Blue Dragon for Xbox360 (Japanese version with support for English versions!) Achievements - Items - Monsters Guide Version 2.00 - Last Updated 09/24/07 Written by and Copyright 2007 Toby Normoyle (loc182) This is a guide that focuses on unlocking the achievements for the Japanese version of the Xbox360 game Blue Dragon. This guide exists mostly because the achievements in this game are so easy to miss that it is possible, although unlikely, to complete the entire game without unlocking a single achievement. As a bonus this guide will also include detailed item and monster information since two achievements require the player to obtain every item and defeat every monster. Happily, thanks to the hard work of Raimaro this guide has been upgraded to include the official English translations of achievement, item, monster, town, and various other names. So please give big thanks to Raimaro for helping to add true support for the English versions of Blue Dragon to this guide! WARNING: As the achievements, items, and monsters span the entire game this guide will contain spoilers. Attempts have been made to limit the number of spoilers as much as possible, but they will still be present. Japanese text support is necessary to properly display this guide. If the following line is displayed correctly then you have the proper support: ブルードラゴン Ｂｌｕｅ　Ｄｒａｇｏｎ　ブルードラゴン Ｂｌｕｅ　Ｄｒａｇｏｎ (Note: You will probably need to change the encoding on your browser to Japanese manually to view this page. I also recommend setting the font to FixedSys as that is what was used to write this guide.) Table of Contents A. Introduction B. New Plus and Downloadable Content (DLC) and Achievements C. Glossary and Techniques D. Achievements in Blue Dragon E. Encounter achievements F. Experience achievements G. Event achievements H. Item achievements I. Rare Monster achievements J. Completion achievements K. Frequently Asked Questions - Closing L. Credits M. Copyright Information A. Introduction Welcome to this guide. It was originally written to help all players of the Japanese version of Blue Dragon to unlock all 43 of the game's achievements. Unfortunately this game features 14 achievements that are extremely easy to miss. In a normal game this would not be a problem, but since this is a multi-hour RPG a missed achievement can require a player to play 40 hours or more of the game over again in order to unlock it. Added to this is the fact that some of the achievements in this game are designed around objectives that most players will most likely never end up completing, so even using "New Plus" does not insure success. This happened to me, as I missed one item that only appears on disc one, but I did not realize this until was midway through disc three. So I decided to write this guide to try and keep this from happening to others. Two of the easiest achievements to miss require the player to defeat every monster and obtain every item, so to make this guide even more useful to players of the game that do not understand Japanese I have included a bit of information on monsters as well as detailed item information. However, I must strongly advise non-Japanese speakers to wait for a localized version of the game to be released in their native language. Blue Dragon is fun, and totally playable even without Japanese ability, but if you attempt this game without the ability to understand Japanese you will miss out on the story of this game. The story is key to enjoying a game of this scope, and without an understanding of the story you will not be able to come to feel anything toward the characters. So please consider waiting for this game. NOTE FOR PLAYERS OF THE ENGLISH VERSIONS OF BLUE DRAGON: As luck would have it, the achievements have not changed for the English version of Blue Dragon, so owners of that version of the game can also use this guide to unlock them all. Thanks to Raimaro, NaughtyVicar, d0ck0nt0p, and many others from GameFAQs I have been able to include a lot of information on the English version and make this guide much more friendly to players of that version. However, please keep in mind that I cannot take any responsibility for anything odd that might happen if you use this guide to help you play the English version, as this guide was originally written for the Japanese version of the game. NOTE ON THE "NEW" FORMAT OF THIS GUIDE: Now that this guide supports English I would like to quickly explain how things are laid out. For the most part things have not changed much, but in actuality this guide has probably ended up becoming more friendly to players of the English version of the game than the Japanese. - Achievement, item, and skill names will be written with the official English followed by the original Japanese. Numbers will follow references within the guide to items, and occasionally a literal translation of the Japanese will follow in parenthesis as well. (There are no longer any literal translations of the Japanese skills with the exception of "BariBarrier".) - Monster names will generally only appear as the official English followed by the Monster number in parenthesis. Sometimes I will include the original Japanese as well. - Town and place names will usually be the official English followed by the official English from the Japanese version of the game in parenthesis. Depending on the name the way in which the parenthesis are placed will vary. Also, I am not going to change "Ancient Prison - Deathmoat" to "Ancient Prison - Moat" in this or my other guides. - "Category" was changed to "Class" when referencing "Shadow Categories" in all instances except for literal translations. I prefer "category" myself, but made the change to make the guide more English friendly. So if you are playing the Japanese version just remember that "class" means "category" when shadows are referenced. - I did change "Monster's Fight" to the official English of "Monster Fight" throughout the guide. This is because I prefer the official English to the English that used in the Japanese version. Generally just remember that anything in parenthesis is going to be a Japanese translation, and whatever precedes it will be the official English. B. New Plus and Downloadable Content (DLC) and Achievements Microsoft has released downloadable content for Blue Dragon on the Japanese Marketplace that adds extra difficulty levels and a "New Plus" option. The "New Plus" option works much like the "New Game +" option in the game Crono Trigger, as it allows you to start a new game with all the experience, gold, and most of the items earned in an existing save. This makes "New Plus" potentially invaluable in unlocking the achievements that require the player to defeat all monsters and obtain all items, as all the Encyclopedia (logbook) entries are carried over. However, please keep in mind that using the "New Plus" option does not guarantee that you will not have to replay large sections of the game in order to unlock a missed achievement. It can make things easier, but it is no substitute for good saving practices. --- One additional note about downloadable content and achievements in Blue Dragon: I have confirmed that the New Years Present downloadable content will cause issues with the Mechat Shooting Stage 2 - Perfect achievement. Simply removing the content from your Xbox360 will fix this problem, and you can do this by deleting it or placing the content on a memory unit and removing it from your system. (I would expect that this same problem occurs with the other Mechat Shooting achievements, but I cannot confirm this.) Unfortunately I cannot confirm or deny whether the New Years Present, the the Super Hard Chip (New Plus), or The Six Treasures downloadable content will cause problems with any other achievements or not. Odds are that you should not have any other issues, but you can delete the offending content to try and resolve any problems. (The exception here is The Six Treasures DLC. All six items this DLC grants you will become a permanent part of your Encyclopedia (logbook) if you save once you possess them. Deleting the DLC will not remove these items from your inventory or logbook, nor will they ever turn to "Worthless Junk".) UPDATE: From looking around on the boards several people have noted issues with some achievements when using New Plus to begin a new game. Although I cannot confirm or deny this problems I can certify that other issues have arisen as a result of New Plus, so it is entirely possible that more achievement related bugs have been generated as well. With this in mind I am now recommending that you do not use download any DLC for Blue Dragon until you have all 1000 points. UPDATE 2: Raimaro mentioned an interesting technique regarding "New Plus". In this technique you should begin a new game using "New Plus", reach a save point, save, delete or place the Super Hard Chip DLC on a different storage device, and then play your game. In Raimaro's case doing so caused no issues with the achievements. So you might want to try this out. (Please keep in mind that neither I nor Raimaro can be held responsible if you do encounter an issue using this technique.) (Please be careful with permanently deleting any DLC as some of it may cease being available on the Japanese Marketplace without warning. So I recommend that you place any offending content on a memory unit and then remove it from your console if you encounter issues.) C. Glossary and Techniques Before presenting the achievements I would like to first introduce several terms and techniques that are often referenced in this guide. This section is generally aimed at players that are new to Blue Dragon, but I consider the techniques to be fairly high level. So whether you are a beginner or a master of the game please do not hesitate to refer to this section if you come across anything that you are unfamiliar with. Glossary of Terms What follows are definitions of many of the terms used in this guide. - Field Areas- While the game seems to define any area of the game in which monsters can appear as a "field", I do not like this definition so much. This is because Field Areas are quite different from Dungeon Areas, so I do not like to lump them together. The best definition of a field area is any area that you can land in while flying in the Mechat. Sadly you will not have full access to the Mechat for quite a while, so this definition may not mean a lot to new players of the game. So perhaps a better way to define the field areas is that they are any area of the game in which you appear to be moving on the world map. The camera will be high above you when you are in the field, and the only objects that you will be able to interact with will be treasure chests. There is no searching of objects while in a field area. Field areas also have another advantage: you will be able to save any time you want to while in one. Just open the camp menu and select save. As an example, the first field area you will reach in the game is the extremely small Vicinity of Mechat Crash Site area. - Dungeon Areas- A "Dungeon" refers to any area of the game that you enter, including towns, villages, caves, ruins, and so on. Dungeon areas can be further divided into two subsets: Friendly and Hostile. The only difference is that monsters will not appear in a friendly dungeon area. There are, however, several main differences between dungeon and field areas: - The Mechat cannot land in a dungeon area. - Almost all objects can be searched while in a dungeon area. - The camera will generally be close and behind your party while in a dungeon area. - You will only be able to save at save points while in a dungeon area. - Field skills and the Encounter Circle will only be available in hostile dungeon areas. - Despite the name of "dungeon", many dungeon areas will be open, outdoor areas. As an example, the first dungeon area you will encounter once you complete the opening section of the game is the Mechat Crash Site. - Monster Party - A Monster Party refers to how you will see monsters while in the field or a dungeon. Each monster party will look like a single monster, much in the same way that your party will just appear as one of your characters. (Usually Shu.) Although some monster parties will consist of only one monster, they can consist of anywhere from one to nine monsters of varying types. For the most part you will just need to walk into any monster party to begin an encounter with the monsters in that party, but the way in which you do so can affect the battle. - Encounter Types - There are four special encounter types that can occur when an encounter is triggered with only one monster party. With some exceptions there is no guarantee that any of these encounter types will occur, and they will definitely not occur if the Encounter Circle is used to trigger an encounter. Also, there are several skills and items in the game that will either enhance or lessen the effects of these special encounter types. - Back Attack - バックアタック - If you manage to run into or "hit" a monster party from behind then a Back Attack will occur. This means that all the monsters will be facing away from you when the battle begins and you will generally have the opportunity to attack each of them once before they turn to face you. However, if you are facing a monster that is much faster than your characters then it might still be able to attack you first. - Fast Attack - ファストアタック - This kind of encounter is a little more rare. In most cases it seems to only occur if you trigger an encounter by "hitting" a monster party. There is also an Assassin class skill, Surprise - 奇襲, which will increase the chance of getting a Fast Attack. If you are lucky enough to get a Fast Attack then all of your characters will get to attack once before any monsters do. - Surprise Attack - ふいうち - Unfortunately this is what happens when a monster party runs into