============================================================================== FINAL FANTASY VI FULL FAQ/WALKTHROUGH Version 1.2 By Rebecca Skinner AKA Karpah (traybaby@gmail.com) Last Updated: 12th July 2004 ============================================================================== WARNING! This entire guide is littered with spoilers. I have held nothing back in scene descriptions and the like. The complete story to FF6 is held within this file. Don't say I didn't warn you. ============================================================================== CONTENTS ============================================================================== 1. Introduction a. Copyright and Contact Information b. Revision History 2. Game Basics a. Story b. Basic Controls c. The Menu Explained d. Battles 3. Character list a. Terra Branford b. Locke Cole c. Edgar Roni Figaro d. Sabin Rene Figaro e. Shadow f. Celes Chere g. Cyan Garamonde h. Gau i. Setzer Gabbiani j. Strago Magus k. Relm Arrowny l. Gogo m. Mog n. Umaro 4. The Walkthrough a. World of Balance b. World of Ruin c. Side Quests d. Kefka's Tower 5. Frequently Asked Questions 6. Lists!!! a. Espers b. Magic c. Lores d. Rages e. Dances f. Weapons g. Armour h. Relics 7. Bestiary 8. Colosseum a. Weapons b. Armour c. Relics d. Items 9. Closing ============================================================================== 1. INTRODUCTION ============================================================================== Welcome to my brand-spanking new Final Fantasy VI guide. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. "This game is nearly ten years old, and there's already a thousand walkthroughs out there, why on earth have you chosen to write one?" The answer is quite simple, really. Because I want to write one. And there's obviously some market for another one out there, because you're reading this, aren't you? This is not an expert's guide. I am not an expert at this game, I have never claimed to be. I am, however, quite experienced, having beaten the game seven times, and my walkthrough is designed to get you through the game, enjoying the fantastic storyline, but also seeing the Game Over as few times as is possible (without spending exorbitant amounts of time getting every single little thing, as it really is unnecessary.) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1a. Copyright and contact information =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This guide is (c) 2003 Rebecca Skinner, AKA Karpah. It took a LOT of hard work on my part to write it, and I don't want anyone stealing on it on me! I'm flexible enough when it comes to people using it; you can download it, print it for your own personal use, hell, even e-mail it to your friends unaltered, I don't care. But if you want to post it on your own website, or submit it to another website, you sure as shootin' better e-mail me and ask permission to do so, or you will be in trouble. My e-mail address is: +++ traybaby@gmail.com +++ I think it goes without saying that trying to make a profit off this guide, by selling it, or other such means, is very illegal. I don't get any money for it, and I wrote the thing, so why should you? Perhaps the best way to sum up this copyright notice is with a classic line I found at the bottom of Edman's FF8 No Level Up Guide, and the line goes something like this: COPY THIS GUIDE AND YOU'LL BURN IN HELL WITH ALL THE BOSSES I HAVE BEATEN WHILE WRITING IT!!! There. I feel much better now. As of version 1.0, if you've downloaded this guide from anywhere other than www.gamefaqs.com, www.neoseeker.com, www.fffanatics.com, www.honestgamers.com or faqs.ign.com, this is an *unauthorized* copy. Final Fantasy VI is (c) Squaresoft. I am not part of, know anybody who is part of, or have anything to do with Squaresoft. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this guide, I'd be creating Parasite Eve III. =) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1b. Revision history =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Version 1.0 - The first version of this guide, started 03/06/03. - All sections (introduction, characters, walkthrough, FAQ, lists, bestiary, colosseum, closing) complete. Yay me! Version 1.1 - I love it when I actually get meaningful feedback in the forms of e-mails. - Started, completed, and submitted on 16/09/03 - Added Game Basics, an added note on Umaro, how to save Cid in the WoR, Shadow's dreams, and other miscellaneous stuff. Version 1.2 - Submitted 12/07/04 - Corrected info on how to get the Charm Bangle at the Banquet. ============================================================================== 2. GAME BASICS ============================================================================== This is my first attempt ever at a Game Basics section. Bear with me. In this section, I'll go through the story of the game, only the very preliminaries though, and a runthrough of the menu of the game, along with everything it can do. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2a. The Story =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I'll try not to include TOO many spoilers here. Unlike my walkthrough... *cough* You start off as Terra, a young girl with the unique power of Magic. She is enslaved by Empire, with the Slave Crown on her head. Upon meeting the Esper, in the mines of Narshe, she is found and rescued by Arvis, a member of the Returners, a local resistance movement. The Returners want Terra to help then, help them bring down the Empire who are trying to destroy the whole world by getting the power of Magic for themselves. Terra's in a bind, not knowing what is the right way to turn, not knowing who she is or why she has such an ability as Magic. All will soon become revealed, however.... =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2b. Basic Controls =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Yeah, now we're getting into the real bread-and-butter stuff. You'd be surprised how many people DON'T know simple things like controls. D-Pad - move character (field), change between options (battle, menu) Triangle - Menu (field) Circle - Cancel (an option or a choice) Square - Cancel (an option or a choice) X - Confirm/Action/Examine Select - no effect Start - Pause (in battle) L1 - quick-switch characters (menu) R1 - quick-switch characters (menu) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2c. The Menu Explained =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Sorta important stuff that I should really include. If you don't know the menu, you won't get too far in the game. So here is my best shot at explaining all it's features, and just how to do everything. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. i. Item -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Exactly what the name suggests, a list of all the items you've picked up so far in the game. Unless you've sorted them previously, they'll be listed in the order you picked them up. You've got several options here: Use: To actually use an item, you have to select Use, then the item to use. Only items listed in white are usable. Obviously the only usable things outside battle are recovery items, both health-recovery and status-recovery. Some various things like Warp Stones are also usable outside battle. Sort: Use this option to sort your list of items into groups. All the recovery items will be placed at the top of the list, followed by all the weapons (sorted by type), then all the relics. Useful to press every so often, just to make things neater. Rare: A list of all the rare items collected over the course of the game. There is a total of thirteen rare items to collect (in alphabetical order): Books, Cider, Coral, Fish (four types), Lola's Letter, Lump of Metal, Old Clock-Key, Pendant, Royal Letter, and Rust-Rid. Some of them have a purpose, eg. the Fish, or the Lump of Metal. Some have zero purpose, eg. the Books, or the Pendant. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. ii. Skills -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The skills section is where you deal with your Espers and Magic, as well as with any character's individual skills such as Sabin's Blitz, etc. When you select the command, you will be prompted to select a character to see the Skill screen for. Once you've selected a charater, you can easily switch characters by pressing L1 and R1. Espers: To attach or unattach Espers. For a detailed look at what Espers are, you'll have to check out the Esper list, but for now I'll just say that they teach your characters Magic. To attach an Esper, if you have some (this option will be greyed out if you don't) select Espers, and the name of the Esper you want to attach. If the name of the Esper is greyed out, it means one of your other characters already has it attached, and you will need to unattach it from them before you can attach it to the new person. Switching Espers on a character is as simple as selecting a new Esper for that character to have, and they will automatically unattach their old one. Unattaching Espers manually is done by selecting the character to unattach, then selecting a blank spot on the Esper screen. It seems like common sense, but I've seen the question of how to unattach them several times on the FF6 board. Magic: Here you can see all the Magic your character has learnt (or is in the process of learning) over the course of the game, as well as using the learnt spells that are available for use outside battle. These spells are ones such as Cure/2/3, Life/2, Imp, Remedy, Antdot, and Warp. Greyed out spells are only available for use in battle, and spells with a percentage are ones that are in the process of being learnt (with the number being what percentage of the spell has been learnt.) The rest of the commands are skill commands, and most will be greyed out for most characters. Only one will be active for Sabin, Edgar, Cyan, Gau, Mog, and Strago, while more than one is possibly active for Gogo. Blitz: Only available for Sabin. Here you can see a list of the Blitzes Sabin has learnt, out of a total of eight, plus the input needed to perform them. Tools: Only available for Edgar. Shows a list of the Tools Edgar will have available in battle. None are usable outside battle. Swdtech: Only available for Cyan. A list of Cyan's Swordtech moves, out of a total of eight. Rage: Only available for Gau. A list of all the Rages Gau has learnt, out of a total of 255. Lore: Only available for Strago. A list of the Lores Strago has learnt, out of a total of 24. Dance: Only available for Mog. A list of all the Dances Mog has learnt, out of a total of eight. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. iii. Equip -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Knowing how to equip weapons and armour would be pretty useful, aye? Well, the Equip menu is where we go to do it. Once you select Equip, you'll be prompted to select a character to equip things to. As always, once a character is selected, you can always quick-switch them by pressing L1 and R1. R-Hand: Weapons go in the right hand. (Geez, where's all the left-handed characters? LEFT HANDED PEOPLE RULE!!!) Select R-Hand, and the slot beside R-Hand on the list is selected, and a list of available weapons to equip will open up on the bottom left of screen. Weapons in grey are non-equippable. Select a weapon from the list to equip the weapon. This will replace the weapon the character is currently holding (if any). L-Hand: Unless your character has the Gauntlet or Genji Glove relics, the left hand will hold a shield. (If they have a Genji Glove, equip a weapon as per right hand, if Gauntlet, this space stays empty.) Upon selecting L-Hand, you can equip a shield to go in the left hand, and a list of shield in inventory will appear. Shields greyed out are un-equippable. Select a shield from the list to equip it, replacing the shield a character is already holding (if any). Head: This selects a piece of armoured headwear. Similarly to R-Hand and L-Hand, selecting Head gives you a list of all available headwear, so choose one to equip and/or replace what a character is currently wearing. Body: Here's where the serious stuff comes in. Plate armour and the like. Similar to the previous three options, Body gives you the power to select a piece of armour for the character to wear on their body. Select Body, choose an item, and it will equip it to the character, replacing their current armour if necessary. Optimum: A lazy person's best friend, this command de-equips what armour and weapons the character currently has equipped, and attaches the best possible (best meaning best boost to your stats) armour and weapons based on what you currently have in your inventory. Handy, but not always useful, depending on what point you are at in the game. Empty: Exactly what the name suggests. Removes all weapons and armour from your character. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. iv. Relic -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Relic menu lets you equip and unequip Relics at your disposal. There are two commands on the Relic menu: Equip: Upon choosing Equip, the arrow will move to the two slots your character has for Relics. Choose a slot, and a list of available relics appears in the bottom left corner of the screen. All Relics in the list are equippable. Selecting a Relic from the list equips it to the character, replacing what they had in that slot (if anything). The process can be repeated for the second slot. Empty: Removes all relics from your character. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. v. Status -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The Status screen lets you see all the nitty-gritty info about your characters, like their level, their stats (all of them), their commands (fixed for all characters except Gogo), their EXP, and how much EXP they need to level up. L1 and R1 can be used to quick-switch between characters. There are no options on the Status screen, except for Gogo's screen. Gogo can select the command it uses in battle on the status screen. See Gogo's character section for more info. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. vi. Config -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Selecting Config takes you to the configuration screen (who would've guessed that one?) showing you all the options that can be changed during actual gameplay. Tampering with these screens is really unnecessary unless you know what you're doing, and I don't even know what half of the options do. So best just to leave them alone. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 2c. vii. Save -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ The last option on the menu screen. Only appears when your party (or one of your parties) is standing on a save point. To Save, select save, and you are prompted to save to Memo, Slot 1, or Slot 2. Memo is good if you're like me and save veeeery frequently, and it saves quickly. Downsides to using Memo: If you lose power to the PSX, say bye bye to the memo save. That's why it's best not to rely on Memo saves all the time. You could have the misfortune that happened to me: I played for three hours once, saving only to Memo because my memory card was full, and then my sister accidentally knocked the power cord out of the wall =/ Bye-bye three hours of hard levelling up work. Slot 1/2: Best to save in, provided you have a PSX memory card with a previously saved game on it to overwrite, or one free slot. It's slow, and if you save every five seconds like me, I wouldn't use this option every time. But do use it, to keep a hard copy of your saved game. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2d. Battles =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Well, this section is DEFINITELY a first for me. After a few e-mails saying that my guides were too expert and did not cater enough for newer players who don't know the first thing about RPGs, and battling in particular, I decided to add this section to my guide. Battles in FF6, and all other RPGs, are turn-based. When you get into a battle, you will notice your character's details on the bottom right of screen - their HP, and their ATB, or active time bar. The ATB fills automatically, and when it is full for one character, then that character can have their turn. When a character's turn comes up, they have a number of options at their disposal. Attack: Selecting the Attack command, then selecting an enemy, means your character deals out a normal attack with the weapons they have equipped. If they have no weapons, they will attack with their bare hands. The second slot on the command list is different, depending on the character. This is the skill slot, meaning Terra will have Morph, Edgar Tools, Sabin Blitz, etc. Each command works differently. See their respective character sections for more info. Magic: If your character has at least one magic spell learnt, or an Esper equipped, this command will be available to you. Selecting it will bring up a list of Magic the character has learnt. From the list, you can select the Magic to cast, then the person/enemy to cast it on, to cast the Magic. Also on the Magic menu, you can summon the Esper you have equipped. Once the Magic list comes up, press Up to select the Esper, and confirm the choice. Effects of summoning Espers vary greatly, see the Esper section for more info. Each character can summon their Esper only once per battle. Item: As the name would suggest, this option allows the character to use an item. Selecting it brings up a list of items you have in your inventory. Only items listed in white are usable in battle. To use an item, simply select it from the item list, then select the target of the item (if applicable). eg. For a Phoenix Down, select the item Phoenix Down then choose whom you want to revive. Weapons and shields (but not armour) can also be changed in battle using the Item command. When the list of items appears, press Up to get the character's weapons. Select either the weapon or shield, then select the replacement weapon or shield from the list, to switch them over. Once your character has selected an action for their turn, they must wait until everything else that had selected actions previous to them have completed their turns. They will then carry out their action, and the ATB bar will start to fill again, repeating the process. Enemies can attack at any time, they have no ATB bar. Often enemy attacks are physical, though sometimes they can be magical, either elemental, non-elemental, or status-changing. Physical attacks are defended against with shields and armour, as are some elemental attacks. Depending on the type of elemental attack a character is hit with, and the elemental armour they wear, several things can happen. If the elements oppose each other (eg. Fire/Ice), they cancel each other out and no damage is sustained. (Good thing.) If they are the same element (eg. Fire/Fire) your character will actually gain HP from the attack. For any other combination, attack is (in most cases) normal elemental attack. Status attacks are different. You can both inflict them (with spells) and be inflicted with them. A list of all status attacks, what they do, and how to cure them, will be added shortly, in the next update of this guide. The battle continues, with everyone taking turns, until either all the enemies die, or all of your characters die/are Petrified (turned to stone). If you win, killing all the enemies, you will receive a certain amount of EXP/GP, and possibly some items (all three depend on the enemy/ies you fight.) If you lose the battle, you will be returned to the time and location of your last save. All items and spells you have gained since your last save will be lost, but all levelling up you have done will remain. I'm done with game basics. Hopefully that makes a few people happy ^_^ ============================================================================== 3. CHARACTER LIST ============================================================================== There are a LOT of characters in Final Fantasy VI, more than I've seen in any other game. All characters are unique, they come with their own unique stats and special skills, so it might be a good idea to get a hold of who they all are first, and just what they're capable of. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3a. Terra Branford =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "A mysterious young woman, controlled by the Empire, and born with the gift of magic." Terra is the first (and main) character you will meet in the game. On the run from the Empire, Terra is one of only two characters in the game that can naturally use Magic. (By naturally, I mean, without the use of Espers.) Although she doesn't have the highest strength stat available, she is very proficient with Magic, having the second highest base Magic stat in the game. She starts with Fire and Cure, she soon learns Antdot, and as she levels up, she will learn Magic slowly (although, once you get access to the power of Espers, this natural ability kinda becomes pointless.) When Terra gets to level 99, she will learn Ultima if she hasn't already. (Sweet!) +++ Terra's special skill: Morph +++ Being the product of a human and an Esper, Terra can morph into Esper form for a limited time. This ability is only available after you regain her into your party after destroying the Magitek factory. When Terra morphs, her attack and magic power are increased by 50%, and her ATB bar is replaced with a green bar that counts down the time she has left in Esper form. When the bar reaches zero, she will revert back to human form. However, before you go thinking "cool, I'll get her to Morph in every battle" it is a good idea to note that Morphing takes a toll on Terra, and the more often she Morphs, the less time she can hold her Esper form for. And when Terra morphs, it may be several battles before she is able to do it again. It's generally a good idea to hold off on the Morph skill until big boss battles, and if you use it sparingly she will be able to hold Esper form for a long time, and do a lot of damage. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3b. Locke Cole =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Treasure Hunter and trail-worn traveller, searching the world over for relics of the past..." Thief might be a better term to use for Locke, but that's just a matter of semantics. He's not the strongest character in the game, in fact, he's pretty much average in most of his stats, but one in which he stands out is Speed. He's faster than all other characters, and when equipped with the Running Shoes relic or cast with Haste, he sure does take turns fast. Not an entirely useful character, but important nonetheless. +++ Locke's special skill: Steal/Capture +++ His Steal command, however, is something else. Selecting Steal will have Locke try and steal anything he can from the enemy on screen of your choice. This could be items such as Tonics and Potions, or sometimes weapons and armour. At the beginning of the game, his success rate is very low, as his success rate increases greatly as he levels up. His success rate also goes up when you give him the Sneak Ring relic. If you equip the Thief Glove relic, the Steal command changes to Capture, meaning Locke also attacks the enemy as he attempts to Steal. This Capture command is somewhat replicated when equipping Locke with the ThiefKnife, doing so means he will randomly attempt to steal from an enemy when attacking. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3c. Edgar Roni Figaro =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "The young king of Figaro Castle, ally to the Empire, and a master designer of machinery..." As the description suggests, he is the heir to the throne of Figaro. Figaro is supposedly allied with the Empire, but Edgar secretly supports the Returner resistance movement. His Strength is a great asset early in the game, and still remains useful right until the end. IMO, one of the best characters to have and to keep in your party. He also gets a 50% discount at Figaro Castle's shops, which can prove useful, although you shouldn't find yourself running short of GP anyways. +++ Edgar's special skill: Tools +++ The second best skill in the game (second only to the power of the Blitz, of course.) His AutoCrossbow prove a godsend early in the game, in particular while travelling through Mt. Kolts. New tools are obtained by either finding them (i.e. Air Anchor, Chain Saw) or purchasing them in Figaro Castle. Some of the tools inflict status ailments, i.e. Bio Blaster, Noise Blaster, and Flash; Debilitator is good for creating weaknesses in those enemies that just don't want to die; but if you want to really pack a punch, look out for his Drill and Chain Saw. The Drill is more reliable, and is available for purchase as soon as you reach Figaro Castle. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3d. Sabin Rene Figaro =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Edgar's twin brother, who traded the throne for his own freedom.." If you play this game like I do, Sabin will be your most-used character, and will never leave your party. Sabin was also heir to the throne of Figaro, but opted for his freedom from the responsibility and went to train in martial arts with Duncan. This martial arts training gives Sabin the highest Strength stat in the game, as well as the best special skill. I wouldn't be surprised if a new player to this game (or an experienced one, if you're like me) would choose to rely entirely on his Blitzes, not having Sabin attack normally at all. If you do choose to have him attack normally, he doesn't equip the same swords as the rest of the party, preferring to equip such gear as knuckles and claws. (But no BRASS KNUCKS! Where's the fun there!?) Sabin also has a high Magic stat, and if he is always in your party, naturally he will learn the most spells. Some might choose to use Sabin for his Magic power other than his Blitz power. The choice is yours. +++ Sabin's special skill: Blitz +++ Every FF game seems to have one character that relies on his (or her) fists to deal out the damage. In FF6, that character is Sabin. His Blitzes are special commands that depend on inputting a certain combination of buttons after choosing the Blitz command. For people used to fighting games, this sort of idea may be old hat. I'm not really good at the Blitzes, but if you can master them, Sabin is one powerful mother! He learns the Blitzes slowly as he levels up, culminating in learning Spiraler at level 40. However, his best and most devastating Blitz, the Bum Rush, isn't available until you get the airship in the World of Ruin. Until then, Blitzes like Air Blade, Fire Dance, and Suplex make mincemeat out of everything, their attack power is out of this world. In terms of defensive Blitzes though, I've never found much use for Spiraler or Mantra, I mean, why would you want to kill off the best character to heal the other ones? =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3e. Shadow =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "He owes allegiance to no one, and will do anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind..." Shadow is the assassin/ninja/all-around-tough-guy you meet in the pub of South Figaro. (All these sorts of characters seem to hang around in pubs.) Being the bad guy he is, he never seems to want to join your party voluntarily, preferring to get paid for his efforts, and disappearing whenever he sees fit. It's best not to rely on Shadow, as you can't guarantee he'll be around when you need him, but he is a strong character. As well as his strength, you will find a lot of weapons that can be used by Shadow only, such as the Imperial, Striker and Assassin, all which deal a serious punch. Shadow also has the power of his dog, Interceptor, on his side. Whenever Shadow blocks an attack, there is a chance that Interceptor will come in and attack the offending enemy, dealing out a hell of a lot of damage. I'm talking in terms of 1000 damage when Sabin's dealing out 400 damage with his Blitzes. Serious power. Never underestimate the Interceptor. +++ Shadow's special skill: Throw +++ Like any good ninja would, Shadow knows how to throw things. Any sort of sword, Shadow has the ability to throw, plus special objects such as Tack Stars and Shuriken. Shadow's Throw ability deals out a lot of damage, the only problem is, once you throw things, you can't get them back =( Of course, having said that, it is not wise to throw your good swords at enemies. It IS wise to keep a good supply of the cheap and easily replaceable Shuriken for Shadow to throw; dealing out 2000 damage for 30 GP (the price of a Shuriken) isn't too bad in my book. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3f. Celes Chere =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Product of genetic engineering, battle-hardened Magitek Knight with a spirit as pure as snow..." The second character that has the power to naturally use Magic. Well, not exactly "naturally", as her Magic ability comes from being infused with Magicite as a child. She gets involved in the story when she is imprisoned for being a traitor to the Empire, and she is saved by Locke. Like Terra, she has a high Magic stat, and will also learn spells naturally as she levels up, culminating in Ultima at level 99. She starts with Ice and Cure, and her Cure will prove useful until you gain the ability to learn Cure 2 and 3 using Espers. +++ Celes' special skill: Runic +++ Arguably the best defensive tool in the game. If Celes is equipped with a sword that has the Runic ability, and she uses the Runic command, she will absorb the next spell cast in that round (by friend or foe, doesn't matter which) and gain the amount of MP it cost to cast the spell. Be it Cure, Fire 3, or Ultima, Celes will Runic it, and quite possibly save one or all of party members from a nasty death. The only downsides to this are: the Runic ability only lasts one turn, and as soon as Celes selects a command in her next turn, the Runic ability wears off (even if she hasn't actually completed her next turn); and, obviously, curative magic can't be cast on your party while Celes is busy Runic-ing everything that comes her way. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3g. Cyan Garamonde =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Faithful retainer to his family's liege, with the courage and strength of a hundred men..." My my, this man is strong. Cyan hails from Doma, whose residents were all poisoned by Kefka, so Cyan has some serious beef with the Empire. And he has the strength to back it up. Maybe not the strength of a hundred men, but he comes close. For a really powerful combination, try equipping Cyan with the Offering and Genji Glove relics. Does he now have the strength of eight hundred men? ^_^ +++ Cyan's special skill: Swordtech +++ Swordtech is the name given to the fancy-pants sword manoeuvres Cyan can perform at will. He starts with one, the Dispatch, which is a single swipe, more powerful than his regular attack, and as he levels up he can learn Swordtechs two through five. (Swordtechs six through eight can only be learned by completing the Cyan's Nightmare side quest.) However, performing Swordtechs is notoriously slow. When the Swordtech command is selected, the Swordtech bar begins to fill up sloooooowly. To perform the move, you must wait until the bar reaches and highlights the number of the Swordtech you want to perform, then press X. When performing the Dispatch, this isn't too much of a problem, but when performing the Quadra Slam or the Empowerer (Swordtechs four and five respectively), it's a good idea to queue up a few character's turns so they can attack while the bar charges. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3h. Gau =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Draped in monster hides, eyes shining with intelligence. A youth surviving against all odds..." This wild-child really is something else. A very interesting and unique character, his only power resides in his Rage technique. It is possible to get Gau to use Magic, but utterly pointless as his Magic stat is one of the lowest in the game. +++ Gau's special skill: Leap/Rage +++ As Gau was born and raised on the Veldt, he has the ability to learn and mimic his enemy's attacks. When battling on the Veldt, using the Leap command will make Gau join the enemies, and the battle will end. Several battles (or maybe only one) later, Gau will return at the end of the battle, having learned the attacks of both the enemies you were fighting when he leapt, and the enemies you were fighting when he returns. Learning all the Rages is tough, as there are 255(!!) different enemies in the game, and only three cannot be Raged on the Veldt. Using the Rages Gau learns can be done on or off the Veldt, and is fairly straightforward. But once Gau enters Rage mode, and adopts the persona and attacks of a particular enemy, you lose control over him. He will keep performing the selected enemy's attacks until either the battle ends or he is KO'ed, whichever comes first. Gau can be a strong character if he learns the right Rages, but using Rages is very unpredictable as a lot of enemies attack with pure physical attacks and it is impossible to equip Gau with any weaponry. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3i. Setzer Gabbiani =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "A blackjack-playing, world-travelling, casino-dwelling free spirit..." Setzer is a man with three loves in life: flying his airship; gambling; and Maria, the famous opera singer. His love for Maria, and his possession of the world's only airship, are what brings him to the attention of the Returners. He is not a particularly strong character, nor is he rather proficient at using Magic. His third love, gambling, shows up most in the names of his weapons. Weapons like Cards, Trumps, and Fixed Dice can only be used by Setzer. +++ Setzer's special skill: Slot/GP Rain +++ Slot is a very iffy command. True to the gambling theme, he uses a slot machine to determine his attacks, and his attacks can range from the very good 7-Flush (kills every enemy on screen), to the very bad Joker Doom (kills everyone on screen, both your party and your enemies), to the plain bizarre Lagomorph (a tiny little creature appears from nowhere and casts a half-Cure spell on your whole party). Lagomorph is the most common, and to put it bluntly, is pointless. Equipping the Coin Toss relic changes the Slot command to GP Rain. When GP Rain is selected, Setzer actually attacks your enemies with your GP, and damages the enemies by throwing GP at them. While the damage it causes isn't too bad (it's not too good either, though), if you use it often it can leave your party high and dry of GP. Not a good thing at all. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3j. Strago Magus =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "An elderly gentleman, pure of heart, and learned in the ways of monsters..." Strago is a descendant of the Mage Warriors, very similar to what Terra is. You meet Strago in Thamasa, while searching for the runaway Espers, and while he denies his heritage at first, when you help him out, he confesses the truth. His heritage gives him a high Magic stat, very close to the power of Celes. He is also one of only two characters who can equip Rods for battle, which randomly cast certain spells when the Rod is used as a weapon. His Heal Rod can be a great tool, just don't make the mistake of beating your enemies up with it! +++ Strago's special skill: Lore +++ Because Strago is learned in the ways of monsters, if he is present when enemies use certain attacks on your party, he can learn them for his own use as a Lore. Examples of Lores include Aqua Rake (which Strago begins with), Sour Mouth, and Blow Fish. Lores are very similar to magic spells, and they use up MP accordingly (sometimes quite a lot of MP). Interesting to note, Strago can learn Lores even if he is KO'ed during the battle, and not revived. Arguably his best Lore, GrandTrain, can only be learned by completing the Avenging Gungho side quest. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3k. Relm Arrowny =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "In her pictures she captures everything: forests, water, light... the very essence of life..." One might wonder why a rude ten-year-old girl armed with a paintbrush is included as a character in the game. But that's exactly what Relm is. Granddaughter of Strago, also a descendant of the Mage Warriors of yore. She is the second character that can use Rods as weapons, and also has her own class of "weapons" to use. (I say "weapons" because this class of weapons are paintbrushes.) Her big line/threat is "I'm gonna draw your portrait!", if you can believe that. And, even more unbelievably, Relm has, far and away, the highest Magic stat in the game, even higher than Terra and Celes, the natural Magic users. An interesting character, but her strength is also far and away the weakest in the game. +++ Relm's special skill: Sketch/Control +++ Because Relm uses paintbrushes as weapons, and because she is heralded as a great artiste, she has the ability to sketch her enemies. It's not foolproof, as she can sometimes fail to sketch, but the better the paintbrush, the higher chance she has of sketching successfully. If she does manage to sketch an enemy, she will use one of their own attacks against them. This is very hit-and-miss, because, similar to Gau's Rage, a lot of enemies simply use physical attacks, and with Relm's pitiful strength stat, this isn't going to do a lot of damage. When she equips the Fake Mustache relic, she is able to Control the enemies she sketches, and choose which of their attacks (if any) they use against your party. Clever, but not really useful. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3l. Gogo =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Shrouded in odd clothing, ...is this a man...? ...a woman...? ...or should we ask...?" I'm not too sure why Gogo is a character in this game, either. But he/she/it (let's stick with 'it', less confusing that way), is one of my favourite characters in the game, simply because of it's abilities. Its stats are only average, which might be seen as a downside, but its versatility makes up for that, tenfold. Gogo not only has the Mimic skill, but you can program whatever three skills you want into the remaining three slots. Any three skills/commands that any of the other characters possess. It can use Dance, Runic and Blitz, if you wish, if you equip the right weapons (for Runic/Swordtech). If using Blitzes, Gogo will automatically know all the same Blitzes as Sabin, same goes for Cyan and Swordtech, Edgar and Tools, etc. Programming the skills is simple, simply enter Gogo's status screen, select the slot in the blue box and choose the skill to go there. Very awesome. +++ Gogo's special skill: Mimic +++ While Gogo using other character's skills is all good, it's true power lies in the Mimic command. When Mimic is selected, Gogo will impersonate the action of the character before it, whether that be casting Magic, using an Elixir, or even failing to perform a Blitz. If Gogo mimics the use of Magic, it will cost no MP, if it mimics using an item, the item will not disappear from your inventory. Good (and very powerful) tricks can be performed with the Mimic command, such as equipping one character with the Gem Box and casting Ultima twice, then getting Gogo to mimic and cast Ultima two more times. I like Gogo. It's cool. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3m. Mog =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Human-loving, fast-talking, street-smart, SLAM-dancing... Moogle..." Mog is also an interesting character. Apart from being the only moogle who can say anything other than "KUPO!" (that thing has a mouth to rival Relm's, he even goes so far as to call Ramuh "an old psycho") he possesses an interesting skill (Dance) and can equip arguably the best relic in the game, the Moogle Charm. I just gotta ask one question, what on earth is a moogle? +++ Mog's special skill: Dance +++ Performing Dances is very similar to Gau's Rages. Once Mog dances, he will continue to Dance and perform one of a certain set of "moves" until he is KO'ed or the battle ends. Learning Dances is quite different though. To learn a Dance, Mog must participate (and survive) a number of battles (sometimes only one, though, there seems to be no pattern) in one of the eight regions of the world. (Eight regions, eight dances, get it?) The regions are Town, Snow, Cave, Desert, Grass, Water, Woods, and Mountains. If the region Mog attempts to Dance in is NOT the same as the region of the Dance he is attempting to perform, there's a chance he could stumble and fail. Of course, if the two regions are the same, he will successfully dance and enter berserk mode. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3n. Umaro =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- "Admirer of bone carvings, as strong as a gigas, a yeti pal with muscle!" One of the most pointless characters of the whole game. Umaro really has no point of being in this game, he does not relate to the storyline in any way, but hey, he's here, you may as well use him. There's a couple of catches with Umaro, however. One, you have no control over him whatsoever, he's perpetually in berserk mode. Two, you can't equip him with weapons or armour, which means he doesn't do a lot of damage most of the time. The only time he earns his keep is when you equip him with his two special relics, the Blizzard Orb and the Rage Ring. If he's got the Ring on, he will throw your own party members at the enemy, hitting them for decent damage. If he's got the Blizzard Orb on, he will randomly cast Blizzard on the enemy, dealing out good ice-based (duh) damage. If you don't have either of the two Relics, Umaro is a very weak character. ============================================================================== 4. THE WALKTHROUGH ============================================================================== Ah, the most important part of the guide. You ready for it? Ready? READY?? Insert your Final Fantasy VI CD, and away we go. "This is it. Don't get scared now." =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4a. The World of Balance =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- It was long ago when the world was reduced to nothing after the War of the Magi and magic simply ceased to exist. 1000 years have passed and Iron, Gunpowder, Steam Engines, every new technology was discovered. But there are still those people out there that would try to revive magic and make the world their kingdom, would the same deadly and senseless mistake be repeated? -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. i. Narshe -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ We open the game with two Magitek soldiers, along with an unknown girl, on the cliff-tops overlooking the mining town of Narshe. They comment on an Esper having been found there, after all this time... it's their job to find it, take it back. They then speak of the girl, who is wearing a Slave Crown and oblivious to their conversation. She's apparently a sorceress (cool) who once disposed of 50 armoured Magitek soldiers in under three minutes. (Very cool.) But she'll follow orders. Watch the pretty scene. When you gain control of the game and the characters, you will be in the main street of Narshe. Wearing your bulky Magitek armour, there's only one way you can go, straight up the street. So proceed up, killing everything in your way. These first few battles, although simplistic, are a good kind-of tutorial on the battle system of the game, if you're new to this game or this type of game (as I was when I played for the first time). Simply toast everything that tries to stop you with your Fire Beam or any other Magitek attack, maybe gaining one or two levels along the way. At the north end of town, enter the mines, Wedge will comment that the Esper was found in a mine shaft... maybe this one? Who knows. Of course, we're about to find out. In the mines, note that the little twinkling light on the left is a save point. Very useful things, save points. Save if you want. If you should desire the information, a kind and informative Moogle will tell you all about them. If you save, or if you don't save, keep heading further and further into the mines, following the only available path. In time, you will come to a locked gate. Go to open it, and Biggs will break it down. (Nice.) Go to walk through the gate, and another one of those pesky Narshe guards will unleash the first boss of the game on you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Whelk! HP: 1600 MP: 1000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Before the battle even begins, Biggs and Wedge will have a discussion about their training in these sorts of matters. Their advice is simple - don't attack the shell of the Whelk, as it absorbs the energy of the attack then sends it straight back at you. Heh, easier said than done, but try to follow the advice, as the Mega Volts you receive when you don't are painful as all hell. Use the groooovy Magitek attacks on the Whelk's head until it grrrrrrrrrrrs at you, then when it does, STOP ATTACKING. It will withdraw its head into its shell, and if you keep attacking you will be sorry. Use the time when it's retreated into it's shell to maybe heal up with a few Heal Beams if necessary. Eventually, the Whelk will grrrrrrrrrrrrrr again and pop it's head back out, ready for you to keep attacking. Keep peppering the head with Magitek attacks. Not too bad for a warm-up boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just inside the gate, you will meet the frozen Esper. All of a sudden, the screen turns blue and you enter battle mode (sans battle). As Wedge and Biggs prepare to capture the Esper, the unknown girl steps forward and starts communicating silently with the Esper. The Esper starts emitting light, and while Wedge and Biggs are getting quite confused as to what's happening, the Esper blows them into oblivion. (Yee-haw!) The two remaining start what looks like exchanging electricity, and we fade to black.... Cut to a house, where our favourite unknown girl is lying in bed. (You are the girl. Even if you're not a girl, you are now the girl, get used to it. =P) Talk to the old man Arvis, who has just removed your Slave Crown. "A mysterious young woman, controlled by the Empire and born with the gift of Magic..." Yes, that's