BREATH OF FIRE III Strategy Guide & Walkthrough Version 5.0 by DavidK519 E-mail- DKK5@aol.com Updated October 26, 2002 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Updated to Version 5.0- Added a spell to the spell list and did a thorough final error check. This is probably the last revision. Updated to Version 4.0- Added more spells to the spell list and corrected some technical errors Updated to Version 3.0- Added alternate Desert of Death directions and more spells to the spell list Updated to Version 2.0- Added statistics for the Master's Rod and Ding Frog ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: 1- Introduction and Character Bios 2- Controls, The Main Menu, Interface, and The Battle Menu and System 3- Rules of Thumb 4- The Walkthrough: I- Hoodlums in the Woods II- The Balio and Sunder Saga and the Contest of Champions III- Journey to Angel Tower IV- Revenge V- Problems at the Plant VI- Freeing Deis VII- To Cross the Sea VIII- Technology of the Lost Shore IX- Dragnier X- The Desert of Death XI- Myria Station XII- Eden XIII- The Final Confrontation 5- Dragons and Their Genes 6- Spells A- Character Spells B- Spell List 7- Masters 8- Side Quests A- Fishing B- Faerie Village C- Hide & Seek D- The Tower's Crystal Challenge E- Long Trips in the Desert F- Challenge Monsters 9- Acknowledgments and Closing ======================================================================= 1. Introduction and Character Bios After a great war hundreds of years ago, the Brood, a race of dragon people, was forced to the brink of destruction. But Ryu, supposedly the only survivor of the dragon race, was encased in chrysm ore for centuries. After he reawakened from his long imprisonment and was discovered in the Dauna Mine, he gets taken under the care of a poor thief named Rei, who was already taking care of another orphan as well. Ryu discovers his dragon descent shortly after being separated from his friends, and on his journey to find out more about the ancient dragons, he makes new friends and gains helpful and knowledgeable allies. Later, Ryu must journey to see the god of the guardian race to find out why his ancestors were destroyed. Characters: Ryu- Ryu is a blue-haired young man with a moral heart. He is the only known survivor of the dragon race the Brood, and he uses his strength and dragon abilities to help his companions. Ryu learns a good set of healing and assist magic, and putting that together with his dragon abilities make him the most valuable member of your party. Teepo- Teepo, like Ryu, is an orphan who is being taken care of by Rei. Besides Rei, of course, he hates it when people tell him what to do, and he is apathetic toward his thieving lifestyle. Although Teepo is strong for is age, his arrogance does nothing but get him in trouble. Teepo learns a decent set of attack spells that are very useful early in the game. Rei- Even though Rei is a thief, he has a wholesome heart and doesn't like the idea of hurting others. While taking care of Ryu and Teepo, Rei is very responsible and always does what's in their best interest. He appears to be holding back some kind of hidden power so that Teepo and Ryu don't get hurt. Rei acquires a nice arsenal of electric spells and learns some assist magic as well. Although his attack power is miniscule compared to Garr's, his speed and incredible accuracy make him a very strong party member. Nina- Nina is the princess of Wyndia, but she is getting tired of the royal lifestyle and being controlled by her parents. At the beginning of her travels with Ryu, she is a bit helpless in the face of danger and thinks of Ryu as her hero, because he's always saving her from dilemmas. Nina has little to say in the area of HP and physical strength, but she naturally learns the most powerful attack spells of anyone in your party and learns a few handy assist spells also. Momo- Momo is an independent scientist who knows just about everything about machines and chrysm. She has a chrysm-powered assistant named Honey to help her. Her extensive knowledge proves useful time and time again while traveling with Ryu and his friends. Momo wields a huge bazooka as her weapon and it packs a wallop, but it isn't very accurate. She learns a few powerful attack spells, as well as some healing and assist magic, making her a vital member of your final line-up. Peco- Peco is a little onion-like creature that was created from an experiment at the Plant. Although he doesn't seem to have strong ties with humans, he is very in-touch with nature, especially the Yggdrasil tree. He learns a unique set of breath attacks and has the ability to regenerate a small amount of HP every turn. Peco can be a good party member if he's at a high level, but he's best left out of your final team. Garr- Garr is a member of the guardian race, and has been the victor in the Contest of Champions years running. When he meets Ryu, he seems intrigued by his dragon abilities and seems to know more about the ancient Brood than he lets on at first. Garr's attack power is like no other, and he has HP to burn, making him the heavy artillery of your party. He acquires a wide set of fire spells, but doesn't have the intelligence level to put them to good use. Besides that, though, his only downfall is his low agility. ======================================================================= 2. Controls, The Main Menu, Interface, and The Battle Menu and System Controls: X button- talk, confirm, execute, examine, cast (while fishing), reel in (while fishing) O button- walk (hold down if auto run on), run (hold down if auto run off), speed up boat Square button- bring up main menu Triangle button- undo, exit, use personal action (different with each character) R1- change camera angles (hold down and press D-pad) L1- switch lead character R2- L2- D-pad- move, scroll, select battle icon The Main Menu: Pressing the square button while on the world map, in camp, or just about anywhere outside of battle, can access the main menu. When you access the main menu, you'll see a brief status screen for each of you currently active party members, your game time, your total amount of zenny (money), and a horizontal row of icons to choose from. From here you can select icons to make decisions and customize your game: "Vase" icon (items)- Here you can view all of your items, and your weapon inventory. You can use, sort, and drop/toss items you don't need. "Rod" icon (abilities)- This is where you can view each party member's abilities and magic spells. You can use an ability (such as a healing spell) outside of battle, you can sort your abilities, and you can send skills back to the skill notes. The dragon gene list can also be viewed here. "Sword" icon (equip)- Here you can view your currently equipped weapons, armor, and accessories, and change your equipment by swapping equipped items with weapons and armor from your inventory. "3 Circles" icon (tactics)- Here you can change your party's battle formation to your liking, and, if you're on the world map, you can select Ally and change party members. "Person" icon (status)- This is where you can see everyone in your party's full status, including each person's stats, HP and AP, exp, and equipped items. "Controller" icon (configure)- Here you can configure the controls, and customize your game. "Tent" icon (camp)- Select this while on the world map to make camp. While camping, you can rest, save your game, change party members, check the master list, and change skill notes. You can also converse with your party members while camping. Interface: On the world map, there are some things that may pop up that all players should be familiar with. The main thing you should know about is the box that is always in the upper-left corner of the screen. In the box, you should see: X- Enter, /\- Guide, and START- Camp. When any of these words is highlighted in the box, you can press the corresponding button to perform the button's function (Enter- enter the area, Guide- get a brief description of the area, Camp- to set up camp). Along with this, symbols should appear above Ryu's head: [Name of place]- Usually appears when you are at a town, road, or a fishing spot. The name of the place appears in a box overhead, and Enter and Guide are usually highlighted. ! (Exclamation point)- Often appears while anywhere on the world map. Indicates a random battlefield, and Enter should be highlighted. [?]- Indicates an unnamed area that isn't a normal random battlefield (although in some cases there aren't even any random battles to fight). Enter and Guide should be highlighted. ? (Unboxed question mark)- Appears when you're standing on a ring of flowers. These flower rings can be found all throughout the world but don't come into play until later in the game. The Battle Menu and System: Breath of Fire 3 has a turn based battle system that is common to many RPG's. BoF3's battle system has everything expected of a stereotypical, basic turned based system plus some other unique features as well (also common in RPG's). The following are the icons that will appear at the beginning of every turn in battle. Collectively, these make up the battle menu, and they are arranged in a + shape. You must hold down a directional button on the D-pad to highlight a battle icon. "Sword" icon (middle)- This is the command to perform a normal attack. Normal attacks don't consume AP and don't have any special affects by themselves. "Rod" icon (up)- By selecting this you can bring up the list of spells and skills for that character and use these abilities. Most abilities consume AP, so if you don't have enough AP, you can't use abilities. For Ryu, you can access Accession on the ability list and transform into a dragon. "Shield" icon (right)- Select this and the character will go into a defensive pose, lessening physical attack damage taken for the remainder of the turn. "Vase" icon (down)- Like on the main menu, this command lets you access and use the items in your inventory, as well as change your equipment. "Eye" icon (left)- This is a feature that is completely unique from any other game. By selecting this, the character carefully watches the selected enemy and if the enemy uses a learnable skill during that turn, the observer might learn it. The higher your intelligence and overall level, the better chance you have of learning a skill while examining. You cannot learn a skill that anyone in your party has already learned or acquired. If you learn a skill while examining, an exclamation point will appear over the person's head and a brief message will follow. If you examine a skill that cannot be learned, a question mark will appear over the person's head and a message will come up saying that the skill can't be learned. "Twin Swords" icon (brought up by holding down L1)- This commands everyone in your party to use normal attacks until otherwise directed. You can gain control again by pressing Triangle. "Boot" icon (brought up by holding down R1)- You can flee battle by using this escape icon. Escaping doesn't always work though; you won't always escape on your first attempt. If your party fails to escape, the enemy will get the rest of that turn to attack. These icons will show up in the form of the battle menu every turn for each member of your party. The name of the character that you are commanding will appear above the battle menu. In the BoF3 battle system, if any character in the battle (including enemies) has a significantly higher level of agility than their opponent, they will get an extra turn in which the opponent cannot attack. Extra turns are marked by "Ex" in yellow letters next to the character's name above the battle menu. If any characters have enough agility for an extra turn, the extra turn will be granted after each regular turn. Outside of battle, you can determine who gains the initiative right before you fight by the !'s that appears over each character's head (assuming there are three members in your party). Anyone who has the initiative automatically gets an extra turn at the very beginning of the battle: If 1 or 2 party members get !'s above their heads, than neither you or your opponent will have the initiative. If all 3 party members have !'s above their heads, than you'll have a 1 in 4 chance of having the initiative. If no one in your party has an ! above their head, the opponent will have a 1 in 4 chance of having the initiative. Also, if a character dies in battle and is not somehow revived before the battle ends, that character will fall victim to TMHPD (Temporary Maximum Health Point Decline). TMHPD is a drop in the affected character's maximum HP until he/she rests at an inn, not just by camping. This temporary drop in max HP is marked by the character's HP status highlighted in yellow on the main menu. TMHPD is temporary because your original max HP can be restored, but once again, you