Final Fantasy 3/6 by Squaresoft Author: DJ Tigresa and MC Pantera Email: djtigresa@classicgaming.com, mcpantera@classicgaming.com Copyright Dec. 1994/Jan. 1995 Chiguretha "Tigresa" Steel and Pansela "Pantera" Steel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s one of the biggest RPGs of all time, and it’s only on the Super NES. Final Fantasy III will keep even the most battle-hardened RPGer busy for 100 hours or more, a truly silly amount of time.The storyline and translated text is a bit boring, but the graphics are fantastic and the music is very impressive. This guide will walk you through the game from start to finish, we decide to brief you through the game since we have lots of FAQs to right and we started this guide at the end of 1994 and it will take too much 1995 to detail everything. One last note: the walkthrough is numbered to correspond with the numbers on the map included with the game. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 1: The World of Balance +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Narshe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the start of the game,Terra and two Imperial guards are sent to the town of Narshe to capture an Esper. The trio of adventurers are equipped with Magitek armor, which is so powerful that you really can’t lose in battle. It’s also quite bulky equipment, so you can’t enter any of the buildings. (You’ll be able to do so later in the quest.) Terra doesn’t know who she is yet, so her name appears as question marks on the status screen. Your path through Narshe is limited because of the Magitek armor, As you stroll northward through town and to the mines, you’re attacked by Guards and pet Lobos. It only takes one shot from the Magitek to defeat a Guard or a Lobo. (When you near the mines, you’re attacked by two Vomammoths.) If you take damage, use Terra’s Cure magic to heal yourself. At the northern end of Narshe is a new mine shaft. Walk into the shaft and keep going north.You’ll be attacked by new monsters along the way. When you reach a gate blocking the path, one of the guards smashes it down. Walk north until you’re attacked by the Whelk. The Whelk is vulnerable when it pokes its head out of its shell, but not when it’s inside. Don’t hit the shell when the Whelk hides; use the Defense command and wait for it to reappear before you strike. You find the Esper to the north of the Whelk.Vicks and Wedge are killed by the Esper’s powers, but Terra survives its attack and awakens in Narshe.A kindly old dude has removed the Slave Crown that was controlling her actions. Unfortunately, she’s suffering a major case of amnesia. A group of guards show up to take Terra away. Run through the back door and run along the bridge into the mines. Walk north through the mines until you’re sur rounded by guards. They drive you into a corner, and the ground collapses under you.You slam into the ground, pass out, and have a flashback sequence with graphics in shades of green. You have to protect Terra from the Marshal’s forces with three groups of Moogles, strange rab bit-like creatures that learn and use dances to attack the enemy. One of the groups is led by Locke, a new character. Move your groups at the entrances closest to Terra and let the enemy forces come to you. Have Mog use the Moogle’s Dance when he learns it; this attack can do over a thousand hit points of damage. When all the enemy forces have been beaten, send your strongest group (hopefully the one with Mog) south to fight the Marshal himself. Use the Dance for a quick victory Locke escorts the revived Terra back to Narshe. You can’t go into town without being stopped by the guards, but you can go into the classroom and talk to the masters about fighting and other game-related topics.You’lI find a few items in the various rooms, along with a Save Point. Use it before you leave Narshe and walk south to Figaro Castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Figaro Castle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When you leave Narshe, you appear at the north end of a valley between two mountains. Walk south, moving along the forest in the mouth of the valley, then go west along the south edge of the mountains until you see the desert to the south. Walk south across the desert to Figaro Castle. During your journey, you’ll be attacked by a Leafer. Use Locke’s Steal ability to take a HP-recovering Tonic from each Leafer you encounter. Explore the Castle thoroughly before you walk north and talk to King Edgar. He and Locke leave the room, leaving you to control Terra alone.Walk around the Castle some more and talk to people. Make sure to purchase Edgar’s tools, and at least one Fenix Down, from the shopkeepers. Talk to the Matron on the west side of the Castle to hear a story about Edgar and his brother. Return to the throne room when you’re done exploring and talk to Edgar. Sir Kefka, a lackey of the Empire, comes to the Castle. Walk south and talk to Keflca. When you’re done, walk north and talk to Locke.As Terra, follow Locke to your room and talk to him. Edgar wakes up to find the Castle in flames. Talk to Kefka, then walk north and talk to the guard. Edgar, Locke, and Terra make their escape on Chocobos while the Castle submerges into the desert sands! Kafka sends two Magitek guards after you. Fight and defeat them. Remember to use Edgar’s Tools command. After the battle, ride the Chocobs east to the mountains and look for a cave. Jump off the bird and enter the cave. (Make sure to save first, however.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Cave Figaro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk north and drink from the recovery spring. Don’t use Tonic, Sleeping Bags, or Tents to restore your energy; save these for when you really need them. After filling up on water, walk right through the arch way. In the next cavern, you can go left to find Tincture or right to find the exit. Be sure to use Edgar’s Auto Crossbow when fighting the monsters in the cave, and use Terra’s Fire spell for an amusing reaction from Edgar. After you rescue Celes from prison later on in the game, you can return here and open the chests to find two new items: the Thunder Rod and the X-Potion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. South Figaro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explore town and search the chests and barrels to find hidden items. Go to the Cafe to meet Shadow for the first time. Look for a Save Point in the basement of Duncan’s House on the east side of town. There’s a secret staircase in Owzer’s House in the northwest corner of town. Enter the house and go to the room with Owzer and his wife.Walk to the west side of the room and then walk behind the bookcase to go down the hidden stairs. When you reach the Basement 1 area, walk south along the wall to find another hidden staircase leading to Basement 2 and two chests. Get familiar with this area, because you’ll be returning soon. Buy yourself stronger weapons, armor, and Tonics, and a few Relics before you leave town.The Sprint Shoes are particularly nice, since they double your walking speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Sabin's Cabin ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk east and north from Figaro to fmd a small cabin. Look around the cabin to notice that Sabin was here. Hop into the bed to restore your party’s strength. Walk outside and an old man tells you that Sabin left for Mt. Kolts. Leave the cabin and walk east to Mt. Kolts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Mt. Kolts ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Climb up the mountain trail and look for a shad owy figure. Follow the shadow man to make your way through the caves, around the mountain, and across the rope bridge. On the other side of the bridge is a Save Point. Explore the various routes along the way to find several items, including an Atlas Armlet, Guardian, and Tent. Use the Tent before you use the Save Point. At the top of Mt. Kolts is a not-so-nice man named Vargas, who attacks you with two animal pals. Knock off the animals and keep attacking Vargas until Sabin shows up. Vargas uses an attack that blows everyone off the screen except Sabin. Use Sabin’s Blitz attack. When the arrow points at Sabin, press the control pad Left, Right, Left, then press the A button. Sabin uses his Pummel attack to defeat Vargas. After a brief chat, Sabin joins the party. Go through the cave Vargas was guarding and walk south. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Returner's Hideout ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You emerge on the north side of the mountains. Walk north up the valley until you see a narrow passage on the right side. Enter the passage into the Returner’s Hideout. Talk to the guard and he leads you to a door. Walk through the door to find Banon. Talk to him and he leaves to rest. Explore the Hideout, open chests, and talk to folks while Banon rests.There’s a hidden chest with a White Cape. Search the wall east of the cluster of three chests to fmd a passage to the chest. Stock up on Tonic and Potion at the store. After talking to everyone at least once, return to the guard at the door and Banon will be waiting outside. Go outside and talk to him. He asks you to join his cause.You have to say “Yes” for the game to continue, but you don’t have to say it right away. if you say “Yes” immediately, Banon gives you the Gauntlet and you watch the council of war; if you say “No” three times, then say “Yes,” there is no council of war, and Banon gives you the Genji Glove Relic. Eventually, a dying Returner enters the Hideout with news that South Figaro is now in enemy hands. Locke leaves to slow down the Empire while the rest of the party decides to escape via the Lete River. Walk south through the hidden passage to find the River. There’s a good way to build up experience during this sequence. After the first Save Point, you reach a branch in the river. Go up every time you reach the branch and battle the monsters as you sail around the loop.As your levels skyrocket upward, use Banon’s Health spell to keep everyone in good shape. When you reach the first branch, go straight; when you reach the second branch, go left.Any other branch will loop you around the river. Banon has to survive this journey; if he dies, you have to start over again. Keep him healthy as a horse with Terra’s Cure spell and Banon’s own Health spell. Make sure you also have Potion and Tonic. Don’t use Terra’s magic for attack purposes. After the second Save Point on the river, preserve Banon’s magic points until you reach Ultros, the boss at the end of the river. Use Sabin’s Blitz and Edgar’s Auto Crossbow as the main attacks. Terra can also do a little fighting. Ultros is a huge octopus who appears after the second Save Point. Use the Health and Cure spells top keep Banon alive. If Terra falls during the fight, revive her with Fenix Down. Use Banon’s Health spell, Sabin’s Blitz, and Edgar’s Auto Crossbow on every turn. Use Terra’s Flame spell if Banon is healthy. After the fight, Sabin is lost over the side of the raft. Now you have a choice of continuing with one of three scenarios. After you complete one, you choose from the remaining two, and after the second, you automatically take on the third. Remember to save the game before choosing a scenario. We suggest you start with the Locke scenario. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Locke ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enter the Item Shop and steal the clothes from the Merchant with the Steal command. Use the corn mand repeatedly until it works. Next, go to the Old Man’s House and walk down the stairs.Talk to the child and he lets you pass, thinking you’re a Merchant (sneaky, eh?). From here, walk outside and north to the stairs. Take the path west and south to the green-suited guard. Talk to him and Steal his clothes in battle. There’s one more thing you need to steal, and that’s a bottle of cider. Go to the basement of the Cafe and steal the cider from the person there. Return to the Old Man’s House and give him the cider. (You need to put on the Merchant outfit again by fighting a Merchant and stealing his clothes.) The old man tells you of a secret passage, but he doesn’t know the password to tell his son. We do, though—it’s “Courage.” Remember the secret staircase in Owzer’s House in the northwest corner of town? Enter the house and go to the room with Owzer and his wife. Walk to the west side of the room and then walk behind the bookcase to go down the hidden stairs. You’ll have the opportunity of changing clothes; do so. Go through the first door on the right to find the beautiful Celes being roughed up by the guards. After the first guard leaves, enter her cell and remove her chains.Take the clock key from the sleeping guard and leave the cell. Walk two doors right of the cell and enter the room. Walk to the clock in the right rear corner that isn’t ticking. Use the clock key to wind the clock and open up a hidden door. Behind the door are Imperial troops, so make sure to equip Locke and Celes before you go through.Walk south and east to the escape route, going through the hidden passages in the walls. Don’t miss the numerous chests and the stairs lead ing down to a basement area with a few goodies, including an X-Potion. After you escape the basement, walk north and out of South Figaro, then continue northwest to the tun nel you first used to reach South Figaro. As you get closer to the Spring of Recovery, you’ll hear a loud vibrating sound.Take a drink from the Spring and try to leave through the south door.You’re attacked from the wall byTunnelArmor. Use Celes’ Runic command to absorb the Armor’s spells, and use Potions to keep Locke alive.When you win the battle, you return to the Save Point with Mog. Choose Edgar and Terra. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edgar and Terra ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fight your way down the rapids until you enter a cave and reach land. From here, walk west to the gap in the mountains, then walk north to Narshe. The guards won’t let you in through the front gate. Instead, take the hidden side entrance to the left of the school. You’ll enter the cave that you exited after Locke rescued Terra. There’s a room about halfway through the mines where you have to follow the path of a light that looks like a Save Point. If you don’t follow the path precisely, you’re attacked by several monsters and have to walk through the room again. Trek through the mines and battle the vermin until you reach Arvis’ house. After your brief chat with Arvis, save the game and choose the fmal sce nario with Sabin. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. House in the Veldt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk east to Shadow’s House. Talk to him and allow him to join you. Leave the House, come back immediately, and talk to the Merchant on the Chocobo before he runs off the screen. Purchase several items for Shadow, particularly the Shuriken, Shadow Edge, and Inviz Edge. Mso get Tonic and Fenix Down if you need it. Equip Shadow before you leave the House. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Imperial Base ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the House, walk east and south to the Imperial Base. Hide next to the wall and listen to the chatting soldiers. Now you get to watch the storming of Doma Castle by Kefka’s army. Whenyou gain control of Cyan, walk south and attack the enemy leader. Use the Sword Tech skill for an easy win. After Cyan’s win, you regain control of Shadow and Sabin. There are a few items inside the tents (Star Pendant, Mithril Glove, and Green Beret), but before you can find them, you get to overhear more conversations and confront Kefka. Battle Kefka whenever possible, and follow him when he runs away. Kefa escapes and poisons the river leading to Doma Castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Castle of Dome ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You regain control of Cyan again. Explore the Castle to fmd the dying King and Cyan’s dead family. Cyan gets understandably pissed and takes on several soldiers.Talk to Cyan and help him defeat three groups of soldiers. After defeating the third group, you join forces and decide to escape in Magitek armor. Walk east and north across the bridge while nuking the soldiers that attack you. After you escape the Camp, walk south and cross the bridge to the Phantom Forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Phantom Forest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk through the Forest until you find a Recovery Spring. Continue east and south to the next section of the Forest.The sign points you to the southward path, but it’s a false path that goes the wrong way Take the second upward path instead and keep going until you reach the platform onto the Phantom Train. Shadow might leave your party at any time in the Forest. From the platform, go into the Phantom Train. The Train starts up and locks you inside! Walk east to the caboose and talk to the Ghost to get him to join your party Go through the door, use the Save Point, and talk to the Impresario. Try to throw the switch in the northeast corner for a chuckle. (Well, actually, it’s kind of stupid, but so’s most of the dialogue in this game.) Leave the caboose and walk west through the Train towards the engine. (You can also recruit a second Ghost if you don’t have Shadow in your party.) Your Ghost friends take damage if you use Tonic during a battle, so hold off on chugging them until you’re done fighting. About halfway through the train, you’ll enter a car with no door on the left. Walk back to the right and you’ll have to fight past a Ghost guarding the door. Go outside and a trail of Ghosts drive you onto the roof of the car.Walk left to the edge of the roof. Sabin gets a running start and leaps across to the left. Walk left into the next car and throw the switch to detach the rear cars. Throw the switch a second time to open the wall to the left. Travel west into the dining car and sit down at the middle table to replenish your HP and ME (Sit at the table with different party leaders for different reactions.) In another car, you’ll encounter a swordsman named Siegfried when you try to open a treasure chest. He’s easily defeated, but runs away with the treasure anyway. You’ll encounter him again later on in the game. Your Ghost friend leaves when you reach the car with the Save Point (just before the Phantom Train engine). Save the game and go into the engine room. Throw the left-hand and right-hand switches on the north wall, then go outside and press the switch on the smokestack to stop the Train. Unfortunately, the Train attacks you! Use the Blitz (Fire Dance) and SwordTech attacks to destroy it. If Shadow is still in your party this is a very easy battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. Baren Falls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk south, east, and north to Baren Falls. Use a Tent to restore yourself, then jump into the Falls. if Shadow is still with you, he leaves before the jump. As you plummet down the water, you’re attacked by waves of Piranha. Keep battling the frenzied fish until the Rizopas appears. (You need to kill 15 to 20 Piranha before Rizopas shows up.) Rizopas has an El Nino attack that can do several hundred HP of damage, so use Potions early and often to stay healthy. Keep Blitzing until he dies. After you beat Rizopas, you wash ashore and are found by a wild child named Gau. He runs away after you wake up. Leave the shore and walk east to the town of Mobliz. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14. Mobliz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talk to the townsfolk and buy equipment.A man on the north side of the town knows about the Serpent Trench. Buy Dried Meat from the Item Shop. Find the injured soldier in the house on the west side of town and read him the letter from the desk. Go to the house in the middle of town and talk to the man to send a letter. (It costs 500 GP) There’s a Bed in the Relic Shop you can crash in before leaving town. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13. The Veldt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave Mobliz and wander around the Veldt until you’re attacked by wandering monsters. Defeat them and Gau appears. Give him a piece of Dried Meat. Gau joins you and offers to take you to Crescent Mountain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15. Crescent Mountain ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk south to Mt. Crescent and fight Veldt animals along the way. Use Gau’s Leap command to learn plen ty of new attacks. (Remember that Gau doesn’t return to your party until the next monster attack.) When you’ve learned a few attacks, enter the mountain. Gau forgets where he buried his treasure, so you need to look around for it. You’ll find a Tonic at one point, and !ose 500 GP at another point. The treasure—which is a Diving Helmet—is on the east side of the room.After you find the Helmet, you automatically dive into the Serpent Trench. As you’re pulled along the Trench, you’re attacked by sea creatures. Fight them off until you see two arrows appear on the screen. If you press Left on the control pad, you take the left path and go quickly to Nikeah. If you press Right and take the right path, you enter a cave with a few items (including an X Potion and Green Beret).You’ll reach another left/right branch later in the Trench; again, go right for items for left to head quickly for Nikeah. In the caves of the second branch are a pool and a switch. Hit the switch to drain the pool and reveal a hole. Drop through the hole to continue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16. Nikeah ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You wash ashore on the docks of Nikeah. Walk north into town and buy items from the shops. When you’re ready to go, return to the docks and catch the ship sailing for Narshe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15. Narshe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kefka attacks Narshe after an all-too-brief reunion with all of the major characters so far. You get to form the seven characters into three groups. The best choice is to make one super-strong group of four characters, a weaker group of two characters, and a “group” of a single character. (The best supergroup is Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, and Tern.) Make sure the supergroup characters all have Sprint Shoes and use them to blitz around the battlefield and attack all the enemy troops. Kefka is being guarded by the Rider. Use Terra’s Fire magic, Edgar’s Tools, and Sabin’s Blitz to make quick work of it. Kelka himself is easy to beat. Trounce his sorry butt and you head to the frozen Esper. This time, Terra is changed by the Esper into, er, something else, and flies away. The party decides to follow after her. Form a group of Celes, Edgar, Locke, and Sabin. They have the best combination of strength, magic, and special abilities. Explore Narshe and buy equipment before you leave. Head south to Figaro Castle. Take a rest in the beds on the west side of the Castle. Sabin has a depressing flashback about when his (and Edgar’s) father died. (If you haven’t brought Edgar or Sabin with you to the Castle, the quest becomes much harder; if you’ve only brought Edgar, he gets lonely; and if you’ve only brought Sabin, he gets angry.) Place Edgar at the head of the party and go to the Shops.The owners will recognize the King and charge you half-price on everything. This is a great time to stock up on Potions, Fenix Downs, and Tents. This is the only place in the game where you get a price break, so take advantage of it! Wander around in the desert sands outside the Castle to battle creatures and build up your characters, then return to the Castle and sleep in the beds to recover all your HP for free. Use the GP you earn to buy items from the Shops. When you’re ready to continue onward in the quest, go down the stairs to the Castle’s engine room and talk to the old man who runs the machinery. He guides the Castle under the mountains to the west and into another patch of desert. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17. Kohlingen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From the Castle, go north to Kohlingen. While in the desert, you might be attacked by a nasty crea ture called a Fossil Fang. Watch out for its powerful Thunderstorm attack. Go into Rachel’s House in the northwest corner of town. Locke has a flashback about his would-be wife Rachel and how she died in an Imperial attack. Major bummer. Her body is in the northeast house, if you’re feeling especially morbid. When you’re done exploring town and talking to every one, walk south—way south—to Jidoor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18. Jidoor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The auction house in town isn’t auctioning any thing yet. Browse the town and buy better equipment for your party. (You’re now getting into battles where you can win 1,000+ GP at once, so you should have more than enough money) Talk to people to find out about Maria, the opera singer, and a town to the north. Make sure your party is good and strong before you leave Jidoor and travel northeast to Zozo. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19. Zozo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monsters are wandering the streets of Zozo, so you’ll be attacked as you walk around, unlike other towns. You’ll also encounter several liars who talk about time (they’re false clues) and say that you can’t jump between buildings (which you can). The building in the northeast corner of Zozo has a clock that needs to be reset. The clues that the towns people give you make no damn sense at all, so here’s the solution: 6 hours, 10 minutes, 50 seconds. This opens a secret corridor to a room with the Chain Saw, Edgar’s most useful Tool attack yet. When you climb the tall building in the middle of town, you’ll reach a ledge that seems to lead nowhere. Move to the left until you move onto the ledge and automatically leap over to the next building. By jump ing across the buildings this way, you’ll eventually reach the top of the tall building. Near the top of the building is a guard named Dadaluma. Use Edgar’s Chain Saw to make quick work of him. Dadaluma uses Potions to heal himself, and also calls Ninjas into the fight to help him, so be ready for a long battle. Terra is resting in a bed at the top of the building, being taken care of by a man named Ramuh.After a bit of discussion, you learn that your next destination is Vector. Walk south and talk to Edgar, who’s waiting at the door. Form a group of Celes, Edgar, Locke, and Sabin. Equip them with Espers and start using them during battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20. Opera House ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Jidoor and go to Owzer’s House at the north end of town.TaIk to the Impresario, who confus es Celes for Maria.Walk south and read the letter on the ground. Travel south along the coast to the Opera House.You decide to use Celes as a decoy for Maria. When you get control of Locke, walk southeast and exit the balcony. Go to the dressing room where Celes locked herself in earlier and read the score book on the table. You can memorize the lines you need to recite during the performance or just use the next paragraph to cheat.You only have three chances to get the performance right; mess up and you have to restart from your last saved game. Talk to Celes and you gain control of her. Go through the door. Choose the following lines: “Oh my hero,” “I’m the darkness,” “Must I forget you...?” When the character Draco appears, “dance” with him by moving around in circles with him. When he drops the flower bou quet, pick it up quickly and walk up the stairs of the castle to the balcony. If you make a mistake, you get to do it all over again. You regain control of Locke. Walk south and read the letter from Ultros. Uh-oh. Return to the Impresario and give him the bad news. Now you have only five minutes to stop Ultros before he ruins your plan. Run northeast into the room with the switches and throw the far right switch—NOT the right switch in the group of three, but the far right switch next to the corner. If you throw the wrong switch, you fall through a pit to the Opera House entrance. Once the switch is thrown, run back down the stairs to the balcony and walk around to the northwest door.You walk onto the rafters above the stage.There are several groups of rats walking along the rafters; you should avoid as many of them as possible while you work your way north to Ultros.The clock doesn’t stop when you’re in battle, so bail out with Smoke Bombs or Warp Stones. The yellow rats are stronger than the others, so attack them first if you can’t escape. Ultros’s most damaging attack is when he turns your party members into Imps. Wear White Capes to counter this attack, or use Green Cherries if you don’t have Capes. If you have a character with a level multiple of three (9, 12, 15, and so on), the Peace Ring Relic will confuse Ultros. Soak in the non-interactive sequence and watch the plot unfold as you gain the use of Setzer’s Airship and fly to the town of Aibrook on the south continent. When you land, re-equip Celes, who had to remove all her armor and weapons for the Opera House performance.There’s a man at the entrance of theAirship who restores all your HP when you talk to him; take advantage of this.There’s also a decently stocked Item Shop. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21. Albrook ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EnterAlbrook, look around, and get yourself new equipment.You should spend some time outside of town fighting monsters and building up your Esper magic You can also visit two other cities:Tzen, to the north, and Maranda, to the southwest. Tzen and Maranda both have a few weapons and items you can’t find elsewhere, but that’s about it.Travel to them and spend your GP wisely. When you feel that you’re ready, go to Vector in the middle of the continent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24. Vector ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go into the narrow house in the southwest corner of town and talk to the old woman. Say “No” and defeat the two guards that attack. Talk to the old woman to fully recharge your HP and MP You can visit her repeatedly to recharge as many times as you need. Don’t stay at the Inn. If you do, a thief steals 1,000 GP from you while you’re sleeping. Look for an old man hiding near the crates in the northeast corner.Talk to him and he distracts the guards. Climb onto the crate and walk north along the track to the Magitek Factory. Use the tunnels, conveyor belts, pipes, and cranes to make your way through the Factory. Nothing’s impos sible to reach, just a bit tricky Keep going until you find Kefka abusing two Espers which you try to res cue.The Espers fight you at first, then realize who you are.The fight isn’t easy, so use your most powerful attacks. Talk to them both after your victory and pick them up when they become Magicite pellets. Go through the left door and use the Save Point, then go through the right door and climb the stairs to the Magitek Research Facility. The first room in the Facility has a hidden Break Blade. Walk west to the area past the left-hand light in the ceiling, then go into the southwest corner to enter a hidden tunnel. Press the A button to open the unseen chest and get the Blade. The door into the heart of the Facility is being guarded by a boss named Number 024.This boss constantly changes its weakness, so use Locke’s Scan spell to figure out its weak point and then use the appropriate weapons and spells to strike. Edgar’s Drill attack is also very useful. Throw the switch in the Esper room to transform the creatures into six Magicite pellets. Your actions cause Professor Cid (an engineer) and Kekfa to show up. Celes uses her magical power to disappear with Kefka and the Magitek soldiers. Is she a traitor? Hmmm.... Cid escorts you onto an elevator. Use the Save Point when you reach the bottom. Talk to Cid and he push es you onto a subway car to make your escape. It’s not exactly safe on the subway car, however—you’ll be attacked constantly by creatures as you roll along. Use Potions and X-Potions during the battles, since you can’t heal after a battle. At the end of the line is a boss named Number 128.You can attack his body or either of his arms.The arms are easy to destroy, but grow back after several turns, so it’s wiser to attack the body and kill him as quick ly as possible. Use Locke to heal the party while Edgar uses his Chain Saw and Sabin uses his Blitz. You can also have Locke wear the Dragoon Boots and use the Jump command. When the subway car stops, run south into Vector and follow the tracks until you bump into Setzer. Just when you think you’re going to escape in the Airship, Ketka catches you with two giant Cranes. Use Edgar’s Chain Saw, Sabin’s Blitz, Locke’s Cure (or Cure 2), and Setzer’s Slot attack. Stop the symbols so you get three in a row and Setzer unleashes a powerful attack. After the Cranes are destroyed, you return to Zozo for Terra. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26. Esperville ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You gain control of an Esper man named Maduin. Leave the cave and walk east and north to find a young woman named Madonna on the ground near the gate. Talk to her and you pick her up. Time passes and you automatically return to the cave. Leave the cave again, walk around, and talk to fellow Espers. Walk north to the gate to find Madonna about to leave.Talk to her and you witness the birth of Terra.You automatically return to the cave a second time.Talk to the Elder. Try to go outside and two Espers yell at you. Madonna runs outside. Follow her to the gate and talk to the Elder again. Continue north until you find Madonna on the other side of the bridge.Talk to her and the flashback comes to an end. Setzer places you in control of the Airship. You can fly anywhere and everywhere on the map, but your main destination should be Narshe. Enter town and purchase plenty of supplies for the next part of the game—Relics and remedies to heal yourself, and Smoke Bombs, and Warp Stones to escape tedious combat (especially in the Floating Island maze). If you can’t fmd everything you need in Narshe, use the Airship to visit other towns. (It might be smart to fly to Figaro Castle and use Edgar to buy stuff at half price.) Look in the houses on the cliff side of Narshe to find a creature named Lone Wolf looting a chest. Follow him to the north side of Narshe, where he appears on the cliff. Enter the new tunnel on the right and keep following him until you fmd him next to the Frozen Esper on the cliff. Rescue Mog now or you won’t see him again until after the world collapses. When you return to the Airship, switch party members.We chose Cyan (to let him beef up his stats), Edgat Locke, and Terra. When you’re fully equipped and ready to fight, fly to the Imperial Base on the eastern side of the south continent. There’s no one at the Base, not even any soldiers. Strange. If you show up here before talking to Banon, the soldiers throw you out even if you a fight with them.) There’s a chest-filled room behind the door in the middle of the Base, but you can’t open it yet. Leave the Base to the east and walk into the mountain cave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25. Sealed Gate ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use Ice spells in this area, not Fire spells (which heal the monsters instead of causing damage). Watch the platforms as they appear and disappear. A few of them stay solid even when the pattern changes. Use these to get across to the right.You might also need to wait and or walk onto certain bridges to start them changing. The next part of the cave is filled with switches and levers. Some of these open the way to treasure, while others activate nasty enemies. There’s a Genji Glove in the treasure chest on the right side of the broken bridge.You can’t cross or fix the bridge. Instead, approach the chest from the ledge on the right.To create a hidden bridge to the Glove, throw the switch halfway across the bridge.When the bridge collapses, you activate the hidden bridge. When you reach the two switches, throw the left switch to open a door to a Save Point. The right switch drops a Ninja down onto your party. There’s a powerful weapon called the Alma Weapon in a hidden cave.Walk onto the switch at the top of the hill near the cave entrance.This reveals the door into the cave. When Terra tries to break through the Sealed Gate, Kefka attacks. Keep him occupied until Terra opens the gate and releases the Espers. Walk south into the cave and through the newly revealed door, which warps you to the Cave entrance. Go outside and return to the Imperial Base. Sabin intercepts you and you board the Airship. Unfortunately, the rather upset Espers attack the Airship, and it crashes near Maranda. Leave the Airship and walk north to Vector.The town has been worked over by the Espers. Walk north to the Imperial Palace. Go up the stairs and a man appears to escort you to the chamber of Emperor Gestahl. Talk to Gestahi, who wants to talk peace and who invites you to dinner. Before you talk with him, how ever, you need to run around the Palace and talk to as many soldiers as possible. Some of the soldiers attack you, slowing you down, while others merely talk. Hit all the talking soldiers before going after the fighters.You score one Peace Point for every soldier you speak with. During your dinner with Gestahi, use the answers below for maximum Peace Points. “To the Empire.” (2); “To the Returners.” (1); “To our hometowns.” (5) “Leave him in jail.” (5);”Pardon him.” (1); “Execute him.” (3) “What’s done is done.” (1); “That was inexcusable.” (5); “Apologize again.” (3) “Was she an Imperial spy?” (l);”Celes is one of us!” (5);”We trust Celes!” (3) Ask all three questions (2 each). Don’t ask the same question twice (-10 each) “Yes, the Espers have gone too far.” (5);”But you unleashed their power!” (2) Select the first question you asked (5) “Yes, let’s take a break.” (5); “Let’s keep talking.” (0) “That all you really want is peace.” (3); “That your war’s truly over.” (5); “That you’re sorry (1) Say”Yes” (3) The number of Peace Points you score determines what reward you earn as you leave the Palace. One of the Emperor’s men gives you a message outlining the rewards. Here’s what you can get: 0-49 Points: South Figaro is freed. 