or "hits" your party from behind. Not only will your characters be facing away from the monsters when the battle begins, but your rows will be reversed because of the location of the monsters. So any characters that are in the front row normally will be in the back and vice-versa. An Armor class skill, Vigilance - ふいうち無効, will make it impossible for this encounter type to occur. Also, if your characters are faster than the monsters attacking you then you will still get to attack before them. - First Strike - せんせいこうげき - (Preemptive Attack) This rare encounter type is the opposite of the Fast Attack. In this case all of the monsters get to attack one time each before any of your characters will have a chance to attack. I never once saw this while playing through the game at the Normal level; however, I suspect that this encounter type will no longer be rare when playing at the Hard or Super Hard levels. - Encounter Circle - The Encounter Circle is a very interesting feature of Blue Dragon, as it allows you to trigger an encounter with several monster parties at once or engage monster parties from a distance. Plus, as an added bonus, using the Encounter Circle is the only way to trigger Monster Fights or receive Boost (Trance Bonuses) during longer battles. However, keep in mind that you will never see any of the four special encounter types when using the Encounter Circle. You will not be able to use the Encounter Circle at first, but it will become available as soon as the associated tutorial automatically plays when you first enter the Vicinity of Mechat Crash Site area near the beginning of the game. Once the Encounter Circle is available to you it can be opened in any field area or hostile dungeon area by pulling the right trigger. When you do this all the action on screen will stop and a large circle will appear around your party. Any monster parties that are within this circle can then be engaged either individually, in groups, or all at once. You will easily be able to tell if a monster party is within the circle because any monster parties within the Encounter Circle will have small gray circles around them and their names will appear in a list on the right of the screen. You can select individual monster parties from this list, or just fight all of them at once. The name and circle around any party that you select will turn green. When you are ready to trigger the encounter just select the Japanese text that is a bit above the words "FIELD SKILL". This text will change depending on whether you have selected any parties or not. Here are the possibilities: Fight One Enemy! - こいつとバトル！！ - Appears when one party is selected. (Fight this party!!) Fight Selected Enemies! - まとめてバトル！！ - Appears when multiple parties are selected. (Fight these parties!!) Fight All Enemies! - ぜんぶとバトル！！ - Appears when no parties are selected. (Fight all parties!!) - Multi-Monster Encounter - (Simultaneous Encounter) - This refers to an encounter in which you use the Encounter Circle to engage two or more monster parties at the same time. Boosts (Trance Bonuses) and Monster Fights can occur only if a multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter has been triggered. - Boost - (Trance Bonus) When you use the Encounter Circle to engage multiple monster parties at once you will not fight all of them together, instead you will just fight one party at a time. (Unless a Monster Fight occurs.) Once you defeat all the monsters in the first party then the monsters in the next party will begin to appear. However, a roulette will also appear on the side of the screen during this time, and it is called the "Trance Bonus" in Japanese and "Boost" in English. The roulette will quickly cycle through various bonuses and it can be stopped by pressing the A button, or you can wait for it to stop on its own. When the roulette stops your party will get whatever bonus is highlighted. These bonuses can vary from curing all bad status aliments, to temporary stat increases, to HP or MP recovery. For the most part there is not a bad Boost (Trance Bonus); however, the Reset - リセット one can potentially be viewed as bad. This bonus just resets the order of your characters, so if you have one character charging something then it could disrupt your strategy. Still, the Reset bonus is not always bad, and generally the Boosts (Trance Bonuses) are welcome during multiple monster party encounters. - Monster Fight - (Monster's Fight) - A Monster Fight is just a special type of multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter. It will occur when you use the Encounter Circle to engage two monster parties whose names appear in yellow instead of white. The yellow names appear when monster parties that do not like each other get close enough to each other for you to use the Encounter Circle to engage them. Since these monsters do not like each other they will fight with each other once the battle begins. How useful a Monster Fight is depends largely on the monsters involved. Sometimes they will only fight with each other, and sometimes only one of the monster types involved will fight the other monster. Regardless, you can almost always use a Monster Fight to your advantage. Also, as multiple parties will appear on screen at the same time, you will not receive a Boost (Trance Bonus) if a Monster Fight occurs after you simultaneously engage only two monster parties. - Encyclopedia - ずかん - (Logbook) The Encyclopedia (Logbook) is an a very useful part of the game, as it allows you to see your battle stats, monsters defeated, items obtained, and so on. I only mention it here because throughout this guide I will reference the Encyclopedia (Logbook) as if you start the game with it. But this is not true. The Encyclopedia (Logbook) can only be accessed once you obtain the Creature Compendium - 古代事典 (318) from a treasure chest in the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat) near the beginning of the game. So although you will not have access to the Encyclopedia (Logbook) during the fight with the Land Shark in Tata Village or the subsequent visit to the Ancient Ruins Caverns you will be forced to collect the Creature Compendium - 古代事典 (318) once you reach the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat), giving you access to the Encyclopedia (Logbook) before you even get your shadows. Techniques Here I will introduce a few techniques that will be referenced later in this guide. These techniques generally focus on stealing. "Steal - Run - Leave" This technique is very useful in stealing rare items from monsters that you can run from. It is most useful against the following three monsters: - Corrosive Poo - 太ウンチくん (012) - King Poo - 王様ウンチくん (013) - Gold Mecha Robo - ゴールドメカロボ (074) To perform this technique first do the following: - Equip all your characters with the Assassin skill Steal - ぬすむ. - Equip the Assassin skill Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント to any characters that have it. (This is optional, but it can help.) - Optional: Equip all the Shoes of Hermes - ヘルメスの靴 (296) you have on as many characters as you can. Once you are ready here is what you should do: 1. Enter the area where the monster party that you wish to steal from is. 2. Engage this monster party. (A Back Attack is recommended.) 3. Once the battle begins use the Steal - ぬすむ command on the monster until you steal an item. (It may not be the item you want.) 4. Use the Flee - にげる command until you are able to successfully run away. 5. Leave the area. You must move to a different area, not just to a different room within the same area. Warping can also be convenient. 6. Return to Step 1. You can repeat this technique as many times as you wish to steal a potentially unlimited number of rare items. Unfortunately, if multiple items can be stolen from the same monster you will not always get the item you want every time you steal, but equipping the Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント skill can help. NOTE!!! - Step 5 is one of the most important steps in this technique. I have seen many posts in which people are having trouble with this technique and in each case the issue was that they were not leaving the area. (Also, keep in mind that you cannot carry more than 99 of each item.) (You may also use the Loot - ぶんどる skill to steal; however, this can be dangerous as you might end up defeating the monster by using this skill.) "Steal - Reset - Reload" This stealing technique is less of a technique and really the only option you have if you wish to steal a rare item from a monster or boss monster that only appears once in the game. It can be a painfully boring technique, but it does work. To perform this technique first do the following: - Equip all your characters with the Assassin skill Steal - ぬすむ or Loot - ぶんどる. - Equip the following Assassin skill Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント to any characters that have it. (This is optional, but it can help.) - Make sure that you are properly prepared to defeat the monster. Once you are ready here is what you should do: 1. Prepare a save at the closest point possible to the monster that you wish to steal from. This save is the most important part of this technique. 2. Find and engage the monster you wish to steal from. 3. Once the battle begins use the Steal - ぬすむ command on the monster until you steal an item. (Use the Attack - こうげき command if you equipped the Loot - ぶんどる skill.) 4. If you were able to steal the item that you wanted then defeat the monster, as you are now done with the technique. 5. If you did NOT steal the item that you wanted then use the guide button to return to the dashboard. 6. Reload Blue Dragon, and then load the save that you prepared in Step 1. 7. Return to Step 2. Unfortunately this technique can be rather frustrating, especially if it is not possible to save near the monster you wish to steal from. Still, as potentially boring as it is, this technique does work. - Saving - While this hardly seems like a technique, proper saving strategies are key to unlocking the achievements. You have 30 different save slots available per storage device, so make sure that you use them! Spreading your saves out throughout the game can make it much easier to get back to a missed achievement. D. Achievements in Blue Dragon A full list of the achievements in the Japanese and English versions of Blue Dragon follows. The achievements have been arranged in several groups, and all secret achievements are marked with "SECRET". Each achievement appears in the following format: official English achievement, Japanese achievement (in Japanese), literal translation of the Japanese achievement (in parenthesis). If you wish to quickly skip to an achievement just use the "Find" function present on most browsers to do so. Encounter Achievements: Back Attack - 5 points バックアタック成功 (初) (Successfully initiate a Back Attack (First time)) 100 Back Attacks - 30 points バックアタック100回達成 (Initiate a total of 100 Back Attacks) Multi-Monster Encounter - 5 points 同時エンカウント成功 (初) (Successfully initiate a Simultaneous Encounter (First Time)) 10+ Monsters in an Encounter - 30 points 同時エンカウント・10パーティー超え (Successfully complete a Simultaneous Encounter with 10 or more parties) 100 Monster Fights - 30 points モンスターズファイト100回発生 (Initiate 100 Monster Fights) SECRET Ambushed More Than 50 Times - 0 points ふいうちをされた回数が50回以上 (Get Surprise Attacked 50 times) SECRET Escaped More Than 50 Times - 0 points 逃げた回数が50回以上 (Run away 50 times) Experience Achievements: Maxed Out All Character Levels - 50 points 全キャラクターレベルMAX (Reach MAX level for all characters) Got 1,000,000 Gold - 25 points 1,000,000ゴールド貯めた (Amassed 1,000,000 gold) Dragon: Max One Class - 30 points ドラゴン・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Dragon) Minotaur: Max One Class - 30 points ミノタウロス・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Minotaur) Phoenix: Max One Class - 30 points フェニックス・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Phoenix) SECRET Saber-Tooth: Max One Class - 30 points サーベルタイガー・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Saber Tiger) SECRET Killer Bat: Max One Class - 30 points キラーバット・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Killer Bat) Dragon: Max All Classes - 50 points ドラゴン・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Dragon's categories) Minotaur: Max All Classes - 50 points ミノタウロス・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Minotaur's categories) Phoenix: Max All Classes - 50 points フェニックス・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Phoenix's categories) SECRET Saber-Tooth: Max All Classes - 50 points サーベルタイガー・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Saber Tiger's categories) SECRET Killer Bat: Max All Classes - 50 points キラーバット・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Killer Bat's categories) Event Achievements: SECRET Closed Flying Fortress Door - 5 points 扉閉め成功 (Successfully close the door) Wagon Escort: Perfect - 30 points 馬車護衛・パーフェクト (Complete Wagon Escort perfectly) SECRET Pulled in the Flying Fortress - 5 points 巨大メカット引き寄せ成功 (Successfully pull in the Giant Mechat) Mechat Shooting Stage 1: Perfect - 30 points メカットシューティング・ST1・パーフェクト (Complete Mechat Shooting Stage 1 perfectly) SECRET Rescued Kluke - 5 points クルック救出成功 (Successfully save Kluke) SECRET Got to Nene Before Bomb Went Off - 5 points 制限時間がゼロになる前に到着成功 (Successfully arrive before the time limit expires) SECRET Moon Laser: Perfect - 30 points 月レーザー・パーフェクト (Complete Moon Laser perfectly) SECRET Saved Kluke from Choking - 5 points 首輪引っ張り成功 (Successfully remove the collar) SECRET Escaped from Squashtrich - 5 points ダチョウメカロボから脱出成功 (Successfully escape from the Ostrich Mecha Robo) SECRET Summoned Shu's Shadow - 5 points 影出現成功 (Successfully make your shadow emerge) SECRET Mechat Shooting Stage 2: Perfect - 30 points メカットシューティング・ST2・パーフェクト (Complete Mechat Shooting