can only do this by resting at an inn. ======================================================================= 3. Rules of Thumb Here are just a couple of basic tips to get you off on the right foot: If you're stuck on something, seek outside input- A cardinal rule in every RPG is to talk to everyone you can, especially when you arrive in a new town so you can get the scoop on what's going on. You can almost always find out where to go or what to do by talking to everyone you meet. Use your camera angles- Adjust your camera angles often so you can see behind every corner and ledge you come across so you don't miss any hidden items. You will in some cases even have to use your camera angles to find hidden objects vital to your progress. Don't fight stubbornly- If you're clearly outmatched in a random battle, run away or defend and heal. Don't just go on attacking if your party is getting butchered or your offensive is having no effect. There's a difference between being stubborn and being persistent. Play the master system strategically- Be careful when selecting which character you want to have study under each master. Make sure you weigh the character's current status against the affects the master will have on those stats. Also take into consideration anyone among your group that might benefit from a master's special effects. There are basically two ways to approach the master system, and they'll be explained in more detail in the Masters section. Don't limit yourself to a single style of fighting- This game has a vast variety of enemies and situations for those enemies to appear in. There is no single strategy that is effective against every enemy in every kind of situation, so you must learn to adapt to many different styles and strategies of fighting. This goes especially for bosses, and at the end of the game, you'll want to develop several more different strategies to use against the Challenge Monsters. Get involved in the side quests- There are many side quests and mini games in BoF3 to participate in. Most of these side quests you'll find to be well worth your trouble once you reap the rewards. A little leveling up never hurt anyone- If you've just lost to the same boss for the second or third time, or if you are finding yourself struggling against the random battles in a new area, then spend some time increasing your level. There are plenty of benefits to leveling up such as increasing your stats, gaining new skills from masters, or acquiring a good item or weapon from a defeated enemy. The only apparent downfall to leveling up is that it consumes time. These tips will help you get through the game without having to read the entire walkthrough. ======================================================================= 4. The Walkthrough Here's the walkthrough that will help you get through game if you get stuck somewhere. I've divided up the major sequences of events into chapters and have provided sub-chapters for each mission in each chapter to make it easier to find what you're looking for. And whenever I'm talking about a direction (e.g. left, right, up, down, north, south, ect...), I mean your perspective of the screen (e.g. the top of your screen = north/up). I. Hoodlums in the Woods In the caverns of Dauna Mine, two workers have been ordered to detonate a large piece of chrysm ore. When the explosion goes off, the baby dragon that was inside of it will be awakened. Immediately the two workers will attack you and the battle menu will appear. Select Whelp Breath under abilities to incinerate these foes. After you kill them, you'll have control of the dragon. First go inspect the corpses of the two fried workers to get the Melted Blade. Since there are no more items to find throughout the rest of the area, you can basically just leave through any of this room's exits. Once you leave the room, follow paths going for the most part right and downward. Unless of course you go down a side path with a dead end, all of the main paths eventually empty out into the room you're heading for. If you encounter anyone along the way who tries to fight you, just kill them with Whelp Breath. Once you reach the room with the giant green skull on the wall, you'll confront a big worker and have to fight him. Once you try to use Whelp Breath, a voice will tell you to stop, and a crane operator will knock you out. You'll now be captured, caged, and put on a train heading east. Once you regain control, shake the cage by moving the D-pad rapidly, and the cage will come loose from the train cart. Meanwhile, down below in Cedar Woods, you'll see that some fellow just missed out on a meal because of some racket. He goes over to your crash landing site and scares away some wolves that were eating you. This guy happens to be Rei, a thief who lives in these woods. Even though Rei doesn't think he can afford another mouth to feed, he takes you home with him anyway. Teepo, another orphan Rei is taking care of, is waiting at home hoping for some food when Rei gets back. They put you to bed and then leave to let you get some sleep. You'll then have a strange and sort of beckoning dream. When you awake and gain control of Ryu, go over to the blue book in the bedroom and save your game. Then proceed downstairs and pick up a Vitamin and Worm from the cabinets there. Go out the front door and follow the path around the house until you reach the dirt path going down to a bridge. Cross the bridge and pick up a Skill Ink in the treasure chest on the hill adjacent to the house and use your camera angles to check behind the trees to the left of the chest to get an Ammonia. McNeil and Yraall Road Return to the dirt path and take it to the left and then upwards to reach the left exit of this area. Head back to the big tree where Rei first found you and check behind it for a Green Apple. Take the path south from there and pick up satchel containing another Green Apple along the path. There are no more items to get in Cedar Woods so keep going south into the next area and continue south from there until you exit the woods and appear on the world map. Go south on the world map until you reach a town called McNeil; enter it. Right when you enter town you'll witness Rei and Teepo getting chased out of someone's house. Once they see that you're finally out of bed, Teepo proposes that you help them "work". Now head south a little ways until you reach the weapon shop. Rei will go inside to get you some equipment, but meanwhile when making conversation with Teepo, he'll casually call you by your name. But how does he know your name, weird isn't it? Once that's over Rei will come bolting out of the weapon shop after snatching some equipment for Ryu, and all three of you will head down to the farm just south of McNeil. After waiting for Ryu to catch up, Rei and Teepo explain what they do for work, which is mugging people at Yraall Road. Rei will suggest that you go to Yraall Road to do some work right now. Now you have control of the whole party and can bring up the main menu for the first time. Before going to Yraall Road, though, I would suggest that you return to the world map and enter some random battle sites to do some leveling up and to get a feel for the battle system. Whenever your party gets low on health though, make sure you make camp, rest, and save your game. Once you accumulate a good amount of zenny (money), you can go back to McNeil village to buy some new weapons, armor, or some items to stock your inventory. Also make sure to check all of the houses and buildings in McNeil for a Healing Herb, Antidote, and Molotov. There's also a bag containing a Vitamin in the garden to the left of the inn. McNeil Item Shop: McNeil Weapon Shop: Healing Herb- 10z Ballock Knife- 100z Croc Tear- 5z Bronze Sword- 240z Antidote- 12z Leather Armor- 180z Eye Drops- 20z Bracers- 30z Molotov- 10z Cloth Shield- 150z Ammonia- 200z Bandana- 30z Wooden Rod- 40z Brass Helm- 120z Worm- 20z Toad- 20z Old Popper- 20z Sinker- 20z If you talk with some of the people in McNeil and at the farm you'll find out that there's been a very poor harvest this year and also that most people don't appreciate Rei and Teepo's line of work. Anyway, once you've leveled up to about level 4 or so, head down to Yraall Road. Once you enter Yraall Road, take the path down until you reach the T junction. There Rei and Teepo will spot a place for the three of you to hide, so go over to that spot. In a little while you'll spot someone coming, and since Ryu is hesitant to attack him, Teepo offers him a great shove down the hill where Ryu slams into the guy. It turns out that this is a guy named Bunyan, a very strong woodsman who lives in the southeast corner of Cedar Woods. Bunyan just sort of shrugs off this little attempt at robbing him, but he leaves Ryu with a threat to Rei and Teepo. After a little suffering of defeat, Rei realizes that if Bunyan is out here than that means there's no one guarding his house. So it's decided that you go hit Bunyan's house. Before leaving Yraall Road, make sure you pick up the satchel containing 40z near your hiding place. Now head to the southern most entrance on the east side of Cedar Woods (just above the little hut on the world map). Once you enter Cedar Woods, just take the path downwards to reach Bunyan's house. Switch Rei into the lead position and have him pick the lock on the door. After you're inside the house and you gain control of Ryu, go down the ladder in the northeast corner of the room. Pick up the Beef Jerky from the cabinet down there. Now Rei and Teepo will come down to see if you've found anything. Victory for finding food, though, is short lived when you hear the door creak open upstairs. Rei will go up to see what's going on, and after a monkey-like scream, Teepo will follow. Now have Ryu go upstairs and out the front door to get a free five-finger sandwich, complements of Bunyan. When you wake up, all three of you will be tied up and you'll get a lecture about stealing. Bunyan will tell Rei to go to Mt. Glaus and in the meantime, have Ryu and Teepo do some honest work for a change; chopping wood. Listen to the directions Bunyan gives you and then start the game. This wood chopping mini game is all about timing; once you see the log tip, swing. You have to cut a certain amount of logs within the time limit to gain freedom, but don't worry, because this mini game is very easy and you should be able to win on your first try. Once Bunyan sets you free, Teepo suggests that the both of you go up to Mt. Glaus to meet up with Rei. Exit Cedar Woods and take the path on the east side of the woods north until you reach a boxed "?" area on the path. This is the road to Mt. Glaus. Road to Mt. Glaus The road to Mt. Glaus is pretty short but don't rush through it because there are a lot of useful items to pick up along the way. Start out by crossing the bridge straight ahead and going right just a little ways to see a huge boulder. Have Teepo kick out the small stone from under the boulder so it will roll into the stream and dam it up. Now walk right until you can enter the dried up stream. Go right and then follow the path up that leads to a chest with a powerful Weather Vane inside. Return to the area where the boulder initially was and take the main path upwards. In the next area and throughout the rest of the road you'll see rocks scattered on the ground. Make sure you have Teepo kick over all of the rocks you see because some of them have holes under them. Inspect the holes to find a Vitamin, 120z, and a Coin. The main path goes northwest all the way to the exit, so continue north until you find a chest under a tree containing 80z. From here just head west until you reach the exit (Note- Once you make it through this road once, you can just walk through it on the world map from now on). If you need to rest or do any shopping at McNeil, now's the time. After you've rested up and done any last minute leveling up, follow the path the rest of the way to Mt. Glaus. Mt. Glaus and the Caverns When you first enter Mt. Glaus, cross the big bridge and immediately turn left and walk down to a path that doubles back to the right toward the bridge. Pick up the Antidote in the bag and return to the bridge. Head north until you reach a steep, light colored incline with ledges sticking out of it. Go up the ramp to the immediate left of this incline until you reach the top. You'll soon find out that if you try to go down the light colored incline, you can only go down it, not up it, and you can't maneuver while going down. To get the two satchels on the ledges, you have to slide down the incline right above the ledges. You don't have to guess at it though because there are indentations in the incline that mark where the ledges are. Slide down at the two right places to pick up a Heavy Caro and a Cloth Shield. Once this is done, head right from the top