Final Fantasy IV faq by Zeromus_X

[Zeromus_X]

*EDIT* Added in the Disclaimer, Foreward, and the Table of Contents.
*EDIT* Edited out Gamefaqs information, as it never got accepted.

Final Fantasy IV Walkthrough
by
‘Zeromus_X’ (Neo_Zeromus_X)

-------------
Disclaimer
-------------

This Walkthrough (soon to be Walkthrough/Faq) is copyright 2006 Zeromus_X If you really must absolutely have to use this on your site or whatever, just ask and there’s a good chance I’ll say yes. Just don’t be an ass and yoink it for your own personal use without asking me. For now, I’m only letting FFNet (http://www.ffnet.net/forum) use it. I’ve only completed the Walkthrough section for now (y’know, the most important part really), but I plan to add other things (lists, bestiary, etc.) later on. But for now, enjoy the bare walkthrough/story summary.

If you have any questions, comments, and most importantly feedback or corrections, contact me at [email protected] for e-mail. Contact me at [email protected] for my MSN address. Take note that isn’t my real e-mail address, just the address for my MSN account. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback, so don’t hesitate to leave any.

------------
Foreword
------------

This walkthrough is for the Playstation version of Final Fantasy IV, packaged with Chrono Trigger in a collection titled ‘Final Fantasy Chronicles’. Final Fantasy Chronicles isn’t common now, but nor is it extremely rare. I’m sure you can find one if you look around used game stores and check online, though prices for older games online are quite a bit more inflated than they really should be. I bought mine used at GameStop (before they stopped exchanging older games) for 19.99. If you look around, I’m sure you’ll find one eventually. If you do find one, you’ll probably find a Greatest Hits version, as they’re more common than the original print.

Now, of course, the Playstation version of Final Fantasy IV is far from the first version of the game. The game was first released in Japan for the Super Famicom, the fourth title in Square’s hit role playing game series, Final Fantasy. However, many complained that the game was too difficult, and as such, another, easier version was released in Japan dubbed Final Fantasy IV ‘Easytype’. Many things were altered, but the point was that it got a lot easier for the common player. The final boss’ appearance was also altered, and looks a lot less grotesque, to say the least.

Most westerners will probably recognize the game as it’s next version, under the title of ‘Final Fantasy II’ on the SNES. For marketing reasons, Square released Final Fantasy IV as the second Final Fantasy title in North America, and as to not confuse everyone, they named it ‘Final Fantasy II’. Final Fantasy VI followed it, as ‘Final Fantasy III’. When released in North America on the SNES, many things were tweaked; the names of enemies and characters for censorship and space restrictions, and many other things editted due to Nintendo of America’s past strict content guidelines. The game also had many abilities, spells, and items removed from it, making it much less complex. The game’s localization suffered immensely, as proper game translation wasn’t a priority back then.

The next version of the game came out in Japan for Bandai’s short lived handheld, the Wonderswan Color. This version features highly enhanced graphics, but is pretty much the same as the original Japanese version. The sound is pretty crappy, unfortunately.

In the future, the Final Fantasy IV ‘Hardtype’ (the original Japanese version of the game) was unnoficially fan translated by a group called J2e Translations, who have done game translations in the past. By using a Super Nintendo emulator (on your computer) and a copy of the Japanese ROM of the game, it was possible to use their translation patch to be able to enjoy the original, uncut version of the game on your own computer, in English no less. Some artistic liberties were taken for the script, however, but it remains more faithful to the original than the North American SNES version, including all the missing items and abilities.

Later on, it was re-released in Japan again on the Playstation, as a stand-alone game. Later, Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI were re-released on the Playstation in Japan as a part of the ‘Final Fantasy Collection’. A port of the game for North America was released, the version this guide covers, in the Final Fantasy Chronicles collection, along with Chrono Trigger, another famous Square Role Playing Game. It retains the same difficulty and skills, spells, and items as the original version of the game, so this is pretty much the true Final Fantasy IV. Another option would be the Game Boy Advance version. Final Fantasy IV for the Playstation was also re-released in Europe in Europe’s version of Final Fantasy Anthology, bundled with Final Fantasy V, the first time either of those games were released in Europe. The game features an almost entirely revised script, free of the localization woes the North American SNES version faced. Final Fantasy Chronicles enjoyed Playstation Greatest Hits success, joining the club with the other numerous Final Fantasy titles and collections.

Final Fantasy IV was next released for the Game Boy Advance in Japan, North America, and Europe. It includes many added features, most noticeably an ATB bar, new bonus dungeons and equipment, and especially the ability to switch out characters in your party for others after a point in the story, unavailable in the original versions. Unfortunately, due to having far more convenient options and configurations, and some bugs in the game, it suffered in the difficulty department, especially to old school players of the game. The game’s localization uses more or less the Chronicles’ script, with some revisions, and more letter space for proper fitting of enemy and equipment titles.

So, as you can see, Final Fantasy IV has had a history.

Now, onto the walkthrough. It is, of course, a walkthrough of the North American Playstation Final Fantasy Chronicles version of the game. It can be used as a walkthrough for the other version of the game, but take note that many enemy, spell, and other terminologies differ between the many versions of the game. The basic story remains the same, however, and most strategies.

Also, take note, that this walkthrough contains spoilers of the plot, as it’s summarized inside the walkthrough. By all means, use another walkthrough if you don’t want the story ruined for you. It isn’t like this is the best walkthrough in the world anyway.


With all that, just enjoy the walkthrough. I hope it explains everything clearly. If you’re ever confused about something or feel that something could be written better, feel free to contact me.

---------------------
Table of Contents
---------------------

((This is for users of the text walkthrough))

To navigate this guide more smoothly, and to find information in a certain section of the walkthrough, use the ‘Ctrl+F’ function, used in many other walkthroughs. Press the Ctrl and F keys on the keyboard at the same time to open up a little search bar. Type in a term and click on ‘Find Next’ or ‘Find Previous’ to navigate the walkthrough searching for that term. Also, use the section numbers in this table of contents to skip to specific sections. Hopefully this will each frustration in looking for specific information.

***********
CONTENTS
***********

((Page one of the FFNet thread has the following information))

Chapter One

1.0 - Introduction

1.1 - Castle Baron

1.2 - Town of Baron

1.3 - Mist Cave

1.4 - Mist

1.5 - Kaipo

1.6 - Water Cavern- South

1.7 - Water Cavern- North

1.8 - Damcyan

1.9 - Antlion Lair

1.9.1 - Return to Kaipo

Chapter Two

2.0 - Mount Hobs

2.1 - Fabul

2.2 - Baron-bound Ship

2.3 - Mysidia

2.4 - Mount Hobs

((Page Two of the FFNet thread has the following information))

2.5 - Return to Mysidia and the Devil’s Road

2.6 - Return to Baron

2.7 - Waterway

2.8 - Castle Baron (Part One)

2.9 - Castle Baron (Part Two)

Chapter Three

3.0 - But Before We Do That...

3.0.1 - Agart

3.0.2 - Mythril Village

3.0.3 - Mist

3.0.4 - Eblan Castle

3.1 - Troia (Town)

3.2 - Troia (Castle)

3.3 - Magnetic Cavern

3.4 - Tower of Zot (Part One)

3.5 - Tower of Zot (Part Two)

3.6 - Return to Troia

((Page three of the FFNet thread has the following information))

3.7 - Agart and the Entrance to the Underworld

3.8 - Dwarven Castle (Part One)

3.9 - Dwarven Castle (Part Two)

Chapter Four

4.0 - Tower of Babel (Part One)

4.1 - Tower of Babel (Part Two)

4.2 - Pitstop at Baron

4.3 - Eblan Cave

4.4 - Return to the Tower of Babel

4.5- Return to Dwarf Castle

4.6 - But Before We Do That, Again...