Stage 2 perfectly) SECRET Mechat Shooting Stage 3: Perfect - 30 points メカットシューティング・ST3・パーフェクト (Complete Mechat Shooting Stage 3 perfectly) Item achievements: Got Ultimate Weapon Bracelet - 10 points レアアイテム「最終兵器の腕輪」入手 (Obtain the rare item, the "Bangle of the Ultimate Weapon") Got Final War Necklace - 10 points レアアイテム「最終戦争の首飾り」入手 (Obtain the rare item, the "Necklace of the Final Conflict") SECRET Got All Dragon Items - 10 points ドラゴンアイテムコンプリート (Obtain all dragon items) Got Dragon Bracelet - 10 points レアアイテム「ドラゴンの腕輪」入手 (Obtain the rare item, the "Dragon Bangle") SECRET Equipped All Mechat Parts - 10 points メカットパーツフル装備 (Install all Mechat upgrade parts) Special Monster Achievements: Beat Golden Poo Snake - 30 points レアモンスター「ゴールデンウンチスネーク」討伐 (Defeat the rare monster "Golden Poop Snake") Beat King Poo - 30 points レアモンスター「王様ウンチくん」討伐 (Defeat the rare monster "King Poop Kun") Beat Gold Mecha Robo - 30 points レアモンスター「ゴールドメカロボ」討伐 (Defeat the rare monster "Golden Mecha Robo") Completion Achievements: Removed All Barriers - 25 points 全バリア解除 (Release all barriers) Activated All Warp Devices - 25 points 全ワープクリップセット (Set all Warp Clips) Completed Monster Record - 25 points モンスター図鑑コンプリート (Complete the Monster Logbook) Completed Item Record - 25 points アイテム図鑑コンプリート (Complete the Item Logbook) E. Encounter Achievements A total of seven Encounter Achievements exist in Blue Dragon. These achievements are earned exclusively by engaging in various encounters with monster parties, and are probably the easiest achievements to unlock in the game. In fact, you could potentially unlock all of these achievements once you reach the Lot Wilderness area; however, there is no need to rush as these achievements can be unlocked at any point during the game. Back Attack - 5 points バックアタック成功 (初) (Successfully initiate a Back Attack (First time)) This achievement is very easy to unlock, and can be performed on nearly any monster party. Simply approach the monster party from behind and run into or "hit" them with the X button to initiate an encounter. If you see "Back Attack" or "バックアタック" appear on screen as the battle begins that means you have successfully initiated a Back Attack, and the achievement will unlock. Note that you will never be able to initiate a Back Attack if you use the Encounter Circle to begin a battle. Also, unless you are using a skill or item to make yourself invisible all monster parties will begin to turn and face you as you approach them. 100 Back Attacks - 30 points バックアタック100回達成 (Initiate a total of 100 Back Attacks) This achievement is also fairly easy, but it can take a bit of time. You just need to initiate 100 Back Attacks to unlock this achievement. It is not actually necessary to finish any of the encounters that you initiate with a Back Attack, so if you wish you can run away, and then attempt to initiate another Back Attack on the same monster party to more quickly unlock this achievement. However, in the course of the game you should easily end up initiating more than 100 Back Attacks, so I do not recommend the run and re-initiate technique as it is not a good use of your time. Multi-Monster Encounter - 5 points 同時エンカウント成功 (初) (Successfully initiate a Simultaneous Encounter (First Time)) Most will agree that this is the easiest achievement to unlock in the game. All you need to do is initiate a multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter with two or more monster parties. To unlock this achievement you will first need to play until you are able to use the Encounter Circle. This will happen when you enter the Vicinity of Mechat Crash Site area for the first time. Now all you need to do is just walk around any area in which monster parties appear until at least two parties are close to you. Open the Encounter Circle and see if two or more monster parties are within it. Once you are sure that at least two are inside the circle then select Fight All Enemies! - ぜんぶとバトル！！ in the lower right of the screen and the achievement will unlock. (Note: Odds are your first multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter will also end up being a Monster Fight. For this reason many people think that this achievement is for initiating their first Monster Fight, but this is not the case.) 10+ Monsters in an Encounter - 30 points 同時エンカウント・10パーティー超え (Successfully complete a Simultaneous Encounter with 10 or more parties) This is the one and only difficult encounter type achievement. To unlock this one you must initiate a multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter with 10 or more monster parties and defeat all of the monsters! This may sound impossible at first, but there are several locations in the game where it is (relatively) easy to do: 1. The large area in the Underground River inhabited by many Kelolon (150) and Hyper Kelolon (151) parties. In this case plenty of parties will be present; however, they will not bunch up so easily. Also, you may end up fighting the Moody Dragon (252) if you end up defeating all of these monster parties. (Not recommended) 2. Anywhere along the circular path that the Mecha Base moves in the Giant Snowfield. This is the best place for this achievement, and it is where I did it myself. Roball (075) parties will pour out of the Mecha Base every time it passes nearby, so you will have an endless supply of parties at your disposal. (Recommended) 3. On the Southwestern Deserted Island. You will not be able to reach this area until late in the game, and the monster parties are fairly slow to appear. Attempting this achievement here can end up taking more time that it is worth in my opinion. (Not recommended) Regardless of where you attempt to do this, you will want to do the following to ensure success: - Use an item, such as Fresh Garlic - にんにく (015), that makes at least of your characters stink. This will attract monster parties to you that would normally run away. - If a party attacks you then do not fight! Run away. Not only will this keep that monster party on screen, but you will get a few seconds in which you cannot be attacked. - Just keep running around near the monster parties and try to get as many as possible to follow you so that they bunch up. Be sure not to run too far away, as you do not want any parties to lose sight of you and disappear. Open the Encounter Circle and take a good look at how many monster parties are already within it, and then note where the close ones are that you might be able to bring into the circle by moving a little bit. Close the circle, make your move, and then reopen it to reconfirm how many monster parties are now within. Keep repeating this until there are at least 10 monster parties inside the circle. Once you have 10 then be sure to just select Fight All Enemies! - ぜんぶとバトル！！ to begin the encounter. The hard part is now over. Just make sure to defeat all the monsters in all of the parties so that the fight ends naturally. You will then unlock the achievement. If you find that you are having trouble with this achievement then you can try these optional steps: - Equip the Shoes of Hermes - ヘルメスの靴 (296) to one of your party members. This accessory guarantees you the first attack. Use this first attack to make it easier to run away anytime an encounter occurs that you did not wish to initiate. - Equip the Armor class skill Vigilance - ふいうち無効. With this skill equipped you will no longer get surprise attacked even if a monster party hits you from behind. Also, you can check the greatest number of monster parties that you have simultaneously encountered in the Battle Record. To view this open the camp menu, select Item - アイテム, then Encyclopedia - ずかん (the bottom choice), and then Battle Record - せんとうのきろく (the top choice). The Battle Record will then appear. The information on multi-monster (simultaneous) encounters is on the second line: 　　　　Multi-Monster Encounters　　　　　　　　　　(number)　 　　　　同時エンカウント　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(number)　回 If you feel that the achievement should have unlocked after a simultaneous encounter and it did not be sure to check this number. If it is less than 10 then you did not simultaneously encounter enough monster parties. (Note: Japanese speakers will notice what appears to be a bug with this entry, as the Japanese that appears after the number for simultaneous encounters equates to "times". Although I am not native, I took one look at this stat and thought, "There is no way I have only triggered 6 simultaneous encounters." パーティー should really appear in place of 回 in this case, and 同時エンカウント should probably have been made a little more descriptive.) (Note 2: It looks like the bad Japanese text was translated literally for the English version... Seeing "Multi-Monster Encounters" and a number after it makes me think that the number represents the total number of times I have triggered a multi-monster encounter, and not the greatest number of monster parties that I have fought in a single multi-monster encounter.) 100 Monster Fights - 30 points モンスターズファイト100回発生 (Initiate 100 Monster's Fights) The Monster Fight is a special type of encounter in Blue Dragon that can only be triggered by using the Encounter Circle. Basically, a Monster's Fight is just a multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter with a twist: the monsters will fight each other instead of you! To initiate a Monster Fight just wait until two monster parties get close to each other and then look at the names that appear above their heads. If their names appear in yellow, then that means that these monsters do not like each other and a Monster Fight will occur if you use the Encounter Circle to trigger a multi-monster (simultaneous) encounter with both of them. The game is rather kind, so if you see the names of monster parties turn yellow that means that the distance between them is equal to or smaller than the diameter of the Encounter Circle. So when you see yellow it is always possible to initiate a Monster Fight, but you might have to move first so that both monster parties will be within the Encounter Circle when you open it. So once you initiate your 100th Monster Fight then the achievement will unlock. This can be done in any area of the game in which parties of monsters that do not like each other appear. So if you are persistent you can unlock this achievement as early as the Lot Wilderness area. Here are some tips for triggering and racking up Monster Fights: - You can check the total number of Monster Fights you have triggered at any time by checking the Battle Record. To view this open the camp menu, select Item - アイテム, then Encyclopedia - ずかん (the bottom choice), and then Battle Record - せんとうのきろく (the top choice). The total number of Monster Fights you have initiated up to this point will be the number on the third line: 　　　　Monster Fights　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(number) 　　モンスターバトル　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(number)　回 - If you are trying to get into position to trigger a Monster Fight and one of the monster parties attacks you then do not fight them. Just run away and then you can trigger the fight with ease. - The stat that this achievement tracks does not require you to win the Monster Fight. So you can simply trigger a Monster Fight, run away, trigger the same Monster Fight again, and repeat until you unlock the achievement. - A Monster Fight will always occur as long as at least two monster parties with yellow names are within the Encounter Circle and you choose to fight these parties. If other monster parties (with white names) are in the Encounter Circle at the same time and you fight them as well you might end up fighting the monsters from the party that is not a part of the Monster Fight first. When this occurs do not worry, the Monster Fight will still occur once you finish with the uninvolved parties. SECRET Ambushed More Than 50 Times - 0 points ふいうちをされた回数が50回以上 (Get Surprise Attacked 50 times) A zero point "shame" achievement, but still necessary if you want to get them all! This can be done anytime and anywhere. Just stand with your back to a monster party and allow them to attack you. "Surprise Attack" or "ふいうち" will appear on screen when the fight begins if you were "successful". Once you have done this 50 times the achievement will unlock. When attempting to unlock this achievement make sure that you do not have the Armor class skill Vigilance - ふいうち無効 equipped on any characters, or the enemies will be unable to surprise attack you. Tips: - You need not win the fight once it begins. You can just run away and then wait for the monster party to attack you from behind again. In most cases a single monster party will only attack you from behind about four to six times. After that they will just stand in place. When this happens it is best to defeat this one and move on to another monster party. - If you want this achievement, but not the shame of knowing you were surprise attacked 50 times then just get surprise attacked 50 times, confirm that the achievement has unlocked, and then reset the game. SECRET Escaped More Than 50 Times - 0 points 逃げた回数が50回以上 (Run away 50 times) This is the second of two "shame" achievements in the game. All you need to do is run away from 50 fights. The achievement will unlock when you successfully run from your 50th fight. You can easily combine this with the Ambush/Surprise Attack "shame" achievement and earn both at the same time. Tips: - You can check the number of times you have ran away at any time by checking the Battle Record. To view this open the camp menu, select Item - アイテム, then Encyclopedia - ずかん (the bottom choice), and then Battle Record - せんとうのきろく(the top choice). The total number of times you have ran away will appear on the fifth (or bottom) line. This is how it appears in Japanese: 　　逃げた回数　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(number)　回 - Shu