of the incline and cross the bridge there. You'll then see the sun setting and Teepo decides that you should spend the night in the cabin that's directly ahead. When you go inside the cabin you'll find that Rei is staying there also. Rei explains that there have been rumors of a monster living near Mt. Glaus, and that Bunyan sent him here to kill the monster. After this discussion, everyone agrees that they should get some sleep. In the morning, you're awakened by a terrible noise. Go outside and you'll see the monster, who looks like a monkey and chimera combined. It'll jump down from the ledge to confront you and a fight will begin. Just hit it with normal attacks and have Rei use Pilfer so you might be able to snatch a Power Food from it. The Nue will run away after a few turns, so you have to chase it down. Follow the path of broken trees to the right of the cabin upwards and you'll see a cave entrance. Ignore it for now and take the path going left all the way up to find a bag containing Vitamins. Now it's time to hunt down the Nue, so return to the cave entrance and proceed inside. The caverns are pretty straight forward, considering that you have a trail of blood to follow. Start up the trail and detour at your first left and go through the passageway. Inside the sub cave, inspect the huge pile of bones to find a Bent Sword. Return to the blood trail and follow it until it leads into a cavern to the left of the main path. Enter the cavern and follow the path all the way up until you see the blood trail end. Check the skeleton for 200z and exit the cavern. When you exit, Teepo will say that he thinks the monster jumped into the water in that cavern to cover the trail. Once that's done, return to the T junction in the main path and heat north off of the blood trail. Take the path at the first right to a skeleton carrying a Ballock Knife. Return to the main path and take the next right to a skeleton you can inspect for a Talisman. Once again, return to the main path but take the left trail at the very end of the main path and enter the cavern there. Now Teepo will explain that if you jump into the water from here, you can ride the current down to the spot where the blood trail ended. So when you're ready to proceed, dive into the water and the current will dump you out into a cave hidden behind the waterfall. Now follow the trail of blood upwards until you confront the Nue. Boss fight: Nue HP- 280 Exp- 96 / Zenny- 50 / Item- Power Food Recommended team- Ryu, Rei, Teepo Recommended level- 6 Notes- Like in most RPG's, the first boss is usually fairly easy to beat, and the Nue is no exception. Just hit him with your normal attacks, and if Teepo is at level 7 or higher, you can use Simoon to make the battle ridiculously short. The only two attacks you have to be aware of are Chlorine because it poisons, and Jolt because it does about 10-15 damage to all of your party members. The Nue also has a high reprisal rate so expect him to attack you more than once per turn.***Extra Note- You can steal Power Food from the Nue twice with Rei's Pilfer ability; during the battle when the Nue runs away, and during this battle*** After the battle, inspect the Nue's body and you'll enter the cave it was guarding. It turns out that the monster was bringing food to her cubs, but she didn't know that the cubs were dead. Now exit the cave and dive back into the water and the current will take you out of the cave. Once you leave the cave, Bunyan will be waiting for you outside, and he will commend your strength and bravery. After your conversation, the scene will fade out and time will pass. New Spring With the Nue gone, there's been plenty of food now for everyone to outlast the fall depression, and now that spring has arrived, a new harvest has brought prosperity to the Yraall Region once again. After Teepo returns from the woods with some food, he'll suggest that you all go into town to hear what everyone's saying about them. If you haven't already done so, go down to the storage room in your house to pick up a Healing Herb and then head out of Cedar Woods and go to McNeil village. When you arrive in town, it'll appear deserted (it seems that Teepo's been letting his ego run loose lately). But then people will start coming out the their homes with shovels, rakes, and sickles in hand, but don't worry because they're just farmers. A crowd will gather around you, and the village elder will come and commend your efforts to save the town from the Nue. The crowd will then disperse and life will go on as usual, except now the people in town will treat you with the up most respect. Now that it's spring, you now have some new areas to explore in the Yraall Region. Buy a Wooden Rod and some fishing lures from the McNeil item shop and go enter the fishing spots along the river to the west. Fishing is the first side quest you can experience and even at this point in the game it has its rewards (for more on fishing see the Fishing section under side quests). Also check out the new [?] area northwest of McNeil to find the game's first master, Mygas. Make sure, though, you spend all of your zenny at McNeil before talking to Mygas (to learn more about him and all of the other masters check out the Masters section). Now's also a good time to do some leveling up along side of fishing. You've probably noticed that after you killed the Nue and the people congratulated you and everything, there's been a shifty looking character in a green cloak following you around whenever you visit McNeil. Once your party is at level 8 or so, talk to this guy. It turns out his name is Loki, and he starts right off saying how strong and brave you are, but he'll beat around the bush a little bit before he asks you for a favor. Say that you'll help him and he tells you to meet him in the shed down at the farm. Make sure that you have a good supply of healing items and zenny before you go to see Loki, but once you're ready, head down to the farm and enter the hut on the right side of the path going south. When you enter, Loki will explain that Mr. McNeil, the mayor of McNeil village, has been overtaxing the villagers, and he thinks that you should take back some of the tax money and return it to the villagers. Teepo, of course, agrees immediately and is followed by the slightly reluctant Rei and Ryu. Loki suggests that you should go tonight, so the scene will then end and night will fall. Outside McNeil Manor When you arrive just outside of McNeil manor, your party will split up looking for a way to get in. First, follow the path you're on upwards and search inside the hut on the side of the path for a Vitamin. Exit the hut and detour to the north off the path until you come to the outer wall of the manor. Walk along this wall until you find a section of the wall that stands out from the rest of the wall and examine it. Rei and Teepo will join you, and when Rei leans against the newly fixed section of wall it'll topple over, giving you guys a way in. When you get in you'll find the place swarming with guards. First, search behind the hedge to the left to find a guy who looks like Loki who gives you 50z for keeping quiet about him to the guards. Exit the ledge and continue upwards until you confront a guard who, realizing he's no match for you, let's you pass for 50z. Pay him and continue straight ahead and go up the stairs. Head left from the top of the stairs and use your camera angles to check behind the corner there to find a wallet. Go right past the stairs and give the guard standing there his lost wallet and he'll let you go by. Keep going right and then head down the stairs, making sure not to let yourself be seen by the guards holding lanterns (because if a lantern guard sees you, you'll get thrown out and you'll have to pay the initial guard another 50z). Now go south until you reach a tower with a bell on it, so climb up the tower and use Ryu's sword to ring the bell. This will cause a lantern guard to leave his post so you can walk by, so climb down the tower and go right until you reach a courtyard. Speak with the guard who's sitting in the middle of the courtyard smoking, and he'll tell you to take out the guard dog keeping watch at the front gate so it'll look like the dog's fault if you break in and not his (it seems that half the guards here are nothing but slackers). Take the path south from there to fight the Pooch (Note- You can have Rei steal a Vitamin off the Pooch). Make short work of the dog and continue to the right from the courtyard and double back around the hedge downwards of you to find two people eloping behind it. Talk to them and then talk to guard who's standing in front of the shed to the right of the hedge. He'll leave his post when you tell him what's going on so enter the shed he was guarding. It turns out to be a chicken coop, and when Teepo tries to steal some eggs, a big a** rooster named Rocky will come out and give you some attitude. The fight with Rocky isn't too hard just watch out for his Ovum attack (Note- You can have Rei snatch a Life Shard from Rocky). Once you've dealt with Rocky, the chickens will go crazy, and almost all of the guards will be too busy chasing chickens to notice you sneaking around. From the coop, go up following the wall to the right until you reach a stair set. Go up the stairs and head left to find a chest containing a Firecracker. Now go back to the courtyard and cut through it to the left and go up the stairs. Then head right towards the main door to find it heavily guarded. Rei decides to act as a diversion so that Ryu and Teepo can sneak in the front door and meet up with him later. Once Rei leads the guards away from the door, Ryu and Teepo enter McNeil manor. Inside McNeil Manor When you first enter the house, go right and enter the door there to wind up in a room full of portraits hung on the walls. You'll both start to receive some bad vibes from this place so exit this room and walk to the large stairway in the middle of the hall. A strange force will stop you from going up the stairs, and then a ghost will appear, telling you that he is a spirit of one of the old McNeil's, and he doesn't want you to challenge the McNeil clan. Torast will then challenge you to a fight. Just use your strongest attacks against him when you can because Torast tends to use Sleep a lot (Note- If you've acquired the Sliver Knife by fishing you can do serious damage to ghosts with it). Once you defeat Torast head up the big stair set and take the path right. Go down and enter the doorway to the right and collect the item in the room above you (Remember to use your camera angles to find cabinets hidden behind walls). Now return to the top of the big stairway, but this time go left. Walk through the doorway on the left and pick up Gems in the 2nd room (going right to left) below you and a Vitamin in the 2nd room above you. Head out the north end of the room with the Vitamin to confront Mr. McNeil, or so you think. Ryu sees through this McNeil ghost's disguise and reveals him to be the ghost of Kassen McNeil. Fight Kassen, who shouldn't be any harder than Torast, and then continue to the right down this hall. Enter the room below you at the end of the hall and check the drawers for a Panacea. Try to go down the stairs in this room, but you'll be halted by Galtel, another McNeil ghost. Eliminate him and continue down the stairs. From here, walk to the left past the beds and collect a MultiVitamin from the drawer. Continue through the lower doorway and through the next doorway as well. Head left and get a Healing Herb in the kitchen drawer and continue left and go up the stairs to find 600z in the bedroom. Go back down the stairs and enter the lower hallway to confront another ghost, Doksen. Teepo seems to be getting tired of all the talkative ghosts so he cuts right to the chase. Once you've taken care of Doksen, continue down the hallway and head right after entering the next room. Take the elevator there up and then go up the next stair set to find a room where you can rest and save your game. After you've rested up, go up the ladder to reach the roof. Now that you're finally on the roof, go up and to the left until you get to the end of the roof (Also make sure to check behind the chimney stacks on both roofs to find a Broad Sword. Thanks to my brother for finding this one). On the incline of the roof you'll see green moss that, like the slope at Mt. Glaus, lets you slide down but not up. Slide down the roof's side in the right spot to get the grappling hook. Once this happens Rei will show up, and now that you've found his grappling hook, you can cross over to the adjacent roof where Mr. McNeil is. After a little guilt trip, courtesy of Teepo, head upwards and walk down any of the narrow stairways slanting down the roof. Go up the narrow gutter- like area on the edge of the roof to find a satchel containing