4.6.1 - Tomra

4.6. 2 - Kokkol’s Smithy

4.6.3 - Cave of Summons

4.6.4 - Town of Summons

4.6.5 - Sylph Cave

4.7 - Sealed Cave

4.8 - Dwarf Castle

4.9 - Mysidia

Chapter Five

5.0 - Wait a Minute! Don’t Go to the Moon Just Yet!

5.0.1 - Fabul

5.0.2 - Sylvan Cave

5.0.3 - Fabul

((Page four of the FFNet walkthrough has the following information))

5.0.4 - Adamant Grotto

5.0.5 - Kokkol’s Smithy

5.0.6 - Castle Baron

5.1- To the Moon!

5.2 - Lunar Paths

5.3 - Crystal Palace

5.4 - Hummingway Home

5.5 - Cave Bahamut

5.6- Return to Earth

5.7 - Giant of Babil

5.8 - Core of the Moon (Part One)

5.9 - Core of the Moon (Part Two)

[Zeromus_X]

Final Fantasy IV Walkthrough
by
‘Zeromus_X’


-------------------------
1.0 The Introduction
-------------------------

As the game begins, you see five airships flying across the world map. These are infamous ‘Red Wings’, the Royal Air Force of the Kingdom Baron. The captain is the Dark Knight, Cecil Harvey. The crew and captain both feel remorse over the horrible act they have committed by killing innocent mages in the city of Mysidia, in seizing the Water Crystal. However, Cecil tries dispelling the guilt from the crew by stating that it was their orders to do such a deed. Just then, the crew reports monsters attacking the airship from the sky.

Immediately, you are thrust into a battle. You cannot control this battle, it is just a part of the story. Cecil will use an item to quickly dispatch the monsters.

Afterwards, Cecil checks on his crew to see if everyone is alright. The airship is attacked again, by another group of monsters. Once again, this is another battle you cannot control and Cecil will use an item to destroy the enemy.

Recovering from the attacks, Cecil wonders why monsters have become more frequent all over the world lately. There is no time to ponder this matter more however; the Red Wings finally reach their destination of Castle Baron.

--------------------
1.1 Castle Baron
--------------------

Cecil walks into the castle to report to King Baron. He is greeted by the Captain of the Guards, Baigan. Cecil hands over the Water Crystal recently plundered from Mysidia, the land of Mages, to Baigan, who hands it to the King.

Cecil questions as to why they are asked to commit such atrocities, only to be chastised by the King and stripped of his rank as Captain of the Red Wings. The King then sends him to do a lowly errand, sending a ‘Bomb Ring’ to the Village Mist, a village of Summoners, beyond the Mist Cave. Cecil’s friend, Kain Highwind comes in to object, only to be forced along with Cecil to do his errand.

As they are forced outside, Kain tells Cecil that they depart in the morning to the Village Mist. Now you have control of Cecil. Go down out of this room to another room. You will notice a cell with three treasure chests in it. Go right and press OKAY facing the very noticeable switch on the wall to the left of the cell. The chests in the cell contain an Ether1 (Ether), 480 Gil, and a Tent.

Continue left, and go through the stairs. Cecil’s significant other, Rosa Farell, will have a brief conversation with him, saying she’ll meet up with him later tonight. After that, continue down, and when you exit the building, continue up. Cid Pollendina, a master engineer and airship pilot, also comes down to have a talk with Cecil, regarding the recent matter of wrongdoings. After that, continue up to enter a tower. Keep going up, and talk to the maid. She’ll move out of the way, and you can continue up once more. Walk towards Cecil’s bed to begin a scene.

Rosa will have a conversation with Cecil, trying to comfort him, but he believes he has no courage to defy his liege’s orders. Rosa leaves the room, saying that ‘the Cecil she knew wouldn’t say that.’ After that scene, Kain and Cecil will leave the Castle Baron, and you’ll get to hear the standard ‘Prologue’ theme, ‘Final Fantasy’, along with reading the introduction.

After all that, you’ll automatically be in the world map outside of Baron. However, before going on to the next area, there’s still some treasure that awaits inside the town of Baron.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------------------
1.2 Town of Baron
-----------------------

In this game, there are a lot of treasures hidden in pots and treasure chests. Just to recap, to obtain these items, you must press the OKAY button facing the items. From here on forward, I’ll refer to this as ‘checking’. (Whenever I say ‘check’, I mean do this.) Treasure chests should be a no-brainer though.

Check the group of pots next to the house north of the inn. The bottom pot contains a Potion. Incidently, that house is Rosa’s house. Enter it and check the pot in the upper left corner of the house for a MaidKiss. (Maiden’s Kiss.)

Now, go all the way to the northernmost part of town where the dancer is. (You can talk to her to have her dance, if you want. Cecil’s such a stud.) Go down the steps leading into the waterfall, and go down through the middle opening. You’ll be able to go through the entire stream that goes throughout the town. At the end, you’ll be at a pond outside the walls. Check around and you’ll be able to find a Tent and a HrGlass1 (Hourglass 1). You’ll stop if you run into one of the hidden chests, so you’ll know where the treasures are if you just check around.

Now, go into the Inn. Check the pot right next to the firewood on the left side of the inn for a Potion. Go up and you’ll notice more treasure chests in a cell. Check the sword on the left side of the cell wall to open the door. The chests contain, from left to right: EagleEye (Eagle Eye), Tent, and Eyedrops.

You may go into the item shop to purchase a few more potions, but that’s really all that’s here to do right now. Onto the adventure! Exit the town and enter the world map.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------------
1.3 Mist Cave
-----------------

To reach the Mist Cave, you must head northeast of Baron on the world map. Random encounters await you, of course, but the monsters in this area are very weak and can be taken down with normal attacks. (Don’t waste HP or time with Dark Wave or Jump.) If you really don’t want to go into these encounters, there’s a Chocobo Forest southeast of the desert near Baron. Check the Chocobo to ride it on the world map. Your walking speed is increased, and you don’t have random battles. (And you get to listen to the Chocobo theme, of course!)

Either way, somehow you need to get to the cave.

As you enter the cavern, you’ll notice there’s a lot of mist here. (How aptly named.) The encounters here are basically the same as on the world map near Baron, so you shouldn’t have any problems. You may want Kain to use Jump on the Sword Rats, as they have a bit higher HP than the other monsters. Head right and go up the first set of stairs, and then go left through the linear path. When you are able to go up, keep on going until you are stopped by a mysterious voice, warning you to ‘GO BACK’. Cecil will question the voice, getting no response. Ah well, no biggie. A mysterious voice warning you to ‘GO BACK’ just can’t be that big a deal, right?

Continue up and open the chest containing a Potion. Go back down and to the right across the bridge. You’ll see another small set of stairs going up, go up them, and to the right all the way to find a chest containing Eyedrops. Go back down those stairs, to where the bridge is, and go down. You’ll be at a point with stairs that go down, and a path leading right. Go down the stairs, and follow the path leading to a chest containing a Tent.

Go back to that crossroads, and now take the path leading right. Along the wall you’ll find a chest containing a Potion. Now continue up, only to be stopped by that mysterious voice again. This time it wants you to ‘LEAVE AT ONCE’. Keep going north, nearing the exit of the cave, and you’ll be stopped once more. The ‘KNIGHTS OF BARON’ are asked to ‘LEAVE NOW AND NO HARM WILL BEFALL YOU.’ If ‘YOU REFUSE’, you’ll have to fight the guardian of the Mist Village, and of course unless you want to wander around this cave for all eternity, you’ll have to do just that. Prepare for a boss fight!