is too proud to run, and cannot run from fights until disc three. - There is one encounter in this game that you will have to run away from. It occurs when you enter the Ancient Factory for the first time. So if you want to make this special event have more meaning, do not enter the Ancient Factory until you have ran away exactly 49 times. (Disclaimer: I have not actually tested this, so there is a possibility that running away from this event related encounter might not unlock the achievement.) (There is another event that involves running later in the game, but I do not know if this counts toward the achievement or not since it is not really an encounter.) - If you want this achievement, but cannot live with knowing that anyone can check your Battle Record and see that you ran away 50 times then just do the following: Run away from 50 fights, confirm that the achievement has unlocked, and then reset the game. You will have the achievement and a "clean" battle record. Keep in mind though that you will not be able to complete the game without running away at least once due to the events mentioned above. F. Experience Achievements The experience achievements require you to max out both the normal levels of all five of your characters and all nine classes for each of their shadows. To put things into perspective, this means you will need to amass at least 815,610 experience points total, around 66,150 SP points total, and a cool 1,000,000 gold to unlock all of these achievements. This may seem like a lot of leveling, but there are some items and skills that will help you immensely. A list follows, and please consult the full list of items in Section J for details on how to obtain these items. The following accessories will only benefit the character that equips them, and there is no additional benefit for equipping the same item in multiple accessory slots: Black Belt - 黒帯 (307) - Doubles SP Eyepatch - アイパッチ (317) - Doubles SP Lei - レイ (290) - Grants a 50% EXP bonus (Note also that any EXP or SP bonuses will not appear on the Result screen at the conclusion of a battle. Rest assured that you are getting the bonus points though.) The following items will increase the amount of gold your party receives after a winning a fight: Stomach-Band - はらまき (305) - Extra gold is earned only when the character that has this equipped attacks Crown of the King Ghost - 王様ゴーストの冠 (315) - Doubles the amount of gold received Diamond-Encrusted Ring - ダイヤだらけのリング (222) - Extra gold is earned only when the character that has this equipped attacks (Note: The Diamond-Encrusted Ring - ダイヤだらけのリング (222) is horrible and should never be equipped. Gold is easy to come by, and any monetary advantage this ring has is absolutely eclipsed by its unbelievably bad stats.) The field skill Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier) is very helpful in rapidly increasing your SP. This skill envelops your party leader in a spherical barrier when activated. This barrier will kill any weak monster party that you have fought normally at least once just by walking into it. No gold or EXP is awarded; however, you will receive a percentage of the SP that you would have earned if you were to have fought the monster party. There are three levels of this skill: Field Barrier 1 - バリバリア１ - Requires 5 MP to activate, and then 30 MP for every monster party you defeat with it. Only 1/3 of the normal SP is awarded. Earned at Rank 6 for the Barrier Magic (Barrier) class. Field Barrier 2 - バリバリア２ - Requires 5 MP to activate, and then 10 MP for every monster party you defeat with it. Only 1/2 of the normal SP is awarded. Earned at Rank 21 for the Barrier Magic (Barrier) class. Field Barrier 3 - バリバリア３ - Requires 5 MP to activate, and then 1 MP for every monster party you defeat with it. Only 1/2 of the normal SP is awarded. Earned at Rank 50 for the Barrier Magic (Barrier) class. (Note: You can tell if Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier) will work on any monster party by looking at its name while Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier) is active. If a red line appears under the monster party's name then you can defeat it with Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier). If there is no line then your barrier will be shattered if you walk into this monster party.) Each of these items can be used to increase the rank of a specific character's shadow: Sword Master Heart - ソードの心 (075) - Increases the rank of the Sword Master (Sword) class by one. Guardian Heart - アーマーの心 (076) - Increases the rank of the Guardian (Armor) class by one. Monk Heart - モンクの心 (077) - Increases the rank of the Monk class by one. Assassin Heart - アサシンの心 (078) - Increases the rank of the Assassin class by one. Black Magic Heart - ブラックの心 (079) - Increases the rank of the Black Magic (Black) class by one. White Magic Heart - ホワイトの心 (080) - Increases the rank of the White Magic (White) class by one. Barrier Magic Heart - バリアの心 (081) - Increases the rank of the Barrier Magic (Barrier) class by one. Support Magic Heart - パワーの心 (082) - Increases the rank of the Support Magic (Power) class by one. Generalist Heart - コンビネーションの心 (083) - Increases the rank of the Generalist (Combination) class by one. All-Heart - すべての心 (084) - Increases the rank of all classes by one. 気まぐれな心 (Whimsical Heart(910)) - This can randomly increase the rank of several classes by one, two, three, or four. (I am not sure if this item is present in the English versions of Blue Dragon or not.) WARNING! Do not use any of the "heart" items to increase the rank of any class from 98 to 99. Doing so can cause problems with the achievements. It has already been confirmed that the single class achievements will not unlock if rank 99 is reached by using one of these items, and odds are the achievements for maxing all classes are affected in the same way. WARNING!! This game does not protect you from wasting any of the "heart" items on a class that is already rank 99. As a final warning, I must state that earning these achievements will make the game easier than you could ever imagine. Once you hit level 99 with all characters and rank 99 with any shadow class you will essentially be invincible to all normal monsters and compulsory bosses left in the game. The optional super-bosses will still pose a bit of a challenge depending upon your strategy, but even they will not be all that dangerous to you. So be careful with these achievements if you want the game to challenge you up to the end. If you are concerned about the game being too easy once you unlock these achievements then simply save in a different slot once you begin maxing out your levels and ranks. After you unlock all the associated achievements save on this different slot, reset, and then reload you original save. Then you can go on playing at your original level. And of course, if you like the fact that many RPGs allow players to become all-powerful just by leveling up, then you are in for a treat. Personally I think the designers had a purpose with the ease of the final encounters for players at high levels, but I will not spoil this here. Maxed Out All Character Levels - 50 points 全キャラクターレベルMAX (Reach MAX level for all characters) Got 1,000,000 Gold - 25 points 1,000,000ゴールド貯めた (Amassed 1,000,000 gold) I have grouped these achievements together because it is very easy to unlock the gold achievement while working toward the max level one. Unlocking the gold achievement is easy, just amass 1,000,000 gold and it will unlock right away. You can confirm how much gold you have at any time on the camp menu. Earning one million gold may sound daunting, so you might start using the Negotiate - 交渉術 skill or avoiding shops to save money for this achievement. Well, you do not have to do any of this. Blue Dragon is not real life, and you can spend all the money you want without worrying about this achievement. (Negotiate - 交渉術 is still good to use so you don't run out of money, but don't worry if you forget it from time to time.) The MAX level achievement is also simple to unlock, as you need only raise the levels of Shu, Jiro, Kluke, Marumaro, and Zola to level 99. As soon as the final character reaches level 99 the achievement will unlock. This task may also sound painfully boring, but happily there is a way to speed up the process and unlock this achievement along with the gold achievement. You will also make some progress towards the shadow class achievements at the same time! There are many ways to unlock these achievements, but I found it best to follow the advice of the Japanese help site and use the "automatic level up machine" on the Southern Deserted Island. Unfortunately you will not be able to access this area until you get the Mechat on disc three, as you can only reach the island by flying to it. This island is part of the chain of small islands near the bottom of the world map. In the center of this chain you should see a fairly large island. Look to the right of this island and you should see a small triangle shaped island. This triangle shaped island is the Southern Deserted Island. As you fly over the islands attempting to reach it be sure to watch the area name description in upper right of the screen. When you see "Southern Deserted Island" appear land on this island, but make sure not to land on the small hill on this island or you will not encounter any monster parties. Also, try to land near the edge of the island so that the Mechat will not obscure your view of any monster parties. Once you are on the island equip the following to any one character: Poo Bracelet - ウンチの腕輪 (190) Shoes of Hermes - ヘルメスの靴 (296) Optional: Loot - ぶんどる 　　Optional: Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント This combination will ensure that this character will always get the first attack in any fight, and they will kill any normal Poo Snakes in one hit. The optional combination of Loot - ぶんどる and Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント will then allow you to steal Guardian Hearts - アーマーの心 (076) from time to time. Make sure all characters have one of the following SP doublers equipped: Black Belt - 黒帯 (307) (Your should have 5 of these by disc two, see the note on fighting Corrosive Poo (012) in Section J.) Eyepatch - アイパッチ (317) Equip as many of the following accessory as you have to different characters: (Do not equip more than one on the same character.) Lei - レイ (290) Make sure one character other than the one that has the Poo Bracelet - ウンチの腕輪 (190) equips this accessory: 　 Crown of the King Ghost - 王様ゴーストの冠 (315) Finally, do something that makes one of your characters stink. Fresh Garlic - にんにく (015) works fine, or you can equip and un-equip the Dog Collar - 愛犬の首輪 (286). Now you are ready to begin leveling up. Only one type of monster party will appear on this island, and it consists of one Golden Poo Snake (006). Each time you encounter this monster party and defeat the sole enemy you will net the following: - 1515 EXP for all characters with the Lei - レイ (290) equipped, and 1010 EXP for the others - 20 SP for all characters with a Black Belt - 黒帯 (307) or Eyepatch - アイパッチ (317) equipped - A random amount of gold varying from 0 to 40,000, with an average of 10,000 As you can see, you will net a lot of EXP, a decent amount of SP, and a (potentially) massive amount of gold in every fight. You also have about a 20% chance of stealing an Guardian Hearts - アーマーの心 (076) if you equipped the Loot - ぶんどる and Treasure Hunt - トレジャーハント skills. You now have two choices as to how to continue to level 99: 1. If you happen to have an Xbox360 controller that has a turbo function, you can now just put the A button on turbo and walk away. The Golden Poo Snake (006) parties will continue to appear and attack you, the turbo A button will finish the fight, and return to you the field so that the process can continue. I would guestimate that it will take around 3 hours per 10 levels using this method. (This is why they call this island an automatic level up machine.) 2. The turbo controller method is nice, as you can avoid the boredom of mindless level raising. However, doing this will cause you to waste a lot of SP, and you will not get the full effect of the Leis - レイ (290) that you have. So it is recommended that you do not use the turbo method, and instead roam around the island actively encountering and defeating the Golden Poo Snake (006) parties as they appear. There are several advantages to this: - You can change shadow classes to avoid wasting SP if one maxes out. - You can rotate the Leis - レイ (290) to help maximize their effect. - You will most likely gain levels at a speed of 8-10 per hour. I personally recommend that you use this time to try and learn as many skills as you can. This will not only help add to your collection of skills, but will make it easier to unlock the max rank achievements later. Just do not forget to re-equip any accessories, such as the Black Belt - 黒帯 (307), when you change shadow classes. Regardless of the method you choose, you will most definitely unlock the achievement for one million gold long before you reach level 99 on all five of your characters and unlock the max level achievement. As another bonus, you will also have unlocked the achievement for defeating the Golden Poo Snake - ゴールデンウンチスネーク (006) during this process. Note: Cannot wait to get the gold related achievement? Well, if you want it faster you can always check out the total value of all your items and money in the Encyclopedia (Logbook). If this value is greater than 1,000,000 then just save, un-equip everything, find a store, and sell everything. Selling all your items should get you over 1,000,000 gold and the achievement should unlock. Once the achievement has unlocked just reset and load your save to continue playing. This tip comes from peekaboo on the GameFAQs boards. 　 