a Swallow Eye. Now return to the area where you crossed over from the other roof, search for a ladder (not a staircase) going down into the house, and head down it. Check this area for items and then return to the roof. Now search for a staircase going down into the house and walk down it to enter Mr. McNeil's bedroom. After barging in on his fun, you'll have Mr. McNeil cornered and cowering, but then the ghosts that you defeated (plus another that you didn't fight) will appear and they will fuse into one big ghost in an attempt to prevent you from destroying the dignity of the McNeil clan. It's time to fight the McNeil's once and for all. Boss fight: Amalgam HP- 550 Exp- 210 / Zenny- 200 / Item- Magic Shard Recommended team- Ryu, Rei, Teepo Recommended level- 9 Notes- Amalgam isn't too tough to beat, but this fight will take a little longer than the fight with the Nue. Just have Rei stick to his regular attack and Pilfer, Teepo should use Simoon, and Ryu should just use regular attacks and heal the party when needed. This guy's a ghost, so any regular attack by someone equipped with the Silver Knife is going to do major damage. The only attack you need to watch out for is Astral Warp, which can do 15-20 damage to a single character. Once you defeat Amalgam, you'll walk in and steal the money easily from the sobbing Mr. McNeil, but through his tears he makes a threatening promise of revenge. Aftermath Later, back at your home in Cedar Woods after you've left some of McNeil's money at everyone's doorstep, Teepo thinks that the three of you should go into town again to see the reaction of the town's people. Make sure you've collected all of the items in your house and then head over to McNeil. Talk to the people in town, and you'll find out that everyone is mad at you again for stealing, and also that they all gave the money back to Mr. McNeil. Now that this plan blew up in your face, go down to the farm and talk to Loki, who's hiding behind a cart to the side of the road. He appears to be a bit paranoid about people hearing their conversation so he asks you to meet him in the hut again. Go to the hut and wait for Loki, but instead of him, Bunyan comes in with a cow. Bunyan will indirectly tell you that Loki didn't know until now that Mr. McNeil has strong ties with a mafia group who didn't appreciate getting stolen from, uh oh! Now that he's got things figured out, Rei suggests that you all should get back home as quickly as possible to lie low until this whole thing gets forgotten. When you exit the hut, Loki is nowhere to be found, so when you're ready, head back to your house in Cedar Woods. When you return to your home, you'll find it set on fire, and you'll also find the two arsonists as well. News got out fast and the gang of crooks McNeil works for already sent two of their toughest guys, Balio and Sunder, to kill you. Unless your level is something amazing, your party will be wiped out in about three turns, so don't waste any items in this battle (although you can have Rei use Pilfer to try to snatch an item or two off of them).***Note- This is the most controversial battle in BoF3 because only those who have witnessed someone beating Balio and Sunder in this fight know for sure that it's possible to win this battle. My friends and I did a little experiment to see if it is possible to beat Balio and Sunder and we got some pretty interesting results. If you want to know more about our experiment or if you have witnessed someone winning this battle, please e-mail me at DKK5@aol.com and subject the mail "Breath of Fire 3 Guide Questions- Balio and Sunder"*** ----------------------------------------------------------------------- II. The Balio and Sunder Saga and The Contest of Champions When Ryu regains consciousness, he finds himself in a bed inside a familiar house. Get out of bed and head out the front door to find Bunyan waiting for you. He says he found you hurt in the woods...alone. It looks like the worst is to be expected of Rei and Teepo, but Ryu believes that they're still alive somewhere. You tell Bunyan that Rei and Teepo wanted to go to Wyndia so he suggests that you head east to Mt. Myrneg. Take his advice, exit Cedar Woods, and head east from Yraall Road to reach Mt. Myrneg (Note- After you've visited the mountain once, go back to Cedar Woods and talk to Bunyan, and he'll become a master). Mt. Myrneg When you first enter Mt. Myrneg, take the path to the right and talk to the Tarman named Tallman standing on the path next to a chest containing an Icicle. He'll tell you about enemy weaknesses. After you speak with him, pick up the Icicle and continue right around the first corner and head up the ladder there. Go to the right until you reach a ladder going down. Head down the ladder and take the path right and check around the trees for a satchel containing a Protein. Now go back up the nearest ladder going up. Walk to the right and take the ladder farthest to the right up to a small precipice with another ladder going up; take this ladder up too. Now take the half hidden path on the right to get the Bat Amulet from the chest there. Go back down the two ladders you just took and head left. Take the first ladder you come across up and then go right to another ladder at the end of the path. Climb that ladder and go left up the path (ignore the first ladder to the right of the path) and walk down onto a rock peninsula and pick up the 200z in the bag there. Now go up the ladder you ignored earlier and take the next path up and to the left to reach the last ladder. Climb it and go right to see half the horse duo, Sunder, taking a wiz. Try to get by, and he'll turn around and see you. Sunder gets scared and calls for Balio to come over and help him. Balio figures that they didn't finish you off after your last encounter, so Sunder draws his sword and shafts you right through the back. You then turn into a dragon, and Balio will get the idea to make some money off of you. Balio and Sunder capture you and cart you the rest of the way to Wyndia, where they'll request a hearing before the king of Wyndia. The thugs will go before the king, telling him that they've captured a dragon, but when the cage is unveiled, Ryu has turned back into a boy again. Thinking the three of you are con artists, the king will have you locked up in the dungeon. Wyndian Dungeon You're sent to the dungeon and they lock you up in a cell, and Balio and Sunder in another cell. After taking some lip from the horse duo, Nina, the princess of Wyndia, comes in and says she'll let you out because she sorry for the way you were treated. Balio and Sunder lie to convince Nina to bail them out to, and she does... bad move! She lets them out first and they capture her so they can get a ransom. You're left in the dungeon by yourself, so go up to the cell door and examine it. You will now get some options of what to do. Choose to try to break the door down. Your first attempt will fail, but the door will fall down after you ram it twice. Now head right and pick up the Skill Ink from Balio and Sunder's cell (save your game at the journal also). Then follow the path down and through the barred door and go down the stairs. Continue down the stair sets and take the path down to confront Balio and Sunder. They decide to deal with you before worrying about the princess, so now you fight Balio and Sunder. Before you attack them, use a Healing Herb on Nina so she can escape the battle, and then go up to abilities to find that you've acquired the Accession (dragon transformation) ability. Select the Flame gene, the only gene you have right now, and turn into a flame Whelp. Use Flame Breath until the horses begin to run away, that is if you're at a higher level than average. If you're at a low level, you probably won't be able to beat them, but that's ok because you don't have to win this fight (although if you manage to win, you'll get 110 Exp). After the battle, win or lose, Balio and Sunder will have dispersed and Nina will thank you for helping her. She tells you that there's a way to the city through the Catacombs, and so Nina will join your party of one. Now walk down the path and head down the stairs to reach the Catacombs. Wyndian Catacombs As you first enter the Catacombs, head left and take the concrete path (that seems to be just hovering in the darkness) to a tombstone. Examine it, and it'll tell you about the tombstone puzzle of these Catacombs. Push the "7" on that tombstone and return to the area near the entrance and then head right to reach an area with seven normal tombstones and one big one. The seven smaller tombstones are scattered around the floor in this area, and the big tombstone is up on a platform which you can access by ladder. All of the seven smaller tombstones have two words on them that you can push like a button. Push the wrong word and you will fall through the floor and have to climb back up to the staring area again (that's how you obtain the Glass Domino that's on the raised platform near where you start). Here are the correct buttons to press: "Above or Beneath"- Above "Climbing or Outside"- Outside "This or That"- That "Look or Secrets"- Secrets "Green or Red"- Green "I or You"- You "Is or Not"- Not Once you've hit all of these switches (and picked up the Panacea in the chest at the bottom of the ladder south of the "Green and Red" tombstone), climb the ladder up to the big tombstone and examine it. You'll find that it has seven different sets of buttons to press, so here's the correct buttons to hit in each set: Red, Climbing, I, Is, Look, Beneath, This. If you hit all the correct switches, you'll fall through the floor and land in a small area. Walk down a few steps to fall through a hidden hole in the floor. Nina now tells you that you can reach the city from here. Ryu explains that he's looking for Rei and Teepo, so Nina offers to help you look for them. Continue south from here to this area's exit, but make sure to check behind the tombstones to the left to find a chest with a Wisdom Fruit inside. Go south in the next area to exit the Catacombs. Wyndia As you'll soon find out, Wyndia is a very up-beat, peaceful, and large city (It makes McNeil village look like nothing). Explore every area in town you can to find a Healing Herb, Ammonia, Moxa, and Bread X4. At the ground level of town, there's a couple of weapon and item shops and an Inoculation shop, where you can receive injections that will protect you against certain types of attacks, and even status changes. But the higher your level, the higher the price for each injection, and the effects of the injection wear off after you rest. Near the Inoculation shop, you'll find some kids playing near a fountain. Talk to the leader of the kids and he'll get you to play a game of Hide and Seek. Nina thinks that if you both play, the kids might tell you if they know anything about Rei and Teepo. Here are the hiding places of the kids: -Behind the trees near the Inoculation shop -Behind the left wall near the city's entrance -Behind the weapon shop near where the bum is sitting -Behind the tree in the cafe area After you've found them all, the leader will tell you that he saw some kid rob a man's house here in town, and that he ran off down the road afterwards. So now it's time to go down to Eygnock Road to look for your friends. Before you leave town, though, check out the shops here in Wyndia, and if you got a couple thousand zenny to spare, consider buying some new weapons and armor. If you have little money, save it because you can get supplies cheap in the next town. Wyndia Item Shop: Wyndia Armor Shop: Toshihiro's General Store Healing Herb- 10z Leather Armor- 180z Midas Stone- 3000z Vitamin- 50z Leather Apron- 330z Talisman- 500z Antidote- 12z Ranger Garb- 520z Life Sandals- 500z Eye Drops- 20z Cuirass- 620z Molotov- 10z Panacea- 100z Mage's Robes- 610z Dynamite- 200z Ammonia- 200z Gauntlet- 400z Weather Vane- 200z Worm- 20z Bronze Shield- 610z Taser- 200z Toad- 20z Iron Helm- 380z Old Popper- 20z Glass Domino- 450z Sinker- 20z Wyndia Weapon Shop: Bakery: Bronze Sword- 240z Bread- 20z Broad Sword- 600z Claymore- 2500z Mace- 400z After you're finished in Wyndia, exit the city and head south to Eygnock Road. When you arrive there, walk south on the path to the house and go inside. As Ryu walks inside, you'll hear Nina scream, so pick up the Clothing from the dresser and return outside to find the horse duo, Balio and Sunder. You can't do anything to stop them this time so they knock you out and capture you again. The two of you are then taken to a rowdy town called Genmel. Arena Town Genmel When you arrive in Genmel, Balio and Sunder tie you both up and leave you under the watch of a bartender named Fahl, because they have more important things to do than look after a bunch of kids. After they leave, Ryu decides to try to chew through the ropes that