--------------------------------------
BOSS: Mist D. (Mist Dragon)
HP: 465
Experience Points: 700
Gil: 200
--------------------------------------
Being the first real boss of the game, the Mist Dragon isn’t too difficult. Attack it with Cecil’s normal attack, and have Kain either Jump or just attack it. Not too many options. Don’t use Dark Wave as that doesn’t really do that much damage anyway, and it drains Cecil’s HP.

The Dragon’s normal attack is pathetically weak and practically bounces off of your fighters. However, the thing to watch out for is when the Dragon will ‘turn into mist’ (as you are notified to by the caption and the Dragon’s change of appearance). Attacking it in this form with a normal attack will result in it counter-attacking with its breath (“Cold Breath”), which does much more damage than its regular attack. So obviously don’t attack it when it’s turned into mist, got it? (Of course, it doesn’t do that much anyway, but if you accidently attack it more than once while it’s mist that could hurt you.)

When it does turn into mist, just chill out and parry or something. Wait for it to turn back into a dragon and then start smacking him again. He’ll go down eventually.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After all that is said and done, continue up and exit the Mist Cave to the world map again.

[Zeromus_X]

--------------------
1.4 Mist
--------------------

When you exit the Mist Cave, you’ll be in the world map again. The Village Mist is directly west of you, so head there.

As you enter the village, the Bomb Ring sends off a bunch of Bombs to set the village on fire. (I find ‘Package’ less blatantly obvious than ‘Bomb Ring’ at what it’s going to do, but maybe that’s just me.)

Naturally, Kain and Cecil are surprised, and I’m sure all the people that just got incinerated were too. They then notice a green-haired little girl crying ‘Mommy’. Wait to go, guys.

Kain and Cecil head up to the girl. It turns out that she was the summoner of the guardian of the village, the Mist Dragon. By slaying the dragon, Cecil and Kain are responsible for killing the girl’s mother. You’re on a roll today! Cecil blurts out how they killed the dragon, startling the girl, who steps back.. Kain continues to say that if the King wanted all the villagers dead, then he must follow the order. Cecil disagrees, and refuses to continue anymore slaughter in the name of the King. He persuades Kain to stop all of this, but they really don’t have time to talk out this situation, or how on earth they’ll go up against the most powerful nation in the world.

Kain and Cecil try taking the girl with them, who adamantly refuses. Trying to kill the people who did in her mother after all, she then summons Titan (who really needs to put a shirt on or something) to put an end to you.

This is another battle you cannot win. As soon as Titan uses its special attack, the battle ends, and an earthquake is triggered. This causes a landslide, knocking Cecil unconscious.

After Cecil wakes up, he finds the girl unconscious nearby. Kain is nowhere to be found. Cecil then decides to try and save the girl, and find the nearest town. Separated from his friend, being a traitor to his nation, and trying to save a little girl who probably hates his guts? Whatever has Cecil gotten himself into?

------------
1.5 Kaipo
------------

Go north and you’ll be in a vast desert. In the middle of this desert, there is an oasis, and the desert town, Kaipo. Since the girl needs to rest and you only have Cecil in your party, it would be ideal to stop and rest there.

When you enter the town, Cecil will automatically go to the Inn. The innkeeper lets Cecil stay on the house, what a nice guy. Putting the girl down to bed, the girl comes awake, and Cecil tries to talk with her. Telling her his name, he also apologizes to her for all he’s done, and understands if he can’t be forgiven. As the girl remains silent, Cecil goes to bed himself.

Later in the night, soldiers from Baron storm the inn, waking Cecil from his slumber. They try killing the girl to completely eradicate all the summoners. Cecil refuses, and protects her. The General decides to kill Cecil if he won’t cooperate.

---------------------------------
BOSS: General, Soldier (3)
---------------------------------

This fight is simple, and you can end it rather quickly. But if you want more experience and Gil, you can do it the longer way.

If you do want that, then just kill off two of the Soldiers, leaving one alive. If you kill the final Soldier, the General will turn tail and escape. If you want to kill the General and receive more experience and Gil, leave one alive, then keep attacking the General. He’ll go down eventually, leaving one pathetic Soldier left for you to take care of. Otherwise, just kill all the Soldiers and you’ll be done.

One thing to note is that whenever the General says ‘Attack!’ in the caption box, all the soldiers will attack. Otherwise, they just stay there. That’s their only means of attack. It doesn’t really matter that much, but I just thought I’d point it out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After that’s over, the girl asks if Cecil is okay. She also tells Cecil her name, Rydia, and she is now a playable character in your party.

In the morning, you have control again, so now its time to get this show on the road. Grab the Ether1 (Ether) from checking the top pot above the weapon shop.

Now, go to the house in the northeast corner of Kaipo. Go all the way up to the back of the house, and who should you find but Cecil’s sweetheart, Rosa! It turns out that she tried meeting up with Cecil while he was on his mission, and caught sunstroke (er...’desert fever’.) The old man on the left side of the room mentions that the only way to cure the desert fever is to get a rare jewel called the ‘Sand Ruby’. Of course, it can only be found in the lair of a ferocious beast called the Antlion. Go figure.

That’s all there is to do in this town, for now, so exit and you should probably save if you haven’t by now.

[Zeromus_X]

---------------------------
1.6 Water Cavern-South
---------------------------

First things first: put Rydia in the back row. She starts off at level 1, and pretty much will die at any physical attack in the front row. Spend some time in the desert leveling her up, at least until she gets the Bolt1 spell. (Around level 10 would be ideal, if you really wanted to.) Many of the enemies in the next dungeon are weak to lightning-elemental spells, so that’s a good idea. Rydia does however, have one powerful spell, her initial Summon, Chocobo, which is good for about 100 damage. (Not bad for the beginning parts of the game.) It does use up a bit of MP however.

At any rate, head north. The antlion’s lair is near Damcyan, a nation to the north of Kaipo. You’ll have to go through the Water Cavern first, among other things.

As you enter, head north across a bridge to find two chests. The left chest contains a Potion and the right chest contains a MaidKiss (Maiden’s Kiss). Go back near the entrance and go left this time. You’ll pass through another bridge, and you should see an old man to the north and a chest to the south. The chest contains a Tent. Go north to speak to the old man.

As it turns out, this old man is a Sage, called Tellah. His daughter, Anna eloped with ‘A WICKED BARD’, and he senses an ill omen. He wants to go north to Damcyan to rescue her, but a ferocious monster blocks the path. Of course, now , with a Dark Knight and a Summoner, it shouldn’t be that hard to get rid of it, right?

Tellah will then join your party. He starts out at Level 20 with a few spells you won’t be seeing for awhile yet. However, don’t use his spells too often, conserve some of his MP for when you’ll really need it. (You don’t run into many MP-restoring items too early in the game.) Stick him in the back row with Rydia.

Now, continue north. When you see a set of stairs north and a bridge going right to a treasure chest, go right. The chest contains a Bomb. Keep going right until you get to a set of stairs leading into the water. Go down into the water, and go north to reach a treasure chest containing an IronRing (Iron Ring). Go back down into the water. Keep going left, and you’ll notice a waterfall, and right next to the waterfall is the ledge with the chest that had the Bomb inside. Go through the middle of the waterfall to enter a secret chamber. There are three chests here. The right chest has a Life. The upper-right chest has a X-Potion. The lower-right chest has a Ether2. (Ether 2).

If your party is getting tired (Or Rydia or Tellah are out of MP), use Tellah’s Exit spell to warp outside, and rest in Damcyan.

At any rate, after all of that, go back to before the bridge leading to the chest with a Bomb. Proceed north from there, through the passage to the second basement. Go north, across a bridge, and down some stairs into more water. Go left, and up some stairs to a chest containing a Potion. Go back down into the water, and go all the way down until you see another set of stairs going up. Then go left all the way to a chest that has an Ether1 (Ether). Now, take the bridge going south, and then follow the path to a door.