Dragon: Max One Class - 30 points ドラゴン・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Dragon) Minotaur: Max One Class - 30 points ミノタウロス・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Minotaur) Phoenix: Max One Class - 30 points フェニックス・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Phoenix) SECRET Saber-Tooth: Max One Class - 30 points サーベルタイガー・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Saber Tiger) SECRET Killer Bat: Max One Class - 30 points キラーバット・カテゴリー1つランクMAX (Reach MAX rank in any category for the Killer Bat) Dragon: Max All Classes - 50 points ドラゴン・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Dragon's categories) Minotaur: Max All Classes - 50 points ミノタウロス・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Minotaur's categories) Phoenix: Max All Classes - 50 points フェニックス・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Phoenix's categories) SECRET Saber-Tooth: Max All Classes - 50 points サーベルタイガー・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Saber Tiger's categories) SECRET Killer Bat: Max All Classes - 50 points キラーバット・全カテゴリーランクMAX (Reach MAX rank for all of the Killer Bat's categories) It is very easy to unlock all 10 of the rank related achievements. Just reach rank 99 in any one class for each character to unlock half of them, and just reach rank 99 in all nine classes for all characters to unlock the rest. Sounds easy, right? Well, it is also very simple to make it so that you can never earn these achievements during your current play through. Make sure that you do not use any of the "heart" items to increase any classes' rank from 98 to 99. It has been confirmed from several sources that this will result in any of the single rank achievements not unlocking. Although it has not been confirmed or denied, this may happen with the all classes achievements as well. So remember, do not use the any of "heart" items to increase any rank from 98 to 99. The best way to unlock all these rank related achievements without fear is to learn the skill Field Barrier 3 - バリバリア３ (BariBarrier3). (Field Barrier 2 - バリバリア２ will work as well, but it uses too much MP to make it practical.) There are several places to use the Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier). Some people like the to do this on the Southwestern Deserted Island, but there is a much better place, and it is available to you once you reach disc two. This area is the Laser Field (Laser Zone). While you can just jump right to the Laser Field (Laser Zone) as soon as you have access to it early on disc two, I recommend waiting until you have five Black Belts - 黒帯 (307) to ensure that you gain maximum SP. Please see Section J for locations of five Black Belts - 黒帯 (307). I also recommend that you do not begin power ranking your shadow classes until after you have fully maxed out the levels of your characters. This is for two reasons. First, you will receive SP during the battles that you net experience from. So you will end up spending more time than you need to if you start by maxing out the ranks of your shadow classes. Second, in the process of leveling your characters you should have learned as many skills as possible. In order to use the Laser Field (Laser Zone) to gain SP at an excellent rate you will need to have the Field Barrier 3 - バリバリア３ (BariBarrier3) field skill for at least one character. Although not necessary, Black Belts - 黒帯 (307) or the Eyepatch - アイパッチ (317) are also highly recommended as they will cut the time required to unlock these achievements in half. One very important thing to keep in mind is that you must remember to confirm that these SP doubling accessories are still equipped when you change shadow classes. When you are ready to begin warp to the Laser Field (Laser Zone). First use something, such as Fresh Garlic - にんにく (015), to make one of your characters stink, and then activate Field Barrier 3 - バリバリア３ (BariBarrier3). Now move forward into the Laser Field (Laser Zone) while looking forward. You should see several of the purple mole parties off in the distance just a bit to the left. You want to move to where these parties are. They are hovering around a treasure chest in a small alcove. (Odds are you have opened this chest already.) Once you reach this chest just stand there and watch the moles flock to you. Each of these parties will be worth 2 SP, and although it won't display differently, every character with an SP doubler will receive 4 SP. Now you will pretty much not need to do anything other than watch the SP add up. However, there is one thing that will stand in the way. That is the way the game lets you know that you have learned a new skill when using Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier): The game will bring up a screen that shows you the skills you just learned. This screen will pause the action, so you will need to manually dismiss it to return to the SP gathering. This is the reason that I recommended trying to learn as many skills as possible while leveling up your characters. So the best course of action here is to first make sure that you have learned every skill for every class for every character. This process is still boring, but will go fairly quickly. Here are the ranks you need to reach for each class to obtain all the skills: Sword Master (Sword) - 32 Black Magic (Black) - 36 White Magic (White) - 33 Support Magic (Power) - 35 Barrier Magic (Barrier) - 50 Assassin - 35 Monk - 31 Guardian (Armor) - 33 Generalist (Combination) - 36 Once you reach those levels then it is time for the boring process of getting all the classes to rank 99. So I recommend doing this while watching a television program that you enjoy. Just let Field Barrier 3 - バリバリア３ (BariBarrier3) do the work for you while watch TV, and then check on the game during commercial breaks. When you check on the game make sure to switch the classes of shadows that are at 99 or close to it to a lower rank one. Keep repeating this until you get close to running out of magic. At this point you can either use items to keep the Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier) going or head to an inn. I personally like the one in Baroy Town because it is free. Just do not forget to use an item to make someone stink after every visit to an inn. And definitely do not forget to re-equip Black Belts - 黒帯 (307) or the Eyepatch - アイパッチ (317) after you change shadow classes! As you use this technique you will see the single class max achievements unlock fairly quickly; however, it will be a while before the all class max achievements unlock. Sadly this process can take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours depending upon what ranks you were at when you began. You can use the "heart" items if you wish, but it is best to wait until you hit level 50 in the class first. And of course, never use one to go from rank 98 to 99. G. Event achievements There are three main types of event achievements: Dexterity, Timed, and Mini-Game. The Dexterity achievements are all secret, and all but one of them require you to rapidly press an indicated button. You will need to press the indicated button very rapidly, but do not worry, this is nothing like the grueling button pressing tasks in some other games, like Neon Genesis Evangelion for the Nintendo 64. (Note: I am not sure, but it seems like they may have made these achievements more difficult in the English version of the game. So get those thumbs in shape!) Only one timed achievement exists in Blue Dragon, and it is quite simple. You must simply complete a specific task within a set time limit. Mini-game achievements can be divided into two main categories: Mechat Shooting and not-Mechat Shooting. Regardless of the category of these achievements each one will require you to complete a mini-game perfectly. The definition of perfection varies from game to game, and these are probably the most difficult achievements to earn from an action standpoint. Each type of event achievement shares two things in common: A save point is always available just before the event associated with each of these achievements. This makes it very important to save using lots of different save slots. This will allow you to have as many chances as you need to unlock each achievement. So remember, if you fail to unlock an event achievement but wish to keep playing then do not save over the save data you created just before the event! Use a different slot for future saves. Each of these achievements has a tale tell sign. A button icon will appear on screen for all dexterity achievements, a countdown clock for the timed one, and a tutorial that you can choose to view as many times as you want for mini-game ones. There is one mini-game that does not have an achievement associated with it, and it is the robot chase that occurs in the ice field on disc two. It is true that this mini-game has a tutorial; however, this tutorial will be shown to you automatically, and you cannot view it more than once. So the event does follow the rules I just mentioned, but odds are many players probably thought that there was an achievement associated with this mini-game... I know I did, and I wasted about 35 minutes doing it over and over until I did it perfectly. Trust me, there is no benefit to perfection on this mini-game : ( IMPORTANT NOTE FOR PLAYERS OF THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE GAME: NaughtyVicar from GameFAQs has confirmed that you must select NORMAL when you are given a choice in mini-game difficulty or the achievement will NOT unlock. So if you ever see a difficulty choice appear during a mini-game always choose NORMAL if you want the achievement. SECRET Closed Flying Fortress Door - 5 points 扉閉め成功 (Successfully close the door) This is the first dexterity type event achievement in the game, and it occurs before you even get the shadows for you characters. Unlocking this achievement requires you to close a door in the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat) before any Mecha Robos (068) can get through it. Make sure that you save at the save point in the room in which you receive the Light Spheres (319) in the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat). I recommend saving right after you get the spheres so that you do not have to watch the cut scene again if you need to reset and reload this save. Once you have the save prepared exit through the open door in this room. Your characters will automatically run down the hall, and a cut scene will begin outside of a door that uses a crank wheel to open and close it. Once this cut scene ends the dexterity achievement will begin. You must rapidly press the A button as fast as you can to try and close this door. Begin pressing as soon as you see the A button icon and associated meter appear on screen. As you press the A button the meter will fill. Even if the meter appears to be full do not stop rapidly pressing the A button. Once the meter disappears and Shu begins closing the door you can take a rest for about 2 seconds, but it is best to begin rapidly pressing A again before Shu stops talking. Just like before keep pressing A over and over until the meter at the top of the screen goes away. You can take another 1-2 second break, but be sure to begin pounding the A button again before the cut scene with Shu closing the door a little more ends. Keep up the rapid button pressing until the third meter disappears and Shu completely closes the door. If you were able to make Shu close the door without any Mecha Robos (068) getting in and attacking you then the achievement will unlock. Conversely, if any of the robots were able to attack you then you should reset right away, load the save you prepared and try again. Wagon Escort: Perfect - 30 points 馬車護衛・パーフェクト (Complete Wagon Escort perfectly) This is the first mini-game achievement that you will encounter, and it will seem very difficult at first. To unlock it you must escort two wagons from Talta (Tata) Village and defeat any monster parties that appear along the way before they can do any damage. The game is very kind with the save point for this mini-game. Once you reach the Road to Jibral (Gibral) for the first time by passing through Mural Valley you will quickly meet up with the villagers from Talta (Tata) Village. This will lead to you making camp with them for the night. To get through this event just enter the tent where Jiro and his family are, go back outside, and then head to the fire at the center of the camp. The game will now ask if you wish to save. Be sure to save by choosing the top choice in the popup that appears and then saving in the normal manner. This save will now take you right to the tutorial screen for this mini-game if you load it. This mini-game will begin right after you are prompted to save in the Talta (Tata) Villager's Camp. It will be daytime again and a popup will appear asking if you wish to view the tutorial for the Wagon Escort mini-game. The top choice will let you watch it, after which you will be asked if you wish to view it again. Regardless of whether you view the tutorial or not, the mini-game will not begin until you select the bottom choice. There are a few simple rules to this mini-game: - You have three items with which you can restore the HP of the wagons with. However, if the wagons take any damage the achievement cannot be unlocked, so do not worry about them. - When monster parties appear a small window will appear showing one of the parties and the villagers will moan in fear. Although the window only shows one party do not assume that one only has appeared. - Two types of monster parties will appear to attack the wagons. The Fat Pack Rat - ジブラルネズミ (163) parties will move very quickly and the Steel-Eating Tiger - 鉄食いタイガー (225) parties will move much slower. This means you always want to go for the Fat Pack Rat - ジブラルネズミ (163) parties first. - The appearance of monster