bind him, and he's successful (but you can't see how with that screen in the way). Now that the two of you are unbound, you can make an easy escape from the bar, especially since Fahl has had too much to drink. Genmel Item Shop: Genmel Weapon Shop: Healing Herb- 10z / 7z Broad Sword- 600z / 420z Vitamin- 50z / 35z Scramasax - 1200z / 840z Antidote- 12z / 8z Mace- 400z / 280z Eye Drops- 20z / 14z Magician Rod- 780z / 546z Panacea- 100z / 70z Rippers- 600z / 420z Ammonia- 200z / 140z Ranger Garb- 520z / 364z Dynamite- 200z / 140z Cuirass- 620z / 434z Weather Vane- 200z / 140z Breastplate- 1000z / 200z Taser- 200z / 140z Gauntlet- 400z / 280z Bronze Shield- 610z / 427z Glass Domino- 450z / 315z * Without Flier / With Flier Once you have escaped, explore the town (you can find 80z in one building, I think it's the inn) and talk to the people around here. Everyone in town is getting psyched up for the upcoming Contest of Champions, a fighting tournament run by Balio and Sunder. It also appears that Fahl, the bartender, knows some good fighting techniques, but he's too busy drinking to teach them to anybody. If you explore the southwest corner of town and check behind the wall there, you'll find a fish merchant handing out Fliers that can give you a discount at the stores just north of him. Pick up a Flier from him and then check out the weapon and item shop. Once you've taken care of everything in town, exit the town and head north to the Maekyss Gorge. When you get there, you'll find that the bridge is blocked so you're going to have to go the long way around to Wyndia through the mountains. So go back down south and head east past the arena to reach Mt. Boumore. Mt. Boumore From the entrance, take the only path up a little ways and walk to the right of the first small ramp you see. Pick up the Panacea from the chest there, and then go up the ramp you just passed. From there, walk to the right and up the next small ramp and then head left. At the first junction, go left until you reach another junction. At this junction head down the upper left path to find a satchel containing 400z behind the corner. Return to the top of this path and walk upwards to a small ramp on the left near a long narrow ledge you can jump off of. Go up this ramp and then climb up the ladder. Head up the path (make sure to ignore the people and their house on the left of the path for now) until you come to a ledge you can jump off of at the end of the trail. Jump off this ledge and then the next ledge also to get the Buckler. Jump off the left side of this ledge and return to the top area where you saw the people before. Talk to the fat guy, and he'll invite you in. Once inside, Nina will tell Mr. Mason that two guys named Balio and Sunder are after you. Mr. Mason will pretend not to know who they are, and he lets you stay the night at his house. Pick up the Bent sword from the dresser in the house and then go into the next room to rest. The next morning when you wake up, you'll find that you've been locked in, and nobody's coming to let you out. Meanwhile, Sunder shows up at the house to capture you again (it looks like you've been betrayed). Exit north from this room to reach the lift area. Nina tells Ryu to get on the lift while she tries to activate the panel with her wand. Now Sunder enters the scene, but when he tries to capture you, Ryu will give him a well deserved swipe with his sword. Now Nina manages to get the lift working, and she jumps onto the lift at the last second. You're safe for now. When the lift finally stops, exit the lift station and head right. Walk down the path past the locked gate to the right and take the path not sloping up to a Life Shard inside a satchel. Now head up the path sloping upward to the topmost area. There you'll find a dead end, and then Sunder will come up from behind you and have you trapped. Just when you think the jig is up, Nina decides that you both should jump. You'll then jump and slide down the side of the mountain. Ryu puts himself in front of Nina and turns into a dragon to break her fall (This will net Ryu the Defender dragon gene). Once you have control again, leave this area to return to the world map. Head south from your current location to reach a [?] area. Enter this area to find a large purple crystal on the ground. Have Ryu examine it, and he'll obtain the Reverse gene. Return to the world map and go up and to the right to reach the Tower. Momo's Tower Enter the Tower and Nina will suggest that you both go inside to find someone who can help you get to Wyndia. If you're low on healing items make sure you buy some supplies from the fish merchant. Now, head left and up the big stair set and then walk past the pool with the chest in it to it's left. Go through the doorway directly left of the pool. From here, go up the path and pass the big crystal near the end of the room (unless you want to try the crystal challenge; explained in Side Quests) and go up the stairs to the left. Walk right down this next hall but detour through the big doorway at the bottom of the path. Now go down the small stair set and veer right to pick up a Silver Knife from behind the tree. Return inside the Tower the same way you came out and continue right down the hall and exit through the door at the end of the room. Head up this hallway and up the big stair set on the left side of the hall. Walk to the right to reach a rest and save room, so use this place as needed. After you've rested up, exit the save room and head left to the end of the room and go up the stairs in the northwest corner of the room. Take this next hallway right and then upwards at the end to see a little pink thing walk out of the next room and brace itself for an explosion. Go inside the room to find a scientist named Momo amongst a huge mess. Once you're able to converse with her without yelling at each other (her ears were ringing from the explosion), you'll ask her how to get to Wyndia from here. Better than just tell you, Momo offers to escort you there personally. Momo leaves for a minute to get some things from the merchant outside, but when she gets back, she'll tell you that there are some tough looking guys outside looking for you. Now the only way to escape is to head to the top of the Tower where Momo has an emergency escape. So now Momo joins your party. Once you're in control again, exit this room and head up the hall. Enter the very next door on the left to reach the panel puzzle room. In order to unlock the door in this room you have to make all the panels in the puzzle gray. A panel's color will change if you step on it. You can't walk directly backwards and the puzzle resets itself if you step off it. For more info on this, read the puzzle description that's on the wall near the bookshelf. There are many ways to solve the puzzle and this is one of them (the order in which to step on the panels): LOCKED DOOR B ------------------------------------- O | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | O ------------------------------------- K | 12 | 7,11 | 6,10,20| 5,21 | S ------------------------------------- H | 13 | 8 | 9,19 | 18 | E ------------------------------------- L | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | F ------------------------------------- Once you've solved the puzzle, go through the door that just unlocked to enter a room with three chests just for you (they contain Skill Ink, Flame Chrysm, and Ice Chrysm). Now exit back into the main hallway and continue along the path and walk up the stairs on the left. From here, head right and go down to the small stair set. Walk up these stairs and head left until you come to a door leading to the next room; go through it. You'll now be in a room with four 3-D cubes lined up across the floor with switches under them. You must hit the switches of the two cubes that are exactly alike (from left to right it's the 2nd and 4th cubes). If you don't hit the right switches, you'll fall through the floor. Now, continue to the other end of this room and head up the next stair set and walk left to a passageway. Take the hall right to another set of stairs. Go up the stairs and through the next door. You'll end up in a room that's broken up into four sections, has two pairs of red and blue switches, and has red and blue platforms floating in the void that separates the four sections. The switches correspond to the floating platform of the same color, so you have to hit the switches to move the platforms to form a bridge across the pit (don't worry, it's easy to figure it out). Hit the switches so that you have access to the door in the right corner of the area. Head through this door and pick up the 800z in the 2nd room you enter. Now go back to the room with the switches and flip the switches so that you can reach the northernmost area. The path from there is pretty straightforward, just follow it to the end of the two hallways to reach a chest containing Moon Tears. Once again, go back to the switch room and hit the switches to reach the stairs in the easternmost area. Walk up the stairs. Now, take the hall right and then downwards to reach a stair set going up; head up those stairs. From here, head up the stairs to the right and walk to the right until you see a floating platform. Get on the platform and it will take you to another part of the room. Once you get off the platform, head up the next stair set and follow the path to reach a big crystal. If you read the instructions on the wall, you'll find out that this crystal controls the floating platform that's near it. It runs on chrysm energy, so use Nina's wand to charge up the crystal. The more times you hit the crystal with Nina's wand, the farther the platform will go before it comes back to where it starts. Hit it two times to reach a chest with a Breastplate, and six times to get a chest with an Ivory Dice. Hit it eight times to reach the stairs in the upper left corner of the room. Go up those stairs, head down the hall, and climb up the stairs at the end of the hall. Now head left and enter the first door you see to get a Bamboo Rod. Exit back into the hall, walk up the stairs to the left, and walk up the next set of stairs after that. You'll now be in a room with laser beams and a purple crystal in the middle of the room. Walk up near the crystal and make sure all of your party members are past the first little machine that looks just like the one that's currently emitting a laser. Hit the crystal with Nina's wand and the middle laser machine will be turned off, and the first and last laser machines will turn on. Make everyone in your party walk past the middle laser machine and then hit the crystal with chrysm again to turn the middle laser back on, and the outside lasers off, allowing you to continue on. Go through the door at the end of the room to reach a library. This was where Momo's father did all of his experiments, so Momo suggests that you look for the escape device. First check the shelves in the upper right corner of the room to get 40z and a Panacea. Now examine the control panel in the upper middle part of the room (from the operators end) to find a button that unveils a huge rocket. Momo thinks this is the escape device so you all get on and shoot out the top of the tower and make a crash landing. After you recover from the crash (and after Momo finds the instruction manual for the rocket), look near the trees next to where you landed to find the Thorn gene. Now exit the crash site onto the world map. The Coffee Shop and the Plant If you head north on the world map, you'll come to a little place called the Coffee Shop. Enter the Coffee Shop and then take the path up to where the cafe area is. Once your party sees the restaurant, the three of you will decide to take a load off here of a bit. While you're resting, you find out that the road to Wyndia and the Eastern Checkpoint have both been blocked off by Balio and Sunder's men. In the midst of trying to think of what to do now, an old man comes over to you and starts talking to Momo. It turns out that this guy's name is Palet, and he runs a plant where crops are grown using chrysm energy; the same plant where Momo's father used to work. He explains that there are some problems down at the Plant, and Momo agrees to help out (you got nothing else to do anyway because the roads are blocked). After your talk with Palet, go inside the Coffee Shop building and pick up a Vitamin in one of the drawers in there. If you have 15 different weapons in your inventory, not counting your equipped weapons, go talk to the tough looking girl on the hill overlooking the Coffee Shop. She's a thief named D'lonzo, and she will let you apprentice under her if you have 15 different weapons. Once you're done here, exit the Coffee Shop and head west on the world map to find the Plant. When you first arrive at the Plant head left to find a