______ __ __ _ __ __ | ___| | | | \ | | / \ | | | | | | | \ | | / \ | | | |__ | | | \ | | / /\ \ | | | __| | | | \| | / /__\ \ | | | | | | | |\ | | __ | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | |_____ |__| |__| |__| \__| |__| |__| |________| ______ __ _ _ _________ __ _____ ___ ___ | ___| / \ | \ | | |___ ___| / \ / _ \ \ \ / / | | / \ | \ | | | | / \ / / \__\ \ \/ / | |__ / /\ \ | \ | | | | / /\ \ \ \___ \ / | __| / /__\ \ | \| | | | / /__\ \ \____ \ \ / | | | __ | | |\ | | | | __ | ___ \ \ | | | | | | | | | | \ | | | | | | | \ \_/ / | | |__| |__| |__| |__| \_| |_| |__| |__| \_____/ |__| __ __ ___ | | \ \ / / | | \ \ / / | | \ \/ / | | / / | | / /\ \ | | / / \ \ |__| /__/ \__\ Final Fantasy IX FAQ/Walkthrough Version 2.0 Copyright 2003 RichardB Email: Gbness@aol.com ======================================================================= -<------------------------------------------------------------------->- CHAPTER ONE: The Old Boring Stuff -<------------------------------------------------------------------->- ======================================================================= ****************** 1. Version History ****************** I might update this Final Fantasy IX guide, so here is the version history of it. ======================================================================== Version 2.0: Holy! Didn't know that I had left out so much stuff in this guide, like all the lists and stuff. I updated quite a bit of the guide, so I am quite good to go. Yes, and for that reason the guide must be Version 2.0. ======================================================================== ======================================================================== Version 1.0: I took out some stuff that I found in my FAQ that I have _no idea_ how it got there, and I also did jump roping and the auction house in the guide due to some e-mails. Well then, no more updates again for a while. Also, I decided I might as well make it 1.0. ======================================================================== ======================================================================== Version 0.82: Certain things like, say... the abilities updated. The monster list was also updated, and I'm adding a list of attacks and comments to it, so I am quite pleased with this update. Hooray. Still, it'll be a while before I finish the monster list. ======================================================================== ======================================================================== Version 0.8: This is the original version of the Final Fantasy IX guide, and the walkthrough is totally complete. However, some stuff will have to be adjusted in the future and a bit of it needs a little completion, but it's okay now I guess. ======================================================================== ******************** 2. Table of Contents ******************** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHAPTER ONE: The Old Boring Stuff 1. Version History 2. Table of Contents 3. Introduction 4. Legal Disclaimer 5. E-Mail Rules 6. IM Rules CHAPTER TWO: Characters 1. Zidane Tribal 2. Vivi Orunitia 3. Garnet Til Alexandros 4. Adelbert Steiner 5. Freya Crescent 6. Quina Quen 7. Eiko Carol 8. Amarant Coral CHAPTER THREE: Basics: Read Before Playing 1. Stats 2. Trance 3. Ability System 4. Status Effects 5. Elements 6. Tips CHAPTER FOUR: Walkthrough: Disc 1 1. Theater Ship 2. Alexandria 3. Evil Forest 4. Ice Cavern 5. Dali 6. Lindblum 7. Gizamaluke's Grotto 8. Burmecia CHAPTER FIVE: Walkthrough: Disc 2 9. Summit Station 10. Treno 11. Gargan Roo 12. Cleyra 13. Red Rose 14. Alexandria Castle 15. Pinnacle Rocks 16. Fossil Roo 17. Conde Petie 18. Black Mage Village 19. Conde Petie 20. Madain Sari 21. Iifa Tree 22. Madain Sari 23. Iifa Tree CHAPTER SIX: Walkthrough: Disc 3 24. Alexandria 25. Treno 26. Alexandria 27. Lindblum 28. Black Mage Village 29. Oeilvert 30. Desert Palace 31. Esto Gaza 32. Mount Gulug 33. Lindblum 34. Alexandria 35. Daguerreo 36. Ipsen's Castle 37. Earth Shrine 38. Terra 39. Bran Bal 40. Pandemonium CHAPTER SEVEN: Walkthrough: Disc 4 41. Black Mage Village 42. Memoria 43. Crystal World CHAPTER EIGHT: Side Quests/Mini Games 1. Chocobos 2. Stellazio 3. Coffee 4. Skipping Rope 5. Racing 6. Class S Rank 7. Friendly Monsters 8. Sword Fight 9. Ragtime Mouse 10. Excaliburs 11. Tetra Master 12. Frog Catching 13. Codes/Secrets 14. Mognet 15. Auction House CHAPTER NINE: Equipment 1. Weapons 2. Armor 3. Helmets 4. Armgear 5. Add Ons CHAPTER TEN: Bosses/Enemies 1. Bosses 2. Optional Bosses 3. Enemies CHAPTER ELEVEN: Abilities 1. Zidane 2. Vivi 3. Dagger 4. Steiner 5. Freya 6. Quina 7. Eiko 8. Amarant CHAPTER TWELVE: Shops/Items 1. Shops 2. Items CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Closing 1. Outro 2. Credits ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *************** 3. Introduction *************** Hello! Welcome to my newest, latest, and very greatest guide, my Final Fantasy IX guide! It's Gbness back again, and he's here for his fourteenth FAQ. I've recently worked for Mega Man Legends 2 and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, so I decided to get in something that might make me more respectable and is a little more fun to do. Then I looked over my PS1 collection and knew I'd have to do Final Fantasy IX. A great game, this game is! Seriously, if you do not own this game I will strongly recommend that you pick this title up. Trust me you will not regret it, it's one of PS's great achievements! I love FFIX quite a lot, and I chose to write a guide for it because many people have problems with it, even though I personally find it a rather easy game. Final Fantasy IX is the ninth installment in the popular Final Fantasy series by Squaresoft, and it is arguably the best game yet in the series. I do not enjoy it quite as much as I love the awesome Final Fantasy X (whoosh, I shiver just at the meer mention of that game), but this is still a fantastic title in the series, and definitely worthy of the Final Fantasy name. Having been annoyed by Final Fantasy VIII and finding Final Fantasy VII a little overrated, I am not disappointed by this game in the slightest! Anyway, excuse my rather poor format, and you can use this guide and really guide yourself through Final Fantasy IX. I'll explain a little bit about how this guide will go around. The characters section will explain the characters' personalities, their usefulness in battle, a rundown of their stats, and their Trance modes. The game basics chapter will teach you the elements, status effects, the ability system, and nonsense like that. And then since there are four huge discs that make up this game, the walkthrough is split up into four chapters. Each will detail the guide as well as I can manage. The side quests and mini games part will introduce all of the optional stuff and secrets in the game, then there's the equipment list which will show you to everything you can wear, and the boss and enemies list will show you to all the bosses if you're too lazy to look in this guide, then the enemies and basically everything that I can detail about them will be listed there. You'll find all the abilities after you find the bestiary. After that, you'll find yourself with a good closing, my friends. This, in case you might be interested, is the first walkthrough that I've written for a game that the classics of GameFAQing have written for. I already honor the works of the extremely intelligent ATadeo, the wonderful GheddonLN, the great Psycho Penguin, and of course Nemesis, for their great contributions to gamers going through this game, so it's my job to stand up to them. I can assure you that you are going to have a great time reading through this guide, and perhaps one day I'll be respected like them. Who knows? Well, anyway, feel free to send me feedback, positive or negative, because I enjoy getting the kind of stuff. I'll add anything that'll need to be added, and I like anyone that gives me some good information, and I'm a friendly guy. So don't hesitate if I miss something important! Thanks in advance. -Rich "Gbness" B. ******************* 4. Legal Disclaimer ******************* You are NOT permitted to put this FAQ on your site without my permission first. All you have to do is email me or IM me saying you want this FAQ on your site, then you can tell me your site and the chance is high that I'll let you. But if you put this FAQ on your site without my permission I swear you will regret it. If I let you, not ONE word should be changed from this FAQ! NOT ONE! Got it? Good. *************** 5. E-Mail Rules *************** I love getting good emails, so you're free to email me with a question any time, but I will not answer questions already answered in this FAQ. I prefer e-mails with good grammar, and subjects with FF9 or I will delete them, sorry. Also, don't send me e-mails about other FFs with a FF9 subject, please. And don't bother sending things like: "You friggin' idiot. Your guides suck, you suck, and everything about you sucks. DIE DIE DIE!" "BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HELL, YOU STUPID RETARD!!!" "What the hell did you think you were doing writing all that garbage, you piece of crap? "I hope you fall down the stairs and break every bone in your body!" "u su><0rz, eVrYtInG BoUt u sUx, dIe ass!!!!!!1" I will laugh at e-mails like that and delete them. *********** 6. IM Rules *********** IM Rules: I also like getting IMs, but don't send them to me too often, or they may be ignored. I am on often, so feel free to IM me, but keep it light. The same rules apply. ======================================================================== -<-------------------------------------------------------------------->- CHAPTER TWO: Characters -<-------------------------------------------------------------------->- ======================================================================== There are eight main characters in the world of Final Fantasy IX. All of them are unique, unlike Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and each of them have their own set of abilities, stats, Trance modes, and all of that stuff. Here's an introduction on all of the eight main characters of the game. **************** 1. Zidane Tribal **************** HP: High MP: Low Strength: High Defense: Medium Magic: Low Mag Defense: Medium Speed: High Quote: You don't need a reason to help people. Zidane Tribal is a thief, and a member of Tantalus. He's the strongest, smartest, and overall best member of Tantalus. He's left Tantalus many times and just come back, but this time he'll decide to leave so he can free Dagger and make out with her. Zidane is really crazy and totally girl obsessed, and an overall very useful character, despite what many people have to say about him. And as he's a thief, he can use thief skills and steal from enemies. In battle, Zidane's an excellent character. His thief skills may not seem like much at first as he can detect an enemy's items, flee, turn the enemy's back around when yours is turned around, do damage when he's got a 7 in his HP, do a status depending on his weapon that the enemy is usually immune to, and sacrifice himself. He doesn't sound too useful, does he? Well, once you get his Thievery skill you've got one of the most powerful skills in the game, and his HP and Strength are high enough to make him super powerful. Zidane has perhaps the best Trance mode in the entire game. His Thief skills are replaced with Dyne skills. Once you reach the higher levels, even the very weakest of his Dyne skills can do the very maximum of 9999 damage, and he has such skills like Grand Lethal that even at some of the lowest of levels can do up to 6000-7000 damage. His Trance mode is one that you will want to use in some of the toughest fights. **************** 2. Vivi Orunitia **************** HP: Low MP: High Strength: Low Defense: Medium Magic: High Mag Defense: High Speed: Low Quote: How do you prove that you exist? Maybe we don't exist... Vivi is one of the most important characters in the game, and he's your typical moody little kid personality: shy, quiet, cute, and lovable. The storyline mainly focuses upon him, and he is a black mage. This makes life difficult for him as he sees his own type controlled, and what his type are like once they're controlled. Although he's very quiet and cowardly at the start, he will show great courage and bravery as the story progresses. At the early part of the game, Vivi is a highly useful character. I mean, his black magic simply owns. His magic defense and magic power are very high and he'll basically be your savior. Such spells like Fira will just guide you through the game, but that's at the start. When the game goes on, he becomes weaker and much less useful. His final spell Doomsday is not useful at all and he's weaker than he will appear at first sight. Still, he's an average character. Vivi has an excellent Trance mode, at the early or late parts of the game and 100% of the time this is a cool and pretty powerful Trance mode. Black Magic is replaced with Dbl. Blk, and as the name applies he can cast two black magic spells simultaneously. This, just like himself, will get less and less useful as time goes by, mainly due to the fact that his magic isn't too great in the end and that it takes up double MP. ******************* 3. Adelbert Steiner ******************* HP: High MP: Low Strength: High Defense: High Magic: Low Mag Defense: Low Speed: Low Quote: Having sworn fealty, must I spend my life in servitude? Adelbert Steiner might just have the worst personality ever to come out of a Final Fantasy game, which explains why a lot of people hate this man's guts. Steiner is very overprotective of Garnet, and he cannot stand to let her go anywhere without him, which drives him crazy and makes him super annoying. He is also covered head to toe in dirty, rusty armor. Although he despises Zidane at the beginning, the two become loyal friends later. He's a character you will probably dislike a lot. Steiner's main purpose in battle is to use his incredible physical attacks. Of all the characters in the game, Steiner has the strongest physical attack and highest HP. His defense, due to his filthy but still mighty armor, is also fantastic, which makes for a great physical character. Still, Steiner lacks any skills except Attack and Item (which everyone has), and Sword Arts. While his Sword Arts are almighty, it's disappointing those are his only skills. He can however use Sword Magic if Vivi is in the party, so that evens it out a little bit. The only main character in the game not to have a Trance mode, Steiner just gets his and gets no extra skills. (None to fill in that empty spot of his, darn it.) Still, it's not a total loss. His Trance mode is arguably the strongest attack in the game in early parts. His sword becomes so powerful that it can kill most enemies and even some bosses in one hit. So don't think that no real Trance makes Steiner useless! Build up his strength and you'll see four 9's of HP get taken away from enemies. ************************ 4. Garnet Til Alexandros ************************ HP: Low MP: High Strength: Low Defense: Low Magic: High Mag Defense: High Speed: Medium Quote: Someday I will be queen, but I will always be myself. Garnet is one of the main characters in the game, and early in the game she is very naive and her mother has been acting very oddly for quite a while. She is one of the most emotional characters in the game and even though she seems annoyed by Zidane at first, she really loves him and the two are true friends until the very end of the story. A little later, Garnet will change her name to Dagger, so I will refer to her as Dagger from here on. In battle, Dagger has two main abilities: Summon and White Magic. Her summons are ultimately powerful, although at the start of the game you cannot summon any eidolons. Well, you can. But that's only if you over level to hell. The least MP that a summon costs at that time is 96, and you get that much at around Level 15 or so. Early in the game, Dagger is nothing but a healer. However, around Disc 3 all her eidolons can be put to good use for cheap MP. Dagger has perhaps the weirdest Trance mode in the entire game. This Trance mode is plain useless in the beginning of the game because you cannot summon any eidolons, but later it will be terrific. After she summons an eidolon, she will randomly summon that same eidolon (slightly weaker), on future turns. Her Trance mode is useful enough for my taste, I guess. ***************** 5. Freya Crescent ***************** HP: Medium MP: Medium Strength: Medium Defense: Medium Magic: Medium Mag Defense: Medium Speed: Medium Quote: To be forgotten is worse than death. Freya is a young woman Zidane used to know. He meets her again in Lindblum, and then she's basically with him for the rest of the game besides an incident on Disc 2. Eventually a wounded Burmecian soldier makes his way up to Lindblum saying that Burmecia is being attacked, and since Burmecia is Freya's home town, she has to go there to help out. Zidane, being the loyal person he is, goes with her and she joins. She is also seeking her lost love, Sir Fratley. Now right now you're probably gawking at her stats up there saying how they're all at "Medium", meaning that Freya would be an average character at best. This is far from the truth. Freya is an extremely useful character for the wonderful skills that she has, like Jump. She won't be attacked while in the air (although she can't be healed there either), but she has such skills like Dragon's Crest that make her beyond useful. Trance mode for Freya is pretty weak and perhaps the most useless in the game. Fortunately though, Trance in not very important for Freya. In Trance mode, Freya can jump and stay in the air slightly longer, and when she lands she'll hurt all of the enemies. But there's one thing I've never quite been able to understand: when she lands she doesn't do much damage at all! Sometimes she does a lot more than the last time, but almost never as much as usual. It's truly a pity. ************* 6. Quina Quen ************* HP: Medium MP: High Strength: High Defense: Low Magic: Medium Mag Defense: Medium Speed: Low Quote: I do what I want! You have problem? This may very well be the most interesting and strange character that SquareSoft has ever thought up. Quina Quen is part of a race called Qu, and for heaven's sakes we don't know what age or gender it is (although I personally think that Quina is a male.) In Qu Marsh, Zidane meets Quina and he joins to be broaden his horizons and find more food. He also loves eating frogs and is a blue mage. One of his most special blue magic spells becomes stronger with more frogs. In battle, Quina is quite underrated and he is actually quite a useful character. While many agree that his Blue magic sucks, it is actually quite useful. Frog Drop and Limit Glove can do 9999 damage. His physical attack though, is a bit strange. It is rather powerful, but there is something very weird about it because it does random damage. Sometimes with the Bistro Fork (my experiment), it did about 70 damage and sometimes it did more like 2000. So be prepared for a weird character. Tying with Freya, Quina has one of the worst Trance modes in the game. Regularly, Quina can eat enemies when they're at about 1/8 of their HP. In Trance, Quina goes to 1/4 of their HP and at that point Eat is replaced with Cook. Quina's Trance gauge also fills rather slowly so he'll basically never get to use this ability in a real situation where you'd actually need to use it. However, don't just judge Quina by the useless Trance. ************* 7. Eiko Carol ************* HP: Low MP: High Strength: Low Defense: Low Magic: High Mag Defense: High Speed: Medium Quote: I don't wanna be alone anymore... Eiko is a 6 year old little girl who lives in the town of Madain Sari. That summoners' town is a big mess, but she lives with tons of moogles. Her parents and grandparents died when she was very little, so she is just on her own now. She has a horn of some kind, and can even summon eidolons. Inside her skirt, her little sister Mog lives. The two are very good friends. Eiko also seems to have some relationship to Dagger in some way. Whether Eiko is better or worse than Dagger I cannot say. However, there are a lot of weaker spots about Eiko compared to Dagger. She has less HP, Strength, Defense, and summons (4 to Dagger's 8), and summons are a bit weaker. Still, Dagger is the summoner! Eiko is basically your white mage, so in times of trouble where you need to heal, Eiko is there for you with powerful White Magic. She can also use Holy, one of the most powerful attacks in the whole game. She's a medium character I guess. Eiko's Trance mode is very similar to Vivi's and it totally fits in with the fact she is a white mage and makes her an even stronger white mage. It's not as good as Vivi's or Dagger's Trance modes, but it's still fairly good. Eiko can use two white magic spells in a row, so in a case where you need immediate healing on your whole party, two Cura or Curaga spells can heal it completely with ease. Still, her Trance mode comes up often and it's not as useful as it sounds. Not to mention that it's double the MP too! STOP THE TOTAL RIPS, SQUARE! **************** 8. Amarant Coral **************** HP: High MP: Medium Strength: High Defense: Medium Magic: Medium Mag Defense: Medium Speed: High Quote: The only dependable thing about the future is uncertainty. Amarant is without a doubt the most alone, selfish, and silent character in the game. Because he's a pretty bad and mad guy, he hardly ever talks except when supposed to. He and Zidane met each other in Treno a long time ago, and Zidane did some pretty nasty stuff on him. Amarant comes back wanting revenge a little later (in Madain Sari), and loses, and just joins to learn more about friendship, although he doesn't show much in the later areas. There's basically not much to complain about in Amarant. His HP is second only to Steiner's, and he's got super speed, which is surprising as for the fact he's a monk. His strength is extremely high and his skills are really good. However, he's one of the four powerhouses who cannot use magic, so basically his magic and magic defense are only average. Still, this doesn't lower his use in battle. Amarant's a great character, period. Amarant might just get Trance mode the least of anyone in the whole game, as for some reason he is rarely attacked and as opposed to me getting Zidane's about 20 times and Vivi's about 18 times, I got Amarant's 3 times in the game. His Flair will be replaced with Elan, and then you might notice that Flair always hits one character/enemy. Elan will hit all of the party members/enemies. It makes a fairly good Trance mode, especially with Chakra on the whole party to save up Ethers! ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER THREE: Basics: Read Before Playing -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- ====================================================================== Alright, you'll probably know some of the stuff in this section if you've played other RPG's. In fact, nothing except the ability system is really different in Final Fantasy IX than in most other RPG's, but I feel that I should still put every bit of detail I can about the game in this guide. However, there are some new things introduced in the world of Final Fantasy IX, so here we go. ******** 1. Stats ******** HP is the main stat of the game. It is a number to the left of the character's name that determines their health, and without HP you simply cannot fight. If it runs out, you are knocked out and you will have to use a Phoenix Down or a similar item or spell to revive yourself. If all of your characters get knocked out, you get a Game Over. However, at first you might think that since you cannot live without HP, you will probably think it is the most important stat in the game. DEAD WRONG! Defense and magic defense are much more important at many times. However, it's your choice. MP is quite similar to HP and is displayed to the right of HP. It determines how many points they have to use magic. Obviously, each spell in the game has a certain MP value and when you use that spell your MP decreases. If the value is more than your current MP, you cannot use that spell. To regain MP you basically have to use an Ether or a similar item, and they are hard and rare items to find unfortunately. MP can also be used for Trance modes, so I'd say it's a fairly important stat. I still wouldn't pay more attention to it than any other stat in the game however. Speed is in my opinion one of the most important stats in the whole game. It has many uses. For instance, the ATB gauges to the right of your characters fill up quicker with more speed. Zidane also has a skill called Thievery that relies very much upon Speed. With more Speed, the damage that Thievery does goes up. Speed can also be used for some other purposes. I'd recommend with all of the less speedy characters like Vivi, Steiner, and Quina to get weapons that build up their speed because they have lots of powerful attacks that you will definitely want them to use quickly. Strength is what you will basically need if you want to do any damage to your opponents. The higher your Strength is, the more damage you will do to your enemy. It increases as you level up, unlike Attack. Attack just goes up with weapons. Strength is incredibly important if you're a physical attacker, and if you like Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, or Freya in your party, you will want to build this stat up. I would suggest doing so because I personally like to use Strength more than Magic. Don't bother with it if it's Vivi, Dagger, Eiko or possibly Quina though. Vitality is your defense, and if you are facing really strong physical attackers you are going to have to have Vitality. However, I really do not care all that much about Vitality. Since a lot of enemies use magic as opposed to physical attacks, I think that it is more important to build up your nice magic defense and just leave Vitality. However, there are some bosses like Gizamaluke with ultimately powerful physical attacks, and in this case you will want your lower defense characters like Dagger and Vivi (they are not in your party when you fight Gizamaluke), to have high defense. Magic is one of the most important stats in Final Fantasy IX, and basically what it does is increase the magic power of the spells and summons in the game. I wouldn't call it more important than Strength though, because there are more characters in the game with huge physical attacks rather than nice magical attacks. In fact, magic is almost useless to Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, and Freya. They can't use magic of any sort, only skills. However, the summoning of Dagger and Eiko and spells of Vivi and Quina's become extremely nice after this stat is really high. Magic defense is another stat that will probably be quite vital within the world of Final Fantasy IX, and since there are so many enemies who are totally crazy about using spells, Magic Defense will have to be as top-notch as it possibly can. In my opinion, magic defense is more important than Vitality is, but don't make it the most important stat in the game! In some bosses like Gizamaluke who have magic that hits the entire party, you will it to do as little damage as possible, especially with strong physical attacks. Overall you should pay attention to magic defense if you don't want to get crushed. Spirit is a rather mixed bag of what it does. What I mean by that is that it has a lot of different effects on a character. It's sort of like Luck from some previous Final Fantasies, and if you have high spirit, there's a higher chance that Zidane will manage a Steal, it'll make Trance bars fill quicker, it'll have Vivi's status magic spells hit more often, and it'll also do more lucky things for your party. Usually it's best used for the stealing, so I suppose that its best use is when you're trying to steal from someone like Tantarian or Hilgigars. Evasion and magic evasion don't really have much to talk about, so I'll put them in one paragraph. Evasion determines how often you miss an attack the enemy throws at you. I don't really recommend booting this up too much because even at 25% (which is QUITE a lot for evasion), there's only a 1 in 4 chance the enemy will miss. With magic evasion, it doesn't determine normal spells like Fire or Blizzard. It's just spells like Blind or Bio that can miss that matter. Magic evasion goes even less high than evasion does, so there's a small chance of avoiding it. Don't bother with it. ********* 2. Trance ********* Trance is very similar to Limit Breaks from Final Fantasy VII and Overdrives from Final Fantasy X. To the right of the MP, there's a gauge. It fills up as you get hit. Once it reaches its end, the character will turn white and his/her physical power will increase. The character will then get another ability in which they can use. Before difficult battles, you might want to get the Trance bar as filled up as you possibly can. ***************** 3. Ability System ***************** Abilities are learned from equipped weapons. When you have the weapon on, you get AP. When you have enough AP for the ability, you can use the ability without equipping the weapon. There are also a lot of weapons that only certain characters can learn. There are two kinds of abilities in the game. Action Abilities are the abilities you use in battle and fall under lots of categories like Black Magic, White Magic, Skill, etc. These are the more important of the two. Support Abilities are also learned from weapons, but you equip them with your Magic Stones. You get more Magic Stones as you level up. ***************** 4. Status Effects ***************** There are a LOT of status effects to be found in Final Fantasy IX, so you'd best avoid being under any bad status effect and try to use some of the good status effects to your own advantage. These are all of those evil status effects that simply make Final Fantasy IX slightly harder. (In no particular order.) Here's the legend: Name: The name of the status effect, silly! Cancel: Anything you can use to get the effect off. Comments: My comments on the status effect. === BAD === Name: Petrify Cancel: Stona, Soft, Remedy Comments: Having all of your characters under Petrify is very bad, because the game will be over should that happen. What it does is turn the character into stone and they can't do anything. Name: Sleep Cancel: Esuna, Effect expires, Physical attack Comments: If a character is put under sleep, they are inactive in the fight and cannot do anything. More damage will be done to you than normal if you are attacked. Name: Silence Cancel: Esuna, Echo Screen, Remedy Comments: If a character is under Silence, s/he cannot use magic and I'm pretty sure that s/he can't use summons either. This status effect is pretty bad, so get rid of it quickly. Name: Slow Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: Slow is annoying, but it's nowhere near as bad as Stop is. It halves the speed of your ATB gauge, thus making you twice as slow as you already are. Name: Darkness Cancel: Esuna, Eye Drops, Remedy Comments: Under darkness, the character will have about half the chance of hitting the enemy then he had in the past. Actually, this effect isn't really too bad but you'll want to heal it quickly. Name: Heat Cancel: Ice, Esuna, Effect expires Comments: Under Heat, the character can take no actions. Well, they can, but at a terrible price. If they try, the action fails and the burns knock the character out. Truly horrible. Name: Confuse Cancel: Esuna, Physical attack Comments: Under confusion, the character cannot do anything. He might heal the enemy with anything, heal you with anything, attack anyone in any sort of way, and cannot be controlled period. This is VERY bad and you will want this effect off immediately. Name: Berserk Cancel: Gysahl Greens Comments: Depending on the situation, Berserk can be an advantage or it can be the worst status effect in the game. The character goes nuts and starts attacking with a higher attack power, but out of control. Name: Freeze Cancel: Fire, Esuna, Effect expires Comments: Another one of those motionless status effects. Under freeze, the character can take no action, and if attacked the ice will shatter and the character is gone. Luckily it wears off quickly. Name: Doom Cancel: End battle, KO Comments: As you can see above, once the character is put under Doom you can pretty much see his/her end unless you're quick to finish the battle. A counter appears above the character's head, and once it reaches 0 s/he will die. Name: Gradual Petrify Cancel: Stona, Esuna Comments: Gradual Petrify is similar to Doom, but isn't as nasty in a few ways. If a character is under Gradual Petrify, a counter will appear above the character's head. Once it reaches 0 s/he will die. However, it can cured more easily. Name: Mini Cancel: Esuna, Mini, Remedy Comments: If a character is put under Mini, s/he will shrink and all of his/her stats will decrease, especially attack and defense. This could be the one of the most deadly status effects. Name: Trouble Cancel: Annoyntment Comments: Not very major, but if a character is put under Trouble, then whenever s/he is attacked half of their damage is spread to the other members of the party. Name: Stop Cancel: Dispel, Remedy Comments: One of the worst status effects in the whole game. If a character gets under Stop, s/he cannot move. If the whole party is under Stop, the game is over. Name: Poison Cancel: Antidote, Esuna, Panacea, Remedy, Effect expires Comments: Poison isn't really that bad. If poison is cast on a target, their HP gradually decreases. It wears off eventually and isn't really all that bad. Name: Virus Cancel: Vaccine Comments: Virus means nothing inside battle, but outside of battle is where it is bad. Growth is stunted and the character can gain no EXP or AP. Name: Venom Cancel: Remedy Comments: This status effect is totally evil. The character is strongly poisoned and not only HP but MP decrease, and the character cannot move. The game is over if everyone is effected. Name: KO Cancel: Life, Full-Life, Phoenix Down, Phoenix Pinion Comments: Once a character is put under KO, his/her ATB gauge stops and s/he is put out of commission. If all characters are under KO, the game is over. ==== GOOD ==== Name: Regen Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: Under Regen, the character will gradually recover their HP. Every turn, they will get 1/16 of it back, so this is a very nice and often helpful status. Name: Protect Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: When a character is under Protect, the damage that the character takes from physical attacks will be half of what it normally is. Good against physical powerhouses like Hilgigars. Name: Shell Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: When a character is under Shell, the damage that the character takes from magical attacks will be half of what it normally is, like Protect with physical attacks. Name: Reflect Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: Reflect is probably the least useful status effect in most cases. When a spell is cast on the character with Reflect on, it is reflected at the enemy. Not all magic can be reflected though. Name: Haste Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: When under Haste, the character's speed is doubled. In some cases, Haste is the most useful status effect in the entire game, I love it a lot. Name: Float Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires Comments: DEFINITELY the least useful status effect. It floats the character above the ground so they take more wind damage, but less earth damage. Against earth monsters like Hilgigars, it's good. Against enemies with wind powers like Yans... Name: Vanish Cancel: Dispel, Effect expires, Magic Comments: If a character is under Vanish, s/he disappears from the battle and all physical attacks are avoided. Unfortunately it doesn't work with magic and s/he appears when hit with it... Name: Auto-Life Cancel: Dispel, KO recovery Comments: Once a character is put in Auto-Life, s/he can die and be reset a 1 HP. If this is on Quina and he uses his Limit Glove ability, this is wonderful! *********** 5. Elements *********** There are eight elements in the game, and a lot of the enemies in Final Fantasy IX are obsessed with an element. You can learn from these enemies and use their weakness on them or protect yourself from their power. ---- ---- Name Weak ---- ---- Fire Ice Ice Fire Thunder Water Earth Wind Wind Earth Water Thunder Holy Shadow Shadow Holy Now, here's a list of what these elements will likely be effective/ineffective against, and a little more onto the basics of them. FIRE: Effective against ice enemies. Fire is the most basic of all the elements, and the earliest spell Vivi learns. So fortunately, it can be used to some great powers. ICE: Effective against fire enemies, large enemies, and dragon creatures. The second most basic of the eight elements, and it's effective against a LOT of enemies. THUNDER: Usually useful against water creatures and a good deal of machines. The third most basic of the eight elements, and a favorite of quite a lot. EARTH: To our disgust, earth usually isn't that useful to a whole lot of people, due to how it's not very special. On wind enemies on the ground, it's extremely useful. But it misses against flying enemies. WIND: What I don't understand is that Vivi can't cast Aero and Aera, because they're very nice spells when enemies use them... anyway, this is useful against most earth elemental enemies. WATER: Unlike FF10, it's not a core element in this game, but against most thunder elemental enemies and monsters in the desert, water is extremely good. HOLY: This is something that even Vivi cannot use, and only white mages can. Few attacks are holy elemental in Final Fantasy IX, and this is useful against dark enemies and undead monsters. SHADOW: Like Holy elemental attacks, Shadow has very few attacks in its element. The element is very powerful and useful against holy monsters. Too bad there are few of them and it heals the undead... ******* 6. Tips ******* Yes, you might want a bit of help before taking on the gigantic world of Final Fantasy IX. I do know that it's MY advice in which you are probably not going to need, but you'll probably want all the help that you can get. • There's the Trance mode around. Several times in the game, you are going to encounter a lot of enemies that are extremely powerful. In this case, you'll want all the preparation you can get. Since Trance is extremely powerful, there can be no harm in simply using it and blasting your enemies. However, try very hard not to get it before you want to, or you might end up hitting your TV in anger and doing a lot of damage to it. • Basically, there are three ways of tackling the ability system. One - don't bother fighting too many enemies. Only equip weapons with the abilities you need. I don't recommend this as it takes a lot of memory. Two - just learn abilities that you really need. Then just equip some that you have around so you can use them. This is my recommendation. Three - learn every ability from every item you possess. This will make the game too easy, plus it is tedious and time consuming. Choose two, none others. • In battle, there's front and back row, and there's first strike and back attack. If an enemy hits you while your back is turned to them, you can expect to drop and take a whole lot of damage. That's called the back attack. In first strike, the enemy's back is turned to you. Now for rows. In front row, your characters will take a whole lot of damage, but do more damage in return. This is for well defended attackers. In back row, you do less damage but take less. For mages who never attack, put them there. Well done choices will make the game easier. • Having the correct support and action abilities at the right time is a good thing. Before fighting a boss with strong fire attacks for example, equip fire resistant equipment and if the boss has a weakness to ice, be sure to have the strongest ice magic you possibly can to do tons of damage to the enemy. Also, you will want to protect yourself against status effects that enemies use with the proper weapons and support abilities. Use magic stones very well, as you never have nearly as many as you need. • You are going to shortly grow to hate status effects. Avoid them at all costs if possible and against bosses like Meltigemini (who uses Poison and Venom), simply have support abilities that guard against these nasty effects. However, get the right weapons! Shop at every store you go to and get as many weapons as possible. Effects like Poison, Blind, and Silence are not too bad, but Confuse, Berserk, and Mini are dreadful. Heal them at all costs if you possibly can. • Shops are one of the most important parts of the game. Shortly near almost every single shop in the game, there are enemies to fight and they give you Gil. Know what you're buying all the time. Equip the things and have the perfect stuff to use against your enemies and get the proper abilities! If you can't afford it, fight powerful enemies and get Gil. Fear nothing so you'll get all the things you need to lead your way through the game. • Unlike a lot of RPGs, levels are hardly of any importance in Final Fantasy IX. The game can be completed at a mere Level 1 if you try to. As long as you have the right weapons and preparations, you could easily beat the game at Level 15-20. Just with a little wisdom you can get your abilities fixed up well and no enemy can even touch you as long as you can kill them nicely. Final Fantasy IX is not a difficult RPG. • It would be very impressive if you could find a single enemy in the whole game that doesn't have some sort of weakness. A lot of enemies and even some bosses can be affected by status effects, and there are tons of monsters with elemental weaknesses. Also, physical attacks are your king. With skills like Limit Glove in the early game, you can really play wisely and get your opponents to lose against you. Trust me, it will not be very hard to find a way to beat just about any boss in the whole game. • Search everything! Talk to every single person you see, and talk to them more than once. They might be important characters or they might give you something. Also, search every corner of every place. Leave no stone unturned. This guide won't need to help you find every odd and end there, so be sure not to miss out on anything. And pay attention to the stuff that you read or what characters say! You'll need this information in a lot of circumstances. You won't regret it listening to this tip! • Take care of your characters! Don't underestimate bosses because if you aren't spoiling ahead of yourself with this walkthrough you never know that you'll find an enemy or boss that kills everyone if they're at 1-10 HP and you've been too lazy to heal everyone. Also, there's the deal with status effects and weapons. Get them the best abilities you can to make them real strong and make sure that level-wise they don't end up ten levels behind. To see more information on the characters' stats, go to Chapter Two. ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER FOUR: Walkthrough: Disc 1 ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- This is literally quite a long game, so also expect this to be quite a long walkthrough as well. Otherwise, simply enjoy the walkthrough while it's here! *************** 1. Theater Ship *************** Enemies: -------- Masked Man (Boss) You'll start the game off in a dark room. Well, it's the starting area of the game anyway. Read the sign to your right to learn a little about the city Lindblum and Tantalus, and then go to the top area. To the left sides, you'll find some Gil. After collecting it, light the candle in the middle of the room. You can then get the chance to name Zidane. His Tantalus pals Cinna, Blank, and Marcus will come in. A man with a mask barges in at that moment and we have to fight him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Masked Man HP: 160 Steal: Wrist, Mage Masher Party: Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, Blank Difficulty: Easy As you've probably already guessed, the masked man is the easiest boss in the game. He can hit on Cinna pretty hard but that's basically all he's got to strut. You'll probably want to have Marcus and Blank attack a little to wear him down a bit, then have Cinna and Zidane steal. He can hardly touch anyone but Cinna. Once you've stolen a good weapon for Zidane called the Mage Masher, all you have to do is hit him a little more and the mask will fall right off his head. That will automatically win the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that fight, everyone will look rather worn out. Baku will call them to the next room. Everyone will automatically go and Baku will explain the mission. It is to play the beautiful play "I Want to Be Your Canary" and then capture the beautiful princess of Alexandria, Garnet. We're then done with that part... ************* 2. Alexandria ************* Enemies: -------- King Leo Steiner We'll see a scene with a dark little boy with yellow eyes on the street. He carries a ticket with him. A little girl will then bump into him and give him his ticket. Be sure to stop in some of the houses around here and pick up cards and such. About halfway around this street, a little rat kid will be running toward you. He'll bump into you and yell at you, and then run away. Just ignore the kid and go forward. You'll see some nobles from the town of Treno talking, and they'll go on. Just head forward to the left. On the next screen, you will see a ticket booth right ahead. Talk to the people here if you want, and then just go to that ticket booth. Once you're there, talk to the guy at the ticket booth. Choose other options to learn more about Princess Garnet, Queen Brahne, and Alexandria. After that, just talk to the guy and ask him to stamp the ticket. Apparently it's a fake. He'll give you three cards and tell you to talk to Alleyway Jack. To the left side of this place, you might find three girls jumping rope. If you want, go ahead and try for it. You can get some awesome cards if you're good enough. For help on this, go to the Mini Games section. Once you're done there, just go to the left. Go down that path, and Dante the Signmaker on the ladder will miss the sign he's trying to hit. He'll scold the pointy hat boy and walk off. You'll then see the rat kid. Tell him what ever you want, and then he'll offer to take you to see the play if you be his slave. Agree and just go on. Down this path, you will be following the rat kid. Go to the end and to the left. Check this circular area for a Tent, and then go to the ladder. A moogle will fall on the pointy hat boy's head. The moogle's name is Kupo. He'll tell you a bit, and then another moogle named Stiltzkin will appear. He'll tell Kupo he's going and then fly off. Before heading up, talk to Kupo. He'll offer you to help with the Mognet Mail Network. Agree and then just go up the ladder. On the rooftops, the pointy hat boy will slowly walk across them. Just cross it and get further for a rather funny scene, and then the rat kid will stop and ask the boy for his name. His default name is Vivi. The rat kid will introduce himself as Puck. After that, just go. You can walk across one of the lower logs and cross the rooftops for some Gil if you want, but otherwise just go to where the rat kid is and go on. After he lays the ladder down, Vivi will automatically cross and it's time for the play. We will see an FMV. Vivi and Puck will run to the play and get there just in time. The screen will turn to Garnet, who does not look happy in the slightest. Steiner glances at her while carrying his sword, and the play begins. Baku (playing King Leo), introduces the play, and then Zidane, Cinna, and Blank do their parts. As it is part of the play, the four will have to have a fight with Baku/King Leo and his two assistants. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: King Leo HP: 188 Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, Blank Difficulty: Easy As the battle starts, you'll notice that for everyone, Steal is replaced with SFX. You might just want to use these awesome looking spells and find they do 0 damage. Well, to tell you the truth, SFX (Stage magic) is extremely useless and does absolutely no damage. The three will use this stuff but none of it is any good. Still, that doesn't matter. King Leo can take out Cinna in one hit but does about 10 damage to the others. You do not need to defeat Zenero and Benero to end this battle; all you have to do is waste King Leo to his death. You can probably do that in five attacks at most. Simply do that and the battle will be over. You can't steal in this fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that fight, King Leo will walk away in anger and then tell Marcus he hasn't seen the last of him and will return to haunt him. Blank will then tell Zidane some things about if the princess were to marry Prince Scheneider, there would be peace. And now in this play, we'll have to have a sword fight between Zidane and Blank. Please go to the Side Quests/Mini Games section for help on that. After the sword fight is over... In black so we don't see it, Blank and Zidane will beat up two of the Knights of Pluto for their armor and things. Blank will find every bit of problem with his armor and then Zidane will take off his helmet as it smells. After that, Blank will tell you to find Princess Garnet. Head to the next room to your left. Do NOT go up or down or two Alexandrian Soldiers will walk around and you'll waste time. Go up the stairs and you'll find a hooded girl. Pick whatever option you want, but either way she'll run through Zidane and Blank, then disappears. After that, we see two jesters by the names of Zorn and Thorn run around talking to each other, trying to find Queen Brahne. They'll talk a bit and then go to Queen Brahne, and tell her that Garnet left her seat. The captain of the Knights of Pluto and the General Beatrix will argue a little, and then Queen Brahne will order the captain (his name is Steiner), to find Princess Garnet. Looks like we have to do that task then, don't we? Steiner will yell at all of the Knights of Pluto to assemble, but only two appear. They are the ones whom Blank and Zidane mugged, and are half naked. Steiner will shout at them to find Garnet, and they will run off. Now, depending on how you did in the sword fight with Zidane and Blank, you can head back to where Queen Brahne is and get an item depending on how well it was done. Anyway, let's go find Garnet, shall we? There's a little thing we can do inside this large castle. We can try to find all eight Knights of Pluto and the final one right before Garnet will give you an Elixir. Refer to the Mini Games section for that help. Otherwise, just go up from there. If you talk to the soldiers around here, they'll tell you that a girl with a hood was just spotted. I think we all know who that is. After that, head around and go down the stairs, and just go to the south. From there, we'll be outside the castle itself. Go down from there and to your left. Steiner will hear that the play was a big hit and realize that if he doesn't find Garnet soon, he'll be a laughingstock of Beatrix. If you go to the right screen, you will find a Knight of Pluto (who is actually Blank in disguise), guarding a door. Ignore that. Just go to the left from there. We'll find ourselves near a really large tower. Go up all the stairs on this tower, and you'll find the final knight near the top. Talk to him if you've found all the other 7 knights, and he'll give you an Elixir. I'd say do this because Elixirs are always very well worth it. Once you've done so, go further up and Steiner will get worn out. He'll then see Zidane chasing Garnet on one of the opposite towers. He then runs to rescue her. We then see a nice FMV with Zidane and Garnet. The Princess stands on the tower and falls off with a nice smile on her face while doing it. Both Zidane and Steiner freak out at this, and then they see she fell off the tower on purpose. She then goes down and Steiner crashes, getting rid of him. Zidane then lands in a music room, and Garnet lands on top of him. She then runs away. Talk to the musicians if you want, otherwise just go to the right to continue. Garnet will run through a young woman named Ruby, and then the two will argue a little. She'll then run off and Zidane will then appear. Garnet went downstairs, so just go down there. You will be in the room where we began the game in. Zidane and Garnet will talk a little, and she will tell Zidane that she wants to be kidnapped. Cinna appears and then the two run off to the room to the right. Steiner enters in fury mode, and then Blank (in Pluto knight disguise) will appear. Zidane, Garnet, and Cinna will reach a dead end. Cinna however has something worked up for this. He will get a hole to escape in, and they get away. We then get a humorous scene when Steiner runs in and sees the hole. Blank jumps in first, but he pretends to get trapped there. Steiner then gets so mad that he runs away. Blank laughs at his victory, and then we return to where we were with Zidane, Garnet, and Cinna. The three then jump into an engine room. Zidane compliments how athletic Garnet is, and then they jump down. Zidane automatically goes to the right at the point. Now, we'll see a big wheel in this room. Turn it to the right. Cinna will scold Zidane that if it goes any higher, the ship will be in trouble. He then turns it back. Now turn it to the left. Two treasure chests will drop. Get down to the floor and grab these chests! They contain a Phoenix Down and Phoenix Pinion. When ready, go through the door next to Cinna. You'll then wind up in a small room, and Steiner will appear. Blank as the Pluto Knight also comes in, and Steiner tries to urge Garnet to come. Blank then gives away he's not one of Steiner's knights by telling Garnet that he'll get her out of there. The enraged Steiner sees this fact and gets mad again, then the three say he can leave the princess to them. Guess whom we have to fight next. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Steiner HP: 169 Steal: Leather Hat, Silk Shirt Party: Zidane, Cinna, Blank Difficulty: Easy Steiner is one of the easiest bosses in the entire game. All he can do is attack and his attacks are very weak. You'll want to steal in this fight as well. Steiner's Silk Shirt is well worth stealing and the Leather Hat can be sold for a little bit of money. Now on for Steiner. Unless he hits Cinna, you shouldn't have one worry in this fight. He might be able to knock Cinna out but don't worry about him since he's not permanent. Just hit him a bit more and then he'll use Armor Break on Blank. He will then be distracted by oglops and the fight is over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that stupidly easy battle, Blank has released his oglops and they dance all around the room making Steiner furious and distracted. The four run away. Unfortunately, in the next room Zidane, Garnet, and Blank make it up but Steiner smacks Cinna silly and follows them up. And now we finally reach the point where we progress with the play "I Want to Be Your Canary." King Leo steps on stage speaking his evil plan to himself, and then Zidane and Garnet get on stage from the platform below. Marcus and Garnet (who is playing Cornelia), hug each other and then King Leo steps in the way. Marcus tries to stab King Leo but Cornelia blocks him. The sword goes through Garnet/Cornelia and she drops and pretends to be dead. Marcus acts in his pity and Queen Brahne from the crowd starts crying. Then we see Vivi and Puck, who are both watching it. Two of Steiner's knights (Haagen and Weimar), appear and chase Vivi. He falls down and Puck gets mad at him and runs away. We won't see him again until much later. Vivi runs on stage and tries to cast Fire on the two knights who are chasing him, but he misses and hits Garnet. Her white mage robe catches fire and she takes it off. She yells at Steiner to stop following him. Then it's another battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Steiner II HP: 162 Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Marcus Difficulty: Easy Aw, this fight is even easier than the last fight with Steiner was! I admit that he's got Haagen and Weimar with him, but you can defeat them in one hit apiece. In this fight, Steal has been replaced with SFX again. The magic is still useless though. Steiner will not hit Garnet (he occasionally hits her very gently for light damage), so actually you don't even need to win this fight. He will just finish everyone off and let Garnet live, and that's the end, although the game will continue. Have Vivi use Fire on Steiner to reduce his HP a large bit while Marcus and Zidane attack, and Steiner will be defeated for the second time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that fight, we see yet another spectacular FMV. Queen Brahne fires cannons at the theater ship and Garnet gets really worried. Then, from inside one of the cannons, a bomb in unleashed. The bomb goes on stage right behind Steiner, who has not given up yet. The bomb looks like it is angry but of some use... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Steiner III HP: N/A Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Marcus Difficulty: Easy This fight is a bit weirder than the last fight, but it's the easiest of all three of them. This time, you will see a bomb right behind old Steiner's head. Everyone will warn him about it but because he's so stupid, he won't notice it. Also, you might notice in this fight Steiner has no HP. You can do whatever you want with the game; you can get a GameShark and have Garnet summon something for about 2000-3000 damage or you can have Vivi cast Fire for 60-70 damage while having Zidane and Marcus slash away with their strong attack, but Steiner will NOT be defeated. Period. The bomb will swell three times and then blow behind him, so don't worry about anything after that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After Steiner's ass is kicked, the bomb explodes on him, making an extremely beautiful explosion. =P The theater ship took severe damage from Queen Brahne firing the cannons, so it catches fire and crashes in the Evil Forest. Baku, Cinna, and Blank do their duty to get it in shape, but nothing works there. It's crashed in the Evil Forest, where we are going next. ************** 3. Evil Forest ************** Enemies ------- Goblin Fang Dendobrium Plant Spider Prison Cage (Boss) Baku (Boss) Plant Brain (Boss) Now that we are out of that mess, we have to find Garnet. Blank's searching inside the ship, so Zidane gets the dirty work with searching in the forest. Go figure. Just head down and talk to the moogle to the left, and he'll teach you about ATE (Active Time Event) and show you a nice one. After that, just go to your right and proceed into the forest. At the beginning of it, there are two enemies: Goblin and Fang. Goblins are very weak creatures and can usually be taken out in one hit. Fangs are a bit stronger in every way, but you can still probably take them out. They each dish out a fair amount of EXP, so I really recommend getting up to Level 3-4 before handling the bosses right up ahead. When you're ready, go on and you'll see Steiner trying to tackle a strong plant. He can't do it. Thus this battle begins... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Prison Cage HP: 513 Steal: Broadsword, Leather Wrist Party: Zidane (3), Steiner (1) Difficulty: Semi-Easy Prison Cage is a rather complex boss but it isn't very difficult. It only has the Left and Right Stem attacks that do some small damage to Zidane or Steiner, but what makes it slightly harder is that it holds Garnet captive. It uses Absorb sometimes and drains HP from Garnet, and when she loses all her HP she dies. (Sort of similar to Rinoa and Adel from Final Fantasy VIII.) After Prison Cage has absorbed HP from Garnet twice, you'll want to heal her immediately. Don't bother trying to steal because you cannot yet. After that, just go ahead and hit the Prison Cage to its death with Steiner's attacks and Zidane's Free Energy. It's not hard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the fight, the Prison Cage will simply carry Garnet away. Vivi says he tried to do something but couldn't. Poor kid. Steiner will mope about Garnet's being taken away, but then suddenly the Prison Cage returns and takes Vivi as its new captive. Oh brother, we have to fight the Prison Cage again? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Prison Cage II HP: 533 Steal: Broadsword, Leather Wrist Party: Zidane (3) Steiner (1) Difficulty: Easy The Prison Cage isn't finished yet, but it's just as easy this time around. Vivi is trapped inside the Prison Cage this time and he's always casting Fire on it. He does about 70-80 damage each he hits it so it won't take long to burn it up. Steiner and Zidane are also always attacking for a good 60 damage or so, but we also must worry a little on Vivi. He's still trapped within the Prison Cage and it will Absorb HP from him just like it did Garnet. We can't let Vivi die. Still, this fight is very simple. Go ahead and steal the two items (you might want to equip the Leather Wrist on Vivi later and sell the extra Broadsword), and then just wear the Prison Cage down with a few attacks at it'll die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vivi will be rescued well and the Prison Cage will finally die. However, Garnet is still yet to be found. As the Prison Cage dies, it lets out some venom. Steiner and Vivi get really sick and then Zidane apparently has no choice but to bring them to the theater ship to be taken care of.... We'll see Blank taking care of Vivi. He'll tell him what could have happened if he and Zidane hadn't been doing all this. He appears to be healing nicely. After that we see Zenero pushing Steiner into a storage room. Steiner has been poisoned and can hardly do anything. Benero gives him some medicine and then they both lock him into a storage room. Zidane will talk to Baku. He wants to go out into the Evil Forest and rescue Garnet, but Baku won't let him. Zidane yells at him and calls him a big coward. Check the right for Bronze Gloves, and then go back. You'll see Baku look in that direction. If you go back in there you might notice he's gone. Don't mind that. Go down the stairs to the bottom and talk to Blank. He'll tell you to talk to Vivi. He's in the room behind Blank. Go in there and Zidane will compliment Vivi's powers. He'll also promise to find Garnet. Get the treasure chest on the upper side of the room and leave. When you leave, Zidane will start thinking and he wishes that he didn't make that promise to Vivi because he doesn't know that he can find Garnet. He'll then remember when he met Garnet and how pretty she was, and then he'll decide to save her. Tell Blank your plan, and then he'll tell you to talk to the boss (Baku). Okay, let's just go. Head to the left and you'll find Zenero and Benero guarding the storage room where Steiner is locked up. Just let that be. To the right of them, go down the staircase. From there, go to the right and you will find Baku in a small room. He'll sneeze a little and then tell Zidane's he's going to bust him up. He'll then tell him to get his ass in the cargo room. That was the last room. Go back in there and talk to Baku. We now have to fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Baku HP: 202 Steal: Hi-Potion, Iron Sword Party: Zidane (3) Difficulty: Easy Baku, being the leader of Tantalus, is actually a real wimp. His attacks only do about 30 damage or so and he trips over his own feet a lot. Add to that you can take him out in three hits or so. First of all, we'll want Zidane to steal a new sword for Steiner and the Hi-Potion, because both of them are worth it. Baku, although he is really weak, is pretty fast. His weak blows will soon start getting high, so don't let Zidane get KO'd. Heal with a Potion when HP drops, and then steal and attack Baku. It'll basically alternate between the two as they've got the same speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Baku lets Zidane leave and just goes back. Talk to Blank and he'll tell you he unlocked the storage room so he's free to talk to Steiner. Now go back through the door on the left and go to the storage room. Zidane and Steiner will argue a little and then Steiner suggests that it is best to get Vivi to go with them as well, because he's got a lot of power. After doing that, go back into this room and open the treasure chest for an Ether. After doing that, just go south and all the way across the room to talk to Vivi. He'll agree to join. Steiner will also ask to do a special experiment with Vivi's magic to power up his sword. Now that we have our third party member, go back to the cargo room. Instead of heading right, go down. Around there you'll find Blank again. He'll give you a note from Baku, some advice on abilities, and medicine. Zidane then leaves for the Evil Forest. From here, just go the way we went to the Prison Cage in the Evil Forest. (Go down, and turn right.) Now go to where Prison Cage is and head beyond him. Now, just go straight ahead. You'll find Monty the moogle drinking water out of a spring. If your characters are short on HP or MP, drink from the spring to restore HP. You'd best save your game with Monty too. After doing so, go to the right to proceed deeper in the forest. You may find a new enemy called the Dendobrium here. This flower is pretty simple, although it uses Pollen on the party. Try to finish this off quickly with a physical attack and Vivi's Fire spell. Doing so is a good way to build up a little. Try to get Vivi and Steiner to Level 3, where I was at the time. After you pass this area, we'll see a short scene across the water and a deadly looking plant can be seen. We're going to have to fight it soon. After that screen, just go right ahead to the chamber. Keep in mind: right before you enter you'll almost ALWAYS have a random encounter with a Dendobrium! I mean, this is so dang annoying! WE WANT TO FIGHT THE PLANT BRAIN RIGHT NOW, NOT THESE STUPID ANNOYING PLANTS. Head into the chamber after you sadly run into the random encounter. The Plant Brain is right there looking very dangerous, and behind it is Garnet, who has been very badly poisoned. I suppose it's time to fight the master of the forest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Plant Brain HP: 930 Steal: Eye Drops, Iron Helm Party: Zidane (4), Steiner (3), Vivi (3), Blank (3) Difficulty: Medium The Plant Brain is not very difficult, but it's the toughest boss this far. It's 930 HP will probably discourage you and you'll want to steal the Iron Helm from it which will really slow you down. The Plant Brain can cast Thunder on the entire party and it's got some DARN good physical attacks. Thunder can be quite painful and Plant Brain is rather speedy as well. It can also use Pollen very freely and this is going to be extremely annoying. However, the Plant Brain is vulnerable to Fire. Steiner's Fire Sword with Vivi will do nearly 400 damage and Vivi's Fire will do about 150, so it won't take long to wear down the Plant Brain. Have them do that a bit while Zidane attempts to steal the Iron Helm from it. If Plant Brain gets Blind on everyone, use an Eye Drops or two if you're going to attack physically. After you've done some reasonable damage, Blank will show up. He's ready to fight and he can steal. Have BOTH Blank and Zidane steal until they get the Iron Helm. You won't regret it. After you've got it, you may want to heal a little because the Plant Brain will have probably worn you down a little by now. But once you've done so, just have Steiner use Fire Sword, Vivi use Fire, and Zidane and Blank attack. They do a good 100 damage or so a blow, so Plant Brain will be little more than sacrificial lamb. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the battle, Steiner will hold Garnet, and Zidane gives her Blank's medicine. Then the Plant Brain's children: the Plant Spiders, appear. They are dangerous and this will be rather fun. All four of them will run. You might want to fight these creatures for fun too, because they give respectable amounts of EXP. Once you're done doing that, just hop from the cliff to the ground. You'll have to fight 2-4 Plant Spiders when you land. After beating them, go ahead and Zidane and Blank will talk a little. Then more Plant Spiders come! We see a wonderful FMV where the four run from all of these nasty Plant Spiders. Everyone is managing to run very well... except Blank. We see some spiders turning the forest into stone behind them, and then they grab Blank. Before Blank is gone, he tosses them a world map. Zidane grabs it and he, Vivi, and Steiner roll out of the forest. We then see the forest, and Blank, who is now nothing more than stone. Zidane will punch on the stone, but Blank is gone now. He, Vivi, Steiner, and Garnet will sit by a fire for the night, and then Zidane and Steiner argue some. Garnet thanks Zidane and Vivi for helping her. For the night, Steiner guards the Evil Forest making sure that no harm befalls Garnet, and then everyone goes to sleep. Upon waking up, Monty appears. He decides to give you a little lesson from the veteran Mogster. Learn from him a little if you want, but after that you will leave. Zidane suggests to go to a cavern to the south. World Map --------- We are now on the world map for the first time. Right to the south is the Ice Cavern, but let's not head there yet. Go there, but don't enter. To the far east of it, you can find an entrance to the South Gate. A woman there can sell you some Potions. You will want to use these for building up. Wander around the world map mindlessly and get EXP to build everyone up, but when you're ready go to the Ice Cavern and let's get a move on. ************* 4. Ice Cavern ************* Enemies: -------- Fang Wyerd Cave Imp Flan Black Waltz #1 (Boss) Sealion (Boss) Upon entering, Vivi will explain a little about the cavern. Go further in and Garnet, as the naive girl she is, will examine a crystal. Steiner will yell at her to be careful, and then we take control of Zidane once again. Go up the samll hill and jump right below it and take the tent inside the chest, and then jump back to ground and head beyond that into further depths of this cold, icy cavern. I'll now talk a little about enemies. The Fang can be found in here, which is no big deal. Around the winds, you can find Wyerds. These are the most difficult enemies in the Ice Cavern because they have strong attacks and can switch their HP with a character's HP. Cave Imps cast Sleep a lot which makes them really annoying, but that's all. Flans just cast a little bit of magic but that's the only thing they've got. One Fire spell on all of them eliminates all of them. In this next room, go to your right and inspect the wall. Zidane will suggest that if Vivi were to cast a Fire spell on it, it would break. After Vivi burns it down, check the treasure chest and get an Ether. Get the chest nearby for a Potion and then go to the top of this screen and get out of it. Beware of some of the winds around here as you may end up fighting some of those Wyerds here. Oh my beans! In this room, go to your right and get the treasure chest, and then examine the icicle after getting it. Be very careful as it may be a little tricky. Vivi will hit it with his Fire spell, and you can go down the icicle and get another Mage Masher dagger. Go to the left side of the room from here and burn down the other wall. (It might be a little hard to see.) Get the Elixir inside that chest, and then go to the upper-right side of the room and get out of that area. Go to the top of this room and check the left ice wall. Vivi will burn it down and you can go down this path to get the Leather Wrist in the chest. Keep in mind you'll also have to go through a random encounter due to the stupid wind. Also around this room, you may also notice a Phoenix down, so get that if you want. It always helps to save up. Once you've done that, go up and we'll come to a fork. Head left on the fork, and you'll find an icicle and a moogle inside it. Get Vivi to burn it, and then the moogle will be freed. He'll go into frantics, but then he'll realize what you've done for him. He also lets Mogster teach you a little bit here and there about elements, status effects, and the card game. Now use a Tent, for we are about to fight a boss soon. Go back and head to the right fork. Everyone will pass out, including Zidane. He'll wake up in this storm. Go to the right and we'll find what's causing the storm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Black Waltz #1 & Sealion HP: 229 (Black Waltz #1), 472 (Sealion) Steal: Silk Shirt, Remedy (Black Waltz #1), Ether, Mythril Dagger (Sealion) Party: Zidane (7) Difficulty: Semi-Easy These two as a pair are rather nasty, but they're not really that bad. Black Waltz #1 uses Fire and Blizzard for about 30 damage each, and the Sealion uses Wing (about 40 damage), and Blizzard (50 damage). When the battle gets further, the Sealion uses Blizzara (80-90 damage), and Tsunami (70-80 damage). Therefore, you could end up dead meat to it because it and Zidane alternate, making it very fast. Plus, you might see it has an Ether and Mythril Dagger to go with it. Sometimes it will take an eternity to be able to steal the Mythril Dagger. If you attack the Sealion, Black Waltz #1 will cast Blizzard on it, healing it. We don't want to go down that road. The Black Waltz #1 really doesn't have anything nice to steal, so you probably don't need to go around stealing from it. Just hit it some for about 90 damage and it will be falling real soon. Undoubtedly in this battle, Zidane will go into Trance mode. Once he reaches Trance mode, you are free to use Free Energy or Tidal Flame. However, you may not want to do to use Tidal Flame unless you have a good amount of HP remaining. With Tidal Flame, Black Waltz #1 will die but Sealion will probably be left. But at the point, it'll be using Tsunami and then Blizzara. If you've been neglecting healing, you could be breaking your TV because Tsunami could wipe you out. With Free Energy, you could try a little trick. You could use it on Sealion for about 350 damage. Black Waltz #1 would cast Blizzard on it for about 160 HP back. That would be about 190 HP lost. That's not enough HP to make it use anything too nasty. You could then use another Free Energy and Sealion would be dead before Black Waltz #1 could heal it. With Sealion out of the way, Black Waltz #1 would be no problem at all. So do whatever you want to do in this battle, but if you're at around 300 HP and are fully healed, use the Tidal Flame strategy and don't worry about the Sealion wiping you out. Still, be sure to heal once your HP drops to 100 or so, just to be safe. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Zorn and Thorn will tell you that you defeated #1, but #2 and #3 will reclaim the princess. Zidane will wander back to where the three were, and then that stupid idiot Steiner will shout at him some more. Zidane hides the thing about the Black Waltz, and then the four reunite. Go back to where the Black Waltz was, and this time go to the right and climb all the way. Get all the way to the top and exit the Ice Cavern for good. The four will walk down a small path on the outside, and Zidane will see a village that's familiar to him. (As every village is.) Zidane will tell Garnet that she needs a new identity. Steiner yells at him some more, and then the two start yet another argument. Garnet looks at Zidane's dagger, and chooses to name herself Dagger. Zidane then teaches her how to sound like a regular village girl, and then the four go down. World Map --------- We have a little thing we can do here. Head right north to the village, but before entering go to the grass on the right. Make sure you have an Ore before doing so. Around there a cute little monster will ask you for an Ore. Give it to it and it'll thank you, tell you to tell Mr. Ghost it said hi and give you 10 AP (Zidane's Mythril Dagger's Bandit should get this AP for sure!). Now stop inside the Observatory Mountain to the right. Examine the ship inside and the old man will tell you to get his three favorite coffees. After that, just head into the village. ******* 5. Dali ******* Enemies: -------- Ghost Vice Black Waltz #2 (Boss) Black Waltz #3 (Boss) Vivi will look at a windmill upon entering, and then Zidane will suggest going to the inn. Two kids will then run around. (They mean nothing.) Upon entering, Zidane will find the innkeeper asleep. He'll then wake him up, and then Innkeeper Hal (that's his name) will stare at Vivi and point them to the room. Everyone enters, and then Zidane and Steiner get into another argument. Vivi falls asleep, and then everyone calls it a day. On waking up, Zidane hears a voice singing a very pretty song. It was Dagger. Get the treasure chests in this room and view the ATE's (Vivi being curious of people hating him and Dagger trying to speak properly with an old woman). Go north to the top of this place and you'll find Vivi. Poor kid's a little down. After a small talk with the two, you'll seem some bastard carry him away. Dang it, stupid idiot taking a small, innocent, cute kid like Vivi. After that, we get another ATE, and now it's time to find Dagger. One of the ATE's will show her talking with Shopkeeper Eve at the Item Shop. Head to the shop to the left of the inn and you'll find Dagger looking at some stuff. Zidane will give her some more advice on sounding just like a regular village girl, and then she'll go back to the inn. Buy something from Shopkeeper Eve if you want, but otherwise go back to the inn. Go to the main room and find Dagger there. Zidane and Dagger will chat a little bit and then we'll see Steiner cleaning some stuff in a shop. He obviously wants to find some transportation to get Dagger back to Alexandria Castle. The shopkeeper will tell him to go to the Observatory Mountain and talk to the old man named Mr. Morrid, who owns the cargo ship. That bastard Steiner. Zidane and Dagger will both wonder where Vivi is, and then they decide to go off and look. Head back to where we found Vivi in the first place. Zidane will hear a chocobo and go there. He'll then hear someone crying. He'll check a hole and hear Vivi. He was apparently taken underground, and now Zidane has to find a way there. Dagger fortunately comes along. Now, go down a little bit and head to the left. Check behind the windmill in here and you'll find the Aries. Now check on the lower side of the room for a latch and you'll find a ladder that leads underground. Climb down and find the elevator. Let it take you down and get the 156 Gil below it, and then continue down this tunnel. You'll see (not too clearly though), two men talking about what they've found. They will carry Vivi away and then Dagger will grab Zidane and pull him away. Dagger will tell Zidane that he can't cause trouble yet, but she recognizes the design on the barrel in that room. Go back there and check where those two men were for a treasure chest. Go to the next room and you'll see a barrel with a moogle in it. Save your game here and then examine the wheel here. Collect a Potion and then climb up the crates and check the top one for an Ether. Now jump right back down to the ground and go further on and you'll find some boxes. Zidane will hear something crying from one of them, and then you'll find Vivi. Some scums took the poor kid and stuffed him into a box. Child abuse! Well, now it's time to continue. At the top of this room, there is a door with mist coming out of it. Open it and we'll have to fight some Ghosts. These creatures are very simple, but they use Thunder and Osmose. Be careful. In that room, you'll find three treasure chests. After collecting them, just turn back and go to the bottom of this room and further. Continue down this narrow tunnel, and we'll see something that we really don't see every day... A huge lot of black mages are in this room, and they look exactly like Vivi. At the time, everyone will think they are only dolls. Now, the next scene is really funny! I won't spoil it for you. After that, we'll see Steiner in the Observatory Mountain, talking to the old man Mr. Morrid. Morrid apparently isn't fond of Steiner and will just ignore him. Wait for the old timer to head back to his house, and then enter. After Steiner and Morrid argue a little, Morrid will tell him that the cargo ship is being loaded right now. Get outside of this ship and turn left, and now it's time. Steiner will run towards the cargo ship and we can see some men working. They'll think that the scary guy in armor (Steiner), is running towards them and they'll run away. Steiner will find a familiar looking barrel and then it will shake. Now we have two choices: Observe the barrel more or poke it with a sword. If you observe it the barrel will move some more and collapse on Steiner. If it's poked, Zidane will hop out of it in fury. After another commotion with Steiner and Zidane, a Black Waltz arrives to take Dagger away. It's time to fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Black Waltz #2 HP: 1,030 Steal: Steepled Hat, Leather Plate Party: Zidane (7), Vivi (7), Dagger (6), Steiner (6) Difficulty: Medium The second Black Waltz is bigger and better than the first one was, and it has some nasty attacks. In this fight, Vivi cannot cast magic. Well, he can, but at a price. The Black Waltz will counter with that same spell on the whole party, and the damage is very deadly. The Black Waltz uses Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder, plus when you've taken about half of its HP off, it'll be Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara. Thankfully, Dagger is with us to use a Cure spell on the whole party. The problem though, is that the Black Waltz #2 is after Dagger, so he won't touch her. If Zidane, Vivi, and Steiner are knocked out, the Black Waltz will wait a few turns and ask Dagger what she's going to do, then he casts Hypnotize on her to put her to sleep, and that's the end of that. Besides doing that, the Black Waltz #2 can use a physical attack called Teleport and rarely (very rarely), it will use Osmose to drain someone's MP. It obviously has more attacks than any boss you've fought thus far. The Black Waltz has some pretty good things to steal, so make sure you have Zidane do that. It isn't too hard to steal from. Vivi should definitely refrain from using magic and should perhaps use a Potion or two if the need arises. Dagger should be on standby at all times to use Cure on the party. Steiner has two things that you might want him to do: If he's really low on HP, have him use Minus Strike. He should have over 300 HP by now and if he reaches 10 or so Minus Strike will do about 300 damage! With Vivi around, he should also use an elemental sword. That will do about 300 damage alone, so the Black Waltz's rather low HP should fall to nothing before a really long amount of time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that fight, Steiner will run to the cargo ship and Dagger realizes he's trying to take her to Alexandria. Zidane, Dagger, and Vivi run to the cargo ship. We then see a funny scene with Zidane and Dagger climbing up the ladder but Zidane climbs too fast and grabs Dagger's butt, saying "Ooo, soft...". Is that perverted or what? We then see the cargo ship flying, and then Vivi and Dagger run inside. Dagger then tells Zidane there's a problem with Vivi. Vivi tries to talk to some black mages in here but they don't even turn around. Zidane tells the two that he has to turn the ship around. Go further on and up the ladder, and we'll see Steiner, who thinks that the ship had gone off without Dagger. Zidane tells him that she's on the ship, and then Steiner tells him he'll be hung when they get back to Alexandria, and guards the way back to the engine room so Zidane can't get to Dagger. Go to the back and Steiner thinks happy thoughts about Brahne being pleased. Then the ship shakes... We see a demon with lightning sparking around it. Zidane will turn the ship, and then Steiner catches him. He then punches him and grabs him and has him hanging by the tail on the ceiling, and then the black mages get angry. Dagger and Vivi can be seen at that time, and the Black Waltz arrives on the ship. It appears to be the strongest and most evil of all them. It then blasts Vivi with lightning. Dagger pulls him away, and then some black mages guard Vivi. After that, a spectacular FMV plays where the Black Waltz causes a lightning storms and kills all of the black mages. Vivi watches sadly and then everyone sees the Black Waltz landing on the ship again, to kill. Vivi will not be able to take it any longer and will run in anger at the Black Waltz. Steiner and Zidane follow, and Dagger pilots the ship. The Black Waltz says something about black mages being produced, and then we have to fight it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Black Waltz #3 HP: 1,128 Steal: Steepled Hat, Linen Cuirass, Silver Gloves Party: Zidane (7), Vivi (7), Steiner (6) Difficulty: Easy ANOTHER Black Waltz? Yes, this is the final Black Waltz and it is the most evil and powerful. But that doesn't exactly mean it's hard. It's actually the easiest of all the Black Waltzes, but its attacks are very powerful and without a healer it'll be tough going through all the Black Waltz's attacks. It basically has the Hit attack which does about 60 damage (more to Vivi), and it has Fire and Blizzard. They each do about 80 damage. Also, when it gets low on HP, it'll start floating, and then it will use Thundara on the party. This will do about 100+ damage to it. On its next turn, it uses Thundara for the second time and damages for the same amount, then gets down. But I have one thing to say that I haven't already said: since the Black Waltz killed all those black mages and Vivi couldn't take it any longer and went after him, and because Trance is a surge of emotion, Vivi's in Trance during this fight. This means he can use a spell (about 120 damage) twice in a row. Steiner also has his sword magic skills, so the HP will drift away from Black Waltz #3 before he manages to do something really bad. Also, you might notice that it has a good mage's hat, a Linen Cuirass, and some great gloves for Steiner to use, so you might want to waste a little bit of time stealing from it if you want these items. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After the fight, Steiner will get mad about the Black Waltz, and everyone will go back down. We then see Zorn and Thorn on a ship (called the Viltgance), cursing about Steiner and the defeat of their Black Waltzes. Black Waltz #3 will then knock them out of their ship and shout "I exist only to kill!" in fury, and then we go back. Dagger can see the Black Waltz approaching. Apparently, the only way to do this is to go through South Gate quickly before it closes and shut the Black Waltz out. We now see yet another wonderful FMV. The ship is flying, and Vivi is seen sadly gazing near the edge of the ship. Zidane tries to get him, but then the Viltgance arrives. Vivi then casts a Fire spell on the Black Waltz and the ship spins around. Everyone gets further in but the Viltgance arrives again. The Black Waltz then charges up a super powerful lightning spell, but he overpowers it and sets the Viltgance on fire. Right before the door closes, everyone manages to get out and that's the end of that. *********** 6. Lindblum *********** Enemies: -------- Mu Trick Sparrow Fang Zaghnol (Semi-Boss) Upon coming in, everyone will be amazed by how big the castle is. Zidane and Steiner will yell at each other and some soldiers will check Dagger's pendant, which resembles a Falcon Claw. Minister Artania will arrive. He'll then take Dagger to see Regent Cid. Follow Artania and Dagger and head to the lift. The Minister will take you up and explain a little about Lindblum. At the top, they arrive at the throne room. The throne is rather small. Actually, it's not RATHER small, it's VERY small. Then from behind it, a small bug comes out. It has a moustache! Wow. Steiner gets mad, walks over to the oglop, and punches it back to the throne, shouts at Artania to get the repulsive bug off the throne room and call the regent, and overall acts like the stupid idiot he is. Artania tells him he's before the regent. Dagger remembers the moustache and they talk a little. Cid suggests they rest up. We then see Zidane walking to a bar. He enters and then finds a guy named Bobo and gets his stuff. A girl tells him he's in everyone's way, and then Zidane asks her out. A young woman tells him he's disrupting the customers, and then Zidane recognizes her. He plays a couple jokes with her, and then we know her as Freya. The two chat a little bit and we learn that Freya came from Burmecia, never found her boyfriend, and came to Lindblum for the Festival of the Hunt. After a meal, Zidane rests up. After that scene with Zidane, we go back to where Dagger is. A person had attacked Regent Cid in his sleep and turned him into an oglop before anyone could do something and abducted his wife Hilda and then ran off with his airship the Hilda Garde 1. Dagger and Cid will talk some and we learn that Cid fancied some other woman and Hilda ran off and used magic to turn him into an oglop. Cid will help Dagger a little about her mother and tell her that he ordered Tantalus to kidnap her. That's good information! Cid and Dagger will go to the airships and after that we go back to Zidane. Vivi enters Zidane's room. He says he'll just explore on his own and Zidane tells him a little bit about Tantalus, then he decides to go to his home in the Theater District and then Vivi goes away. Now just go further and talk to the moogle. Get the letter from Ruby and walk out of the bar. You'll find yourself in the Shopping District. Lindblum is a HUGE town, so make sure you check everything out! You'll want to explore as much of this town as you possibly can. Now heading to the main place... Southeast of the bar, you can just head right for an aircab to the Industrial District and Theater District. Check out the Industrial District if you like, but otherwise go to the Theater District. There's a little thing that we can do outside of going to Tantalus's home that we can only do now. Get to the Theater District and turn left. Go right on forward and go down the stairs on the right, and you'll see some nice ladies there, appearing to be waiting for someone. Since Zidane is such a lady-obsessed pervert, we all know what'll happen now. Check the second lady there, and she'll ask Zidane whom he is in a rather angry tone. Zidane will introduce himself as the most famous bandit in the world. The women will tell Zidane to go away, and the guy who they are awaiting arrives. His name is Lowell. All the women say things like "Hold my hand!", "Kiss me!", "I LOVE YOU!", and other silly junk. Lowell then runs away and right after he leaves a huge moogle man walks by. He apparently can't see anything. He gets furious and leaves. Now go back. We have to find this moogle! If you go back and talk to Member No. 24 (the lady in green back there), she'll tell you a huge dizzy moogle passed by a while ago. Now return to the screen before the lift. To the right of that is a little studio. Lowell and another guy are in here. Check the bottom-left of this room for a Lapis Lazuli and the right side for a Moogle Suit. If you talk to Lowell, he gives you his Autograph. Apparently he was wearing the moogle suit. Now we can go back to our main job. Turn right back. Go to where the two women were standing, and enter through the left. Zidane will enter and see that nothing's changed. Bells ring and we see what Dagger is up to. Like before, people are still trying to protect her. She tries to get out but a soldier won't let her for her own safety. Dagger gets angrier and angrier, although she doesn't show that. We then go to Zidane. Two kid members of Tantalus suggest him that he goes off to see what Dagger is doing. Before leaving the room, check the treasure chests for Gil. Then climb the ladder and get the Mini-Burmecia. Exit the room and then turn back to the aircab and let it take you back to Lindblum Castle. Now go to the right and down. Climb up the stairs on the left and turn to your right. In the hall, turn right and go to the guest room. Zidane will find Steiner here. Dagger apparently escaped from here and Steiner has to find her. He then runs away. Save if you want, but otherwise continue. Go to your left and Zidane will hear Dagger singing a beautiful song. But to get to Dagger is the problem... Go to the lift at the bottom of the room that leads to Cid's throne. A soldier says it's only for the authorized. Zidane knows he can disguise himself as a guard and do it. Go back to where the guest room was. Go down the stairs and you'll see a soldier on your left. Zidane will lie to him saying he saw a suspicious character somewhere. Zidane will lead him to the guest room and then he'll enter, only for Zidane to beat him up and steal his clothes, then stuff him into the closet. (Go back in there to hear the naked soldier say this!) Zidane will be disguised as a guard. Now return to where the soldier was and he'll fall for Zidane's trick. Continue and Zidane will press the button on the lift. He'll then go up and when we gain control again he's dressed like his old self. Go on and proceed to the left. Running forward is a little dangerous for him. In the next room, just head up the stairs and we'll appear at the top. Go even higher up from the left, and we see an FMV. Dagger will be singing and stroking some birds, and then they fly off. Zidane compliments the song, and then the two engage in another nice conversation. There's a telescope nearby so we have to check out the following places: Ceebell River, which is by the South Gate, Aerbs Mountains on the left with mountains the surround Burmecia, South Gate in the middle of the mountains, the ??? Forest (chocobo forest), and a Marshland where Zidane intends to go sometime to see what's there. Dagger finds out that Zidane left the band to help her and how Zidane planned to kidnap her. Zidane was apparently going to use sleeping weed. Dagger borrows the sleeping weed (her tricks, you'll find out later). Zidane then asks Dagger to sing the song again and we see Vivi thinking of the black mages, Steiner yelling at a customer in the armory, and Freya jumping on buildings looking for her lost love. Zidane then asks her out! Dagger agrees, and Zidane leaves. A bit later, we'll see some soldiers standing next to a car. They say some things about the lives being lost each year, and then they release the Fangs. Some other soldiers release a bunch of Mus, and then an old man releases the main enemy, the Zaghnol. We then see Zidane in the guest room with Vivi and Freya. Zidane had signed Vivi up and Freya is obviously participating. The rules are to kill as many monsters as possible and accumulate points in twelve minutes. If you lose, you automatically retire. Zidane will tell Vivi he signed him up, and then Zidane says if Vivi wins he'll fix him up on a date with the princess. Steiner will hear this and start yelling at Zidane. Now SAVE YOUR GAME. You might want to win, or perhaps you'll want Freya to win for the Coral Ring. Vivi will take a card and Zidane will take 5000 Gil if they win. Obviously: Coral Ring > 5000 Gil > any card. So you might want to let Freya win. Well, on to the festival now, shall we? Vivi will start in the Business District, Freya in the Industrial District and Zidane in the Theater District. Go to the aircab and select the Theater District, and then it begins. Exit this room, and we'll see a Mu chasing an old man. I hope you have Zidane's thief sword "The Ogre", because this will annihilate anything except the Zaghnol, but we're not fighting it yet, are we? After defeating the Mu, head west. Defeat the Trick Sparrow around here and head southeast to where you found the ladies and Lowell. There a lot of barrels here. Behind the barrels is a Fang. It will jump out and attack. Defeat it and then that's the end of the business in the Theater District. Go back to the aircab and go to either the Business District or the Industrial District. I chose the Business District. Exit the room where you arrive and soon you'll be ambushed by a Trick Sparrow. Defeat it and continue. To the left of this area, you'll find a Fang. Kill it with The Ogre and head north. You'll find another Fang around here. After defeating it, fight the Trick Sparrow if you want (fight it to kill time), and then turn back. You'll see Vivi running from another Fang. (What is with all these Fangs here anyway?) After defeating it, just go east. MAKE SURE THE CLOCK IS UNDER 4:00 TO FIGHT ZAGHNOL. IF IT'S NOT, DON'T SEND ME A BUNCH OF FLAMES LIKE "I DIDN'T FIND ANY GODDAMNED ZAGHNOL THERE, YOU LYING BASTARD!" When you find Zaghnol, you'll see him trying to eat up the two Tantalus kids. Zidane will provoke it and it'll turn around, then Freya will help out. If you want Freya to win, use Scoop Art and then have Freya jump on the Zaghnol. If you want Zidane to win, have Freya heal or use Jump, and if you want Vivi to win, have Zidane knock Freya out and then let Zaghnol destroy Zidane. Whoever defeats Zaghnol first gets the points, although Vivi is not here. Remember: Zaghnol is very powerful and might knock you out. By the time you defeat Zaghnol, the clock is probably already nearing 0:00 and the two behind in points will not catch up. So you might just want to stand there and wait. After that, we'll be in Regent Cid's throne room. The winner will be granted their prize and the Master Hunter. Then, a panic theme starts and a wounded Burmecian Soldier arrives. Burmecia is being attacked by a group of steepled-hat mages, just like Vivi. Now, this is not a good thing at all. Everyone being their overprotective selves, they won't let Dagger come with them, even though she has faced great danger in coming this far. Vivi wants to find out about the black mages and Zidane is concerned, not to mention it's Freya home so the three of them choose to go. Regent Cid starts the feast. Everyone starts eating... except Dagger. She hesitates a little, then Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Cid pass out, and Steiner comes close to passing out himself. Dagger slipped sleeping weed into the food! After that, Steiner and Dagger leave. When Zidane wakes up, he sees that Dagger is gone. He now thinks that she went to Burmecia. Now it is time to go. Preparations: Equip everyone with their best equipment, make sure everyone's at least Level 7, if Zidane hasn't learned Bandit from the Mythril Dagger and has The Ogre on, equip him with the Mythril Dagger until he learns it. Make sure you have Mythril Dagger and The Ogre, plus if you're collecting you'll want the Butterfly Sword to go with it. He should have his best support abilities on, and Vivi and Freya should be similar. Once you're ready to go, return to the lift. Ride it to the Base Level and ride on the aircab to your left. Ride it to the Dragon's Gate, and now it's time to head out. Talk to the moogle and save your game, then check the upper-right side of the screen for a Remedy and perhaps buy something from the Merchant, but when you're ready exit Lindblum and now we've got to go to Gizamaluke's Grotto. There is however some stuff we can do before then... World Map --------- There are two places on the World Map we can go to: the Qu's Marsh or the Chocobo Forest. If you choose to go Chocobo Forest and do some stuff there, please refer to the Chocobos section in the Side Quests/Mini Games chapter. But anyway, the place that we really want to go to first is the Qu's Marsh. It's pretty close to the grotto, so just go there and it's time to work a little bit and get an interesting new character. Qu's Marsh ---------- Go north and you'll see Mogster and Moggy, the two moogles. If you need to refresh your memory a little about things in the game, just talk to Mogster to learn some stuff. When you're ready, just continue through the forest. There aren't very many hard enemies in this forest, and none that Vivi can't take out with his magic or Zidane can't kill with his dagger shortly. When you get out of there, we'll arrive at a pond. There is a mysterious creature at this pond, sniffing the water for frogs. Catch one of the frogs at the top of this place, and talk to the creature. It will sniff the frog and ask you to give it to it. The creature will then introduce itself as Quina, a member of a race called Qu. Then another creature appears and says that Quina is pathetic. Quina and its master Quale will go to a hut and talk a little about going out into the world. Quale will let Zidane take care of Quina, and then Quina becomes a new party member! When they walk out, Vivi will know that Quale looks a lot like his grandfather. He'll then walk into the hut and ask Quale if he knows a man named Quan. Quale gets mad and chases Vivi out. When you get back to the pond, Quina will ask Zidane for permission to catch frogs. Catch them if you want (recommended), but when you're done in here get out of the Qu's Marsh and go back to the World Map and now it's time to go to Gizamaluke's Grotto. World Map --------- Now that you have Quina, I strongly suggest that you wonder around the Qu's Marsh and get him some good Blue Magic. Not to mention that the next boss is tough. If you want to win easily, you will definitely want to get good magic like Limit Glove by eating enemies and level up a little. I was personally at Level 9 after I built myself up and Level 10 before fighting the boss, so make up your own mind. Play the Chocobo Hot & Cold game if you want, but otherwise follow the roots in the ground to Gizamaluke's Grotto. ********************** 7. Gizamaluke's Grotto ********************** Freya will notice some dead Burmecian soldiers lying dead on the ground right before entering. She'll then force everyone in, and now we gain control again. Right ahead is a door with a bell on it, but we can't do anything with it. On the right side of this room, there's a Burmecian Soldier who has almost been completely killed. Talk to him and just before he dies he'll give you a Gizamaluke Bell. Now return to the door with the bell and ring the Gizamaluke Bell. It will shatter and the door will open. On entering this room, you'll see the two jesters Zorn and Thorn. They will choose to kill Zidane even though they don't know him, and we have to fight two Black Mage Type A's. Defeat them both, and then Zorn and Thorn run away. Proceed further and find the black mage on your right. Defeat it and you'll receive a Gizamaluke Bell. Now go to the top of the room and use the bell on any of the three doors. I strongly prefer the middle door but if you need another bell you can check the soldier you got the first bell from to receive another one. Head through the central door. Go right ahead and you'll see a female moogle standing next to a huge bell. Right when she and her husband were doing some stuff, two clowns (do I really need to tell you who these two clowns were?) put her husband into the bell. She'll then run around Vivi and then she'll ask the kid for his Kupo Nut. (He picked it up in Lindblum.) Give it to the poor moogle, and then she'll thank Vivi a lot and run to the bell, telling her husband she has a Kupo Nut. The bell will start shaking and then the male moogle (his name is Moguta) will be so happy he doesn't even eat the nut. He runs around the room dancing and goes through the door on the right, with his wife chasing him. What a crazy couple, if I may borrow Zidane's quote. Check the right side and get on the stairs to find a Magus Hat and Mythril Gloves, and check where the bell fell down for a Gizamaluke Bell. Now enter the room that the two moogles ran in. Talk to Moguta, and he'll ask you if you like Kupo Nuts. Tell him yes and he'll tell you he likes you, and then you can give him a Kupo Nut if you want. He'll be sure to reward you. Now, SAVE HERE! If you want, you can risk it by climbing up the vines and you'll find two super tough enemies called the Garuda and Grand Dragon. If you have Limit Glove and a 1 HP Quina and a LOT of luck, you can beat the Grand Dragon and with enough effort the Garuda is beatable. These will give you tons of EXP if you are talented enough. Once you're ready, try to leave the room. The female moogle will run after Zidane and give him the Holy Bell. She'll then tell you to bring as many Kupo Nuts there as possible. Exit the room, and go around the room. You can't just go to your left because of the bell. Ring the Holy Bell on the door and enter, and you'll find a wounded Burmecian Soldier. Two clowns (Zorn and Thorn of course), have been possessing Gizamaluke. Right when he passes out, the monster arises from the water. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Gizamaluke HP: 3,175 Steal: Elixir, Magus Hat, Ice Staff Party: Zidane (10), Vivi (10), Freya (10), Quina (10) Difficulty: Semi-Hard Gizamaluke is difficult and is probably the hardest boss thus far, despite the fact he's got only three attacks. I sincerely hope you're equipped with The Ogre or Gizamaluke will prove even more dangerous than he already is. If you have The Ogre, you can use Soul Blade and this will Blind Gizamaluke, and he can't use his physical attack Crash. Speaking of his attacks, let's go over them. He can use Crash as his physical attack which does a little below 100 damage to one character, he can use Water which hits one character at first (about 80 damage and one character at FIRST.) When Gizamaluke gets low on HP, he will start using Water on the party and the spell will do a little more damage too! GIVE ME A BREAK! Also, when you use a magical attack on Gizamaluke, he'll counter with Silent Voice. Thankfully, you can erase Crash from there because he'll almost never hit you if he's blinded. There is a quick and easy way to win this fight in little time at all. You can simply use Limit Glove if Quina has it and if he's got 1 HP (you can use a Phoenix Down and hope he'll be at that much), Limit Glove will do 9999 damage. If you are too lazy to hope for this, then the fight is a little tougher. Of course, Gizamaluke has GREAT stuff, and this is practically what makes the fight so hard! The Ice Staff is extremely important if you want some good power on Vivi (Blizzara, whee!), and the Elixir is always worth it. Steal if you want, I hope you've got Bandit on. Once you've got that, the fight really isn't that hard. Vivi and Quina (if you aren't using Limit Glove), are both useless here because Gizamaluke will counter with Silent Voice and it's not worth it to use up a bunch of Echo Screens. Have both of them serve as healers, especially once Gizamaluke's lost most of his HP. Zidane should simply attack (or better yet go into a Trance mode and use your strongest Dyne. With Freya jumping all the time and Zidane using his best stuff, there is no possible way that you can lose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that, Zidane, Freya, Vivi, and Quina go on and then we go to where the other two are. We find Steiner carrying a huge barrel and going up to South Gate. Two Lindblum Soldiers are guarding it. The two look into the barrel that Steiner is carrying and thinks it's full of poison because of the horrible smell, when it's really gysahl pickles. (Dagger is actually under there too.) The two fools then let Steiner and Dagger in. South Gate ---------- Steiner wants to go down the alley, but there are two people there whom he has to avoid first. Talk to the young woman first, and that'll be her out of the way. Now it's time for the guy on the left. This scene is VERY funny, as Steiner finds out the guy was the reason he couldn't get through easier, and then you have the option "Kill!". (Steiner doesn't kill him though.) Now go back to the alley and talk to the guy in green. After that, just head down the alley. In this room, Steiner will put the barrel of pickles down. Dagger will get out and choose to change her clothes while Steiner looks away. Steiner also has the option to look and see her while doing it too! Haha... this game. Dagger will finally get out and now it's time to leave this place. You can find a Multina Racket around here, and on the right side an immensely annoying shopkeeper can sell you some stuff. It's just a medicine shop so don't bother. When ready, go to the cable car and the two will get on and chat a little, and then we go back to the other party with Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Quina. *********** 8. Burmecia *********** Enemies: -------- Magic Vice Black Mage A Ironite Mimic Basilisk Beatrix (Boss) Upon entering, Freya will remember Burmecia and then everyone will enter. In the next screen, check the cart on the left and you'll receive the Cancer Stellazio! Just go north and Zorn and Thorn come out from inside the large house. Instead of taking you on themselves, they just sick two black mages on you. Well, they're extremely easy, so just flatten them with some physical attacks, and then Zorn and Thorn go back into the house. They also tell you that the general's not going to like this and stuff like that. Enemies around here are very simple. Magic Vices are annoying and steal from you, so try to avoid them getting Elixirs or Ethers. You can also learn Magic Hammer from them. Black Mages are extremely easy to defeat, and Mimics just summon some Magic Vices to aid them. Basilisks aren't too dangerous, and just about the only tough enemy here is the Ironite. It has some strong attacks, but it can easily be defeated with physical attacks and you can Eat it to learn Angel's Snack! Very nice stuff, you have to admit. On this fork, just turn left. In this room, you can find a Soft and a Potion. Get both of these items and then get out of here. (You can't go forward.) Go to the right this time and climb up the stairs and enter through the door. Go right up from here and check right under the stairs for a Soft. Now go up the stairs and go to the left. Unless you want to fight a Mimic, do not open the next chest. Go even further and you'll come across a door with a bell on it, similar to those doors in Gizamaluke's Grotto, but it won't budge. Alright, the next part is a little tricky. Walk to the left side very slowly so this floor doesn't collapse! Get the treasure chest and you'll receive a Germinas Boots. After doing that, step on the floor that you walked across and it'll collapse. Okay, now it's time to do what it's time to do! Go all the way back to the central area where Zorn and Thorn attacked. Go through the left door and head up the stairs, and now we have a bridge! Now cross, but don't open the next chest. It's just a Mimic. In the next room, go southeast and choose to go out the balcony, and Zidane will jump from where Zorn and Thorn were across the balconies, and we'll find ourselves in a small room. Find the half-dead Burmecian Soldier and he'll tell you to look under the bed. Go to the bed and look under it for a Protection Bell. To your left, you can also find an Ether. Okay, now that we have the bell we have to go all the way back to where the door with the bell was. (Square, stop with the stupid backtracking.) When you get there, just ring the bell and we'll be at a staircase. A Burmecian soldier with his wife and kid will appear and accuse Vivi of being one of the black mages who is destroying the town. He then tries to convince Freya to leave the king alone. Freya won't give up though. Now, go to the door that you can see in plain view. You'll find a woman and a wounded man next to a statue. The statue will then collapse and Zidane will save the man. Then, the two decide to go to Lindblum and manage to make it out of this room. Now head right up the stairs outside of the room to the door above. Check the door on the left and you'll find a Phoenix Down and a Tent. Collect them and head to the end of this path. Do not open the other chest because it is just a Mimic. In the next area, go to your left and Freya will take the spear in the room. It's a Mythril Spear and much stronger. Be sure to equip it. Now proceed to the room on the right and you'll find a moogle. Buy something if you want, but otherwise try to exit and Stiltzkin will arrive. Buy a Soft, Hi-Potion, and Ether from him for 333 Gil and then get out of here. Go to the area between those two areas to get to the palace. Freya will know someone's inside and will jump to the top. Quina will want to check for food inside the palace and Vivi falls down in one jump. Zidane will then make it up in six jumps or so. Zidane will then see Queen Brahne and General Beatrix. Freya will remember this as the place that she and her love Sir Fratley last saw each other. Fratley had left to go on a journey, but had never returned, even though he had sincerely promised Freya that he would indeed return. Now, it's time for the action. Near Queen Brahne and General Beatrix, a strange looking crossdresser will appear. His name is Kuja and he is indeed a guy, although he is the most feminine looking man I have ever had the pleasure of viewing, and he looks very sexy. :-* He'll tell the two women that the King of Burmecia has escaped to Cleyra and then Brahne will mention the whirlwind defending Cleyra. At that moment, a lone Burmecian Soldier will run in to attack Beatrix, but she knows no mercy. Zidane and Freya run in to defend the soldier and to get rid of her, and then Vivi and Quina come in. With the party united, it's time to face the general! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Beatrix HP: 3,630 Steal: Phoenix Down, Chain Plate, Mythril Sword Party: Zidane (12), Vivi (12), Freya (12), Quina (11) Difficulty: Medium Beatrix is a lot easier than most people seem to think that she is, but still she cannot be defeated. She has four attacks: her regular sword attack (about 150 damage), Thunder Slash (misses a lot, is thunder-elemental, and does about the same amount of damage as her regular physical attack), Stock Break (she only uses this at the end of the battle and it takes everyone's HP to 1, and Shock, her ultimate attack. This attack does 800 damage and unless you're at a rather high level and she's targetting Zidane, this attack will wipe the party member out and if it doesn't the party member will be severely weakened. First of all, you really want to steal from Beatrix. A Phoenix Down never hurt anyone, the Chain Plate is rather useful and the Mythril Sword will be a little useful for Steiner later on in the game. Freya has Reis's Wind so you'll want to use that and Vivi can heal. Beatrix has a high magic defense so magic won't be all that wonderful. Quina has some Blue Magic to use, so I personally wouldn't mind having him do something. After you are done stealing, Zidane should slice away at Beatrix. You don't have to reduce her HP to 0 and nor will she be defeated once this happens, but when she is ready she'll cast Stock Break and heavily wound the party, and that will be the end of that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that, Beatrix will walk away in disgust and then Kuja will look at the party. He apparently recognizes Zidane. We'll learn more about this when we get to Disc 3. After he does this, he'll get on his Silver Dragon and laugh at the party. Freya will raise her hand at the dragon, and then it rises into the sky and disappears, that being the end of that. The party will continue to lie there until recovering. That ends Disc 1. Now it's time to change to Disc 2. ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER FIVE: Walkthrough: Disc 2 -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- ====================================================================== ***************** 9. Summit Station ***************** Enemies: -------- Black Waltz #3 II (Boss) We'll see the South Gate that Steiner entered and the two guards will talk a little about war. After that, Steiner and Dagger will be inside the car, and then you arrive at the Summit Station, but it'll be awhile to go to Alexandria. A man will tell you to go to the rest area. Now, take either path you want to the right. It doesn't matter as both of them lead to the same place. To your right, you will find Steiner, but just leave the old fool alone. Over here, talk to the man right below Dagger, and the car to Lindblum will leave. A familiar voice will complain that he missed it. Turn southeast and save your game with the moogle, then go further to the left to pick up a Phoenix Down. Take either path you want out of here, and on the other path you'll find Marcus and Cinna. Cinna was the one who missed the car because he wanted to stay around here and eat South Gate's cake while watching the scenery. They will then go to the right, into the rest area. Go right as well, and surely enough that excuse for a knight Steiner will be shouting at the two of them for being thieves. He thinks that they're here to kidnap Dagger. Then she'll give the man some motherly scolding. You can talk to Cinna or Marcus if you want, but then Steiner will yell at Dagger not to waste her breath on criminals. Now the car going to Alexandria will arrive at last! Okay, it'll soon be time to go. Marcus will come with them to help his bro (while Steiner is ashamed of himself). Now, get out of this place and head north to get to the Alexandria car, and then tell the guy you're ready to go. Once inside, we'll learn that Marcus is going to Treno to get Supersoft so he can cure Blank. Then, the car will stop running and a demon will appear outside. Everyone will go outside and we find Black Waltz #3, back for another round. Okay, let's show him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Black Waltz #3 II HP: 1,292 Steal: Steepled Hat, Lightning Staff, Flame Staff Party: Dagger (7), Steiner (7), Marcus (7) Difficulty: Easy So, we have to fight it again, do we? Well this time it's pathetically easy, and it was already easy enough the last time we fought it. And believe it or not, you CANNOT lose in this fight! Like the other times, it's only after Dagger so he can take her away, but he's so weak he can't do that. If he kills Steiner and Marcus, he will pull his back ("Crack!"), and lose about 250 HP until he dies while muttering that he wants the Princess. On to the Black Waltz himself. He has five attacks: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder which do about 70 damage each, Hit which it about 50 damage, and Freeze. If he does this on someone and uses Hit, then that character is a goner. Fortunately though, it'd be really nice if he uses Fire right after Freeze! I'm sure you know what'll happen then. Dagger is the healer here. She has Protect, Shell, and Cure. Three spells that will be extremely useful in this fight. Marcus can hesitate from stealing here because he very rarely manages a steal, and the three items can be bought anyway. So he and Steiner should just attack and Dagger can heal if the need arises. This battle cannot be lost even if you want to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After that fight, Marcus will sort of say that it's really obvious why the Black Waltzes are after Dagger and where they came from. Then we go back to the car and then Marcus and Dagger chat a little. Marcus talks to himself saying that Dagger has really changed, but then that she hasn't changed that much. Eventually the car stops and we gain control of Dagger. Right ahead of you, you'll find a fork: left side goes to Dali, right side goes to Treno. Head there and show the man your Gate Pass, and go to the World Map. World Map --------- There are two places that we can go to, Treno and Quan's Dwelling. Save Quan's Dwelling for later because the monsters that live in the forest behind it are rather strong. Treno's where we need to go anyway. Only go to Quan's Dwelling if you want the extra Stellazio and Ethers as quickly as possible. You might find a Ragtime Mouse in the forest, so go for that if you want to, and there's a Ghost right outside Treno and in the forest. But when you're ready, just go to Treno. ********* 10. Treno ********* Enemies: -------- N/A When you enter Treno, Steiner learns that Marcus plans on stealing the Supersoft. He's shout at him that he can't do that and while Steiner and Marcus are at it with each other, Dagger sneaks by and disappears. Steiner, who is currently in a raging fit, does not see that but Marcus does. He notifies Steiner about this. Now we have to control Steiner. You may want to view the ATE Treno Tradition now. You'll see Alleyway Jack from Alexandria sneaking up on Dagger. Press X right when he gets up on her, and that way you'll lose 500 Gil instead of 1000. Believe me, losing Gil in the first place is worth it! On the left, you might notice a little fountain. Throw 10 Gil into the fountain 13 times, and each time Steiner will feel happier. On the 13th, the Stellazio Gemini will pop up. Now go to the left. The bridge leading to the left will go to a tower, but it's locked for now. Ignore it, and instead forward from between those two. Now, just head to the mansion on the upper-left. You'll find that thief that's stolen 500 Gil from Dagger! Talk to him, and then he'll drop a hint he's stolen from Dagger. He'll then give you the item he bought from her money, a Power Belt. Well, it was worth it for a mere 500 Gil in my opinion. Now that we've got this little problem sorted out, you might find Unexpected Visitor as an ATE. Okay, this is rather unusual so I'll explain it: Dagger will walk into an auction house and above she'll find Kuja. That's not good. Now, there are some things you can do here. You can go around the entrance and you'll find a path that will lead you to Queen Stella, and you can trade Stellazios! There are four you could have gotten by now if you haven't been to Quan's Dwelling, so that's the Blood Sword. (I'll explain the fourth shortly.) Equip this on Steiner and go to the east of the second screen before the auction house. You'll find yourself at a shop. Buy something, and ask the shopkeeeper about the monster and tell him you want to fight it. You'll have a battle with a Griffin. Blood Sword, Steiner must have and he can just attack. It'll be dead in no time. Now for that Stellazio. Return to the entrance of Treno and go to the right, then go down the street and to the right. To the right of the Item Shop is the Stellazio. Buy something if you want, but otherwise go to your left and you'll find a pub. Go downstairs all the way and you'll find Marcus. Now he's joined, so go even further downstairs. When we reach here Steiner will be running for Dagger, trying to get her to not travel with Marcus. Ignore him and do not talk to him. Just go to the end of this place, and Dagger will scold Steiner some more. Serve him right. The three (Dagger, Steiner, and Marcus) will get on a boat to get to the back of Treno and to steal the Supersoft. Dagger starts thinking about how much she dislikes Zidane and Steiner thinks of how he is serving criminals. Eventually, they get there. Marcus reveals to Steiner that he is trying to steal the Supersoft. Then the three hear someone coming. Steiner and Marcus hide, and Dagger sees that it is a very familiar looking man. She runs to this man before Marcus kills or Steiner stops her. It appears to be Dagger's old scholar, Doctor Tot. Someone will then be coming and Tot will tell you he'll give you the Supersoft a little later. Marcus and Baku then talk a little about Dr. Tot (Baku keeps calling him Toot, Tootsie, and such a lot though) giving them the Supersoft. Baku can't believe that Tantalus is at the mercy of a little man. Now we have control of Dagger again. Now, return to where that bridge to the left of the entrance was. This time, just go all the way across the bridge and enter that door on the left that was locked before. Now it's open, so just go up the stairs from there and we'll meet Doctor Tot again. Dagger, Steiner, and Tot will talk a little bit, then Tot will point towards the chest on the left and say it contains the Supersoft. Marcus appears and takes it. Steiner (who has done enough yelling already, that idiot) will shout at Marcus telling him to thank Dr. Tot. Now Dagger and Doctor Tot will talk a little, and we see a flashback of Dagger (Garnet as she was then), when she was a little girl and being tutored by Tot. Tot will show Garnet about the world, the castle, that kind of stuff. After Doctor Tot and Dagger's greetings, we must continue to get out of Treno. Doctor Tot will show everyone a secret passage on the right that leads out of Treno and goes out to a place called Gargan Roo. Before going down this ladder, you may want to check that you've got everything in Treno, just in case. If you want to play cards or buy stuff, do so before going down that ladder because we won't get back to Treno for a while. When you're ready, just climb down and let's enter this place. ************** 11. Gargan Roo ************** Enemies: -------- Crawler Dragonfly Ralvurahva (Boss) Dagger and Doctor Tot will climb down the ladder. No one knows anything about this place except Doctor Tot, but he forgot where the switch for this place was. First of all I'll discuss the enemies. Both of them are easy, but when faced with Crawlers you shouldn't let yourself get low on HP or you could end up in a spot of trouble. Okay, now at this fork, turn left. Go down and grab that treasure chest. Then go to the top and pull the switch. Okay, now that that's taken care of, go back and to the right. Return to the fork and go right this time. Doctor Tot apparently has something important to show Dagger. At the bottom of the next room, you'll find a switch but it won't move. Go further and Doctor Tot will show you to the transportation of gargants, but you need to find another switch. Go back to where the inactive switch I mentioned was, and pull it. Then return to where Doctor Tot was, and we can find the gargant. With Dagger, jump on board the gargant and Doctor Tot will wave goodbye. Right when everyone gets past Treno, the gargant stops and the party is attacked by a giant snake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Ralvurahva HP: 2296 Steal: Bone Wrist, Mythril Fork Party: Dagger, Steiner, Marcus Difficulty: Semi-Medium This battle isn't very hard, but Ralvurahva's got some tricks up its sleeves. It uses Mini sometimes, and when you're under this your attacks will be totally pathetic. It's very bad if it happens on Steiner or Marcus, because both of them are this fight's primary attackers. Also, it'll make Dagger's magic ability worthless as well. Overall, try to avoid this getting on your party. He's also got Blizzara, which will roughly do about 100 damage on a character. He can also use an attack called String, which will slow your character down. It also has a physical attack called Devil's Kiss, and when it uses this you can also expect poison status. Also, he sometimes (but VERY rarely), uses Night, I believe. This will not inflict Ralvurahva though, so this can be a bit bad. With Marcus, don't bother stealing unless you feel lucky. Stealing from this demon is not easy but I suppose that the Mythril Fork can be worth it. Steiner should just whoop up on Ralvurahva's fat ass, but if his HP wears low have him use Minus Strike. With Dagger healing, you simply cannot lose this easy battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After beating the crap out of Ralvurahva, it simply runs away. How pathetic. Anyway, the gargant will move very slowly as it's very scared. It eventually continues... and we get to Alexandria Castle. As soon as you get in, the three start arguing and then they go forward. A gate comes up right ahead of Steiner, and he yells at Marcus and blames him for it. Marcus didn't do it... of course. Then a gate appears behind them and they're trapped. All the fault of Steiner's mouth. Then those evil bastards Zorn and Thorn appear, and they say some rather bad stuff about Queen Brahne and Garnet... We then see what's going on in Burmecia, with Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Quina. Freya understands with Brahne, Beatrix, and Kuja were talking about, and they understand that he's heading to Cleyra. And there, he'll do some horrible stuff. Freya knows she must protect it, so now we have to go there. When you get on the world map, just turn far to the west. Fight a few battles to build up perhaps, but otherwise go to the desert and to the huge whirlwind at the end of this place and we'll enter Cleyra's desert. ********** 12. Cleyra ********** Enemies: -------- Dragonfly Carrion Worm Sand Golem Zuu Alexandrian Soldier Type B Antlion (Boss) Beatrix (Boss) Now first of all, I strongly despise the first part of Cleyra. Due to how large this desert is and the majority or time that it takes to get through it, I certainly detest it and please do forgive me if my walkthrough is rather shoddy. Freya and Quina will talk a little bit about Cleyra, and then everyone will go right in. The very first part of the desert is not difficult in the slightest. Inspect the switch on the right, and it'll open the door right ahead of you. Now go in there to progress. Before I continue with the walkthrough for this place, I'll talk a bit about the enemies. Dragonflies and Carrion Worms are quite pathetic and need not be feared. However, try to eat Carrion Worms, they have some good Blue Magic! Sand Golems take a LONG time to defeat because they tons of HP, so run if you see them. Zuus take long to defeat and are very annoying, but they have White Wind for a Blue Magic! Unless you fought Garudas, this is the first place you can get it. We'll fight Alexandrian Soldiers and Type B's later. Neither of them are difficult, although the physical attacks and Fira spells can add up to a lot of damage. Now, back to where we were when we flipped the switch. In the next room, just gnab the chest and head right on. In the next screen, just go south and search around there and you'll find another treasure chest. After finding that, search the top of this screen to find an Ice Staff, then continue to the next part. We'll be on a straight path. This is where you will find Zuus, so make sure you find White Wind, as it is very helpful. After fighting the battles to build up or whatever you do, head to the next screen, at the end of this long path. In this next room, pick up the treasure chest for an Ether on the left side of the room, and find the hole. Stick your hand into it, and you'll hear a big noise. Ah, this will be important. Return to the previous room, the one with the long path. You'll find that the whole left is covered with a sandfall, and you cannot go back that way. Just climb up the vine right next to the sandfall, then enter the path right ahead of there. At the area right there, just turn left. There's where you'll find the Sand Golem. Run if you encounter this enemy because it is a total waste of time. Anyway, on to what we were doing. Turn left as I said before, and you will find a chest. Collect the Needle Fork inside it, then go up and to the right. You will find yourself in a room with two paths. Go to the left one to find a moogle. I strongly suggest you save up in case you choose to fight through Sand Golems. After that, just go back a little and head up that path on the right. It will turn left around the middle. Now in this room, just head to the top of it and open a chest for the Flame Staff. If Vivi doesn't have this equipped or isn't learning something else else, immediately equip it because it is a great staff for now. After collecting that, just go to the left and cross the bridge. You'll be in a huge room. You can find a Remedy to the right just in case you need it. Around the middle, search behind the tree trunks to find the Desert Boots. Go out from behind and look a little northwest of that and you'll find a Mythril Vest. Now go further north. Get the Mythril Gloves from the treasure chest and equip this on Freya if you want. Proceed and you will find a switch. Pull it and then go back to the room where you go a bunch of stuff like the Remedy and Desert Boots. Go forward on the upper-left path. Get the chest right next to you for a Potion, and we'll come to a fork. Now, time to get what we wanted from the switch. Go right and you'll find a treasure chest with an Elixir in it. Go back to the fork and turn left this time, and we'll find an area full of whirlpools and a few treasure chests. For these whirlpools... if you end up in them Zidane will be pulled to the bottom. Mash X to get back up, or at the bottom you'll have to fight some Scorpions. These monsters are very easy and are hardly any challenge. The idiots who designed these whirlpools do deserve a thorough beating for this though. While inside them, Zidane will spin around and when you get to the top, he'll jump out in the direction he's facing. HOW STUPID IS THIS? Not to mention that the exit to this desert is faced with a whirlpool, so it's a matter of luck to get to the exit, when this god-forsaken desert has already been bad enough. Anyway, go slowly and attempt to get the chests (900 Gil and a Hi-Potion), and then just go past the final whirlpool to the real Cleyra. In the next room, get the Gysahl Greens and then just climb up the ladder. Inside, Freya will just rush ahead to the cathedral and leave Zidane, Vivi, and Quina. An oracle will ask you if you want him to show you around. Quina will say he'll look for stuff to eat himself, and then he disappears. It's your choice whether or not to let the oracle show you, but it's a real snore if you choose to, I must say. You will get a thorough look around this huge place and get to know it better, but it takes a lot of time. I usually just turn him down, but do what you wish. Now, this is a guide, not your mother. I won't direct you to every single place here because a lot of it is pointless. I will just guide you. There are a lot of little things to collect in Cleyra, so be sure to try and get it all! At the entrance, head up the stairs on the left side and at the fork, go right and search the ending point for an Ore. You'll find a series of ATEs around here showing people hating Vivi and Quina shouting at the Burmecians for having no good food. Back to after you found the Ore... just continue left and across the ladders and stairs while watching ATEs (Quina's are especially important). You'll find a Burmecian Soldier named Dan shortly, and he has the best shop yet. Be sure to check it out. Near the Burmecians, you can also go to the Inn just in case and talk to Vivi, but talk to the moogle if you want and you'll get a letter from Ruby! How nice. Now, before we handle the thing about Freya at the cathedral, do you remember me saying that Quina's are important? After viewing his two ATEs, go back to the entrance of the Cleyra Settlement and you'll find Quina, gazing into the whirlpool, imagining its ice cream or something, and he falls in. Zidane cusses at Quina and jumps in after him. Now we end up back in the desert with only Quina. I have nothing to say. Anyway, you'll find a treasure chest up where you arrive, but just jump down and get back to the area you remember the first time that you were in Burmecia, and return to Cleyra Settlement. I'm not going to guide you through Cleyra Desert again because you know how much I hate it and I already wrote for it, for heaven's sakes. Return to Cleyra Settlement and go to the very north of this place and you'll find the cathedral. Enter the cathedral and you'll find two oracles. They can't let you further in, but they have a letter from Freya. Freya says she's away but she'll meet Zidane at the inn. Now get out of here and go back to where Dan was, right by the inn. This time, Dan will arrive in panic, telling a Cleyran that an antlion is attacking a kid. The Cleyran just walks away. MAJOR SHAME ON YOU, CLEYRAN. Anyway, Dan will let you handle it. Go back to where the whirlpool that Quina was staring at, and you'll find the antlion. It's attacking a kid that Vivi and Freya recognize as Puck. The antlion then throws Puck away and gets new victims... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Antlion HP: 3938 Steal: Annoyntment, Mythril Vest, Gold Helm Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Quina Difficulty: Medium The Antlion isn't too hard, but if you're asleep in this fight it will simply ambush your party, which is why I place this boss on the Medium level. He's got some really bad attacks like Sandstorm, Counter Horn, and Fira. Sandstorm reduces everyone's HP to the critical stage, Counter Horn is a counterattack that does around 200 damage, and Fira does similar damage. First of all, you probably don't need to steal in this fight because you can buy Annoyntments, you already have a Mythril Vest, and the Gold Helm isn't very important. So don't bother wasting your time, because you never know that the Antlion will just use Sandstorm and quickly kill everyone. Now for what the characters should do in this fight: have Zidane just attack and if you REALLY want that stuff that the Antlion has, you can steal from it. Vivi should be casting Blizzara as much as he can. If you don't have it or aren't learning it, turn your game off right now. Every time he uses it he does about 1200 damage so you can kill Antlion in just a few hits with it. What Freya should do is cast Reis's Wind because you'll need the extra HP back when Antlion brings everyone down with Sandstorm. Reis's Wind is Regen, and Regen restores 1/16 of everyone's HP each time it is used. Not bad at all! Once she uses that, just have her Jump. With a few Jumps and Blizzaras, it won't take long to kill Antlion. As for Quina... just have him heal with your new White Wind. This will almost completely heal everyone. Although if Sandstorm is used, Reis's Wind has not been cast, and Quina ends up with 1 HP, don't hesitate to use Limit Glove and do 9999 damage for one second! Best of luck. =) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After you beat Antlion, Freya and Puck will talk a little bit. They'll talk about the king, but Puck will say he doesn't want to see him and runs away. The scene will switch to Freya instead the cathedral, talking to the king of Cleyra. He says he hasn't seen Puck in years, and then a ceremony starts. Freya and some Cleyrans will start dancing while very nice music plays. It's almost worth restarting your game to hear it. After that, something rather unusual happens: a string on the harp is broken and the sandstorm covering Cleyra disappears. We seen an FMV showing it. Now we go back to Dagger, Steiner, and Marcus. Alexandria ---------- Marcus and Steiner are trapped in a cage at the top of the room thanks to Zorn and Thorn. Steiner will start cursing about Marcus, and then we see what Dagger is up to. She's busy thinking about Queen Brahne and what she's doing. After that, Zorn and Thorn run in to tell Dagger that she has been summoned by Queen Brahne. She'll argue a little and then shout "Get off of me, you scumbag!", the line from Zidane, and then Zorn and Thorn bring it to tough measures... Dagger gives in and goes. Dagger asks Queen Brahne why she has been starting the war with Burmecia, and then she gives some foolish excuses about Burmecia starting it. Select whichever option you want with Dagger, and then Kuja appears. Dagger recognizes him. Kuja talks some crap about her and then he casts a spell on Dagger and puts her to sleep. Queen Brahne orders Zorn and Thorn to extract the eidolons from her. Take this moment to listen to this beautiful piece of music, but otherwise watch as the eidolons are extracted. Now for Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Quina's part. Cleyra ------ Zidane and Freya will talk a little bit, and Freya will be curious about the sandstorm's disappearance. Have Zidane choose any option you want. Afterwards, we have control of Freya. Wander around this beautiful town if you want, but to continue go to the entrance. Although where the string on the harp was broken, you can collect a great Add-On called the Emerald there! Zidane, Vivi, and Quina want to enter the trunk and check some things out about why the sandstorm disappeared. Now just head into the desert if you don't have anything further to do at Cleyra. You'll see those damn whirlpools are gone. That is a good thing because we didn't like them at all. Two Alexandrian Soldiers will also attack. They are easily gotten rid of with a physical attack or two. Throughout getting to the bridge here, you'll have to fight about three or four groups of two soldiers. None of the battles are hard, so don't worry about them. When you get to the bridge, Freya will talk a little and Puck will come to the bridge. He'll tell Freya that the town's in an emergency and run off before Vivi can say anything. Then everyone runs back. A group of black mages are currently wrecking havoc and causing evil in Cleyra, and killing Dan. We're then thrust into battle with Black Mage Type B's and Alexandrian Soldiers. They are not very hard at all unless you are asleep while fighting them. Before going up, turn right and you'll find Stiltzkin and a friend of his. Talk to the regular moogle to save if you want, and then buy stuff from Stiltzkin. After that, go back and climb up the stairs to continue with this horror that the black mages are giving Cleyra. Two oracles will await you, asking Zidane for orders, but black mages are on the way. Tell them to go right, because if they go to the left black mages will appear and burn them. Now, I don't need to provide a walkthrough, but just choices on where to go when you direct these people: (at least I think this is the right order, if it isn't e-mail me and I'll fix it) Right, left, right, left, right, up, and you'll reach the cathedral. Some black mages will surround the oracles. And more than Zidane can fight off. Then suddenly, a mysterious man jumps out from behind the cathedral and kills all of them. Yay to him! A second later, it is shown that the mysterious man is Freya's love, Sir Fratley. Freya will ask him where he's been, but apparently Sir Fratley has forgotten her. The priest explains that Sir Fratley had an accident and lost his memory, and then Fratley runs off. Zidane will comfort Freya a little, and then Beatrix arrives. She points her sword at a helpless oracle and kills him, then steals Cleyra's gemstone and runs away. Now run after her! Here's an opportunity to pay off for what we've done. Talk to everyone you saved to get some great stuff. Once you've done so, continue outside the cathedral and it's time to fight... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Beatrix II HP: 4,736 Steal: Phoenix Down, Thunder Gloves, Ice Brand Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Quina Difficulty: Medium Beatrix is a little bit harder than she was the first time we fought her, but it'll still not a noticeable difference. She still has the same ultra powerful attacks that she had in the first battle. Her physical attack and Thunder Slash are just the same as we probably remember them, but Shock is a little stronger. This time, there's a little less chance that we're going to survive through it then there was the first time we battled Beatrix. Anyway, she's still not too hard, but this time she's got better things to steal. The Ice Brand is a very powerful sword for Steiner that will prove useful a little later, but the only problem is that it's extremely hard to steal. The Thunder Gloves could also prove useful. If you give up on stealing or don't want to, just have Zidane attack or defend. Vivi should be casting whichever "ra" spell he currently has, if any. Freya, as usual, should be jumping like crazy. If anyone runs low on HP, she can also use Reis's Wind or Lancer. Quina might want to use White Wind which you should definitely have by now, or you can have him use Magic Hammer just for fun. Just like before, you don't have to take 4736 HP away from Beatrix but just hang around alive for a little bit and wait for her to grow tired of you and use Stock Break to drop you all to 1 HP, which is totally unavoidable. WHERE'S OUR CHANCE, YOU SQUARESOFT BASTARDS? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After you defeat Beatrix (or should I say, after Beatrix defeats you), the party will be left weak like before. Beatrix and the black mages will then disappear. A group of black mages use spells to transport them to the Red Rose (Queen Brahne's ship), and there are enough for Zidane, Vivi... and Freya. But not for Quina. He doesn't like heights, so he just evacuates from the town and we have to say goodbye to him for a while. Anyway, we then see a FMV with Queen Brahne summoning Odin, and all of Cleyra is totally burnt down and destroyed. ************ 13. Red Rose ************ Enemies: -------- N/A Everyone will appear out of some pots. We'll see some Alexandrian Soldiers and Beatrix talking then... and now Zidane chooses to follow her to see what she's up to. Follow her through the door upstairs and we see her talking to Queen Brahne. Brahne appears to want to behead Garnet, for her nonsensical foolishness. Okay, no time to waste. You'll find a moogle up here so save (especially if you're going to fight a super hard optional upcoming boss), and heal up with a Tent. When ready, go back to the pots and Zidane, Vivi, and Freya go to Alexandria, and we switch to Steiner's party. ************** 14. Alexandria ************** Enemies: -------- Alexandria Soldier Bandersnatch Type C Zorn (Boss) Thorn (Boss) Beatrix III (Boss) Tantarian (Optional) Steiner will cuss some more about being stuck in the cage at the top of the room. Marcus will try to calm him down, but then he thinks of a way to get them out. We now have to play a sort of game to get them out. Push the Left Analog Stick to the left to move this cage to your left, and push it to the right to move it to the right. Move it quite a bit and it'll move faster and faster. Always alternate it from left to right or it'll screw up. Once it gets faster and hits the right side, the hunk o' junk with go BANG CRASH BOOM and we're out! Now time to find Garnet. This place is very straight, but it's crowded with Alexandria Soldiers. Oh well, they're very easy to defeat and die in one hit. The Blood Sword that Steiner's got will eliminate them totally. Also, this is a spectacular place to build Steiner up because he's undoubtedly behind in levels and we won't get him again for a while. You might want to knock Marcus out as he's not a permanent character to the party. Not to mention we can fight a super-hard optional boss soon. Anyway, fight as many as you want and get to the end of this room and to the ladder. Climb up to continue. Go up this huge flight of stairs. There are no enemies here so don't hesitate. Once you reach the top, Zidane, Vivi, and Freya will appear right in front of Steiner to try and find Dagger. Steiner will be a little surprised but won't be as mad as usual. The five will continue, but Marcus decides to leave. Steiner yells at him some more, and then they reach a gate. Marcus traps a bunch of Alexandrian Soldiers behind it. Now, we have just 30:00 to reach Dagger, before Queen Brahne executes her! Anyway, just go straight ahead fighting soldiers if you want, until you get to the middle room with the stairs and libraries on the sides. If you want, enter the library and check the bookcase at the bottom of the room and talk to the book on top to fight it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Tantarian (Disc 2) HP: 21997 Steal: Ether, Elixir, Silver Fork, Demon's Mail Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Hard There are two points in the game that you can fight Tantarian. The library of Alexandria in Disc 2 during the 30:00 time limit or the same place in Disc 3. This strategy is assuming you're doing it on Disc 2, and believe me that's a BIG mistake. Tantarian has super powerful attacks that are going to tear you a new behind, the last save point is a long while back, and you have a 30 minute time limit to defeat them and then rush to where Dagger is to defeat Zorn and Thorn. Anyway, if I haven't made it clear what a bad choice this is if you aren't building up, here we go. Tantarian has two forms: The book form and the cute form. In the book form, Tantarian is dangerous. He does two attacks called Paper Storm and Edge, which will add up to a lot of trouble. He also uses Doom occasionally. He'll switch to the cute form after taking some damage on his book form. In the cute form, he just uses Poison and he can use Doom sometimes. Unfortunately, he's a little wimpy here. If you hit him with a physical attack, he says "Ouch!" and disappears. If you don't, he'll stay for a while. After a long bit of time of being there, he'll disappear into the book again. Big bummer on that. That's why you should only Steal from him, have Freya heal the party, have Vivi cast Bio, and Steiner use Bio Sword, and Tantarian will be taking about 6000 damage before he disappears into the book again. Tantarian only has four attacks: He can use Paper Storm for around 500-600 damage to the party. This is his worst attack and the reason this battle is hard. I recommend a full stock of Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs, because this could result in very high damage, it could add up, and the party will be in miserable pain. It might even be a good idea to put everyone in the back to avoid being in worse trouble. He also has Edge, which does about 800 damage to a character. Since this is only on one character, it's not a big deal. In fact, it'll be good if it's on Steiner. If he survives he'll be at a very small amount of HP, and if he is he can use Minus Strike, which'll take a good deal of HP from Tantarian. Anyway, on for character duties. Have Freya cure the party and make sure it's at maximum HP at all times and use Ethers if required, have Steiner use his Sword Art Minus Strike or Bio Sword, have Vivi use Bio over and over, and as for Zidane... get him to steal if you want, but Tantarian doesn't have anything good except the Silver Fork. This is a great fork for Quina so that might be worth it. Be careful at all times and you should come out okay. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Making it through that tough fight at this point of the game will be an achievement indeed. Anyway... return to the stairs and go up this time. Now return to the place where you first found Dagger, and head through the large door right ahead, where Alexandrian Soldiers were guarding on Disc 1. Enter and we'll reach Brahne's chamber. Dagger isn't in here. Go to the purple fire and activate it to open a secret passage. Go through it and we'll reach a mysterious room. The floors in here will move, and it'll be really slow. They will move to the opposite side and then to where you are facing. There's an Ice Brand and a Tent to collect, but if you're running short on time from battling Tantarian or you were goofing around fighting Alexandrian Soldiers, you might as well get them now. Go ALL the way down this huge flight of stairs and forward. You'll reach a chapel where Zorn and Thorn have Dagger. Now it is time to get even with these evil jesters! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Zorn HP: 4896 Steal: Partisan, Stardust Rod Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Easy Boss: Thorn HP: 2984 Steal: Mythril Armor, Mythril Armlet Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Easy Now we finally have the chance to fight them. Ah, that's good. =) Fortunately, both of them are extremely easy. First of all, neither Zorn nor Thorn have regular attacks. They pass each other power, then a turn later they dish out this strong power. If you attack one of them, the power is neutralized. Zorn will give Thorn a power called Light Flare, which does Fire damage to a character. This does above average damage and if you haven't been leveling Vivi he might not survive through it, although if you have some sense to level him he will. Thorn will give Zorn a power called Meteorite. This attack hits a character and then does a little less damage to the other three characters. This is definitely much worse, but this battle is like Palom and Porom from Final Fantasy IV: one gone and they're helpless. Fortunately here, we only have to take out one of the two to get them out of here. I recommend taking Thorn out because he has much less HP. Have three characters attack him while one attacks Zorn so he doesn't end up using Meteorite. For the character duties now: Zidane does not need to Steal here. Neither have anything good to steal. Partisan's useless, Stardust Rod we don't need, Mythril Armor and Mythril Armlet we have. So don't bother, just have him attack Zorn. Vivi should be using his strongest spell (mine was Bio because I played Chocobo Hot & Cold a lot before now), but if you don't have Bio use a 'ra spell. Freya should stick with attacking Zorn because she's the weakest of everyone and we don't want Zorn using Meteorite. Steiner should use Bio Sword every turn unless you run low on MP, whereas Zidane can toss an Ether. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After this fight, Zorn and Thorn will retreat. Zidane, Vivi, Freya, and Steiner will examine Dagger. Steiner will moan and then Zidane sees she's not dead. The party carries her back. Now return to the chamber, which is just one screen back. We'll find Beatrix here. She is fooled into obeying Queen Brahne's orders, so we obviously have to handle her for the third time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Beatrix III HP: 5709 Steal: Phoenix Down, Ice Brand, Survival Vest Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Semi-Medium The first thing that you might notice is that both of the previous fights with Beatrix were given a Medium, while the third fight with her is given only a Semi-Medium. Well, Beatrix is still evil and has the same powerful attacks that will give you nightmares. Still, she is a bit different. Thunder Slash and physical attacks are a little stronger, but not by much. Beatrix occasionally uses Cura to heal herself, but this is pretty pointless. Shock exists, but it's not really the killer move that it was in the second fight. Also, instead of Stock Break to finish this battle, she uses Climhazzard instead. It's the same powerful move, just a different animation and name. Now for the character duties as always. Zidane shouldn't bother stealing unless you need an extra Ice Brand to sell for Gil since they really do fetch a good price, but don't bother with Survival Vest. Vivi should use Bio if he has it (Blizzara was my spell to use in games I don't have Bio), Freya should Jump all the time or cast Reis's Wind or Lancer if you want, and Steiner should use a sword attack. This will work very well against her, so it won't take long before she finishes the battle off with a Climhazzard. We still can't defeat her. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After the fight with Beatrix, Zidane will try and talk some sense in her and tell her that her mission was to protect Garnet/Dagger and Queen Brahne wants to kill her. Beatrix finally gets a good mind on what's happening, and then she walks over to Dagger and casts spells on her to try and wake her up. Zorn starts shouting that it is no good, but Dagger finally wakes up. Queen Brahne arrives and demands that Beatrix gives her over. Beatrix refuses, and then Freya and Beatrix are faced with an enemy called Bandersnatch. Now, we finally get to experience Beatrix's power! She has wonderful White Magic like Cura and Holy, but she also has Thunder Slash, Stock Break, Climhazzard, and Shock. Thunder Slash is totally worthless because it almost always misses, Stock Break and Climhazzard are great moves even though they don't put enemies at 1 HP, and Shock is a killer. Suffer one hit with Shock, you usually die. Against the Bandersnatch, just have Beatrix use Shock or Holy. If you want to save her MP, just let attack physically. Now, we're with Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, and Dagger. Head all the way down these stairs and get the Ice Brand if you didn't. Steiner will leave at a certain point to assist Freya and Steiner and then you'll fight another battle with them... anyway, just go all the way down with the three and fight as many battles as you need. You will fight some tough Type C's midway though. These black mages are very agile, so handle them with spells and physical attacks, while Dagger heals. Go further down. At the bottom, you'll find that passage that led to Gargan Roo. Zidane, Vivi, and Dagger will get trapped inside by Zorn and Thorn, but then Marcus and *gulp* Blank will beat the two of them senseless. Now go further onto the gargant. It'll be moving fast, until it suddenly stops. A huge, green snake will be facing the party. Dagger will recognize it from when she, Marcus, and Steiner went down this road, so now it has to be fought. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Ralvuimago (Boss) HP: 3352 Steal: Phoenix Down, Oak Staff, Adaman Vest Difficulty: Semi-Medium Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger Yes, remember Ralvurahva? This is it, but just like a Pokemon it has evolved into a stronger form and changed color from purple to green. Well, enough about that, on to the fight. Ralvuimago has the following attacks: Stab, which is his physical attack. This doesn't do much damage and is nothing to worry about; Ultra Sound Wave, an attack that does no damage but causes Mini on a character; Thundara (while he used Blizzara the first time we fought him; and his combo: Becoming Compact and Power of the Land. If you physically attack Ralvuimago, it will coil up and use Becoming Compact and his defense will grow by a huge amount. Now, DO NOT attack Ralvu now, or he will counter with Power of the Land. This is a very powerful attack that hits everyone (including him). It's also an Earth elemental attack, and Ralvu absorbs Earth, so his HP will jump up by about 300. Therefore, I don't recommend physically attacking Ralvuimago very much. First of all, you probably don't need to steal from Ralvu. You don't need the Oak Staff as you can already have one from Chocobo Hot & Cold (although few people will go through Gizamaluke's Grotto, then get the Reef Chocobo, return to Chocobo's Forest and then dig up a hard to find treasure which contains an Oak Staff). Well, if you didn't, remember that shortly after this fight you will go back to Lindblum and you can buy it, and you don't need a Phoenix Down or Adaman Vest. So don't bother; just attack if you want. Zidane's pretty useless in this fight. Vivi should be casting Blizzara or Bio if he has it every turn. He's the most useful character here. Dagger is as always the healer, so just have her cast Cura on the party if Ralvu uses Power of the Land, and have her cure Mini if Ralvu gets Mini on the party. Have Vivi do the real attacking, and this fight will be over in short time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralvuimago will remain still, but so will the gargant, as it is very scared from what's been going on. By the time it starts, Ralvu starts chasing you and the gargant has to go REALLY fast to avoid him. Unfortunately, the party doesn't get to Lindblum, where they all want to go. Instead, the gargant simply crashes and then you end up in a mysterious place called Pinnacle Rocks. Not necessarily worth an entire section, but I'll make it anyway. ****************** 15. Pinnacle Rocks ****************** Enemies: -------- Seeker Bat Sand Scorpion Zaghnol Before we actually enter the Pinnacle Rocks, we will see what Queen Brahne is up to. She is extremely furious, and she calls two hunters to her room. One is Lani, and another is mysterious man with flaming red hair. Queen Brahne will order them to find Dagger and collect her pendant, and extra credit to kill Vivi as well. Lani goes off with her axe to obey this order. The man with red hair mentions that there's a monkey boy (Zidane) traveling with them, and Queen Brahne offers more pay to kill him as well. Not that good of a thing. After that furious scene from Queen Brahne, Dagger and Vivi will be seen at the Pinnacle Rocks. The gargant apparently crashed and landed here. Zidane then shows up after exploring the place and he of course recognizes it. An old man then appears. He talks to Dagger about Odin destroying Cleyra, and then he introduces himself as Ramuh. Dagger knows his name from a book on summons, and knows that he's the Thunder Eidolon. Dagger begs him to help, and then Ramuh puts you through a test to find five pieces of a story. Now before I guide you through finding the five manifestations of Ramuh hidden in the Pinnacle Rocks, I'll talk about the danger of the enemies around here. Seeker Bats are really no problem, but they get really annoying sometimes since they can drain HP from your characters, and since you only have three in your party right now they get dangerous. Sand Scorpions are absolutely no problem and the least annoying. Remember Zaghnol from Lindblum? Well, weaker versions of him can be found here, and even though they have high HP they're not that strong. First of all, this finding of Ramuh's five parts of a story is totally optional. However, if you wisely choose to do it now, you have the earliest possible opportunity to obtain Ramuh. You can leave this place anytime you want, but I still recommend that you get Ramuh now. We'll start off here on the screen right after that first one that we were on. Return to that screen and talk right where Ramuh was earlier. That is "Hero". One down, four to go. Now if you want, go back and head down the slope then talk to the moogle to save your game. Going further... head down that slope and open the treasure chest to collect a Mythril Vest. Then just go a little further north and you will find "Human". After finding that, turn left and you'll see two treasure chests. Go to the left side to collect "Cooperation" and then jump to the lower-right side to find a treasure chest with The Ogre. Now, just jump down. Head to the upper-right and forward toward the next screen, and you'll find another manifestation, this one called "Silence". After finding that one, return to the last screen. Now climb up the green slope right above you. At the top, go up and then jump to collect a Mythril Armlet. After finding it, jump down and reclimb the slope, and instead of going up, go down this time and you will find "Beginning". Now head to the end of this place, and you will talk to Ramuh. Now that you've found the five parts of the story, you need to arrange them. Only four parts are supposed to be used. It is in this order: Beginning, Cooperation, Silence, Hero. When you give the story to Ramuh, he will ask why you chose Hero as the last part. Dagger will explain a little and then Ramuh will become her first eidolon. Well, Dagger has eight eidolons in all and seven of them are better than Ramuh. Still, Ramuh has about twice the power of a normal 'ra spell if you get his full animation but you only have one Peridot. With the Peridot, you can summon Ramuh. Alright, enough about summoning stuff. Dagger will walk off, and then Zidane and Vivi will wonder why Ramuh made them play that silly game. Now continue forward. At this point we are faced with a dark sky and a cliff. Choose to jump off the cliff, and then Zidane and Dagger will talk. Dagger is immensely worried about her mother. We now see one of the best FMVs in the entire game. Queen Brahne will look positively furious and she'll call up some black mages to burn everything. She is attacking Lindblum. Dagger almost faints in horror. Queen Brahne will finally summon an eidolon known as Atomos. It will create a large tornado and eat everything in the whole town. Wow, not even Quina could do that... Lindblum -------- Dagger still hasn't gotten over the fact that Queen Brahne attacked Lindblum. Zidane tells Vivi to stay put and keep watch, and Vivi, as you probably wouldn't expect, agrees. Now, just go north, all the way up and you will encounter Minister Artania. Cid defended Lindblum well, but still, the Business and Theater Districts were badly damaged, and the Industrial District was totally destroyed. Cid will then talk about Brahne, and we'll know that Kuja is supplying her with weapons, and he's at the Outer Continent. To get there, we need to go through Fossil Roo, which is hidden in a swamp. A man will then appear and tell you to talk to him before leaving. Two men will then find Vivi and yell at him for being a black mage, but then they realize that he's much smaller than the others. Okay, now it's time to leave unless you have something to buy. Make sure to check out the shops around here, because they have new, valuable stuff. You can even get Zidane's Exploda now, which is to my intelligence his strongest weapon as of now. Once you're ready, talk to the guy and we are ready to go. You'll then be in the castle, so go down to Serpent's Gate and head out. World Map --------- There's not really much to do on the world map except build up Dagger, and to accurately build her up you'd need to knock Zidane and Vivi out, and with Dagger alone it'll be extremely tough. So just go to Qu's Marsh, north of where we are now. Now, if you don't have Quina... shame on you, but anyway, look at the Qu's Marsh part before Gizamaluke's Grotto on Disc 1's walkthrough, but this is assuming you had him before. Qu's Marsh ---------- Just go right to the north. There's nothing really here. When you reach the pond, you'll find Quina. Zidane will welcome him back. Now if you've fought Tantarian and stole the Silver Fork from him, just give it to Quina right now. When you're ready, just go north and forward. You can enter Quale's house for some tips if you'd like... but just go to the right. Quina will wander off saying he smells some frogs. Zidane gets furious and chases him, and then they find an old excavation site. Quina breaks some chains but fails to capture the frog. Now in we go! ************** 16. Fossil Roo ************** Enemies: -------- Seeker Bat Feather Circle Abomination Griffin Armodullahan (Semi-Boss) Lani (Boss) On entering Fossil Roo, just head forward. Suddenly, the ground will start to shake. Zidane will look behind him and see a purple creature. It does not look very happy, and it will start chasing you. You probably want to avoid it, but it's somewhat tough to avoid because while you're running away from it, there are a lot of obstacles on the way. They will block you for a while, allowing Armodullahan to catch up with you. Try to avoid it and get to the end, but in case you do end up fighting Armodullahan... Since Armodullahan is not a real boss, instead of putting him in the boss section I'll leave him here. He's got four attacks: Spear, Death, LV5 Death, Thundara. Spear does a little bit of damage, Death will kill a party member, LV5 Death will instantly eliminate any characters with a level divisible by 5, and Thundara is regular lightning damage. Armodullahan is fast and hits pretty hard. Still, he's not too hard, just don't slouch too much while fighting him. You can also steal Ore, Hi-Potion and Ether from him. Once you get to the end of this long path and Armodullahan falls into a pit, everyone will stop. Zidane will also run straight into Quina, knocking him down. Then, a woman appears out of the tunnel right up ahead. It's the bounty hunter Lani. She'll see Dagger and ask her to hand over her pendant. Dagger and Lani will then argue a little bit about Queen Brahne, and then Zidane will step in. Lani loses her patience and asks Dagger to give the pendant over. Dagger refuses, and then Lani really does lose it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Lani HP: 5708 Steal: Ether, Coral Sword, Gladius Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, Quina Difficulty: Medium Despite what some people think, I find Lani an average difficulty boss, and I put her skills above what most people seem to think of them. Still, what takes it from Easy to Semi-Medium (that's actually a big jump) is that Dagger is extremely weak against her physical attacks, and so is Vivi. Lani can take about 250-300 damage away by a single attack from the two of them if she wants to, and my Dagger only had about 500 HP, while Vivi had around 600. This means that both of them will fall pretty quickly. As for Quina... he's almost as weak, but for some reason Lani almost always misses when she attacks Quina, so that's not really something to worry about. Her attacks on Zidane aren't very troublesome. However, Lani's got more than physical attacks. She has the 'ra spells all around, but they're not really too bad. She has Aera though, and if this is on a low HP character like Dagger, you could find yourself with another KO'd character. And if this brown hag didn't already have enough attacks, she also has Water to cast on your whole party. This can do up to 300 damage. BLAST THAT. She sometimes uses Scan on a character to see their weakness so she can use that elemental spell on you as well, so all this combined makes her a medium boss. Early in the fight and through a good other deal of it as well, Lani only hits Dagger, although after she is knocked out she'll start hitting everyone. Now for the duties of the characters... Zidane should be stealing like crazy. The Ether is worth it as we all know, and the Coral Sword can be extremely valuable. You probably don't need a Gladius because Zidane should have Exploda by now, but if you don't just steal that. If you don't need it and/or you get all the other things that Lani has, or you just plain don't want them, just have Zidane attack. Vivi should be casting his strongest spell. It's either a 'ra spell or Bio. Dagger has to cure the party to have hope in this fight, and 50% of who she should heal is herself. Quina also has the great pair of Auto-Life and Limit Glove. It just goes with Quina casting Auto-Life on himself and then you just attack him then he's back with 1 HP, where he can use Limit Glove and do 9999 damage. Anyway, you shouldn't have too many more problems with this fight. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that fight, Lani will retreat and let you pass. Okay, just go ahead. On the next screen, Zidane will see a gargant at the top of the screen. Go to the left side and you'll see some flowers. Pick one up and then when you see the ! sign, press X so the gargant can see it. It will then take the flower, pick Zidane up, and take him across a cliff, water, or whatever you'll find here. After doing so, just go up and you'll see a treasure hunter. He'll explain some stuff about the gargants here. The switches here will change where the water flows. The gargants hate water, so I think you know now... I'll talk a little about the enemies now. Seeker Bats are as you remember them, they're not hard in the slightest but they're annoying because they use Suck, Suck more, and Suck even more attacks a lot. Feather Circles aren't dangerous either, but they cast Trouble on the party a lot, and their attacks are a little strong, especially spread to the whole party. Abominations are not very strong, but you can learn Night from them, so try very hard to do so. Griffins are probably the hardest enemies here, but they're not too bad. Okay, now that you've got a firm grip on what kind of enemies live in this place, go down before going northeast. You'll see everyone's favorite Moogle - Stiltzkin. He'll sell you a Phoenix Pinion, a Remedy, and an Ether for 555 Gil. Buy this immediately, and then just go up and to the right, unless you want to save, receive a letter in mognet, use a tent, or buy something at the mogshop. On the next screen anyway, pick up one of the flowers and get a gargant ready, and it'll take you further. When you reach the next screen, go to the right. You'll find one of the switches... just pull this and look on the upper-left side of the screen. You'll see a path for a gargant changing. Now return to where you arrived in this little, get the gargant with the flower again, and it'll take you down a new path. When you get off, go to the left and up the stairs, then forward all the way to find a chest with an Ether in it. Not bad. Return to where the gargant was and then go straight up. On that screen, you'll find the second switch. Pull this one, and then back to the gargant again. After you return, go back to where the first switch was. Pull this, and then go back to the gargant. Make it go back to where you found the treasure hunter. Now go down to where Stiltzkin was. If you haven't bought the stuff from him, do it now. After taking care of business, go southeast further. We'll find another gargant, so take it further. On the next screen, you'll find a second treasure hunter and we can buy items from him if we want. Do so if you need something, but to advance further, just go right up the stairs to the right of him. You'll find the fourth switch there. Once you've pulled the fourth switch, you will somehow know that you are almost finished with Fossil Roo. And that's not bad, considering how this is one of the worst places in the whole game. Go to the right and get a gargant ready, and then ride further in, and then head to the right, and you'll find yourself on a cliff. There's a chest with a Lamia's Tiara here. Pick this up, and then go back. Call the gargant again, and ride back to the fourth switch. Once again, pull it and ride the gargant on the right for the second time to go to a different area. The gargant will drop you off in an area full of vines. Grab them and go towards the right side. A face in the middle will spit water at Zidane and he'll be knocked into the water. Wait until you get a field icon "!" and then jump out of it with the X button. Go up the slopes right ahead of you and then to the right side and you'll be at a mining site. Talk to the treasure hunter here, and he'll let you dig with his pick if you give him a potion. Giving him the potion is well worth it, because hidden in the walls there are much more valuable things than silly potions. Dig in random areas to find random things, but there is one notable part where we can find something that we don't find everyday. Go to the upper-right wall and start digging there. You might have to dig several times before you hear a "Ku" sound. Dig some more and you'll hear "Kupo..." and then dig some more and a moogle named Kuppo will dash out of it. Buy some stuff from Kuppo's mogshop, save your game, use a tent, or let Kuppo write a letter to Kupo if you want, and then return to the room with all the vines. Climb even higher. Don't worry about the faces, because they won't shoot water at you and knock you off... yet. Get to the other side on the left and pull the third switch. Return to the floor with the gargant and go to the right, then take the gargant out. Go to the end of this tunnel, and then you'll see an exit, with light on the outside! And good for me, I hate this place. Worst. Place. In. The. Whole. Game. Get the heck out of this piece of crap of a place, and now we're on the Outer Continent. World Map --------- You will see that there is absolutely no Mist here, and there are some great enemies to fight while out here. You may want to spend a little time fighting them. Once you're done wiping the asses of some enemies, try to get on top of the large hill. You may see a huge forest somewhere, and this is a place to note. When you get there, turn to the right side and you might find a small village there. This is our next stop: Conde Petie. *************** 17. Conde Petie *************** Enemies: -------- N/A You'll see a path leading to a small village. Quina will run towards the village in a hurry, saying that he might find good food there. Zidane is annoyed again and asks if that's all he ever thinks about. Dagger then tells Zidane that all he ever thinks about it girls. Zidane then hits on Dagger again, saying that his mind is filled with thoughts about her... geez, now he's getting annoying. Anyway, Zidane and Vivi will then enter. Welcome to Conde Petie, the village of dwarves. Inside, you'll be greeted to several dwarves. They will be making the party say "Rally-ho" and if they don't say it they can't pass. Everyone finally passes through, and we get to explore this village. Go a little bit north, and you'll find 2700 Gil. We'll see some ATEs like Hungry Bryan (where a dark figure appears), Quina Accused (where Quina is accused to stealing food), Vivi and the Couple, and Dagger and William, where Dagger is at the Inn and some dwarves annoy her. Anyway, head north. When you get there, you will find a pair of doors on the left. Enter and you can find some dwarves in here... you might want to rest up. Afterwards, exit the inn and then go north instead. You'll find yourself in a holy room. At the north, you'll find some dwarves that will block you due to some marriage deals... oh well, worry about that later. Go to the left side and you'll see Vivi. He'll run away. Now just return to the entrance of Conde Petie. Instead of going north, go east and you'll find yourself at the Item Shop. Vivi will spot a black mage here! Remember the dark figure from "Hungry Bryan"? This is it. Vivi will then run after it. Follow him back to the entrance, and a dwarf will tell you they left for their village. It's a good deal away, but it's in that huge forest that I mentioned a little bit earlier. Alright, that is our next destination! Exit the town. World Map --------- Now that we're here, get down to the ground, off of this hill. Locate the huge forest around the Black Mage Village we are supposed to find. Once you get to the forest, you may not want to just go all the way over there right now, because you can find two creatures here: The Ragtime Mouse, who is most famous for appearing in this forest a lot, and the Friendly Ladybug. You should definitely meet both of them if you know what's good for you. Refer to Chapter Eight for more information. Anyway, get all the way across and enter the village. ********************** 18. Black Mage Village ********************** Enemies: -------- Myconoid Zemzelett Another place I hate, this forest is. You have to cross a big forest before you get to the village itself. A lot of irksome random encounters can be met here, which will really drive you nuts. Anyway, this place isn't really that much for enemies. Myconoid is not a very dangerous enemy at all, and while Zemzelett uses some nasty wind attacks (and White Wind, but you definitely should have learned that by now), but besides that there's nothing extremely dangerous. Now for the place itself. =) Follow the black mage northeast. I believe that the pattern was Northeast, Northeast, Northeast, Northwest, Northeast, and then you get there. Well, if you can't trust that, just go to the path with no owls. You can see the owls right above. Once you get to the end of this god-awful place, you'll find a black mage making the village appear. Good, so we've finally got to the real village itself! The black mage, of course, does not know that you're behind it, so it goes in normally. When entering, the black mages will freak out that humans are there and will run away. The party will be rather surprised that these black mages can actually talk. Vivi runs off to chase the black mages, Dagger wanders off, and Quina runs away to find some good food. To the left, you can find an equipment shop. This village has some really good shops, so be sure to check all of them out until the very last one of em! On the right of that, you can also pick up an Elixir, which is very handy. Now go northeast to save your game with a moogle. That's a good thing, because you wouldn't want to have to go through that pain in the ass forest again. Enter the house and you'll find Quina trying to eat a chocobo egg that the black mages are guarding. Quina wants to share the yummy egg with the mages, because they happen to be very tasty, but the black mages will not allow this. Nothing more to do in here except find a Gysahl Green inside. Now return to where the fork of northwest or northeast was. Go northwest and then head into the house on the left and you'll see that it just happens to be the Synthesis Shop. Zidane will talk to Dagger in here a little, and then Dagger will run away to find Vivi. Get the 2000 Gil inside the treasure chest here, and then synthesize some stuff if you need to. Now climb the ladder at the north side of this room and get to the roof. Up there, you can find a chest for 843 Gil. Now go back to the shop and exit. Upon leaving the shop, you'll see Vivi run away. Zidane will be a little puzzled... enter the house on the right this time and you'll see it's the Item Shop. DEFINITELY shop here, it has Hi-Potions! Very valuable, those are at this point! Check on the right side and you'll see a path that leads to an inn. Enter the Inn, and talk to Vivi. Dagger and Quina will arrive. After that, choose to rest. Vivi will walk out and Quina will leave you alone. Now, Zidane and Dagger together, you know what'll happen! Vivi will be outside the inn, talking to one of the black mages, and one of the friendlier ones at that. Zidane then informs Dagger that he's looking for a place he can call home, and he may just have found it. Zidane then wants to tell Dagger a bedtime story. *grin* It's about a guy who didn't know who he was, where we came from, or anything. At one time, he left his father's house to find a place he could call home, but he found nothing. He returned, and then his "father" gave him a huge beating, and smiled. That was his place to call home... And now, I believe you might realize what this story means. The guy is Zidane, and his father was Baku. His place to call home was Tantalus with his brothers Cinna, Marcus, and Blank. We'll then see Vivi talking to the friendly black mage, No. 288. They'll talk about the death of one of the black mages... in the morning, Dagger will wake up and hear a bit of news. It's about the familiar guy that we probably know by now, Kuja. He was flying around the town on a silver dragon. Zidane, Vivi, and Dagger will reunite, and then Quina will come along, disappointed he couldn't find any food... now we have to return to Conde Petie. I won't make the world map stuff this time. *************** 19. Conde Petie *************** Enemies: -------- Troll Gnoll Ochu Hilgigars (Boss) You should at least know your way around Conde Petie by now, but we are now going to see some new places... go back close to where you found Vivi, around the dwarves blocking the path. They'll tell you that you need His Holiness's blessing to pass. Now, go to around the inn, and you'll see a guy with a long white beard walking around. His name is Father David and he is of course the His Holiness guy. You have to attend a ceremony where you get married here... now, I suppose you know what Zidane is like in these cases? Zidane and Dagger will go a church will having this ceremony. Zidane will talk to himself about things to do with Dagger. Then after that is over, we see perhaps the most hilarious scene in the entire game. When Zidane and Dagger become husband and wife (not really, just so they can pass, they aren't husband and wife... yet), Zidane tells Dagger it's time for the kiss. Dagger walks away and then Zidane jumps at her, only to fall flat on the floor on his stomach, which a loud BANG. Trust me, it's funnier than it sounds! Upon exiting the church, Zidane and Dagger will met Vivi and Quina. Now it's time for yet another hilarious scene. Vivi and Quina will talk a little, and then Zidane can suggest they get married too. You'll then see them inside the church too, and then Vivi and Quina will say some happy stuff to each other. Okay, now that Zidane and Dagger are "married", they can get out of this place and into the Sanctuary. Now return to where the dwarves were blocking the path, and we'll see a little scene. The dwarves will let you pass, but then some more dwarves will go around chasing a little girl and a moogle for stealing some things from the town. The girl and the moogle will run away. Now, just go forward and then the dwarves will be disappointed they couldn't catch her. Okay, now it's time to meet the girl. Go to the next screen, and you'll see the little girl, trapped on a branch. She will yell at the moogle (Mog) to do something, yet it does nothing, except fly away. The girl will shout some more. She will then say that she does not taste good. Zidane informs Quina about this. =P However, Quina takes this information but he's not about to give up. Quina notes that the moogle passing had some pretty good color, so he jumps off a cliff and lands with such a BANG that the little girl falls off the branch. Quina is then like Shadow from FF6, leaving for the second time! The girl then says some things about Zidane and Dagger being married, and she introduces herself as Eiko, a young summoner from Madain Sari. Eiko gets very worried about the moogle (Mog), so she decides the party had better head off. Now, this is another bad part of the game in which I rather dislike due to the random encounters, and Eiko's not really that great of a replacement for Quina yet. Her physical power is very weak, and she also doesn't have very offensive magic besides her Fenrir summon, but she's better than nothing. Go to the vines on the left side of the screen, and climb up the vines and at the top you will find a Remedy item. After collecting it if you wanted it, it's time to proceed. However, I'll talk a little about the enemies. None of the enemies here and tough, although sometimes the Gnolls get annoying because they cast Blizzara quite a lot. Ochus aren't very hard compared to how difficult they can be in FF8. Trolls aren't dangerous. Also, if you have Eiko summon Fenrir (or Phoenix if you give her a Phoenix Pinion as an add-on), Dagger will be extremely impressed and tell her she didn't know that Eiko could use eidolons. On the next screen, find the statue around here and examine it to collect a Blue Stone. Now go right back, and climb another vine on the bottom-right side. When you get up there, turn to the left side and you'll find another statue, this one holding a Red Stone. After collecting it, get the treasure chest with the Ether in it. Return to the ground and then go back to the right, and then go forward! Finally... go right straight and you'll come to a slope. Head up and you'll find Stiltzkin and a regular moogle... buy from Stiltzkin. When you're finished with the business with the moogles, go to the left. Climb up the ladder, and then we'll end up a huge tree root. Zidane, Dagger, and Vivi will look at the Sanctuary, or the huge tree on the other side. Eiko will explain that it's the Iifa Tree (IT IS NOT THE LIFA TREE! PERIOD!), and the dwarves just call it the Sanctuary. After that little scene, go to the right side, and then the ground will start shaking. I guess that huge giants really can shake up the ground and make a little surprise. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Hilgigars HP: 8106 Steal: Phoenix Down, Mythril Fork, Fairy Flute Party: Zidane, Dagger, Vivi, Eiko Difficulty: Easy Hilgigars is probably the easiest boss we have fought in quite a long time. He's got four attacks: Hiphop, where he jumps in the air and lands on a character for about 400 damage (which hits only one character and can easily be met by a Cura spell from Dagger or Eiko); Knock Down which is basically the same attack except it's actually a little weaker; Earthquake, which is his strongest attack and if you get Eiko to cast Float on the party, it won't matter at all; and Curaga, which really isn't an attack but Hilgigars will restore about 2000 HP upon using this, so we don't want that. Hilgigars is also a pretty slow boss, so he can't do too much stuff in a short amount of time. First of all, the stuff you can steal from Hilgigars... he's got a Phoenix Down which is not very hard to steal, Mythril Fork (there really isn't too much point in stealing this because you might already have the Silver Fork and you're not going to get Quina back until Disc 3), and the worst of all them - Fairy Flute. I mean, it's a powerful flute and very nice, but it is NOT WORTH STEALING! Know why? There's a 1/256 chance that you will succeed to get this flute. Really, I'm not exaggerating. So once again, don't bother stealing it. Instead, just attack Hilgigars or use one of Zidane's skills. Dagger should heal the party or use Ramuh if she gets the time. Have Vivi cast some of his strongest magic like Thundara every turn, because it'll take about 500 HP from Hilgigars. Eiko could also cure someone if Hilgigars uses a lot of stuff, or you can just have her use Fenrir or Phoenix. It won't be long before you defeat Hilgigars. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that fight, Eiko will say that Hilgigars just shows up when he feels like it. Dagger asks her why she's able to summon eidolons, but of course Eiko doesn't have much of a reply. Zidane compliments her fighting ability, and then Eiko leads everyone to her home. However, this place isn't finished yet. It's time to collect two items: the Green Stone and the Yellow Stone. Actually, you don't need them if you don't want them. The only reward you get is a Moonstone, but that's a useful item. Right in front of you, there's a statue. Collect a Yellow Stone inside it. Now turn to the right and go up the trunk to find an Ether and inside the statue, the Green Stone. Now if you want, you can return around the entrance and go to the southeastern side to find a large statue, where you can place the four colored stones and you will collect a Moonstone. It's a long way back, but it can be worth it. To continue, go to the left path instead of the right one. World Map --------- You might notice a village right ahead of you, Madain Sari. However, you probably want to check out the forests first, as you will find a friendly monster called the Yeti, and he wants some Ore. Give him two Ores and then he'll be happy. I also believe it's possible to find the Ragtime Mouse in there. When you're ready, enter the village Madain Sari, and we're ready to have some real fun with our new friend Eiko. Moogle-lovers rejoice... *************** 20. Madain Sari *************** Enemies: -------- N/A Zidane will be fascinated that Eiko lives in Madain Sari, which is basically a pile of rubble. A lot of moogles will then arrive and welcome Eiko home. Eiko then notices that Mog is not with them, and then she gets all worried. Mog then comes... it seems that the little moogle escaped from Quina. =P After that, everyone will enter the real village. Eiko will order all the moogles around, but she lets Mog stay in her dress. Well, if I were Eiko I sure wouldn't let something furry stay inside what I was wearing. Eiko then asks Zidane a whole lot of questions about himself, like what kinds of foods he likes, what kinds of girls he likes, what kinds of moogles he likes, and other random nonsense. Dagger quickly becomes very annoyed. After that, Eiko goes away to cook. After that, you can watch an ATE with Vivi. After that, inspect the fountain in the middle of the room for a Libra. Then look around for a Tent. Go to the left now and speak with Vivi. He's still worried... after talking with him, you'll see an ATE with Dagger. Turn to the left now and a moogle will block you from entering, because Eiko is still cooking. Now for what she's doing! You'll see an ATE with her, and this one is one of the only interactive ATEs in the game. Eiko will be ordering the moogles for what to do, and deciding the dishes. In the choices, select any moogle, it doesn't really matter. Eiko will then start. Return to the second screen of Madain Sari and then take the right fork instead. You'll come to a restricted area and meet up with one of our friends... As soon as the moogle finishes talking, Quina is seen from above the Eidolon Wall (the restricted area). He tells you he's been eating rocks and sand, and that the food is different. He'll then jump down with a huge BOOM and then decide to look for fish in the water, and find that the water looks very tasty. He then jumps in the water. Now return to where Vivi was and talk to the moogle that was blocking the way to Eiko's kitchen. He'll give you a tour of the Eidolon Wall and now we see perhaps the best ATE in the whole game. Eiko will be thinking of how many people to cook food for. There are Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, and herself, and then there's the six moogles, but even though she doesn't know it, there's Quina... *grin* Decide to cook food for 11 people. The fishing moogle will say that he's caught a fish, but a very heavy one. Three guesses who or what the fish is. ^_^ You then get a choice of letting the moogle fish what he's got out, or let Eiko give him a hand. Choose to give him a hand, and then the two will pull the fish out, and Quina will jump onto the dock. Nice fish. Go to the Eidolon Wall, the restricted place. Zidane will tell the moogle that he wants to get Dagger to see the eidolons. Return to the entrance of Madain Sari and talk to her, and then go back to the Eidolon Wall. Zidane, Dagger, and the moogle will enter. Dagger will immediately recognize Atomos and Bahamut. Just let her continue to look at the Eidolon Wall and then leave this room and you'll be able to watch yet another ATE with our new character Eiko! Ah, I like these very much... Eiko is very suspicious about Quina. She mistakes him for Kuja, but Quina introduces himself as a gourmand and suggests that he could help Eiko with some of her kitchen work. Choose to allow him. Quina will be happy about the fact Eiko made food for 11 people, and then he'll talk about the ingredients for the meal. He'll look at Eiko's stove some, and then he mentions that there's a black mage (Vivi, DUH) traveling with them who could be useful, so then he goes off to find Vivi. Pretty entertaining ATE in my opinion. Now our back and forth trip is finally over. Go to Eiko's kitchen, and the moogle will tell you she's done at last! Zidane will then notice how good the food looks! To make the perfect meal, you must not have put an oglop in, cooked food for 11 people, and let Quina help. If you put the oglop in the meal though, you'll see a hilarious scene as Vivi eats something, and then he notices it tastes bad, and then he realizes there's an oglop in it. Zidane also mentions that the food is bad if that happens. If it's good, Zidane and Vivi will say good things about it. There's no further reward though, which sucked. During the meal, Dagger and Zidane will ask Eiko some questions about herself. After the meal, Eiko tells Zidane to fetch the pot and give it to her. Before grabbing the pot though, go to the left and into her real kitchen. Check the pot on the left side to find a Burman Coffee. Go to the room where you ate the meal, and you'll find two chests for a Phoenix Pinion and an Ore. When you get back with the pot, Eiko will say some trash to herself about how slow Zidane and Dagger are. Also, at the bottom of the room you can see Quina and a moogle. The moogle complains about Quina telling him to catch more fish, and Quina says stuff about this place's fish being different. To proceed, talk to Eiko. The real reason Zidane came here was for the Iifa Tree, so he'll ask Eiko about it. She'll say that there's a seal blocking it. Zidane then asks her to break the seal, but Eiko shouts at him and tells him no. You can then talk to her some more, but she says no period. I pity all little kids who are that grumpy, because if I had a girl as yelly as Eiko, I'd give her a big, thorough spanking. Go to the previous room and you'll see one of Eiko's moogle friends. He'll suggest that you sleep for the night. Choose to do so. In the night, Zidane will wander up and see that Vivi is up, and thinking as usual. Vivi will then ask Zidane some questions, and then Zidane explains some things about friendship to Vivi. After that, he does perhaps the most perverted thing in the entire game. He tells Vivi to join him in the bathroom so they can do a ritual between male friends. Both of them go into the bathroom and piss. TOGETHER! Geez, he is such a perverted monkey. Eiko is also spying on them both from down below, and she says to herself that she'd indeed break the seal to the Iifa Tree. Once the morning arrives, the party (except Eiko) gathers outside. Dagger says things about Eiko's power, but Zidane knows that she's six years old, and very lonely. Eiko then arrives, and she says that she will break the seal. That's a good thing. The party then leaves Madain Sari and at last it is time to go to the Iifa Tree! Upon leaving, you will be on the world map. Go back to the mountain path, to where you fought Hilgigars. Conde Petie/Mountain Path ------------------------- If you haven't gotten the Moonstone yet, you had best do so now. Remember that the tree trunk on the bottom of the room is a little difficult to climb up due to all the plants right next to it. When you've gotten the Moonstone if you want to do that and you're ready to leave for the Iifa Tree, take the left path instead of the right one and you'll be on the world map. In the distance, you may see a gigantic tree. This is the Iifa Tree, our destination! However, outside the Iifa Tree you'll find the friendly monster Nymph. It wants a whooping three ores. Whooping greedy beasts. ************* 21. Iifa Tree ************* Enemies: -------- Myconid Stroper Zombie Dracozombie Nymph Soulcage (Boss) Mist fills up the entire Iifa Tree, in which Zidane does not hesitate to make a comment about. Zidane runs inside, but is shocked by electricity. It doesn't hurt or take HP off though, so don't worry. You then have the options of touching the seal, slamming it, or asking Eiko. Choose to ask Eiko to break it. Eiko then acts strange and starts calling the eidolon Carbuncle to break it. Although we don't see this cute as hell dragon appear to destroy it, the shock disappears and you get the Ruby, which will allow Eiko to summon Carbuncle. Now before I guide you through the Iifa Tree, I'll tell you one thing. The Iifa Tree has the hardest enemies you have yet to fight. The Myconids are no real threat, but the Stropers are annoying, the Zombies cast Roulette and do other various mishaps, the Dracozombies are awful beasts which do Zombie attacks, and I believe Nymph can be fought here, but I'm not exactly sure. If it can, remember it is no real threat. You probably want to have Phoenix Downs to deal with Zombies and Dracozombies and a Soft on a Stroper kills it. Low, but good. The first part of the Iifa Tree is extremely straightforward. In the beginning of it, the random encounter rate is pretty low. Not to mention you'll probably only fight Zombies and Stropers, both of which can be defeated very quickly with just a Phoenix Down or Soft. The place will just be straightforward, until it gets to a path that leads to the left side. In this area, just continue all the way across it and you'll find a moogle. Save up and proceed, and then you'll find a very strange looking area. Eiko does not know the Iifa Tree, so she can't tell you anything about it. In the center of this place, there's an elevator, so Zidane volunteers to check below and see what awaits them. He jumps and sees it goes down, and then he gets off of it and climbs up. The elevator returns up, and this time Zidane sees nothing's wrong. Everyone except Vivi proceeds very quickly. Vivi hesitates but still gets on. Now we're going to have to fight Dracozombies a lot down there, not to mention the Zombies and Stropers aren't one bit better than they were in the previous area. The tunnel in the bottom of the Iifa Tree is very straightforward, but the enemies are tough and there are some passages that will end up to you getting some treasure chests. =) Go down a little, and check a hole in a wall on the right to collect an Ether, and you'll find a Lamia's Flute, Remedy, and Hi-Potions a little further left and down in this place. Eventually, you will find an area with a mysterious, huge, green leaf at the right. Everyone stands on the leaf, and it starts taking the party down, and further towards the bottom of this hellhole. Mog, who is still inside Eiko's dress, will sense some life down below, being a faerie after all. After that, you'll fight some Zombies. As long as you aren't hit by Roulette and you quickly kill them, they're not hard. After that, go to the left and talk with Vivi, who is very depressed. He will once again be worried about Kuja's factory, the Mist, and the black mages that he is somehow working with. After that, the party has to fight a Dracozombie. Use a Phoenix Down, or it'll use Zombie Breath. After defeating that mother, you'll finally arrive at the bottom of the Iifa Tree. Dagger can see some green, pretty water at an abyss below. Check the right side and go down the stairs, and you'll find an Elixir. After collecting it, talk to Eiko. She'll ask Zidane if he wants to watch the water with him. Zidane will watch in a normal way, but Eiko will pout and say it has to be romantic. Zidane then asks Eiko a question about the light shining from the water and then Eiko says something about the light shining from Zidane's eyes. Zidane finally realizes what he's putting Dagger through! At the bottom of this room, you will find a Brigandine Vest. Then go talk to Dagger. She'll fall down and notice that the earth is moving. Zidane will run away, and a mysterious tree appears. This Jenova-looking undead, good-for-nothing demon will talk to the party and tell the party all about Kuja using the Mist to make black mages. He then spills the beans about himself being undead! Although many won't see it, he really did tell you that. Soulcage is also the source of the world's Mist, so for the world - Soulcage must be defeated to get rid of the Mist! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Soulcage HP: 9765 Steal: Brigandine, Magician Cloak, Oak Staff Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, Eiko Difficulty: Easy Soulcage can be the easiest boss in the game or he can be the very most difficult boss you have fought thus far, or possibly in the entire game. Soulcage has some nasty tricks up its sleeve, and it's a complex boss, perhaps the most complex in the game. There are two real strategies that you can use for this fight. The first will make you feel a little better, but it's a little hard, and would increase the difficult to Semi-Hard up there. The second is VERY low, but it is guaranteed to make this a very easy fight and an automatic win. Anyway, here they are. Oh yeah, and before I begin, let me tell you that you don't have to steal much here, because everything here can be bought and are not expensive. One: To start this off, Soulcage has four attacks: LV5 Death, Fire Blades, Fira, and Shockwave. LV5 Death is exactly like Quina's version of the spell. Any character that is at a level that is a multiple of 5 will be instantly killed. Fira is the regular spell which does a little over 200 damage, and Shockwave does around 350 damage to the party. It's a very nasty attack, and probably his worst. But why haven't I mentioned Fire Blades? Well, you did know that trees like Soulcage are flammable, right? Fire does a lot of damage, but it is not by any means what you should use. Soulcage will start burning? Good? No. Soulcage will counter with Fire Blades (about 300 damage to the party) around twice, and Fira for good measure. You don't want this to happen, so don't have Vivi cast Fire or Fira, and don't have Eiko use Phoenix either. Have Zidane attack, because as I mentioned nothing cannot be bought and it's a waste of time anyway. Vivi should use Bio. Don't use Fire, I repeat. Dagger should be the party's healer, and Eiko might want to summon Fenrir or Carbuncle. Casting Bio on the whole party with Reflect on really does the job. Anyway, Soulcage will probably fall quickly, but don't use Fire or hesitate to cure, or you'll regret it. Two: Ah, you little cheater. I guess that you'll want to do this if you're under Zombie or something, or you forgot to cure after getting a thorough ass-kicking from a Dracozombie. Well, anyway: Soulcage is undead. Cast Dagger or Eiko's Life or use a Phoenix Down on Soulcage, and he might die. The "might" there just indicates that Phoenix Down occasionally misses. That's not much of a problem, but if you don't want to take any chance, it's an emergency or you need to run, just use an Elixir on Soulcage. Elixirs are more valuable, but it won't miss. It's an instant 9999 damage, and Soulcage will be dead in no time at all! But that's low. So it's up to you which method to use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After the Soulcage falls to yet another death, Zidane will be glad about the Mist disappearing, but Vivi won't. Since the Mist was used to make the black mages, there would be no more that would be made. Once the talk is over, you are brought outside of the Iifa Tree. Return to the Mountain Path and go to the right path, and now it's back to Madain Sari we go. It appears that Lani is back at Madain Sari, and ready to commit a crime. And this time she has a partner with her. :D *************** 22. Madain Sari *************** Enemies: -------- Scarlet Hair (Boss) Eiko will yell at the moogles and say she's home. The moogles will then come to greet her, but apparently a disaster has happened. Eiko will then run away. Follow her to the kitchen, I think you know where it is by now. Go in the room that a moogle and Quina were blocking on your first trip to Madain Sari. Eiko will see that a shiny red stone that has been passed down through her family for generations has been stolen. The party will offer to find the thief, but Eiko wants to find him/her herself. A second later, a scream is heard. Vivi arrives and reports that it was the girl from Fossil Roo (Lani). Lani has kidnapped Eiko at the Eidolon Wall, so it's time to go there. First of all, get the semi-hidden chests in this room for a Survival Vest and a Phoenix Down. Now, go back to the Eidolon Wall. You should remember it from when you went here with Dagger. A bunch of moogles surround the door, and they are scared to death. You will have an option of peeking in or having the moogles heal the party. Choose to heal if you have some wounds and then take a peek. Lani holds Eiko and is scolding her. Time to save her. When you get another chance, choose to ask Mog. A moogle will say that Mog's always been a coward. Another moogle gives you an Exploda and an Elixir. Now choose to save Eiko! Lani still holds Eiko, and says that she was too rambunctious and she fed her some sleeping weed. She then forces you to give Dagger's pendant over. Zidane surrenders and tells Vivi to give it to her. Right as he's about to give it to her, a scarlet haired man jumps right on Lani's hand and knocks Eiko out of her hand. The man then tells Lani to go away. Lani gets furious at him and withdraws. Then the man challenges Zidane to a duel. Zidane tries to impress Dagger and agrees to it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Scarlet Hair HP: 8965 Steal: Ether, Poison Knuckles Party: Zidane Difficulty: Easy The Scarlet Haired man is a little bit of an oddball, but he's still very easy. The man is right ahead of Zidane at the beginning of the fight, but he moves quite a lot. When he moves, DON'T HIT HIM! The damage will be weakened and the man will just counterattack. And adding to the fact that it takes a long while for characters to take actions, it's a bad idea to attack him when he's in the center too, because you never know that he'll move, you hit, and he hits. Also, the man is pretty fast. After counterattacking, he'll probably just hit you again. Luckily though, Attack and Counter are his only attacks; he does not use any strange abilities, spells, or Flairs. But attacking yourself, you might ask? You should definitely attack when he says "Here I go!". When he says this, he's ready to attack, but it's your attacking period as well. To guarantee that you'll win, you should use Auto-Potion or have heavy armor on. If you're anywhere above Level 20 or so, go ahead and scratch Auto-Potion. With good armor, the Scarlet Hair should do about 70 damage or so when he attacks. This being the case, you will almost never have to use a Hi-Potion to cure up. Anyway, the Scarlet Hair has Poison Knuckles, which you will probably want for him when he joins the party. Not to mention an Ether never hurt anyone. If you steal them, do it when he's at a side, because I don't think he'll counter and even if he does it shouldn't be that dangerous. Zidane will probably do a lot of damage if he has good weaponry, so the Scarlet Hair shouldn't prove a very tough challenge. But if you don't have great armor or Zidane is very weak, make sure you have Hi-Potions and/or Auto-Potion. Either way, this fight is very easy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The man will be very much weakened. Zidane demands that he hands over the stone, and then he does so. After that, he'll order Zidane to kill him. Zidane says some of his friendship things, and refuses to kill the man. Then the guy jumps up the wall and retreats. Now return to Eiko's room at the kitchen. She wants to go with the party very badly, even though her grandfather told her not until her 16th birthday. Either choice for her will still make her join, so don't worry. ^_^ You then get that stone, the Memory Earring, as a key item. Eiko wears it as a key item. Mog then enters the room. Once again, the little moogle left Eiko on her own! Eiko gives Mog a huge scolding, and then tells Zidane that the two of them are sisters, but Eiko came out first and is the older sister. Zidane didn't know that Mog was a female... and I wasn't trying to let you know either, because I never said s/he, him/her, or sister while referring to her yet. :D Now get out of this room and go to the room with the fork of the kitchen or the Eidolon Wall. Zidane will hear that song that Dagger sang in Dali and Lindblum and finds her on a boat. Zidane talks to her, and here the affection between the two begins. Dagger asks Zidane why he went with her, and then Zidane tells a story of a man named Ipsen. He and his friend wanted to go with each other, and Zidane answers Dagger's question: because he wanted to go with her. The boat will then move a little, and someone is heard singing the same song that Dagger was singing. It then hits Dagger of what happened with her mother... a flashback of a ship getting hit by a fierce tornado is then shown. Dagger passes out. She then realizes that she was born in Madain Sari when she was a young child, but the boat she and her mother were on was caught in a storm, and her mother died. She then became the Princess of Alexandria. After that, Zidane, Dagger, and Eiko will be together at the Eidolon Wall. Eiko is glad that she's not alone anymore, and that she now has friends. Like Cait Sith from FFVII, Eiko will say that she's going with you, no matter what. Then the party is going to call it a night. Upon waking up, the party will be at the entrance and the moogles tell Eiko goodbye. Then the red-haired man appears, yet again! Zidane asks if he wants some more. The man doesn't understand Zidane and his ways, and how he beat him. Zidane then suggests that the man come with him. Dagger does argue some, but they all give in. Zidane asks the guy his name, and we get a chance to name him. The default is Amarant. Amarant will introduce himself as the Flaming Amarant, or just Amarant, and we have our final party member! Now, get the right party. I suggest Zidane, Vivi, Amarant, and Eiko. Equip Amarant as you want, and then head out and go through the Mountain Path again, and go to the Iifa Tree! ************* 23. Iifa Tree ************* Enemies: -------- Zombie Stroper Myconoid Mistodon A little Mist can be seen left, but it's all good. Eiko talks some about the defeat of Soulcage, and then Amarant whispers to himself about the incredible powers of the party. In the skies, Kuja will arrive. He is on his beloved Silver Dragon, and the one that we saw at the major cool ending in Disc 1. Kuja says some evil things to himself about the tree. When you regain control, just head straight and follow Kuja. You'll arrive at a big tree trunk. And it's one that not too many here can climb. Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko will all refuse to climb. Zidane will ask himself what to do next, and Amarant glares at him and asks how "this wimp" ended up defeating him. Being the very rude man he is, he walks through Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko. Eiko then whines at him, and Amarant just tells her to shut up. Zidane then knows it's time for Amarant to pay him back, and then he notices there's gargant grass there. He tells him to catch a gargant. Amarant gets even angrier, and then he picks Eiko and Vivi up, then jumps off the tree trunk. Zidane carries Dagger and jumps off just the same way. Kuja is seen and he mutters an awesome line: "The weak lose their freedom to the strong. Such is the way of the strong. And it is the providence of nature that only the strong survive." He says some nasty stuff about Queen Brahne, and then we go back to Zidane. Once again we get to choose our party. Vivi and Eiko say some angry things about Kuja, and then the party meets him. They all have a long conversation. Dagger gets extremely furious at Kuja about her mother, because Kuja says things about Brahne wanting the huge war. Then, Kuja says some more cool things, and we see a scene with Queen Brahne. Brahne laughs in her anger, and says some stuff about killing Kuja. After that long scene, Dagger yells at Kuja some more. Zidane tells Kuja that he won't let him get away, but Kuja creates Mist monsters with magic and sics them on the party. We are then thrust into a fight with two Mistodons. These creatures can cast Sleep and Fira, but that's basically all they've got for offensive things. If you have some, you can use Phoenix Down or Hi-Potion on both of them. If you don't, just have Dagger or Eiko cast Cure or Cura on them or Zidane harass them with physical attacks. They aren't hard. After the fight, Kuja will have gotten away. He is seen on the Silver Dragon and says evil things to Brahne. The two of them then engage in a bloody battle. Dagger is determined not to let anything happen to Brahne and runs to the bottom. Now we have to chase her! Dagger knows there's an eidolon at the bottom, so she wants to summon it to save Queen Brahne. You'll have to fight two more Mistodons. They are as weak as before; just beat the hell out of them. Now when you gain control, go to the right side and save with the moogle! You'll even read a letter by Stiltzkin. After that, run to the left and all the way done the huge slope. When you get down, you will no doubt have to fight more Mistodons. There's no way getting around it. Anyway, defeat them with Vivi's Fira, Eiko's Cure spells, Zidane's attacks, and Amarant's attacks/throws/flairs. At the bottom of this huge slope, Dagger is calling Leviathan. She realizes she can't use it to save Brahne, and then she gets even more worried. You are then given an Aquamarine, so you can summon Leviathan whenever you want. We go to the battleship of Queen Brahne. They are getting ready to summon Bahamut. Brahne summons him, and then he uses his Mega Flare attack on Kuja. It does nothing, and then Kuja laughs and the Silver Dragon descends at the queen. Amarant, Dagger, and Eiko say some stuff, and then Kuja laughs some more. Things about Bahamut not being able to touch him. He threatens the dragon, and then he controls Bahamut. Bahamut blows a Mega Flare at Queen Brahne and all the Alexandrian Soldiers, and we are taken to her grave. She regains her senses, and Zidane talks to himself about how much he loathes Kuja. Dagger has a funeral for her mother, and then Queen Brahne says that the people will be happier with Dagger on the throne. She stops breathing, and dies. Dagger is sadder than ever. Beatrix, Steiner, Doctor Tot, and Dagger talk a little at her grave on Alexandria, and we see an FMV with Dagger. This ends Disc 2. It is now time to change to Disc 3. ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER SIX: Walkthrough: Disc 3 -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- ====================================================================== ************** 24. Alexandria ************** Enemies: -------- N/A Disc 3 will begin as Doctor Tot, Dagger, and Steiner have a little conversation as they enter the dock for Alexandria Castle. Dagger is to become the new queen of Alexandria. After that, a drunk Zidane is seen, muttering to himself about Dagger at the Alexandria bar. Ruby, Marcus, Blank, and Cinna are talking to him, and then Baku arrives. Zidane pleads with him to let him join Tantalus again, but Baku refuses. Ruby and everyone else then run outside. Blank then runs into Vivi outside and greets him, talking a little about Beatrix. Then we gain control. You should definitely remember Alexandria from when you controlled Vivi at the beginning of Disc 1. But now there is new stuff to get and people to talk to. If you go to the right of the bar you can find Hippaul, and his mother wants you to race him. Refer to the section in Chapter Eight for more information on this mini game. Now go to the left at the fork on the outside of the bar. You can talk to everyone for some comments on Dagger becoming the new queen of Alexandria. Anyway... Go into the weapon shop and you will find Zidane's friends Zenero, Benero, and their brother Genero. You can talk to them to play the Nero Gambling game. Refer to Chapter Eight for information on that. You definitely want to synth and buy some stuff at the shops around here. There's even the Angel Bless for Zidane, which allows him to use the awesome skill called Thievery. Exit the shops and then go to the left of the ticket booth (you know, where Vivi had the fake ticket at the beginning of the game). Blank and Marcus are guarding the mini-theater below. Don't talk to them yet though. Instead, continue further and head into the steeple, and where Puck and Vivi went up the ladder to the top of the buildings on Disc 1, you'll find Stiltzkin and Kupo! Talk to Stiltzkin and buy Hi-Potion, Phoenix Pinion, and Elixir from him, for 777 Gil. Then climb up the tower. Ring the bell at the top to find three weak Level 1 cards (you could have gotten them earlier in the game), and the Ramuh and Shiva cards. Excellent for the upcoming in Treno. Return to where Blank and Marcus were. Vivi will speak a little to them, and then Blank will suggest he watch Ruby's little play. Agree to this and Vivi will step down and then talk to Cinna, calling him Uncle Cinna. Cinna goes nuts at this, and then Ruby sees Vivi and instantly takes a like to him. Blank and Marcus then sneak in, hoping that Ruby won't see them and they won't be scolded. Unfortunately though, Ruby scolds them anyway. That's our great females for you, ya know? Now we'll see what Dagger is up to. She is in the castle, getting ready for some important things. She tells Steiner and Beatrix that she wants to talk to Zidane, but they will not allow her. Doctor Tot then walks in and says some things about summoning, and he gives Dagger the Opal, Topaz, and Amethyst gems. Now we can summon Ramuh with the Peridot, Shiva with the Opal, Ifrit with the Topaz, Atomos with the Amethyst, and of course Leviathan with the Aquamarine we picked up at the end of Disc 2. After that, Eiko will walk down the hall, thinking of how to gain Zidane's affection. She decides to write him a love letter. Doctor Tot will appear and then Eiko thinks that he is very brainy, and she asks him to help write the letter. Doctor Tot agrees, and then Eiko walks away. Tot notices some strange things about Eiko, and her horn. We'll see a flashback involving a dead woman and a girl with horns, and that would appear to be Dagger. That being true, it is possible that Eiko and Dagger are related. (And actually, they are cousins.) Eiko will then walk in and yell at Tot to hurry it up. Doctor Tot then proceeds to write it. Dagger can be seen inside the castle, preparing for her big ceremony. She is wearing a beautiful blue dress and is talking to Beatrix. She then tells Beatrix about Queen Brahne. After that, Eiko will have the letter from Doctor Tot and will tell him what her name is and where she's from. Madain Sari. Doctor Tot becomes especially suspicious at that. Now Eiko will take the letter. If you want, go to the right and save your game, but to advance, go to the left. You'll be at Alexandria's hall. Go to the left fork, and just as Eiko will cross, Baku comes out of the room and bumps into Eiko. She cannot get down and drops the letter. Baku then takes the letter to give it to Zidane. He'll go outside and meet up with Steiner. Steiner and Baku still can't get along very well at all, but they're getting better. Baku will be devolved into a huge conversation and will drop the letter. Steiner doesn't notice, and then he and Baku go away. Beatrix steps in and sees the love letter, in which she supposes Steiner dropped. She then imagines that Steiner wrote her a love letter. (Although Beatrix and Steiner ARE in love, secretly. I can imagine just how good they'd get along...) The scene will go back to Zidane at the bar. Zidane still feels awful, but Ruby is asking him to go and see Dagger. Vivi also wants to see her. Baku steps in and talks to Vivi a little bit, and then the three of them head out, leaving us with control of Zidane. If you want, view the ATE with Baku, seeing that he forgot to give the letter to Zidane but lost it anyway. The big clumsy jerk. Almost as bad as Steiner, and that is saying a lot. Now go around to where the ticket booth is, and then from there, head north, for the first time in Alexandria. At the boat of Alexandria, Freya awaits, but she isn't happy in the slightest. She's very angry for Zidane leaving off, and she finds he's been very useless, as Zidane's found little to no information on Kuja. After that, Amarant appears and speaks with Freya a little, and they challenge each other to a duel. The guards stop all of that ruckus, and then Amarant asks for another rematch with Zidane. He turns this down. A boat will then arrive, waiting to take you to Alexandria Castle. Hop on and we shall go see Dagger. Around the entrance, screams are heard. Steiner then carries Eiko around, shouting at her. Eiko whines and tells how Steiner called her a loudmouth and a liar and a brat and various other insults. Freya and Eiko then have a going at it, and then Vivi comes in and tells Steiner to let you in. Steiner agrees and then forms a meeting. Dagger comes out in her beautiful dress, and Zidane cannot say what he wants to say. Eiko then runs to her and trades jewels with her, and then Dagger walks away. Zidane still can't say what he wants to, therefore bringing Eiko to utter fury. Outside, in the night, Eiko is outside near the fountain, where Baku dropped the letter and Beatrix picked it up. She rants and raves about Zidane, calling him a fool to herself and thinking of bringing him pure hate. Blank and Marcus then come in. Blank somehow got the love letter that Beatrix got from Baku. Marcus will talk to him all sweet and then they hear someone coming and Blank drops the letter. Steiner comes in and sees the letter, and then thinks that Beatrix wrote it. Just like Beatrix had thought that Steiner wrote it. Beatrix then walks in and the two are about to kiss each other... but Baku has to ruin it by walking in and sneezing. You will now start to hate him for ruining perhaps the greatest scene in the game. After that entertaining night, the party will be back at the bar. Freya and Amarant are curious about where Zidane is. Vivi goes out and then Eiko storms in furiously, followed by Doctor Tot. Tot and Eiko chat a little and the party decides to go to Treno for a card tournament. This is one of the WORST parts of the game if you don't like Tetra Master. Zidane comes in and decides he wants to go, and Tot decides the best way is through Gargant Roo. Everyone (except Dagger, Steiner, and Quina, who are not here of course), gets on the gargant and we go to Treno for the card tournament. ********* 25. Treno ********* Enemies: -------- N/A This trip to Treno is mostly comprised of fun and a heckload of ATEs. Everyone climbs down the ladder and runs off. Now it'll be time to buy some stuff, cause Treno has some of the best stuff you can buy yet. If you've forgotten, the synthesis shop is down, to the right, and south of Stella's house. The item shop is to the far east of the entrance (not the Gargan Roo one, the real one where you entered in Disc 2 with Dagger, Steiner, and Marcus). And I also believe I mentioned Stella up there? Go back to her house. I think you have a lot of Stellazios by now. Give them to her for a lot of stuff. I now have a question for you: do you have a lot of Gil? If you do, time to use it all up. Go to the auction house. It is southwest of Stella's house. There are lots of awesome items there, but there's one notable one called the Dark Matter. This item enables Dagger to summon Odin, but it is extremely expensive. Expect to get yourself flat broke from that. If you are aiming for a Class S Treasure Hunting License (see Chapter Eight), buy the Mini-Cid if you haven't already. That's pretty much all of the useful stuff you can do in Treno. But now time for one of the biggest quests in the game. As I mentioned above, this place is full of ATEs. I am not going to list all of them as that would take forever, but only some important ones. Watch all of them, because there is one where Eiko runs into a house, and then she finds Quina. Quina hears some things about good food, and then chases some guy and he drops a Chimera Armlet. Another one is where Vivi runs into a person and he's given the choice to go out or stay in Treno. Choose to let him go out. There is another where Freya is with Amarant. You get a choice to ask Amarant some questions, and choose not to push it out of him. Before we begin playing cards, we want to collect the Burman Coffee if you want any chance of getting Class S (Chapter Eight). This is a very complicated item to collect. First of all, go to the auction house if you chose not to have Freya push answers out of Amarant. Freya will ask Zidane for a tour. Let her join, and then go to the main exit of Treno. We are going out to the world map. We now want to head to Dali through the South Gate and while everyone's gone there, find the Burman Coffee. Our going will not be so easy in this quest though... the monsters outside are dangerous, which is why Freya should go with you. Quan's Dwelling: ---------------- We want all the help and EXP that we can get, so if you want, go through the forests to the west and go to the cave to enter Quan's Dwelling. You'll find Vivi there. Tell him to go with you, and now we have three party members. You should fear nothing now, because we can get these three characters to get some EXP (Freya undoubtedly suffers) and the battles should be ridiculously easy now. Once you're ready, go back to the world map, and head east of Treno and you will find yourself back at South Gate. Head back and to the west, then up and you'll end up at the other side of the world map. Go to Dali. Dali: ----- Alright, you remember where the Mayor's House was, right? Go there, and you will find that he is not home. He left for Alexandria or Treno, I believe. However, not all is great. His son is in the room, asleep. If you do too much, you will wake him up and he'll chase you out. You get extra chances, but try not to wake him up anyway. Pick up the Mini-Brahne in here, and then investigate each area and you will find the Mayor's Key. After collecting that, get out of here and go to where you found Aries. Use the Mayor's Key on the back door and go through there to find yourself in a chocobo area. There is a chest near the chocobo for 30000 Gil. Not to mention to the right, there's another chest with the Burman Coffee! After getting these two items, go to the left and back out of this place and then head south to get out of Dali. Go to the Observatory Mountain just near Dali and give Morrid all three coffees. Afterwards, get out of this place and return to South Gate, and take the right path, then head back north to Treno. Now that that nonsense is over, let's advance with the game. Treno: ------ Now it's time to match up with the people at the card tournament. Go to the card stadium, and save your game. Then head in, and the first game will begin. Get Ramuh and Shiva out and start pulverizing. The second is against a person who holds the Namingway card, so that'll be a little harder. Try and trick the Namingway into getting in a trap, and you should win. PICK UP THE NAMINGWAY CARD, it is extremely useful. Now save the game again, and head in there again. Regent Cid and a girl will walk in. The girl (Erin) will challenge Zidane. She is extremely easy to beat coz she only uses Oglop Cards. Very weak cards. When the game with Erin is over, Zidane and her will talk a little. You might actually remember here from the first visit to Lindblum. She was right below the guest room and Zidane could ask her out if you wanted him to. After that, Zidane and Erin will have a little chat. Regent Cid will also mention that Zidane still knows no manners. Also, when you come out, you will be given a Rebirth Ring. This is a very good ring, so that was worth it. Now you never have to touch Tetra Master again if you don't want to. Eiko will run in, in a panic. Mog detects huge trouble at Alexandria. ************** 26. Alexandria ************** Enemies: -------- Tantarian (Optional Boss) Kuja stands by a statue in the middle of Alexandria. He says some more evil things, and he begins to summon Bahamut. Bahamut rises across Alexandria, and Dagger sees him and gets very worried about the castle. Beatrix tells Dagger that Steiner's army of the Knights of Pluto is ready to take orders. Steiner will shout at the Knights and tell them to line up and he then gives them orders. Tell Blutzken and Kohel to gather information; tell Weimar and Haagen to protect the citizens, tell Dojebon and Mullenkedheim to ready the cannons, and tell Breireicht and Laudo to call reinforcements. If you do all this, Beatrix will give you the Angel Earrings. This will be an extremely useful add-on! The city of Alexandria is then being attacked by the spawns of Mist, the Mistodons. Beatrix and Steiner rush to the rescue of the town. You will now have to fight a lot of Mistodons. Fortunately though, the Mistodons provide little to no challenge next to the powers of Beatrix and Steiner. But make absolutely sure that Steiner doesn't have the Blood Sword equipped. Mistodons are undead, so if Steiner attacks them he'll heal the Mistodons and hurt himself. Beatrix is much stronger than Steiner is, but she isn't a permanent character. However, you should be able to kill the Mistodons with Cura, Holy, Climhazzard, Shock, or other powerful attacks. Since Steiner is way below the other party members' levels, you may want to super level him up by knocking Beatrix out. I know it'll make you feel bad, but it's worth it. =) Go through all of Alexandria and kill every single Mistodon there, and then the scene will go to Dagger inside the castle. She hears strange music somewhere inside, and parts to the castle have been blocked off. Go up the stairs and to the left. After that, head up the huge set of stairs, and then when you reach the top, a tower will suddenly appear through magic. Go right up to the top, and then Dagger will pass out. Afterwards, Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Amarant, Eiko are on Cid's airship, the Hilda Garde II. Eiko then feels Dagger all of a sudden and hears the same music she did, and then she jumps right off to the tower. Eiko's pendant sparkles. She starts flying to Dagger. When Eiko and Dagger get to the tower, they cross hands and pray to the holy guardian Alexander. The extremely powerful holy Eidolon then flies above Alexandria and protects it. Kuja then lets Bahamut go toward Alexandria. Alexander and Bahamut then have a huge battle. Bahamut is defeated and disappears. Kuja becomes furious and he summons his ship, the Invincible. In the ship, a terribly evil man in black named Garland is threatening Zidane and Kuja. He also appears to know both of them, but I will not yet tell you the connection. It's a huge spoiler. Kuja is flabbergasted at how Garland managed to get to the world, Gaia. A big mystery right now... Cid and the other members of the party are still on the Hilda Garde II, wondering what the hell Eiko is doing. They then go inside Alexandria. Vivi never wants to ride an airship again, Amarant threatens Cid, and Freya is also angry. Anyway, now if you were smart enough on Disc 2 not to fight Tantarian on the trip to rescue Dagger, you can fight him now. I think you know where he is, but if you don't, go to the left library and investigate the bookcase at the bottom of the room, with the book on top of it. This is Tantarian, and talking to him initiates combat with him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Tantarian (Disc 3) HP: 21997 Steal: Ether, Elixir, Silver Fork, Demon's Mail Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Amarant Difficulty: Medium WHERE: Tantarian can be fought in the same place where you could have fought him before. He is still in the left library of Alexandria Castle. Note that if you beat him on Disc 2 you cannot fight him on Disc 3. There are two points in the game that you can fight Tantarian. The library of Alexandria in Disc 2 during the 30:00 time limit or the same place in Disc 3. This strategy is assuming you're doing it on Disc 3, and that is the exact time you should do it. Tantarian has some really powerful attacks that are really going to show you a bit and the last save point is a long while back, but this is still much easier. Anyway, Tantarian has two forms: The book form and the cute form. In the book form, Tantarian is dangerous. He does two attacks called Paper Storm and Edge, which will add up to a lot of trouble. He also uses Doom occasionally. He'll switch to the cute form after taking some damage on his book form. In the cute form, he just uses Poison and he can use Doom sometimes. Unfortunately, he's a little wimpy here. If you hit him with a physical attack, he says "Ouch!" and disappears. If you don't, he'll stay for a while. After a long bit of time of being there, he'll disappear into the book again. Big bummer on that. That's why you should only Steal from him, have Freya heal the party, have Vivi cast his strongest spell, and Amarant use his best Flair skills, and Tantarian will be taking about 6000 damage before he disappears into the book again. Tantarian only has four attacks: He can use Paper Storm for around 500 damage to the party. This is his worst attack and the reason this battle is hard. I recommend a full stock of Hi-Potions and Phoenix Downs, because this could result in very high damage, it could add up, and the party will be in miserable pain. It might even be a good idea to put everyone in the back to avoid being in worse trouble. He also has Edge, which does about 800 damage to a character. Since this is only on one character, it's not a big deal. Not to mention by right now, you should be able to survive through it. Anyway, on for character duties. Have Freya cure the party and make sure it's at maximum HP at all times and use Ethers if required, have Amarant use his Chakra if necessary or heal if you absolutely need it, but otherwise throw something, have Vivi use a strong spell over and over, and as for Zidane... get him to steal if you want, but Tantarian doesn't have anything good except the Silver Fork. This is a great fork for Quina so that might be worth it. Be careful at all times and you should come out okay. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After beating Tantarian if you wanted to, we can finally find Dagger. Get to the same point she did, at the top of the tower. When you reach the point, Zidane says he will go alone, because any minute Kuja will destroy the whole castle. Everyone will leave Zidane by himself. Go up the stairs and yet another FMV shows the Invincible taking control of Alexander. The tower that appeared earlier is torn to pieces, but Eiko and Dagger live. However, it wasn't so lucky for Alexander. The whole Alexandria Castle is destroyed, and Alexander dies. Everyone manages to escape. ************ 27. Lindblum ************ Enemies: -------- Cid and Minister Artania talk a little, and Baku orders Blank to go to the castle, and then Zidane gets out of bed at the guest room in the castle. Collect the Egoist's Armlet on the right, and then go up the stairs and save your game via the moogle, and open the chest to his left for an Elixir. When you reach the bottom, Blank is once again disgusted at the kind of thing that Zidane usually does, like his stunts at Alexandria Castle. Ask Blank what's going on, and he'll tell Zidane all about it, and then he'll say that Dagger's in the telescope room. I think you still remember where the telescope room is. Get out of the guest room and to the left, then right to the bottom of that room to get on the lift, then take it up to the top level, go to the left and past the huge machinery, up the stairs and then up the stairs on the left to the top where Dagger is. Zidane says his usual blabber to Dagger, but realizes that Dagger isn't talking. Zidane then sees she has lost her voice with everything that has been going on, and it sure as hell doesn't look like she's going to get her voice back anytime soon. After talking to Dagger, just go right downstairs and to the hall, and you'll find Blank again. Cid wants Zidane to go to the Royal Chamber of the castle. I think you should remember where it is; it's just right in front of you. Inside, Regent Cid will call a meeting in the Conference Room, and that's where everyone will go. Inside, Eiko runs off to look for Dagger. An ATE is then shown with Kuja, and he is seen with an airship, doing more evil... with the black mages. Kuja is using Cid's airship the Hilda Garde I. To go after Kuja, the party needs an airship. And to do that, we need to turn Cid back into a human! How to do that, you might ask? The citizens of Lindblum are very clever and have potions around. The three potions needed are the Strange Potion, the Beautiful Potion, and the Unusual Potion. Zidane just happens to know that Cinna has the Unusual Potion. Eiko shortly comes in with Doctor Tot, and it is clearly shown that Dagger has lost her voice. Zidane, Eiko, Steiner, Dagger, and Doctor Tot go to the guest room. With everything on Dagger's mind, she has lost her voice from her grief. Well who the hell wouldn't, I'd like to know. Two mothers lost, a father lost, even your hometown lost. That's something sad all right. Dagger is to be left in peace. Steiner does very funny stuff right now though... ;) Back at the Conference Room, Artania tells everyone about the potions needed to restore Cid to his human form. An ATE also shows what Quina is currently doing. He apparently got washed up from Treno on to Lindblum. Now for the Potions. Go back to the Mid Level and to the airship dock, then go downstairs and to the right, then to the left onto the aircab. Take it to the Theater District. When you embark, just head north and then you'll see Hal from Burmecia, whom you saved from the crumbling statue before the first fight with Beatrix. He'll introduce his kids and soon you'll regain Zidane's control. Go to the right and down the stairs, and talk to the artist. He has the Strange Potion and he'll give it to you. Now that you have the Strange Potion, get out of that house and then head all the way over to the west. Zidane and Cinna will greet each other, and then Cinna gives you the Unusual Potion. Two down, one to go. After collecting it all our business in the Theater District is over, so go back to the aircab and take it to our business district, the Business District. =P When you get there, go to the far north and you'll see Lindblum has been well restored. Check the upper-left side for a cart to find the Sagittarius. Go to the far right and north, then you'll find Alice. She has the Beautiful Potion. Good, that's taken care of. Before leaving back to the castle, you may want to pick up some things. Go to the Synthesis Shop and you'll find some real good items to synth. The third best synthesis shop in the game, it is. Now go back south, and on your way stop by Card Freak Gon's house. He's got an Elixir and a Remedy in the treasure chests. Now that we have everything we can get now, go back to the aircab and go to the castle. Return to the Royal Chamber, and there Doctor Tot will mix the three potions and hand it to Cid. He'll then take the potion, ribbit. Doesn't appear he's gone back to human form though (ribbit). If you haven't guessed it yet, he turned into a frog. Cid gets pissed off at this point, and he absolutely refuses to take any more potions. He wants Hilda herself to turn him back into a man. He calls for another meeting at the Conference Room. Back there, he tells you to go to the harbor and take the ship there. Vivi wants to go back to Black Mage Village, so make this the next course. Go to the Base Level, and then take the cab to the Serpent's Gate. You'll find a large blue ship to the right. Climb on board with the ladder, and inside you'll find not only Blank, but Quina. He's had quite an adventure. Baku apparently ordered Blank to go with them and take the ship. Quina wants to eat Regent Cid the frog, but Zidane refuses. Anyway, enjoy the Blue Narciss! World Map: ---------- The Blue Narciss itself is easy enough to control. It's basically the standard control, X to move forward, D-Pad or Analog Stick to move around, Square to backtrack, O to disembark, and Triangle to enter the ship. I suggest putting Zidane, Vivi, Amarant, and Eiko into the party now. Don't use Dagger, because she's got some troubles on her mind and cannot fully concentrate on the matters of attacking. Set a course toward the Outer Continent on the northeastern part of the world, and disembark outside. Now just go through the forest and enter the deserted village. ********************** 28. Black Mage Village ********************** Enemies: -------- N/A To no one's surprise, our trip to Black Mage Village begins with Vivi coming in, in a panic. He'll see absolutely no black mages, so the damned village is almost completely deserted. There still are some black mages left, however. Vivi will run to the cemetery to see if No. 288 is there. Follow him to the cemetery, and we'll hear about everything that's been going on. All of the other black mages except No. 288 and two of the black mages guarding the chocobo egg in the shack went with Kuja. No. 288 will tell Vivi about them, so he'll run off to the shack. Follow him there. The black mages there refused to go with Kuja to guard their egg, and now it's hatched. Vivi will see that, and then he'll go outside in a sadness. No. 288 is outside. Vivi asks him some questions about death. He then gets furious and yells about his hate for Kuja. The first time Vivi has ever done that. According to No. 288, Kuja also has a secret hideout on the eastern side of the world. This is where we need to go so we can track the bastard down. After Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, and Eiko chat a little, we'll go back to the Blue Narciss. Time for our first trip to the Forgotten Continent. World Map: ---------- Go to the eastern side of the world and you will find a desert with four holes in the ground. Find a beach and get off, then go to the desert. The enemies around are not very hard at all. You'll see four holes with sand coming out of them. One of them leads to Kuja's palace. Three of them lead to an Antlion. Choose the one without quicksand coming out of it. In case you chose the wrong one, here's a strategy for the Antlion. He'll probably start off with Sandstorm. If he does, have Eiko cure the party immediately. Have Zidane and Amarant attack the Antlion, and Vivi should use Blizzara. It'll die instantly. Anyway, to the Desert Palace. Desert Palace: -------------- What do you know. As soon as you enter you're trapped in a room. Zidane is trapped inside a small room with Cid. Kuja is that clever. Speaking of Kuja, he then starts talking. Zidane gets as pissed off as you've ever seen him, but then Kuja shows a hole in the floor, full of lava. Kuja wants the party to do something for him, and if they don't they can kiss themselves goodbye into the lava. Zidane will have a choice of saying "No way!" or "Dammit! I don't have a choice!" Either one is fine, although if you chose "No way!", Kuja will do some bad stuff where he opens the room even further. The door opens, and Zidane will walk out and leave Cid. There are doors all around the palace, and all of them have a party member in them. Go to the bottom of this room, and Kuja will tell Zidane to step between the two black mages. Do so and you will be teleported to where Kuja himself is. Zidane throws a tantrum on him as a greeting. Kuja wants Zidane to go to Oeilvert and bring him back the Gulug Stone. Kuja can't go himself because he uses plenty of magic, and there's a magic barrier there. Kuja will allow three characters to go with Zidane. As you can't use magic you're going to need powerhouses. I recommend Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, and Quina. (You heard me, Quina.) Your characters will appear, and then Kuja will send the party to the Hilda Garde I. When they leave, he says "Mwahahahahaha! What a bunch of idiots." or something like that. Zidane will be on the Hilda Garde I, trying to talk to two black mages, who don't even turn around. Zorn and Thorn tell Zidane that he cannot do that. Zidane tells them that both of them are only pawns in return. They get mad, but they don't do anything. The Hilda Garde I passes the snowy Lost Continent and lands in a grassy area near Oeilvert. Heh, even outside, Kuja's evil theme still plays. World Map: ---------- Around the west side, you will find a Qu's Marsh. This is why I told you to bring Quina. There are some frogs you can catch there too, so it's all good. There is also the Adamantoise which can be found outside, and you can eat it for the blue magic spell Earth Shake. After that, you ready to go to Oeilvert, the hardest area yet? If you are, set a course to the southern side of the Forgotten Continent. It's behind all the mountains. Keep in mind there are some tough enemies out there, so watch your guard. ************ 29. Oeilvert ************ Enemies: -------- Epitagh Zidane (Epitagh Clone) Vivi (Epitagh Clone) Dagger (Epitagh Clone) Steiner (Epitagh Clone) Freya (Epitagh Clone) Quina (Epitagh Clone) Eiko (Epitagh Clone) Amarant (Epitagh Clone) Ogre Garuda Ark (Boss) Welcome to this beautiful town with some beautiful music that's got some not-so-beautiful enemies. The Epitagh is annoying as hell, and it summons clones of your characters, and then the clone uses an attack on its real character, which instantly does 9999 damage. Needless to say, it's an automatic death. The Ogres are also annoying, and the Garudas use very powerful Firaga spells, although they're not exactly difficult to defeat. However, the Epitaghs can be defeated with a simple Soft and this is the best level-up spot yet, so it's not exactly a total loss in my perspective. At the entrance a female moogle will save your game if you want. Head along the long path to the town. The town is blocked a gigantic gate, but Zidane will be able to open it. Now let's enter the town. You'll find a lot of treasure chests in this room, so don't hesitate to open all of them. The chest near the stairs has a Remedy in it, and the chest at the top of the stairs has a Rising Sun in it. Also, if you take the right path here, you'll meet Stiltzkin. Very cheap prices, very good items, you can't go wrong purchasing. After that, get out of here and go to the left. In there, you will find the Diamond Sword and the Shield Armor. If you have Steiner in your party, equip both of them on him. Go to the left and down the stairs, and you'll find a room with four golden lights in it. None of them will respond when you examine them. Get the Power Vest in the chest on the right, and then walk up the stairs and get the Feather Boots. You should equip these two on Zidane. After that, get out of here the same way you came in. Then go up and to the left instead of bottom and left (ignore the other door, it is locked and cannot yet be opened) and you'll find yourself on a long path. Around the middle of it, a steel ball can be seen. Examine it, and it'll react a little but then it won't do anything. Collect the Elixir around there and then get out of that room. Go to the previous room and then an image of Gaia appears, and it sort of speaks to Zidane. He can't understand it yet though. Go to the lower-left, back to where the golden lights were. Now they start reacting, but Zidane has to touch them in a certain order. Try the one on the upper-left first, then the upper-right, then the lower-right, and finally the lower-left. This should be in order of which you'll see anyway. Images of the Invincible will be seen from the lights. And now, you guessed it. Return to where the steel ball was. In case you forgot, it's to the left, the upper-left and the far right to the ball. It will now show you the city of Terra. Now go to the right and go up the small set of stairs and you'll find a message that the light in this room has a purpose. After collecting that, go up the stairs to find a Gaia Gear. Don't equip this on anyone; wait until you get Vivi available and then equip it on him. Now, remember the locked door? It can be opened, so go there! You will enter a mysterious room... full of faces. They will spit out a lot of things about Terra, but a lot of it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Anyway, get that business done and go to the right, back to where you found Stiltzkin and the other moogle. In the middle, you will see images of Gaia and Terra, becoming one. A very mysterious illusion. Now talk to the moogle and save your game and then head right. You might have tried the elevator here before and it didn't work. Now it does! Ride it up to the top, and you'll find yourself in a small room with the Gulug Stone. Try to take it, but to stop us, an airship shakes the room, so to get the Gulug Stone, we have to fight the airship. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Ark HP: 20002 Steal: Elixir, Power Vest, Holy Lance Party: Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, Quina Difficulty: Medium I hear all this stuff about Ark destroying the party and being the toughest boss in the whole game and stuff like that, but I honestly think that is a whole lot of garbage. Ark still is quite a little bit tougher than a whole lot of bosses at the beginning of the game, but I personally think that Ark's difficulty is the most overrated in the game. He has four attacks that he's not afraid to throw at the party, however. His most deadly one is Photon, where he reduces a character's HP to 1. He also has an attack called Whirlwind which does about 300 damage to the party. This shouldn't be too dangerous if you are prepared well enough. Easily his most annoying one is Propeller Wind, where he spins the party around and confuses it. I hope you have protection against this bugger. This alone makes Ark a Medium difficulty boss. He also has Boomerang, which will do 500 or so damage to a single character. That's all Ark's got to strut. Now, you are definitely going to have Zidane going nuts in this fight. Ark has some of the best stealable items in the game. Forget the Elixir and Power Vest, just concentrate on the Holy Lance. This is extremely powerful and allows Freya to use Dragon's Crest. Unfortunately, it's immensely hard to steal. I hope you have Bandit and really high Spirit for Zidane, or you're going to be throwing your control at the TV. Steiner should be using his strongest Sword Arts, and Amarant should throw Rising Suns. You should have a few of them, and they're highly effective. Quina needs to heal the party in case Ark gets a little bit nasty on everyone. Anyway, this fight isn't very hard. Cure off when Ark uses Photon and make sure the party's got Confuse protection and all the necessary stuff, and you'll do just fine. Just remember to get the Holy Lance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that long fight, Zidane will grab the Gulug Stone and decide to get back to his friends, and then he'll get the hell out. Now we get to see what's going on at the Desert Palace. ***************** 30. Desert Palace ***************** Enemies: -------- Grimlock Ogre Torama Drakan Valia Pira (Boss) As perhaps everyone knew, Kuja tricked the party. He sees that Zidane got the Gulug Stone, and then he laughs and says the party will die, unless he gets back in 10 minutes. Eiko throws a fit in her room where she's trapped. After that, Cid will became furious at Kuja and decides to do something about this. Some black mages are then heard talking about something where you have to turn all the traps on to deactivate the main one. This isn't important advice. You are now controlling Cid! Head into the room on the right, and we'll start a fiendishly complex and difficult mission to free everyone. We are controlling Cid and we want to get to the hourglass on the other side of the room so when it is turned upside down, everyone will be freed. Unfortunately though, a hedgehog is guarding it. If he faces Cid and then Cid moves, it'll attack. Since Cid is just a frog, he'll have to run away and start over. To move forward, press O. Wait for the hedgehog to turn its head the other way, and then move. There's one thing to be careful of: Don't go too fast. You never know that the hedgehog will turn its head away, and then immediately turn and then you'll get caught. Also, you have to finish this quickly because there's a 6:00 time limit AND the clock will still run when you get to the key. Once you do manage to get to the key, Cid needs to be able to jump himself up to the hourglass. To do this, he needs to put three weights on dishes to make them heavier than himself and bounce him up. There are four weights. They are made of Wood, Clay, Stone, and Iron. The three heaviest are Clay, Stone, and Iron, so put them on the dishes and then Cid will get up and turn the hourglass around. Your party members Eiko, Vivi, Dagger and Freya are now out of there. We will now have to find our way out. And believe it or not, if Eiko is in your party she'll be the leader. At the fork, turn right if you have any sense at all. That's a moogle and a save point, so let me tell you that the enemies in the Desert Palace are very tough. The Grimlocks just love to cast Sleep and Slow on the party, and they keep changing their weakness (magic or physical attacks), the Toramas use Thundara a lot and like to rip everyone apart, the Ogres have tons of power on them but aren't tough, and the Drakans are the worst. They use Mind Blast quite a lot, and they use powerful magic too. Just our luck. Also, running away is very hard, because Zidane is not here to use Flee. Gosh darn it. Anyway, after getting out of there, run to the left to continue. In here, check the angel statue on the left. On the statue to your right, a red light will appear. Examine it and you will be given a Promist Ring. Now continue forward and you will be in a strange looking room with a statue of a woman, and two gargoyle statues on either side. Examine the statue on the right, then examine the one on the left. Finally, examine the statue of the woman. Now walk away to the left. If you look carefully enough, you can see some stairs gradually appear behind the woman statue. Climb up and enter the room on the right. Light the lamp in here, and then go back down the stairs. At the bottom of them, go to the left and you'll find yourself in a large room. There are three lamps on the left side of the room, where you will enter it. Examine all of them, and the door in front of you as well as another one to the right will open. Head through the one next to you and then go to the right and down, and you'll appear at the other side of the room. There are three more lamps in here, so light them all up. A statue on the left of the room will disappear, so you can go from the right to the left without having to take the doors. Hooray. After this is done, take out the upper-right and lower-right lamps. The statue on the left will be gone and the doors will also disappear. Now you'll have to go through the upper door and get to the other side, then get to the center. Light up the lamps in the middle, and then both statues will be gone. Now, light up every light in the entire room. There are eight of them, and another one at the bottom of the room that you should light after all the others are on. After that, a red light will appear. Examine it and then you will be given an Anklet. Now the rightmost door will be opened. Go that way to continue. A candle on the right can be seen here. Light it up for another bloodstone and you will get a Shield Armor. Now go as far up as you can, and then to the left. Climb up the stairs here. Light up the candle when you reach the top, and then you'll find the entrance to the palace's library. You can see there are three floors here, and a wall blocked off on the left side. You should also be relieved that while you are in this room, there are no random encounters (yet). Go to the left and light the candle and a ladder will appear on the right. Light the candle up the ladder, and another door will appear. A bloodstone is in the next room, and you can pick up a N-Kai Armlet. Give this armlet to Vivi so he can cast Water. He can also cast Osmose too. Yay! Go back and head down the stairs, and then climb the ladder to the 2nd floor. You should see a candle here, so light it to reveal yet another door. Go through there and then turn left. Climb up the stairs. Getting to the top, you should find two candles, so light the both of them up. After they are lit, go back down to the library, and head back to the bottom floor. Light the candle on the right-hand side to reveal yet another door. Go through this door, and then light the candle right ahead. Go back through there and you'll hear a moogle squeak. Run to the left (you'll likely have to fight an enemy first) and then talk to the moogle to save your game. Good, we're almost there! On the left, you will reach a room with two statues and two candles on each. Light the candles on the gargoyle you are near to receive a Black Hood, then go through the other door and across the small room to reach the other side. Light both of the candles on the opposite statue up too. You will get a Venetia Shield. Now, to proceed, light the right candle on both gargoyles. Blue stairs will appear on the other side. Head straight forward to light the candle and the defense system will attack. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Valia Pira HP: 12119 Steal: N/A Party: Eiko, Vivi, Dagger, Freya Difficulty: Easy Tch, Valia Pira is one of the easiest bosses we've fought thus far. It really depends if you deactivated the bloodstones though. If you didn't, expect a really tough battle, but if you were smart and didn't do that and then get all of the items, Valia Pira is a pushover. I'm not kidding. Honestly, it's got almost nothing to show for this strength. All of its attacks are elemental, so don't worry about a thing. It uses Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga. Wow, Level 3 magic. It really isn't as powerful as you'd think it'd be. Valia Pira also has a tendency of casting Reflect on itself if you start using lots of magic or the party is under Reflect, and then it'll start casting the spells on himself and then them being reflected on a character. Anyway, Valia Pira has a weakness to Water. A perfect opportunity to use Vivi's Water spell. If a character gets knocked out, have Eiko summon Phoenix, but if everyone's alive she can either heal, support, or use Reflect. Valia Pira will usually cast a spell on a character under Reflect and then only do damage to itself. Valia Pira usually casts Reflect on itself now. Anyway, that's not a problem. If you got the Holy Lance from Ark, have Freya use Dragon Crest. Dagger is a different story than the other three. She's a bit of trouble because a lot of the time she'll lose her concentration. I recommend having her either cure the party if needed, but otherwise summon Leviathan, because he'll do amazing damage. You should cast Haste on her so she can cast Leviathan more often or you have more chances of successful action. Anyway, Valia Pira has very little HP and should be destroyed in little time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that fight is over, light the candle and this is over at long last! Go to the shining floor, and then we'll see where Zidane is. He will appear out of another shining floor. Go a little bit forward and Kuja speaks to him. He'll tell him to go to his room, alone. Zidane agrees to this although everyone else warns him not to listen too much to Kuja. Just go right forward and through the door, and you will meet Kuja. Zidane and Kuja have a little argument, but then Kuja shows Zidane where his friends are. The characters who were at the Desert Palace are shown below, dead. Zidane just loses it here and shouts at Kuja, telling him he's the worst bastard ever. And then we see the real party, appearing at the Desert Palace. Apparently, the dead party members were just Epitagh clones. All the party members who were with Zidane and Eiko's party will run into Kuja's room. Everyone runs in, but the door closes right on Eiko and she is locked out! Eiko gets pissed off, and then Zorn and Thorn kidnap her. The evil bastards. Really, they are just good for nothing bastards! As everyone gets in, Zidane will talk to them while Kuja demands the Gulug Stone, but eventually he gives in and steals it from Zidane. Kuja then mentions he was thinking of finishing everyone off, but then just decides to take Eiko. Zorn and Thorn are then heard taking to Cid and saying things like "Frog that goes squish, you'll make a fine dish!". Reminds me of Quina. Zidane tries to chase Kuja, but the teleporter he used to get off does not respond to him. He then decides to get to the Hilda Garde and chase him down. Before leaving this room though, GET THE NAMINGWAY CARD. Go back to the Hilda Garde, but it is found that Kuja already escaped. Cid then tells you to chase him with the Blue Narciss. Now, pull the lever around here and then climb down the ladder that opens up. Climb down, and then move forward. You'll then be on the Blue Narciss, and Blank will chase the Hilda Garde I down to Esto Gaza. Unfortunately though, Eiko isn't here so we can't use her. It's a shame. Anyway, when you get outside Esto Gaza, try to find the friendly Feather Circle. Give it a Moonstone, and you won't regret it. When you're ready, just find Esto Gaza on the left and enter. ************* 31. Esto Gaza ************* Enemies: -------- Garuda The only enemies you can fight in Esto Gaza is the Garuda. As you know, Garudas are not hard enemies at all. You should be able to take them out in just a few attacks. All they do are some minor wind attacks and Firaga, so no need to fear. Anyway, go toward the temple in the middle of this place, and then talk to the bishop. He'll then get angry at Vivi and say he should quiet down because he is in a holy place (Vivi fell down). The Bishop then tells them about Kuja and about a hundred black mages heading to Mount Gulug, and one of them carrying a little girl. Two guesses who. Vivi really wants to go to Mount Gulug to save the black mages, so choose two other characters to accompany Zidane and Vivi, I recommend Amarant and Quina. Now go to the right and buy some stuff. I hope you saved up some money because this shop has some excellent stuff. To start it off, buy about 20 Rising Suns for Amarant if you can afford them. You really need these. After that, take a look at the weapons. A notable one is the Octagon Rod, which allows Vivi to use Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga, and then just totally fry his enemies. Alright, 'nuff said. In that room, you can also find a Wing Edge around the top-right. Don't miss this! Before entering the fiery hell called Mount Gulug, you'll also want to rest. You can do this by paying the Bishop 100 Gil. It's worth it if you aren't totally healed. When you're ready to go to Mount Gulug, go to the left and up the stairs. Go right on, and you'll find a moogle. Be sure to heal up and save, and when you are ready, turn east and you'll find the evil place called Mount Gulug. Here we go. *************** 32. Mount Gulug *************** Enemies: -------- Vepal (Red) Wraith (Blue) Wraith (Red) Grenade Worm Hydra Red Dragon (Semi-Boss) Meltigemini (Boss) Mount Gulug is hell in whatever way you look at it. It's a huge maze and it has some of the worst enemies you will meet in your whole play through Final Fantasy IX. To start off, Vepals aren't dangerous, even though they use some powerful magic. Wraiths also have powerful magic but they aren't very hard. Grenades are pretty difficult as they like to hit your party with Flame, they use Firaga and Cannon, etc. Worm Hydra is the most dangerous enemy you will meet here. It is very annoying and does status effects, and it's powerful to boot. Fortunately though, Quina can learn a lot of Blue Magic here. At the beginning, go to the left and you will find yourself in a little shack. You can find 9693 Gil and a Red Hat around here. Get that stuff and then leave it go left. You'll find a well. Examine it a little bit, and then go down. At the fork, go right and you'll find a moogle, ah good. =) Save your game, and then find a Wing Edge in the southeastern side of this room. Now go to the right and cross a bridge. You will find a Gaia Gear at the end of it. Now just return to the fork... but you are forced into a battle with the semi-boss, the Red Dragon. The Red Dragon is easy enough to defeat, although it does have a tendency of pulverizing your party with powerful wind attacks. Its attacks are pure wind, so don't be surprised if you end up with only Vivi remaining in this fight. You may even want to have Quina use White Wind on the party quite a lot because the Red Dragon is quite agile. But why will you have only Vivi remaining? Because he's got the Octagon Rod, which absorbs Wind. He has the spells Blizzaga and Water, and you should have some Ethers, so Blizzaga should pretty much eliminate them in a few uses. Of course, Zidane's physical attacks, Quina's strongest blue magic, and Amarant's Rising Suns help out. Anyway, when you reach the fork, go to the left this time. You'll find a shack. Enter and you'll find a Demon's Mail pretty close to the entrance. Then get out of there, and you might see a door fairly close to it. Enter through there, and then you'll find a moogle. I strongly recommend saving your game. Climb up the stairs and you'll find yourself at yet another shack. Go to the very top, and you'll find a chest with an Elixir. Before you can gnab it though, you'll be forced into fighting with yet another Red Dragon. It's pretty much the same, just use Vivi's Blizzaga and stuff, no big deal here. After that fight, get the hell out of here. Now, it's time to take care of business. Return to the well, and then go to its lever. Pull it, three times. A rope will then lead down below. Climb down (the way Zidane climbs is hilarious) and get to the bottom. It's just a normal, dead-end room... or so it appears at first. Pace around this place a little, and then a Red Dragon bursts through a wall. Thankfully, this is the third and final Red Dragon battle! This time, you will have to fight two Red Dragons! I recommend getting Quina either on standby or to use White Wind every single turn. Same goes with Vivi, except use Blizzaga on both Red Dragons. Zidane and Amarant should work on beating the crap out of them. After that long fight, go through the hole that the Red Dragon came out of, and then you can see Zorn, Thorn, and Eiko. Dagger then runs in. She doesn't have a voice and can't speak, but it is pretty obvious that she recognizes that Zorn and Thorn are drawing eidolons from Eiko. You will then get the same ceremony and same music that you got on Disc 2 when they took the eidolons from Dagger. However, it fails. Eiko is not yet sixteen years old and thus eidolons cannot be drawn from her. Kuja apparently wants an eidolon stronger than Alexander to bury Garland. Zorn and Thorn will then try to continue, but then Mog comes out of Eiko's dress. Kuja orders them to kill Mog because he senses strong power coming from her. Mog then starts glowing and talks to Eiko, finally saying something but "kupo" and then Eiko wakes up. Zorn and Thorn then threaten Eiko and tell her they will put her to death. Eiko will then summon a new, super-powerful Eidolon called Madeen on the two of them and do about 5000-6000 damage to them. Hehe. Zidane then arrives and Eiko gets Mog's ribbon. Kuja reappears and now his plan is to do powers with Trance. Vivi follows him, and then he's out of here for now. Zorn and Thorn then start reacting, and then they become one! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Meltigemini HP: 24348 Steal: Vaccine, Golden Hairpin, Demon's Vest Party: Zidane, Amarant, Quina, Eiko Difficulty: Hard We get Eiko in this fight instead of Vivi, which is really a shame since Vivi is much better. Anyway, at least we get a good healer. However, we still get a tough boss. Meltigemini is one of the toughest bosses we have fought yet. The thing about him is that he likes to poison the party as much as possible. He uses Poison, Venom, and Virus on everyone. This is really bad. He has four attacks: the normal Bio spell, which can hit one character or everyone (500-600 damage) and will usually do Poison on everyone; Viral Smoke (he says "Now, you're all carrying a virus..." after he uses it), which will put Virus on the entire party so you won't get any AP after this fight; Venom Powder (about 500 damage to a character and Venom, this is VERY, VERY BAD); and he also uses Wings occasionally (this is his physical attack and it does about 400 damage to Zidane or Amarant, 600 damage to Quina or Eiko), so as you can see the damage values are really high for that, and since Eiko probably only has about 1000 HP and is very valuable to this fight for casting Cura or Madeen a lot, you'll want to protect her as best as possible. Start this fight off with casting Shell on the most important characters. If you think you can afford it, casting Mighty Guard with Quina will also help out quite a lot. Angel's Snack, White Wind, and offensive Blue Magic spells will do very well in this battle. With Zidane, you REALLY ought to steal from Meltigemini. The Vaccine could help out in a lot of cases, and the Golden Hairpin as well as the Demon's Vest are very good items to have at times. Have Amarant throw out his Rising Suns, and possible a Wing Edge. Try not to waste the Wing Edges though! Two at the _very_ most, and that's in emergencies. Make sure Eiko is very well defended. Casting Cura is absolutely mandatory, and it's also fun to have her cast Madeen, even though it won't do as much damage to Meltigemini as it did to Zorn and Thorn. Finally, Meltigemini has a huge weakness to Mini, although it hits very rarely. If you can manage to get him under that, this fight will be much easier. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Zorn and Thorn will now be dead and gone for good. Vivi will then walk in, followed closely by two black mages, who have now regained their senses and are no longer evil, killer black mages. Shortly, someone starts calling. Zidane, Eiko, and Dagger find her in a small house. Dagger appears to recognize her and then Cid comes in, and we find out that this is actually Lady Hilda, Cid's wife! Hilda doesn't recognize Cid at first though, because she doesn't remember marrying a frog. We'll now be taken to Lindblum. ************ 33. Lindblum ************ Enemies: -------- N/A Cid and Hilda will be in the throne room, and Hilda will appear to know a good deal of things about Kuja. To start things off, it appears that he is not from this planet. Cid then apologizes for everything that's happened in the past, and then he begs her to turn him back into a human. Hilda wants to turn Cid into a hedgehog pie instead, but then Cid pleads with her even more, saying he's sick of being an oglop or a frog. The princess kisses the frog, and the frog turnes into a prince! (Or anyway, Hilda kisses Cid the frog, and he becomes a man again). Cid still can't get out saying "ribbit". =) Zidane is currently asleep at the guest room, and he is busy dreaming about Dagger. A soldier then orders him to get up, because Hilda has called a meeting at the conference room. Save your game at the moogle, and then just return to the Conference Room. Having gone there so many times before, you should definitely remember where it is by now. When Zidane arrives, he'll ask who the strange man is. It's Cid, in his human form! *hehe* Cid says that Zidane still knows no manners, although I personally think that's very rude of him after all they've been through. Anyway, Hilda will tell you a heckload of things about Kuja. First of all, he's not from this planet. According to her anyway, the name of this planet is Gaia. Kuja is from a planet called Terra. Kuja is also going to use Gaia to gain more power (more on this can be found when you reach Terra itself). After that you'll see an ATE, and it can be seen that Dagger is missing. Steiner is now out looking for her. After that, Hilda will tell everyone about the Shimmering Island near Esto Gaza, and there's a seal there. It could be the key to getting to Terra. Hilda then tells you that the seal can be broken at an old castle in the Forgotten Continent, and the castle is called Ipsen's Castle. You will then see an ATE with Steiner going to meet the people at Tantalus. Baku and Steiner say some things, and then Steiner asks them all to find Dagger. First time that Steiner gets along with Tantalus, eh? Soon after, Steiner will run in, in a panic. He notes that Dagger is missing here. Zidane somehow knows exactly where Dagger is, and he tells the party to wait on him. He then goes to the dock in Alexandria. ************** 34. Alexandria ************** Enemies: -------- N/A Everyone at Tantalus is looking for Dagger. Baku and Zidane will then run into each other, and Baku just happens to be mentioning a chick. Zidane then chases him (we all know that Zidane's got the hots for chicks =P), and then they go to an area near the dock in Alexandria. Beatrix is seen at another part of Alexandria, and then Zidane chases her around. Beatrix and Baku will then run into each other, and they talk a little about the kidnapping of Dagger. Zidane and Beatrix talk to each other, and Beatrix tells Zidane to give Dagger the Garnet. Zidane goes to Queen Brahne's grave, and he meets Dagger. At last, Dagger can now talk! She'll mention some things about being queen, and then she tries to prove that she doesn't care about being queen. She asks Zidane to hand over her dagger, and we see an FMV of her cutting her hair. She now has short hair, and believe me, she looks even better! After that, Zidane and Dagger will just stare at each other, but then the scene will go to Cid's Hilda Garde III, which was just finished! They used parts from the Blue Narciss. Inside, Eiko greets Dagger upon her being able to talk now, but she gets afraid of her haircut and thinks that Zidane broke her heart, and then Steiner also questions Zidane. Anyway, Erin's here and we now have a flyable airship! The airship flies just like the Highwind from FF7 and the Ragnarok from FF8, X to move forward, Square to go back, O to land, Triangle to go back inside, the D-Pad and Analog Sticks to move, etc. It's all pretty simple. Explore the Hilda Garde III a little and at the end you'll find Amarant. A tent's in this room. Before we go to Ipsen's Castle, there is one super excellent place we can head to first. In case you didn't know, Ipsen's Castle is marked on the world map and there's some grass right near it, so you should have no trouble locating it or landing there. Anyway, go to the bottom-left side of the world. Land there and you'll find a bridge leading to a cave. The cave is actually a great town called Daguerreo! Also, this is a great spot to level up, because you can meet Grand Dragons and Gimme Cats out here. ************* 35. Daguerreo ************* Enemies: -------- N/A Welcome to Daguerreo! First of all, if you have encountered all of the friendly monsters Mu through Nymph, you no longer need Ores. Go to the machine at the top of this room, and use them there. They will become Aquamarines. If you use Leviathan a lot, the extra Aquamarines will make his attack stronger. Now, go to the right and you'll find the Capricorn. Go to the right, and you'll see the Alleyway Jack guy from Alexandria, although his name this time around is Four-armed Man. Go figure. Either way, he'll tell you your treasure hunting rank. To progress, just go up the elevator and you'll find none other than the second best synthesist in the game (second only to the legendary synthesist). He has some great stuff to check out. Make sure you synth the necessary stuff. If I am not mistaken, you can even pick up the Black Robe for Vivi, which enables him to use Flare. Very cool... now go to the left. In this room, search the huge pile of books to your right, and then go to the left and talk to a man there. He's search for a book on eidolons. One of the books there is what he wants. After doing that, move forward from where he was, and there you'll be at the top of Daguerreo. Search the left side and the right side each for an Elixir. 2 Elixirs, yummy! After that, go back and then go back to where the lift was. Carry it down and back to the entrance. Go to the left this time, and you'll find three lifts, three switches, a hole, and a big stick. The hole just happens to be behind one of the lifts. Get that lift down to reveal the hole, then examine the hole and then the stick. Zidane will put the stick in the hole. The lift will now operate, and at the top you will find a hippo-man. He can sell you some really good stuff! The reason he can't if you don't do that is because people didn't come and he lost all his business to the old geezer at the synthesis shop. Anyway, that's all we can do for now. Return to the entrance and get out of there, and get onboard the Hilda Garde III again. Go to the Forgotten Continent. It's the one on the east side, if you have already forgotten. When you get there, look for the castle. Land on the grass and enter. ****************** 36. Ipsen's Castle ****************** Enemies: -------- Gargoyle Agares Cerberus Veteran Tonberry Taharka (Boss) Upon entering, Zidane will look at the castle and see that it's upside-down or something. Amarant then walks in, and he wants to go in and find how to break the seal by himself. Steiner will yell at him and call him a selfish fool, but Amarant still decides to challenge Zidane and go on his own. Now we can use anyone except Amarant. I recommend Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, and Eiko. When your party is ready, climb up the stairs and enter the castle. Now remember one thing. Remember how the castle is upside down? This means that effectiveness of weapons is upside down too. Weak is strong, strong is weak. Equip your weakest weapons for this, because the enemies in Ipsen's Castle are not nice creatures. Agares and Gargoyle go together in fights. At first Gargoyle does nothing and Agares will just support it and maybe cast a Blizzara spell or two on your characters. Still, don't underestimate them because Agares will bring Gargoyle to life and then Gargoyle will be super strong. Cerberus does fire attacks from hell, so he's a very difficult enemy to defeat. Veteran is very annoying, and Tonberry has so much HP that it's not even worth fighting it. Anyway, in the first room check the chest on the left side for a Dagger. Equip this on Zidane. Then examine the right side for the Aquarius Stellazio. Now just head into the door at the other side of the room. Head up, and you will find a chest with a Cat's Claws in it. Find the moogle around here and for heaven's sakes, SAVE YOUR GAME. You could end up as roast turkey in Ipsen's Castle. Well, maybe not that, but... go to the right side and examine the pole. You will now be able to climb down. Do so and at the bottom, use the ladder to your right, and then go around, and to the left into the hole. This is where the castle starts to get REALLY darn confusing. Climb down the ladder right near where you are. Go right forward and climb UP the ladder just right in front of you. Jump off, and you'll see yet another ladder. Ignore it for now, just go right to the end of this long path and you will find a Rod. Now go back to that first ladder that we climbed down. Climb up instead, and then you can go either left or right. Go left and then you'll find a Javelin. Go back to the ladder and this time, jump to the right instead of the left for a Broad Sword. Now go all the way back to the final ladder that I mentioned. You'll see a hole. Choose to jump off of it and you'll find yourself in a hole. Go in and you'll find Amarant looking at something. He can't seem to figure out what to do, but he still thinks that he beat Zidane to it and says that it's easier to travel on your own then do to do it with friends. He then leaves. If you have Steiner in the party, he says some bad things to him. Now go to where he was, and examine the four mirrors there. They seem to be extremely important. The owner of the mirrors (Taharka) wants them back, but Zidane won't do that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Taharka HP: 29186 Steal: Elixir, Mythril Claws, Orihalcon Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Easy Yet another easy boss... anyway, Taharka isn't very difficult at all. He fancies using Blizzaga on the party, so it would be nice if you had some ice-proof equipment. Still, it's not necessary. Taharka only has three other attacks: Curl, in which he curls up in a a ball and attacks against him become worthless; Chop, in which he'll use to follow that (this is a powerful attack), and Ram. Ram is a weak attack, so don't worry too much about that. Anyway, you'll probably want to steal from Taharka to start this battle off. Taharka has some darn good stuff for you to steal, specifically the Orihalcon, which is one of Zidane's best weapons. The Elixir is always worthwhile too... anyway, if you aren't going to steal and don't have a good Thievery, Zidane is close to useless in this fight. Why? Because Taharka's defense is extreme. You can do next to no damage to him with regular physical attacks. This is why Vivi and Eiko are here. Vivi should cast Firaga every turn. This will do around 3000 damage, so that's always good. Steiner has Firaga Sword and other various nasty things (like Minus Strike), so this will weigh Taharka's HP down real quick. As for Eiko... she has Madeen to use. If you have Boost ready, then this will be a very powerful attack. Overall, you should beat Taharka in a very short amount of time, amigo. =) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- In death, Taharka will tell you "One is all, all is one. You'll never break the seal." Now, I think you should know the way back to the entrance. Also, take note there is a side quest in Ipsen's Castle that is mentioned in Chapter Eight of the guide. When you reach the pole though, Vivi will almost fall down a hole. The traps will apparently be activated. Anyway, go to the exit of this place. At the bottom, everyone will notice that Amarant will be missing. What to do about that, eh? Zidane will go in alone, to search for Amarant. Get to the pole, and then climb down. In that next room, Zidane will hear some voice. Now go to the bottom of this room, and you'll see none other than Amarant, lying down. He wanted Zidane to forget about him and he's trying to squash all the friendship stuff out of him. What a loner. Zidane and Amarant have a little chat, and then Amarant will join you. Anyway, now just go back to the entrance. Climb up the pole, go back, and then exit. The enemies should be no problem. Just de-equip all the weak weapons if you had them equipped! Anyway, back at the exit, no one will be happy at Amarant but they won't talk about that. Rather what they are talking about are the mirrors. The four mirrors that everyone took probably belong in four different areas, and everyone will need to go to these four areas at once to disarm the seal. There are four areas we need to locate: the Water Shrine, the Fire Shrine, the Wind Shrine, and the Earth Shrine, in that order. Make sure Quina is leveled up (you'll know why soon), and then go to the shrines. The locations are displayed below... Water Shrine: ------------- You'll find the Water Shrine south of Ipsen's Castle, in the order. Go there, and then Eiko and Dagger go inside. He doesn't appear to trust the two of them together, but he leaves them be. That one was easy enough. Fire Shrine: ------------ The Fire Shrine is northeast of Esto Gaza. You might happen to find a big mountain full of lava, and that's the fire shrine. You can see a scene where the engine heats up, and then Freya and Amarant enter the shrine. Wind Shrine: ------------ This is the hardest shrine to find. Go to Oeilvert, and then a little to the east. You might find a lot of mountains, and a big tornado. Go to the tornado, it's the Wind Shrine. Zidane will pair Vivi and Steiner up for that. And Zidane is left with... Quina. Earth Shrine: ------------- You've probably seen the Earth Shrine before if you've been travelling around on the Hilda Garde a lot. It's right near the Desert Palace, you can't miss it. It's not in the sand though, so don't try looking there. Save before entering, and then go... **************** 37. Earth Shrine **************** Enemies: -------- Earth Guardian (Boss) Upon entering the Earth Shrine, Quina will think that Zidane wanted to go with him, although Zidane says he got stuck with the leftovers and Quina then says that leftovers are always good. Then the two of them will go deeper. A little bit into the Earth Shrine, the floors start moving, and Quina will talk a little here. Now, to avoid being squashed, time your jumps at the right time or Zidane will have to jump back. It's easy enough. Most of the rest of the Earth Shrine is either watching how everyone else is doing, or talking. Things that are going are: Eiko and Dagger are in the Water Shrine talking, and then rocks fall from the sky. Amarant and Freya are in the Fire Shrine having some chit-chat, and then a hot, female monster with red hair appears. Meanwhile, Vivi and Steiner are having their asses kicked by a flying green beast. Vivi cannot hold him off, so Steiner just does the regular Steiner thing by yelling at Tiamat. Vivi then uses Fire. Back at the Earth Shrine, a skeleton monster appears. He's the guardian of the Earth Shrine and is working for Kuja. Guess. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Earth Guardian HP: 20756 Steal: Rubber Suit, Avenger Party: Zidane, Quina Difficulty: Medium Remember earlier when I told you to make sure Quina is well leveled up? Take a big note of that, because this fight ain't gonna be easy if you aren't! Earth Guardian is the guardian of the Earth Shrine, and he really knows his stuff. First of all, he uses Earth Shake a hell lot of the time. This should do about 600 damage to both Zidane and Quina. Earth Guardian also fancies using Firaga, which will result in heavy damage. Earth Guardian also likes to use Blizzaga and Thundaga, but those aren't as powerful as Firaga. Earth Guardian has a physical attack too, but if it's on Zidane it's pathetic, and it's not too bad on Quina. Alright here, make sure you're ready. Auto-Float will help out A LOT in this fight, because then Earth Guardian's strongest attack will miss! Have Zidane steal the Rubber Suit because it is extremely useful (the Avenger could be worth it too), and then have the two whack the hell out of Earth Guardian. Another thing: Earth Guardian can be eaten. So if you wear him down to 1/8 of his HP (or 1/4 if he's in his Trance), you can Eat him and if you don't have it already, you'll learn Earth Shake. If Zidane gets a 7 in his HP or has stolen a lot, let him use Lucky Seven or Thievery. Quina should use his very best Blue Magic. White Wind and Mighty Guard will be very nice for this fight, and if you get Zidane into a Trance, have Zidane use Solution 9. It should be strong enough by now to do a huge amount of damage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Now our work at the Earth Shrine is done. Zidane will be thinking he's late for everyone, so he'll go back to the Hilda Garde III. Eiko and Dagger are then in the Water Shrine. Eiko has a desperate question she wants to ask Dagger, and she pleads with her to answer the question when she asks it. Her question is... does she love Zidane? Dagger ignores her until Zidane arrives in the Hilda Garde III, and then Eiko continues to annoy Dagger with the same question, yet she doesn't answer. Eiko still tries to win Zidane's heart and get Dagger out. =) On the Hilda Garde III, Zidane and Amarant will talk a little bit. Now... it's time for Terra. It is time to go to the Shimmering Island, and to stop Kuja from doing all his evil! To get to Terra and then kick Kuja to the next Tuesday. There was also the man named Garland, but let's not talk about him yet. Anyway, when you are ready, MAKE SURE YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO! Once you go to the Shimmering Island, a lot of stuff is then left behind you and you can't do back to Gaia until Disc 4. Notables things are the Moccha and Kirman Coffees and especially the Octagon Rod. Anyway, go northeast of Esto Gaza, and then we'll see an FMV of the Hilda Garde III and all the characters getting sucked into the Terra. ********* 38. Terra ********* Enemies: -------- Ring Leader Mover Hecteyes Malboro When you enter the vast, beautiful landscapes of Terra, you are greeted by none other than the man in black, Garland. This Garland is one evil fella, despite his, well... age. You'll then have to change party members. Get Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, and Steiner. Go to the right, and you'll see a girl that looks a lot like Zidane. She will just ignore Zidane and walk away. It's probably painfully obvious already that you are supposed to follow her. Well, if it wasn't, just go ahead and follow her. Enemies in Terra are no real challenge, although some of them can only be fought here at Terra. The Mover does Viral attacks but isn't extremely deadly, the Ring Leader has Magic Hammer to Eat if you have Quina in the party and don't know it yet, and their magic isn't that bad. Hecteyes does Viral attacks, but that's why you have Vaccines. Its regular attacks aren't that strong and Dagger's Life or Curaga spells instantly take care of it (it's undead). Malboro isn't nearly as bad as the Malboros in FF7 or FF8. They should be no problem. Before going to the screen that the girl went to, go to the left and down the stairs and then you'll find a Coronet, and a little north of that, a Dragon Wrist. Now return to where you saw the girl and go north. Around the next area, look around for an Elixir, but just keep following her. Then just follow the girl even further until you come to a web-like thing. There are also two of them. Go down both of them for a Remedy, and then go to the left and then jump across the following gap to find a Mythril Racket. Return to the gap, and then go down to find a Demon's Mail, and then go ahead and follow this girl. Around the second to last screen, you'll see some stairs. Go to your left and get up against the wall, and then you'll find a chest with a Minerva's Plate in it. Now go back there, to the set of stairs. Climb up, and you'll reach the final screen of this part of Terra. Go just a little bit further, and this is it. You are now at Bran Bal, the city of the Genomes, and the second biggest part of Terra. ************ 39. Bran Bal ************ Enemies: -------- N/A Bran Bal will open as we see an FMV with Zidane and Dagger. Dagger sees the bright red light from the Invincible and then she faints, remembering everything about Madain Sari. Now just go to the left and we'll be in Bran Bal itself, and we see a lot of monkey people, just like Zidane and the mystery girl! Go into the house around the left pretty close to the entrance, and Zidane decides to let Dagger rest in peace here. Eiko will be outside, trying to talk to all the monkey people, but they have absolutely no emotion at all. Really sad. Zidane will talk to the party a little and then leave. Now, just go to the left and into the northern house. A lot of monkey people are here, but they aren't doing a thing. Just staring at stuff. The most boring people you could meet, I am sad to admit. Go to the upper-right room, and you'll find yourself in a pretty neat looking room. Also, the girl whom Zidane saw earlier is in here. Go ahead and talk to her, and she'll tell you all about this place. Fortunately, she's not as tedious as the normal people here. She tells Zidane he's just like these people. Zidane is a little surprised that he has emotions and is a regular person, unlike these people. According to the girl anyway, Zidane was a special person. All the people here are called Genomes, and Zidane is also one of them. He gets really sad that he was seeking his home all along and it was a dump like Terra. The girl then mentions Garland. Heh, I think we know what now. After that conversation, check around this room to find an Elixir, and when you go upstairs the girl will tell you that Garland is waiting for Zidane. Then the scene will go to everyone in the house that Zidane left Dagger. Dagger wakes up and then she wonders where Zidane is. Dagger then tells Eiko to go find Zidane, but little do they know that Zidane's going to pull worse stuff than his regular stuff. Now, back to where Zidane was. You'll get an ATE with Quina, in the room where the Genomes were. The Genomes are staring at a crystal, and Quina thinks it'll be tasty. Quina will complain about the people to Zidane, but Zidane just walks away. Walk outside of the house as Eiko, and then you'll see another ATE. Vivi will be talking to the Genomes, but he can't do anything. Zidane will then run into him, but he's saying very little, unlike his usual stuff. Then when you regain Eiko's control, go to the next screen and you'll see another ATE with Amarant. Zidane will speak to Amarant, asking him about his parents. Amarant insults Zidane a little, but then Zidane just goes right ahead. As Eiko, go to the house that Zidane went to, where Quina was trying to eat the crystal, and then talk to Quina and he'll join you. Another ATE will show Zidane talking to the girl. Use the exit on the lower-right to get out of the house when you're as Eiko, and then go to the house on the right to find Stiltzkin, who will sell you a Diamond, an Elixir, and an Ether got 2222 Gil. Examine the blue vase in this room with a moogle's pom-pom sticking out and a moogle will open a mogshop. Now by all means, BUY THE AWESOME STUFF THAT THE MOOGLE SELLS YOU! Really, I can't stress this enough. Some of the best items are featured here, including Freya's Holy Lance, if you have yet to collect it. Get the Wing Edge in this room and then save your game. This is the last save point we'll have for quite a while. Now when you're absolutely prepared, so down and you'll run into Vivi. Vivi and Eiko will have a small fight, but Vivi still wants to go with you. Now just go south, and you'll see Amarant. I believe you'll think he'll insult Eiko or something, but he tells her he wants to go with you. How unlike him! Now go to the green light right ahead of you, which is now open. Go ahead and talk to the girl, and she'll tell you Zidane went to Pandemonium to talk to Garland. If you were curious, Pandemonium is Garland's castle. Eiko goes back to the house and tells everyone about where Zidane went. Now we go to Zidane in Pandemonium. *************** 40. Pandemonium *************** Enemies: -------- Mover Malboro Amdusias (Boss) Abadon (Boss) Shell Dragon (Boss) Silver Dragon (Boss) Garland (Boss) Kuja (Boss) Zidane will be in yet another beautiful place. Just go on and he'll run into the man in black again, and then he asks him if he's Garland, and if he is he's going down. Garland will tell Zidane a lot of things about Terra, and his intentions. He also plans to make Gaia into Terra, and he tells Zidane that he is one of Garland's most precious Genomes. Now just go ahead, and you'll be in a long room. You basically have to jump around here and then Zidane will ask Garland some questions. They also argue a lot. He then tells Zidane some things about a special Genome he used as a servant, who looks a lot like Zidane and is a lot like him, and they are brothers. Zidane is then horrified to hear that it's Kuja. Garland also tells Zidane a lot about Kuja. He tells you that his goal is to bring war to Gaia. Kuja was horrified to see that there was another Genome on Terra stronger than him (Zidane). Kuja then ejected Zidane from the planet. Garland says some things about absorbing the souls of the people in Gaia to the Genomes. Zidane and Garland then argue some more and Zidane talks about his friends a little, and then Garland does some really powerful stuff, and Zidane passes out. Kuja is then seen in the Invincible, going back to Terra to defeat both Garland and Zidane. Then Zidane himself is seen in another weird looking room, having flashbacks of everyone. Zidane has totally lost all of his mind. He doesn't know who he is, what he is, where he is, or anything. Also, the best song in the game "You Are Not Alone" plays. This song is wonderful! Anyway, back to Zidane. He then hears everyone talking to him. Vivi and Eiko will then appear in front of him. Zidane gets up, walking strangely. Vivi and Eiko are of course, very worried about him, and Zidane gets really angry. He then yells at Vivi and Eiko and calls them brats, then locks them away from him. He then has to fight a boss. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Amdusias HP: 10926 Steal: Tent, Ether Party: Zidane, Freya, Amarant Difficulty: Semi-Easy Try not to get distracted in this fight by the psycho awesome music. I know this fight is easy, but if you're not paying attention, Amdusias will simply destroy you. He basically only physically attacks, and each attack does 800 damage or so. In the beginning, only Zidane will be present. This means that the fight could get a little tough. Have him beat the hell out of Amdusias a little, and then Freya shows up. Around now, Amdusias will start flying. This is a signal of danger. Make sure you're at full HP, because now Amdusias has stronger attacks. This also means he could do a critical blow at times, so be quite careful that this doesn't happen. Freya should jump as often as possible. Soon, Amarant appears. Now you shouldn't worry too much at all about Amdusias. Don't bother stealing from him because all he's got is a Tent and an Ether. You should have plenty of both of them by now. Amarant should use No Mercy or a Rising Sun. Soon, Amdusias will be dead. Also, try to keep at high HP at the end of this fight, because if you don't you could see Abadon or Shell Dragon tear you to an end. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Freya calls Zidane foolish and Amarant calls him a damn hypocrite. Zidane just completely ignores them and walks away. Freya and Amarant are both puzzled but they don't chase him or anything. On the next screen, Steiner and Quina are thrown away by something. Steiner refuses to be defeated easily, and Quina gets mad and wants to cook whatever it is. Zidane doesn't help them yet though... they fight it alone! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Abadon HP: 12658 Steal: Garnet, Vaccine, Phoenix Pinion, Phoenix Pinion Party: Steiner, Quina, Zidane Difficulty: Medium The fight with Abadon starts out with only Steiner and Quina fighting Abadon. Abadon is a little harder than Amdusias, but not much. If Steiner has Shock, that'll help out A LOT here, as it does 5000-6000 damage a hit. Quina on the other hand is a different story. Abadon is a very quick attacker, and Quina can end up KO'd in short time. Since Steiner is the slowest character in the game and could be busy, there's a possibility Abadon could wipe you out. His attacks aren't really that bad. His physical attack is weak, but he's got some powerful attack that looks like wind but really isn't. This could be dangerous. Keep alive for a while by having Quina use White Wind and Steiner using stuff like Minus Strike and Shock, and soon Zidane will appear. Now you can have him steal from Abadon, or when you're done, just have everyone hit him over and over again. However, try to keep Quina and Zidane alive, because if Quina is down then you could be flattened, and Zidane enters the next fight alone, and could be defeated in no time at all. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Quina needs Zidane to show him food, and Steiner needs to learn if he is the right man for Dagger. Zidane still pays no attention to either of them and goes away. On the screen, he calls everyone a bunch of babysitting bastards, and then he even calls himself a bastard. He then fights another battle. This time, it's for his own knowledge, as you will soon see. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Shell Dragon HP: 12661 Steal: Hi-Potion, Vaccine, Tent and Phoenix Pinion Party: Zidane, Dagger Difficulty: Semi-Hard Shell Dragon is easily the toughest of the three. Zidane will start off in this fight alone. Shell Dragon has four attacks: a physical attack called Charge which attacks everyone for 600 damage or so, Earth Shake, which is the typical strong earth damage, Smash, which will reduce the character's HP down to 1, and Snort, which he almost NEVER uses, so don't worry about this. It will eject a character from battle though, but you shouldn't worry. The fight begins with only Zidane. You may want to pick up the Vaccine and the Phoenix Pinion. After that, just have Zidane pummel on Shell Dragon. After doing a little damage, Shell Dragon will use Smash on Zidane, and his HP will be brought to 1. Then all of a sudden the Curaga spell was cast on him and Dagger appears. I don't know for the life of me how the hell she got Curaga because she uses it even if you don't have it, so just be thankful that she was here to stop Zidane from going to monkey heaven before he could stop Kuja. =P Anyway, be careful now because Shell Dragon hits both Zidane and Dagger a lot of the time, and he's pretty fast. Have Dagger use either Shiva or Bahamut (Shiva because Shell Dragon is very weak against Ice). Soon, this big bastard is gone, and we finally get to save. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that long fight, Zidane will finally get a real control of himself. He'll then apologize for acting like such a fool, and now we can save our game! We wouldn't want to go on past all the rotten puzzles that lie ahead and then end up losing to some monster. So just save with the moogle, and go up to the screen where Vivi and Eiko found Zidane to receive a Holy Miter. Now just go forward and from where the Shell Dragon was, go to the left. Ready for the most annoying part of Pandemonium? Once you press a switch at the top of this room, you have 30 seconds to go to the bottom of this room or the bridge will disappear. There are also random encounters in this room, making it psycho annoying. The random encounter rate is also high, making it ultimately annoying. It is very confusing trying to avoid them, making it the devil's masterpiece of annoying. You may notice that three of the, well... things in this room have lit. Avoid them as best as possible, and this will lower the chance you will have to fight a random encounter. When you've done that, just go to the left and we're out of that evil thing. In the next room you'll see another button, so let's work on an interactive ATE elevator puzzle. It's not as annoying as the bridge puzzle, but it's one helluva confusing puzzle. First of all, you have to go forward and then back here several times (examine this elevator gizmo here) and eventually, everyone will offer to help. Now for the ATE. This is the only one that is not for viewing and the only one that you can go to and it's not over. If you don't have him in the party, Amarant will be working on the elevator. If he is in the party, someone else will. The elevator is extremely confusing, as it has a bunch of buttons on it that will change the room right ahead where Zidane is. As you will see, the room is full of platforms so what you want to do is get yourself up to the top. This isn't really very hard, just a bit time consuming. The next room is the final room, but it's full of teleporters and stuff like that. Alright, just go to the right and use that one, and then you'll be teleported up. Go to the left from there and you'll find a teleporter that'll take you to another part of the floor, so open the treasure chest down there. Teleport right back to the last part and then go to the right and you'll be even higher, so just use the red teleporter nearby to arrive right back down. Turn left here, and then go to the teleporter right next to you. Use the next teleporter, and then go up two extra floors. A moogle will then await you at the very top. By all means save your game, because three fights are coming up. After you are prepared, go to the right and the moogle will warn you. Ignore him and proceed to Garland. He will then summon the Silver Dragon to fight the party. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Silver Dragon HP: 24055 Steal: Elixir, Dragon Mail and Kaiser Knuckles Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Medium Silver Dragon can be a little difficult because he hits your party very hard. Being a flying dragon, he mostly deals with Wind attacks, so it would help to get Wind-defensive equipment on here. Anyway, Silver Dragon has four attacks: Claw, which will do 750-800 damage on a character; a very powerful magic attack called Shockwave that a lot of dragons are obsessed with doing (this is also Silver Dragon's strongest attack); Aerial Slash, which does high wind elemental damage to everyone, and Twister. Twister does completely random damage. Sometimes it'll be a 50-200 damage attack, or sometimes it's in the four digit range. Again, that's a wind elemental attack so if you have wind armor, it'd help a lot. Silver Dragon is also very fast, so you shouldn't mind admitting that this is going to be a bit of a tricky little fight. The best part of it is that Silver Dragon has very low HP. With the proper training and abilities, you can probably knock him out in 4-5 hits. Anyway, I definitely recommend stealing to start this off. The Dragon Mail is quite awesome, and Kaiser Knuckles is one of Amarant's finest weapons. Not to mention an Elixir couldn't hurt. Once you've given up or finished stealing, have Zidane use Lucky Seven, Thievery, or physical attacks. I also don't mind saying Silver Dragon will take everyone to a Trance very quickly with his quick attacks, which means Zidane should use Scoop Art/Stellar Circle 5/Meo Twister/Grand Lethal or whatever. Using Double Flare or Double Bio with Vivi is great, and it doesn't hurt to put Silver Dragon to sleep. (Or put him under Slow, Blind, or Silence). Silver Dragon can be affected by THAT much. Steiner should use Shock or his strongest attack, and Dagger should be healing. Silver Dragon should die in a short amount of time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that fight, Garland will see that the party fights very well. Zidane and Garland will then talk a little, and Garland himself chooses to fight. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Garland HP: 40728 Steal: Battle Boots, Ninja Gear, Dark Gear Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Medium The second most overrated in difficulty boss. I've read all this crap about Garland being so strong, but I think that's nonsense. Garland's actually a pretty easy boss if you know how to beat him. First of all, he can be affected with none other than Silence. Dagger has that spell so it could be quite useful. Blind and Slow also work on him, although the former is useless because Garland never uses a physical attack (besides Psychokinesis). Psychokinesis turns a character upside down and smashes him/her down for 400-500 damage. By now that should be pathetic. Garland can summon a white ball of energy to do 900 damage or something like that to a character. The two worst things that he has to offer for you are Flare and Stop. Flare is very lethal, so I recommend having Dagger cast Reflect, Shell, Curaga, or Silence to lessen the danger. Stop is worse. Much worse. Especially if it's on Dagger. Once again, Reflect is your best friend, and I recommend using it. With only Psychokinesis or his white ball of energy, Garland will have a tough time wearing the party down. Now for the duties. Zidane needs to attack a lot, Vivi should cast Flare and Steiner should cast either Flare Sword or Shock (if he has it). Soon Garland should be defeated. Oh, and try to keep at a high HP after this fight because if not Kuja could be a nuisance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Near the mountain on the right, Garland lies severely wounded. In the Invincible, Kuja will then arrive. He sees that Garland is near dead. He then fights the party. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Kuja HP: 42382 Steal: Ether, Carabini Mail, Light Robe Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Semi-Easy Kuja! _Finally_, we get to fight him. This fight is extremely disappointing though, because Kuja really isn't tough at all. The only problem is that Silver Dragon and Garland could have worn you down a lot. Kuja only has three attacks: Demi, which of course cannot kill a character, but on high HP characters like Steiner, you could be in trouble. Not to mention it almost never misses. Kuja also has a big habit of casting Thundaga. Each Thundaga should do 800 damage. I think by now you can easily tough out that much, and especially if Dagger uses Cura/Curaga often enough. Kuja's worst attack is Flare Star, which he will only use if you go crazy on casting spells on him. Flare Star does about 1200 damage on the party (its level times 35), so that could be nasty. It'd help to have Dagger on standby if you're worried enough about that. Steiner might have Shock by now, and it'll definitely help if you use this on Kuja. Vivi has Flare now (or should have it), so don't hesitate to have him use it! Steiner might even want to use Flare Sword. Zidane is a tough choice though. You may want to have him steal, because the Ether could be useful for Vivi (he'll be burning MP quickly in this fight), and the Carabini Mail and Light Robe rock. Or you can just attack. Dagger should be casting either Bahamut or Cura/Curaga every single turn. Soon, Kuja's HP will go down to 0. Instead of being defeated though, he'll go into a Trance mode and use his strength: Ultima. This beautiful spell knocks the whole party into oblivion. Oh well, at least the fight was fun enough. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After that fight is over, you can see Kuja go into a Trance mode. He then walks over to Garland and kicks him off a cliff. Just like Kefka kicking Emperor Gestahl off the cliff in FF6. What a ripoff... and now Kuja will have another FF6 ripoff, but he'll use his Ultima spell to do that. The party escapes, and Kuja destroys all of Terra. It's now all gone... hehe. Zidane decides to steal Kuja's airship, the Invincible, so that's how the party gets away from Trance Kuja. Zidane also goes back to Bran Bal to get the Genomes on the Invincible. The girl also introduces herself as Mikoto. And now the glorious third disc will end with a little scene on the Invincible. ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER SEVEN: Walkthrough: Disc 4 -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- ====================================================================== ********************** 41. Black Mage Village ********************** Enemies: -------- Nova Dragon (Boss) The party is now at Black Mage Village, along with all of Terra's Genomes. Hoho, the Genomes and black mages seem to be getting along very well. Also, you'll see a few scenes with the characters. Anyway, you will shortly be in the Invincible. One of the best themes in the entire game plays aboard it. Also on the left, you can pick up a Stellazio. As a matter of fact, it'd be a good idea to stop at Treno and give it to Queen Stella. She'll then force you to find the thirteenth Stellazio, but she gives you a Robe of Lords for this is you have all the other Stellazio. To find the 13th Stellazio, go to Quan's Dwelling and search where you found the Stellazio on Disc 2, and you'll pick it up. Now go back to Treno and give to Stella, and she'll give you... Cinna's Hammer. You cannot equip it or do ANYTHING with it. So what do you do? Let us way until Memoria for the answer to that question. Anyway, go to the Invincible again. As I forgot to mention, the world is now filled with Mist and is entirely dark. Fits in perfectly with the cool music. Go to the Iifa Tree and you'll see a pink ball of energy above it. Enter it and you'll see an FMV with a lot of dragons being defeated. The party will then enter the energy but a boss fights you first. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Nova Dragon HP: 54940 Steal: Remedy, Dragon Wrist, Grand Armor Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Medium Nova Dragon is the third most overrated boss in terms of difficulty. He still is a rather lethal boss, but he's not as bad as a lot of people seem to claim he is. He's big and bad though. He uses a lot of attacks that we've seen before, however. He uses Twister as all wind bosses do (random damage as usual), Shockwave (big time damage), Aerial Slash (Wind damage, really powerful), Psychokinesis (weak as hell), and he counterattacks some attacks. The counterattacks don't bite that much. His ultimate attack is Tidal Wave, and this is Water elemental. Expect up to 1000 damage from this attack. I strongly suggest putting some waterproof armor on as many characters as you can. Nova Dragon isn't that fast, so don't worry too much about that. First of all, get Zidane to steal a little. Remedy is useless, Dragon Wrist is excellent, and Grand Armor is a must-have. Especially if you are a little weak in terms of cash. Make sure Freya has Dragon's Crest, Dragon Killer, High Jump, and perhaps her ultimate weapon if you have it. A High Jump along with Dragon Killer should do massive damage to Nova Dragon. Dragon Killer is very useful too, and if you have Dragon's Crest and a lot of dragons killed, Nova Dragon will die in six hits. Steiner should have Shock, so have him shock Nova Dragon to oblivion. If you don't have that, use physical attacks or Minus Strike. Eiko can deal out Silence on Nova Dragon, so as you can see he's weak against it. If Nova Dragon's really tough, she also has Curaga. Overall you shouldn't have too much trouble. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *********** 42. Memoria *********** Enemies: -------- Iron Giant Chimera Ash Behemoth Stilva Maliris (Boss) Tiamat (Boss) Kraken (Boss) Lich (Boss) Hades (Optional) Behold, we're in the final dungeon of Final Fantasy IX! It was fun. Anyway, shortly after you enter, the ghost of Garland will talk to you. He's no longer an enemy, and he'll tell you a lot of things. Anyway, it's time to settle it all with Kuja. Go further beyond and you'll find a moogle. Save your game, because it could get a little difficult. Go a little bit up and then a little east and you'll find the Kain's Lance for Freya. If you don't have her ultimate weapon already, equip this because it's a really good weapon. Anyway, I might as well mention the enemies here. Iron Giant is huge and has very strong attacks, so you might want to cast Protect. His worst attack is Cleave. Chimera causes status effects but really isn't that hard. Ash is the easiest enemy here, so don't worry about him. These are the only three enemies we'll fight in the entrance of Memoria. Later the Behemoth and Stilva show up. Behemoth is extremely powerful, so you might want to skip fighting him. Stilva is underwater and has strong attacks but shouldn't be too much of a challenge for your powerhouse characters. Memoria is extremely straightforward, and I mean it when I say that. You'll have absolutely no confusion at all going through this place. A little bit beyond that screen, you can speak to midair and challenge a phantom to a game of cards. He has some good cards so if you happen to be collecting I recommend playing him. On the next screen, just go upstairs until you're almost there and there's a little platform sticking out below you. Examine it for Zidane's The Tower, his second best weapon. When you get this, go to the next screen and up this huge slope. A little more than halfway through, a random encounter awaits. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Maliris HP: 59497 Steal: Genji Armor, Ultima Sword, Masamune Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Medium Yes, you guessed it. A random encounter with a boss, and a tough boss at that. Maliris is the guardian of Fire, although she mainly attacks with her swords. She is very quick to attack, and man are her attacks powerful! She uses Sword Quiver a lot, which will do just a little damage, it's not very nasty. She has Flame Slash, which is a powerful attack. If used on Eiko, it could possibly knock her out. You don't want that. Maliris has Reflect and Esuna, which are just the simple spells. For the reason of Reflect, never use magical spells on Maliris. She tends to know exactly when you're going to use them, and then you get them out with her on Reflect, and then the spell is reflected at you to make this fight harder. Maliris has Mustard Bomb, so you should do a bunch of attacks AFTER she takes her action, unless of course she's already got the team in a bad state and you have Eiko healing the party. Maliris also uses Firaga, although it's far from her worst attack. First of all, don't even think of stealing except for Genji Armor. Steal that and then stop and have Zidane hack away at Maliris, because Ultima Sword and Masamune just, well... suck. Get Freya jumped so the party doesn't risk being attacked. Steiner should be in the back row, believe me. Eiko should cast Protect on him, and he should Shock Maliris with all his MP. Eiko is a little bit of a mix. Due to Maliris's power, you might need to cast Protect or Shell at some times. If not, you can have her cast Reflect on herself, and then have her reflect a Holy spell at Maliris to avoid Maliris casting Reflect on herself and then just reflecting your own spell back at yourself! Overall, if you do this you should emerge victorious. However, there's one thing you need to note. When Maliris reaches 0 HP, she'll try and kill the party with "Raining Swords". This should do around 2000 damage, so make sure you have at least one character in the party who is able to withstand this nasty little attack. Good luck! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After the fight with Maliris, continue up the slope. You'll see Alexandria, and then Zidane, Dagger, Eiko, and Quina will talk a little. When you regain control, you can find an Angel's Flute here. Search a little nearby and you'll find a hidden save point. Do anything you wish, and then go to the next room. You'll be in a rainy room. At the bottom, Zidane will see a scene of young Dagger (Garnet, I should say) being out in the rain, and then another woman appearing. Zidane and Garland talk a little, and then you get control of Zidane again. In the next room, go up the stairs for a random encounter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Tiamat HP: 59949 Steal: Blood Sword, Feather Boots, Grand Helmet Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Hard Welcome to the Most-Annoying-Boss-In-The-Game Room, Tiamat. As you might have guessed by looking at his name and appearance, Tiamat is the guardian of Wind. That's not saying he only uses wind attacks though. He has some of the most annoying attacks in the entire history of FF. First of all, he uses Twister a lot, which is about about 1200 damage but wind-elemental. His physical attack is called Silent Claw, and this can silence a character. It does 700 damage or close enough to that, and I wouldn't worry about that. He has Absorb MP, Absorb Strength, and Absorb Magic. Absorb MP is no problem although it'll probably take all your MP out. You can just use an Ether in case that happens. Absorb Strength and Absorb Magic are the problems, especially if Absorb Strength is on Steiner, Zidane, or Freya, or Absorb Magic is on Eiko. That'll make that character of much less use. Tiamat casts Float on your party sometimes, and this is so Twister does more damage. Ugh. Annoying yet? I have yet to get to the two worst attacks. The little cheater casts Snort like a Yan and this removes a party member from battle. You cannot use that character anymore in this fight. He rarely uses this. The worse attack is Jet Fire, which casts Heat on everyone. Tiamat has a tendency to do this right before a character attacks, therefore putting Heat on that character and then they automatically die. For this, you should have Eiko on standby at all times, to make sure that this doesn't happen. It's worst when a character or two is knocked out, so try very hard to keep everyone alive. Eiko should just wait for Tiamat to do something (not Jet Fire, Snort, or Absorb MP), and then use Curaga on the party if something bad happens. Have Zidane use Thievery, Attack, or Lucky Seven if he has a 7 in his HP, have Freya use Dragon Crest or Jump, and Steiner should use Shock if you have that. If you don't, just pummel Tiamat with physical attacks or Climhazzard. Tiamat should fall quickly enough. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After Tiamat is defeated, search around the left for the Rune Claws. If you have Amarant in the party, stick these on him. Now just continue up the path that goes through the next room and Zidane and Garland will talk a little more. Eventually you'll be underwater. Quina will be trying to swim here after fish, but he'll fall on the ground and the fish will be scared and disappear. Now as Zidane, check behind the large rock on the right, and mash X. A mysterious voice will tell Zidane to go away or die. Refuse and we fight Hades. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Hades HP: 55535 Steal: Reflect Ring, Running Shoes, Battle Boots, Robe of Lords Party: Zidane, Steiner, Freya, Eiko Difficulty: Hard Hades is rather difficult to handle, but if you're at a high level, you should make short work of him, but man has he got power! First of all, he's got the two attacks Freeze and Mustard Bomb. They cause Freeze and Heat to you respectively. Hades also has Reflect although he rarely uses that unless you go crazy on magic, and he has Cleave! First of all, before I explain to you what Cleave does, let me tell you that everyone should be in the back row. Hades uses Cleave: everyone takes 1600 damage. And believe me, I'm assuming everyone's in the BACK ROW. In the front row, this attack will do about 3000 damage! This will probably annihilate Eiko, and the three powerhouses will be in some trouble themselves. Thankfully you have Eiko in here to use Holy on Hades and Curaga on the party, but she must be in the BACK ROW 100% OF THE TIME. But still, I haven't told you Hades's worst deal. He's got Powering Sword, where his sword counts down from 5 to 0. When he gets to 0, he can use one of these two. 1. Doomsday: This spell does about 4000 damage to everyone in a disgusting sort of way, and it also heals Hades quite a bit. Think that's bad? Well, you haven't heard 2. 2. Curse: This spell does large damage to everyone, and leaves EVERY SINGLE STATUS EFFECT IN THE WHOLE GAME ON EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER USUALLY UNLESS YOU HAVE LOTS OF STATUS-BLOCKING ABILITIES. Man, this blows and it makes me furious when I see the words Curse up there. Worst of all is when it causes Mini on everyone and healing becomes totally useless, not to mention Zidane and Steiner do 50 damage or something like that to Hades! So, I'm guessing you're really scared from what you've been reading right now? Here is what you HAVE to enter the battle with: Zidane - he must have Thievery and it'd be best if it does 5000+ damage. If it doesn't, enter the battle with him nearing Trance. Steiner - make sure he has the Ragnarok and Shock. This does 9999 damage per hit! Freya - she must have Dragon Crest. It has to do 6000+ damage (it's very easy to get it to do higher damage than that). Eiko - she has to have Curaga and Holy. Hades has a large weakness to Holy, so she'll do 9999 damage all the time, and if you don't use Curaga there's always the chance Hades will use Cleave and eliminate 1-2 party members or end up using Doomsday. Protect to block that awful Cleave will also be extremely helpful and Shell will really help to prevent the evil damage that Doomsday will do to your party. Speaking of Doomsday, you can get it to heal your party. Equip armor that blocks or preferably heals the party, and that'll get that out of the way. Also, everyone should have Body Temp to stop Mustard Bomb and Freeze, as well as any other status-blocking abilities. It might also be a good idea to have Auto-Regen if this battle, but it's not mandatory. If Zidane has the Ultima Weapon, then I really don't see how you could lose this battle unless you're at really low HP. I recommend a good Level 50+ for this battle if you want it to be reasonable. On to the battle: hope for good luck and that Hades doesn't use Cleave on the party or Countdown at the start of the fight, or you will definitely end up in a spot of trouble. Freya should be jumping all the time! She might do a really high amount of damage and if you don't want her in the air for some reason she should use Dragon Crest. If you're careful and are prepared at all times, you will soon end up beating Hades with ease. Also, Hades has a Robe of Lords. You might want to consider stealing from him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After Hades is defeated, he'll introduce himself as the master synthesist. Now remember the Hammer that Stella gave you? We can make a Pumice out of that, and this will enable Dagger to summon Ark. If you haven't already beaten Ozma, this is the place to get it. Ozma is also difficult and you have to play Chocobo Hot & Cold a lot to get to him. So basically, just go to the next room. After a little talk, go up the stairs and our third interesting little random encounter will ensue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Kraken HP: 59496 Steal: Genji Helmet, Wizard Rod, Glutton's Robe Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Easy Kraken is the guardian of Water, and he's the easiest of the four by far. He is made up of three parts: his two tentacles and his main body. The tentacles are weak and don't do much, and they also have 18,168 HP. Kraken himself doesn't really have much power to show you... his strongest attack by far is Waterga. Yes, you heard me. Waterga. Too bad Vivi never got to use Waterga! This hits everyone for 800-900 damage, so obviously it really bites. She likes to use Ink too, which does a little damage and puts Blind on a character. He also uses Water Gun (water elemental damage, around 600 or so), and Leg. This will do some relatively weak damage. Kraken can also use Esuna if the need arises. First of all, you might want to take care of the tentacles, because they can get kind of annoying. After doing so with a couple uses of Madden or Climhazzard, hit Kraken with every you've got in your arsenal. Don't bother stealing, because Kraken's stuff is more or less useless or junk that you already have. So just don't waste time. Have Zidane attack Kraken physically or if he goes into a Trance have him use Meo Twister. Freya should use Dragon's Crest or Jump on Kraken, Steiner should use Shock, and Eiko can heal the party if needed. If not needed, have her use Holy on Kraken. If Kraken has the tentacles with him, let her use Madeen to damage them. Kraken should fall quickly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After Kraken is defeated, continue up the stairs and then go to the upper-right. Zidane asks Garland a few questions. Some good images from Oeilvert are seen. Anyway, go to the left and perhaps save your game if needed, and then examine the left part of the next room to find the Mace of Zeus. This is Vivi's ultimate weapon, and he can use Doomsday if he has it equipped! Very useful... continue up the ladder and you will be in space. As you walk forward, the last and hardest random encounter will be on you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Lich HP: 58554 Steal: Genji Gloves, Siren's Flute, Black Robe Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Hard Yes, you can see that Lich got a rank "Hard" and Tiamat only got "Semi-Hard". You should recognize Lich because you fought him once already, but he was the Earth Guardian. He still is, but this time he's much tougher. Not only this time does he use immensely powerful Earth attacks, but he also uses Doom, Death, and Stop. How bad does it get? I recommend some kind of protection against Death. It's a mighty good thing Eiko's here, but try with all your might not to let her get Stopped or KO'd, because she's valuable here to cast Dispel on the party. Doom isn't as much trouble because it is much slower than you'd think it'd be. Lich still attacks a lot, but this time his attacks are much worse, because they do 1000 damage or so. He still has Earth Shake too, but it's not very dangerous. He also has some other ground attack, but it's not very nasty. To end his attacks, he uses Level 5 Death quite a bit too, which can result in a dead party. ;) Obviously enough, Lich is not an easy boss at all. First of all, since Lich uses Doom and Stop, have Eiko on standby to cast Dispel. If Lich just attacked and didn't do anything bad, have her use Holy. Seeing as how Lich is an undead, Holy will do a huge amount of damage. Have Zidane whack Lich to oblivion with his physical attacks. It'll be very good in this fight if you can get the party to its Trance mode, because it happens a lot during this fight. When that happens, Zidane should use Scoop Art, Freya should NOT jump but use Dragon's Crest (her Trance jump is useless), Steiner should physically attack, and Eiko should use Dbl. White and get either a Curaga on the party if needed and Lich (Lich is undead) or just use Holy twice. Haha! Regularly, the battle strategy isn't really much different. Overall you shouldn't have too much trouble if you're careful. Oh, and don't bother stealing with Zidane. Eiko doesn't need the Siren's Flute, Steiner won't have much use for Genji Gloves, and if Vivi doesn't have a Black Robe already, MAJOR shame on you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is where Memoria may get a little annoying. First of all, do you have less than 12 hours on your save file? If by any chance you do, examine the right side of this room to find the Excalibur II. This is not only Steiner's best weapon, but it's the strongest weapon in the entire game! Anyway, go further and Garland will now leave you. You will be walking in space. You'll fight some Behemoths, but just run away. You'll eventually arrive at the Crystal World. This is the final area of Final Fantasy IX. ***************** 43. Crystal World ***************** Enemies: -------- Maliris Tiamat Kraken Lich Deathguise (Boss) Trance Kuja (Boss) Necron (Boss) I think you're immediately looking at that list and you see Maliris, Tiamat, Kraken, and Lich there. You're going to fight weaker versions of them, but they're in crystal. They're actually not very hard at all, but since you get no EXP I just recommend running away. Anyway, I am not going to give you a walkthrough for Crystal World. It's even more straightforward than Memoria is. When you get to the save point, SAVE UP and then in the next room, Zidane will meet Kuja again. Kuja has a new monster to fight you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Deathguise HP: 55535 Steal: Elixir, Black Belt, Duel Claws Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Easy Deathguise is a really heavy hitter and has a lot of power, although he really isn't very hard. He starts this fight off with using Meteor. This does random damage, but I've never seen it do damage like Ozma's Meteor does. It should do around 3000 damage at most. If it does manage to do 3000 damage, it's needless to say that Eiko will need to use Curaga after Deathguise uses this bugger. Deathguise also loves to cast Death and LV5 Death (ugh and UGH), not to mention he has Twister, which will rip the party a new one, although it still does random damage. Deathguise also has a physical attack that should only do about 600 damage, I should think. Nothing too dangerous there. Anyway, this probably won't be a very tough battle at all. You need not steal at all, because this is the third to last battle in the game. It's not like we'll get a thorough time to use the three items, not to mention if you want to teleport back to the entrance for the full use of them and then go back it'll be a giant pain in the neck. Just have Zidane attack Deathguise like mad, because he'll do really good damage. Let Freya jump or use Dragon's Crest. Steiner is a different story... if you managed to get Excalibur II, have him attack nonstop. You should do a very high amount of damage. If not, just have him use Shock. Just in case you don't have that, knock him out and then use a Phoenix Down on him, then hope that Deathguise doesn't kill him. After that, use Minus Strike. Steiner also has Climhazzard and Stock Break. For Eiko, have her use Curaga if the need arises, but otherwise use Holy. It's cheaper than Madeen and both will probably do 9999 damage anyway, so you'd better go for Holy. =) Might could be a good spell to use on Steiner, so with all the power your party packs, I believe you can defeat Deathguise quickly. Also, in case you're interesting, I think Deathguise is an undead. You know what to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kuja cannot believe that you actually defeated Deathguise. He's finished with you now. Anyway, the next two fights could be a little troublesome, so just go back and save your game again, unless you found Deathguise rather fun to fight. Then you'll enter a battle with Kuja. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Trance Kuja HP: 55535 Steal: Ether, White Robe, Rebirth Ring Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Easy Believe it or not, Kuja is actually not that hard to defeat, even though he is in his Trance form! The excellent music here is more vicious than he is. Anyway, Kuja is pretty fast but he shouldn't prove faster than the party. He has a lot of attacks: Holy, which is holy damage and does about 1000 damage to a character, Reflect which is the normal spell. He will cast Reflect a lot if you have Eiko casting Holy a lot or you're using Vivi to cast spells, so try not to overdo that. Flare does 1600 damage or thereabouts to a characters, and his ultimate attack is Flare Star. This does the character's level times 35 worth of damage. So basically if you're at Level 40, Flare Star will only do about 1400 damage but if you're at Level 99 it does fricking 3500 damage. Trance Kuja also uses Curaga, which restores his HP by around 2500. It's nothing next to Eiko's Curaga. Anyway, don't bother stealing in this fight. It's the second to last fight, you should have about 50 Ethers by now, the White Robe is unnecessary, and you probably already have all the Rebirth Rings you need. So have Zidane use Thievery every turn. If you are nuts, it'll do 9999 damage (stealing a lot), and if you have stolen as much as you should have without going absolutely berserk, it should do 3000-4000 or somewhere around that. Freya, as you might have guessed, should have the Support Ability High Jump and should jump every single turn. That's if you don't have Dragon Crest. By now you should have killed around 60 dragons, so it'll do 3600 damage or so with every hit. Steiner should use Shock for a nice 8000 damage, and Eiko should cure the party if Trance Kuja uses Flare Star or Holy a lot. If Kuja isn't under Reflect and the party is in good shape, she can also cast Holy, or she can summon Madeen if you want. Trance Kuja will be defeated in short time... but he's not dead yet. He says he's taking the party with him to death, and then he casts Ultima and knocks the whole party out, but hits himself too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anyway, Kuja casts Ultima and that ends that. Zidane will then wake up in a place called the Hill of Despair. A dark voice will tell him about Garland and Kuja, and then Zidane gets furious. He'll stop this dark, evil thing no matter what it takes. Anyway, choose four members for the party. Your other four members will sacrifice their power to the four chosen ones. Then, the final fight of Final Fantasy IX will begin! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Necron (Final Boss) HP: 54100 Steal: Elixir, Elixir, Elixir, Elixir Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Medium First of all, before I begin this, don't worry about the damage because it's entirely healed. What you should worry about is everything that you should to prepare yourself for this battle, and having the abilities you will need for this. I recommend the very strongest weapons (like Zidane's Ultima Weapon) or everyone, and the best abilities you can get. Especially Curaga for Eiko, Shock for Steiner, Dragon's Crest for Freya, and perhaps Thievery for Zidane. It'd really help if you've done a lot of steals, because if you have, and Freya has killed a lot of dragons, the final boss of Final Fantasy IX will be toast. Support abilities here are extremely important. You should put out as much defense to status ailments as you can, because Necron is a master of them. You should also think about the characters you pick. If you're at a low level, take Dagger and Eiko here. Believe it or not, you don't have to put Zidane in here. I know there are a lot who consider him useless so now's your chance to kick him out. When you're ready, leave the menu and it'll be time to fight Necron. This is it. The final battle. Actually, Necron is not as tough to defeat as you'd think. Sure, he does have some annoying attacks, but that's all he's got. To start this off, Necron is very fast. He can sometimes get two turns in a row, and he casts Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga a lot. These will severely weaken everyone. To make sure you don't hurt him too bad, he casts Protect and Shell on himself a lot too. Necron uses Flare and Meteor as well. Meteor shouldn't do TOO much damage, and Flare isn't really that bad. Now for Necron's three worst attacks. One of them is Blue Shockwave, where he will shoot a blue light at a character and reduce the character's HP to 1. I think this a counterattack, so don't worry too much about it. The worst happens when he uses Grand Cross. This attack looks like Sephiroth from FF7's Supernova, or Ultimecia from FF8's Great Attractor, but instead of doing psycho high damage, it will inflict a lot of status effects on everyone. It's totally random which status effects will end up on the characters. In fact, it's possible that they could end up with nothing on them! It may do minor things like Blind, Silence, Slow, Poison, or something, but it also does Confuse, Berserk, Heat, Freeze, Zombie, instant Death, Doom, Stop, Venom, ugh. This stuff is so nasty I had a hard time typing that. Try not to take too much action after Necron casts Protect/Shell, Blue Light, or Meteor because then Grand Cross can put Heat, Stop, or Death on everyone. That's why you need Body Temp, Antibody, Loudmouth, and Bright Eyes. After Necron casts that, he almost always follows with Neutron Ring. This attack will do 2000 damage or so to the entire party, so combined with Grand Cross and the fact that Necron loves to cheat and cast both of them on the same turn, it could be dangerous. Now, don't worry about stealing for Zidane. Necron has four Elixirs you can steal, but that's unnecessary. You should have plenty of them. Not to mention you could have 1-2 Dark Matters by now. Using them on Necron is the way to go. Freya and Steiner should use their ultimate attacks (Dragon's Crest and Shock). Eiko is a mixed bag. She should make sure that no harm befalls anyone by casting Curaga, Esuna, and Dispel a lot, and she can use offensive items on Necron. Remember, this is the final boss so it won't matter that you use items up. Anyway, that's it. You should be able to defeat Necron without too much difficulty. That's the last boss, so congratulations on beating this grand game! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I will not spoil the ending for you. You'll have to find out everything for yourself. You'll prefer that. Anyway, the game is finished, congratulations on beating it! ======================================================================== -<-------------------------------------------------------------------->- CHAPTER EIGHT: Side Quests/Mini Games -<-------------------------------------------------------------------->- ======================================================================= Unlike the massive number of side quests that we probably remember from Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX doesn't have too many side quests. While it does have its fair amount of side quests, you will notice that this section is undoubtedly shorter than you probably thought it'd be. Oh well, it's still a section. *********** 1. Chocobos *********** Ah yes! Chocobos are back and this time they actually have a really fun mini-game! It's called Chocobo Hot & Cold and this is an extremely enjoyable mini game, I can promise you that. Now be warned this is a really long part, but you're here, aren't you? If you are, be my guest. GETTING STARTED --------------- Around Gizamaluke's Grotto, you may have noticed a Chocobo Forest around there. This is an important part to getting some items and is one of the most fun parts of the game. Inside the Forest, you'll meet a moogle named Mene. He'll want you to train up his chocobo friend Choco, since he can't ride a chocobo himself. He then gives you Gysahl Greens, the chocobo's favorite eat. If you use this on chocobo footprints on the world map, you can call a chocobo. Exit the forest and go to the footprints, and then use the Gysahl Greens. Ride it and enter into the forest again, and Choco is yours. Mene will also tell you there's a secret. Ask him for it and he'll tell you that Choco has the ability to dig for items underground. He can't read Choco himself, but he'll let you train Choco and make him strong by hunting the treasures under the ground for 60 Gil per minute. Well, this is a very cheap price, so how can you turn this down for such an important and interesting mini game? Now, this game is pretty complicated, especially when digging on the world map, so I'm going to have to give you an accurate guide on this. Pay attention or shove off. You have to go around digging with Choco's beak looking for treasure in this place. The closer you are to the treasure, the better sound that Choco will make. For every treasure you find, you gain points. These vary in how good the items are. For example, Potions are not valuable at all, so you only get 1 point for them. For more important items like Chocograph are worth 15 or so. When you find it, you have to start digging. When the depth number reaches 0, you'll get the item. Better items are buried very deep underground. Now for the sounds. Here are the sounds, meanings, and some tips. Sound: Kweh. Meaning: There's no treasure nearby. Tip: Don't spend your time here. Just move about five steps away and start looking around there. Move around a lot if you get this sound, which is quite a lot. Sound: Kweh!? Meaning: You are rather close. Tip: You're going to find the treasure soon. Don't stray too far from where you are. Walk about 3 steps at most and hope you can get a Kwehhh!? or even better, a K-KWEHHH! Sound: Kwehhh!? Meaning: You are very close. Tip: Once you get this, you'll know that you're pretty close to the treasure. Only walk about 2 steps if you get this, and mash X. If you keep getting it, try to narrow things down as much as you possibly can. Good luck. Sound: K-KWEHHH!!! Meaning: You found it! Tip: I don't really have much to say if you are lucky enough to get a K-KWEHHH!!! Just mash Square. Try to get 4 of these before the timer goes to 0:20 because then you have 0:30, and the maximum is 8. That way you're halfway there and halfway in time to getting a wonderful 8 treasures. And what's the point of those points that we are getting from Chocobo Hot & Cold? Not much, but with these points we can buy items from Mene, which is always a good thing. It may not be so great in this case though because none of these deals are actually worthwhile, but it's better than nothing, isn't it? Here is a list of the things we can buy and the price (in points), for them: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Item: Robe of Lords Points: 10,000 Comments: OH MY GOSH! 10,000 points? I admit that Robe of Lords is an excellent item but this is a lot of points! It's not worth it; do not get this unless you are absolutely psycho. Item: Protect Ring Points: 8,500 Comments: This is a little better than that Robe of Lords deal, but not by much. 1,500 is less than it seems. I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you're playing Chocobo Hot & Cold 24/7 or something. Item: Wing Edge Points: 3,500 Comments: I think that 3,500 points is a little too much unless you really need the Wing Edge. I can admit that it can be a useful item but this should have been cheaper. I don't recommend it. Item: Viltgance Card Points: 1,800 Comments: It's a Column 9 card, and it's usually not a good one either. All cards are useless, so don't even think about this unless you're collecting. Item: Ether Points: 450 Comments: Actually, this may be the most worthwile deal of all 8 of these. It's still not too great, but if you're running short on Ethers, this can't hurt too bad. Item: Ore Points: 250 Comments: Ores are useless, as we all know. They heal such a pitiful amount that it's not even funny. Only get these for Friendly Monster emergencies. Item: Phoenix Down Points: 150 Comments: Which would you rather buy, one for 150 Gil or 150 points? Obviously you'd go with the first one because it's much cheaper. This is just a total rip-off. Item: Gysahl Green Points: 10 Comments: Which would you rather buy, one for 60 Gil or 10 points? You might actually want the latter, but you should probably stick with the 60 Gil. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Also, you might be wondering what kind of stuff you can dig up while searching for treasure in Chocobo Hot & Cold. Well, here's a list of every single thing that you can find while playing this mini-game. Here we go... and also, just in case you didn't already notice, it's in alphabetical order. • 50 Gil • 200 Gil • 500 Gil • 5000 Gil • Annoyntment • Antidote • Cacusha • Chocograph • Chocograph Piece • Dead Pepper • Echo Screen • Elixir • Ether • Extension • Eye Drops • Gysahl Greens • Hi-Potion • Ore • Phoenix Down • Phoenix Pinion • Potion • Remedy • Rising Sun • Soft • Tent CHOCOGRAPHS ----------- Eventually, you might come across a treasure called a Chocograph. These are important items to collecting stuff on the world map. With a Chocograph equipped on Choco, a treasure will appear somewhere in the world. Take note that without it equipped than you cannot find the treasure at all. Period. Here's the legend, if you're dense enough to need it. Name: Name of the Chocograph. Requirements: Ability requirements. (More on this shortly after.) Treasure: The treasure you can find. Dig In: Where you get the Chocograph. (More on this shortly after.) Hint: Mene's help. Help: Mogster's help. Find: Where you can find the treasure. Difficulty: Difficulty of finding it. (I made this up myself.) Comments: My comments on the treasure. ************************************************************************ Name: Streamside Requirements: Field Treasure: 2 Elixirs, 3 Hi-Potions, 4 Ethers, 2 Germinas Boots Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: Go check where the river meets the ocean, kupo. Help: You're hopeless if you can't find this, kupo! Find: Near the Chocobo Forest, you can find a bridge. Cross it and check the beach around there, and you will find the Streamside treasure. Difficulty: * Comments: This would be worth it alone for the 4 Ethers. Since you'll probably get it on Disc 1, this is a really fantastic treasure in your collection. Name: Between Mountains Requirements: Field Treasure: 5 Potions, 5 Hi-Potions, 2 Tents, 2 Cotton Robes Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: Go look near the mountains facing the ocean on the southwest side of the Mist Continent. Help: Try going somewhere you don't usually go, kupo. Find: From Chocobo's Forest, go as far to the southwest as you possibly can. Then when you get to the mountains, start digging and you'll find this. Difficulty: * Comments: Not as good as the Streamside one, but I suppose two Cotton Robes for Vivi and Quina would be good in Disc 1. It's an average treasure. Name: Uncultivated Land Requirements: Field Treasure: 10 Antidotes, 1 Jade Armlet, 3 Wing Edges, 1 Cargo Ship Card Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: The treasure is buried near a river, kupo. I don't think it'll be easy to find. Help: Maybe you should leave it alone for now, kupo. Find: You can't get this until a little later. It's right near the Evil Forest, around the mountain. Not a very easy Chocograph to find, I can tell you! Difficulty: *** Comments: This Chocograph is worth it for the Wing Edges alone. The Jade Armlet is also okay and the Cargo Ship Card will help the collection, so it's good. Name: Healing Shore Requirements: Field Treasure: Reef Ability (Light Blue) Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: I've seen a beach that looks like this near a city with high winds, kupo. Help: Kupo! You already know how to call a chocobo, right? Find: The city with high winds? Cleyra, of course. Go to Cleyra and call the chocobo from the chocobo footprints and then check the beach around there and you're soon to find this Chocograph. This has the Reef Ability for you! Difficulty: ** Comments: I really have nothing to say about this. It's the Reef Ability and upon getting this you can walk on the shallow water, which will allow you to get to beaches on islands found in the ocean. So overall you NEED this. Name: Abandoned Beach Requirements: Field Treasure: 9 Phoenix Pinions, 5 Phoenix Downs, 12 Peridots, 1 Diamond Gloves Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: I think there's a beach near a huge dying forest. That might be it, kupo. Help: There are treasures on continents other than the Mist Continent. Find: This huge dying forest is outside of the long forest that leads to Black Mage Village on the Outer Continent. Check around the beach for this. Difficulty: ** Comments: 9 Phoenix Pinions! That's 9000 Gil! The Peridots are useful for Ramuh since you can get this shortly after you get him, and the Diamond Gloves are strong. Not to mention there are some Phoenix Downs. A good treasure. Name: Cold Field Requirements: Field Treasure: 5 Echo Screens, 7 Hi-Potions, 3 Tents, 1 Theater Ship Card Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: Looks like a very cold place, kupo. Help: There are other things you can ride besides chocobos, kupo. Find: The cold place is obviously the Lost Continent and if you look closely at the Chocograph you can see a beach. That is the one near Esto Gaza. Check the east of that and you'll find it. Difficulty: ** Comments: This is one of the least useful Chocographs due to the fact there's nothing really great in it like there is in Abandoned Beach or others. Name: Forgotten Lagoon Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: 8 Gysahl Greens, 5 Ethers, 7 Hi-Potions, 1 Dragon Claws Dig In: Chocobo's Lagoon Hint: Why not go play in icy-cold water? Help: Some treasure is hidden in the shallows, kupo. Find: This treasure is hidden in the shallows around the island to the south of the Lost Continent. I wouldn't recommend getting this Chocograph until you have the Sea ability, because it's really confusing trying to find it. Difficulty: *** Comments: This is a fairly good Chocograph because you get 5 Ethers, which always sell for good money and very valuable. Plus, Dragon Claws are very good fists for Amarant. You won't regret spending some time to get this. Name: Faraway Lagoon Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: 37 Potions, 6 Magic Tags, 1 Shield Armor, 1 Gaia Gear Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: I heard there is a long stretch of reef... that might be it, kupo. Help: It feels really far away if your chocobo isn't grown up, kupo. Find: By no means try and get this before you have the Sea ability because you're never going to get it. West of Oeilvert, you might happen to find an island with two beaches on the sides. Take the east one and you'll find this... sometime. Difficulty: **** Comments: This Chocograph contains the Shield Armor and the Gaia Gear. These are two excellent armors, and the magic tags are always worth it because Zombie is extremely bad. The Potions are useless, but besides them this is a worthwhile Chocograph. Name: Abandoned Lagoon Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: 6 Softs, 4 Ethers, 1 Feather Boots, 1 N-Kai Armlet Dig In: Chocobo's Lagoon Hint: I hear there's a sunken treasure near a peninsula in the southern part of the Outer Continent, kupo. Help: Start your search on a small beach, kupo. Find: This is around Black Mage Village. Somewhere in the southwest of it you'll find the Abandoned Lagoon. Not exactly difficult to find, in my opinion. Difficulty: ** Comments: The Softs are useless as always. 4 Ethers are splendid, seeing as how rare they are. The Feather Boots aren't exactly a godsend, but the N-Kai Armlet allows for a good Water spell. This is a worthy gift. Name: Bird's Eye Lagoon Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: 8 Potions, 4 Phoenix Downs, 3 Ethers, 1 Magician Robe Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: There are so many small islands surrounding the Mist Continent, kupo! Help: Try changing your point of view with R2, kupo. Find: It's just north of Lindblum. Find the beach near there and go to the west, and you'll probably find it soon. And as Mene said, there are indeed a lot of small islands. Difficulty: ** Comments: The Potions and Phoenix Downs don't have much use, but the Ethers and the Magician Robe will be quite good for you in most of the cases. Name: Small Beach Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: 4 Remedies, 2 Elixirs, 8 Rising Suns, 1 Oak Staff Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: It's a beach on a small island! A great place to vacation, kupo. Help: There's nothing there, but it's my favorite place, kupo. Find: It's just southeast of Chocobo's Forest. It's a small island with some beaches, so it should stick out pretty soon. Difficulty: ** Comments: If you are going for the challenge of beating the game at a low level, the Oak Staff will be awesome. And believe it or not, the Oak Staff allows Vivi to cast Bio, which could be extremely helpful on Disc 1, if you are patient enough to collect this. Name: Dawn Lagoon Requirements: Field, Reef Treasure: Mt. Ability (Red) Dig In: Chocobo's Lagoon Hint: It's near a city where the night never ends. Help: Lots of rich people live there, kupo. Find: The place where a lot of rich people live is Treno. So just go to a beach on the Mist Continent and start going to the direction of Treno. Difficulty: *** Comments: I don't have much to say. This is an excellent Chocograph because you really need to get it, and the mountains before got annoying. Now getting to beaches so you can get to your Reef destinations will be easier. You need it. Name: Forbidden Forest Requirements: Field, Reef, Mt. Treasure: 7 Ethers, 2 Elixirs, 10 Wing Edges, 1 High Mage Staff Dig In: Chocobo's Forest Hint: The forest lies where many mountains merge, kupo! Help: You need to go over a very high mountain. Find: Ever notice near Gizamaluke's Grotto, a huge gray mountain with a forest in the middle of it? That's the Forbidden Forest with the chocograph in it, so go get it. Difficulty: * Comments: Easy-to-find Chocograph, and one of the best treasures in the game. The High Mage Staff allows for new abilities and an awesome staff for Vivi, the rare Ethers and Elixirs, and 10 excellent Wing Edges. Get this as soon as you get the Mt. ability. ********************************************************************** LOCATIONS --------- By now, you will probably realize that Chocobo's Forest is not the only location we can play Chocobo Hot & Cold. There are Chocobo's Lagoon and Chocobo's Air Garden. CAG can wait, let's find Chocobo's Lagoon after you get the Reef Ability. It's around the northwest and it looks like a cave. Go in and you'll find Mene. He'll let you play here, so let's do so! However, Chocobo's Lagoon differs from Chocobo's Garden in more than a few ways. First of all, part of the place is aqua, part of it is blue. The blue part is really deep and until you have the Sea ability, Choco cannot cross it. All he can do is the aqua part now. Until we get the Sea ability, half of the place can be accessed. This will cut about everything here in half. 4 treasures instead of 8 can be found, and 0:30 time is allowed instead of 1:00. Also, no time can be cut off here. Now for Chocobo's Air Garden. It is no doubt in mind, the hardest of the three to find. First of all, you have to have the Gold Chocobo. Now look across the world to find a shadow. That means that something's above. That something is Chocobo's Air Garden! Also, the location is not fixed. After you find CAG once, you'll get it on the world map, but CAG is always in a random area. These are the five locations where you can find the garden: ********************************************************************** Name: Bubble 4 Treasure: 50 Potions, 25 Hi-Potions, 9 Ethers Difficulty: * Location: This is the single easiest to find Dead Pepper treasure. Go to Quan's Dwelling and examine around the ending of it, and Zidane will get on Choco. You must have the Sea ability. In the water, Zidane will find this treasure. Comments: Not really that great, except for the 9 Ethers. You should also have a lot of them by the time you can get them, but I suppose the Hi-Potions might be useful in some cases. ********************************************************************** ABILITIES --------- There are several abilities in Chocobo Hot & Cold that will make the areas Choco can go to less limited. Here is a list of all those abilities: ====================================================================== Name: Field Color: Yellow Description: With Field, Choco can walk on regular land. You'll have this at the beginning. Get: You have it by default. Name: Reef Color: Light-Blue Description: With Reef, Choco can walk on shallow water. Get: From Chocograph #4. Name: Mt. Color: Red Description: With Mt., Choco can walk up mountains. Get: From Chocograph #12. Name: Sea Color: Dark Blue Description: With Sea, Choco can walk on the ocean. Get: From Chocograph #14 Name: Sky Color: Gold Description: With Sky, Choco can fly in the forests. Get: From Chocograph #20 ====================================================================== DEAD PEPPER ----------- After you've got the Chocographs, be aware that our job is not yet done. First of all, go to Chocobo's Paradise. It is on the northwestern side of the continent. You have to have a Gold Chocobo, because you have to fly there and land in the forest. When you get on the island you'll see a mountain with some cracks in it. Use a Dead Pepper there, and then Choco will go berserk and break that wall down. Now go in and we'll be in a beautiful land. Go to the right and then up, and you'll find yourself in a large room. At the top of the room is the chocobo king, the Fat Chocobo. Talk to him and he'll tell you to go out and get all the treasures in the world before he stays here, because he has stuff he has to do. Mene gets very sad here, because he wants to see Choco when he wants. Talk to the Red Chocobo in this room and he'll ask you if you want all his Dead Pepper. You'll then be given 99 Dead Peppers for free. Not bad. The treasure in the world that still remains are the Dead Pepper treasures. These are similar to Chocograph treasures, except you don't need Chocographs. Instead, the game forces us to find them. We do get hints like cracks and bubbles, but we have to find them! Before I start this off, let me tell you that these are MUCH harder to find than Chocograph treasures. Even with the locations that I will give you it'll still be hard to find them. Still, look as hard as you are able. OZMA ---- You may have noticed a large eidolon rock at the top of Chocobo's Air Garden. That is none other than the rock of a great energy ball called Ozma, and if you go there, Mene will run over in a panic. He'll tell you twice that he senses great energy inside, and he tries to stop you. Ignore him by saying you're going to anyway, and then you're taken to Ozma. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Ozma HP: 55535 Steal: Elixir, Robe Of Lords, Dark Matter and Pumice Piece Party: Zidane, Freya, Steiner, Quina Difficulty: Very Hard WHERE: Get the Gold Chocobo and go to Chocobo's Air Garden. From there, go to the eidolon rock on the upper side of the area. Examine it a time or two until Mene warns you about it. Decide that you want to fight and then you'll automatically fight Ozma. Ozma is extremely, extremely hard. In fact, he's the hardest boss of all FF9, and most likely the hardest boss FF may have seen thus far. He has a LOT of attacks, and more than any other boss in the game. I'l start with some of the less major ones. He has LV4 Holy to use. He ONLY uses this if there's someone with a level divisible by 4 in the party, and this attack is VERY weak. In fact, you might consider being at Level 68 (level I beat Ozma on) or something like that. As for Holy attacks, Ozma's also got Holy. It's pretty strong but it's really one of his weakest attacks. There's also the time when someone in your party's at a level divisible by 5. In that case, Ozma's got LV5 Death to eliminate that character. Ozma's best attack (in your case, not for him), is Doomsday. If you've met the Friendly Yan, it'll do about 9999 damage to Ozma and it'll totally heal your party! Hope that Ozma uses this attack as often as he can. Ozma's also got Flare Star, in which Trance Kuja uses. This, as opposed to Kuja's Level x 35 = damage equation, does your Level x 50 damage. For example, if you are at Level 50, then 50 is multiplied by 50 and it does 2500 damage. (To everyone.) Ozma also has some stuff he uses when he's in a bit of trouble. He uses Curaga sometimes when he gets hit (about 7000-8000 HP restored), Esuna when under Darkness or Slow (the two status effects he can be affected by), and last but not least Absorb MP. Ozma has 9,999 MP and when his MP gets reduced to 0, he uses this and drains one's MP. This happens if you have Quina using Magic Hammer over and over again. Now back to Ozma's attacks. He uses Flare as well, which does a big amount of damage, even to Steiner. Ozma has Mini and Berserk too. If one is affected by Mini, you can say "you're dead". If Quina has Angel's Snack that might work, but the Mini is not good at all because Ozma might use something really nasty on the party and destroy it. Now, I will get to Ozma's absolute worst attacks. First of all, there's Meteor. This attack NEVER misses. EVER. Don't email me asking if it can miss because it CANNOT. It does totally random damage to the party. It can do as little as 200 to as much as 9999 to everyone. It will usually just sweep up the ground with the whole party. And Curse. It does random damage but is usually tied around 2000 damage. If Ozma uses this, there's every status effect on everyone. Oh man, I hate when this happens so much I could hit my screen. Now to begin this fight, you'll want the blessing of the Friendly Yan. If you've met all the Friendly Monsters, you can reach the "big guy" and he's weak against Holy and Shadow. Regularly, you cannot hit Ozma with physical attacks, but you can if you've got the blessing. First of all, there's stealing. You probably don't need to steal here because Ozma might drop a Dark Matter, the Pumice Piece isn't worth it, this isn't the time for a Robe of Lords, and Elixirs are not worth the time. Second of all, there's a problem with speed while fighting Ozma. You can try as often as you want, but Ozma doesn't have a set speed value. He attacks right before you do and quite a lot. He'll always get to use something before you manage to and there's no getting around that. But that's not to say if you sit around doing nothing Ozma won't do anything, because he will. Third of all, there are several ways you can get around fighting Ozma. One way is to just have Quina there using Magic Hammer over and over again. I strongly advise against doing this because Ozma's got MP Absorb and there's always the chance that Magic Hammer will take off about 2 MP or something. The other one is based on just luck. Have Zidane, Steiner, and Freya in there. Armor that heals Shadow damage is almost necessary for this fight, and their Thievery, Shock, Dragon Crest, and Quina's Frog Drop must all do 9999 damage. If they don't, get them booted up more. If Zidane can't get Thievery higher, have him right near Trance and use Scoop Art or something on Ozma, which will do 9999 damage. Also, there's leveling up. Try fighting Yans and Grand Dragons to get the highest possible level. I managed to defeat Ozma at Level 68 so try fighting Ozma at that level. And there's defending against status effects. Devote all of your magic stones to useful abilities like Auto-Regen, Antibody, and stuff like that. Then, enter the battle with a luck charm. Do your 9999 damage attacks, hope that Ozma only uses Doomsday and doesn't use Curaga, and don't give up! This is totally based on luck, so let me wish you that! Congratulations after you beat him, he's the toughest boss in Final Fantasy IX. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mene will give you the Ozma card for beating that fight. You also get the great items from the battle. It was worth it. ************ 2. Stellazio ************ In Treno, you may have happened to come across a bird lady known as Queen Stella. She has an interest in collecting small star-shaped coins called the Stellazio. There are 13 of these coins and they can be found all around the world. Here are the locations: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Aries: In Dali, look behind the windmill on the right side of the room where you go underground. You'll find the Aries there. Taurus: On the right side of Treno, you'll find the item shop. Behind it, there's the Taurus. Gemini: Right near the entrance to Treno, go to the fountain and throw 10 Gil into it 13 times. The Gemini will come up with the 13th. Cancer: On the second screen of Burmecia, look around the cart and you'll find Cancer. Leo: The Leo is around the left tower of Alexandria, near the Neptune Tower. Check the upper right corner to find it. Virgo: Search the Inn in Black Mage Village. The Virgo can be found in there. Libra: On the right side of the fountain in Madain Sari, the Libra is a collectible. Scorpio: In Quan's Dwelling, you'll find the Scorpio to the bottom-right side of the fountain. Sagittarius: After Lindblum is rebuilt, find the Sagittarius to the left of the pickle cart, before the shopping areas. Capricorn: This is in Daguerreo. Head to the right of the entrance and you'll find it in the water. Aquarius: In Ipsen's Castle, enter and check the right pillar. Aquarius is there. Pisces: Pisces is inside the Invincible. Check the left side of the ship. Ophiuchus: Make sure you have all other 12 Stellazio. Talk to Queen Stella and suggest that there's another one. Go back to where you found the Scorpio and pick it up there. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With each coin you give to the Queen, you get a reward for it. Here are the rewards you can get: ------------------- |1. 1,000 Gil | |2. Phoenix Pinion| |3. 2,000 Gil | |4. Blood Sword | |5. 5,000 Gil | |6. Elixir | |7. 10,000 Gil | |8. Black Belt | |9. 20,000 Gil | |10. Rosetta Ring | |11. 30,000 Gil | |12. Robe of Lords| |13. Hammer | ------------------- ********* 3. Coffee ********* In the Observatory Mountain right outside of Dali, you might find an old man living in the house on the bottom-left side. His name is Mr. Morrid and he has the Mini-Prima Vista. If you can find all three coffees, he will mail it you. Here are the locations of these three coffees that we need... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Moccha Coffee: Near the Chocobo Forest close to Gizamaluke's Grotto. Nearby there's another entrance to the South Gate. Inside, you can find Moccha Coffee on the bottom right side of this area. Kirman Coffee: Around Eiko's kitchen in Madain Sari, search the tables on the left side of the room. Somewhere around there you will what you are looking for. Burman Coffee: This is no doubt in mind the hardest coffee to get. In Treno at the card tournament (Disc 3), leave Treno. It's best to have Freya (near the auction house) and Vivi (in the back area of Quan's Dwelling) with you. Go south of Treno from there and go through South Gate and head to Dali. Go inside the mayor's house and check his desk three times. Be sure not to wake his son up. Get the Mayor's Key from the stove after doing that and leave. Go to the windmill where you found Aries and use the Mayor's Key. You'll find yourself in the chocobo pen. Just head to your right and you'll find 30,000 Gil and the Burman Coffee. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Keep in mind that you must find all three coffees for Mr. Morrid before Terra. You can't get back to Gaia once you're on Terra, so you'd have to wait until Disc 4. In Disc 4, Mr. Morrid will not be there, so it's pretty obvious to get all of the coffees BEFORE Disc 4! **************** 4. Skipping Rope **************** This is the very first mini game that is playable in Final Fantasy IX, and you can play it at the very beginning of the game in Alexandria. In the main square, you might see some kids at the northwest skipping rope. You can do this as well. Talk to them and they let you try. Now it may sound like fun on paper, but let me tell you, this is is frustrating and difficult. What you need to do to skip rope is press X when Vivi hits the ground. But it soon gets fast and frustrating. An icon of X appears at the upper-left, but it quickly gets extremely fast so that you have to time it perfectly. Also, when you hit 200 jumps the timing totally differs. Sometimes it's really slow, and sometimes it's super fast. It just completely varies, making this game a pain in the neck. Here are the items you can win by jumping rope: ======================================================================== 20 Jumps: 10 Gil 50 Jumps: Cactuar Card 100 Jumps: Genji Card 200 Jumps: Alexandria Card 300 Jumps: Tiger Racket Card 1000 Jumps: King of Jump Rope ======================================================================== As you can see, for 1000 jumps you get the King of Jump Rope. This is an entirely useless item unless it's all you can possibly do to get Class S, which is also worthless. The King of Jump Rope is a key item that does absolutely nothing. Most of these are also cards, which are useless too. So as you can see, this is basically a waste of time, unless it's a big emergency. ********* 5. Racing ********* In Alexandria on the beginning Disc 3 while playing as Vivi, you will meet Hippaul again, and his mother wants the two to race. This will begin the game. The basics of this is just mashing O and [] repeatedly, but alternating. The faster you do this, the faster Vivi will run. The buttons are linked to his legs, as you might shortly notice. Hippaul is the opponent, by the way. Also, you may note that he has a level. As this goes up, his difficulty goes up. Hippaul starts out very, very slow. Just like the fat hippo he is. This is between Level 1-20. When he is at these levels, you should have no trouble beating him, as long as you are paying attention. Once he gets to Level 50 or so, he starts becoming painfully fast, and you really need to get berserk on the buttons. Level 10: Wyerd Card Level 20: Carrion Worm Card Level 30: Tantarian Card Level 40: Armstrong Card Level 50: Ribbon Card Level 60: Nova Dragon Card Level 70: Genji Card Level 80: Athlete Queen The maximum that Hippaul can get to is Level 99. Yes, that means no prizes beyond the Athlete Queen. Doesn't that suck? Add to that the Athlete Queen is another useless key item. Oh well, this game can get you the Nova Dragon and Ribbon Cards, which are usually very good. Genji Card sucks in a whole lot of cases, though. By the way, here are some tips for you to take note of: -Use your middle finger on O and your index finger on []. With the hand that you write with. DO NOT USE BOTH HANDS. This will get the timing horribly done. -Don't just repeatedly do these races. You'll quickly get tired and you might give up. Take a break after doing ten to fifteen races or a number around there. -Try not to hit any other button, or you'll end up a long way behind, especially in later races. Avoid the Right Analog Stick, and remember your controls. -Do yourself a favor and don't bother looking at the screen. The brightness of it may distract you, and it's best to just look at the buttons so you can mash on them. Also, there's a little trick I noticed. You can change the button controls for this. Change O to something else, and this will basically be how it'll be: Triangle --- X X --- O [] --- O L1 --- L2 R1 --- R2 Replace O with what's on the left there, and [] with what's on the right there. It really depends on what you're best with, so just use what you like. That pretty much wraps it up. Don't give up, and you can definitely get it. It takes some time. *************** 6. Class S Rank *************** If you've been to Daguerreo, you may have seen a man with four arms there. You'll probably recognize him as Alleyway Jack from Alexandria. He'll tell you your treasure hunting rank. If it's below B, he'll make fun of you though... anyway, this is how to determine how high your rank is: 0-50 Points: Class H 51-60 Points: Class G 61-70 Points: Class F 71-80 Points: Class E 81-90 Points: Class D 91-100 Points: Class C 101-110 Points: Class B 111-120 Points: Class A 121-130 Points: Class S And how to gain points, you may ask? For every chest you get on the World Map with Choco, you will receive two points. There are eight Dead Pepper treasures and twenty-four Chocographs. This makes 32 treasures, for a maximum of 64 points acquired in this way. You also receive 1 point for every Field Icon or treasure chest you get. Also when you buy a key item (excluding Magical Fingertip) from the Treno Auction House, you'll get a point. 