parties during this mini-game is not random, so the same parties will appear at the same times and places every time you play this mini-game. - Once all the monster parties near the wagons have been defeated the villagers will almost always sigh in relief or say thank you in the language that the voice overs are playing in. - If the wagons encounter stones in the road they will stop moving until you clear the way. Just approach an offending stone and press A when the button icon appears to push the stone over and make it disappear. Here are a few tips that will ensure success in unlocking this achievement: - Use the Encounter Circle constantly throughout this mini-game to confirm the position of any monster parties, to quickly engage monster parties that are at a distance, and to trigger simultaneous encounters when possible. - If you lose your bearings after a fight then open the Encounter Circle right away. The action will pause and you can get an idea of where to move next. - Make sure to be in the correct position before the monster parties appear. This will be easy to do since nothing is random in this mini-game. - Do not wait to use the Encounter Circle to trigger a fight with a monster party that appears on top of you or right next to you. Monster parties do not register in the Encounter Circle when they are popping into the field, but you can still fight them by running into them at this time. - It is a good idea to play all the way through this mini-game once even if you allow the wagons to be attacked so that you will get a more familiar idea of when and where the monster parties appear. - Field Barrier - バリバリア (BariBarrier) may seem like it will make this achievement a breeze, but it can actually make it harder. There are a couple of times where it is convenient, but it is never necessary. Let's begin the escort! - First Encounter: One Fat Pack Rat (163) party - Begin by walking next to the horse pulling the lead wagon. Stay on its left side, and make sure to stay lined up with its head until a Fat Pack Rat (163) party pops up just in front of and to the left of the lead wagon. You should be right there, so engage this party by running into it and defeat it. - Second Encounter: One Fat Pack Rat (163) party - Now move to a position just between the wagons, but hang to the right just a bit. Continue to move in this position with the wagons until the Fat Pack Rat (163) party pops up a bit right of the space between the two wagons. Run right into this party and finish it. - Third Encounter: One Fat Pack Rat (163) and one Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party - Walk next to the front left corner of the lead wagon, and keep this position as the wagon moves. When you see a treasure chest in front of you and to the left prepare for battle. In just a few seconds two parties will appear. The Fat Pack Rat (163) party will be just left of the front corner of the lead wagon, which is where you should be. As soon as this party pops run at it and you will engage it quicker than you could if you used the Encounter Circle. Once this party is history you must quickly move to the right of the space between the wagons, which is where the Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party will be waiting. This party will most likely detect the wagons as you approach it, so make sure to use the Encounter Circle to engage it from a distance. These tigers are tough, so take care in defeating them. Also, do not forget to heal you characters after the fight. (If you wish, you may open the treasure chest now, but it is not necessary.) - Fourth Encounter: Two Fat Pack Rat (163) parties - There is a bit of a break before the fourth encounter. Stay just in front of the lead wagon and move with it until it comes to a stop at a couple of rocks. Knock both rocks down with A, and remain just out in front of the lead wagon until it comes to a stop at a single rock. Knock this one down with A as well, and let the wagon come to a stop and the next single rock. When you push this rock over a Fat Pack Rat (163) party will appear on both sides of the lead wagon. The left party will be near the middle of the wagon and the right one will be near its rear. So as soon as you push the rock turn around and run down the left side of the lead wagon so that you run into the Fat Pack Rat (163) party as he is popping and engage him. Once that fight is complete run to the back of the lead wagon, turn left, and head between the wagons toward the remaining Fat Pack Rat (163) party. If you are moving fast it will just be detecting the wagons when you get into Encounter Circle range. So be sure to use the Encounter Circle to engage this party and then defeat it. - Fifth Encounter: Two Fat Pack Rat (163) and one Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party - Now hang just behind the rear wagon. Stay off to its left, and move along in pace with it until you see (and hear) several parties pop. One Fat Pack Rat (163) party will be just behind and to the left of the rear wagon, and another will be just to the right of the space in between the wagons. A Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party will be in front and left of the lead wagon. You should be in perfect position to slam into the Fat Pack Rat (163) party behind the rear wagon, so do so and defeat it. As soon as this fight ends run straight up the left side of the rear wagon and move between the wagons until you are close enough to use the Encounter Circle to engage and defeat the other Fat Pack Rat (163) party from a distance. Once this fight concludes run straight up the left side of the lead wagon towards the Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party. As you pass the front left corner of the wagon you will be in range, so open the Encounter Circle and engage this last party from a distance. Remember to heal your characters after this fight if you take any damage. - Sixth Encounter: Two Fat Pack Rat (163) and one Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party - Once again there is a slight break. Stay in front of the lead wagon and push over the two stones as it reaches them. Remain in front of the wagon and wait for it to reach another stone. As soon as you push this stone out of the way three monster parties will appear. A Fat Pack Rat (163) party will appear just right of the front right corner of the lead wagon, and another will appear a fair bit right of the area between the wagons. A lone Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party will appear in front of and left of the lead wagon. So as soon as you see the enemies pop turn around and run right into the Fat Pack Rat (163) party that is just right of the lead wagon. Once it is no more, continue to run back towards the other Fat Pack Rat (163) party. You will want to use the Encounter Circle to engage it from a distance, and you should be in range as you pass by the head of the horse of the rear wagon. So use the Encounter Circle to engage this party at the greatest distance you can, and then defeat it. After this fight run between the wagons and up the left side of the lead wagon until you are in Encounter Circle range of the Steel-Eating Tiger (225) party. Engage it with the Encounter Circle and defeat it. (If you happen to run up the right side of the lead wagon you still have a good chance of making it around in time, so to not give up right away if you do this.) Don't forget to heal any injured characters after this fight. - Seventh and Final Encounter: Two Fat Pack Rat (163) parties - The wagons will come to a final stone and stop. Feel free to relax if you need to for a second. Once you push this final stone down two Fat Pack Rat (163) parties will appear fairly far out in front of the lead wagon. One will be on the left and one will be on the right. So just move a bit forward after you push the stone and open the Encounter Circle. You should easily be able to simultaneously encounter these two parties. Defeat them both and continue on with the wagons until a popup appears. This popup is asking if you would like to save. Feel free to save, and most definitely use a different save slot if you allowed the wagons to be attacked. If you were able to escort the wagons without allowing any monster parties to attack either of them then the achievement will unlock when the save popup appears. If either wagon takes damage during this mini-game then you should reset right away, load the save you prepared, and try again. (Remember, it is a good idea to finish the mini-game at least once even if you do not unlock the achievement.) SECRET Pulled in the Flying Fortress - 5 points 巨大メカット引き寄せ成功 (Successfully pull in the Giant Mechat) This dexterity type event achievement occurs not too long after the Wagon Defense mini-game. You must help Jibral (Gibral) soldiers to pull on chains quickly so that the massive Gorgo that is using a crank to reel in the chain does not get mad at you. In order to have the quickest access to this event you should save at the save point that is next to the warp device (monument). This is just in front of the castle. You want to wait until you have slept in the inn in town and been awoken by the storm before you make this save. Happily this save point is on the way to your destination. With the save taken care of head into the castle to see a nice teaser of a cut scene. Once you are back in control head upstairs to the second floor. You should now stop by the office of the old man that likes dogs now for an item (as long as you were nice to him in the past!) Continue all way to the roof of the castle for more cut scenes. As soon as these cut scenes end the achievement will begin. You must rapidly press the button indicated on screen as fast as you can to help the Gorgo's and soldiers reel in the chains. The button that you must press will be random, and it can be the A, B, X, or Y button. Just like before you want to quickly begin pressing as soon as you see the button icon appear. Continue to rapidly press until a cut scene plays showing Shu and some soldiers pulling in a chain. There will be a meter, but remember, do not watch the meter, always wait for the cut scene before you stop pounding on the button. As the cut scene ends get ready to rapidly press the next button that appears. Do so until the chain pulling cut scene plays again. After this cut scene ends rapidly press the next button that appears until the chain pulling cut scene plays for the third time. This marks the end of this event. If you were able to make Shu and the soldiers pull on the chains without angering the Gorgo that is using the crank then the achievement will unlock. However, if a short cut scene showing just the large Gorgo waving one of his arms played at any time while you were rapidly pressing the indicated button then you were not fast enough and the achievement will not unlock. You should reset, load the save you prepared, and try again. Do not forget to stop by the old man's office for the item again if you have to reload. (Note: When only the Gorgo's face appears in a small window this is not the "anger" cut scene. This is normal and will occur at the beginning of each button pressing session.) Mechat Shooting Stage 1: Perfect - 30 points メカットシューティング・ST1・パーフェクト (Complete Mechat Shooting Stage 1 perfectly) This mini-game occurs when you have completed all tasks in the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat). To unlock the associated achievement you need to shoot down the enemy Mechat in Mechat Shooting Stage 1 without taking any damage. WARNING! It will be impossible to unlock this achievement if you have downloaded the New Year's Present downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace and it is present on any storage device connected to your Xbox360. Make sure to either delete or remove the storage device that this content is on before loading the game when attempting this achievement. Once again the game is very kind with the location of the save point before this mini-game. Once you reach the dock area of the Flying Fortress (Giant Mechat) and defeat a familiar boss make sure to use the save point that is just to your left. When you are ready to begin the mini-game walk from the save point to the small Mechat at the end of the dock. A lot of cut scenes will play, and then the tutorial popup for this mini-game will appear. (A checkpoint is also saved.) Feel free to view the tutorial, but remember you will have to choose the bottom choice when you want Mechat Shooting Stage 1 to begin. This is the first of three Mechat Shooting stages in the game, and they all share the same basic rules: - The Mechat will be set to auto-pilot, but you will control its machine gun and missile launcher. - The machine gun has infinite ammo, but it will overheat if used for too long. The heat gauge appears below the life gauge in the upper left of the screen. Try to keep the gun from overheating by letting off from time to time. (By default the A button fires the machine gun.) - The machine gun is best used to shoot down enemy projectiles, such as missiles or spike balls. However, nothing can shoot down ring lasers. - Missiles can only be fired by locking on to an enemy. To lock on you must highlight an enemy and hold down the B button. To fire once locked on just release B. - You can lock on to the same target multiple times if it will take more than one missile to destroy it. - The number of missiles you can carry is limited, but you can replenish them by shooting down enemy projectiles or destroying enemy targets. Extra missiles appear in the form of yellow boxes, and these will automatically come to your Mechat. (Green boxes restore life, but to get the achievement you cannot get hit, so you never want to see them!) - Pressing the Left or Right triggers or bumpers will rotate the camera 90 degrees to the left or the right. Here