conveyor belt sloping up but running downwards. Flip the switch right next to it and ride the conveyor up. Head right and up the incline and then ride the next conveyor up and to the left. Walk up the narrow path and then to the right. Head up the incline next to the crates and take the conveyor going left. Go past the next chrysm reactor and take the next conveyor going left. Walk down past the next reactor and hit the switch near the next conveyor so that it runs south. Ride this conveyor and head right to yet another conveyor going downwards. Take it down to find Palet. Talk to him with Momo as the lead character, and he'll tell you that there's nothing wrong with the machines here, but during an experiment, an onion-like mutant was created. Palet will tell you that there's been a problem with a big mutant down at the Dump, so he asks you to help. You accept, of course, so Palet sends word to the Dump about your visit. Now go inside the metal building near where Palet is and grab a Ginseng and a Healing Herb from the drawers inside. Once you're done here, exit and just slide down the incline at the southwestern part of the area and leave the Plant. If you haven't rested and saved since Momo's Tower, you better do that now. After you're rested up, enter the Dump that's a stone's throw west of the Plant. Coffee Shop Item Shop: Plant Crop Store: Healing Herb- 10z Mandrake- 100z Croc Tear- 5z Antidote- 12z Antidote- 12z Eye Drops- 20z Eye Drops- 20z Molotov- 10z Molotov- 10z Ammonia- 20z Wooden Rod- 40z Worm- 20z Toad- 20z Old Popper- 20z Sinker- 20z *I put these shops together to save room The Dump After you arrive there, take the path to the south and then downwards at the corner. Make the U-turn around the inside wall and head up the path until you reach a T-junction. Detour to the right off the main path at this junction and walk upwards a little ways to find a blue switch. Hit this switch three times and pick up the chest with 1200z in the alcove directly north of you. Now return to the Dump's entrance, but this time head to the north up the path. Walk up the ramp past the giant crates and then go left. Follow the 2nd catwalk down and cross over the crate to get a chest containing High Boots. Jump off the catwalk near the chest and continue up the path. Walk past the crates and exit this area through the cavern on the left. Take the next path left and then head down the small ramp at the end. Walk down this path and take the 2nd right to an area with a red and blue switch and a big lava pit at the end of the conveyor belt. Hit the red switch eight times and head back up the path you just came down. Take the first junction you come to right and then go up the ramp to the left past the conveyor belt. Head down the path and cross the path made by the crates to get the much needed Artemis' Cap. Now go all the way back down to the area with the red and blue switches. Take the path going around the lava pit counter clockwise and pick up the Magic Shard in the chest along the path. Continue around the lava pit until you come across a cave with plants growing out of it. Go inside to find the mutant that Palet was talking about. After some idle chit chat, the mutant will go out of control and attack you. Boss fight: Mutant HP: 550 Exp- 600 / Zenny- 300 / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Nina Recommended level- 13 Notes- The Mutant isn't very tough, especially since you now have dragon abilities to use against bosses. The only hard part is that at the beginning of the fight, the Mutant can regenerate 250 HP per turn. But as you'll soon find out, this guy is extremely weak against fire attacks. So have Momo equip her Flame Chrysm, have Nina use Simoon, and have Ryu pound away with Flame Claw in Dragon form (Flame, Defender, and Thorn genes) After a few turns of punishment, the Mutant will lose it's ability to regenerate. Now just continue attacking with fire based attacks until the Mutant goes down. After the fight, the Mutant will apologize for attacking you and will request that you destroy it. The Mutant doesn't think that he/she was ever meant to be created, so hit the red switch to send him/her into the lava. After a word of advice to Momo, the creature will die but then you hear a curious pukueeee sound. Then a mini mutant will jump out of the lava. Momo thinks this is the offspring of the Mutant so she decides that you guys should take it along with you. After deciding on a clever name, Peco, you get the option to change party members. Leave Peco out of your party, and keep him there for a long time because you'll have big plans for him much later in the game. Once you're done with that, exit the Dump the way you came in and head back to the Plant. When you arrive back at the Plant, talk to Palet and you'll tell him that you took care of the problem. As you leave he'll tell you that he knows a way to get to Wyndia, even though the roads are blocked. So Palet lets you stay at the inn tonight for free while he gets everything set up for you to go tomorrow. Now go to the inn to the right and rest. In the morning Palet will have you hide in a hay cart, and have the cart shipped to Wyndia. But when you get to Eygnock Road, half the horse duo will be there checking baggage. You're then found and carted off to the Arena again. The Contest of Champions When you arrive in Genmel, Balio and Sunder will have you tied up and they march you into their office inside the Arena. After they give you some grief and are deciding on what to do with you now, they happen to mention the Contest of Champions. Then Nina tells Balio and Sunder that you want to enter the contest, because the winner can have anything they want, in this case it's freedom. At first the horse duo will be opposed to the idea, but then the thought comes to them that they have another chance to make money off you. Their logic is that people will bet against a bunch of kids like you, thinking that you have no chance to win. But Balio and Sunder have seen how strong you are and the spectators haven't, so when you win, the house will get a lot of income from lost bets. So they agree to let you fight in the contest, and they'll even let you walk around on your own and leave the Arena to level up if you need to. But they make you leave one hostage behind (choose Peco), and they have their men blocking the roads so you can't escape again. So now you're free to explore the inside of the Arena. There's an inn and some shops as well on one of the floors. Take time now to get familiar with where all three fighting areas are, and make sure you check the drawers in all the locker rooms to find a Coin, a Bandana, and 40z. Arena Item Shop: Arena Weapon Shop: Arena Armor Shop: Vitamin- 50z Scramasax- 1200z Breastplate- 1000z MultiVitamin- 300z Moon Sword- 2000z Scale Mail- 1450z Antidote- 12z Claymore- 2500z Buckler- 1100z Eye Drops- 20z Knight's Helm- 720z Panacea- 100z Ammonia- 200z Firecracker- 500z Icicle- 500z Napalm- 800z Once you've familiarized yourself with the inside of the Arena, make your way over to the Hall of Fire where your first match is. Go to the Hall of Fire locker room area and enter the southern locker room. Talk to the person inside to get a briefing on the rules of this fight, and once you understand the rules, say that you're ready to fight (but make sure you're rested up). After the introduction to the battle, get ready to fight Patrio's team. Boss fight: Patrio's team HP: Claw- 250, Cawer- 250, Patrio- 300, Dodai- 2100 Exp- Claw- 150, Cawer- 165, Patrio- 200?, Dodai- 3000 Zenny/Item- Claw- 200 / N/A, Cawer- 70 / Dream Ring, Patrio- N/A / Scale Mail?, Dodai- none / N/A Recommended team- Ryu Recommended level- 15 (but higher for option 2) Notes- As you learned from the rules, there are two ways to win this fight; by defeating all three of the team's members, or by taking out the Dodai that holds your opponent's platform. But beating the Dodai is no easy task, so if you're at level 15 or lower I suggest you stick to option 1. Option 1- Against your first opponent, Claw, just use normal attacks and maybe Double Blow if you have it. Claw has some high agility and will often use Blind, so equip the Bat Amulet for this fight. Once you deal with Claw, your next opponent will be Cawer. Cawer will cast assist magic on himself and then hit you with normal attacks and weak magic spells which don't do much damage. Just repeat on him what you did to Claw and he'll go down just as easily. Last but not least is Patrio, and he's no pushover unlike his two teammates. His normal attacks do a lot of damage, he'll often get a Lucky Strike on normal attacks, and he sometimes uses Frost Strike which can put you to sleep. To beat him, just transform into a Flame Dragon with genes of your liking and nail him with Flame Claw until he goes down. Option 2- It's a lot harder to pull off, but if you can take down the Dodai, you'll earn a whopping 3000 Exp! You're going to have to be a couple levels higher than 15 to do this conventionally, because you need a lot of AP for your dragon form and a little extra power and agility. At the very start of the battle (when your against Claw), transform into a Whelp right away using the Flame and Reverse genes so you have access to Frost Claw. The Dodai is obviously resistant to fire (he's standing in lava for crying out loud), but he is very weak against ice. Nail him with Frost Claw for a few turns to get an idea of how much damage it's doing on average. If Frost Claw is consistently doing less than 100 HP of damage per hit, then I suggest aborting option 2 and just do option 1. If Frost Claw consistently does 150-200 HP of damage per hit, then keep it up. When the Dodai sinks lower into the lava, it means he's almost at the end of his rope. Deal out a couple more hits and the Dodai will go down (But if you want the maximum amount of Exp, revert back into normal form shortly after the Dodai sinks lower into the fire, then beat Claw and Cawer, and then transform back into a dragon when you fight Patrio and finish off the Dodai). After winning the fight, and raising a few eyebrows, it's time to go to your next match in the Null Magic Hall. Go to the inn and rest up, and then walk over to the Null Magic Hall locker room area. Walk to the lower locker room and talk to the person inside to get a briefing of your next fight. After you know the rules, say you're ready to go and then wait for the match to start. Right before the match is scheduled to begin, your opponent, Emitai, will come into your locker room to talk with you. He tells you his daughter is very sick, and if he can't win the money needed for her operation, she'll die (basically he's asking you to throw the fight). But you tell him that you're in a jam too if you don't win, so he'll leave at that. But when you meet up again on the battlefield, Emitai will have two huge, green monsters with him. It looks like he means business now, get ready to duke it out with Emitai and the Golems. Boss fight: Emitai's team HP: Emitai- 600, Golems- 750 each Exp- 600 / Zenny- 340 / Item- Magician Rod (Emitai) Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Nina Recommended level- 15 Notes- The rules say that you can't use magic, but they don't say anything about dragons do they? Your dragon ability will give you the unfair advantage in this fight, so use it. Since there's no magic in this battle, there aren't any attacks you need to watch out for, except maybe the Golems' Spirit Blast. Have Ryu transform using the Flame, Defender, and Thorn genes. Ryu should pound at Emitai with Flame Claw while Momo does the same with her bazooka, and Nina should use Healing Herbs on the party when necessary. Once you've taken out Emitai, the Golems will become disorientated and start attacking each other. This will go on for the rest of the fight, so through your laughter, have Ryu use Flame Breath and Momo should keep shooting away with her gun just to hasten their demise. After the fight, you'll all be feeling pretty down on yourselves for beating Emitai. Sunder enters your locker room to congratulate you on making it to the finals, but you're too depressed to appreciate this right now, even from him. When Sunder returns to his office to tell Balio what's going on, they both are sure that you're not going to win the final match. Back in your locker room, you're reminded that you have to get going to your final match in the Hall of Kings. You hear that Emitai is still in his locker room so pay him a visit. It turns out his daughter isn't sick, and he was just trying to con you into losing the fight. Now rest if you want, and then head over to the Hall of Kings locker room. Once again, go to the southern locker room and talk with the person inside to get a briefing of the fight. Meanwhile in the adjacent room, Balio and Sunder are giving Garr, your opponent, a little prep talk. They