the third crystal, now would be a great time to do something extraordinary. It seems that the classes in your party right now can actually be upgraded. That's something that you absolutely, positively do not want to pass up. With the help of your Airship, you can easily get there with a quick flight. Anyway, from the Ryukahn Desert, take your Airship and fly northward. Pass over the Crescent Lake area and the annoyingly complex system of rivers we passed through before. If you look at your world map, you should notice that there is another continent north of your position. If you explore the continent a little bit (shouldn't be difficult with your ultra-fast Airship), you should realize that there are two towns on that continent. The first (in terms of accessibility) is Gaia. That's the northern one of the two towns. You will find Gaia in the very northeast corner surrounded by a ring of mountains. Before we go anywhere else, I'd suggest you park your Airship in the grassy area in between the mountains and give Gaia a quick visit. __________________________ ---=| Gaia |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ There might be some things there you'd like. If your team needs healing, take a quick stop at the Inn at a hefty 500 Gil. Oh well, at least the Inn is high quality. Anyway, let's get down to shopping. There's very little to shop for, but everything's expensive. Go figure. It's a big town so good luck finding your way around. Gaia Weapon Shop ~ ================ * Cat Claws -- A weapon with razor-sharp blades. Cost: 52000 Gil Class: Knight, Ninja, Red Wizard, Black Wizard Gaia Armor Shop ~ =============== * Ruby Armlet -- An armlet ornamented with rubies. Cost: 40000 Gil Class: [All] * Protect Ring -- Ring that guards against instant death. Cost: 16000 Gil Class: [All] Gaia Black Magic Shop (Level 7) ~ =============================== * Blizzaga -- Deals ice damage to all foes. Level: 7 Cost: 30000 Gil Class: Black Mage, Black Wizard, Red Wizard * Break -- Petrifies one foe. Level: 7 Cost: 30000 Gil Class: Black Wizard Gaia White Magic Shop (Level 7) ~ =============================== * Curaja -- Fully restores one ally's HP. Level: 7 Cost: 30000 Gil Class: White Wizard * Diaja -- Deals damage to all undead foes. Level: 7 Cost: 30000 Gil Class: White Wizard Gaia Black Magic Shop (Level 8) ~ =============================== * Stop -- Stops time and paralyzes all foes. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: Black Wizard * Warp -- Banishes foes to another dimension. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: Black Wizard * Kill -- Instantly kills one foe. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: Black Wizard Gaia White Magic Shop (Level 8) ~ =============================== * Holy -- Damages all foes with holy light. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: White Wizard * NulAll -- Reduces damage from spells by half. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: White Wizard * Dispel -- Negates one foe's magical defenses. Level: 8 Cost: 40000 Gil Class: White Wizard Gaia Item Shop ~ ============== * Hi-Potion -- Restores 150 HP. Cost: 150 Gil * Ether -- Restores 50 MP. Cost: 150 Gil * Phoenix Down -- Revives one KO'd ally. Cost: 500 Gil * Tent -- Partially restores party's HP and MP. Cost: 160 Gil * Cottage -- Fully restores party's HP and MP. Cost: 2000 Gil You might consider picking up some items from the Armor Shop. The Cat Claws are only useful once you get the class change. Likewise, most of the magic shops sell only spells that can be used by Black Wizards, White Wizards, or Red Wizards. Oh well, that's life. When you're done browsing, find your way to the exit. Get back onto your Airship. It's time to get to the Citadel of Trials. No worries, we'll be back here soon for a very special item. Remember Gaia's location though. Now back on your Airship, begin to fly west. Although you haven't visited the Citadel Of Trials to create a mark on the world map, you can still see its general location by finding the western-most dot on the continent you're currently located on. When you fly to that unmarked dot, your team should stumble (fly) over a run-down castle. However, the area surrounding the Citadel Of Trials is unsuitable for landing. Scout around the castle and try to find some open grass. The closest open grass I could find to the castle (which is in no way, close) was on the peninsula north of the Citadel Of Trials at the very tip. If you have better luck than me, you might find a closer location. However, make sure that the Citadel is actually _accessible_ from the location you might choose. Whether or not you landed where I landed, find your way around the mountains and through the forests toward the Citadel Of Trials. The enemies around here are nothing short of dangerous. When you finally reach it, enter. __________________________ ---=| Citadel Of Trials |=--- ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ Let's get down to business. Once inside, move upward toward an old man standing in the middle of this room. You still bear the Crown so your courage is indeed notable. You are here in the Citadel Of Trials. At the end, you'll find a great reward. The old man will disappear and you're left with yourself. Now move upward until you hit a wall. Then begin moving west where you'll find a door. Enter it and find a kingless throne. There's no other way out of this room so step onto the throne and be warped into the Citadel of Trials... The second floor of the Citadel