Inside that room, Tellah suggests that they take a rest. This room happens to be the first ‘Save Point’. Inside a Save Point, there are no random encounters, and you can use the pad in the center of the room to save your game and use Tents. Tellah will use a tent, but it won’t actually use any of your Tents. Tellah and Cecil both discuss who they are trying to save. Tellah observes how Rydia will grow into a powerful sorceress one day. Tellah also talks about the creature they must defeat, a horrible beast with eight tentacles. And Tellah still has a bad omen, thinking they should ‘hurry before its too late’.

After that, you’ll be on the Save Point. Save your game, and move on north. Take the first bridge you see right. Go up to open a chest with an IceRod (Ice Rod). If you want, have Rydia equip this and use it as an item in battle to do some damage; it casts Ice 1. (Her MP is too low at the moment to be able to use spells too often, as compared to Tellah’s. And his spells are more powerful anyway.)

Go down, into the water, and go right, and then up through the door. (Somehow you’re facing down when you get into the next room. Whatever.) In the next room, go left across the first bridge. Go down, and then right across a bridge and you’ll notice two treasure chests. The closer chest contains 580 Gil. The farther chest across another bridge contains a Bomb. Go back to the fork, and go left this time. Follow the path to another door to go through.

In this room, you’ll encounter the first of many ‘false walls’ in the game. They are walls you can walk through and take a path through the wall to other parts of the room. (Very useful.) You will need to use these to reach some treasure chests. You can tell if a wall is a false wall if the shadow that usually is on the side of every wall isn’t on the spot where the false wall is. (If that made sense.) Knowing this , you can easily spot false walls.

At the start of this room, go left, and you’ll go through the wall. Go all the way up, and then right, and you’ll be near the exit north of this room. Don’t go through it yet! Go down to open the chest containing a Potion. Now go back into the false wall. Go left on the upper part of the room, until you stop. Then go up all you can, and then right. Then go down, and then right again. You’ll be on the ledge that you could see but couldn’t get to before. Go down through the ledge and open the chest that contains a Feather. Now you may exit this room to the north.

In this room, there are many good items. Go up at the entrance, then down the stairs at the left. The upper chest contains a Notus. The lower chest contains an Ether 1. Go back up the stairs, and then to the right, across a bridge. (Don’t worry, you won’t fall off.) You’ll see the north exit, but don’t go through this one just yet. Go down. The upper chest contains a Dark (Dark Sword), and the lower chest contains a HrGlass1 (Hourglass 1). Now proceed north through the exit. This exit leads outside to the world map, where I recommend you use a Tent and save. When you’re ready, go north to the northern section of the Water Cave.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------
2.1 Fabul
-----------

To reach Fabul, go east from the exit to Mt. Hobs until you go past the mountains and see a castle near the sea. This is Fabul.

When you enter Fabul, you’ll notice that it’s basically an entire town inside a castle. (Item Shop, Inn, etc.) If you have enough Gil, buy all the Demon equipment for Cecil, and maybe two Claws for Yang. After you’re done shopping and stocking up on items, continue up the stairs until you reach the throne room. Yang warns his liege of the upcoming assault from Baron. He introduces the rest of the group to the king. Cecil says there isn’t much time, and they need to fortify their defenses immediately. The king questions whether they should trust them, after all, Cecil and Rosa are citizens of Baron. Yang says that they risked their lives to save him, and they should be trusted. Edward also talks with the king, and convinces him that they are telling the truth. The king is convinced, and commands Yang to mobilize men for the battle. He also asks that Cecil and Edward assist Yang in defending the castle. Rosa and Rydia assist as medics and in guarding the Wind Crystal.

As the men wait at the front gate of Fabul, the Red Wings bomb the castle from above. Ground forces also storm the castle, and the men are there to stand guard. Now you must fight a series of battles with Cecil, Yang, and Edward. None of the fights are particularly difficult, so you should do just fine. The first fight is with a Captain and two Fighters, it’s similar to the fight with the General and Soldiers back in Kaipo.

After that battle, the men move back. There is another attack, and a second battle. This battle is with a Water Hag (the monster Edward already faced alone), an Imp Captain, and a Weeper. Kill off the Water Hag and Imp Captain first, then concentrate on the Weeper. Not too hard. After that, even more monsters storm the castle. The men move back again. You face the third battle, consisting of a Captain and two Fighters again. After that, the men are outnumbered and retreat to the throne room. Yang commands his men to lock the door, only for them to defy him and unlock the door to the throne room. It turns out they were monsters in disguise. The fourth battle is just against a weak Gargoyle. The fifth battle is against another group of Weeper, Imp Captain, and Water Hag.

After all that, Yang decides they must withdraw to the Crystal Room. As they run, Edward trips and another monster decides to attack. You must now fight the sixth, final battle against a Captain and two Fighters.

Finally, they reach the Crystal Room. As the men wait inside it, who should enter but Kain, Cecil’s friend who got separated! Cecil is glad to see his best friend alive, and asks him to fight with them. Kain jokingly asks if he should fight all of them or Cecil alone. Cecil is confused, so Kain decides for him, and Cecil alone is thrust into a battle with his best friend Kain.

---------------------------
BOSS: Kain Highwind
HP: ?
----------------------------

You cannot win this battle. Anything less than extreme power leveling or a cheating device will not let you win. Even if you do win, the story will play out like normal. So just let Kain Jump on you a few times and let it be over with, okay?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Cecil gets stomped on by Kain, Cecil realizes that his best friend is under the sorcerer Golbez’s control. Kain says he’ll put Cecil ‘out of his misery’, and Yang, Edward, Rosa, and Rydia come to stop him. Rosa is appalled by Kain’s behavior, and Kain becomes embarrassed. (Kain also has feelings for Rosa, if you didn’t catch on to that already.)

Just then, a voice says scolds Kain for being ‘befuddled by a woman’. Cue the organ music, and you are introduced to the villain, Golbez. The group is pretty surprised. Golbez tells Kain to never hesitate to kill, and that he’ll show him how it’s done. Yang and Edward try to stop him, but Golbez just blows them away with a bolt of magical energy. (Pretty good villain behavior, if you ask me.) Golbez then orders Kain to seize the crystal. Rosa tries getting Kain to snap out of it, only for Golbez to kidnap her as a hostage. Golbez then leaves, followed by Kain who says they won’t be lucky next time.

After the villains leave, Rydia casts cure on the other men. Cecil feels guilty for letting the Crystal be stolen away, as well as Rosa. The group tries cheering him up, telling them that they have to rescue Rosa, and get the Crystals.

Now that you have control of Cecil again, go down and exit the Crystal Chamber. Check the pot on the way out in the throne room for a Hermes. Talk to the chancellor to discover that the King of Fabul is resting in his room.

Before we do that, however, we need to get some treasure. See the switch on the right side of the room, as well as an equally noticeable door near a torch? Step on the switch to open the door. Walk through the door to navigate a false wall. Go up from the door, right, down, and right to reach three chests, which from top to bottom contain: Silk Web, Demon (Demon Shield, for Cecil), and Ether 1. Now exit the throne room to the south. Instead of going all the way down to the first floor again, go to the southernmost part of the second floor to see a door. Go down through it to enter the outside of the castle. You’ll see two towers. Go through the left tower first. On the first floor of the left tower, you’ll notice a bunch of pots and three chests. The chests from top to bottom contain: Bomb, Notus, and a Potion. Check the pots near the top of the room. The left pot contains a ThorRage (Thor’s Rage). Continue to the second floor, and then keep going to the third. On this floor is Yang’s wife, who despite obviously living in an Eastern environment has a country accent. Go figure. There’s nothing to do there, but keep it in mind for later.