mention to him that Ryu's a dragon, and his curiosity is suddenly aroused. After the introduction of both Ryu and Garr, Garr requests that you not hold anything back during the fight. This guy isn't fooling around. It's now time for the finale of the tournament. Boss fight: Garr HP: Infinite Exp- none / Zenny- none / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu Recommended level- Any Notes- Although you can't win this battle, it's still fun to try. Garr will sometimes use weak fire based attacks, but will for the most part just hit you with physical attacks. After about seven turns, or after Garr takes about 600 damage, he'll say "Let's Finish This". After this happens, let's just say that you'll be dead in two turns at the most. For this fight just turn into any dragon you want and have a blast. After your defeat, Balio will come out to award Garr his prize of anything he wants. Surprisingly, Garr chooses Ryu and his friends as his prize. Balio is quick to disallow this, but Garr sees to it that he gets his way. Once Ryu wakes up and you are done talking, head over to Balio and Sunder's office to retrieve Peco. After you free the hostage, Garr will tell you that everyone's free to leave. Once you leave the office, talk with Garr and he'll tell you that if you want to learn more about Ryu and the ancient Brood, then travel east to a place called Angel Tower. First, though, you have to get back to Wyndia so exit the Arena, rest up and save your game, and go north to the Maekyss Gorge. When you arrive at the gorge, cross the bridge to find, guess who?, Balio and Sunder. It seems that they're defying Garr's wishes, and they've blocked up all the roads so that you can't escape. They'll then send out three thugs to challenge you. Quickly dispose of them by using Nina's strongest spells. Afterwards, Balio and Sunder will remind you that you're surrounded and there's no way out, but then out of nowhere, Garr shows up (and he's just taken out all the thugs behind you). He'll tell off Balio and Sunder and join your party. Realizing that Garr has broken his alliance with them, the horse duo fuses into one big horse who resembles a certain Japanese superhero. They're out to get rid of you once and for all, so prepare to fight Balio and Sunder's ultimate form! Boss fight: Stallion HP: 1500 Exp- 801 / Zenny- 500 / Item- Life Shard Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Garr Recommended level- 16 Notes- This guy is undoubtedly the hardest boss yet. Aside from using Barrier to cut down the amount of damage magic does to him drastically, the Stallion will often cast Resist which negates all attacks for that turn. The Stallion also can cast Jolt, but it does minimal damage. The attack you really need to worry about is his Utmost Attack, which does 50+ damage to all party members. Before the battle, select attack formation and put Garr at the point end so his physical attack will do about 80-100 damage each turn. Have Momo cast Speed on Ryu and herself and cast Protect on everyone; otherwise just have her use her normal attack packing Ammo. Ryu should transform into a Dragon from the start (Flame and Thorn), and hit the Stallion with Flame Claw. Just make sure you have Momo keep everyone's HP near full at all times while Ryu and Garr deal out damage, and you'll take Balio and Sunder down slowly but surely. Now that Balio and Sunder are finally out of your way, it's time to go back to Wyndia, not only to return Nina to her home but to pick up some passports for the eastern checkpoint also. But before you exit the Maekyss Gorge, follow the path under the bridge to find a house. Check around the house to find the Frost gene. Once you've done that, exit the Maekyss Gorge and head north to Wyndia. When you arrive in Wyndia (make sure Nina is in your party) hike all the way up to the highest section of town where the castle entrance is located. Have Nina talk to the guard at the door and he'll welcome you in. Inside Wyndia Castle The next scene begins at a big banquet for Ryu, Nina, and the rest of your party hosted by the king of Wyndia. Nina has just finished explaining everything that's happened since the kidnapping to her father. The king commends Ryu's bravery and apologizes for thinking he was a con artist. And right before Nina spills the beans about Ryu being a dragon, Garr will interrupt and ask the king for some passports so you can get through the eastern checkpoint. He gladly gets some passports made up for you, and Ryu and the rest of the party will head off, leaving Nina behind at the castle. Just when Nina is in her room thinking that it's for the best that she didn't go along with Ryu and his crew, she hears something break along with a scream. You'll have control of Nina now so check the dresser in her room for 120z and then head downstairs. From here, walk left and then up to the dining room with the blue carpeting. Pick up Gems X2 in the drawers in this area and then speak to the lady standing next to the broken dish. She'll tell you that something brushed up against her and scared her. You can assume it was just a mouse until you spot Honey running off somewhere. Now head left to the end of the dining room and you see a guard. Go down the hallway to the guard's right to empty out into a small room. Get the Panacea from the drawer in this room and return to where the guard was standing. Now climb the stairs to the guard's left to enter the king and queen's bedroom. Look in all the drawers in this room and the room above it to obtain Healing Herb X2 and a Coin. After you pick up all the items here, head all the way back to the base of the stairs of Nina's bedroom. Once you get there, walk south to find a stair set going down. In this next room, walk down the stairs in the bottom left corner of the room to reach the kitchen. Now go down to the end of the kitchen and check the drawers there for a Panacea. Afterwards head down the stairs at this end of the room. You'll end up in a room with a bunch of crates. Walk right and head down the small wooden ramp. Use your camera angles to check behind the crates directly below the wooden ramp to find a mouse. Talk to it and answer yes to it's question to get Cheese. Go left from here and use your camera angles to check around the end of the same line of crates that the mouse was behind to find Honey. Talk to Honey and she'll run away again, so go after her. Go all the way back to Nina's room and head through the door inside of her room. Exit this next small room to the left. You'll now be on the balcony and you spot Honey just ahead of you. And while trying to keep Honey from falling off the balcony, Nina will fall off too. But instead of falling to your death, Honey uses her chrysm power to let you both float gently to the ground. After the fall, Honey gets broken so Nina takes her to Ryu's camp just outside Wyndia. Back at camp, Momo has already noticed that Honey has gone missing. Then Nina will arrive at your campsite with Honey in hand, so she and Momo go inside the tent to fix her. Now that they're alone, Garr will tell Ryu that if he travels to the eastern lands with him, then he might die. Nina overhears this and get upset, because she doesn't want Ryu to die. So Nina decides to run away from home again and travel with Ryu to the eastern lands. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Journey to Angel Tower When you're ready, head east from Wyndia on the main road and pass into Eastern Wyndia. Keep going east to find the checkpoint. Once you enter the checkpoint, Garr will point out the fact that you might have some trouble getting through the passport check with Nina around. But after some quick thinking, you get past the guards. And after an unnecessary conversation on the bridge, you'll emerge in the Rhapala region (Also, return to the checkpoint later to pick up the 200z and Antidote inside). Exploring the Rhapala Region One of the first things you'll probably notice is the [?] hut that's northeast of the checkpoint bridge. Enter that area to find an abandoned fisherman's house. Check inside the house for a Life Shard and use your camera angles to search the area behind the house to find the Thunder gene. Back on the world map you'll find two new fishing spots, a place called Mt. Zublo to the far southeast, and the port town of Rhapala along the central coast. Also since you now have everywhere from the Yraall Region to the Rhapala Region open to you, go back to some places that you've already been to and look for masters and missed items. Now's a better time than ever to sign each of your party members up under a master, because at this point, there are many different masters to apprentice under. The Port Town of Rhapala When you first visit Rhapala, you'll see the same state of peacefulness and rhythm as you witnessed in Wyndia. Rhapala is the home of the porter's guild, so almost everyone you see in town is either a sailor or a fisherman. Take the time now to explore the town and the Wharf and to get the Molotov and Panacea that lie in town. Also if you have the money, visit the shops here to upgrade your weapons and stock up your item inventory. Rhapala Item Shop: Rhapala Weapon Shop: Healing Herb- 10z Flame Chrysm- 500z Vitamin- 50z Moon Sword- 2000z Antidote- 12z Long Spear- 1000z Eye Drops- 20z Quarter Staff- 1100z Panacea- 100z Spiked Claws- 1300z Ammonia- 200z Breastplate- 1000z Spirit- 50z Scale Mail- 1450z Baby Frog- 50z Gauntlet- 400z Popper- 50z Buckler- 1100z Float- 50z Glass Domino- 450z Knight's Helm- 720z Once you're done exploring town, go to the porter's guild building near the inoculation shop and talk to the guy behind the counter to see about getting a ride on the boat. He tells you to go talk to the guild master, Sinkar. So head over to the inn and you'll find Sinkar in the pub below the inn (he has a reddish orange beard). Sinkar tells you to speak with his daughter, Shadis, about the boat. So walk down to the Wharf and find Shadis (she's the blonde girl in the pirate getup). Talk to her, and you'll witness a big sailor named Zig beat up on a nerdy guy named Beyd. Afterwards, Beyd will talk to you about the boat. He tells you that the boat is not here right now so he can't give you passage on it. If you want some more information on porter's guild and other things, talk to Beyd again. Once you're done here, head back to town. Before you exit the Wharf, you'll run into Shadis. She apologizes about what happened before and tells you to speak with Sinkar about using the road instead of the boat. So walk back to the pub and talk to Sinkar again. He tells you that because of a recent volcanic eruption, the road around Mt. Zublo is impassible. It looks like you're stuck here until the boat returns to Rhapala, so exit to the world map and you'll automatically set up camp. While your party is thinking about how to get east without a boat, out of nowhere, Nina starts talking soap opera about Shadis and Beyd. She thinks that they both like each other, but Beyd is too shy to tell Shadis how he feels. So she decides to talk to Beyd about it. You're not going anywhere without a boat anyway, so why not go with Nina's idea. After you break camp, go to the Wharf with Nina in your party and have her talk to Beyd. Once you've relocated yourselves, Nina tells Beyd that he should propose, but Beyd claims that he shouldn't because he's not a big strong sailor like Zig. Nina then offers to train Beyd so that he can be strong too, but he refuses and walks away. After you regain control again, head back over to where Beyd, Shadis, and Zig usually are and talk to Beyd. As you've probably already heard, the lighthouse here at Rhapala is broken and full of monsters. Zig has decided to try to fix the lighthouse and win Shadis over. Beyd then reconsiders your offer to train him, and he gives you 1000z to buy him a weapon and a suit of armor. He tells you not to get him anything too heavy, but ignore him and buy the most powerful weapon and the most defensive armor you can afford with indifference to weight (if you just want to give him equipment from your inventory and not spend any money at all, that's fine too). Once you have his equipment, head back to the Wharf and talk to him again. And when you're ready, begin his training. Training Beyd At the first training session you have with Beyd, the first thing you should do is equip him with the stuff you picked out for him. You can change his equipment if you want to before you start each training session. Once he's equipped with a weapon and a suit of armor, talk to him and begin the training. The training is set up just like a normal battle with your three party members against Beyd. Each training session will end after 20 turns in battle, if Beyd's HP reaches zero, or if your party is wiped out. To begin another session, just go to the Wharf the next day and talk to him. There