you. If you really did read my character descriptions above, you will know that this is Terra. Sure as shootin', you are prompted to enter her name, which already has the default of, you guessed it, TERRA. Leaving her name as Terra will make following this walkthrough a lot easier. Quickly, Terra starts to regain her memory, starting with her own name. But all is not well in the peaceful town of Narshe, as Imperial soldiers come banging on the door, wanting Terra and the Magitek armour back. Terra, having no memory at all of her slave days, is understandably quite perplexed. But old man Arvis knows the score here, and shows Terra the back door so she can escape. Once outside, hidden behind the house, head left along the path. When you get out into the open, the guards will spot you, but don't panic, just keep walking slooowly. Now that you don't have the Magitek armour anymore, it might be an idea to check your weapons and stuff, as taking on slimeball-ian creatures with your bare hands wouldn't be fun, especially when you're as weak as Terra is right now. Once fully equipped and inside the mines, head up the stairs at the top of the screen, saving again on the right if you wish. Battles will be a tad harder from here on (no more pretty Fire Beam, one-two- three-awwwwww), but you'll be able to manage. Of course, the soldiers aren't going to let you get away that easily, and they're following you. Just keep walking away from them (oh how nice it would be to run) until they corner you. Before they can nab you, however, the floor gives way and Terra falls through. She hits the ground, hard, and passes out. In Terra's dreams, we see a guy named Kefka putting the Slave Crown on Terra. From this, we can deduce that Kefka works for the Empire, and is, therefore, inherently evil. Kefka also takes Terra through training in the Magitek armour, praising her when she burns everything up. We then see Emperor Gestahl, speaking to a whole group of soldiers, telling them they are going to reclaim what is "rightfully theirs", i.e. the use of Magic. Don't know about you, but to me, these guys are sounding kinda sucky already. Back in old man Arvis' house, he has called in the local "treasure hunter" (aka thief, but that's only a matter of semantics), and tells him his idea of protecting Terra. "Treasure Hunter and trail-worn traveller, searching the world over for relics of the past..." If you really feel the need, you can name him something fancy, but just leave it as LOCKE. Locke gets all indignant initially, thinking this has something to do with that "imperial, Magitek-riding witch"! Well, he's right, it does. But Arvis makes Locke see that it wasn't her fault, she wasn't responsible for her own actions, etc. and she needs their help. Reluctantly, Locke agrees, and Arvis tells Locke of his plan. Your task, if you choose to accept it: Save Terra, then go to Figaro and talk to the king. Back in the mines, Locke rappels down the hole Terra created to find her unconscious on the ground. (On a side note, I love the facial expressions these guys have. Locke's appraisal of Terra is a nice one, along with anytime any of them laugh. Priceless.) Anyways, after he's finished wolf whistling (minus sound-effects, but the idea is definitely there) he goes to pick her up to lift her out of there, but before he gets the chance, soldiers begin pouring into the mine. Locke is a lil' pissed. A whole bunch of them, one of him. But before he gets to fight, we hear (well, read) a Kupo!! A few kind Moogles come to lend a helping hand. Well, eleven Moogles to be exact. And boy, does Locke need the help. For anyone who's played a Final Fantasy game before, you should be used to this whole switching-parties thing. If not, it's quite simple. You've got three groups, two composed entirely of Moogles, and one with three Moogles and Locke. Groups are changed with the Square button. If one group is entirely annihilated, they will retreat back to Terra's prone form with minimal HP. The goal of this little thing is to meet, greet, and kill the commander of the troops before their men get to Terra. There's two ways to go about this, either way, send a group of Moogles out after them. The Moogles are all higher-levelled than Locke, have higher HP, and better weaponry. Anyway, you can either take out every guard before fighting the commander, which could be good, or you can just make a beeline straight for him, killing only the guards that get in your way. Your choice. Whichever way you choose, the commander is the second boss in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Commander, Lobo (2) HP: 420 (C), 27 (L) MP: 150 (C), 5 (L) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ These guys are not that hard to kill, but having a high HP would be nice. Send the Moogles in, for all the reasons I listed above. Once in the battle, focus on the commander. He has the stronger attacks, so taking him out first would be wise. At this stage, your only option is to Fight, as you have no magic or other moves, though Locke does have Steal if he is in this party. So Fight, Fight, and Fight some more. Attack the commander, then take out the two rabid Lobos when he's done. Not too hard, although the whole process with the guards might take a few attempts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once the commander, all the other guards will just... disappear. (Nice.) Locke will thank the Moogles for their help, and they will retreat back into their little cavern. Locke then hoists Terra onto his shoulders (hmm, maybe he does have high strength after all!) and rushes her all the way through the mines very quickly. When he finally lays her to rest, he fiddles around until he finds a special switch on the wall. Terra finally comes to, admits she doesn't know anything that's been happening, and Locke simply can't believe she has amnesia. He keeps fiddling with the switch until it opens a secret entrance to the mine, which he tells Terra to remember for future use. (And you will need to remember it.) Now that you're out of the mines, remember your task? Head to Figaro. And that's exactly what we're gonna do. But first, if you're new to this game (and if you're reading this walkthrough, chances are that you are) check out the first house on the left, near the entrance into town. It's called the Training Room, and you can learn all about the game here, everything from battle strategies to information about status ailments. Absorb all the info you can, then leave Narshe, cos there's nothing more to do here for now. On the world map, save your game first of all. (You can save your game anywhere on the world map, which is quite nifty.) Then head in a general southerly direction (again, it's the only way you can go) until you can come to a desert. Smack-bang in the middle of the desert is Figaro Castle. Head there. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. ii. Figaro -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Side note: I like the Figaro Castle theme. Very royal-sounding. At the front door to Figaro Castle, a guard will stop you. However, he recognizes Locke and lets you inside. You could investigate the whole castle now if you wanted, but it's pretty pointless, so just walk straight through to the King's chamber where you will meet all lord and mighty King of Figaro. "The young king of Figaro Castle, ally to the Empire, and a master designer of machinery..." Leave his name as EDGAR. Edgar has to be one of the best characters in the game, I swear, cos he's got some of the funniest lines. For an example of that, after introductions take place, and Terra is surprised that someone like Locke knows a king, Locke runs off. Terra wants to know why Edgar is helping her, is it because of her abilities? Edgar responds with "I'll give you three reasons: First of all, your beauty has captivated me! Second... I'm dying to know if I'm your type... I guess your ...abilities... would be a distant third." Tee-hee, I love that stuff. Edgar seems to think he's God's gift to women (but then again, most men seem to think that, these days...) Once you regain control of Terra, there's not a real lot to do in Figaro Castle. After examining everything in sight, emptying all the treasure chests, and doing some shopping, take a rest. Then head outside to the left tower and talk to the Matron. Here you will get a scene about Edgar's twin brother. "Edgar's twin brother, who traded the throne for his own freedom.." Meet SABIN, operator of the famous Blitz technique. Gotta love the guy. Anyways, you learn a little bit about Sabin, and Edgar, and their lives. After the scene is over, head back to the main hall and talk to Edgar. If I was Terra, I'd be wanting some answers outta this guy too, but unfortunately, you don't get any, not here anyways. Because someone from the Empire has arrived to see Edgar... and it's none other than Kefka! Kefka is, without a shadow of a doubt, the best villain EVER. He's also absolutely hilarious, as you see in this scene as he approaches the castle. "Edgar, you pinhead! Why do you have to live in the middle of nowhere?" And as he walks through the sand, gets all huffy because there's SAND on his boots... so the soldiers clean it off for him. Priceless. But his little laugh... oooh, you will learn to hate it. When you gain control of Edgar, talk to the two guards, then Kefka. Kefka is looking for the "girl of no importance" that he thinks found refuge there... Edgar laughs and says he can't keep track of all the girls there, there's more girls there than grains of sand! Kefka gets mad, stomps his foot a bit, acts all huffy, declares that he truly hopes nothing happens to Edgar's precious Figaro, and stalks off. No prizes for guessing what is going to happen soon. After the conversation is over, and Kefka and his cronies leave, converse with Locke for a short while. Terra will then appear, and Edgar will excuse himself. As Terra, follow Locke to "your" room in the right tower. There, Terra gets into an argument with Locke about the term "treasure hunter", and finally gets some answers on who Edgar is and why he's helping her. See, on the surface, Edgar pretends to support the Empire, but in actual fact, he's supporting the Returners, an underground resistance movement. Which is why he offered Terra refuge. Clever, clever, it's all falling into place now, isn't it? Terra knows she used to be part of the Empire, and begins to wonder about which side is right, the Empire, or the Returners. When control switches over to Edgar, you realize that something bad's going down. Yes, Kefka's attacking Figaro. (I said, no prizes for guessing!) Edgar thinks Kefka's lost his mind, and frankly, I would, too. Kefka wants the girl, and when Edgar won't bring her out, it's welcome to Kefka's barbecue! Mwa, ha, ha. I love that guy. But Edgar is not to be outsmarted that easily. He's not a master of machinery for no reason, y'know. He's got it all worked out. Walk back up the stairs and talk to the soldier at the top door, telling him to get ready. Then he, Terra and Locke all jump onto chocobos to escape while the "special machinery" of Figaro castle goes into action. That is one clever castle, I swear. Figaro Submerge Mode initiated! GO GO GADGET! Okay, so I made the last bit up. Kefka is not to be outdone, however, and he sends two Magitek soldiers after the party. You know how big and tough these guys are, after all, you were one of them for a little while, remember? It's a fairly difficult battle, I'll give you that, tougher than any you've had so far. Have Edgar use AutoCrossbow, and Locke either Steal or Fight. For a hella funny scene, have Terra use Magic. Edgar gets freaked out, and Locke comments that this kid seems loaded for bear... When the two realize that it is, in fact, Magic that Terra is using, the two go nuts, have a bit of a secret convo, swoon, and in general act so weirdly you just gotta laugh out loud. After the battle, Kefka declares that Edgar is a "son of a submariner" as Figaro goes underground, and Edgar and Locke tell Terra about their mentor, Banon. They think Banon would be reeeeeeal interested to meet Terra, because "after all, no HUMAN has the power that you seem to have, Terra." (Oh Edgar, you fool, what a stupid thing to say.) He quickly apologizes, and Terra is a bit too quick to forgive him, in my book (if someone said that to me, I'd be spitting chips for at least a week, I swear.) Anyways, Terra agrees to meet with Banon, and Edgar says to get there, they need to go through the cave to South Figaro. It's not too hard to get to, just head straight and a tad left when you get control of the chocobo. When you see the cave, dismount, and head in. Edgar tells the soldier on guard at the entrance to report back to Figaro, to say that they arrived safely. The guard salutes, is off, and leaves the three of you to encounter the cave. It's not real scary, the Figaro Area Cave. It's not even that difficult. Nothing notable about it at all, really. The water in the first part of the cave is a recovery spring (feel free to ignore the little turtle for now), simply walk up to it and press X and your party's HP/MP will be fully recovered. (Yay!) Keep going through the cave, when you come to the upside-down T intersection, head to the right and straight down the screen. There ARE a few treasure chests to be found here, but wise FAQ author says, leave those for later. There is a reason for it, but I'm not going to tell you what that is, you shall find out momentarily =P. Once you get to the bottom of the screen, head left and straight up the big flight of stairs. (Maybe a bit of levelling up to be done here too.) In battles, use the AutoCrossbow/Fight/Fire combination, it's a winner so far. Continue through, and out of the cave. Try not to blink in the sunlight too much. Just outside the cave and to the right is the town of South Figaro. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. iii. South Figaro -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Quick note for travelling through towns - always examine the barrels and pots found in houses and on the streets. A lot of them contain things like Potions and Tonics, some contain things more special. And check *every* clock you see. Most clocks contain Elixirs, for some unknown reason, and Elixirs are always a good thing to keep handy ^_^ This whole South Figaro bit really confused me, the first time through the game, I had no idea what to do. Until, upon entering South Figaro for the four zillionth time, I noticed a strange figure in black practically running through the streets. I figured, what's up with that, so I followed him into the pub. (Ah, pubs are good. Me likes pubs.) Because he's an extremely interesting looking figure, you might like to have a chat with him. Locke's all up for chatting with him, although he doesn't exactly seem too keen to talk back. But Edgar realizes he knows this man... "He owes allegiance to no-one, and will do anything for money. He comes and goes like the wind..." Yessss, this is the infamous SHADOW. He'd slit his mama's throat for a nickel!... or so Edgar says. Personally, I reckon he wouldn't, but that's just my opinion. Leave him alone then, and talk to all the people at the bar. Talk to everyone you see, actually. Often they drop pearls of wisdom, or clues as to what's coming up. But of course, some just talk absolute rubbish. So, (following my own advice), talk to all the locals, and they will all tell you about Mt. Kolts, to the east. Apparently a local martial arts instructor, Duncan, has taken a group of students there. Sounds interesting, you think. Gonna check it out? Of course. So head out of town, after scouring the town and its shops for items (especially making sure to stock up on things like, uh, Antidotes.) Before looking for Mt. Kolts, however, travel north a little way to find a little house almost hidden in amongst the mountains. Take a look inside, examine everything, and Edgar will make only one conclusion - that this little hut belongs to his brother, Sabin! Sabin, however, is not here. If you ask the man outside, he will tell you that Sabin went training with Duncan at Mt. Kolts, and so did Duncan's son Vargas... and he doesn't have a good feeling about this... Well, we're DEFINITELY heading to Mt. Kolts now, wouldn't you agree? We have to meet the infamous Sabin! Buttttt, before we go, take a rest in Sabin's hut. This area is also a good place to level up, because the game gets a wee bit tougher from here on out. You've had your initiation into the world of Final Fantasy VI, the game is thinking. Now it's down to business. Mt Kolts is the real deal. Are you prepared? You better be. So wander around the immediate vicinity for a while, battling random creatures to level up a little bit, stopping back in at Sabin's hut to rest whenever you get low on HP/MP. The, when you're satisfied you can kick some tough-guy butt, head for the mountain, east of South Figaro. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. iv. Mt. Kolts -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Mt Kolts is just one big catacomb of caves that gets very frustrating when you have to backtrack every five seconds. Lots of treasure chests to be found, which means two things - one, you're getting better weaponry and a few decent relics, so you might need to put them to good use soon, and two, you'll be doing a bit of levelling up when you trace your steps back from all the chests. Nothing too major in terms of dramas, just doing my part to let you know what might be coming up soon... You will, every so often, see a shadowy man running around as you make your way up the mountain. No, it's not Shadow, though at first I'll admit I thought it was. You will find out who he is, soon enough. Directions through the caves are as such. Go through the first cave, which leads you outside. Ignore the little path trailing down (it's a decoy, hah!) and head back inside through the other entrance. If you take the south exit of this cave (skirting around the bottom side of the big boulder), you can pick up a Guardian. In this same cave, instead of taking the bridge up, you can sneak around to the right of screen, around the edge of the cliff, and out the door to find the Atlas Armlet, a very good relic that increases both fight and magic damage. (Equip it straight away to Terra or Edgar, your choice.) Also be on the lookout for Brawlers in these caves, Locke can steal Bandanas from them, and they are some of the best armour (cough) you've had access to so far. Back in that one cavern of the cave, follow the rickety bridge up and out of the cave at the top. Follow the black figure around the bend in the track (it looks like a dead end, but it's not.) If you take the nearest cave entrance to you, and follow it through, you will find a Tent. Then go back and take the far entrance. (A bit of levelling up to be done here, too, and you'll need it.) Side note: I'll never state "recommended levels" for any part of this game. No specific levels are needed, though higher levels are generally a good idea. If in doubt, level up. But this game is possible to beat without levelling up once. Just keep that thought in mind. In the new cavern, follow the little bridges around, and out at the top-right of screen. The walk up along the path and cross the bridge. (So far, very boring, and nothing to indicate why we should've even come here in the first place.) Into the next cave, and ah, you find a save point. Means something must be coming up shortly. Good, gives this whole trip a purpose. Save your game. Important. Once outside the cave, you find yourself at the outside of a big spiral, with a cave in the middle. Guess where we're going. Round and round and round, till we get to the middle. (By now you will most definitely by finding out why I said AutoCrossbow is the most useful weapon you have. Over 100 damage to multiple targets when Locke and Terra are doing 50 or so each to only one, can't complain about that.) When you get to the middle, you'll find a man standing in the way of the cave. Grr, not nice of him. As you consider asking him politely to move, you realize that this is Duncan's son, Vargas, and he thinks Sabin sent you to face him. (Yeah, whatever.) He is also the man you've been shadowing around the mountain. And guess what. He wants to fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Vargas, Ipooh (2) HP: 11600 (V), 360 (I) MP: 220 (V), 60 (I) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ First things first, do not be intimidated by the size and scariness of your opponents here. You CAN and WILL defeat them! The two Ipoohs need to be taken out first, as they are stopping you from attacking Vargas. (Funnily enough, they are not stopping Vargas from attacking you.) Use Edgar's AutoCrossbow, Terra's Fire for multiple targets, and have Locke either fight or stick around using items to cure people. And you will need a few cure items. The attacks of all three characters are strong, very strong. If they prove too strong, it might be an idea to put your characters in the back row before the battle, as this reduces damage sustained (it also reduces damage inflicted, but it's a trade-off you might have to make). Once the Ipoohs are out of the way, hit Vargas hard and fast with everything you've got. After a while, as you slooowly whittle down his HP, he'll get fed up and start taunting you. Of course, this just makes you mad, so you keep hitting him hard and fast. After the second round of taunts (or the first if you've been doing enough damage) a new figure will burst onto the scene and tell Vargas to "give it up". It's Sabin, come to save the day! Sabin and Vargas have a short conversation (yes, in the middle of the boss battle) in which it becomes clear that Vargas "did his own father in". Not good. For that, he deserves to get his ass handed to him on a platter, which you will do for him, right now. As Sabin asks the tough questions, Vargas gets pissed, and restarts the fight, but he blows Terra, Locke and Edgar away with his Blizzard Fist, leaving Sabin to finish it out on his own. Sabin is at a much higher level than the rest of your party, and has quite a lot more HP. Even fighting normally (using the Fight command), he does as much damage as Edgar was doing with his AutoCrossbow. So just keep dishing out the damage, ignoring the fact you have a pretty little timer on your head that is counting down. (It won't reach zero here, but if it does, it spells Doom.) Vargas will keep taunting as you keep hitting, making you even more mad and more determined to wipe him out. Eventually, Sabin will realise he has to use his master Duncan's teachings against Vargas to end the battle once and for all. The game will lead you step by step performing the Pummel technique, which is performed by selecting Blitz, pressing left-right-left on the D-pad when the cursor appears pointing to Sabin, then pressing X. When you successfully manage to perform the Pummel, Vargas will be astounded. "W...what the...!? He... already taught you that!?" He will then disappear. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the battle, the two brothers are re-united once more. It's kinda sweet, if you're into that stuff. However, Terra mistakes Sabin for being "some bodybuilder who had strayed from his gym". Sabin laughs, and takes it as a compliment. When Sabin asks what the party is doing there, Edgar tells him they are going to the Sabil Mountains. (Bah, Sabin, Sabil, too similar.) Sabin then knows that their destination is, ultimately, the Returner's hideout. Cue short patriotic speech from Sabin about not wanting Figaro to be reduced to a puppet state, and offering his services to the party. Edgar is shocked that Sabin would want to help them, but quickly accepts the offer. (Good boy, don't give him a chance to change his mind.) After the scene finishes and you regain control, check out Sabin's Blitzes. He comes with three already pre-learnt, those three being the Pummel (left-right-left), the Suplex (triangle-square-down-up), and the Aurabolt (down, down-left, left). Aye, they be mighty tools, the Blitzes, and if you can master them, it sure will make the game a LOT easier. After checking it all out, maybe finding a few random enemies to practice on, (like I said, levelling up never hurt,) head into the cave Vargas was protecting. Pick up the Tent, and exit. Back on the world map, it might be a good idea to use said Tent to regroup after the boss battle. No doubt a few of your characters are running low on HP, and Terra on MP. Saving would also be clever, because you don't really want to go through all that again, do you? Once you're through there, head north to the cave on the right side of the path. This is the Returners' Hideout. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. v. Returners' Hideout -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Not actually a lot to do here, this part is more story information than anything else. But, because I seem to be including all sorts of story information here, I'll include this part too. Once inside the hideout, follow the Returner to meet Banon. Banon is very interested to hear the story of exactly whom Terra is, but isn't too impressed when she denies all of her amazing feats because she can't remember them. However, he still wants Terra to help them. He tells the story of Pandora's box, how some fool opened the box and unleashed all the evils in the world... envy, greed, pride, violence, control... and how all that was left in the box was a single ray of light: hope. Banon wants Terra to be their hope, the world's hope, as they face all the evils of the Empire. (Talk about putting the pressure on.) After the scene, you regain control of Terra alone, and you have free rein of the Hideout. Talking to your other three party members, scattered around the place, will give you some interesting information. But first of all, item collection. Pick up a Phoenix Down from the treasure chest in that room, then head to the top-left room in the hideout, the treasure room. (Mwaha.) In the treasure room you will find: a True Knight relic, a Phoenix Down, and an Air Lancet (from the three treasure chests). Also pick up an Antidote and a Tincture from the two pots, then make your way through the right wall beside the crates to find a secret treasure chest with the White Cape relic. Pick up a Green Cherry from the pot in the main room (with the tables and chairs), and a Potion from the treasure chest in Banon's room. (Yahhh, item smorgasbord.) After you're finished looting the place, head back outside to talk to Banon, who is waiting to hear your decision on whether or not you will be their last hope. Here's the tough bit. Tell Banon NO, you won't be their last hope. (It sounds cruel, but it's not, really.) He looks a little bit dejected, and you get sent back inside to think about it some more. Now that you've told him no, go back and talk to the man in the treasure room, and he will give you a Genji Glove relic. Genji Glove = gooooood, means you can equip two weapons, on in each hand, dealing out twice the damage. (See, it was well worth feeling a little bit bad when you told Banon no.) Now go outside and talk to Banon again, he will repeat the question, this time tell him Yes. Inside we go for another story scene. Banon and the Returners discuss the fact that the Empire is using Magitek weaponry, and wonder how they created it. Seeing as all the current fuss is over an Esper, there has to be something linking the two... and there is only one thing... the War of the Magi. Locke tells a tale of magical machines, and Banon relates the theory that humans and machines were imbued with the power drained from Espers, crating Magitek armour and Magitek knights. Edgar then comes up with the idea of having Terra speak with the Esper in Narshe, in the hopes of waking it up. It's a dangerous idea, after all, everyone remembers the destruction caused by Espers in the War of the Magi (...don't they?) But Terra whole-heartedly agrees with the idea, and gets scolded by Sabin for sounding like she's enjoying it. Before the conversation goes any further, however, a wounded Returner comes running into the Hideout, all the way from South Figaro. (Not a bad effort.) South Figaro has been captured by the Empire, and the Imperial troops are heading this way! Edgar sends Locke to South Figaro to slow the Empire's progress down, and before Locke leaves, he warns Terra "not to let a young, lecherous king, who shall remain nameless, near you!" (God, I love some of these lines.) Sabin reacts predictably to that comment, asking Edgar if he's ever going to grow up, before the rest of the party (Terra, Edgar, Sabin and Banon) make plans to escape out the back door, down the Lete River in a raft. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. vi. Lete River -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ There's not much to be said about the Lete River, really. But as soon as you jump on the raft, you are told: Protect Banon at all costs. If he kicks the bucket, it's all over red rover. Game over. Finis. And, seeing as he's weaker than the rest of your party (my Banon only had 120 HP here!), it might be a good idea to put him in the back row, as soon as you have the chance. Battles on the River are all pretty much standard fare. Have Edgar using his AutoCrossbow, or the Drill if you have it, get Terra Fighting, have Sabin use his Pummel or Aurabolt Blitzes, and have Banon use his Health. Health really is a great move at this stage of the game, basically it casts Cure on the whole party, for a grand total of zero MP cost. When it comes to choosing directions to go on the River, it really doesn't matter which you choose, as they all end up in the same place anyways. Some paths, however, do lead you to caves with treasure chests, where you can also stop and regroup your party. I am deliberately NOT mentioning the ultra-cheap (but effective) level-up trick here, that involves changing the Cmd. Set to Short, taping down the Up button on the D-pad and the X button, and leaving your Playstation alone for a few hours. Nope, not mentioning it at all. *whistles* Continue along the River, fighting, healing, occasionally stopping to save. Before long, you will be approached by a strange (evil) purple octopus. And this odd-looking creature is not happy Jan. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Ultros (take 1) HP: 3000 MP: 640 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ God knows why an octopus wants to fight your party. But you will learn to love Ultros, because he is simply so weird. And this ain't just any old octopus, either, this is octopus royalty, and one real sumbitch! He's a tough character, and if this is your first time through the game, this is the first point in which you will regularly see the Game Over screen. Have all of your characters in the back row. Not just Banon now, all of them. Because his Tentacle attack is something to be feared, and if he hits one front-row character with it (as opposed to spreading the blow over the whole party, which quarters the attack power, understandably), that character will be hit for 300 damage and most probably get knocked out. In tbe back row, the damage is halved. All of your characters should then be able to survive such a hit. Each character has their set commands, and you shouldn't vary from them too greatly. Have Banon stick to Health, Edgar to AutoCrossbow, Sabin to Pummel, and Terra to Fire. Each of the attacks should do about 150 damage from the back row, meaning you will slowly drain away his HP. Ultros is one cocky bastard, he loves to taunt you and make stupid jokes. Every time Terra uses fire, he will make a comment about "seafood soup". Every time Sabin uses a Blitz, he will make a comment about hating muscle-heads. A funny guy... no, scratch that, a funny thing. Like I said, by the end of the game, you will learn to love him. If you keep attacking him in the standard pattern, with all your characters in the back row, he should go down fairly easily. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the battle, Ultros disappears under the surface of the water. The party wonder about where he went, when Sabin decides to pummel it one last time with a Blitz. Crazily, he jumps in after Ultros... but Ultros turfs him back out of the water or something, because Sabin starts drifting away from the raft, down the river... Edgar, Terra and Banon can only watch helplessly as Sabin is swept downstream, away from them... Choose a scenario, kupo! Now you have a choice of three scenarios. + The first is Locke's scenario. As you should recall, Locke was sent to South Figaro to stop the advancing Imperial troops from reaching the hideout. (section 3a. vii.) + The second is Terra and Edgar's scenario. They, along with Banon were on their way to Narshe so Terra could "speak" with the Esper in the mines. (section 3a. viii.) + The third is Sabin's scenario. We've just seen him drifting down the river, somehow he has to get his ass out of the river and rejoin the other party. (section 3a. ix.) You do have to do all three scenarios, eventually, just one at a time. Each of the scenarios I've just listed has a relevant section number, so scroll to the sections of the scenario in the order you attempt them, KUPO!! Once all the scenarios are complete, head for section 3a. x. Narshe. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. vii. Locke's Scenario -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ South Figaro ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Locke's in South Figaro, and desperately needs to get OUT of there, back to Narshe. However, taking a quick look around the town, that's not going to be so easy. The place is heavily populated with Imperial troops, from foot soldiers to the Magitek HeavyArmr. And every exit is blocked off. Uh-oh. If you enter the house you're standing in front of, talk to Duncan's wife and she will tell you there's a hidden passage out of town in the rich man's house, just find the room that's drafty. Okay, sounds like a plan. Let's go. Word of advice here: you can talk to all the foot soldiers you want, and they will simply tell you to scram. If you pick a fight with one of the HeavyArmr troops, they WILL fight back. And you will NOT win the resulting battle. Just a friendly warning. You could wander around town for a little while, but there's not much you can do. Every available path to the rich man's house is blocked off by soldiers, excepting one. In the basement of the house of the man who always wants you to bring him cider (this house is the split-level near the item shop, you may have noticed this guy if you scoured South Figaro enough the first time you were here), there is a little boy guarding the way through jealously. If you talk to him, he only wants to talk about merchants, he only likes merchants. The only way to get past him is to BE a merchant. Am I dropping enough clues yet? Head to the item shop, and stock up on whatever you need. If you talk to the merchant beside the counter, he makes the oh-so-grave mistake of calling Locke a thief. Ahem, that's TREASURE HUNTER to you! So Locke decides to teach this smartass a lesson. Make it a good one, bud! The purpose of this fight is not to defeat the merchant, though you could do that if you wanted. Remember when I said the only way to get past that kid was to be a merchant? Well, Locke can't exactly become one, but he can impersonate one, can't he? How would you impersonate a merchant? By wearing his clothes! So when Locke picks a fight with this merchant, steal his clothes from him. (When Locke's Steal succeeds, the name of the enemy changes from 'Merchant' to 'BDaySuit'. LOL!) Locke will then put on the merchant's clothes, declaring "these are a little tight, but the price was right". The BDaySuit then escapes from the battle, leaving Locke with a nice seat of merchant clothes. Do I need to tell you where to go next? Straight back to that pesky little kid, who will let you past without a second glance once he sees your clothing. Take a Tonic from the bucket in the basement, then proceed out of the room. You successfully made it past one set of Magitek goons! Congratulations! Of course, the fun ain't over yet, it's just begun! Head to the rich man's house, as you can get there now, but the door is blocked by more Magitek goofs. How to get past them, how to get past them... more wandering around town might be required. And of course, it always helps to know about the path across the river hidden by the building that also spans the river. If you successfully wander around town long enough to find the room beneath the pub, you'll realize there's a bottle of cider on the table. Hey.... wasn't that old guy always asking for cider? No? Wonder what would happen if you took him some cider. Of course, you go to take the cider, and you can't just do that. Maybe you could ask that nice merchant standing over there if you could have his cider? Oh no, he takes great offence to our request, thinking we've come to STEAL it! (Well, no, we just wanted to borrow it, we'd bring it back, honest...) And he calls Locke a thief again! Right, time to teach this guy a lesson too... The idea is the same as before. Steal his clothes, even though you already have the merchant ware, and you will take his cider too. So, now that we've got the cider, let's go give it to that old guy back in that split-level, and see what happens, mmmkay? So we give the old man the cider, and he drinks it all faster than you can say boo. (Pig.) After he has his fill, he confides in you that there is, in fact, a secret passage that leads TO the rich man's house, and it leads straight from his house! You just have to give his grandson (the brat downstairs) his password, which is, uhhhh, he forgets! Nice one... I'd like to teach this dumb guy a lesson too, but unfortunately, that one's not in the game script. (And I should know it's not, cos I transcribed the whole game script =P) Anyways, traipse back downstairs and talk to the kid, who gives you three options for a password. Now, the game doesn't actually tell you the password here, but the way I like to remember it is this: what's something that old guy upstairs has nothing of? Right, Courage. I mean, he didn't even have the balls to tell you the password! So give the kid the password, and he will open the secret passage. Voila. Head through the door he opens, and down the stairs, and you will transport to the rich man's house. Do make sure to remember to take the Elixir from the clock, then head upstairs and out. Take the Phoenix Down from the bottom of the barrel, then head inside the rich man's house. Now, what was the clue again? You have to find the room that's drafty. Listen for sounds of a draft, not that hard to make it out. It's not the main room, so head upstairs, it's the only way you can go... no drafts in the corridor... enter the first door. Huh? Sounds like there's wind coming from somewhere... I bet this is the right room. Check the other room, nope, no windy noises there, definitely this room. Of course, talking to the guy at the table isn't going to net you any useful information. So start looking around for a secret passage. After much searching, (or simply consulting this sentence) you eventually discover the secret passage behind the bookcase. Eureka! Now you've got a maze of passages to work your way through. They're guarded by some pretty nasty tough guys too, and you'll be doing a bit of fighting. When given the option to change clothes, you should really change back to your own clothes, cos they're more comfortable, right? Although, the choice you make here has no effect on the game other than one or two lines of conversation coming up shortly, it's just a bit disconcerting to see Locke dressed up as a merchant, in battles and all... As Locke makes his way through the first passage, he stops to peek into one of the rooms. With a shock, he realizes he recognizes the woman in the first room - one of the Empire's generals! She's noot a general anymore, however, she's currently having the stuffing knocked out of her by two guards for being a traitor. "Product of genetic engineering, battle-hardened Magitek Knight with a spirit as pure as snow..." This is CELES. This Celes is one smart cookie, because she's realized what the Empire's really about, and she reveals a plan of Kefka's to poison the people of Doma! (That low-down dirty piece of.... never mind.) The guard refuses to listen to her though, and knocks her out, before leaving her under the watchful eye of the other guard. This guard, brags about not needing sleep for days at a time, but what's the first thing he's doing when Locke walks into the room? Catching up on a few zzz's, of course. Locke, being the nice guy he is, decides to loosen Celes' chains and free her. Celes is shocked when she realizes she's being rescued by a Returner... and even more shocked when Locke offers to take her with him, away from South Figaro. She politely declines, saying she's better off there. (Okay, not such a smart cookie after all.) Buttttt Locke works his good ol' masculine charm, and wins her over to his side, and they quickly leave the cell, but not before Celes takes a key from the guard's pocket. So now you have a party of two. Equip Celes with some weapons and armour and note that she, too, has MP... ooh, more Magic! Yes, she can use Cure and Ice. Anyway, back to the maze of passages. The next room has a save point, I advise you to use it. The third room is a storage room with a couple of clocks and a lot of treasure chests - empty them all to get a total of 3000 GP. (Cool.) Then check out the clocks, because, after all, you did take a clock key from the guard, didn't you? One works fine, but use the clock key to wind the other one... and the bookcase moves, to reveal a secret door. (Oooh.) And beyond the door, the maze just continues. After a few battles, you might decide it wise to place both Celes and Locke in the back row. Once in the maze, head to the right and straight down to pick up some Iron Armour, then head back up and to the right again. If you really want the Heavy Shield and the Regal Cutlass in those two closed treasure chests beyond the wall, you'll have to head up, right, then back down and around for them. Locke's high Speed again proves to be useful in all these battles, the fights are tough (especially considering you don't have anything powerful like Blitz to rely on!) but you will still be sustaining a lot of damage and will need to Cure regularly. Whether you empty the chests or not, head down at that upside-down T-intersection (yep, straight through the wall-that-isn't-really-a-wall.) You can head all the way to the bottom and to the left for some Earrings, a useful relic that increases Magic damage, if you wish. See those stairs? You think you need to be heading for those, right? Wrong. More decoys! Take the bottom of the two right-leading passages, to another set of stairs, and head up and out. You are now free of South Figaro! Leave town real quick, before something draws you back =P You may be free of the clutches of South Figaro, but you are still a long way from Narshe. Remember how to get back to Narshe from South Figaro? Right, the Figaro area cave, which is to the left of town. And you know how I told you to leave those treasure chests in the cave before? Well, now is when we empty them. They contain different items, now, you see, very VERY useful ones (well, one, anyways.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Figaro Area Cave ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After descending the stairs into the main cavern, head left. (Watch out for those nasty Trilobites, they have the PoisonBarb attack which inflicts poison, and you don't want to be wasting all Celes' MP on Antdot.) Pick up an X-Potion from the treasure chest there, and a Tincture from the one in the passage on the right. Now head to the top, and up the left-most set of stairs, for another treasure chest with a -ta-da!- Thunder Rod in it. Also watch out for the Primordes, their Numblade attack really sucks. Go back down the stairs, and go up the normal ones, the ones that lead out of the cave. Importantly, USE THE RECOVERY SPRING. Then, go to exit the cave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: TunnelArmr! HP: 1300 MP: 900 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There's two ways of taking on this machine. It uses powerful spells against you, so Celes suggests using her Runic ability to absorb them. Locke is understandably bemused, so Celes patiently explains the Runic ability in more detail. How it works is this - if Celes has used Runic, she will absorb the next spell cast, no matter who cast it or whom it was intended for. She will sustain no damage for absorbing the spell, but will, in fact, gain the amount of MP the spell cost to cast. It works especially well here, as TunnelArmr is fond of casting Bolt spells against your party. Celes can Runic all of them if she uses the Runic ability each turn, leaving Locke free to attack and destroy it. However, this is a very slow process, as the TunnelArmr has high HP and Locke does jack all damage. If you use the pretty Thunder Rod you just picked up on this turkey, it will do a LOT (and I mean a LOT of damage), and almost kill it in one shot. Of course, after that, it's very easy to take it out, using the Runic/Fight strategy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the battle, Celes and Locke exit the cave, and return to Narshe safely. Choose another scenario, kupo!! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. viii. Terra and Edgar's Scenario -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Terra and Edgar are still accompanying Banon, riding the rapids of the Lete River. The strategy for battles here is the same as it was with Sabin in your party, ie. Banon = Health, Edgar = AutoCrossbow, and Terra = Fight or Fire, whichever suits your fancy. Eventually the ride comes to an end, and you are dumped back on the world map, close to Narshe. Phew, that was an easy scenario, you're thinking, I'm almost there. Well, true, you're almost there. But go to enter the town, and you will literally get booted out by three of Narshe's armed forces. They recognize Terra as being one of the Imperial soldiers from before, you see. Soooo, you need to get to the Esper... but you can't head straight through town... how are you going to get there? If I recall correctly, there was some sort of secret entrance to the mines, couldn't you use that to bypass the guards? Of course! Slap your forehead as you remember Locke telling Terra about the secret entrance, to the left of screen. So head there, and Terra will tell Edgar about the switch. Of course, Edgar being the master of machinery, he works it out, and the three of them enter the mines. The path through the mine is fairly straightforward, and the enemies pose no threat at all. Once you make it outside, head up the stairs and back inside. What sucks is, although Terra and Locke technically covered all this terrain before, you never got to see it, meaning this is all totally new =P All goes well until you enter a room that has a little blue glowing point traversing around the room. It's a security checkpoint, not an entirely difficult one to fool or get past, but important nonetheless. Edgar knows how it all works, if you follow the exact path of the light, from one side of the room to the other, you will make it through safely. If not, all hell breaks loose as you get attacked by big tough scary dudes that actually aren't that big, tough or scary. The clever thing to do is just follow the light, so do so. Start at the very left of the room, head right at the first boulder then take the next path up. Turn right at the end of the boulder, then walk down. Keep heading in a general down direction, then go right at the bottom until you hit the very right side of the room. Walk up the right side of the room, turning left after the second boulder, then take the first up and head out. It's actually simpler than I've made it sound...! You should recognize the next cavern from your trip through here before, this is the cavern Terra fell through when being chased by soldiers. So now you definitely know the way back. Any creatures you meet along the way are no match for Edgar's AutoCrossbow, even if he's still in the back row he can take them out with one hit. Eventually, after a lot of slow walking and boring battling, you will end up exactly where Terra started - old man Arvis' house. Banon and Arvis have a discussion about Narshe's position in the war, and Arvis explains that Narshe is remaining neutral. Arvis is also suspiciously quick to put all his hope on Terra communicating with the Esper, to bring peace to the town. So they too arrived in Narshe safely. Choose another scenario, kupo!! -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. ix. Sabin's Scenario -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Sabin's scenario is, by far, the longest of the three. The other two were a walk in the park in comparison to this one, which is why I chose to write for it last. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ House on the Veldt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sabin washes up from his river journey near what is well-known as the House on the Veldt. (Even though, technically, it's not on the Veldt.) You can enter the house and talk to the man inside, but all he speaks is gibberish that, while being decipherable English, makes no sense to anyone. So ignore him, take a nap in his bed, and head back outside. Recognize the guy standing by the well? Yes, it's Shadow, with his faithful dog Interceptor. Sabin asks Shadow how to get to Narshe from there, and Shadow relates the fact that Imperial troops have their sights set on Doma. (If you've already done Locke's scenario, you know what Kefka has in mind for the people of Doma..) Shadow says the only way to go is through Doma, and offers to accompany Sabin on his trip. (How kind.) Speak to the merchant on the chocobo before you leave, and purchase some good throwing weapons for Shadow. Shuriken are best, they're cheap and painful for your opponents. Once away from the house, simply follow the lie of the land along. The enemies aren't too much to worry about, except for the ones in the forest that can hit you and inflict Berserk. Eventually, you will encounter a nice little patch of desert near the bridge leading to Doma Castle, housing the Imperial base camp that Shadow mentioned. Seeing as you're heading for Doma, you've got no choice but to wander right into enemy territory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Imperial Camp ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lots of talk here, little fighting. Sabin chooses not to barge straight into the camp (how clever of him), instead he chooses to hide and observe the happenings and the conversation of two particularly inane soldiers. They talk about Kefka, and General Leo, and the upcoming attack on Doma Castle. It becomes clear that they like Kefka about as much as we do, ie. not very much. When their commander appears, they join the assault team in preparation for the attack. In Doma Castle, the Imperial forces are attacking. Two Doma sentries are in despair because they can't keep them out, however, a new face appears on the scene to try and drive the soldiers away. "Faithful retainer to his family's liege, with the courage and strength of a hundred men..." This is CYAN. Cyan knows that without their commander, the forces will just give up and retreat. So, when you gain control of him, out the front of the castle, approach their commander with the intention of taking him out. I suppose you could call this a boss battle, but it's not really, because it's so simple. The trick here is to use your Retort Swordtech (Swordtech #2) and he will go down in one hit, receiving a Black Belt for your efforts. (Yay!) Once the commander is gone, all the other troops will get scared (chicken- wusses) and run off. Back in the Imperial camp, you have control of Shadow, who is now leader of your party. Head into the tent on the right, and hit the treasure chest for a funny scene. Then walk across the bridge, where Shadow will panic and hide again. General Leo and an Imperial soldier are discussing their next move. The soldiers are all antsy, they want to attack, but Leo calls them off, making an emotional speech about not wanting to sacrifice so many lives. Another soldier arrives, with a carrier pigeon from Emperor Gestahl. Leo has been summoned to Vector, and he has no choice but to leave Doma in Kefka's hands. He disappears, warning him "not to jump the gun". Back in control of Shadow, go to walk further into the Imperial camp, and you will stop and hide again when Kefka appears. If you've already done Locke's scenario, you already know Kefka's intentions for the poor people of Doma. He wants to turn the river into a flowing river of poison! Some of his own soldiers try to warn him against it, saying there are troops held prisoner in the castle, but Kefka (mwa-ha-ha) doesn't care. Sabin and Shadow, however, do, and they approach Kefka. They pick a fight with him (not too clever, buds) but as soon as you attack him, he runs off. When he runs off, it's your job to chase him. This attack/Kefka-chickens-out-and-runs-off process will be repeated a few times. Eventually, you get ambushed by two Templars and two Soldiers, and he is free to carry out his dastardly plan. Kefka tips the poison in the river, turning it a wicked shade of purple. In the castle, Cyan notices that the water looks funny, and one by one the troops around him fall victim to it and collapse. He realizes what's happening, and realizes he must warn the King before the King drinks the poisoned water. Together with a Doma sentry, make your way to the King's chamber by walking straight up through the door, down the stairs, down through the door and up the red carpet. Cyan and the sentry will find the King on the floor, already succumbing to the poison. Cyan tells him to hang on, but the King tells Cyan to find his family, warn his family. So, when the sentry suggests to split up, head back down the red carpet, and through the door on the right. Cyan's wife, Elayne, and son, Owain, are both on the floor, not moving. They too have been killed by the poison. This is the point where Cyan goes stark raving mad (as most people probably would if this were a real-life situation), and he rushes out to attack the Imperial camp. Sabin and Shadow find him zing-zinging with a soldier in Magitek armour (gotta love those sound effects!) Of course, because you're really nice, (and because you don't have a choice) you decide to help him out. Talk to him and the three of you will enter a battle with a few grunts. You control Sabin and Shadow here, but Cyan does his own thing. And off he goes again, zing-zinging with some more troops. Be kind and help him out again. Same deal, Cyan's out of control. Again, he goes zing-zinging. Talk to Cyan again, and Sabin will tell him they have to work together here. Again, the three of you will fight together. After the battle, Cyan and Sabin introduce themselves (funny how Shadow doesn't get a mention!) and they make plans to scram. Cyan doesn't want to just leave Doma... and while he procrastinates on the matter, you're spotted by another set of soldiers. Before they get the chance to attack, Sabin spots a way out... some Magitek armour! In a little funny scene, Cyan keeps speaking his own particular breed of "ye olde English" and Sabin starts copying it in frustration. (Tee-hee.) Now, in the armour, you're unstoppable. Cyan barges through a whole party of soldiers before you gain control, and just use your armour to head out of there the same way you came, toasting any soldiers you meet in the process. Once you get past the bridge, Sabin will jump free, and ask Cyan how to get to Narshe. Cyan tells him there's only one way to go, through the forest to the south. And quickly, the three of them scoot out of there. Back on the world map, take the time to heal up and save, before following Cyan's instructions of heading south, through Doma. Battles are still fairly easy, although you now have the kick-ass Swordtechs at your disposal. Cross the bridge to go to Doma, then cross the next one back to the mainland, before entering the forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phantom Forest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Phantom Forest is supposed to be spooky and all that, but it's not, really. Just head right, working your way around all the logs, killing all the ghosts that get in your way, before going up and off the main path. The lake on the next screen is a recovery spring (yay!) From the recovery spring, head right then follow the signs back onto the path. Take the next up turnoff, then keep heading right. (Very boring.) When you take the up turnoff from that path, you find yourself on a train platform. And lo and behold, there's a train there! Sabin wants to look in the train in case there may be survivors from the Doma incident. Cyan gets freaked out, but follows Sabin onto the train. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phantom Train ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once on the train, Cyan realizes the train is haunted, and tells Sabin they should get off. But before they get the chance, the train starts moving... Go to get off the train, and the door is locked. Cyan realizes what this train is, it's the Phantom Train, and it carries the departed to... the other side. Sabin realizes what this means, and says "But I don't want to go THERE!" (Nice comeback.) They decide to stop the train to get off, by making for the engine. Before heading left, for the engine, however, you can head right and into the next carriage to find a ghost. However, this ghost is unusual in that it wants to join your party. You get the choice of accepting it or not, and the choice is up to you. Having an extra ally in battle never hurt anybody, really, even if this ally is weak as anything. There is also a save point in the compartment, use it if you want. Now start heading left, towards the engine. Note: Your new ghosty friend (if you accepted him) has a special skill of Possess. If you choose it, he will possess your enemy and kill it, but you will also lose him from your party. Nothing is really noteworthy, as you travel through the carriages of ghosts (except for the fact you can bypass some carriages entirely by walking around the outside), until you get to the third carriage. As you go to walk around it, ghosts will start pouring out, chanting "N.o...e.s.c.a.p.e...!" at you repeatedly. But of course, you are going to escape, so as they hem you in from both sides, you go the only way you can, up! Walk across the top of the carriage, and Cyan will declare "I believe we're stuck." (Oh ye of little faith, Cyan.) But Sabin backs up, does a dash, and starts jumping from carriage to carriage! Three carriages later, he stops, but the ghosts are still coming! (Bloody persistent!) Sabin realizes the only way to get rid of them is to detach the rest of the train cars (guess you ghosties aren't going to the other side after all...) So enter that carriage, and pull the lever at the top. The rear cars will detach, and disappear into the distance. Pulling the lever again will open up the wall and let you continue on your journey to the engine of the train, saving again at the save point if you wish. Two carriages later, you will find the dining car, and taking a seat at the central table will have Sabin yelling "Food! Food! Bring me everything ya got!" True to their word, the ghosts supply a feast, which also serves for recovering all your HP, MP, and curing any status ailments. So eat all you can, then make your way out of the train car and keep going. If you enter the dining car from the other side, you can pick up some Earrings from the treasure chest. You can either bypass the next car by going over the roof, or you can go through it. There's not a whole lot in the car, but if you choose to enter it and empty the treasure chest in the first compartment you will be jumped by Ziegfried. Sabin makes a nice comment, saying Ziegfried looks more like a manicurist than a swordsman. So, you must fight. It's a very easy fight though, but he empties the chest after the fight and nicks off. The next car you can just bypass, but the next little one is a save point, as we're getting veeeeery close to the front of the train. I advise you to use it. Before entering the save point car, if your ghosty friend is still there, he will leave your party. Enter the engine compartment, and read the directions kinda obscurely hidden in the bottom left corner of it. So flick the first and third levers, as per instructions, then head outside and to the smoke stack at the very front and press the switch. The Phantom Train will come to life, getting very mad as it realizes you're trying to stop it, and it decides to teach you a customary lesson. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Phantom Train! HP: 1900 MP: 350 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yes, you are going to fight the train. Don't worry, it's a very easy battle, if you know your stuff. The trick to this battle is to realize that the train, is in fact, an undead creature. (It is taking people to the "other side", after all.) How do you kill undead creatures? By bringing them to life! So use a Phoenix Down on the train and say bye bye. Of course, if you don't have one, you're in a spot of bother. The boss has tough attacks, most notable being Acid Rain, which can do 150 damage to your whole party. Stick with the usual method of Sabin using Aurabolt or Pummel, have Shadow Fight or throw Shuriken, and have Cyan use his Dispatch, and you should make it through. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After you defeat the Phantom Train, it will graciously agree to stop and let you off the train. So it pulls into another station, and our three very relieved heroes jump free. Before they get the chance to get the hell outta there, though, Cyan freaks out when he looks to the other end of the platform and sees people getting ON the train. Two of those people being Elayne and Owain, his wife and child. Cyan rushes madly to stop the train as it takes off, but there's nothing he can do as it rumbles away, taking his family to the other side. It's a moving scene, almost enough to move a certain FAQ writer to tears. After the scene ends, the three sadly leave the platform and exit the forest. I bet, with all that train and forest madness, you've almost forgotten where we were originally heading. Well, we're going to Narshe, and to get there, we have to keep going south. But, after examining the little area this side of the forest, you'll see there's only one place you CAN go, everything else is blocked off by mountains. Head there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Baren Falls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ At first, it looks like there's nothing to do at Baren Falls. Just take a little peek over the edge of the cliff, however. Cyan says that south of there is the Veldt, where dangerous creatures live. Sabin realizes, with the Empire hot on their heels, if they can slip through the Veldt, they might be safe in Mobliz, to the east. If Shadow is still in your party at this point, he will disappear, saying he has served his purpose. This is where you jump over the cliff, down into the waterfall. Almost immediately, you will be attacked. (You kinda knew this was coming, didn't you?) Piranhas will attack you, two or three at a time, more appearing when you eliminate all the old ones. Basically, just Fight them all, as they only have 65 HP each, or you can use a few fancy tricks such as Dispatch or Pummel if you wanna feel special. Their attacks aren't very strong, especially if your characters are clever and have put themselves (or have had themselves put) in the back row. ^_^) You should make it past them with most of your HP intact. After you fight 11 of them, a new creature will appear. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Rizopas! HP: 775 MP: 39 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Rizopas has a number of techniques at his disposal, none of which are friendly. He likes to utilize the Mega Volt of the Whelk, a number of Ice attacks, and the uber-deadly El Nino attack, which will damage both Sabin and Cyan for 300 damage each (or 250 if they're in the back row). Uncool. Very uncool. Try real hard to keep your HP above 300, hit him hard and fast with everything you've got, i.e. Dispatch, Pummel, Aurabolt, and hopefully you will make it through without seeing the El Nino. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Veldt/Mobliz ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the battle, you will wash up on the shores of the Veldt. A young boy approaches you cautiously, freaking out when Sabin stirs. "Draped in monster hides, eyes shining with intelligence. A youth surviving against all odds..." Leave his name as GAU. Sabin regains consciousness, and asks Gau who he is. Gau panics and runs off, leaving you alone on the Veldt. So, Cyan said you could head east to Mobliz? Do exactly that. While the Veldt IS full of dangerous creatures (like, every creature you've fought in the game so far) there's nothing TOO major to worry about. On your path east, you will most probably see Gau a few times during battles. Gau talks of being hungry, hungry... when you attack him (as you have no other choice), he gets mad and runs off. The scene will most likely be repeated a few times until you get to Mobliz, so don't worry. Once in Mobliz, follow the tried-and-true technique of checking all the shops, stocking up on goodies, and talking to all the locals. As a way to save yourself some GP, sleep in the bed at the back of the relic shop, instead of staying at the inn. (Buy some SPRINT SHOES in the relic shop, as well!) Keep talking to everybody, and the guy outside the item shop will tell you, "I threw some Dried Meat into a herd of wild animals, and some kid emerged and grabbed it!" That kid... could it have been Gau? Well, let's think about it, just how many kids can there be roaming free on the Veldt, anyways? It must have been Gau. Wonder what would happen if you did the same thing, fed Gau some Dried Meat? It's worth a try. So buy some in the Item Shop, and head back out onto the Veldt. Fight until you meet Gau again. Instead of attacking him when he appears, this time feed him the Dried Meat. What follows is perhaps the best scene in the whole game, as Gau asks for more food, Sabin refuses to provide it, and the two get into a punch-up, which Gau describes as "dancing". This only enrages Sabin, and Cyan gets involved to separate the two combatants. Gau picks up on Cyan's old English and starts bouncing around chanting "Thou! Thou!" (Like I said, FUNNY.) Cyan gets pissed off, walks off, and Sabin quietly tells him that he's not acting normal because his family have just been... Gau claims to understand, and Sabin asks Gau to join their party. Now you have a new member, Gau. Not exactly the best character, but he is helpful, and he comes with a repertoire of eight Rages. After he joins, he tells Sabin and Cyan, in thanks, he will give them his shiny, shiny SHINY treasure! Cyan is sceptical, saying "can anything be THAT shiny?" But Gau insists, we go to Crescent Mountain, and Sabin agrees to humour him and go to Crescent Mountain. Crescent Mountain is to the very south of the continent. It's not that far a walk, and it might be a good idea to learn a few Rages on the way there. Either way, get your butts to Crescent Mountain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Crescent Mountain/Serpent Trench ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once inside the cave, walk inside a small way, and Gau will start looking for his shiny SHINY treasure. Sabin and Cyan agree to look around for it, so now you're on your own to explore the cave. Head up through the cave and head towards the right. Heading up and left onto the little plateau will give you another funny scene, as Sabin peers over the edge of the cliff, and Gau spooks him, causing him to drop 500 GP over the cliff. (Not exactly good.) Anyways, there's nothing really special in the cave, so head up, right across the bridge, and down towards the exit. Near the exit, Gau stops and starts digging around for his treasure. Eventually he finds it, and uncovers a piece of strange-looking headgear. It is said that this headgear will allow them to breathe underwater! Sabin has no hesitation in using the headgear, and the three of them head out of the cave towards the rushing waters of the Serpent Trench. The Serpent Trench can be a difficult part of the game. The only battles in it are predetermined, and the path is linear, but the enemies are tough. Taking the right path both times will lead you to two caves where you can stop, catch your breath, empty a few treasure chests, and heal up a bit. The first cave is simple, just walk straight through, collect the X-Potion, and head out. The second cave is also pretty much the same, head straight up, down on the next screen, and stand on the switch at the bottom to drain the water. Then descend the steps, drop down the hole (oh so monotonous), head up and collect the Green Beret from the treasure chest in the north, then down to the south and out. Continue along the Trench, killing everything in your path, until you finally wash up on the shores of Nikeah. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nikeah ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ You end up on the dock, right near a big South Figaro-bound ferry. Of course, if you're in South Figaro, you know exactly how to get to Narshe, right? But before you board the ferry, stop and browse a bit through town, stock up on items you might be running low on (eg. Phoenix Downs.) Then, hop aboard the ferry and journey to South Figaro. +++ End of the Three Scenarios!! +++ -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. x. Narshe -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Edgar, Terra, Banon, Arvis and the town Elder are in the Elder's house, discussing the current events, with Gestahl wanting to get his dirty little hands on the Esper. Out of nowhere, Sabin, Cyan, and Gau walk in. After Sabin makes the introductions, Cyan relates the tale of how Kefka destroyed the people of Doma... everyone is aghast. (Understandably, too.) The Elder tries to reason that Kefka only did it because Doma was collaborating with the Returners... but Locke and Celes walk in, saying that is complete nonsense, and that the Empire is poised to attack Narshe right now! Banon asks where Locke for the information, and Locke says that Celes is now working with them. Cyan recognizes Celes, and goes absolutely ape, and when Terra says that she, too, once was an Imperial soldier, poor Cyan doesn't know what to do! Before Cyan can attack anyone, or before anybody can calm him down, a messenger appears, with word that "the Empire cometh!" Cut to outside town, where Kefka and the cavalry are approaching. Kefka is going stark-raving-crazy, declaring that, even though Narshe is officially neutral, to "exterminate everyone!" (Sounds like fun.) They're after the Esper, which Arvis and the Elder moved into the hills. So your little troop must head into the hills to defend it. On the way up, there are a few little scenes between various characters. Edgar warns Celes not to believe that Locke has fallen in love with her, and Celes angrily reacts that she's not some love-starved twit; Celes tells Terra that she, too, can use Magic, and Terra asks if Celes has ever loved anyone; Cyan warns Celes that he still doesn't trust her, and she says her actions will speak for themselves. When you get to the top of the snowfield, you will be in control of Terra, alone, as the rest of your group forms a barrier from the field below. In case you weren't too sure, something big is coming up, as you must defend the Esper (and Banon) from Kefka. Get each of your characters ready for some battles (interchange with them by going to talk to them), and then, when you're ready, save first (you will always save as Terra, no matter who you were controlling at the time) and talk to Banon. He will ask you if you're prepared; if you are, say yes. You will then be asked to divide your group into three parties. There are several strategies you could take here - for instance, you could create three roughly equal parties, one with three members and two with two, and alternate them for battles through the snowfield. It could work, but there are other strategies. My tip would be to select your strongest characters to be in one party (i.e. Sabin, Edgar, Cyan, and Celes or Terra) and arrange your other three members into the other two parties. Once your parties are decided, Kefka approaches the snowfields from the south. Upon seeing the 'traitor', Celes, he laughs, saying this will be delightful! He sends about fifteen sets of troops out after you, and you will realize that the scene is very reminiscent of that of Locke and the Moogles, from way earlier in the game. The way it works is exactly the same. Take your power party with your strongest characters, and plow through to get to Kefka at the bottom. You will most likely run into six or eight sets of soldiers, Templars, and other assorted things along the way... but they're not too tough. Seeing as you chose your strongest party (if you did), then just use your strongest attacks (Aurabolt, AutoCrossbow, Dispatch) on them. I recommended you to take a Magic user with you because while the battles are not that tough, they're tough enough to need to heal up after every second battle or so. Using up Potions and Tonics is very uneconomical when you can just take a Magic user with you. Just make sure said Magic user stays in back row, because her HP and defence will be quite low. With a bit of luck, you can make it to the bottom of the snowfields, and to Kefka, before his troops reach Banon and your two other parties. And of course, you're not just going to give Kefka a stern talking-to, you're going to fight him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Kefka!! HP: 3000 MP: 3000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Seeing that we are in the icefields, Kefka quite enjoys casting Ice on your party, as well as Poison. If you have Celes if your party, this is no threat, as she can use her Runic blade to absorb it all, which means Celes might be a better choice to take in your power party, rather than Terra. In terms of attacks, it is the same as every other battle. Use your strongest attacks to get the battle over and done with as soon as possible; meaning Aurabolt/Pummel/Suplex, AutoCrossbow/Drill (if you have it), Dispatch/Quadra Slam (if Cyan is level 15), Runic/Cure all (depending on who you have in your party, Celes or Terra). One blessing in this battle is the very slow speed of Kefka. If you keep up the attacks, Kefka should only get the chance for three or four attacks in amongst your flurry of heavy hits. The battle shouldn't last long, and is fairly straight-forward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ After Kefka is defeated, both him and all his troops disappear (MAGIC!), and your party rushes to see if the Esper is still safe. Of course it is, as you stopped all the troops before they got close enough to throw stones at it. It would seem the Esper is still alive, as it blows all your party away from it, excepting Terra. (Remember, Terra shared some sort of connection with the Esper, last time they 'spoke'.) Terra cautiously approaches the Esper, and the two start communicating again. (Edgar's good line here - "Terra... Step away from the Esper..."). Suddenly Terra morphs into an... an Esper! She goes crazy, launches herself into the air, and flies off into the distance! The party regroup, and travel back to Arvis' house. Locke wakes up and has a short conversation with Celes, and Celes says that Terra did, indeed, turn into an Esper. Edgar appears, and says they need to find Terra (oh, duh, Captain Obvious.) Apparently, witnesses saw her screaming across the sky to the west, so guess which way you're going? West. Together, they agree to head west after Terra, Edgar explaining that Figaro Castle could be used to shuttle them to the western province. So, when you get control of the scene, you are asked to choose one party of four to travel west in search of Terra. You have another choice to make here, to take three or four characters with you. See, in the course of your travels, you will meet Shadow once more, and be able to hire him to join your party. Obviously, if you already have four, Shadow can't join your party. So, taking three or four, is up to you. Whether or not you take three or four party members with you to the West, you need to take the best. I will recommend Sabin, Edgar, and Celes, although Cyan would also be a good member to take with you. Keep in mind that my recommendations are for the way I play the game, which is for maximum strength. In terms of variety, it would be good to take Locke, for reasons that shall become clear. But ultimately, the choice is up to you. Once your party is decided, check out the town. There are a lot of good things available for purchase, and, as always, use the recovery spring in the Training Room. Once you're done, head back to Figaro Castle, right in the middle of the desert. -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ 4a. xi. Figaro Castle -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+