Now, exit the left tower and enter the right one. Continue to the second floor of the right tower, and check the pots on the right side of the second floor to find a Bacchus (Bacchus’ Wine). Keep going up to the third floor, the King’s chamber. The chest in the corner of the room contains a Tent. Now, go all the way back down to the Inn, and rest. (It’s for free.)

The gang discusses what they’re going to do. Cecil says that the only way they can fight Golbez is if they have an airship. But Baron is the only nation to have them. Yang suggests they sneak into Baron and steal an airship. Since Baron’s navy is weak, they should be able to go there by sea. Yang says he will obtain a ship tomorrow morning. They also inquire Cecil to who Kain is, learning that he was his best friend. In the morning, the gang is in the king’s chamber. The king arranges a ship, and also gives Cecil a sword that belonged to a Dark Knight that visited Fabul many years ago. He states that it has tremendous power, but is still a sword of darkness, and that the power of darkness can never overcome true evil. (You’ll want to remember that!) You then receive Death (Death Sword) for Cecil. It has a chance of slaying an enemy attacked with it instantly. The King remarks that if Golbez actually does collect all the Crystals, the world will suffer an unprecedented crisis...

With everything all taken care of, buy about 10 Lifes from the item shop, and buy the equipment for Cecil and Yang if you haven’t already. Go outside and save.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------------------------
2.1.2 Baron-bound Ship
-----------------------------

Directly east of Fabul is the ship that will take you to Baron. When you’re ready, enter it to go aboard.

Yang’s wife says goodbye to everyone, and the ship goes off. The ship sails smoothly. Yang asks what they’re going to do once they arrive at Baron. Cecil says they have to see Cid, Baron’s chief airship engineer. (I’m sure you remember him, right?) Edward shivers, and Rydia asks if he’s cold, to which he replies that he’s fine. The ship continues along, until a giant whirlpool appears. A giant monster emerges from the whirlpool, and as it turns out, this is the ‘lord of the sea’, Leviathan (according to the sailors).

The captain tries to hurry up and change course. As the ship rocks furiously, Rydia falls overboard. Yang jumps out to try and save her. The entire ship gets swallowed by the whirlpool.

Of course, the game isn’t over yet. Cecil awakens later on, discovering he’s been washed up in a shore near-wouldn’t you guess- Mysidia, the land of Mages. The town he pillaged at the very beginning of the game! How ironic! Well, seeing as how it’s just Cecil alone, and Mysidia is blocking the way from going anywhere else on the world map, that’s obviously your next destination.

[Zeromus_X]

---------------
2.3 Mysidia
---------------

Seeing as he pillaged their town and killed many innocent people, it isn’t too surprising that the villagers of Mysidia harbor ill will towards Cecil. Quite a few NPCs, when talked to, will curse Cecil.

The Black Mage near the entrance of the town will turn you into a toad. The Black Mage working at the diner will poison you with a drink. Finally, the dancer inside the Inn will turn you into a pig. So steer clear of those people, okay? The rest of the villagers will just scorn you.

Ignoring these individuals, head up to the northernmost house in Mysidia. (The biggest one.) This is the elder’s house. Enter it and talk to the old man in the middle, which is the elder. (Whom I’m sure you recognize from the beginning of the game?)

The elder asks what Cecil is doing here. Cecil says he can never ask for forgiveness. The elder replies that apologies will not bring the dead back to life. He remarks that Cecil too, has suffered, and is no longer a mindless killer. Cecil tells of Golbez, and how he’s kidnapped his friends, and how he got shipwrecked. The elder says that as long as he is dependant on the dark sword, he cannot defeat true evil (sound familiar?), and that he may even be consumed by darkness himself if he continues. In order to fight with true righteousness, Cecil must take a trial and become a Paladin, a warrior of light. He must climb Mount Ordeals east of Mysidia and take the test at the summit in order to become a holy knight. Of course, no one has ever actually passed the test, but Cecil will do anything to save his friends.

Of course, it’d still be really hard to do this test alone, so the Mysidian Elder sends two apprentice mages to help out Cecil, Palom and Porom. The girl, Porom, a White Mage who is obedient, and the boy, Palom, a Black Mage who is always getting into trouble. Porom is very soft spoken, and Palom is...’outspoken’ to say the least.

After they introduce themselves to Cecil, they become playable characters in your party. With that settled, it’d be a good time to save your game, if you haven’t already. You’ll notice that most of the equipment in Mysidia is pretty expensive, and there is some none in your party can even equip...yet. If you wish, you can go fight battles outside of Mysidia to raise Gil and Experience, but it isn’t necessary. Prime choices of equipment for both Palom and Porom are Magus (Magus Hat), GaiaGear (Gaia Gear), and Silver (Silver Ring). Of course, you probably won’t have enough money for all of that yet, but you will have a lot more Gil after you go through Mount Ordeals. The Zuu that is a frequent encounter outside town can be KO’d with Cecil’s Death Sword, and gives 489 Gil! Another way is to sell all of Cecil’s older Dark Knight equipment. It certainly wouldn’t take too long, either way. This also gives more experience to Palom and Porom so they can gain levels and better spells.

Whether you decide to raise money now, or just go ahead to the mountain now, Mount Ordeals lies east of Mysidia. Follow the long passage of land east until it opens up and you see a very large mountain. That mountain is Mount Ordeals.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------------------
2.4 Mt. Ordeals (Mount Ordeals)
-----------------------

Although it really shouldn’t be said, put Palom and Porom in the back row. An interesing thing about the twins is their abilities. Palom’s ‘Bluff’ increases his magic attack power. Porom’s ‘Cry’ will fluster the enemy and lower their attack power. Both twins have the ability, ‘Twin’ which allows them to both use their actions and charge up a super-powerful spell. However, this takes a very, very long time to charge and you could probably win the battle with Cecil or with other magic in the time it takes to charge it up. In my opinion, not very useful.

At any rate, as you enter the mountain, you’ll notice a wall of flames blocking the way. Palom will use his Ice spell to get rid of the flames (similar to the ice wall on Mt. Hobs), and then you see a ‘meanwhile, elswhere’ scene at Golbez’s hideout. You’ll see Rosa tied up with Kain keeping an eye on her. Golbez summons one of his minions, Milon of Earth, one of the four ‘Elemental Fiends’. Golbez orders Milon to stop Cecil from climbing the Mountain of Ordeals and taking the test to become a Paladin. Golbez mentions that Cecil’s sword of darkness is useless against Milon’s undead minions...

One thing to note about the monsters here is that a lot of them are considered undead. (Skeletons, Zombies, etc.) Besides being extremely weak to fire spells, spells like cure actually damage these undead foes! You can even use a Life or the Life spell to slay them instantly! I don’t recommend using so much MP or items for that, however. Also, like Golbez remarked, Cecil’s swords of darkness are ineffective, and will do only 1 damage to undead enemies.

Anyway, after that scene, you’ll have control again. Continue the path up the mountain, picking up the two Potions in chests along the way. Go through the door north to the next area. The next area is straightforward. Continue until you near the northern exit door. As you approach it, an old friend will appear.

And of course, with all the other surprises that have occurred (and will occur!), would it be too much to say that it’s Tellah who comes out of the door? That’s right, Tellah the Sage from back in Kaipo appears. Tellah asks Cecil if he too is looking for Meteo. Porom is surprised at this, and scolds Palom for being disrespectful as they introduce themselves to him. (Palom hints at what they’re really doing...) Tellah exasperated by the ‘noisy brats’, asks where Rydia and Edward are. Cecil tells him of the incident regarding the boat and Leviathan. He also tells how Rosa got captured by Golbez. Cecil then questions Tellah as to what he’s doing here. Tellah says that his spells aren’t strong enough to make a match for Golbez, so he seeks the legendary Black Magic, Meteo, on Mt. Ordeals. He senses a strong aura on the mountain, leading him to believe it lies here. Porom warns that the spell is too dangerous; and it requires too much vitality for someone of his age. Tellah says he will get vengeance, even if it costs him his very life. Tellah once again asks Cecil what he’s doing on the mountain, and Cecil tells of how he plans to become a Paladin in order to defeat Golbez, and to renounce the sword of darkness. With similar plans, Tellah decides to join your party, now playable again. He’s at whatever level he was at before; but now you should be nearing that level with Cecil as well, so I guess it all works out. Reserve three spots for the back row, and stick Tellah, Porom, and Palom in those.