121 points are needed for Class S, and 121 - 64 is 57. This will mean 57 treasure chests, field icons, or key items you need to buy. This shouldn't be too hard. When you finally reach Class S, talk to the four-armed man. He will get scared and run away like the pansy he is. You can find him in the entrance hall. Once there, he'll tell you his real name, Gilgamesh. If you've played FFV, this is VERY obvious and many have had this spoiled for them, so really it's not worth doing this unless you're a FF9 vet aiming for everything. ******************** 7. Friendly Monsters ******************** Ever entered a battle, and then you heard a nice, soft tune instead of the regular battle theme? Well, this indicates you have found a friendly monster. These little guys will make it easier to fight Ozma, because they are actually the spirits of Gaia. You need to feed all of them the item that they want. It will be possible to hit Ozma, he will be weak against Holy and Shadow, he will be at Level 70 instead of Level 99, and will be a bit weaker, making him MUCH, MUCH, MUCH easier to defeat. Anyway, here are the names, items, rewards, and whereabouts of the spirits of Gaia. ======================================================================== 1. Mu Item: Ore Where: Around Dali Color: Brown as opposed to a regular Mu's Blue Reward: 10 AP 2. Ghost Item: Ore Where: Around Treno Color: White as opposed to a regular Ghost's Black Reward: 10 AP 3. Ladybug Item: 2 Ores Where: Black Mage Village's Forest Color: Red as opposed to a regular Ladybug's Blue Reward: 20 AP, Ether 4. Yeti Item: 2 Ores Where: Madain Sari's Forest Color: White as opposed to a regular Yeti's Brown Reward: 20 AP, Elixir 5. Nymph Item: 3 Ores Where: Near the Iifa Tree Color: Green as opposed to a regular Nymph's Purple Reward: 30 AP, Emerald 6. Jabberwock Item: Emerald Where: Forest east of Oeilvert Color: Purple as opposed to a regular Jabberwock's Aqua Reward: 30 AP, Moonstone 7. Feather Circle Item: Moonstone Where: Outside Esto Gaza Color: Aqua as opposed to a regular Feather Circle's Blue Reward: 40 AP, Lapis Lazuli 8. Garuda Item: Lapis Lazuli Where: Forest on the cliff outside Gizamaluke's Grotto Color: Rainbow as opposed to a regular Garuda's Red Reward: 40 AP, Diamond 9. Yan (DO NOT FIGHT THE REGULAR YANS!) Item: Diamond Where: Vile Island Forest (DO NOT FIGHT THE YANS!) Color: Golden as opposed to a regular Yan's Gray Reward: 50 AP, Rosetta Ring, easier fight with Ozma Note 1: DO NOT FIGHT THE YANS IF YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR YOU! Note 2: This is the last Friendly Monster, and if you've done all of them you will have an easier defeat on Ozma. Note 3: You have to have given the other Friendly Monsters their piece, or Yan will run away. 10. Gimme Cat Item: Diamond Where: Outside Daguerreo Color: Blue Reward: A loss of a precious item. In other words, nothing Note: Do not feed the Gimme Cat. If you do, he will laugh at the party and say he fooled you all, and you have lost the Diamond and you cannot get it back. ======================================================================== ***************** 10. Ragtime Mouse ***************** The Ragtime Mouse is very similar to the Friendly Monsters, only he appears with an X and an O right next to him, and he is only found in the forests. Also, he asks you a true-or-false question. Attack the X if it is false, attack the O if it is true. He'll appear in the forests randomly 15 times. If you answer all of his questions correctly, he gives you a ton of EXP, and he gives you a Protect Ring. Here are the answers to his 15 questions (his questions are in random order, my numbering means nothing): ======================================================================== 1. "I Want To Be Your Canary" was written by Lord Afon. False 2. The 15th Lindblum War started in 1600. False 3. The theater ship Prima Vista was built in Artania Shipyards. False 4. Lindblum Castle is larger than Alexandria Castle. True 5. Some Mu's are friendly and won't attack. True 6. Burkmea Cable Cars have been running for eight years. True 7. Only one desert exists in the entire world. False 8. Conde Petie is a village of Goblins. False 9. Prima Vista means love at first sight. False 10. Treno's cafe, Card Carta, is members only. True 11. Bobo bird is a bird that brings you fortune. False 12. You can defeat Ragtimer. True 13. Chocobo Forest is located between Lindblum and South Gate. True 14. The theater ship uses Mist as its energy. True 15. The Lindblum War started in 1500. True ======================================================================== **************** 12. Tetra Master **************** First of all, let me tell you that I am NOT a fan of Tetra Master. In the slightest. I believe it is one of the worst mini games that was ever created, so forgive me if my Tetra Master parts aren't as good as they should have been. Okay then, there are a lot of things to cover. I'll start with card locations to get you started! ========= LOCATIONS ========= This part will direct you to every single place where you can get all of the cards in the whole game. How do you like that, eh? Well, here we go with the whole boredom of 1000 ways to get every card in the game. ********************************************************************** 1. Goblin --------- Win this card from: Noble Lady in Alexandria: Main Street Noble Lord in Alexandria: Main Street Man in Alexandria: Main Street Mick in Alexandria: Main Street Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Dante The Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Alleyway Jack in Alexandria: Pub Old Man in Alexandria: Residence Iila in Alexandria: Residence Doug in Alexandria: Item Shop Honorable Lady in Alexandria: Square Honorable Lord in Alexandria: Square Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Fishman in Alexandria: Inn Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Synthesist Wife in Alexandria: Synthesis Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Shopkeeper Eve in Dali: Item Shop Morrid in Observatory Mountain: Shack Gus in Lindblum: Square Lilian in Lindblum: The Doom Pub Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Tim in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Young Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Bandit in Treno: Queen's House Female Adventurer in Treno: Queen's House Old Man in Treno: Knight's House Father in Treno: Card Stadium Zenero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) 2. Fang ------- Win this card from: Mick in Alexandria: Main Street Man in Alexandria: Main Street Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Dante The Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Honorable Lady in Alexandria: Square Honorable Lord in Alexandria: Square Fishman in Alexandria: Inn Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Synthesist Wife in Alexandria: Synthesis Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Marsha in Lindblum: Main Street Card Freak Gon in Lindblum: Residence Female Red Mage in Lindblum: Shopping Area Wimpy Guy in Lindblum: Shopping Area Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Tim in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Old Margaret in Lindblum: B.D Station Yaup in Lindblum: Church Lady with an Apron in Lindblum: Church Street Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Young Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Old Man in Treno: Knight's House Drunk in Treno: Knight's House Nobleman in Treno: King's House Genero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Hippolady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) 3. Skeleton ----------- Win this card from: Noble Lady in Alexandria: Main Street Noble Lord in Alexandria: Main Street Man in Alexandria: Main Street Mick in Alexandria: Main Street Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Dante The Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Old Man in Alexandria: Residence Iila in Alexandria: Residence Doug in Alexandria: Item Shop Honorable Lady in Alexandria: Square Honorable Lord in Alexandria: Square Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Synthesist Wife in Alexandria: Synthesis Fishman in Alexandria: Inn Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Morrid in Observatory Mountain: Shack Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Tim in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Young Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Old Man in Treno: Knight's House Bandit in Treno: Queen's House Female Adventurer in Treno: Queen's House Zenero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) 4. Flan ------- Win this card from: Noble Lady in Alexandria: Main Street Noble Lord in Alexandria: Main Street Man in Alexandria: Main Street Mick in Alexandria: Main Street Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Dante The Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Alleyway Jack in Alexandria: Pub Old Man in Alexandria: Residence Iila in Alexandria: Residence Doug in Alexandria: Item Shop Honorable Lady in Alexandria: Square Honorable Lord in Alexandria: Square Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Synthesist Wife in Alexandria: Synthesis Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Fishman in Alexandria: Inn Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Shopkeeper Eve in Dali: Item Shop Morrid in Observatory Mountain: Shack Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Tim in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Lilian in Lindblum: The Doom Pub Gus in Lindblum: Square Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Young Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Old Man in Treno: Knight's House Bandit in Treno: Queen's House Female Adventurer in Treno: Queen's House Father in Treno: Card Stadium Zenero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) 5. Zaghnol ---------- Win this card from: Noble Lady in Alexandria: Main Street Noble Lord in Alexandria: Main Street Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Dante The Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Alleyway Jack in Alexandria: Pub Old Man in Alexandria: Residence Iila in Alexandria: Residence Doug in Alexandria: Item Shop Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Shopkeeper Eve in Dali: Item Shop Morrid in Observatory Mountain: Shack Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Lilian in Lindblum: The Doom Pub Gus in Lindblum: Square Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theatre Ave Marsha in Lindblum: Main Street Card Freak Gon in Lindblum: Residence Female Red Mage in Lindblum: Shopping Area Old Margaret in Lindblum: B.D Station Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Drunk in Treno: Knight's House Bandit in Treno: Queen's House Female Adventurer in Treno: Queen's House Father in Treno: Card Stadium Zenero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Genero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Hippolady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) 6. Lizard Man ------------- Win this card from: Noble Lady in Alexandria: Main Street Noble Lord in Alexandria: Main Street Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Alleyway Jack in Alexandria: Pub Old Man in Alexandria: Residence Iila in Alexandria: Residence Doug in Alexandria: Item Shop Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper Eve in Dali: Item Shop Morrid in Observatory Mountain: Shack Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Drunk in Treno: Knight's House Bandit in Treno: Queen's House Female Adventurer in Treno: Queen's House Father in Treno: Card Stadium Zenero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Genero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Hippolady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) 7. Zombie --------- Win this card from: Alleyway Jack in Alexandria: Pub Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper Eve in Dali: Item Shop Gus in Lindblum: Square Marsha in Lindblum: Main Street Female Red Mage in Lindblum: Shopping Area Old Margaret in Lindblum: B.D Station Wimpy Guy in Lindblum: Shopping Area Yaup in Lindblum: Church Lady with an Apron in Lindblum: Church Street Card Freak Gon in Lindblum: Residence Attendant in Lindblum: T.D Station Marian in Lindblum: T.D Station Lilian in Lindblum: The Doom Pub Pigeon Lover in Lindblum: Station Area Aspiring Artist Michael in Lindblum: Studio Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Drunk in Treno: Knight's House Father in Treno: Card Stadium Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Genero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Hippolady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) Field Chocobo in Chocobo's Paradise 8. Bomb ------- Win this card from: Man in Alexandria: Main Street Mick in Alexandria: Main Street Honorable Lady in Alexandria: Square Honorable Lord in Alexandria: Square Fishman in Alexandria: Inn Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Synthesist Wife in Alexandria: Synthesis Marsha in Lindblum: Main Street Female Red Mage in Lindblum: Shopping Area Old Margaret in Lindblum: B.D Station Wimpy Guy in Lindblum: Shopping Area Yaup in Lindblum: Church Lady with an Apron in Lindblum: Church Street Card Freak Gon in Lindblum: Residence Attendant in Lindblum: T.D Station Marian in Lindblum: T.D Station Pigeon Lover in Lindblum: Station Area Tom in Lindblum: Station Area Aspiring Artist Michael in Lindblum: Studio Worker in Summit Station: Rest Shop Chef in Summit Station: Rest Shop Part-Time Worker in Summit Station: Rest Shop Guard in S.Gate: Treno Gate Thug in Treno: Slums Natalie in Treno: Slums Shopkeeper in Treno: Slums Noblewoman in Treno: Bishop's House Young Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Old Man in Treno: Knight's House Drunk in Treno: Knight's House Nobleman in Treno: King's House Bomb Master in Treno: Card Stadium (Disc 4) Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Tour Guide in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Genero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Hippolady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Man in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Tom in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple (Disc 3) Field Chocobo in Chocobo's Paradise 9. Ironite ---------- Win this card from: Maggie in Alexandria: Pub Ashley in Alexandria: Pub Male Red Mage in Alexandria: Pub Dante the Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub Tom in Alexandria: Steeple Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Retired Boatman in Alexandria: Steeple Thomas in Lindblum: Station Area Rita in Lindblum: Station Area Pigeon Lover in Lindblum: Station Area Wimpy Guy in Lindblum: Shopping Area Attendant in Lindblum: T.D Station Marian in Lindblum: T.D Station Lady with an Apron in Lindblum: Church Street Yaup in Lindblum: Church Member No.24 in Lindblum: Theater Ave Member No.56 in Lindblum: Theater Ave Aspiring Artist Michael in Lindblum: Studio Chef in Summit Station: Rest Stop Worker in Summit Station: Rest Stop Part-Time Worker in S. Gate: Alexandria Station Guard in S. Gate: Treno Gate Thug in Treno: Slums Natalie in Treno: Slums Carpenter in Treno: Slums Shopkeeper in Treno: Slums Nobleman in Treno: Bishop's House Adventurer in Treno: Bishop's House Stella in Treno: Queen's House Nobleman in Treno: King's House Noblewoman in Treno: King's House Scholar in Treno: Synthesist Shopkeeper in Treno: Synthesist 19. Zuu ------- Win this card from: Hippaul in Alexandria: Inn Ryan in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop Alleyway in Alexandria: Pub Shopkeeper in Dali: Item Shop Lilian in Lindblum: The Doom Pub Gus in Lindblum: Square Nobleman in Treno: Gate Father in Treno: Card Stadium Burmecian Kid Jack in Cleyra: Town Area Burmecian Kid Adam in Cleyra: Town Area Granin Miller in Conde Petie: Inn Barbara Gibgab in Conde Petie: Inn Robert Dogherder in Conde Petie: Pathway Shamis Gatekeeper in Conde Petie: Shrine Black Mage No.56 in Black Mage Village: Cemetary Black Mage No.33 in Black Mage Village: Watermill Black Mage No.111 in Black Mage Village: Watermill Hippaul in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Ryan in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Old Lady in Alexandria: Main Street (Disc 3) Benero in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Shopkeeper in Alexandria: Weapon Shop (Disc 3) Dante the Signmaker in Alexandria: Pub (Disc 3) Synthesist in Alexandria: Synthesis Shop (Disc 3) Mario in Treno: Card Tournament 97. Gargant ----------- Drop this card from: Ralvuimago in Gargan Roo Win this card from: Nikolai in Alexandria: Main Street Michelle in Alexandria: Main Street Immigrant From Lindblum in Alexandria: Main Street Card Freak Cil in Treno: Card Stadium Genome in Black Mage Village: Inn 98. Namingway ------------- Collect this card from: Desert Palace: Sanctum Win this card from: Mario in Treno: Card Tournament 99. Boko -------- Win this card from: Rare Phantom in Memoria: Time Warp 100. Airship ------------ Win this card from: Rare Phantom in Memoria: Time Warp ************************************************************************ RANKS ----- Ever notice the collector points you are given if you have a good collection of cards? If you have one and only one of every card in the whole game, all 100 cards, all you are given is the Master rank. That is it. What a shame that Tetra Master actually had no real point at all. Anyway, here's a list for ranks. Beginner: 0-299 Card Collector Points Novice: 300-399 Card Collector Points Player: 400-499 Card Collector Points Senior: 500-599 Card Collector Points Fan: 600-699 Card Collector Points Leader: 700-799 Card Collector Points Coach: 800-899 Card Collector Points Advisor: 900-999 Card Collector Points Director: 1000-1099 Card Collector Points Dealer: 1100-1199 Card Collector Points Trader: 1200-1249 Card Collector Points Commander: 1250-1299 Card Collector Points Doctor: 1300-1319 Card Collector Points Professor: 1320-1329 Card Collector Points Veteran: 1330-1339 Card Collector Points Freak: 1340-1349 Card Collector Points Champion: 1350-1359 Card Collector Points Analyst: 1360-1369 Card Collector Points General: 1370-1379 Card Collector Points Expert: 1380-1389 Card Collector Points Shark: 1390-1399 Card Collector Points Specialist: 1400-1449 Card Collector Points Elder: 1450-1474 Card Collector Points Dominator: 1475-1499 Card Collector Points Maester: 1500-1549 Card Collector Points King: 1550-1599 Card Collector Points Wizard: 1600-1649 Card Collector Points Authority: 1650-1679 Card Collector Points Emperor: 1680-1689 Card Collector Points Pro: 1690-1697 Card Collector Points Master: 1698-1700 Card Collector Points You get nothing if you have a master rank. No items, no extra ending, no cool FMV's or ATE's, not even a grand talk about it. There is absolutely no point in wasting several hours on Tetra Master, trying to get Master rank, failing and then starting several new games in attempts to do it unless you are a big FF elite. If you aren't, steer clear of this. Trust me, you're doing yourself a huge favor and there are better things in FF9 to do than that. ***************** 13. Frog Catching ***************** Once you go to a Qu's Marsh, you might realize that there's a pond with frogs in it. If you have Quina in your party, you can go ahead and catch these frogs. This makes up a simple Frog Catching mini-game, but there are still more rules that I have to give you for this mini game. Catching all 8 frogs in every pond is a bit too simple, isn't it? FROG TYPES ---------- The frogs are different in two ways: male or female, and baby or adult. There are also Golden Frogs. Here's how to tell whether the frogs are male or female, and baby or adult. ------ GENDER ------ Male frogs have a darker color to them and have green feet. Female frogs have a lighter color to them and have pink feet. -------- MATURITY -------- Adult frogs are much bigger and don't jump around as much. Baby frogs are a little brighter and they are harder to catch as they jump around quite a bit. CHANGING -------- Ever notice the tadpoles in the water? You cannot catch them, but these mean a lot because they become baby frogs later. Also, baby frogs shortly grow into adult frogs. Now for the appearance of the tadpoles... do yourself a favor and in the water when you catch frogs, leave one male and one female frog so they make new tadpoles. Also, you might want to leave a Golden Frog in the water as well, because this make it much faster. PRIZES ------ For catching frogs, you will also receive various prizes from Quale. Here they are: 2 Frogs: Ore 5 Frogs: Ether 9 Frogs: Silk Robe 15 Frogs: Elixir 23 Frogs: Silver Fork 33 Frogs: Bistro Fork 45 Frogs: Battle Boots 99 Frogs: Hehe... If you catch 99 frogs, Quale will say that Quina is a full-fledged Qu and gives him the ultimate challenge of Qus. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Quale HP: 65535 Steal: Elixir, Ninja Gear, Glutton's Robe, Robe of Lords Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, Quina Difficulty: Semi-Medium Actually, Quina's master Quale is a PUSHOVER. It all depends on how well you know this fight. Now first of all, Quale has more HP than any other boss in the whole game. Even Hades and Ozma don't have as much HP as Quale has got. Also, Quale is crazy about status effects and he thinks the best way to destroy your party is to put them under so many status effects that the party will fall. Now, for his status effects. He's got Poison and Blind, neither being that bad. You won't do too much physical attacking and he doesn't even use Bio, just Poison. That isn't that bad. Silence is close to being bad, although Echo Screens do it. Confuse and Mini are AWFUL, especially the latter. Confuse can be gotten rid of by just a physical attack (preferrably by Vivi or Dagger), but sometimes it hits everyone. This will make you go nuts and your characters could do something horrible. And even then it's nothing compared to Mini. Mini is almost always on everyone and it makes your attacks absolutely worthless. Magic is also weakened and in addition to all of Quale's other horrors, it makes it even worse, especially for the fact that it could be on everyone while they're under Confuse. If one of your characters is confused but not Mini'd and is a powerhouse (Zidane and Quina), and attack someone with low defense (Vivi and Dagger), you can kiss them goodbye. Now for all of Quale's other stuff. He uses Water for about 1200 damage to a character and it is sometimes on everyone. This is a really nasty one. He also casts Aqua Breath for around 600 damage to the party (this isn't bad either), but he's got Rolling Attack which does close to 1800 damage to a character unless they're protected or have great defense. Now for what your characters should do... Zidane might want to steal. The Ninja Gear and Glutton's Robe are extremely useful, but the Robe of Lords is almost impossible to steal. It's almost not worth it with all the time it'll take to steal it. If he isn't under some great status effect, just use Thievery if it's built up well, or physical attacks. Vivi should use Thundaga or Flare every turn, because Flare is extremely strong and Quale is weak against Thunder. Dagger is the party's primary healer, so have her cure status effects and heal the party if Quale adds up the damage with Rolling Attack or Water. By now you have 100 frogs and Quina should be at least Level 40, so Frog Drop should do around 4000 damage. You might also want to knock him out and hope he gets at 1 HP or simply have him cast Auto-Life on himself and then when it's his turn have him use Limit Glove, which does 9999 damage as always. As long as you don't let the status effects get to you and be careful, this battle is easily won with enough luck. However, this battle will be very long due to Quale's huge HP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ After beating him, Quale will give Quina his best weapon, the Gastro Fork. A worthy reward. ***************** 13. Codes/Secrets ***************** CODES ----- To start out with, here are the codes in the game. Enjoy them all, they'll help a little later. And credit to all who have submitted. A Secret With Ruby: At the beginning of the game, after fighting Baku for the first time, Baku will start explaining about the first mission that you will be having. Your first mission is to go to Alexandria and kidnap Princess Garnet. Baku will ask you whether you are kidnapping Queen Brahne or Princess Garnet to ensure that you know your mission well. If you keep answering Baku's question incorrectly for 64 times by choosing Queen Brahne, Ruby will then storm into the room. Contributed By: YSF BlackJack!: Play BlackJack while listening to the ''Crystal Theme''! All you have to do is to imput in this code once you get to see the The End screen after everything (note that it will not work if you try the short-cut-to-The-End method): R2, L1, R2, R2, Up, X, Right, Circle, Down, Triangle, L2, R1, R2, L1, Square, Square At the second press of the Square button you should hear a sound as if you're using an item. Now press Start and you'll be able to play BlackJack at your leisure while waiting for DragonQuest VII! Contributed By: JL Lee Double Your Fantasy Fun: Do you know that you can have up to two players controlling your players during your combat. All you need is to go to the main menu, go to config and then click battle control. Choose the CUSTOM option and an extra menu pops up, listing the names of all the characters and beside each name, you can select whether you want controller 1 or 2 to control each individual character. During combat, you will then notice a controller icon with either the word '1' or '2' on the top right hand corner of the screen. That indicates which player 1 or 2 is controlling now. Note that this ONLY applies to BATTLES and NOTHING else. Contributed By: YSF Final Fantasy III Music: You MUST have the Doga's Artifact and Une's Mirror. You can bid for these two key items at the Treno's Auction house. After the world of Terra has been destroyed, at the beginning of disc four and onwards, return to Black Mage Village. Examine the gramophone at the Black Mage Village inn. You notice that the background music will change to a beautiful melody taken from the Final Fantasy III [Japanese] soundtrack and this melody continues on until you leave the Black Mage Village. Contributed By: YSF Final Fantasy IX's Second Ending: Complete the Stellazzio quest and keep Cinna's Hammer in your item inventory. DO NOT use the Hammer in the Legendary Synthesis Shop. You will see an additional hidden sequence in the ending. [Your eyes got to be sharp to see the difference(s). The second ending is just a few minutes longer than the original one. Have one save file with the Hammer in your inventory and another save file without the Hammer in your inventory to spot the differences. Contributed By: YSF Getting Excalibur II: Reach the Terrace in Memoria within 12 hours. You will encounter a boss fight there. Defeat Lich there and quickly check the second pillar from the right. You should see a '!' mark appearing over Zidane's head. This mark indicates the position of the sword, Excalibur II. If you exceed the time limit, the '!' mark will immediately disappear. Contributed By: YSF Legendary Synthesis Shop: In Memoria, you will reach an area where Quina thinks he is in the waters and he attempts to swim. After the conversation, search the right side of the screen to find a hidden area amongst the coral. A mysterious voice asks you to leave at once because you have disturb his sleep. Choose to refuse to leave and you will fight Hades. He's quite deadly. Once you have defeated him, you will be able to gain access to the Legendary Synthesis Shop. Contributed By: YSF Quan's Dwelling Reunion: After the destruction in Alexandria by Kuja in disc three, return to Quan's Dwelling with Quina and Vivi in your party. Quina starts to dream about food and a conversation soon takes place on the patio. I won't reveal anything about this conversation but you will meet a very important person here and learn some profound things. After the conversation, search the stopped clock on the patio to find a Running Shoes. Contributed By: YSF Skip FMVs: To skip FMVs open up your PSX cover, and wait for the disk to stop spinning, and close the cover, or on your PS2, eject the disk and put it straight back in. This is especially useful when you are trying to get the Excalibur II as even when FMVs are playing the clock is ticking! Contributed By: kingmark Soft Reset: I suppose anyone who has been playing any SquareSoft games will know this trick. This trick works for other Final Fantasties, Chrono Cross, Legend Of Mana and MORE. Are you fustrated of having to restart your PlayStation over and over again? Here is a trick that allows you to restart your game very quickly. Simply hold the four buttons at the top, as well as the Select and Start. In short, it is to hold L1, L2, R1, R2, Select and Start. The game will restart within seconds and the usual logo which says 'Published by Square Electronic Arts L.C.C' will appear. Contributed By: YSF ********** 14. Mognet ********** You may have noticed that due to some incident, Mognet Central has been shutting down and no more letters are being delivered. So, it's time to revive it! Anyway, I'll start off where Mognet Central is. You must have a gold chocobo. You might notice an island on the lower-right side of the world, so just take your gold chocobo and land there. You should see a mountain with cracks in it. Use a Dead Pepper on Choco while standing near it (on Choco of course), and then it'll open. Get in there and our quest to revive the place will shortly begin. This little guide will be step-by-step instead of super detailed, so read on. 1. Talk to Artemecion. Apparently, he's been using something that's required for the delivery of Mognet. After that, leave Mognet Central and go to Alexandria. 2. In Alexandria, return to the bell tower and you will find Kupo. He has a letter he wants to send Atla. Take the letter and then leave Alexandria. 3. Go to Burmecia and to the room where you found Stiltzkin for the first time. Atla is there. Get the Kupo Nut from him and he'll give you a letter to send to Mogryo. 4. If you have a Kupo Nut, you should go to Gizamaluke's Grotto and give it to Moguta. Otherwise, go to Black Mage Village and talk to Mogryo, near the chocobo shack. He has a letter for Kumool. 5. With the Kupo Nut that Kumool gives you, stop by Gizamaluke's Grotto if you don't have an Aloha T-Shirt from him, but otherwise go to Ipsen's Castle and give Kumool the letter. He has one for Mois. 6. Mois is the only moogle we probably won't know the location of. He was originally in Ice Cavern, but not now. Put Quina in your party and go to Fossil Roo and you'll find him. He has a letter for Noggy. 7. Go to Daguerreo and find Noggy in the second room. He's up the elevator, if you can't remember. Give him the letter and he'll give you a letter for Kupo. 8. Stop by Alexandria again and give Kupo the letter. He's not exactly sure what's needed... anyway, go to Ruby's Mini-Theater. She'll give you the Superslick. 9. Final step. Return to Mognet Central and give this to Artemecion. He'll give you a Protect Ring... well, I guess it was worth it, but man that was tedious. ***************** 15. Auction House ***************** In Treno, there is an auction house that returns from Final Fantasy VI! Hooray. In case you don't know, the auction house sells great items, but at very high prices. You have to bid on prices for them, and the guy chooses a reasonable price and sells it to you for that price. Here are the official highest prices for the items. You shouldn't get them for higher than these: ======================================================================== Mini-Cid: 1600 Gil Doga's Artifact: 10000 Gil Une's Mirror: 14400 Gil Rat Tail: 15000 Gil Griffin's Heart: 6000 Gil Reflect Ring: 18600 Gil Magician Robe: 7000 Gil Fairy Earrings: 6000 Gil Pearl Rouge: 14000 Gil Dark Matter: 16600 Gil Madain's Ring: 7600 Gil Magical Fingertip: 52000 Gil Thief Gloves: 19900 Gil Ribbon: 74400 Gil ======================================================================== There's a little trick to get these items at lower prices. Wait for the people here to bid out a little bit, and then finally when the man chooses a good price from one of them, offer it at a slightly higher price, and then he is likely to sell it you, for that good price and the people won't have time to argue! =D In case you were wondering, Doga's Artifact, Une's Mirror, Rat Tail, and Griffin's Heart are special items that can be sold to various people in Treno for much higher prices than they can be bought for. Also, with all of them (except for the man you sell Doga's Artifact to), you can tell them no and they offer higher prices! This might make you feel a bit bad, but it's worth it for all this extra money. :) ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- CHAPTER NINE: Equipment ====================================================================== -<------------------------------------------------------------------>- ********** 1. Weapons ********** Here's a list of everyone's weapons in the entire game. You'd better appreciate this. ********************************************************************** ------- DAGGERS ------- Name: Angel Bless Buy: 7000 Sell: 3500 Status: Confuse Stats: Attack + 44 Abilities: Thievery Comments: It has Thievery on it! What more can you want? Get it as soon as you can. Name: Butterfly Sword Buy: 300 Sell: 150 Status: Silence Stats: Attack + 21 Abilities: What's That?!, Protect Girls Comments: Well, it's okay. If you're collecting What's That?!, use it. If not, use The Ogre instead. Name: Dagger Buy: 320 Sell: 160 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 12 Abilities: Flee Comments: Useless, useless, useless. As soon as you steal Mage Masher, get rid of this. Name: Exploda Buy: 1000 Sell: 500 Status: Trouble Stats: Attack + 31 Abilities: Sacrifice, Lucky Seven Comments: Use this dagger to learn Sacrifice and Lucky Seven. You'll have it for a little while. (Until the end of Disc 2.) Name: Gladius Buy: 2300 Sell: 1150 Status: Slow Stats: Attack + 30 Abilities: Annoy, Lucky Seven Comments: Use this to learn Annoy, and when you've learned it switch it out for Exploda. Name: Mage Masher Buy: 500 Sell: 250 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 14 Abilities: Flee, Detect Comments: Early in the game, you will definitely have to wear this until you have Mythril Dagger from Sealion. Name: Masamune Buy: 16500 Sell: 8250 Status: Doom Stats: Attack + 62 Abilities: Sacrifice Comments: You'll never have to use it. When you can get it you'll have Sacrifice and better stuff. It sucks. Name: Mythril Dagger Buy: 950 Sell: 475 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 18 Abilities: Bandit Comments: After you defeat Sealion, you'll have to wear it until you learn Bandit if you want the useful ability. Name: Orichalcon Buy: 17000 Sell: 8500 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 71 Abilities: Detect Comments: Sucky ability. Besides that, this dagger is extremely powerful and until you get Ultima Weapon, you'll be wearing this. Name: Rune Tooth Buy: 2000 Sell: 1000 Status: Poison Stats: Attack + 37 Abilities: Lucky Seven Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Sargatanas Buy: 12000 Sell: 6000 Status: Petrify Stats: Attack + 53 Abilities: Annoy Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: The Ogre Buy: 700 Sell: 350 Status: Darkness Stats: Attack + 24 Abilities: Soul Blade Comments: Early on, this is an excellent weapon! Soul Blade will destroy really help against Gizamaluke. Name: The Tower Buy: N/A (would be 30000 if you could) Sell: 15000 Status: Mini Stats: Attack + 86 Abilities: Lucky Seven, Thievery Comments: If you have Ultima Weapon it might be a waste of time but using Soul Blade and causing Mini will be terrific if you want to do it. Name: Ultima Weapon Buy: N/A (would be 40000 if you could) Sell: 20000 Status: Sleep Stats: Attack + 100 Abilities: Flee Comments: The strongest weapon Zidane possesses and if you don't get Excalibur II, it is the strongest weapon in the game. Name: Zorlin Shape Buy: 6000 Sell: 3000 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 42 Abilities: Flee Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. ------ STAFFS ------ Name: Cypress Pile Buy: 3200 Sell: 1600 Status: Confuse Stats: Attack + 27 Abilities: Demi, Break, Comet Comments: Three spells in one staff. Not to mention it's pretty good. No harm in getting this. Name: Flame Staff Buy: 1100 Sell: 550 Status: Fire Stats: Attack + 16 Abilities: Fira, Sleep Comments: It's got Fira! And Sleep... so you're going to have to use this at some point. Name: High Mage Staff Buy: 6000 Sell: 3000 Status: Silence Stats: Attack + 32 Abilities: Meteor, Osmose Comments: Second strongest staff in the game. As soon as you get it, equip it. Not to mention it's got Meteor on it... Name: Ice Staff Buy: 980 Sell: 490 Status: Ice Stats: Attack + 16 Abilities: Blizzara, Slow Comments: It's got Blizzara! And Slow... so you're going to have to use this at some point. Name: Lightning Staff Buy: 1200 Sell: 600 Status: Thunder Stats: Attack + 16 Abilities: Thundara, Poison Comments: It's got Thundara! And Poison... so you're going to have to use this at some point. Name: Mace of Zeus Buy: N/A (would be 10000) Sell: 5000 Status: Mini Stats: Attack + 35 Abilities: Doomsday Comments: This is Vivi's strongest weapon, and it's got his most powerful black magic as well. Too bad you get it so late in the game... but that doesn't mean this staff doesn't rock. Because it does! Name: Mage Staff Buy: 320 Sell: 160 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 12 Abilities: Fire Comments: The default weapon of Vivi, it is not very powerful at all. It only has Fire and it's weak, not to mention you're stuck with it for almost all of Disc 1! Remove it as soon as possible. Name: Oak Staff Buy: 2400 Sell: 1200 Status: Slow Stats: Attack + 23 Abilities: Stop, Bio, Drain Comments: It's honorably powerful and has three excellent spells on it. This will be something to equip as soon as you possibly can. Name: Octagon Rod Buy: 4500 Sell: 2250 Status: Water, Wind, Trouble Stats: Attack + 29 Abilities: Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga Comments: Very powerful staff. It contains three of the best spells in the game, and can be bought at a cheap price in Esto Gaza on Disc 3. Too bad after Disc 3 it's gone forever... so GET THIS STAFF! ------ SWORDS ------ Name: Blood Sword Buy: N/A (would be 1900) Sell: 950 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 24 Abiliites: Darkside Comments: This is a sword covered with blood, so it drains from enemies. Excellent sword, but you'll regret it if you use this against an undead enemy because then Steiner will be damaged and the undead enemy will be healed. Name: Broadsword Buy: 330 Sell: 165 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 12 Abiliites: Beast Killer Comments: It's Steiner's DEFAULT sword. How good can his very first sword be? Obviously, it's nothing that would be a legend to his attacks and it's his weakest. Name: Coral Sword Buy: 4000 Sell: 2000 Status: Thunder Stats: Attack + 38 Abilities: Charge! Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Defender Buy: 9340 Sell: 4670 Status: Ice, Thunder Stats: Attack + 65 Abilities: Thunder Slash Comments: Equip it to learn a useless ability, Thunder Slash. If you're not collecting, don't bother with this sword if you have a stronger one like the Ragnarok. Name: Diamond Sword Buy: 4700 Sell: 2350 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 42 Abilities: Power Break Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Excalibur Buy: N/A (would be 19000) Sell: 9500 Status: Holy Stats: Attack + 77 Abilities: Climhazzard Comments: An amazing sword! It's Steiner's third strongest sword and it contains one of the greatest abilities in the game, Climhazzard. This holy sword is great. Name: Excalibur 2 Buy: N/A (would be 39000) Sell: 19500 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 108 Abilities: Minus Strike, Climhazzard, Stock Break Comments: Hehe... I think we all know what this is. This is not only Steiner's strongest weapon, but it's the strongest weapon in the entire game. Unfortunately, few have ever gotten it because this sword is not worth rushing through to get, even though it's even more powerful than Zidane's Ultima Weapon. Name: Flame Saber Buy: 5190 Sell: 2595 Status: Heat, Fire Stats: Attack + 46 Abilities: Magic Break Comments: Early on, it'll be a fantastic sword to use. The Heat is always great and it's got lots of power. Name: Ice Brand Buy: 3780 Sell: 1890 Status: Freeze, Ice Stats: Attack + 35 Abilities: Mental Break Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Iron Sword Buy: 660 Sell: 330 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 16 Abilities: Minus Strike Comments: It's Steiner's second sword. It's not that great at all. I admit it's okay but nothing worth dying for. Name: Mythril Sword Buy: 1300 Sell: 650 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 20 Abilities: Armor Break Comments: You can buy it in Treno but you have access to the Blood Sword by then so only use it to get Armor Break. Name: Ragnarok Buy: N/A Sell: 14500 Status: Slow Stats: Attack + 87 Abilities: Shock, Thunder Slash Comments: You're probably not going to go through the game in 12 hours to get the Excalibur 2, so the Ragnarok is the strongest sword for Steiner. Attack's a little disappointing, but not much. A great sword IMO! Name: Rune Blade Buy: N/A Sell: 4450 Status: Blind Stats: Attack + 57 Abilities: Iai Strike Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Ultima Sword Buy: 14000 Sell: 7000 Status: Sleep Stats: Attack + 74 Abilities: Stock Break Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. ---- RODS ---- Name: Asura's Rod Buy: 3180 Sell: 1590 Status: Holy Stats: Attack + 27 Abilities: Mini, Confuse, Silence Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Healing Rod Buy: 1770 Sell: 885 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 23 Abilities: Healer, Cura, Life Comments: You can pick up this rod in early Disc 2 and it's a very good one, since it's basically the second rod Dagger can pick up and it's good Cura and Life! Name: Mythril Rod Buy: 1770 Sell: 885 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 23 Abilities: Healer, Cura, Life Comments: You can pick up this rod in early Disc 2 and it's a very good one, since it's basically the second rod Dagger can pick up and it's good Cura and Life! Name: Rod Buy: 260 Sell: 130 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 11 Abilities Learned: Cure, Panacea, Protect Comments: If you find some way to get a rod better than this default one for Dagger at the beginning of the game and don't have these abilities learn, trash this rod. It's the first one. Name: Stardust Rod Buy: 760 Sell: 380 Status: Shadow Stats: Attack + 16 Abilities: Ability Up, Reflect, Float Comments: Once you pick this rod up, I recommend learning the nice Ability Up that comes with it, but if you don't do so then there are probably better rods. Name: Whale Whisker Buy: N/A (would be 10280) Sell: 5140 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 36 Abilities: Curaga, Life, Break Comments: This is Dagger's strongest rod. But hell if they didn't have to make it have 36 Attack Power, which is extremely weak for an ultimate weapon. Oh well, at least it has Curaga and unless Dagger has abilities to learn it'll stay on her. Name: Wizard Rod Buy: 4000 Sell: 2000 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 31 Abilities: Curaga, Protect, Shell Comments: Dagger's second strongest rod in the game. Immediately after you pick this up on Disc 3, it should stay with you until you have Whale Whisker. Not to mention Curaga comes with it! ------ SPEARS ------ Name: Dragon's Hair Buy: N/A (would by 23500) Sell: 11750 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 77 Abilities: Dragon Breath Comments: This is Freya's ultimate weapon so unless you haven't learned her best stuff yet, you will have this on forever. My only problems are that Dragon Breath is a useless ability and it's super difficult to find. Name: Heavy Lance Buy: 4700 Sell: 2350 Status: Stop Stats: Attack + 42 Abilities: Six Dragons Comments: You can pick this up in Esto Gaza, but unless you're collecting don't bother unless it's the absolute strongest you have because Six Dragons is just horrible. Name: Holy Lance Buy: 11000 Sell: 5500 Status: Holy Stats: Attack + 62 Abilities: Dragon's Crest, Reis's Wind Comments: This is one of Freya's best weapons, as it has Dragon's Crest on it, which is your basic 9999 damage attack. If you're not going to play Chocobo Hot & Cold and are on Disc 3 and have to learn Dragon's Crest for a while, you're stuck with this, and that's not that bad of a thing! Name: Ice Lance Buy: 2430 Sell: 1215 Status: Ice, Freeze Stats: Attack + 31 Abilities: White Draw Comments: This is an excellent lance as it's the third or fourth that you pick up and there's the added Freeze status to go with it! Attack an enemy with that and they could end up frozen and another attack bringing them to their death. White Draw is a spectacular ability if you have to use Vivi or Dagger's magic a lot. Name: Javelin Buy: 880 Sell: 440 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 18 Abilities: Dragon Killer Comments: This is Freya's default weapon, and obviously it's not that great attack-wise. However, you probably want to learn Dragon Killer if you're fighting Grand Dragons to build Dragon's Crest up, so follow that with Jump and you get great damage. However, that's all. Name: Kain's Lance Buy: N/A (would be 15000) Sell: 7500 Status: Confuse Stats: Attack + 71 Abilities: Dragon's Crest, Cherry Blossom, White Draw Comments: Kain's Lance is the second best weapon for Freya in Final Fantasy IX, in many ways. First of all, the confusion power is useful if it works on an enemy, the weapon is extremely powerful, and it has Dragon's Crest and Cherry Blossom, Freya's two best abilities. Name: Mythril Spear Buy: 1100 Sell: 550 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 20 Abilities: Reis's Wind Comments: You will collect this spear in Burmecia at the end of Disc 1. By then you should have learned Dragon Killer (if not, major shame on you), and you'll obviously want stronger power. Reis's Wind and the power will be a good addition. ----- FORKS ----- Name: Bistro Fork Buy: 10300 Sell: 5150 Status: Sleep Stats: Attack + 68 Abilities: High Tide Comments: Maybe it was just bad luck for me, but whenever I attacked with this fork, the damage was randomly pathetic. I wouldn't recommend attacking too much when you have this fork equipped. Name: Fork Buy: 1100 Sell: 550 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 21 Abilities: High Tide Comments: This is Quina's default fork, and it isn't very powerful. If you stole Needle Fork from Zaghnol, equip it instead. Name: Gastro Fork Buy: N/A (would be 13300) Sell: 6650 Status: Stop Stats: Attack + 77 Abilities: High Tide Comments: This is Quina's ultimate weapon. It almost never does really weak damage, and it has a random stop ability on it. =) My only complaint is that it just has High Tide. Name: Mythril Fork Buy: 4700 Sell: 2350 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 42 Abilities: High Tide Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Needle Fork Buy: 3100 Sell: 1550 Status: Petrify Stats: Attack + 34 Abilities: High Tide Comments: This is Quina's second fork and the earliest you can get it is by stealing from Zaghnol. You can randomly petrify enemies with it, cool! Name: Silver Fork Buy: 7400 Sell: 3700 Status: Slow Stats: Attack + 53 Abilities: High Tide Comments: Earliest you can pick this up is by stealing from Tantarian on Disc 2. Of course, few will choose to fight Tantarian on Disc 2, but if you're daring enough you'll have his third best fork by Fossil Roo! ------ FLUTES ------ Name: Angel Flute Buy: N/A (would be 8300) Sell: 4150 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 33 Abilities: Holy, Esuna, Curaga Comments: Holy! Too bad this flute is a bit hard to collect, but who can turn down the wonderful spells Holy and Curaga that this flute provides? It's also the ultimate flute. Name: Fairy Flute Buy: 4500 Sell: 2250 Status: N/A Stats: ? (going to get it soon) Abilities: Esuna, Regen, Haste Comments: I don't have much to say for this - the earliest you can get it is at the fight with Hilgigars but it's HARD AS HELL TO STEAL THERE! However, it's a nice flute. Name: Golem's Flute Buy: 2700 Sell: 1350 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 21 Abilities: Auto-Regen, Cura, Life Comments: The Golem's Flute is what Eiko initially starts out with. Believe it or not, this is actually good for an initial weapon because it's got three awesome abilities on it. Not bad, not bad at all, I must say. Name: Hamelin Buy: 5700 Sell: 2850 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 27 Abilities: Curaga, Might, Jewel Comments: Curaga again. Not to mention Might can be very useful at times. Jewel is useless, but who cares? This is the third best flute in the game. Name: Lamia's Flute Buy: 4500 Sell: 2250 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 21 Abilities: Float, Stona, Silence Comments: Not an entirely useful flute as it's one of Eiko's early flutes. Just learn the abilities and get something else on, thank you very much. Name: Siren's Flute Buy: 7000 Sell: 3500 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 30 Abilities: Full-Life, Dispel, Esuna Comments: The SECOND best flute in the game, Siren's Flute has three of the best white magics available, and even its attack power is worthy! I love this. ------- RACKETS ------- Name: Air Racket Buy: 400 Sell: 200 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 13 Abilities: Scan, Panacea Comments: This is a pretty early racket, so obviously you are not going to find hardly any use for it. Just forget about it unless there's nothing else you have. Name: Magic Racket Buy: 1350 Sell: 675 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 23, Magic + 2 Abilities: Berserk, Mini, Cure Comments: You can buy this at Lindblum on Disc 3, and I recommend it. It has some very useful abilities on it, and the power and magic inside it are great. Name: Multina Racket Buy: 750 Sell: 375 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 17 Abilities: Blind, Stona, Shell Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Mythril Racket Buy: 2250 Sell: 1125 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 27 Abilities: Reflect, Shell, Protect Comments: Bad point is that you have to wait til Bran Bal to buy it... it has some useful abilities and great attack power, so there is no reason why you should not equip it. Name: Priest's Racket Buy: 11000, Air Racket, Cachusha Sell: 5500 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 35 Abilities: Silence, Might Comments: Priest's Racket is the second most powerful racket in Final Fantasy IX. Sure, the abilities aren't that great but if you don't have a better weapon with you, you have a wonderful weapon here. Name: Tiger Racket Buy: N/A (would be 5800) Sell: 2900 Status: Wind Stats: Attack + 45 Abilities: Dispel Comments: Tiger Racket is the ultimate racket, and not only that but it's easy to find. Just take a Dead Pepper and go to Quan's Dwelling and call Choco, then dig at the bottom for the Tiger Racket. Easy as that. And well worth it too! ----- CLAWS ----- Name: Avenger Buy: 16000 Sell: 8000 Status: Death Stats: Attack + 70 Abilities: Demi Shock, Counter Comments: One of the best claws that Amarant can pick up. It can kill some enemies with a single hit. Only problem is that it doesn't offer the best of abilities. Name: Cat's Claws Buy: 4000 Sell: 2000 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 23 Abilities: Chakra, Counter Comments: It's Amarant's initial weapon. How good can this be? Equip some armor that enables you to learn Chakra and then equip Poison Knuckles. Poison Knuckles are much better. Name: Dragon's Claws Buy: N/A (would be 10360) Sell: 5180 Status: Water Stats: Attack + 53 Abilities: No Mercy, Counter Comments: These are found at the Forgotten Lagoon Chocograph, but aren't really worth equipping. You should be able to find some stronger claws somewhere. Name: Kaiser Knuckles Buy: 18000 Sell: 9000 Status: Wind, Trouble Stats: Attack + 75 Abilities: Countdown, Curse, Counter Comments: Heh... Amarant's third strongest weapon, this is. You can buy it at Daguerreo for a rather high price, but it should be worth it. It also comes with good abilities. Name: Mythril Claws Buy: N/A (would be 6500) Sell: 3250 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 39 Abilities: Curse, Counter Comments: You can steal this from Taharka, but you should something better by then. This is pretty much useless and you can probably find better weapon for Amarant if you try. Name: Poison Knuckles Buy: 5000 Sell: 2500 Status: Poison (DUH) Stats: Attack + 33 Abilities: Spare Change, Counter Comments: In the fight with Amarant, you can steal these. Amarant starts with the Cat's Claws, but you can get Chakra from the Cat's Claws through a weak but useful armor and equip this better piece of equipment instead, so it is recommended. Name: Rune Claws Buy: N/A (would be 28800) Sell: 14400 Status: Darkness Stats: Attack + 83 Abilities: Spare Change, Curse, Counter Comments: Hehehe... I think we all know that this is Amarant's ultimate weapon. It can be easily picked up near Tiamat at Memoria in Disc 4, and by then it should be with Amarant forever. Name: Scissor Fangs Buy: 8000 Sell: 4000 Status: Venom Stats: Attack + 45 Abilities: Aura, Counter Comments: These are bought at Esto Gaza. By then it should be the strongest weapon for Amarant, and it has the useful Aura on it. There really aren't any bad points. Name: Tiger Fangs Buy: 8000 Sell: 4000 Status: N/A Stats: Attack + 62 Abilities: Revive, Counter Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. ******** 2. Armor ******** Here's a list of the armor... at least this was easier to do than the weapons. Name: Adaman Vest Buy: 1600 Sell: 800 Stats: Defense Power + 14, Magic Defense + 2 Abilities: Stone Killer, Bird Killer Comments: This is not the same Adamant Armor from Final Fantasy IV. It's not really that great, so just pass it up. Name: Aloha T-Shirt Buy: N/A (would be 19000) Sell: 9500 Stats: Defense + 0, Magic Defense + 0, Spirit + 0 Abilities: N/A Comments: The worst armor in the WHOLE GAME. Really, I'm not kidding! No stat bonuses, no anything! Sell any of these that you get for the hefty 9500 Gil. Name: Black Robe Buy: 8000, Gaia Gear, N-Kai Armlet Sell: 4000 Stats: Defense + 43, Magic + 2, Magic Defense + 4 Abilities: Flare, MP+20%, Reflectx2 Comments: Black Robe is one of the greatest pieces of armor that Vivi can pick up. This robe is just awesome with the ability to cast Flare, and MP+20% and Reflectx2 are great abilities. I cannot say enough good things. Not to mention Quina can wear it. :P Name: Brave Suit Buy: 26000, Mythril Vest, Mythril Rod Sell: 13000 Stats: Defense + 42, Spirit + 1 Abilities: Restore HP, Auto-Regen Comments: EXPENSIVE... but besides that I like this nifty armor. Zidane and Amarant can equip it. It has Restore HP and Auto-Regen on it, so there are no real bad points. Name: Brigandine Buy: 4380 Sell: 2190 Stats: Defense + 20, Strength + 1 Abilities: Ability Up, Return Magic Comments: This armor is best equipped for Amarant to use Return Magic whenever he's hit by a spell. That will make a powerful magic counterattack. There is also mighty defensive power stored here. Name: Bronze Armor Buy: 650 Sell: 325 Stats: Defense + 9 Abilities: Bird Killer Comments: Typical beginning armor. Useful early on with a small stat increase, piece of crap later. Nothing special here except a wind damage drop by 50%. Name: Bronze Vest Buy: 670 Sell: 335 Stats: Defense + 9 Abilities: Jelly Comments: *snores* It's just old armor, nothing new from above. Becomes trash quickly. Name: Carabini Mail Buy: 12300 Sell: 6150 Stats: Defense + 39, Speed + 1, Spirit + 1, Magic Defense + 1 Abilities: Auto-Regen Comments: This is an immensely useful piece of armor for Steiner and Freya. It offers Auto-Regen and has extreme defensive power. Only flaw is that price. Name: Chain Mail Buy: 1200 Sell: 600 Stats: Defense + 12 Abilities: Bird Killer, HP+10% Comments: Not quite as bad as Bronze Vest and Bronze Armor. It gives you a 50% resistance to Earth and has HP+10% and Bird Killer. Steiner should have this while fighting Griffin in Treno. Name: Chain Plate Buy: 810 Sell: 405 Stats: Defense + 10, Strength + 1 Abilities: Devil Killer Comments: *boredom meter for turdy armor rising* I'll just say this is a piece of garbage. Name: Cotton Robe Buy: 1000, Wrist, Steepled Hat Sell: 500 Stats: Defense + 10, Magic + 1, Magic Defense + 2 Abilities: Chemist, Shell Comments: In actuality, Cotton Robe really isn't that bad of a robe for your mages. Dagger should have it to learn Chemist and Shell and it's great for Quina most of the time. Name: Dark Gear Buy: 16300 Sell: 8150 Stats: Defense + 37, Spirit + 2 Abilities: Clear Headed, Jelly Comments: Dark Gear is a very good and very powerful armor, as it provides excellent protection and can be used by a lot of characters. Only flaw is the price. Name: Demon's Mail Buy: 5900 Sell: 2950 Stats: Defense + 27 Abilities: High Tide Comments: This is a big saving shot for your Steiner/Freya when you fight Ozma. If you have this equipped, you absorb Shadow and it's one of the few pieces of equipment that does. Name: Demon's Vest Buy: 10250 Sell: 5125 Stats: Defense + 31, Magic + 1 Abilities: Devil Killer, Auto-Potion, Locomotion Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Dragon Mail Buy: 14000 Sell: 7000 Stats: Defense + 42, Strength + 1, Magic + 1 Abilities: High Jump Comments: When you get this for Freya on Disc 4, you're in for a treat. High Jump will make her Jump command TWICE as powerful! Ah yes, me likes. Name: Gaia Gear Buy: 8700 Sell: 4350 Stats: Defense + 25, Magic Defense + 2 Abilities: Insomniac, High Tide, Osmose Comments: Gaia Gear is excellent. The defensive power is extreme, it has great abilities on it, and you get it at a great time. On Vivi, you'll rule. Name: Genji Armor Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: Defense + 45, Magic + 2, Magic Defense + 1 Abilities: Body Temp, Accuracy+ Comments: Not very useful. Even though you get it on Disc 4 and late, it's not that helpful since you probably have better armor. Name: Glutton's Robe Buy: 6000, Mythril Fork, Cotton Robe Sell: 3000 Stats: Defense + 41, Strength + 1, Magic + 1, Magic Defense + 4 Abilities: Antibody, Body Temp, Auto-Regen Comments: Being as obvious as it probably is, Glutton's Robe is for Quina. It's his second best robe (beaten only by Robe of Lords). Good, good, good. Name: Gold Armor Buy: 2950 Sell: 1475 Stats: Defense + 19 Abilities: Stone Killer Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Grand Armor Buy: 45000, Mythril Sword, Mythril Armor Sell: 22500 Stats: Defense + 59, Strength + 1 Abilities: Chemist, Restore HP Comments: This armor is good, and it reduces shadow damage by 1/2. However, you'll probably never get it. Why? First of all, the only way to get it is to synth it. You probably won't have the Mythril equipment, and 45000 Gil? Gimme a break. Name: Judo Uniform Buy: 5000 Sell: 2500 Stats: Defense + 23, Strength + 1, Spirit + 1 Abilities: Distract, HP + 10% Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Leather Plate Buy: 530 Sell: 265 Stats: Defense + 10 Abilities: Chakra Comments: For a piece of armor that you pick up really early, the Leather Plate is extremely useful. You can place it on Amarant if you have the Poison Knuckles from him to learn Chakra. Name: Leather Shirt Buy: 270 Sell: 135 Stats: Defense + 6 Abilities: Protect Girls Comments: It's a piece of crap that you pick up really early. Forget all about it. Name: Light Robe Buy: 20000, Magician Robe, Glass Armlet Sell: 10000 Stats: Defense + 41, Strength + 1, Magic + 1, Magic Defense + 6, Spirit + 1 Abilities: Half MP, Auto-Regen, Full-Life Comments: An awesome robe... too bad it's pretty hard to pick up. It provides awesome abilities, so there's no reason why you shouldn't get it on Disc 4. Name: Linen Cuirass Buy: 800 Sell: 400 Stats: Defense + 10, Magic + 1 Abilities: Cover Comments: I'm getting tired of these awful pieces of armor. Just pass it up if you have something better. Name: Magician Cloak Buy: 1850 Sell: 925 Stats: Defense + 15, Magic + 1, Magic Defense + 2 Abilities: Restore HP, High Tide Comments: It's a pretty good cloak... that's basically all I have to say. Name: Magician Robe Buy: 3000, Mage Staff, Magician Cloak Sell: 1500 Stats: Defense + 21, Magic + 2, Magic Defense + 3 Abilities: Auto-Potion, MP+10% Comments: Excellent robe throughout Disc 1 and even some of Disc 2, so it doesn't win the entire-crap award. Name: Maximillian Buy: 650 Sell: 325 Stats: Defense + 54, Spirit + 3 Abilities: HP+20% Comments: It's a great piece of armor for Steiner, especially if you want your HP up. Name: Minerva's Plate Buy: 12200 Sell: 6100 Stats: Strength + 1, Magic + 2, Magic Defense + 1 Abilities: Restore HP, High Tide Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. Name: Mythril Armor Buy: 1830 Sell: 915 Stats: Defense + 15 Abilities: Jelly, Cover Comments: It reduces Water damage by 50 and has two good abilities, so it's not an entire waste. ********** 3. Helmets ********** Name: Adaman Hat Buy: 6100 Sell: 3050 Stats: Defense + 3, Magic Defense + 33 Abilities: HP+20%, Gamble Defense Comments: Well, it's definitely better than Adaman Vest, I'll give it that. Lots of good magic defense packed in it, and HP+20%. A worthy hat... Name: Bandana Buy: 500 Sell: 250 Stats: Spirit + 1, Speed + 1, Evade + 2, Magic Defense + 12 Abilities: Man Eater, Insomniac Comments: Early on, Bandana will be a very commonly equipped helmet, seeing as how the magic defense is good and it increases your speed, making it good for Zidane. Name: Barbut Buy: 330 Sell: 165 Stats: Spirit + 2, Magic Defense + 9 Abilities: Alert, Dragon Killer Comments: You'd better have this on Freya at first shot, looking at how it gives you Dragon Killer. =) The stats are pretty average though, but they're okay when you're weak as hell in the beginning. Name: Black Hood Buy: 2250 Sell: 1125 Stats: Magic Defense + 27 Abilities: Accuracy+, Locomotion Comments: Black Hood is a very good headgear to equip, as it'll reduce Fire, Thunder, and Water damage by 50%. It also packs good magic defense. Name: Bronze Helm Buy: 330 Sell: 165 Stats: Magic Defense + 6 Abilities: Bug Killer Comments: It reduces Water damage by 50%, but other than that it's practically crap. Name: Circlet Buy: 20000, Coronet, Rosetta Ring Sell: 10000 Stats: Magic Defense + 51 Abilities: Jelly, Clear Headed Comments: An extremely strong magical defensive headgear. You should definitely equip this. ********** 4. Armgear ********** Name: Aegis Gloves Buy: 7000 Sell: 3500 Stats: Defense + 1, Evade + 32, Magic Evade + 12 Abilities: Charge! Comments: This is a very good armgear. It even allows Steiner to use his Charge ability, and enemies will have a hard time hitting Steiner/Freya. Name: Bone Wrist Buy: 330 Sell: 165 Stats: Strength + 1, Evade + 17, Magic Evade + 15 Abilities: Add Status Comments: Bone Wrist is... not that useful. Add Status might help, but otherwise it's nothing that great. Name: Bracer Buy: 24000, Battle Boots, Venetia Shield Sell: 12000 Stats: Strength + 1, Evade + 39, Magic Evade + 24 Abilities: Add Status, Power Throw Comments: This is THE armgear for Amarant. You simply cannot pass up Power Throw by any means. Get this equipped as soon as you synth it later. Name: Bronze Gloves Buy: 480 Sell: 240 Stats: Spirit + 1, Evade + 10, Magic Evade + 4 Abilities: Antibody Comments: It's like the first knight armgear that you pick up. Equip only when you have nothing else to equip. Name: Chimera Armlet Buy: 1200 Sell: 600 Stats: Evade + 26, Magic Evade + 20 Abilities: Mug, Add Status Comments: It features Mug, which is always nice for Zidane. It also reduces Holy damage by a full 100%! Sweet. Name: Defense Gloves Buy: 6000 Sell: 3000 Stats: Defense + 1, Magic Defense + 1, Evade + 27, Magic Evade + 22 Abilities: HP+20% Comments: Very, very good armgear. It has great evasion and magic evasion, and also the defense is evened out there... together with the excellent ability that is HP+20%. Name: Diamond Gloves Buy: 2000 Sell: 1000 Stats: Evade + 21, Magic Evade + 15 Abilities: Ability Up, Jelly Comments: Not bad at all. Much better than the Bronze Gloves, and it has some good strength to offer together with great physical evasion. Name: Dragon Wrist Buy: 4800 Sell: 2400 Stats: Strength + 7, Magic Defense + 1, Evade + 32, Magic Evade + 18 Abilities: Antibody Comments: I am sorry to tell you that I have no comments on this at the present time. ********** 5. Add Ons ********** Name: Amethyst Buy: 200 Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Atomos, Demi Comments: One of the first gems that Dagger will get. It allows her to summon Atomos. Also if you don't have it already you can put it on Vivi for the fire ability. Name: Aquamarine Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Leviathan, HP+10% Comments: Slightly more useful than some of the other gems, because it allows Dagger to use Leviathan, who is more powerful than Shiva, Ramuh, or Ifrit. HP+10% is also a good, rare ability. Name: Dark Matter Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: Strength + 3, Magic + 3 Abilities: Odin Comments: Dark Matter is the exact opposite of most gems. Instead of healing, it does 9999 damage. VERY useful against Ozma, and you get Odin too. Only problem is the rarity. Name: Diamond Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Body Temp, Distract Comments: This gem is IMMENSELY rare. Really, I'm not exaggerating. It's perhaps the rarest of all the gems. It's best used for the friendly Yan, and losing it to a Gimme Cat. =P Name: Garnet Buy: 350 Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Bahamut, Healer Comments: One of the final gems that Dagger will pick up. It will allow her to summon Bahamut, her second or third best summon. If you use Dagger for nothing other than curing, Healer is also a great ability. Name: Lapis Lazuli Buy: 400, Ore, Dead Pepper Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Ability Up, Accuracy+ Comments: There really is no point in equipping Lapis Lazuli except for Ability Up, since Accuracy+ is a useless ability, although Ability Up is not. If you have that, this gem is useless. Name: Maiden Prayer Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: Magic + 1, Magic Defense + 1, Magic Evade + 3 Abilities: Auto-Regen Comments: Maiden Prayer is similar to Lapis Lazuli, unless it's on Eiko. It allows her to use Auto-Regen, and it improves Fenrir by quite a lot. Name: Moonstone Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Shell, Beast Killer Comments: Moonstone is extremely rare, and actually quite a valuable gem. You will want it in the beginning for the abilities, and in the friendly monsters quest, this will be valuable. Name: Opal Buy: 100, Ore, Potion Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Shiva, Blizzara Comments: One of the first gems that Dagger will get. It allows her to summon Shiva. Actually, since Vivi should know Blizzara by Disc 3, Opal is much better used for getting a big stock of and using for healing. Name: Peridot Buy: 100, Ore, Soft Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Ramuh, Thundara Comments: The very first gem that Dagger will pick up. It will enable her to summon Ramuh, but that's weak. Vivi should also know Thundara by then, so save these up for healing. Name: Ribbon Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: Strength + 1, Defense + 1, Magic + 3, Magic Defense + 1, Spirit + 1, Evade + 5, Magic Evade + 5 Abilities: Madeen, Ability Up, Guardian Mog Comments: This is one of the best accessories in the whole game. It evenly gives all of your stats a boost, it makes you absorb Water and Wind, it reduces Fire, Ice, Thunder, and Holy damage by 1/2, and it even has good abilities. Eiko will have it on for a while. Name: Ruby Buy: N/A Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Carbuncle, Reflect Comments: Ruby lets you summon Carbuncle with Eiko, her third summon. Reflect is also one of her first abilities, so Ruby is overall good. Too bad you can only get it once. Name: Sapphire Buy: 200, Ore, Antidote Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Fenrir, High Tide Comments: This is a gem that Eiko will automatically start out with. It allows her to summon Fenrir, and it has High Tide just in case you want it. Name: Topaz Buy: 100, Ore, Eye Drops Sell: 1 Stats: N/A Abilities: Ifrit, Fira Comments: One of the first gems that Dagger will get. It allows her to summon Ifrit. Actually, since Vivi should know Fira by Disc 3, Topaz is much better used to curing. Since they're easy to get, they should be your best healing source! ======================================================================== -<---------------------------------------------------------------------> CHAPTER TEN: Bosses/Enemies ======================================================================== -<---------------------------------------------------------------------> There are a lot of bosses in Final Fantasy IX, and you are going to need help beating some of them. Here is a list of all the bosses in the game, and a good strategy on beating each and every single one of these buggers. The same applies for the enemies... ********* 1. Bosses ********* ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Masked Man HP: 160 Steal: Wrist, Mage Masher Party: Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, Blank Difficulty: Easy As you've probably already guessed, the masked man is the easiest boss in the game. He can hit on Cinna pretty hard but that's basically all he's got to strut. You'll probably want to have Marcus and Blank attack a little to wear him down a bit, then have Cinna and Zidane steal. He can hardly touch anyone but Cinna. Once you've stolen a good weapon for Zidane called the Mage Masher, all you have to do is hit him a little more and the mask will fall right off his head. That will automatically win the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: King Leo HP: 188 Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Cinna, Marcus, Blank Difficulty: Easy As the battle starts, you'll notice that for everyone, Steal is replaced with SFX. You might just want to use these awesome looking spells and find they do 0 damage. Well, to tell you the truth, SFX (Stage magic) is extremely useless and does absolutely no damage. The three will use this stuff but none of it is any good. Still, that doesn't matter. King Leo can take out Cinna in one hit but does about 10 damage to the others. You do not need to defeat Zenero and Benero to end this battle; all you have to do is waste King Leo to his death. You can probably do that in five attacks at most. Simply do that and the battle will be over. You can't steal in this fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Steiner HP: 169 Steal: Leather Hat, Silk Shirt Party: Zidane, Cinna, Blank Difficulty: Easy Steiner is one of the easiest bosses in the entire game. All he can do is attack and his attacks are very weak. You'll want to steal in this fight as well. Steiner's Silk Shirt is well worth stealing and the Leather Hat can be sold for a little bit of money. Now on for Steiner. Unless he hits Cinna, you shouldn't have one worry in this fight. He might be able to knock Cinna out but don't worry about him since he's not permanent. Just hit him a bit more and then he'll use Armor Break on Blank. He will then be distracted and the fight is over. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Steiner II HP: 162 Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Marcus Difficulty: Easy Aw, this fight is even easier than the last fight with Steiner was! I admit that he's got Haagen and Weimar with him, but you can defeat them in one hit apiece. In this fight, Steal has been replaced with SFX again. The magic is still useless though. Steiner will not hit Garnet (he occasionally hits her very gently for light damage), so actually you don't even need to win this fight. He will just finish everyone off and let Garnet live, and that's the end, although the game will continue. Have Vivi use Fire on Steiner to reduce his HP a large bit while Marcus and Zidane attack, and Steiner will be defeated for the second time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Steiner III HP: N/A Steal: N/A Party: Zidane, Garnet, Vivi, Marcus Difficulty: Easy This fight is a bit weirder than the last fight, but it's the easiest of all three of them. This time, you will see a bomb right behind old Steiner's head. Everyone will warn him about it but because he's so stupid, he won't notice it. Also, you might notice in this fight Steiner has no HP. You can do whatever you want with the game; you can get a GameShark and have Garnet summon something for about 2000-3000 damage or you can have Vivi cast Fire for 60-70 damage while having Zidane and Marcus slash away with their strong attack, but Steiner will NOT be defeated. Period. The bomb will swell three times and then blow behind him, so don't worry about anything after that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Prison Cage HP: 513 Steal: Broadsword, Leather Wrist Party: Zidane (3), Steiner (1) Difficulty: Semi-Easy Prison Cage is a rather complex boss but it isn't very difficult. It only has the Left and Right Stem attacks that do some small damage to Zidane or Steiner, but what makes it slightly harder is that it holds Garnet captive. It uses Absorb sometimes and drains HP from Garnet, and when she loses all her HP she dies. (Sort of similar to Rinoa and Adel from Final Fantasy VIII.) After Prison Cage has absorbed HP from Garnet twice, you'll want to heal her immediately. Don't bother trying to steal because you cannot yet. After that, just go ahead and hit the Prison Cage to its death with Steiner's attacks and Zidane's Free Energy. It's not hard. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Prison Cage II HP: 533 Steal: Broadsword, Leather Wrist Party: Zidane (3) Steiner (1) Difficulty: Easy The Prison Cage isn't finished yet, but it's just as easy this time around. Vivi is trapped inside the Prison Cage this time and he's always casting Fire on it. He does about 70-80 damage each he hits it so it won't take long to burn it up. Steiner and Zidane are also always attacking for a good 60 damage or so, but we also must worry a little on Vivi. He's still trapped within the Prison Cage and it will Absorb HP from him just like it did Garnet. We can't let Vivi die. Still, this fight is very simple. Go ahead and steal the two items (you might want to equip the Leather Wrist on Vivi later and sell the extra Broadsword), and then just wear the Prison Cage down with a few attacks at it'll die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Baku HP: 202 Steal: Hi-Potion, Iron Sword Party: Zidane (3) Difficulty: Easy Baku, being the leader of Tantalus, is actually a real wimp. His attacks only do about 30 damage or so and he trips over his own feet a lot. Add to that you can take him out in three hits or so. First of all, we'll want Zidane to steal a new sword for Steiner and the Hi-Potion, because both of them are worth it. Baku, although he is really weak, is pretty fast. His weak blows will soon start getting high, so don't let Zidane get KO'd. Heal with a Potion when HP drops, and then steal and attack Baku. It'll basically alternate between the two as they've got the same speed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Plant Brain HP: 930 Steal: Eye Drops, Iron Helm Party: Zidane (4), Steiner (3), Vivi (3), Blank (3) Difficulty: Medium The Plant Brain is not very difficult, but it's the toughest boss this far. It's 930 HP will probably discourage you and you'll want to steal the Iron Helm from it which will really slow you down. The Plant Brain can cast Thunder on the entire party and it's got some DARN good physical attacks. Thunder can be quite painful and Plant Brain is rather speedy as well. It can also use Pollen very freely and this is going to be extremely annoying. However, the Plant Brain is vulnerable to Fire. Steiner's Fire Sword with Vivi will do nearly 400 damage and Vivi's Fire will do about 150, so it won't take long to wear down the Plant Brain. Have them do that a bit while Zidane attempts to steal the Iron Helm from it. If Plant Brain gets Blind on everyone, use an Eye Drops or two if you're going to attack physically. After you've done some reasonable damage, Blank will show up. He's ready to fight and he can steal. Have BOTH Blank and Zidane steal until they get the Iron Helm. You won't regret it. After you've got it, you may want to heal a little because the Plant Brain will have probably worn you down a little by now. But once you've done so, just have Steiner use Fire Sword, Vivi use Fire, and Zidane and Blank attack. They do a good 100 damage or so a blow, so Plant Brain will be little more than sacrificial lamb. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Black Waltz #1 & Sealion HP: 229 (Black Waltz #1), 472 (Sealion) Steal: Silk Shirt, Remedy (Black Waltz #1), Ether, Mythril Dagger (Sealion) Party: Zidane (7) Difficulty: Semi-Easy These two as a pair are rather nasty, but they're not really that bad. Black Waltz #1 uses Fire and Blizzard for about 30 damage each, and the Sealion uses Wing (about 40 damage), and Blizzard (50 damage). When the battle gets further, the Sealion uses Blizzara (80-90 damage), and Tsunami (70-80 damage). Therefore, you could end up dead meat to it because it and Zidane alternate, making it very fast. Plus, you might see it has an Ether and Mythril Dagger to go with it. Sometimes it will take an eternity to be able to steal the Mythril Dagger. If you attack the Sealion, Black Waltz #1 will cast Blizzard on it, healing it. We don't want to go down that road. The Black Waltz #1 really doesn't have anything nice to steal, so you probably don't need to go around stealing from it. Just hit it some for about 90 damage and it will be falling real soon. Undoubtedly in this battle, Zidane will go into Trance mode. Once he reaches Trance mode, you are free to use Free Energy or Tidal Flame. However, you may not want to do to use Tidal Flame unless you have a good amount of HP remaining. With Tidal Flame, Black Waltz #1 will die but Sealion will probably be left. But at the point, it'll be using Tsunami and then Blizzara. If you've been neglecting healing, you could be breaking your TV because Tsunami could wipe you out. With Free Energy, you could try a little trick. You could use it on Sealion for about 350 damage. Black Waltz #1 would cast Blizzard on it for about 160 HP back. That would be about 190 HP lost. That's not enough HP to make it use anything too nasty. You could then use another Free Energy and Sealion would be dead before Black Waltz #1 could heal it. With Sealion out of the way, Black Waltz #1 would be no problem at all. So do whatever you want to do in this battle, but if you're at around 300 HP and are fully healed, use the Tidal Flame strategy and don't worry about the Sealion wiping you out. Still, be sure to heal once your HP drops to 100 or so, just to be safe. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Black Waltz #2 HP: 1,030 Steal: Steepled Hat, Leather Plate Party: Zidane (7), Vivi (7), Dagger (6), Steiner (6) Difficulty: Medium The second Black Waltz is bigger and better than the first one was, and it has some nasty attacks. In this fight, Vivi cannot cast magic. Well, he can, but at a price. The Black Waltz will counter with that same spell on the whole party, and the damage is very deadly. The Black Waltz uses Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder, plus when you've taken about half of its HP off, it'll be Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara. Thankfully, Dagger is with us to use a Cure spell on the whole party. The problem though, is that the Black Waltz #2 is after Dagger, so he won't touch her. If Zidane, Vivi, and Steiner are knocked out, the Black Waltz will wait a few turns and ask Dagger what she's going to do, then he casts Hypnotize on her to put her to sleep, and that's the end of that. Besides doing that, the Black Waltz #2 can use a physical attack called Teleport and rarely (very rarely), it will use Osmose to drain someone's MP. It obviously has more attacks than any boss you've fought thus far. The Black Waltz has some pretty good things to steal, so make sure you have Zidane do that. It isn't too hard to steal from. Vivi should definitely refrain from using magic and should perhaps use a Potion or two if the need arises. Dagger should be on standby at all times to use Cure on the party. Steiner has two things that you might want him to do: If he's really low on HP, have him use Minus Strike. He should have over 300 HP by now and if he reaches 10 or so Minus Strike will do about 300 damage! With Vivi around, he should also use an elemental sword. That will do about 300 damage alone, so the Black Waltz's rather low HP should fall to nothing before a really long amount of time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Black Waltz #3 HP: 1,128 Steal: Steepled Hat, Linen Cuirass, Silver Gloves Party: Zidane (7), Vivi (7), Steiner (6) Difficulty: Easy ANOTHER Black Waltz? Yes, this is the final Black Waltz and it is the most evil and powerful. But that doesn't exactly mean it's hard. It's actually the easiest of all the Black Waltzes, but its attacks are very powerful and without a healer it'll be tough going through all the Black Waltz's attacks. It basically has the Hit attack which does about 60 damage (more to Vivi), and it has Fire and Blizzard. They each do about 80 damage. Also, when it gets low on HP, it'll start floating, and then it will use Thundara on the party. This will do about 100+ damage to it. On its next turn, it uses Thundara for the second time and damages for the same amount, then gets down. But I have one thing to say that I haven't already said: since the Black Waltz killed all those black mages and Vivi couldn't take it any longer and went after him, and because Trance is a surge of emotion, Vivi's in Trance during this fight. This means he can use a spell (about 120 damage) twice in a row. Steiner also has his sword magic skills, so the HP will drift away from Black Waltz #3 before he manages to do something really bad. Also, you might notice that it has a good mage's hat, a Linen Cuirass, and some great gloves for Steiner to use, so you might want to waste a little bit of time stealing from it if you want these items. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Gizamaluke HP: 3,175 Steal: Elixir, Magus Hat, Ice Staff Party: Zidane (10), Vivi (10), Freya (10), Quina (10) Difficulty: Semi-Hard Gizamaluke is difficult and is probably the hardest boss thus far, despite the fact he's got only three attacks. I sincerely hope you're equipped with The Ogre or Gizamaluke will prove even more dangerous than he already is. If you have The Ogre, you can use Soul Blade and this will Blind Gizamaluke, and he can't use his physical attack Crash. Speaking of his attacks, let's go over them. He can use Crash as his physical attack which does a little below 100 damage to one character, he can use Water which hits one character at first (about 80 damage and one character at FIRST.) When Gizamaluke gets low on HP, he will start using Water on the party and the spell will do a little more damage too! GIVE ME A BREAK! Also, when you use a magical attack on Gizamaluke, he'll counter with Silent Voice. Thankfully, you can erase Crash from there because he'll almost never hit you if he's blinded. There is a quick and easy way to win this fight in little time at all. You can simply use Limit Glove if Quina has it and if he's got 1 HP (you can use a Phoenix Down and hope he'll be at that much), Limit Glove will do 9999 damage. If you are too lazy to hope for this, then the fight is a little tougher. Of course, Gizamaluke has GREAT stuff, and this is practically what makes the fight so hard! The Ice Staff is extremely important if you want some good power on Vivi (Blizzara, whee!), and the Elixir is always worth it. Steal if you want, I hope you've got Bandit on. Once you've got that, the fight really isn't that hard. Vivi and Quina (if you aren't using Limit Glove), are both useless here because Gizamaluke will counter with Silent Voice and it's not worth it to use up a bunch of Echo Screens. Have both of them serve as healers, especially once Gizamaluke's lost most of his HP. Zidane should simply attack (or better yet go into a Trance mode and use your strongest Dyne. With Freya jumping all the time and Zidane using his best stuff, there is no possible way that you can lose. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Beatrix HP: 3,630 Steal: Phoenix Down, Chain Plate, Mythril Sword Party: Zidane (12), Vivi (12), Freya (12), Quina (11) Difficulty: Medium Beatrix is a lot easier than most people seem to think that she is, but still she cannot be defeated. She has four attacks: her regular sword attack (about 150 damage), Thunder Slash (misses a lot, is thunder-elemental, and does about the same amount of damage as her regular physical attack), Stock Break (she only uses this at the end of the battle and it takes everyone's HP to 1, and Shock, her ultimate attack. This attack does 800 damage and unless you're at a rather high level and she's targetting Zidane, this attack will wipe the party member out and if it doesn't the party member will be severely weakened. First of all, you really want to steal from Beatrix. A Phoenix Down never hurt anyone, the Chain Plate is rather useful and the Mythril Sword will be a little useful for Steiner later on in the game. Freya has Reis's Wind so you'll want to use that and Vivi can heal. Beatrix has a high magic defense so magic won't be all that wonderful. Quina has some Blue Magic to use, so I personally wouldn't mind having him do something. After you are done stealing, Zidane should slice away at Beatrix. You don't have to reduce her HP to 0 and nor will she be defeated once this happens, but when she is ready she'll cast Stock Break and heavily wound the party, and that will be the end of that. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Black Waltz #3 II HP: 1,292 Steal: Steepled Hat, Lightning Staff, Flame Staff Party: Dagger (7), Steiner (7), Marcus (7) Difficulty: Easy So, we have to fight it again, do we? Well this time it's pathetically easy, and it was already easy enough the last time we fought it. And believe it or not, you CANNOT lose in this fight! Like the other times, it's only after Dagger so he can take her away, but he's so weak he can't do that. If he kills Steiner and Marcus, he will pull his back ("Crack!"), and lose about 250 HP until he dies while muttering that he wants the Princess. On to the Black Waltz himself. He has five attacks: Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder which do about 70 damage each, Hit which it about 50 damage, and Freeze. If he does this on someone and uses Hit, then that character is a goner. Fortunately though, it'd be really nice if he uses Fire right after Freeze! I'm sure you know what'll happen then. Dagger is the healer here. She has Protect, Shell, and Cure. Three spells that will be extremely useful in this fight. Marcus can hesitate from stealing here because he very rarely manages a steal, and the three items can be bought anyway. So he and Steiner should just attack and Dagger can heal if the need arises. This battle cannot be lost even if you want to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Ralvurahva HP: 2296 Steal: Bone Wrist, Mythril Fork Party: Dagger, Steiner, Marcus Difficulty: Semi-Medium This battle isn't very hard, but Ralvurahva's got some tricks up its sleeves. It uses Mini sometimes, and when you're under this your attacks will be totally pathetic. It's very bad if it happens on Steiner or Marcus, because both of them are this fight's primary attackers. Also, it'll make Dagger's magic ability worthless as well. Overall, try to avoid this getting on your party. He's also got Blizzara, which will roughly do about 100 damage on a character. He can also use an attack called String, which will slow your character down. It also has a physical attack called Devil's Kiss, and when it uses this you can also expect poison status. Also, he sometimes (but VERY rarely), uses Night, I believe. This will not inflict Ralvurahva though, so this can be a bit bad. With Marcus, don't bother stealing unless you feel lucky. Stealing from this demon is not easy but I suppose that the Mythril Fork can be worth it. Steiner should just whoop up on Ralvurahva's fat ass, but if his HP wears low have him use Minus Strike. With Dagger healing, you simply cannot lose this easy battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Antlion HP: 3938 Steal: Annoyntment, Mythril Vest, Gold Helm Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Quina Difficulty: Medium The Antlion isn't too hard, but if you're asleep in this fight it will simply ambush your party, which is why I place this boss on the Medium level. He's got some really bad attacks like Sandstorm, Counter Horn, and Fira. Sandstorm reduces everyone's HP to the critical stage, Counter Horn is a counterattack that does around 200 damage, and Fira does similar damage. First of all, you probably don't need to steal in this fight because you can buy Annoyntments, you already have a Mythril Vest, and the Gold Helm isn't very important. So don't bother wasting your time, because you never know that the Antlion will just use Sandstorm and quickly kill everyone. Now for what the characters should do in this fight: have Zidane just attack and if you REALLY want that stuff that the Antlion has, you can steal from it. Vivi should be casting Blizzara as much as he can. If you don't have it or aren't learning it, turn your game off right now. Every time he uses it he does about 1200 damage so you can kill Antlion in just a few hits with it. What Freya should do is cast Reis's Wind because you'll need the extra HP back when Antlion brings everyone down with Sandstorm. Reis's Wind is Regen, and Regen restores 1/16 of everyone's HP each time it is used. Not bad at all! Once she uses that, just have her Jump. With a few Jumps and Blizzaras, it won't take long to kill Antlion. As for Quina... just have him heal with your new White Wind. This will almost completely heal everyone. Although if Sandstorm is used, Reis's Wind has not been cast, and Quina ends up with 1 HP, don't hesitate to use Limit Glove and do 9999 damage for one second! Best of luck. =) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Beatrix II HP: 4,736 Steal: Phoenix Down, Thunder Gloves, Ice Brand Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Quina Difficulty: Medium Beatrix is a little bit harder than she was the first time we fought her, but it'll still not a noticeable difference. She still has the same ultra powerful attacks that she had in the first battle. Her physical attack and Thunder Slash are just the same as we probably remember them, but Shock is a little stronger. This time, there's a little less chance that we're going to survive through it then there was the first time we battled Beatrix. Anyway, she's still not too hard, but this time she's got better things to steal. The Ice Brand is a very powerful sword for Steiner that will prove useful a little later, but the only problem is that it's extremely hard to steal. The Thunder Gloves could also prove useful. If you give up on stealing or don't want to, just have Zidane attack or defend. Vivi should be casting whichever "ra" spell he currently has, if any. Freya, as usual, should be jumping like crazy. If anyone runs low on HP, she can also use Reis's Wind or Lancer. Quina might want to use White Wind which you should definitely have by now, or you can have him use Magic Hammer just for fun. Just like before, you don't have to take 4736 HP away from Beatrix but just hang around alive for a little bit and wait for her to grow tired of you and use Stock Break to drop you all to 1 HP, which is totally unavoidable. WHERE'S OUR CHANCE, YOU SQUARESOFT BASTARDS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Boss: Zorn HP: 4896 Steal: Partisan, Stardust Rod Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Easy Boss: Thorn HP: 2984 Steal: Mythril Armor, Mythril Armlet Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Easy Now we finally have the chance to fight them. Ah, that's good. =) Fortunately, both of them are extremely easy. First of all, neither Zorn nor Thorn have regular attacks. They pass each other power, then a turn later they dish out this strong power. If you attack one of them, the power is neutralized. Zorn will give Thorn a power called Light Flare, which does Fire damage to a character. This does above average damage and if you haven't been leveling Vivi he might not survive through it, although if you have some sense to level him he will. Thorn will give Zorn a power called Meteorite. This attack hits a character and then does a little less damage to the other three characters. This is definitely much worse, but this battle is like Palom and Porom from Final Fantasy IV: one gone and they're helpless. Fortunately here, we only have to take out one of the two to get them out of here. I recommend taking Thorn out because he has much less HP. Have three characters attack him while one attacks Zorn so he doesn't end up using Meteorite. For the character duties now: Zidane does not need to Steal here. Neither have anything good to steal. Partisan's useless, Stardust Rod we don't need, Mythril Armor and Mythril Armlet we have. So don't bother, just have him attack Zorn. Vivi should be using his strongest spell (mine was Bio because I played Chocobo Hot & Cold a lot before now), but if you don't have Bio use a 'ra spell. Freya should stick with attacking Zorn because she's the weakest of everyone and we don't want Zorn using Meteorite. Steiner should use Bio Sword every turn unless you run low on MP, whereas Zidane can toss an Ether. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Beatrix III HP: 5709 Steal: Phoenix Down, Ice Brand, Survival Vest Party: Zidane, Vivi, Freya, Steiner Difficulty: Semi-Medium The first thing that you might notice is that both of the previous fights with Beatrix were given a Medium, while the third fight with her is given only a Semi-Medium. Well, Beatrix is still evil and has the same powerful attacks that will give you nightmares. Still, she is a bit different. Thunder Slash and physical attacks are a little stronger, but not by much. Beatrix occasionally uses Cura to heal herself, but this is pretty pointless. Shock exists, but it's not really the killer move that it was in the second fight. Also, instead of Stock Break to finish this battle, she uses Climhazzard instead. It's the same powerful move, just a different animation and name. Now for the character duties as always. Zidane shouldn't bother stealing unless you need an extra Ice Brand to sell for Gil since they really do fetch a good price, but don't bother with Survival Vest. Vivi should use Bio if he has it (Blizzara was my spell to use in games I don't have Bio), Freya should Jump all the time or cast Reis's Wind or Lancer if you want, and Steiner should use a sword attack. This will work very well against her, so it won't take long before she finishes the battle off with a Climhazzard. We still can't defeat her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Ralvuimago HP: 3352 Steal: Phoenix Down, Oak Staff, Adaman Vest Difficulty: Semi-Medium Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger Yes, remember Ralvurahva? This is it, but just like a Pokemon it has evolved into a stronger form and changed color from purple to green. Well, enough about that, on to the fight. Ralvuimago has the following attacks: Stab, which is his physical attack. This doesn't do much damage and is nothing to worry about; Ultra Sound Wave, an attack that does no damage but causes Mini on a character; Thundara (while he used Blizzara the first time we fought him; and his combo: Becoming Compact and Power of the Land. If you physically attack Ralvuimago, it will coil up and use Becoming Compact and his defense will grow by a huge amount. Now, DO NOT attack Ralvu now, or he will counter with Power of the Land. This is a very powerful attack that hits everyone (including him). It's also an Earth elemental attack, and Ralvu absorbs Earth, so his HP will jump up by about 300. Therefore, I don't recommend physically attacking Ralvuimago very much. First of all, you probably don't need to steal from Ralvu. You don't need the Oak Staff as you can already have one from Chocobo Hot & Cold (although few people will go through Gizamaluke's Grotto, then get the Reef Chocobo, return to Chocobo's Forest and then dig up a hard to find treasure which contains an Oak Staff). Well, if you didn't, remember that shortly after this fight you will go back to Lindblum and you can buy it, and you don't need a Phoenix Down or Adaman Vest. So don't bother; just attack if you want. Zidane's pretty useless in this fight. Vivi should be casting Blizzara or Bio if he has it every turn. He's the most useful character here. Dagger is as always the healer, so just have her cast Cura on the party if Ralvu uses Power of the Land, and have her cure Mini if Ralvu gets Mini on the party. Have Vivi do the real attacking, and this fight will be over in short time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Lani HP: 5708 Steal: Ether, Coral Sword, Gladius Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, Quina Difficulty: Medium Despite what some people think, I find Lani an average difficulty boss, and I put her skills above what most people seem to think of them. Still, what takes it from Easy to Semi-Medium (that's actually a big jump) is that Dagger is extremely weak against her physical attacks, and so is Vivi. Lani can take about 250-300 damage away by a single attack from the two of them if she wants to, and my Dagger only had about 500 HP, while Vivi had around 600. This means that both of them will fall pretty quickly. As for Quina... he's almost as weak, but for some reason Lani almost always misses when she attacks Quina, so that's not really something to worry about. Her attacks on Zidane aren't very troublesome. However, Lani's got more than physical attacks. She has the 'ra spells all around, but they're not really too bad. She has Aera though, and if this is on a low HP character like Dagger, you could find yourself with another KO'd character. And if this brown hag didn't already have enough attacks, she also has Water to cast on your whole party. This can do up to 300 damage. BLAST THAT. She sometimes uses Scan on a character to see their weakness so she can use that elemental spell on you as well, so all this combined makes her a medium boss. Early in the fight and through a good other deal of it as well, Lani only hits Dagger, although after she is knocked out she'll start hitting everyone. Now for the duties of the characters... Zidane should be stealing like crazy. The Ether is worth it as we all know, and the Coral Sword can be extremely valuable. You probably don't need a Gladius because Zidane should have Exploda by now, but if you don't just steal that. If you don't need it and/or you get all the other things that Lani has, or you just plain don't want them, just have Zidane attack. Vivi should be casting his strongest spell. It's either a 'ra spell or Bio. Dagger has to cure the party to have hope in this fight, and 50% of who she should heal is herself. Quina also has the great pair of Auto-Life and Limit Glove. It just goes with Quina casting Auto-Life on himself and then you just attack him then he's back with 1 HP, where he can use Limit Glove and do 9999 damage. Anyway, you shouldn't have too many more problems with this fight. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Hilgigars HP: 8106 Steal: Phoenix Down, Mythril Fork, Fairy Flute Party: Zidane, Dagger, Vivi, Eiko Difficulty: Easy Hilgigars is probably the easiest boss we have fought in quite a long time. He's got four attacks: Hiphop, where he jumps in the air and lands on a character for about 400 damage (which hits only one character and can easily be met by a Cura spell from Dagger or Eiko); Knock Down which is basically the same attack except it's actually a little weaker; Earthquake, which is his strongest attack and if you get Eiko to cast Float on the party, it won't matter at all; and Curaga, which really isn't an attack but Hilgigars will restore about 2000 HP upon using this, so we don't want that. Hilgigars is also a pretty slow boss, so he can't do too much stuff in a short amount of time. First of all, the stuff you can steal from Hilgigars... he's got a Phoenix Down which is not very hard to steal, Mythril Fork (there really isn't too much point in stealing this because you might already have the Silver Fork and you're not going to get Quina back until Disc 3), and the worst of all them - Fairy Flute. I mean, it's a powerful flute and very nice, but it is NOT WORTH STEALING! Know why? There's a 1/256 chance that you will succeed to get this flute. Really, I'm not exaggerating. So once again, don't bother stealing it. Instead, just attack Hilgigars or use one of Zidane's skills. Dagger should heal the party or use Ramuh if she gets the time. Have Vivi cast some of his strongest magic like Thundara every turn, because it'll take about 500 HP from Hilgigars. Eiko could also cure someone if Hilgigars uses a lot of stuff, or you can just have her use Fenrir or Phoenix. It won't be long before you defeat Hilgigars. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Soulcage HP: 9765 Steal: Brigandine, Magician Cloak, Oak Staff Party: Zidane, Vivi, Dagger, Eiko Difficulty: Easy Soulcage can be the easiest boss in the game or he can be the very most difficult boss you have fought thus far, or possibly in the entire game. Soulcage has some nasty tricks up its sleeve, and it's a complex boss, perhaps the most complex in the game. There are two real strategies that you can use for this fight. The first will make you feel a little better, but it's a little hard, and would increase the difficult to Semi-Hard up there. The second is VERY low, but it is guaranteed to make this a very easy fight and an automatic win. Anyway, here they are. Oh yeah, and before I begin, let me tell you that you don't have to steal much here, because everything here can be bought and are not expensive. One: To start this off, Soulcage has four attacks: LV5 Death, Fire Blades, Fira, and Shockwave. LV5 Death is exactly like Quina's version of the spell. Any character that is at a level that is a multiple of 5 will be instantly killed. Fira is the regular spell which does a little over 200 damage, and Shockwave does around 350 damage to the party. It's a very nasty attack, and probably his worst. But why haven't I mentioned Fire Blades? Well, you did know that trees like Soulcage are flammable, right? Fire does a lot of damage, but it is not by any means what you should use. Soulcage will start burning? Good? No. Soulcage will counter with Fire Blades (about 300 damage to the party) around twice, and Fira for good measure. You don't want this to happen, so don't have Vivi cast Fire or Fira, and don't have Eiko use Phoenix either. Have Zidane attack, because as I mentioned nothing cannot be bought and it's a waste of time anyway. Vivi should use Bio. Don't use Fire, I repeat. Dagger should be the party's healer, and Eiko might want to summon Fenrir or Carbuncle. Casting Bio on the whole party with Reflect on really does the job. Anyway, Soulcage will probably fall quickly, but don't use Fire or hesitate to cure, or you'll regret it. Two: Ah, you little cheater. I guess that you'll want to do this if you're under Zombie or something, or you forgot to cure after getting a thorough ass-kicking from a Dracozombie. Well, anyway: Soulcage is undead. Cast Dagger or Eiko's Life or use a Phoenix Down on Soulcage, and he might die. The "might" there just indicates that Phoenix Down occasionally misses. That's not much of a problem, but if you don't want to take any chance, it's an emergency or you need to run, just use an Elixir on Soulcage. Elixirs are more valuable, but it won't miss. It's an instant 9999 damage, and Soulcage will be dead in no time at all! But that's low. So it's up to you which method to use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss: Scarlet Hair HP: 8965 Steal: Ether, Poison Knuckles Party: Zidane Difficulty: Easy The Scarlet Haired man is a little bit of an oddball, but he's still very easy. The man is right ahead of Zidane at the beginning of the fight, but he moves quite a lot. When he moves, DON'T HIT HIM! The damage will be weakened and the man will just counterattack. And adding to the fact that it takes a long while for characters to take actions, it's a bad idea to attack him when he's in the center too, because you never know that he'll move, you hit, and he hits. Also, the man is pretty fast. After counterattacking, he'll probably just hit you again. Luckily though, Attack and Counter are his only attacks; he does not use any strange abilities, spells, or Flairs. But attacking yourself, you might ask? You should definitely attack when he says "Here I go!". When he says this, he's ready to attack, but it's your attacking period as well. To guarantee that you'll win, you should use Auto-Potion or have heavy armor on. If you're anywhere above Level 20 or so, go ahead and scratch Auto-Potion. With good armor, the Scarlet Hair should do about 70 damage or so when he attacks. This being the case, you will almost never have to use a Hi-Potion to cure up. Anyway, the Scarlet Hair has Poison Knuckles, which you will probably want for him when he joins the party. Not to mention an Ether never hurt anyone. If you steal them, do it when he's at a side, because I don't think he'll counter and even if he does it shouldn't be that dangerous. Zidane will probably do a lot of damage if he has good weaponry, so the Scarlet Hair shouldn't prove a very tough challenge. But if you don't have great armor or Zidane is very weak, make sure you have Hi-Potions and/or Auto-Potion. Either way, this fight is very easy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Ark HP: 20002 Steal: Elixir, Power Vest, Holy Lance Party: Zidane, Steiner, Amarant, Quina Difficulty: Medium I hear all this stuff about Ark destroying the party and being the toughest boss in the whole game and stuff like that, but I honestly think that is a whole lot of garbage. Ark still is quite a little bit tougher than a whole lot of bosses at the beginning of the game, but I personally think that Ark's difficulty is the most overrated in the game. He has four attacks that he's not afraid to throw at the party, however. His most deadly one is Photon, where he reduces a character's HP to 1. He also has an attack called Whirlwind which does about 300 damage to the party. This shouldn't be too dangerous if you are prepared well enough. Easily his most annoying one is Propeller Wind, where he spins the party around and confuses it. I hope you have protection against this bugger. This alone makes Ark a Medium difficulty boss. He also has Boomerang, which will do 500 or so damage to a single character. That's all Ark's got to strut. Now, you are definitely going to have Zidane going nuts in this fight. Ark has some of the best stealable items in the game. Forget the Elixir and Power Vest, just concentrate on the Holy Lance. This is extremely powerful and allows Freya to use Dragon's Crest. Unfortunately, it's immensely hard to steal. I hope you have Bandit and really high Spirit for Zidane, or you're going to be throwing your control at the TV. Steiner should be using his strongest Sword Arts, and Amarant should throw Rising Suns. You should have a few of them, and they're highly effective. Quina needs to heal the party in case Ark gets a little bit nasty on everyone. Anyway, this fight isn't very hard. Cure off when Ark uses Photon and make sure the party's got Confuse protection and all the necessary stuff, and you'll do just fine. Just remember to get the Holy Lance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Valia Pira HP: 12119 Steal: N/A Party: Eiko, Vivi, Dagger, Freya Difficulty: Easy Tch, Valia Pira is one of the easiest bosses we've fought thus far. It really depends if you deactivated the bloodstones though. If you didn't, expect a really tough battle, but if you were smart and didn't do that and then get all of the items, Valia Pira is a pushover. I'm not kidding. Honestly, it's got almost nothing to show for this strength. All of its attacks are elemental, so don't worry about a thing. It uses Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga. Wow, Level 3 magic. It really isn't as powerful as you'd think it'd be. Valia Pira also has a tendency of casting Reflect on itself if you start using lots of magic or the party is under Reflect, and then it'll start casting the spells on himself and then them being reflected on a character. Anyway, Valia Pira has a weakness to Water. A perfect opportunity to use Vivi's Water spell. If a character gets knocked out, have Eiko summon Phoenix, but if everyone's alive she can either heal, support, or use Reflect. Valia Pira will usually cast a spell on a character under Reflect and then only do damage to itself. Valia Pira usually casts Reflect on itself now. Anyway, that's not a problem. If you got the Holy Lance from Ark, have Freya use Dragon Crest. Dagger is a different story than the other three. She's a bit of trouble because a lot of the time she'll lose her concentration. I recommend having her either cure the party if needed, but otherwise summon Leviathan, because he'll do amazing damage. You should cast Haste on her so she can cast Leviathan more often or you have more chances of successful action. Anyway, Valia Pira has very little HP and should be destroyed in little time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Meltigemini HP: 24348 Steal: Vaccine, Golden Hairpin, Demon's Vest Party: Zidane, Amarant, Quina, Eiko Difficulty: Hard We get Eiko in this fight instead of Vivi, which is really a shame since Vivi is much better. Anyway, at least we get a good healer. However, we still get a tough boss. Meltigemini is one of the toughest bosses we have fought yet. The thing about him is that he likes to poison the party as much as possible. He uses Poison, Venom, and Virus on everyone. This is really bad. He has four attacks: the normal Bio spell, which can hit one character or everyone (500-600 damage) and will usually do Poison on everyone; Viral Smoke (he says "Now, you're all carrying a virus..." after he uses it), which will put Virus on the entire party so you won't get any AP after this fight; Venom Powder (about 500 damage to a character and Venom, this is VERY, VERY BAD); and he also uses Wings occasionally (this is his physical attack and it does about 400 damage to Zidane or Amarant, 600 damage to Quina or Eiko), so as you can see the damage values are really high for that, and since Eiko probably only has about 1000 HP and is very valuable to this fight for casting Cura or Madeen a lot, you'll want to protect her as best as possible. Start this fight off with casting Shell on the most important characters. If you think you can afford it, casting Mighty Guard with Quina will also help out quite a lot. Angel's Snack, White Wind, and offensive Blue Magic spells will do very well in this battle. With Zidane, you REALLY ought to steal from Meltigemini. The Vaccine could help out in a lot of cases, and the Golden Hairpin as well as the Demon's Vest are very good items to have at times. Have Amarant throw out his Rising Suns, and possible a Wing Edge. Try not to waste the Wing Edges though! Two at the _very_ most, and that's in emergencies. Make sure Eiko is very well defended. Casting Cura is absolutely mandatory, and it's also fun to have her cast Madeen, even though it won't do as much damage to Meltigemini as it did to Zorn and Thorn. Finally, Meltigemini has a huge weakness to Mini, although it hits very rarely. If you can manage to get him under that, this fight will be much easier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Taharka HP: 29186 Steal: Elixir, Mythril Claws, Orihalcon Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Eiko Difficulty: Semi-Easy Yet another easy boss... anyway, Taharka isn't very difficult at all. He fancies using Blizzaga on the party, so it would be nice if you had some ice-proof equipment. Still, it's not necessary. Taharka only has three other attacks: Curl, in which he curls up in a a ball and attacks against him become worthless; Chop, in which he'll use to follow that (this is a powerful attack), and Ram. Ram is a weak attack, so don't worry too much about that. Anyway, you'll probably want to steal from Taharka to start this battle off. Taharka has some darn good stuff for you to steal, specifically the Orihalcon, which is one of Zidane's best weapons. The Elixir is always worthwhile too... anyway, if you aren't going to steal and don't have a good Thievery, Zidane is close to useless in this fight. Why? Because Taharka's defense is extreme. You can do next to no damage to him with regular physical attacks. This is why Vivi and Eiko are here. Vivi should cast Firaga every turn. This will do around 3000 damage, so that's always good. Steiner has Firaga Sword and other various nasty things (like Minus Strike), so this will weigh Taharka's HP down real quick. As for Eiko... she has Madeen to use. If you have Boost ready, then this will be a very powerful attack. Overall, you should beat Taharka in a very short amount of time, amigo. =) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Earth Guardian HP: 20756 Steal: Rubber Suit, Avenger Party: Zidane, Quina Difficulty: Medium Remember earlier when I told you to make sure Quina is well leveled up? Take a big note of that, because this fight ain't gonna be easy if you aren't! Earth Guardian is the guardian of the Earth Shrine, and he really knows his stuff. First of all, he uses Earth Shake a hell lot of the time. This should do about 600 damage to both Zidane and Quina. Earth Guardian also fancies using Firaga, which will result in heavy damage. Earth Guardian also likes to use Blizzaga and Thundaga, but those aren't as powerful as Firaga. Earth Guardian has a physical attack too, but if it's on Zidane it's pathetic, and it's not too bad on Quina. Alright here, make sure you're ready. Auto-Float will help out A LOT in this fight, because then Earth Guardian's strongest attack will miss! Have Zidane steal the Rubber Suit because it is extremely useful (the Avenger could be worth it too), and then have the two whack the hell out of Earth Guardian. Another thing: Earth Guardian can be eaten. So if you wear him down to 1/8 of his HP (or 1/4 if he's in his Trance), you can Eat him and if you don't have it already, you'll learn Earth Shake. If Zidane gets a 7 in his HP or has stolen a lot, let him use Lucky Seven or Thievery. Quina should use his very best Blue Magic. White Wind and Mighty Guard will be very nice for this fight, and if you get Zidane into a Trance, have Zidane use Solution 9. It should be strong enough by now to do a huge amount of damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Amdusias HP: 10926 Steal: Tent, Ether Party: Zidane, Freya, Amarant Difficulty: Semi-Easy Try not to get distracted in this fight by the psycho awesome music. I know this fight is easy, but if you're not paying attention, Amdusias will simply destroy you. He basically only physically attacks, and each attack does 800 damage or so. In the beginning, only Zidane will be present. This means that the fight could get a little tough. Have him beat the hell out of Amdusias a little, and then Freya shows up. Around now, Amdusias will start flying. This is a signal of danger. Make sure you're at full HP, because now Amdusias has stronger attacks. This also means he could do a critical blow at times, so be quite careful that this doesn't happen. Freya should jump as often as possible. Soon, Amarant appears. Now you shouldn't worry too much at all about Amdusias. Don't bother stealing from him because all he's got is a Tent and an Ether. You should have plenty of both of them by now. Amarant should use No Mercy or a Rising Sun. Soon, Amdusias will be dead. Also, try to keep at high HP at the end of this fight, because if you don't you could see Abadon or Shell Dragon tear you to an end. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Name: Abadon HP: 12658 Steal: Garnet, Vaccine, Phoenix Pinion, Phoenix Pinion Party: Steiner, Quina, Zidane Difficulty: Medium The fight with Abadon starts out with only Steiner and Quina fighting Abadon. Abadon is a little harder than Amdusias, but not much. If Steiner has Shock, that'll help out A LOT here, as it does 5000-6000 damage a hit. Quina on the other hand is a different story. Abadon is a very quick attacker, and Quina can end up KO'd in short time. Since Steiner is the slowest character in the game and could be busy, there's a possibility Abadon could wipe you out. His attacks aren't really that bad. His physical attack is weak, but he's got some powerful attack that looks like wind but really isn't. This could be dangerous. Keep alive for a while by having Quina use White Wind and Steiner using stuff like Minus Strike and Shock, and soon Zidane will appear. Now you can have him steal from Abadon, or when you're done, just have everyone hit him over and over again. However, try to keep Quina and Zidane alive, because if Quina is down then you could be flattened, and Zidane enters the next fight alone, and could be defeated in no time at all. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Shell Dragon HP: 12661 Steal: Hi-Potion, Vaccine, Tent and Phoenix Pinion Party: Zidane, Dagger Difficulty: Semi-Hard Shell Dragon is easily the toughest of the three. Zidane will start off in this fight alone. Shell Dragon has four attacks: a physical attack called Charge which attacks everyone for 600 damage or so, Earth Shake, which is the typical strong earth damage, Smash, which will reduce the character's HP down to 1, and Snort, which he almost NEVER uses, so don't worry about this. It will eject a character from battle though, but you shouldn't worry. The fight begins with only Zidane. You may want to pick up the Vaccine and the Phoenix Pinion. After that, just have Zidane pummel on Shell Dragon. After doing a little damage, Shell Dragon will use Smash on Zidane, and his HP will be brought to 1. Then all of a sudden the Curaga spell was cast on him and Dagger appears. I don't know for the life of me how the hell she got Curaga because she uses it even if you don't have it, so just be thankful that she was here to stop Zidane from going to monkey heaven before he could stop Kuja. =P Anyway, be careful now because Shell Dragon hits both Zidane and Dagger a lot of the time, and he's pretty fast. Have Dagger use either Shiva or Bahamut (Shiva because Shell Dragon is very weak against Ice). Soon, this big bastard is gone, and we finally get to save. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Silver Dragon HP: 24055 Steal: Elixir, Dragon Mail and Kaiser Knuckles Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Medium Silver Dragon can be a little difficult because he hits your party very hard. Being a flying dragon, he mostly deals with Wind attacks, so it would help to get Wind-defensive equipment on here. Anyway, Silver Dragon has four attacks: Claw, which will do 750-800 damage on a character; a very powerful magic attack called Shockwave that a lot of dragons are obsessed with doing (this is also Silver Dragon's strongest attack); Aerial Slash, which does high wind elemental damage to everyone, and Twister. Twister does completely random damage. Sometimes it'll be a 50-200 damage attack, or sometimes it's in the four digit range. Again, that's a wind elemental attack so if you have wind armor, it'd help a lot. Silver Dragon is also very fast, so you shouldn't mind admitting that this is going to be a bit of a tricky little fight. The best part of it is that Silver Dragon has very low HP. With the proper training and abilities, you can probably knock him out in 4-5 hits. Anyway, I definitely recommend stealing to start this off. The Dragon Mail is quite awesome, and Kaiser Knuckles is one of Amarant's finest weapons. Not to mention an Elixir couldn't hurt. Once you've given up or finished stealing, have Zidane use Lucky Seven, Thievery, or physical attacks. I also don't mind saying Silver Dragon will take everyone to a Trance very quickly with his quick attacks, which means Zidane should use Scoop Art/Stellar Circle 5/Meo Twister/Grand Lethal or whatever. Using Double Flare or Double Bio with Vivi is great, and it doesn't hurt to put Silver Dragon to sleep. (Or put him under Slow, Blind, or Silence). Silver Dragon can be affected by THAT much. Steiner should use Shock or his strongest attack, and Dagger should be healing. Silver Dragon should die in a short amount of time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Garland HP: 40728 Steal: Battle Boots, Ninja Gear, Dark Gear Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Medium The second most overrated in difficulty boss. I've read all this crap about Garland being so strong, but I think that's nonsense. Garland's actually a pretty easy boss if you know how to beat him. First of all, he can be affected with none other than Silence. Dagger has that spell so it could be quite useful. Blind and Slow also work on him, although the former is useless because Garland never uses a physical attack (besides Psychokinesis). Psychokinesis turns a character upside down and smashes him/her down for 400-500 damage. By now that should be pathetic. Garland can summon a white ball of energy to do 900 damage or something like that to a character. The two worst things that he has to offer for you are Flare and Stop. Flare is very lethal, so I recommend having Dagger cast Reflect, Shell, Curaga, or Silence to lessen the danger. Stop is worse. Much worse. Especially if it's on Dagger. Once again, Reflect is your best friend, and I recommend using it. With only Psychokinesis or his white ball of energy, Garland will have a tough time wearing the party down. Now for the duties. Zidane needs to attack a lot, Vivi should cast Flare and Steiner should cast either Flare Sword or Shock (if he has it). Soon Garland should be defeated. Oh, and try to keep at a high HP after this fight because if not Kuja could be a nuisance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: Kuja HP: 42382 Steal: Ether, Carabini Mail, Light Robe Party: Zidane, Vivi, Steiner, Dagger Difficulty: Semi-Easy Kuja! _Finally_, we get to fight him. This fight is extremely disappointing though, because Kuja really isn't tough at all. The only problem is that Silver Dragon and Garland could have worn you down a lot. Kuja only has three attacks: Demi, which of course cannot kill a character, but on high HP characters like Steiner, you could be in trouble. Not to mention it almost never misses. Kuja also has a big habit of casting Thundaga. Each Thundaga should do 800 damage. I think by now you can easily tough out that much, and especially if Dagger uses Cura/Curaga often enough. Kuja's worst attack is Flare Star, which he will only use if you go crazy on