is some information that applies only to Mechat Shooting Stage 1: - You will only be able carry a maximum of 4 missiles. - You will only be able to lock onto a total of two targets at once. - When aiming forward the upper body of the Mechat will obscure your view. - Although the tutorial mentions the ring laser I have never seen the enemy that you will face here use them. Honestly there is really not much to say about Mechat Shooting Stage 1. You just need to use the machine gun to shoot down the missiles that the enemy Mechat fires at you while continuing to lock on and fire your missiles at it. Since perfection means you cannot take any damage prioritize destroying the enemies projectiles over attacking him. If you lose sight of the enemy Jiro will often tell you where he is, but this will be in Japanese if you are playing the Japanese version or you have the voice overs set to Japanese. So use the triggers or bumpers to quickly find the enemy and continue to fight. After you damage the enemy enough the screen will fade for a moment, and then he will appear in front of you. Just continue defending and attacking when this happens, as it means he will not last much longer. Once you shoot down the enemy Mechat for good Mechat Shooting Stage 1 will be complete. If you did not take any damage at all then the achievement will unlock. If you took any damage then sadly you will have to try again. Since a checkpoint was saved before this mini-game began you can wait until the enemy kills you, but this takes forever. So you are better off to just reset, load the save you prepared, and try again if you get hit. (Remember, you can skip cut scenes with the START button.) SECRET Rescued Kluke - 5 points クルック救出成功 (Successfully save Kluke) This is the only dexterity type achievement that does not require you to rapidly press buttons. This event will be the first major event to occur after you leave Pachess (Paches) Town and become able to cross the chasm that splits the Giant Snow Fields. You just need to push the indicated button once each time a button icon appears on screen to help Shu catch up to Kluke to unlock this achievement. Saving is a snap as this event occurs when you enter an area from the field, and you can save at any time while in the field. You will want to move to Northwest area of the Giant Snow Fields until you find a large crater. You will know this area when you see it, as the ground around the crater is brown and two types of monster parties stand guard all around it. Once you have reached this area make sure to save before you approach the crater itself. Anywhere in front of the monster parties that guard the crater is fine. Warning! The area inside this crater contains what many feel is the hardest boss fight in the game. I highly recommend that you do not attempt to enter the crater until you are at least level 40. It can be done at a lower level, but there is a lot of achievement related work to do inside the crater and it can become rather difficult if you are not strong enough. Warning!! It is totally possible to get through this area at a lower level than what I have suggested, but I have seen a lot of "I am stuck on the bosses here" posts and not a single "The bosses here were too easy" post on GameFAQs in reference to this area. When you are ready run past the monster parties and into the center of the crater. After a series of cut scenes the event will begin. Once Shu begins running the event has begun. Watch closely and as soon as you see the A button icon appear on screen press A only one time. Wait a few more seconds and then when the A button icon appears on screen again press A one more time. Remember only to press it once each time the icon appears, and do not press the button before the icon appears. If you pressed A with good timing each time the A button icon appeared on screen then the achievement will unlock. This is a rather tricky event, and sometimes even if you did not appear to fail the achievement might not unlock. So if you did press A with bad timing or too many times, or the achievement unlocked message did not appear after Shu and Kluke reached the ground safely then reset, load the save you prepared, and try again. FireboltX on GameFAQs has found that if Shu ever needs to pick himself up after a jump then that means your timing was not good and the achievement will not unlock. So watch Shu's animation for a clue to whether or not you will unlock the achievement or not. SECRET Got to Nene Before Bomb Went Off - 5 points 制限時間がゼロになる前に到着成功 (Successfully arrive before the time limit expires) This is the only timed based achievement in the entire game, and it will automatically begin right after the event associated with the previous event achievement: Rescued Kluke - クルック救出成功. Unlocking this achievement requires you to make it all the way through Nene's Fortress before the on-screen timer reaches zero. Along the way you will encounter the Moon Laser mini-game, and many monsters that do not appear anywhere else in the game. Technically you will already have a save ready that allows easy access to this achievement if you followed my advice and saved near the crater in the Giant Snow Fields before attempting the Rescued Kluke - クルック救出成功 achievement. However, the game is still quite kind and provides a save point for you almost right after you are forced to enter Nene's Fortress. So once the cut scenes end and you get control run straight forward and then head through the door to the next room. A healing device will be present on the left and a save point will be on the right. Use the healing device if you need it and then save. Be sure to save on a different slot in case you find that Nene's Fortress is too much for you! Now that this event is on and time is ticking away you have a choice as to how to proceed towards the achievement. You can either: - Move through the five levels of Nene's Fortress and reach Nene's area while making sure to defeat all unique monsters and open all chests. - Ignore everything and rush through Nene's Fortress to reach Nene's area as fast as you can. Once the achievement is unlocked then reload a a save at the beginning of the Fortress and slowly move through the it while defeating all unique monsters and opening all chests. The choice is yours, but the first option is much better, as it saves you time, and trust me, you have plenty of time. Here are the set amounts of time that you lose for encounters: - Fight against boss on first floor: 12 minutes - Fight against bosses on second floor: 12 minutes - Moon Laser mini-game: no time penalty - Fight against boss on fourth floor: 6 minutes - Any normal encounter: 30 seconds A key to saving time is using the Encounter Circle to fight nearby monster parties all at once. You only get charged 30 seconds per encounter regardless of how many parties are involved. So make sure to trigger multi-monster (simultaneous) encounters whenever you can. When you enter the final room at the end of each floor the timer will not be displayed, but it will continue to countdown until you actually walk across the room and trigger the boss fight or mini-game. The countdown clock will stop if you: - Pause the game - Open the Xbox Guide - Disconnect your controller (battery dies, etc.) - Use a healing device or save point - Trigger an encounter with a monster party - Trigger a boss fight or a mini-game As noted before, the appropriate time is automatically charged for all encounters/boss fights/mini-games. The countdown clock does not stop if you: - Open the Encounter Circle To ensure that you make it to Nene before running out of time just move quickly through each of the levels. You have plenty of time to engage all of the monster parties and open all the chests, you just need to make sure that you keep moving and use the Encounter Circle for multi-monster (simultaneous) encounters when convenient. The floor plan of each floor is quite simple, so you should not have much trouble. A great way to advance is to save at the save point present at the beginning of each floor and then move through the floor engaging monster parties and opening chests. If you reach the door at the end of the floor without wasting any time then go ahead and open it. But if you feel like you could have done better, then just reset and load your save. You will know exactly what to do on the floor and should be able to breeze through it with minimal time loss. I have gone through Nene's Fortress twice, and both times I had just over eight minutes left on the clock when I walked through the final door at the end of the fifth floor. Unfortunately I do not know if you are charged any time for the fifth floor boss fight, so right now I can only say with certainty that you will definitely get the achievement if you make it to that fight with 8 or more minutes on the clock. However, please do not give up if you have less time, it might still be enough! I am guessing that reaching the fifth floor boss fight with any time left on the clock will let you unlock the achievement, but I do not know this for sure right now. (A more accurate time will be included here if I can discover what it is.) After defeating the boss on the fifth floor cut scenes will play showing your party head to Nene's location. If you were able to reach the fifth floor boss fight with enough time left on the clock then this achievement will unlock during the cut scene that shows your party entering Nene's throne room. If you did not make it in time, then fear not. You should keep going until the game prompts you to save. At this point then reload an old save and rush through Nene's Fortress without engaging monster parties or opening any chests. Then once you get this achievement just reset and load the save you made when prompted to and continue on. As a final note, it is worth your time to let time run out once. Odds are you will reach the fifth floor with around 10-14 minutes left. Make sure to save at the save point at the beginning of the floor and then have a snack, read a magazine, or do something else until time expires. Enjoy the cut scene and then reset and reload the save you made on the fifth floor to continue play normally. SECRET Moon Laser: Perfect - 30 points 月レーザー・パーフェクト (Complete Moon Laser perfectly) This mini-game will occur on the third floor of Nene's Fortress, so odds are you will be working on the previous achievement when you encounter this one. Unlocking this achievement requires you to earn the Perfect Bonus while completing the Moon Laser mini-game. The closest save point to this mini game is located at the beginning of the third floor. You should use it. Due to the location of this save point if you need to reset and reload then you will need to complete all tasks on the third floor again. This can become tiresome; however, you can make this save point a little more convenient if you are feeling good about how much time you have left on the clock or if you are not concerned with the time. Just move through the third floor defeating all the unique monster parties and opening all the chests as you normally would. Once this is done head back to the beginning of the floor and use the save point again. Now you can just rush right through the floor if you need to reset and reload! Once you have saved in one of the ways mentioned above head through the door at the end of the third floor and ride the platform to the large central area. Move to the center of the central area and cut scenes will play. The usual tutorial popup will appear after the cut scenes have completed, so remember to choose the bottom choice when you are ready for the mini-game to begin. The rules of Moon Laser are as follows: - You control one moon. Press left or right on the left analog stick to highlight the enemy moon you wish to target. A white circle will appear around the enemy moon that you are currently targeting. - Your moon can be fired at any time by pressing A, or you can charge its laser by holding A and then releasing it to fire. Charged shots do more damage and net higher scores, and the charge meter is shown in the upper left of the screen. - Any charge will be lost if you highlight a different enemy moon while charging. - Enemy moons can only be damaged while their laser side is facing you and they are charging it. - Enemy moons will always begin to turn around if you successfully attack them. - Every time you are attacked by an enemy moon it will do 1000 damage to you. You only have 5000 HP total, so after five attacks you will lose. (It is possible to heal, but then you will not be able to unlock the achievement.) - There are only two waves of enemy moons. The first wave consists of three moons and the second has four. - During the second wave the enemy moons will turn red and enter turbo mode. When this happens they will charge their lasers much faster and rotate more quickly. To earn the Perfect Bonus you must complete this mini-game while satisfying the following conditions: - You must not allow any of the enemy moons to attack you. - You must never attack the back side of an enemy moon, or a spinning enemy moon. (This means you must never do 0 damage to an enemy moon.) Here are some tips for earning the Perfect Bonus: - Stay calm during this mini-game. If you get too agitated and tap A twice you will always hit the moon you were aiming at for O with the second accidental shot and lose the Perfect Bonus. - Do not focus on getting a lot of charged shots, especially in the second wave. - Never ever fire until a moon has clearly stopped rotating towards you and you can see its charging animation. Time to shoot the moon! - Wave 1: Three enemy moons - Once this mini-game is underway you will find yourself up against the three moons of the first wave. Just target any moon and begin charging. If that moon rotates to face you and begins its charging animation then fire on