Anyway, go north, and you’ll be on the next area. Go left all you can to notice a treasure chest containing Ether 1. Go back right, and then up until you reach a small bridge. Cross it, and grab the treasure along the way, another Ether 1 in a chest. Continue up through the door to the next area.

You’ll now be at the summit. As you enter, you’ll hear a strange noise which Porom blames on Palom, though he denies doing anything. Continue up, and don’t forget to rest with a Tent and save at the Save Point to the right. Continue up, and you’ll hear that sound again. Once again, Porom tells Palom to stop, and he denies making the sound. Continue up the steps and attempt to cross the bridge to the left, and you’ll stop once more, hearing that strange noise. Tellah senses evil nearby, and a voice says that it will enjoy killing them all. Cecil demand that they show themselves, and Golbez’s assassin, Milon, the Fiend of Earth, appears to try and put an end to the crew!


-----------------
BOSS: Milon, Ghast (4)
Milon:
HP: 3,500
Experience Points: 3,200
Gil: 2,000
-----------------

This fight will pit you against Milon and four of his undead servants. Just have Palom cast Fire 2 on all enemies, while having Tellah or Porom put on healing duty. Since Cecil’s attacks won’t effect the Ghasts, focus his attacks on Milon himself. The Ghasts are just like the normal undead enemies you’ve been fighting, so it won’t take too long. Take note that Milon seems to counter attack with Bolt 1. It won’t take too much HP away, but if it’s used multiple times, healing would be a good idea.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you defeat Milon’s necromantic behind, go back to the Save Point, rest, and save. And, although it may seem a bit strange, use the ‘Row’ command in the menu to switch your party’s row positions. (Now your mages will be in the from, and Cecil should be in the back.) Just trust me on this one. Afterwards, try to go back through the bridge. You will be stopped, by Milon, again! Seems he won’t give up, even in death. Let’s see if we can teach him a lesson.

----------------
BOSS: Milon Z. (Milon Zombie)
HP: 3,523
Experience Points: 3,600
Gil: 2,500
----------------

When Milon attacks you again, you’ll be attacked from behind. Luckily (if you did what I said earlier), your mages will now be in the back, and Cecil will now be in the front because of this. So much for cowardice. Milon is now bigger, and a bit more powerful. His normal attack inflicts Poison status on the target, and he often uses this gas attack which I’m also guessing inflicts Poison. (It didn’t do anything to me, so I’m not completely sure.) He’s also considered undead. Cure spells will hurt him, and Fire spells also do a lot of damage. I still don’t recommend ‘attacking’ with Cure 2, it would be better to recover the party with it. Although I can’t comfirm this, I’ve heard some people say that using a Life or the Life spell will kill him off instantly, but I don’t know for sure. Either way, keep your party refreshed with Cure 2, keep using Fire 2, and have Cecil attack. If your mages run out of MP, use those Ethers you’ve been finding throughout the adventure. Eventually, he will fall, for the last time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Now, continue and stand in front of that strange altar on the summit. Cecil will hear another mysterious voice, which says ‘My son...” The party is teleported to inside a crystal altar with a crystal mirror wall in front of them. The voice continues “Through much sorrow have I longed for your coming. I shall now entrust you with my power. By doing so, my pain will only grow. But there is no other way.”

With that, a sword of light appears out of the mirrored crystal wall, and as Cecil wields it, his appearance changes dramatically, from the black armor of a Dark Knight, to the Holy gear of a Paladin. (And with hair that could place him in any 80s rock band.) The voice continues, “Break from your past and overcome the darkness.”

Then, the Dark Knight version of Cecil comes out of the mirror. It tries to attack (the now Paladin) Cecil, and the rest of the group try to help him. Cecil tells them to stay back, and that this is his battle, to atone for his wrongs. You are now thrust into another boss fight, with Cecil, alone, against his own inner darkness.

[Zeromus_X]

((Continued from last section))


---------------------------------------
BOSS: D. Knight (Dark Knight)
HP: ?
---------------------------------------

The Dark Knight will continue to pummel you with Cecil’s old Dark Knight ability, ‘Dark Wave’. After awhile, a voice will tell you that ‘A true Paladin...will sheathe his sword’. Now, what exactly does this mean? This means you must Parry. Use the Parry command three times to overcome the Dark Knight. Although in the North American SNES version, it is possible to defeat the Dark Knight normally, it will be very difficult, if not virtually impossible to do that in the Playstation (among other) version (s). Either way, just defend three times, and ‘sheathe your sword’. If your HP gets low (say around 100), heal with Cecil’s newfound Cure magic or use an item.

You win when the mysterious voice says ‘Some fight for law...some fight for justice...Cecil...what will you fight for?”, and the Dark Knight desintegrates.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the battle, the voice continues, “Well done. Now receive my spirit of light, and remember: Golbez must be stopped. Farewell, my son.” Now, Cecil, has become a Paladin.

The party congratulate him, but Cecil is still confused. He says the voice sounded familiar.

Meanwhile, after an (embarrassing...) exclamation from our Sage, Tellah recovers the memory of all his spells, and also gains knowledge of the Black Magic, Meteo. (He can’t use it in battle, however.) Porom and Palom try telling Cecil the truth of why they were asked to help him, but then Tellah starts rambling with his new confidence of how he’ll defeat Golbez.

Cecil is still confused at why the voice called him ‘my son’ and why it mentioned Golbez, but Tellah tells them to hurry to Baron. Cecil takes one more look at the mirror, and exits the altar.

After that, you’ll gain control again, and you’ll be outside the altar. You’ll notice that with Cecil’s class change, he’s also back at level 1. Of course, he has more HP and constitution than the other members of your party, so he’ll be okay. His sword can also own all the undead monsters in the area (all undead monsters, period really.) He’ll gain levels like crazy on the way down the mountain, so it’d be better to just walk down, as it isn’t that long anyway. Also, Cecil has the new 'Cover' command, which will allow him to guard allies with low HP.

With Tellah’s memory restored, he has access to all of his older spells, including level 3 spells of Fire, Ice, Bolt, and Cure! Of course, he’ll forever have 90 MP so you won’t be able to use too many spells at once and you won’t be able to cast Meteo...yet.

At any rate, it’s time to exit Mount Ordeals and return to Mysidia.

[Zeromus_X]

------------------------------------------------------
2.5 Return to Mysidia and the Devil’s Road.
------------------------------------------------------

When you exit Mt. Ordeals, there’s something you should take note of. South of the mountian, there is a square-shaped bunch of trees surrounded by a forest. This is another Chocobo forest. (Like the one back near Baron.) You can catch a Chocobo here, but another thing to note is that there are also White Chocobos. If you talk to them, they restore your MP. (This wasn’t an issue back in Baron.) Also, since you will probably have Gysahl (Gysahl Greens) with you, you should check the square spot at the upper part of the forest. A text box will appear, saying that it smells like Chocobos, and an item menu will prompt you to use an item. If you use a Gysahl, the Fat Chocobo will appear.

What exactly does this Fat Chocobo do? It can swallow (yes, swallow) your items and keep them in it’s stomach for safe-keeping. Why on earth would you want to do this? Well, later in the game, you will obtain or buy many items. The item menu can only reserve so many spaces for items at once, even using ‘Sort’ to clean out the menu. So, you can give the items you don’t use anymore or equip to the Fat Chocobo. You can also retrieve items from the Chocobo (don’t want to know how they ‘retrieve’ them, either...). It’s basically an item bank.