50-66 Points: South Figaro and Doma are freed. 67-76 Points: South Figaro and Doma are freed; you can enter the weapon room at the Imperial Base. 77-89 Points: South Figaro and Doma are freed; you can enter the weapon room at the Imperial Base; you get the Tintinabar. 90-93 Points: South Figaro and Doma are freed; you can enter the weapon room at the Imperial Base; you get the Tintinabar and Charm Bangle. Leave Vector and go to the Imperial Base to claim your goodies, then go to the port town of Aibrook and board the ship.You’il meet Shadow, who joins your party. Look around and return to the Inn.You’ll be vis ited by strangers, and leave the next day for Crescent Island. The enemies of Crescent Island use powerful magic, so spend some time building up your skills with Esper magic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27. Thamasa ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go into Strago’s House on the north side of town and talk to him. Strago and his granddaughter Reim have a secret: the people of Thamasa use magic. (You can see them using it as you walk around town.) Before you talk to Strago, the Inn charges 1,500 GP per night; after you talk to him, the Inn charges only 1 GP Rest at the Inn. During the night, Strago wakes you up. ReIm is trapped inside a burning house! Talk to him in front of the house.The villagers try to use magic to put out the fire, but it’s no use.You need to go inside and rescue her yourself. As you explore the burning house, use Strago’s Aqua Rake attack (under the Lore option) to douse the flaming enemies.There’s one door that shoots out enemies every time you try to go through it; don’t waste time or MP here. Find the Fire Rod and Ice Rod as you make your way through the house. The source of the fire is a monster named Flame Eater. Use the Aqua Rake along with Ice spells. Shadow rescues you after you defeat the Flame Eater. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28. Gathering Place of the Espers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Make sure Strago is equipped properly with items and with Espers. March west to the cave in the moun tains and go inside. Walk through the caves until you fmd three statues. Look at them. (You’ve probably noticed by now that Reim is following you.) When you walk off the Statue pedestal, Ultros attacks. Keep attacking him until Reim arrives on the scene. Use her Sketch power to show Ultros that he’s just an octopus. The room with the Save Point has three holes. Drop through the hole in the southwest corner to drop onto the path that leads to the Espers.The Espers are sorry for the destruction they caused to Vector and want to talk peace. You return to Thamasa to talk with General Leo. The ever-pesky Kefka shows up and attacks the Espers. Most uncool. When you gain control of Leo, walk up to Kefka and attack him. Unfortunately, after you win the battle, Leo is killed. You gain control of the Airship. Go to the Imperial Base and collect the treasures (if you haven’t already). Go to the Auction House in Jidoor and buy the Golem and ZoneSeek Magicites. Go to Tzen and talk to the man in the woods to buy the Sraphim Magicite. When you’re ready, take control of the Airship and fly to the Floating Island. You can only take three char acters with you. Choose Celes, Edgar, and Sabin for a powerful trio. (If you leave Celes out of the Floating Island party, she shows up later automatically; the game’s plot requires her involvement.) The Airship is attacked by the Imperial Air Force. The best strategy is to equip all three characters with Dragoon Boots and use the Jump attack to stay off the screen and save their energy for the Floating Island. Keep fighting the Sky Armors and Spit Fires until Ultros attacks. Battle Ultros until his friend Chupon shows up. Now attack Chupon until he sneezes and blows the three of you off the Airship. During your long fall, you’re attacked by the Air Force.You can attack the Air Force’s weapons or focus on the craft itself. Again, use the Jump command whenever possible. Blow up the Air Force to win the Czarina Ring and land on the island. Use the Save Point and then talk to Shadow. Equip him before you start moving across the island. The Floating Island is a huge maze. Open the blue orbs (which are treasure chests) and hit the switches on the walls to open new paths. The hills with holes in the top are warps to new areas. There are also a few “invisible” passages that don’t open until you walk into them. The Atma Weapon is a boss that uses Flare to take down your HP and Quake to kill you. Use the Osmose spell to drain its MP, Cherub Down to avoid the Quake, and weapon attacks to destroy it. Near the Save Point is a ledge where you can jump back to the Airship. If you jump, you can refill your items and energy, but you need to go through the Floating Island all over again. After Kefka shuffles around the statues, you need to escape the Island by running for the far right side, where there’s a ledge to jump to the Airship. You have five minutes to escape. To give Shadow enough time to catch up, you need to reach the ledge with least 15 seconds remaining. You’re given a choice to jump or wait for Shadow. Wait. After the second message, Shadow appears. If you jump at the first message, you won’t see Shadow in the second half of the game, so be patient. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Part 2: The World of Ruin +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Solitary Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Celes wakes up, she learns that Cid has been taking care of her for an entire year. Whoa. Unfortunately, now that Celes is awake, Cid is content to let himself die. You can save Cid’s life by catching Delicious Fish on the beach and giving them to Cid. If you give him non-Delicious Fish, or if you don’t feed him, he eventually dies. If he dies, Celes will throw herself off as cliff (but don’t worry; she lives).Talk to Cid, or read the letter he leaves behind, to learn of secret stairs next to the stove. Take the stairs down to a room with a raft. Use this raft to set sail for the mainland. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Albrook ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk to the town ofAlbrook, to the west of where the raft washes ashore. Talk to everyone for loads of information about what happened during Celes’ year-long coma. The woman in front of the Inn mentions a young man who was looking for his friends and headed north to Tzen. Follow him there.Along the way, you’ll see Kefka’s Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Tzen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you enter Tzen, a bolt of light from Kefka’s Tower slams into the town. Go north to find Sabin holding up a collapsing house with his brute strength. You have to enter the house and rescue the child trapped inside (hmmm, this seems familiar somehow) before Sabin tires out. Go into the house and look for the child in the lower floor, on the north side of the room. Use Warp Stones or Smoke Bombs to bail out of battles with the Scorpions and save yourself precious time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Mobliz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two guard dogs bark at you when you enter the town, drawing the attention of a little kid. Go into the wrecked Relic Shop and sleep on the bed to fully restore your HP and MP. (You might want to spend some time outside of Mobliz fighting monsters and leveling up your Esper magic.) Follow the kid into the house and go down the stairs to find Terra in a room full of orphaned children. Talk to her to fmd out that she’s lost her fighting spirit because of her newfound motherly instincts. Leave the room and the town is attacked by a nasty demon named Phunbaba. Terra attacks Phunbaba, but she’s simply too weak to fight and is quickly annihilated. Celes and Sabin are next. Fight the Phunny one until he runs away. You take Terra back to the orphan room. She’s obviously not ready to fight. Leave her room and one of the kids gives you Fenrir Magicite. Leave town and head for Nikeah, far to the north. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Nikeah ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talk to the thieves in the Cafe about their new leader, Gerad. They leave the Cafe for the docks. Walk north to the market area and talk to Gerad, who looks a lot like Edgar. Of course, it IS Edgar, but he denies it. Keep talking to him until he walks south to his ship. Follow him and you auto matically hop onto the ship as it sails for South Figaro. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. South Figaro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Confront Gerad/Edgar a second time in South Figaro. He again denies that he knows you, but don’t be fooled. Buy supplies and sleep at the Inn before following Gerad’s bunch to the Cave of Figaro. You should also stop at Duncan’s House and talk to his wife, who mentions that he’s stay ing at his retreat north of Narshe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Cave of Figaro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Edgar’s thieving buddies clean out the treasure chests as they go, so you won’t have to collect treasure, but you will get into the occasional random encounter with monsters. When you reach the turtle, use it to jump across to the door and continue following Edgar into Figaro Castle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Figaro Castle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explore the basement area of the engine room—the area you couldn’t go before because the old man would stop you. Open the chests for goodies and walk down the narrow trench to the engine room. Edgar finally admits that he’s Edgar, and that he lied to fool the thieves into helping him. He joins you just before your battle against a giant tentacle monster.The monster is unaffected by magic, so attack him with your strongest weapons. Edgar’s Auto Crossbow is particularly useful in this battle, along with protective magic. Go into the looted room, which isn’t totally empty. Take the Soul Sabre from the statue. Return to the old man and talk to him. He drives the castle to a desert near Kohlingen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Kohlingen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before leaving the Castle, rest and buy the Debilitator from one of the Item Shops. This is a handy new Tool for Edgar. Walk to Kohlingen to find Setzer drinking himself silly at the Inn. Talk to him and he joins the party. Buy Trump Cards and Dice for Setzer, and talk to the people in town.They’ve sighted Cyan and Locke in recent days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Darill's Tomb ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to the room with a turtle in shallow water. Throw the switch on the wall and leave the room. Come back to it via the passage on the left side and throw a second switch to flood the room. Now you can ride the turtle across the water to the door. Return to the flooded room and walk south into a room with four tombstones. Read each tombstone for a message fragment. Write these down and walk north out of the center door. Go through the upper-left door to find a blank tombstone. Carve the message fragments on the tombstone to spell WEHT DLRO QSSI ERAU. This spells THE WORLD IS SQUARE backwards.You’ll be given instructions on how to find the Exp. Egg, a Relic that doubles the experience points of the character holding it. (The Egg is down in the third basement, through a wall.) You’ll eventually enter a room with two chests and a Save Point.The right chest has the Man Eater weapon, and the left chest has the Presenter. Defeat it to earn the Dragon Claw for Sabin. Equip it and continue through the north door. Dullahan is the boss hiding inside the statue. He loves to use magic, so have Celes use her Runic power to absorb his spells. Sabin should Blitz (or use weapons if he has the Genji Glove) and Edgar should use the Auto Crossbow while Setzer casts healing spells. Defeat Dullahan and go through the north door to gain control of Darril’s Airship. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Maranda ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You automatically use the Airship to follow a pigeon to this location. Land in the nearby field and walk into town.Talk to everyone, including the old woman who shows you the locations of Narshe, Veldt, and Doma Castle. Go to Lola’s House and talk to her about all the flowers. She’s been getting letters from her soldier boyfriend, but the letters seem written by Cyan. Do the favor she asks by walking outside and giving the letter to the pigeon. Watch the path as it delivers the letter to Zozo. Get into the Airship and fly there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12. Zozo and Mt. Zozo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Look for the man who earlier said that Zozo was dangerous (duh).Talk to him and he tells you how to find Mt. Zozo. he also sells you a can of Rust-Rid for 1000 GP Go to the Cafe and start climbing up the stairs. Use the Rust-Rid on the rusted door on the 3rd floor. Go through it to enter the caves of Mt. Zozo. Find and equip the items inside the cave chests, except for the Ice Shield. You’ll need the items’ strength against the Storm Dragon. Press the floor button to let it out of the chest, then move into its flight path to fight it. Bolt attacks work well. Don’t use Sabin’s Air Blade Blitz, which heals it. You get the Force Armor when you win. Continue through the cave to Cyan’s hideout, where you quickly learn he’s been sending the letters and the flowers. Don’t worry about the locked chest; you can’t open it. After you talk to Cyan and he joins you, go to the Veldt. Reduce your party to three (or less) members and walk around the Veldt to get into random battles. Keep fighting until Gau appears. Let him join your party. Get into more battles on the Veldt to teach him more Rage techniques. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13. Cave in the Veldt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you enter the cave, you’ll see Shadow’s dog, who runs deeper inside. Explore the cave and talk to four soldiers standing around a campfire. One of them tells you about Gau. Another one tells of a fierce drag on to the north. The injured Shadow (or the injured Reim if you didn’t wait for Shadow at the end of Part I) is guarded by Sr. Behemoth, which fights you twice just to make things really difficult. During the first battle, have Celes use her Runic power while everyone else uses weapon attacks. During the second battle, use a Revivify potion on the Behemoth to kill it instantly. Follow the doggie to Shadow and talk to him.Your party automatically travels to his bedside in Thamasa. (If it’s Rem, she leaves for Jidoor.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16. Jidoor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go to Owzer’s House. It’s rather dark. Try to climb the stairs. You can’t go up, but you cause a diary to appear on the desk. Read it all, then walk to the lamp and press the A button to turn it on. Go up the stairs to the painting room. Look at the Emperor’s painting twice to find a letter. Look at the painting in the southwest corner to get into a battle. Defeat the two Dahlings and a door appears in place of the painting. Walk through it. You’ll eventually reach three doors. Only the left door leads ehad, while the other two take you back a bit.You’ll also find a room with a door high on the wall, but don’t worry about getting into it. There’s a room full of floating treasure chests. Walk under each chest and press the A button to fight the monsters inside. When all the chests are empty, walk to the painting on the north wall and fight the monster “inside.” Walk through the paint ing to save the game, then go through the right- hand door to the boss. The left-hand door takes you to an earlier location, so avoid it. The boss is Chadarnook, and it switches forms between a woman and a demon. Hit the boss when it’s in demon form, not in woman form. Fire magic works well, along with Edgar’s Drill tool.The woman causes Sleep spells, so revive your party members before the demon comes back. When you win the fight, Relm joins you.Take the Starlet Magicite from the bookshelf on the right. Reim departs for the Airship. Go to the Fanatics’Tower and put ReIm into your party. She talks sense into Strago and he rejoins you. Return to Mobliz to see how Terra’s doing.Talk to the kids and notice that Terra and Katarin are gone. Go to the house next door to fmd a dude and a dog. Follow the dog behind the bookcase and through the secret passage. Talk to Terra and Katarin. The demon Phunbaba returns and attacks you again. A single attack can do 1000 HP of damage, so keep everyone healed up.Almost everyone, that is. Let one charac ter die.Terra joins you and uses her magic to help win the battle. Her kids are freaked at first, but chill out after a few minutes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17. Phoenix Cave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fly to the mountain range shaped like a star and land the Airship in the middle of it to enter the Phoenix Cave. (You’re given a clue about this by the Emperor’s letter.) You’ll take two parties into the Cave. Start by having Party 1 stand on the floor switch inside the entrance to open the door to the left.You’ll need to keep switching back and forth to help both parties get through. The rule of thumb is, if one party is stuck, switch to the other party and look for a button to press. The Red Dragon lives inside the Cave, and it’s nasty. Use protective spells and equip your party with Wall Rings to reflect the Dragon’s spells. The best counter is to use strong weapon attacks and cast Ice and Water spells for attack, Shell and ZoneSeek spells for protection. After you defeat the Dragon, walk up to the chest above it to get the Dragon Horn. Now look for a platform with a button that causes two stones appear to the left when you step on it. Switch to the other party and pick up the Ribbon from the chest in the center of the lava, then have it enter the room with the first party. Jump across the stones in the gap to meet with the first party. Put one party on each of the switches near the wall to create an opening. It stays open, so you can evacuate the parties in any order. As you’re leaving the Cave, you run into Locke, who’s stealing the Phoenix Magicite. He has you take him to Kohlingen, where he uses the Magicite on Rachel to revive her for a few moments. She tells him to get over his pain, which he does (that was easy!). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15. Colosseum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talk to the various folks here, including Ultros, who’s working behind the counter. One of the people mentions a man in black. It’s gotta be Shadow. Enter the Colosseum and bet the Striker. This pits you against Shadow in one-on-one battle. When you win the fight, Shadow joins you. If you stay at an Inn with Shadow in your party, you get to watch one of two dream sequences that hint at a relationship between Shadow and Reim. Notice also that only the two of them can equip the Memento Ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18. Narshe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Go into Narshe with Locke in your party. He can pick the locks on the doors to open them. Go to the Weapon Shop, open the door and walk into the room behind the counter. Talk to the Shop owner and he offers you the Ragnarok Magicite. (You can also have it turned into a sword if you prefer.) With the Ragnarok Magicite, you can learn the deadly Ultima spell. Go back to the Moogle Cave and talk to Mog to have him join your party. Search the wall behind Mog to find the Moogle Charm, a very useful Relic that prevents random monster encounters. Return to the ice fields north of Narshe to fmd the Ice Dragon. Obviously, Fire spells are the way to go, along with Sabin’s Blitz. Continue north to the Tritoch. Use Fire and Cure spells to stay healthy. Defeat him and he turns into Magicite.AfterTritoch disappears, an opening appears in the edge of the cliff. Jump into the opening to enter Umaro’s Cave. (You should have Mog in your party first, however.) Explore the Cave until you find a room with a sandy floor. Take the Terrato Magicite out of the skeleton statue and go up the stairs.You’re attacked by the aggressive Umaro. Defeat him and Mog convinces him to join your party. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19. Triangle Island ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This Island is located in the northeast corner of the world. Explore the Island until you encounter a monster called the Zone Eater. Don’t attack the beast. Let him suck in your party members.When the last one is eaten, you drop into a cavern inside the creature. You can exit by returning the light beam in the room where you landed. Jump over to the bridge that’s being guarded by a soldier. Let the soldier push you off the bridge into the room below. Open the chest for the Red Jacket and return to the bridge room. Now you need to go to the left while avoiding the guards. Open the chests as you go, but remember not to let the guards get close. Exit through the door on the left. Step into the next room and stop near the door.Watch as a huge boulder crashes down from above.There are safe spots in front of the first two treasure chests, so run to each chest and wait for the boulder to come down before running to the next.There’s a safe spot between the second and third chests that you need to look for. Hurry to the spot, wait for the boulder to smash, then open the third chest and run through the south door. After the boulder room is a room with broken bridges. Press the A button to jump. Circle to the platform with the floor switch and step onto it to make a few more bridges appear. Now jump to the chests and open them before leaving through the north door. Talk to the mysterious Gogo twice to have him join your party Use the Status option to customize his attacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20. Fanatic's Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before you enter the Tower, make sure you have one character who can cast Life 3 and four Wall Rings. Equip the Rings before you start climbing the Tower. Most of the enemies in the Tower cast spells that are reflected by the Rings. When you want to cast spells against them, cast them on your own party members to reflect them into the enemy. These spells will penetrate the enemies’ own magic shields. In the first treasure room, walk into the wall to the right of the treasure chest and push the A button. You should hear a crashing sound. Leave the room and check out the new door below. Go through the door to find the Air Anchor. The third treasure room has the White Dragon. Your Wall Rings will reflect its attack spells. Cast a few attacks of your own to defeat the Dragon and earn the Pearl Lance. The Mage Master is at the top of the Tower. Equip the Gem Box and cast Life 3 on at least one party mem ber at the start of the battle.When the Mage Master gets weak, he casts the Ultima spell, which kills every. one on the screen. If you cast Life 3, however, the character will be revived and you win the battle. Cast the Berserk spell on the Master to make him stop changing his weakness. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21. Dama Castle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equip your party for a long and difficult fight before you enter the castle. (You need Cyan in the party by the way.) Go to the beds on the second floor and take a rest. Unfortunately, Cyan doesn’t wake up—instead, he’s thrown into a bizarre dream by three demons. You start out in control of a single character, and need to recover the other two by going through the doors to find them. From where you first appear, walk left and go through the right-hand door. Go through the right-hand door. Walk down and get one of the characters. Go through the left- hand door. Go through the left-hand door. Walk down and get the second character. Go through the right-hand door. Go through the top door. Go through the right-hand door. Go through the left- hand door. Go through the left-hand door. Walk south and go through the star door. Now you get to battle the three demons. Start out by attacking Curly (the demon at the top of the screen), because he uses Life 3 spells to revive the other guys. Magic spells work best on Curly and Moe (the right-hand demon), while weapons are best on Larry (the left-hand demon). Now you appear on the Phantom Train. In the first car, flip the wall switch twice to move the crate on the right down two spaces. Open the treasure chest beside it for a Genji Glove. Continue forth to a treasure chest that moves in front of you when you try to walk past it.Take the Lump of Metal from the nearby chest and throw it into the chest to make it stop moving. Once you’ve stopped the jumping chest, open the chest behind it for a Flame Shield. Read the book and flip the switch to close three of the chests. Remember which ones you closed. In the next section of the train are three switches on the wall. Flip them in this order: right, left, right, center, right, left. Now you can walk to the left along the lower wall. At the west end of the train are six chests arranged the same way they were in the last car. Close the same chests you did before to make an opening appear in the left wall. Now you pursue Cyan into dark tunnels while wearing Magitek armor. Walk through the caves until you reach an area with a torch on the wall and stairs nearby. Go back through the south door to appear in a new area. Sneaky, eh? Walk west across the bridge and it collapses beneath you. (When you encounter the boss of this area, use Bolt Beam for maximum effect.) After Cyan’s wife and kid ask you to help him, a Save Point appears. Use it and continue on to find Wrexsoul in the throne room.Wrexsoul is guarded by two creatures called Soulsavers; cast an X-Zone spell to get rid of them. When Wrexsoul takes over the body of one of your party members, you have to attack and destroy the member to damage Wrexsoul. When he leaves the body, revive it with Fenix Down or a Life spell. Keep using Ice spells on Wrexsoul to douse his hellfire. Cyan wakes up from his dream. Go to the throne room and pick up the Alexandr Magicite. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22. Duncan's House ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Put Sabin in your party and fly to the region north of Narshe. Look for a diamond formation of five trees. Land near the trees and walk to the tree in the center of the diamond. You appear in front of Duncan’s House, and Duncan comes outside to greet you. He teaches Sabin the extremely potent Bum Rush Blitz. It’s the toughest Blitz to do, but also the most powerful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 23. The Ancient Castle ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Figaro Castle and go down the stairs on the left side of the main entrance.Talk to the old man and he offers to transport you. Accept the offer and the Castle starts moving—but then it seems to hit something in the sand. Go down the stairs on the right side of the main entrance and into the jail. Walk through the far right cell into the first in a series of caves. The network of caves connects Figaro Castle to the Ancient Castle. Most of the chests are filled with good ies, but one of them has a nasty creature inside called Master Pug. Pug not only casts powerful spells, but is very good at avoiding them. Instead of casting magic, use powerful weapon attacks against Pug. When Pug casts Step Mine, quickly refill your HP before he casts it a second time and wipes you out. When you defeat Pug, you earn the Graedus weapon. When you approach the Castle, you enter a nifty flashback sequence. Go into the Castle and look for the Great Hall. One of the chests in the Hall has the Katana Soul inside. If Locke is in your party; use him to steal the Tempest, Strato, or Murasame blades from the Soul. Cast poison spells and use weapon attacks for maximum damage. When you defeat the Katana Soul, you earn the Offering, a Relic that doubles a character’s attack power. If you equip a character with the Offering and the Genji Glove, that character can attack a whopping eight times! Walk up to the statue of Odin. It crumbles and turns into a Magicite shard. You can learn the Meteor spell from this Magicite, although you don’t need to, because you’ll get a Magicite later on that teaches you the spell much faster. Walk five steps down from the Queen’s throne and press the A button to make a flight of stairs appear in the room to the right of the Great Hall. Go down the stairs to find the basement. In the basement are the Blue Dragon and the statue of the Queen. The Blue Dragon’s attacks strike the entire party at once, so use Thunder spells and weapons to finish it off. Walk up to the Queen’s statue and her tears turn the Odin Magicite into the more powerful Raiden Magicite, At this point, it’s time for you to tackle the Doom Gaze, a flying creature in the skies above the World of Ruin. Get into the Mrship and fly around aimlessly until the Doom Gaze attacks (which usu ally takes a while).The Gaze will only attack for a few rounds before flying away, so you have to strike quickly and without mercy. Doom Gaze uses very powerful spells, so you should counter with Pearl, Fire 3, and Sabin’s Bum Rush Blitz. Keep attacking Doom Gaze until you defeat it and earn the Bahamut Magicite. Return to Thamasa with Strago and Reim in your party. Strago meets his friend Gungho, who’s recovering from an attack at the hands of Hidon, a creature living at nearby Eboshi Rock. Strago and Reim decide to take on the creature and get revenge for the wounded Gungho. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24. Eboshi ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Strago and Reim with you into the Cave. You can’t pass into the inner cave without them. It’s very dark inside the Cave, and you can only see a short distance around yourself.Your party moves by walking onto the teleporter plates in the floor. Use the plates and look for a talking treasure chest that tells you of its hunger for Coral. Use the plates to zap around the Cave and open the chests to find pieces of Coral. It takes an awful lot of Coral to satisfy the hungry chest, so collect tons of the stuff. When the chest is full, it moves back to let you pass into the inner cave to fight Hidon. Hidon is guarded by four little buddies, called Hidonites, which you have to defeat along with Hidon himself. Hidon casts a very powerful spell called the Grand Train that Strago will learn after Hidon casts it once. Defeat Hidon to give Strago a big ego boost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 25. Opera House ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to the Solitary Island and go to the beach to find the Palidor Magicite. After learning some Palidor spells, go to the Opera House and talk to the man at the entrance. He tells you to see the Impresario on the second floor balcony, where you left him. He tells you about a Dragon on stage. You can’t enter from the wings as Celes did during your last visit. Instead walk to the small room in the upper-right corner of the second floor. Flip the second switch from the right to drop onto the stage with the Dirt Dragon. The Dirt Dragon uses Quake spells, so equip with Cherub Down or cast a Float spell. Sabin’s Blitz attacks are very effective. Use them frequently. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 26. Kefka's Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is the last location in the game, so make sure that your characters are powered up and that you’re fully stocked up on Elixirs, Fenix Downs, and other items. Once you’re inside, there’s no getting out until you’ve won the game. To enter, position the shadow of the Airship directly on the Tower and press B. You have to split your characters into three groups of four. Make sure there’s at least one good physical fighter in each group, because magic isn’t always the most effective way of dealing with enemies. Don’t start exploring the Tower with Party 1. Switch to Party 2 first, then to Party 3 when Party 2 can’t progress any farther, and take control of Party 1 last. Party 2:Your first major opponent is Atma.This boss uses Quake a lot, so equip Cherub Down or cast the Float spell at the start of the battle.Weapon attacks and non-group spells (Demi, Doom, Meteor) are most effective. When you defeat Atma, a much-needed Save Point appears. Look for a room with a switch on the floor. Walk down the stairs and step on the switch to make a plat form slide to the right.This makes a path for Party 1 to use later on. The Gold Dragon is the seventh Dragon. It uses powerful Thunder spells, so counter with weapons, Blitzes, and Rages. When you reach the room with the two floor switches, walk up to the wall and stand on the left switch. You’ll be standing here for a while. Switch to Party 3. Party 3:The first boss you face is Inferno. Don’t attack Inferno’s arms, because they reappear quickly. Focus on Inferno’s body with strong weapons and Ice spells. Continue onward until you find a treasure chest with a glowing light behind it. Stand next to the chest and press the A button to make a flight of stairs appear on the other side of the wall. Party 1 will need to use these stairs later on. Before you reach the room with Party 2, you’ll encounter the Skull Dragon, the last of the eight Dragons. It likes to cast status ailment spells, so equip your party with Ribbons and Espers that are 100% powered up. Beat the Skull Dragon to earn the Crusader Esper. Walk north to the room with Party 2 and step on the right switch to open the center door. Party 1: Walk to the room with the other two par ties standing on the floor switches. Go through the center doors. Now you have to decide whether to go left or right. When you go in one direction, a wall closes behind you, so your decision can’t be undone. If Party 3 is stronger, turn left, but if Party 2 is stronger, turn right. Walk outside and move the Party below you, then push the weight onto the switch. Return inside and step onto the switch. The Party that moved earlier can now walk up the stairs and through the door to push the second weight onto the other switch. After you drop the second weight, walk back inside and stand on the switch to open the stairs for Party 3. Walk up the stairs into the center room. When all three parties are on switches, the door to the Guardian opens up. Use Blitzes (Sabin or Gogo) and Bolt spells on the Guardian to cause maximum damage. Shortly after the Guardian is the Poltergeist. Cast a Bio spell on the Poltergeist to eat away at its HP throughout the battle, and use the Bahamut Esper to cast a Sun Flare spell. Use the Save Point after the Poltergeist to pitch aTent, then drop through the hole in the floor.Walk south and ride the conveyor belt. Walk east and out the door to the floor switch. Step on it and switch to Party 1. Party 1 gets to fight Doom. Switch to the other parties and strip them of armor and Relics. Equip Party 1 with Optimum equipment. Also equip the Golem Esper and use it at the start of the battle. When you defeat Doom, you earn the Sky Render, a powerful weapon for Cyan. Use the Save Point nearby and walk north to the next room. Stand on the switch and go to Party 2. Party 2 gets to rumble with the Goddess. Remember to re-equip your party before the battle.The Goddess casts Muddle spells, so use Peace Rings or Ribbons to keep your party members thinking clearly. Most spells work well against the Goddess except Bolts. When you win, save the game, and then equip all of your parties equally well. Step onto the third floor switch and you beam up to fight Kelka. Put your characters in order, starting with Sabin, Gogo, Edgar, and Cyan. You have to endure four consec utive battles, starting with: 1) Poltergeist. Use Sabin’s Bum Rush Blitz, Edgar’s Drill, and Gogo’s Mimic. 2) Goddess. Use Cure 3 to keep your HP up, and Elixir to replenish MP Powerful weapon attacks are the way to go. 3) Doom. Doom’s spells are more powerful than ever, so keep healing yourself and fighting hard. 4) Kefka. Use Life 3 and Cure 3 to counteract Kefka’s Fallen One spell, which reduces characters to 1 HP. Have Cyan use the Genji Glove and Offering to strike eight times, while Sabin uses the Bum Rush. Win the battle and you win the game!