it with your now fully charged blast. If a different moon faces you and begins charging then highlight that moon and attack it instead. You can charge for a second or two before firing, but it is a risk. You are better off to just use a quick tap of A to hit this moon right away. Continue chipping away at the enemy moons in this manner while being very careful never to shoot a moon that has turned to face you but then turned right back around without charging. The moons will do this a lot to try and trick you. When you have defeated two of the moons you should easily be able to use charged shots to put the third out of its misery. Once all three moons are down a cut scene will play. - Wave 2: Four enemy moons - Wave 2 will begin after the cut scene and four enemy moons will now begin attacking you from behind. The same rules from the first wave apply here as well. Just charge and hope that the moon you are targeting happens to be the one that tries to attack you next, and if it is not quickly target and shoot the moon that does. You will have to move a little faster as the moons in wave 2 are more aggressive than in wave 1. In fact, there will come a time in which all four moons will turn to attack you in series. Just calmly attack the first moon that began charging and quickly attack the rest without accidentally tapping the A button twice. Another new feature to wave 2 is the turbo mode. The enemy moons will enter this mode when they have taken enough total damage. Usually this occurs when you either defeat one of them, or are about to. The moons will speed up during this time, but for the most part the same techniques you have used up to this point will work just fine to defeat them all. The only difference is that you no longer want to take risks with charges. If the moon you are targeting turns to attack you then fire once you see its charging animation. Do not wait for your laser to charge any further as it is not worth the risk. Once they have all been defeated then this mini-game will be complete. If you managed to defeat all seven enemy moons without taking damage or hitting an enemy moon for 0 damage then you will receive the "Perfect Bonus" and the achievement will unlock when the results screen is displayed. If you did take damage, hit a moon from behind, or hit one while it was spinning then do not reset. Instead just wait a few moments. The enemy moons will quickly defeat your party and you can use the checkpoint save to take this mini-game on again. There will be no time penalty, as the checkpoint save will put you right outside the final door on the third floor with the same time remaining as when you first arrived there. And of course, if you accidentally complete this mini-game without unlocking the achievement then you will still be able to reset and load the save you prepared. One final note on this mini-game: Not only is there an achievement associated with Moon Laser, but various items are awarded when you complete this mini-game with a good score. In most cases you should receive the All-Heart - すべての心 (084) item when you complete this mini-game and receive the Perfect Bonus. For this reason I recommend that you make sure to complete this mini-game and unlock the achievement during your play through of the game, and not to just come back to it later via a save for the achievement. SECRET Saved Kluke from Choking - 5 points 首輪引っ張り成功 (Successfully remove the collar) The event associated with this achievement will begin once you complete the boss fight on the fifth floor and reach Nene's throne room. This is a dexterity achievement, so pressing the indicated button quickly enough is key to unlocking it, but this time you also must hold down on the left analog stick while doing so. Preparing a save for this achievement is very similar to what you needed to do before the Moon Laser achievement. This time you will want to save at the save point at the beginning of the fifth floor of Nene's Fortress. Now you should clear the fifth floor while defeating all unique monster parties and opening all chests. Once you reach the door at the end of this floor check your remaining time. If you have 10 or more minutes left on the clock then you can run back to the save point, save again, and then return to the door. Otherwise just head through the door without returning to the save point to be on the safe side. Either way you will be set because you will unlock the achievement for arriving in time (provided you did truly arrive in time) just before you take on this dexterity achievement. What this means is if you have to reset then you can go ahead and clear the fifth floor and return to the save point to save again without fear as time will no longer matter! When you are ready to take on this achievement head through the final door on the fifth floor of Nene's Fortress and defeat the boss there. Cut scenes will then play until this event begins. Once the camera pans in on Nene after he activates the collar get ready, as the event will start as soon as the screen fades. You should be holding down on the left analog stick now, and do not let go of it until the event ends. As soon as the screen fades back in begin pressing the button that is displayed on screen as rapidly as you can. As always, a meter fills as you pound the button, but do not ever stop pressing the button until the meter goes away and a short cut scene plays. After the cut scene another random button will appear, so you will need to press it rapidly while continuing to hold down on the left analog until the second meter fills and disappears. Once again there will be a cut scene, and then another random button and a meter will appear. Pound the correct button until the meter fills and disappears. (You are still holding down on the left analog, right?) With the third meter out of the way this event will continue after a short cut scene. Press the button that appears over and over to fill a fourth meter, and then again to fill a fifth meter after a short cut scene. Once the fifth meter has been filled and disappears the event will be complete. If you were able to press the indicated buttons quickly enough to fill all five meters within the unseen allotted time then the achievement will unlock seconds after the fifth meter disappears. If the achievement did not unlock then you were not fast enough or you forgot to hold down the left analog stick. Unfortunately I have not seen any sort of telltale cut scene that lets you know you have failed for this event. So you will need to complete it before you think about resetting. But wait, do not reset right away if you have not yet unlocked the next achievement, Escaped from Squashtrich - ダチョウメカロボから脱出成功. This event is coming right up after a few more cut scenes, so wait until you have unlocked that achievement before you reset and load the save you prepared to try again if you did not unlock this achievement. SECRET Escaped from Squashtrich - 5 points ダチョウメカロボから脱出成功 (Successfully escape from the Ostrich Mecha Robo) This dexterity event occurs just a few minutes after the last one, while your party is still in the throne room of Nene's Fortress. It has two parts to it. In the first part you will need to rapidly press the designated button until a meter fills and disappears. Once this is done the command window you normally see while fighting will appear. Selecting Flee - にげる from this window is all you need to do to complete the second part of this event. The save you prepared for the previous achievement, Saved Kluke from Choking - 首輪引っ張り成功, will work perfectly for this achievement as well. (Please refer to the previous achievement if you need information on where to prepare a save.) So the save is already taken care of. However, you might be tired, and with this achievement coming up just minutes after the last you may wish to take a break and rest your fingers. If you wish to do this just press the guide button or disconnect your controller. The cut scenes will pause, and you can relax if you need to! Cut scenes will play after the previous event ends and eventually Nene will get into the Squashtrich (Ostrich Mecha Robo). Keep watching the cut scenes. When Kluke looks up at Shu and says his name you will have only a few seconds before the event begins, so prepare yourself. A small popup will appear, and then about one second later the event will begin. This is the most difficult dexterity event, so be ready! As soon as a button icon appears on screen you need to rapidly press it as fast as you can. Pound the button as quickly as possible until the meter fills and disappears. If the Squashtrich (Ostrich Mecha Robo) is able to stomp on you before you can do this then reset and load the save you prepared, as the achievement is lost. If you do manage to fill the meter then a command window will appear. Select the bottom choice and press A to complete the event. (It is Flee - にげる.) Selecting anything else will let the Squashtrich (Ostrich Mecha Robo) stomp on you and the achievement will be lost. If you were able to run away from the Squashtrich (Ostrich Mecha Robo) without getting stomped on then the achievement will unlock. If you were stomped on then you should reset and load the save you prepared to try again. This is the hardest of the dexterity achievements, but you will be able to do it! NOTE: I have heard from many people that they have had trouble with this achievement not unlocking even though they were able to escape without getting stomped on by the Squashtrich. NaughtyVicar on GameFAQs found that this achievement would not unlock when he played unless he made sure to complete the requirements for the previous achievement, Saved Kluke from Choking - 首輪引っ張り成功, and then completed the requirements for this achievement. So if you are having trouble with this achievement then try completing the previous achievement with the collar successfully and then doing this one successfully. Unfortunately it might be hard to know if you are doing well with the collar achievement if you have already unlocked it. NOTE 2: I have also seen several posts stating that if you attempt to retry this event then the achievement will not unlock. So if you fail this event then do not "retry". Instead load a save and try again that way. (Sorry, I have no idea who to credit for this information.) SECRET Summoned Shu's Shadow - 5 points 影出現成功 (Successfully make your shadow emerge) This is the final dexterity type event achievement, and it occurs in Devour (Eat) Village when you approach the cliff at night. Unlocking this achievement requires you to rapidly press A to complete the event that occurs on the cliff in a "short time". Preparing a save for this achievement is a snap. After taking care of some story related events you will exit the inn and find that night has fallen in Devour (Eat) Village. As soon as you notice that it is night head straight to the save point in this village and save. Once you have prepared your save head across town to the cliffs. As you walk up the ramp to the cliffs a checkpoint will save, and cut scenes will begin once you reach the center of the cliff. The event will begin just a little bit after Jiro appears on the cliff and talks to Shu. So place your finger over the A button and get ready. A small popup will appear, and then in about one second the A button icon will appear on screen and the event will have begun. I recommend that you begin rapidly pressing A as soon as you see the popup so that you do not waste any time. For this event you will just need to press A rapidly until a meter fills and disappears three times. Each meter will be a little longer than the last and the event will be complete once the third meter has disappeared. If you were quick enough then this achievement will unlock once the third meter disappears and the camera pans in on Shu. Unfortunately I am unsure of how much time a "short time" refers to, but rest assured this achievement is much easier to unlock than the last one with the Squashtrich (Ostrich Mecha Robo). And even if the achievement did not unlock then you can reset and try again very easily with the save you prepared. SECRET Mechat Shooting Stage 2: Perfect - 30 points メカットシューティング・ST2・パーフェクト (Complete Mechat Shooting Stage 2 perfectly) This is the easiest of the Mechat Shooting achievements, and it can occur any time once you have full access to the Mechat. To unlock this achievement you need to take out every one of the machine guns on Mecha Base High while completing Mechat Shooting Stage 2. WARNING! It will be impossible to unlock this achievement if you have downloaded the New Year's Present downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace and it is present on any storage device connected to your Xbox360. Make sure to either delete or remove the storage device that this content is on before loading the game when attempting this achievement. Both ejacobson99 and peekaboo on GameFAQs have told me that this achievement only requires you to destroy all of the machine guns, and that it will unlock even if you take damage. This is the way the achievement is described, so I am not surprised. However it is disappointing that the word "Perfect" is used in the achievement name, as this usage is inconsistent with the way the word is used to describe the other mini-game achievements. Before you take on this mini-game I do recommend collecting as many of the upgrades for the Mechat as you can and having them installed at the Mechat Dock near the Sheep Tribe Camp - Lal Mountains. This is totally optional of course, but it makes things even easier. 8 of the 9 upgrades are available to you at this point in the game. If you get all the available upgrades installed you will gain the following: - You will be able to carry a maximum of 16 missiles. - You will be able to lock on to a total of 8 targets at once. - Your machine gun will never overheat