Anyway, the Chocobo can ride you back to Mysidia, or you can walk, and get more Gil and Experience. Either way.

Once you get back, the villagers are surprised that you passed the test! Can’t blame them for that either. You weren’t the nicest of guys before, right? Cecil can also equip that awesome Paladin equipment you couldn’t equip before. I recommend purchasing all of it. Sell off all unecessary (Dark Knight and otherwise) equipment and if you still don’t have enough, I’d stroll back to Mt. Ordeals. But you should have enough from selling and just going through the mountain once.

When you’re done shopping, stop by the elder’s house again and speak to him. He is also surprised Cecil succeeded. Embarrassed, the elder admits he sent the twins to spy on you. (With good reason.) Of course, it turned out there was no reason anyway.

The elder notices Cecil’s new sword, the Legend (Legend Sword). He asks where he found it. Cecil tells him about the voice on Mt. Ordeals and how he received the Legend Sword. The notices an inscription on the sword, which matches a Mysidian legend:

“One born of a dragon,
bearing darkness and light,
shall rise to the heavens
over the still land.

Bathing the moon in eternal
light, he brings a promise
to Mother Earth with bounty
and grace.”

Sounds good to me.

Cecil asks what the voice at Mt. Ordeals was, and why it called him son. The elder replies that he doesn’t know, nor does he know what the legend means. He says that the Mysidians, for generations have been told to pray for the fulfillment of the legend and to believe in the one with the sacred light. He belives Cecil might be that one.

Just then, Tellah interrupts them, saying they must go hurry to defeat Golbez. The elder finally notices him, and the Tellah says it’s been awhile. The twins say that they met him on Mt. Ordeals, and that he learned Meteo. The elder is shocked, and seconds the spell being too dangerous. Tellah could care less, and only wants to avenge Anna, and will kill Golbez at any cost.

Cecil says that nevertheless, they must get to Baron. The elder opens up the Devil’s Road, a dimensional passage that connects Baron to Mysidia. It was sealed shut after the raid, but the elder trusts that Cecil can traverse it safely. The elder then goes to the Tower of Prayer. (You can also reach it now, by going to the back of the Crystal Chamber.)

The elder tells the twins to return to their studies. The twins ask that they still accompany Cecil, and say that he wanted them to help him in the first place. The elder allows Porom and Palom to stay with the party.

To reach the ‘Devil’s Road’, you must go to the uppermost house on the east side of Mysidia. Inside is a teleporter, which will transport you through the dimensional road to a teleporter in Baron. (Which, will also be open of course for you to travel freely.) Beware, it does lower your party’s HP somewhat, but it isn't that much to worry about.

When you’re ready, go through the Devil’s Road back to Baron. It’s payback time!

[Zeromus_X]

------------------------
2.6 Return to Baron
------------------------

When you get back to Baron, you’ll find that the weapon and armor shops, and the door at the eastern part of town under Cid’s house is still locked. The Castle is heavily guarded, and nobody is allowed in. Looks like we’ll have to find another way.

The townspeople seem alarmed. (They’ve just caught on to the king’s behavior.) They say that Cid has been arrested for speaking out against the king. Another NPC mentions a Monk who is with the soldiers at the Inn. Sounds pretty interesting.

Head into the Inn, and in the diner you’ll see - suprise - Yang! Talk to him. Cecil will be overjoyed to find that Yang survived, but Yang won’t even recognize Cecil. Yang will remark that Cecil is a traitor to Baron, and commands the soldiers to seize him.

---------------------
BOSS: Guard (2)
---------------------
These guys are pretty weak. Just attack them like you would any normal monster. They can cast Mini and Pig on your characters, but with a round of Fire 2 on them, they won’t last long regardless.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you beat them, Yang decides to take care of you.

----------------------
BOSS: Yang
----------------------
Yang shouldn’t be that much trouble, but be careful. Heal and revive your characters as necessary. A few level 3 spells from Tellah should do the trick. Eventually, Yang will come to his senses and the battle will end.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yang finally comes to his sense. Apparently, he suffered amnesia, and can’t remember anything after Leviathan attacked. With his memory gone, he was used by Baron. Cecil asks if Yang knows what happened to Rydia and Edward. Yang says that Rydia was swallowed by Leviathan and he doesn’t know the whereabouts of Edward.

The group decides to discuss everything in the Inn. Yang rejoins your party. As thanks for taking care of the soldiers, the innkeeper lets you stay for free. Everyone introduces themselves, and Yang apologizes for his actions. Cecil says that they must find Cid immediately. However, sneaking into the castle won’t be easy. Yang however, finds a key on his person. It turns out that the key is a Baron Key, which must have been given to Yang when they gave him command of those guards. With it, you can now unlock the doors in all of Baron by checking them and selectin the Baron Key from the obligatory item menu.

The weapon shop sells all the fangs for Yang you could’ve bought in Fabul. However, Yang no longer has those, so I suggest purchasing two BoltClaws (Bolt Claws). Buying a Kenpo (Kenpogi) and Headband for Yang will also suit him up appropriately. Silver (Silver Rings) are also good accessories for the whole party.

In addition, there is a secret passage in the weapon and armor shop. Go to the lower right corner of the room near the table. Go down to pass through a false wall, and then go right, up, left, and then you can go down two passages to go behind the counters of the weapon and armor shops. The chest in the weapon shop has a ThorRage (Thor’s Rage), while the armor shop has 2,000 Gil. (More spending money!)

When you want to proceed, head to that door below Cid’s house. You can unlock it with the Baron Key. As it turns out, this is the Waterway, the sewers beneath Baron. You’ll have to go through them to sneak into the castle.

[Zeromus_X]

-----------------------
3.4 Return to Troia
-----------------------

With the Earth Crystal in hand, it’s time to return to Troia and report to the Eight Clerics. Ride the black Chocobo again, and it’ll automatically take you to it’s home. (Even over a mountain...) From the Chocobo forest, walk back to Troia Castle.

Take note, that there’s a neat trick here. You can go fight in the Magnetic Cavern to gain experience and Gil, and then when Tellah runs out of MP, go back to the Chocobo forest and talk to a white Chocobo. The party’s MP will be restored, so Tellah can heal everyone’s HP with his Cure spells. Then you can refill your party’s MP again. You could technically do this forever, though at some point you’ll probably want to progress in the game.

Enter the castle, and go up to the Clerics’ chamber. As you enter, the Clerics crowd around Cecil, amazed that he retrieved the Earth Crystal. Just then, darkness fills the chamber and Kain’s voice tells Cecil that it’s time. He tells Cecil to bring the Crystal aboard the airship and he’ll take him to Rosa. Then, light returns to the room.

The Clerics keep their word, and allow you to borrow the Crystal, regardless of circumstances. They also say to retrieve the treasure from the underground storage facility. Remember the left set of stairs from those three sets of stairs on the right side of the castle? You can go through them now. Talk to the guard there, and say yes when she asks if you’ve been given permission to enter. She’ll open the door for you. Go through it up, then go right, down, and left down a set of stairs. You’ll be in a room filled with treasure. From left to right, top to bottom: HiPotion (Hi-Potion), Remedy, Ether 1, Ether 2, Elixir, EchoNote (Echo Note), GreatBow (Great Bow), Fire (Fire Arrows), Fire (Fire Arrows), HiPotion (Hi-Potion), Remedy, Ether 1, Ether 2, Ag Apple (Agility Apple), EchoNote (Echo Note), Ice (Ice Arrows), Ice (Ice Arrows), and finally Bolt (Bolt Arrows).

When you’re ready (stocked up on items and fully restored), ride the airship. Kain’s airship will link up with the Enterprise. Kain will ask to see the Crystal. Cecil shows it to him, and asks where Rosa is. Kain tells him that she’s in the Tower of Zot, and takes the Enterprise up into the sky, into the tower. The group enters the tower, and while Kain disappears, Golbez begins talking to the crew. He congratulates Cecil, saying that he exceeded even his expectations. The party demands that he show himself, but he says that Rosa and himself are at the top of the tower. If they bring the Earth Crystal to the top, he will return Rosa. Golbez also tells them that they’d better hurry, before Rosa ends up dead. Looks like we’re going to have to climb to the top of this tower if we want to see our White Mage again.

[Zeromus_X]

--------------------
3.5 Tower of Zot (Part One)
--------------------

After the conversation with Golbez is done, you’ll have control again. Don’t worry, you can actually exit the tower without fear of Rosa dying. Just go through the teleporter where you entered. You can’t use the airship to go anywhere else, but you can use the Black Chocobo if you wanted to do that anyway. You can re-enter the tower by getting in the airship again, where it will automatically go up to the tower.

Be warned. The monsters in this tower are more powerful than any you’ve ever fought before up to this point. Running is certainly an option in some battles. If you don’t feel like you can make it, Exit out and level up some more. However, some of the equipment in the tower that you can find is very good. I recommend picking up all of it. You won’t be able to get the treasure after you complete the tower, so it really is in your best interests. Thankfully, the tower isn’t really that large a dungeon, so it isn’t easy to get lost in it.

Entering the tower, the first area is a very large maze-like room. Make your way to the upper-left corner for a chest with a Flame (Flame Armor) for Cecil. The upper right corner is the exit to the next floor.

On the second floor, head south from the entrance, until you see three little paths. The left path is the one you want to take. Walk through the path to the left until you see an opening to go down. Go down, and down again through another opening. Keep going down and you’ll be at the bottom of the room. Go left, to the lower left corner of the room, and go up. Up further you’ll see two paths. The left path leads to the exit to the next area, and the right leads to a chest which is a monster-in-a-box with a Flame Dog. Use Ice 3 on it to wipe it out quickly. Another funny way to defeat it is to have Yang confuse it with the Charm Claw. It’ll continually use it’s Flame attack on itself, only healing itself for a few HP so it’ll never attack you if you let it stay confused. Enough time to charge up one Ice 3 and do away with it. You’ll get a Flame (Flame Sword) for Cecil, which you obviously should equip. Go through the door on the left path to the next floor.

The third floor is another big maze room. Head down from the entrance, all the way right, all the way up, and all the way left to reach a door at the very upper left corner of the room to the next area.

On the fourth floor, head down from the entrance, and follow the linear path until you see a path going up. It’ll lead to three doors. All three doors go up to the next level, but to enclosed areas with treasure chests. The left door leads to a chest containing a HellClaw (Hell Claw) for Yang, and a Flame (Flame Shielf) for Cecil. The left door leads to a chest containing a Gaia (Gaia Hammer) for Cid. The right door leads to a chest containing a Wizard (Wizard Robe) that Tellah can equip. After you collect the treasure, head back down to the path you were on, and head right. It’s a linear path to the door to the next floor.

On the fifth floor, follow the path from the entrance until you see a door. Go through it to find a Save Point, of which I strongly recommend you rest and save at. When you’re ready to move on, exit the save point, and continue the path west until you see another door. Try to go through it and you’ll be stopped by three mysterious woman, who claim to be servants of the Devil of Wind, Valvalis, one of Golbez’s fiends. Get ready for a boss fight.

-----------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Magus Sisters (Sandy, Cindy, and Mindy)

Sandy:
HP: 2,591
Experience Points: 2,500
Gil: 3,000

Cindy:
HP: 4,599
Experience Points: 2,500
Gil: 3,000

Mindy:
HP: 2,590
Experience Points: 2,500
Gil: 3,000
-------------------------------------------------------------

If you’ve ever played Final Fantasy X, no doubt you’ll recognize the Magus Sisters. However, in Final Fantasy IV they definitely aren’t on your side. This may be one of the toughest boss fights you’ll have had to face up to this point.

First off, this fight requires much more strategy than any other battles up until now. The sisters have an attack pattern. Sandy (tall one) casts Wall on Cindy (chubby one), and Mindy (little one) bounces a spell of off Cindy to damage one of your characters. Together, they form the patented ‘Delta Attack’. If you kill Sandy or Mindy, Cindy will just revive them. This means you have to take care of Cindy first, and then dispatch the other two sisters. Tellah’s spells do the most damage of course, but she always has the ‘Wall’ status on. So how can we remedy this? Well, believe it or not, the sisters will actually help you out. Sandy will always cast Wall on Cindy, then Mindy will reflect a spell back onto you. However, this means she’ll bounce a Wall onto one of your own characters. This saves you the time of casting Wall yourself! Bounce back one of Tellah’s level 3 spells, and hope it hits Cindy. Have Cecil and Cid attack Cindy, Yang use Power on Cindy, and if one of your characters is low on HP, use a Hi-Potion to recover them. Have another character refresh Tellah’s MP with an Ether if he runs out. Once you defeat Cindy, the other sisters should go down without too much of a fight. Just cast spells and attack them, and they’ll go down quick enough.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After you defeat the sisters, they pout about how their Delta Attack failed, and disappear. (Always good for a laugh...) Go back to the Save Point, rest, and save. And although it will be an odd thing to ask, take off all of Tellah’s equipment (or at least the Wizard Robe and any Rune Armlets). You’ll find out why in short time.

When you want to proceed, go through the door the Magus Sisters were guarding. Proceed north to where Golbez and Kain are for a scene.

Golbez welcomes the crew to his lair. Tellah seems anxious, and Cecil demands to know where Rosa is. Golbez tells him to give him the Earth Crystal first. Cid warns Golbez that if anything happens to Rosa, he’ll pay, and Golbez says that if they don’t hurry, Rosa will die. Cecil hands over the Crystal, and then asks where Rosa is.

Golbez asks ‘Rosa? There is no Rosa.’ (Did you really expect the bad guy to just hold up his bargain?) The party is shocked.

Tellah demands that he return Rosa this minute. Golbez asks him if he has any idea who he is dealing with. Then Tellah asks how he could forget the monster that killed his daughter.

Tellah rushes past Cecil and tackles Golbez, saying that vengeance will be his.

------------------
BOSS: Golbez
------------------

This is another story battle. Tellah will cast his most powerful spells on Golbez, while Golbez shrugs them off, mocking Tellah. Realizing his spells are ineffective, Tellah realizes he must unleash the ultimate black magic, Meteo. The rest of the party warns not to use it, because it may destroy him in the process. But Tellah is ready to give anything to kill Golbez. Using all his power, he casts the spell, shocking Golbez, and incapacitating him.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golbez is stunned, but not destroyed, wondering how anyone can know the ultimate destructive magic. Tellah falls over, exhausted. The party rushes over to Tellah’s side.

Golbez says it matters not, and that he still has the Crystal. He tells Kain to come with him, but it seems that Meteo broke Golbez’s control over him. Golbez remarks that Kain no longer serves any purpose, and starts to leave, saying that he will destroy Cecil someday. Cecil tries attacking Golbez, but Golbez blows him away with a bolt of magical energy. Golbez moves in for the kill, but hesitates, and starts flipping out, saying that next time, for certain, it will be over, and then he leaves.

The party crowds near Tellah, telling him to hold still. Tellah says that he was a fool for losing himself in hatred, and asks the party to avenge his daughter for him...

Then, Tellah dies.

The party mourns his loss, and Cecil swears that on his life, he will avenge Tellah and Anna.