are three of Beyd's attributes that can increase during his training; HP, defense, and attack power. You can see how much these stats rise after each session. His stats rise depending on these factors: HP- The more damage (in HP) he takes total, the more it will rise Def- The more hits he takes while defending, the more it will rise Atk- The more damage (total) he inflicts on your party, the more it will rise I'd suggest working on his attack power and HP the first few sessions and then concentrate on his defense for one or two sessions afterwards. While raising his HP, put Ryu, Momo, and Garr in your party. Have Ryu or Momo cast Protect on Beyd once or twice (because he's really weak at the start) and then have everybody attack him with normal attacks until he gets low on health. Then have Ryu or Momo heal him to full (or near full) HP and then start attacking again. Attack and heal Beyd as needed until the session is over. If his HP rises significantly that session, then do the same thing next time but don't cast Protect on him. To raise his attack power, put Ryu, Momo, and Nina in your party. Have Nina cast Weaken on all of your party members and, if she's at level 20 or higher, have Momo cast Might on Beyd. While he's hacking away at you, work on raising is HP by attacking him and healing Beyd and your own party. To raise his defense, put Ryu, Momo, and Garr in your party. Attack Beyd and bring his HP gauge down to about a fifth of it's maximum. When Beyd's HP gets about this low, he'll start to defend. Attack him while he's defending and heal him when his HP is about to reach zero, then do it over again. When you think you've trained Beyd enough, talk to him at the Wharf and tell him to go to the lighthouse. Zig will overhear you and he challenges Beyd to a fight to decide who will fix the lighthouse. Everyone will then go to the town square to watch the fight. It's supposed to be a one on one battle between Zig and Beyd, but when Zig turns his head away and waves, you can help Beyd out by healing him or attacking Zig (but if you trained Beyd well enough, he won't need your help). If you get caught helping Beyd, the fight will be called off, and if Beyd looses, train him a little more and try fighting Zig again. Once Beyd defeats Zig, head back to the Wharf and talk to Beyd. He's pretty banged up after the fight, and he isn't going to fix the lighthouse anytime soon, so he gives you the Guild Badge. The badge shows that you're an associate of the porter's guild, and it'll give you access to the lighthouse. But before you go to the lighthouse, buy one or two extra pieces of Flame Chrysm and pick up the items in the two chests near where Beyd is (What's inside them depends on the equipment he had when he beat Zig. One of them will be the next most powerful weapon, and the other will be the next most defensive armor). When you're ready, head over to the western end to the Wharf to reach the lighthouse. The Lighthouse When you first enter the lighthouse, walk off the wooden bridge and go up the stair set just ahead. Head right from the top of the stairs to find some barrels blocking your path. Have Momo use her gun to blow up the barrels and then go up the stairs north of you. Head left from there and climb up another set of stairs. Walk right to find a chest containing a Coin. Now return to the area where you had Momo shoot away the barrels and head right and down the next set of stairs. Walk left on the narrow path just to the left of the base of the stairs to get a Mithrl Shield. Return to the base of the stairs and head down to a wooden bridge. Cross the bridge to reach a concrete island. Head south from here and cross the next bridge and the bridge after that. Climb up the stairs north of the bridge and check behind the ledge left of the barrels to get a Swallow Eye. Now climb up the ladder to the right and go up the small stair set north of the ladder. Then head left from there all the way to the end of the path to find a door leading inside. Once you get inside, go down the stairs to the right and head southwest to a path going left. Follow this path all the way to the end (ignoring the stairs going downward) to get a Skill Ink. Now go down the stairs you ignored before and then head left to a blue switch. Hit the switch and continue down the path to a doorway; head inside. Read the directions on the wall to the right to get a description of what to do here. First, examine the machine to the right of the ladder and put a piece of Flame Chrysm inside of it. Then head over to where the switch in this room is and examine it. You'll then hear a sound like a machine starting up, and a green wave grid will appear on your screen. An arch will start to bounce about the screen, bouncing off the top first and then the bottom. You'll notice that the arch bounces in a pattern; once every four times that it first hits the top of the screen, the arch will hit a mark in the upper middle portion of the grid. In order to stabilize the valve pressure, you need to hit the switch exactly when the arch hits that mark (and it isn't as easy as it sounds). Watch the pattern of the arch a couple of times and then develop a counting rhythm to the arch's first hits against the top of the grid. When you've got a good rhythm down, hit the X button just an instant before it hit's the mark and you will have done it. Try to do it in one try, because you have to sacrifice a piece of Flame Chrysm for each time you try it. If you run out of Flame Chrysm, then read ahead. Once you've opened up the main valve, climb down the ladder on the left and follow the line coming out of the machine (which should be lit up now) out of this room. Follow the lit line to the right and check (using camera angles) near where the line shoots directly upward to find a Dream Ring. Now head through the southern doorway to end up in a small area outside with three chests. They each contain a Flame Chrysm, so if you haven't opened the main valve yet, go back and try again (if you run out of Flame Chrysm again, you have to go all the way back to town and buy some more; you can't complete this mission without opening the main valve). Now head back inside and go up the stairs to the right and hit the blue switch to avert the flow of chrysm energy in the line. Continue up this path and go up the stairs. You should now be near the bottom of the first set of stairs you came down when you first arrived inside the lighthouse. Now take the large northwestern path up and to the left to come across a strange looking lizard creature. You assume that it's harmless so continue up to path until a big omni-optical boulder comes crashing down the stairs (this will happen only if the line leading up the stairs is lit up. If it's not lit, go back to the first blue switch you came across, the one before the main valve room, and hit it). The big mass will then land on the shoulders of the lizard creature and it'll come to life. It's time to fight the Gazer. Boss fight: Gazer HP: 1200 Exp- 1500 / Zenny- 1000 / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Garr Recommended level- 17 Notes- This fight's not too tough, but if you don't beat Gazer quickly, you might be in for a small challenge. Gazer's normal attack hits all of your party members for a good amount of damage, and it's Eye Beam attack can do 50+ damage to a single character. It'll also cast Hypnotize occasionally to confuse your party. Have Ryu use Accession right away with the Flame and Thorn genes and pound away with Flame Claw, which does phenomenally in this fight (the flame property also negates the Eye Beam attack). Momo should cast Protect on the entire party and restore anyone who falls under confusion (via Panacea or Remedy) or has low HP throughout the entire battle. And have Garr stick to his regular attacks and the Gazer should be KO'd in no time. After you're done with Gazer, continue up the path and climb up all the stair sets to reach the top of the lighthouse. When you get to the top, hit the switch there to light the bulb of the lighthouse. Once you do this, a faerie will arrive at the scene and attempt to turn off the light again. When it fails, the faerie will get mad at you and it gives you the Faerie Tiara which lets you use the flower rings scattered about the world to teleport to their world. The faerie gives you this so that you can make up for turning on the lighthouse. So after that's over, grab the Eldritch gene sitting behind the lighthouse bulb and leave the lighthouse. Then rest, save, and head over to the nearest flower ring and enter the world of the faeries. The Fight for Faerie Village Once you enter the faerie village, follow the path up, and then head inside the hut. Talk to the faeries inside and they'll tell you that there's been some monster threatening them to turn off the lighthouse, so you agree to help kill it for them. After you're done talking, exit the hut and go down the left path to the beach and wait for nightfall. After a while, you'll spot a pink fin in the water, moving toward the beach. When it gets near the shoreline, your party unleashes a huge attack on it. But when the smoke clears, you'll find that you've just attacked a pink, talking dolphin. While your other two party members go to consult the faeries, the dolphin will start cussing out Ryu in Australian. It turns out that the dolphin's mad because the light from the lighthouse gets in his eyes while he's trying to sleep. And when the others get back, the dolphin will go postal and attempt to kill you. Boss fight: Dolphin HP: 1200 Exp- 900 / Zenny- 200 / Item- Fish Head Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Nina Recommended level- 17 Notes- The Dolphin is pretty easy if you use the right attacks. The only attack you need to worry about is Tsunami, which halves all of your party member's HP (Note- You can learn Tsunami as a skill). Have Ryu cast Shield on the party and then use Accession with the Thunder and Eldritch genes. Then have him beat away with either Thunder Claw or Myollnir if you can spare the AP. Nina should use Lightning and Momo should stick to healing and using her normal attack when she can. Once the battle's over, return to the hut, and the faeries will thank you for helping them. They also show their gratitude by letting you rest here for free, so rest up and then leave the faerie village. When you get back to the world map, go the Wharf at Rhapala and talk to Beyd (he'll be in his usual spot). Beyd tells you that even though the lighthouse is fixed, the boat still won't arrive at Rhapala for a while. He then suggests that you speak with Sinkar about using the road again, so head over to the pub and talk to him. Sinkar reminds you that the road is blocked, but because you fixed the lighthouse, he gives you a letter that grants you access to a shortcut that cuts through Mt. Zublo. So stock up on Healing Herbs, Vitamins, and Panaceas, give you party members each a flame inoculation (Because Mt. Zublo's a volcano, so expect to face fire based enemies), and save your game. Once you're ready, enter Mt. Zublo. Mt. Zublo First, follow the path to the right of the stairs to find a chest with a Protein inside. Now climb up the stairs and go right past the guards. Make another right and take the multiple stair sets along this path up to the shortcut entrance in the side of the mountain. Now that you're inside the volcano, there are a few terrain features that you should be aware of. The first are the patches of molten lava on the ground in most areas of the volcano. If you step on the lava, your lead character will take damage (in HP) for each step you take (but your HP will never get below 1). In most situations, you can navigate around the lava and still get where you need to go. But in order to obtain some valuable items, you'll have to walk over patches of lava and take damage. Just make sure you heal yourself with items afterward, so you don't enter a random battle with low HP. The other hazards in the volcano are the white and yellow geysers that shoot out of the ground and the walls. White geysers just do a small amount of damage to whoever gets hit by them, but yellow geysers induce confusion, which is not much fun to deal with outside of battle because it reverses your d-pad controls. Immediately cure the confusion with a Panacea. Continuing along, follow the first path up and to the right. Then continue to the right, past the big lava patch and a pair of geysers, and head upwards to a cavern on the left. Go inside and pick up the Asbestos Armor in the chest and exit the way you came in. Follow the path north from here, past the lava patch, to get a chest with 800z inside. Now return back down to where the cavern was and head south to a path that leads to passageway; enter it. In this next area, walk past the pair of geysers on the ground and follow the upper ledge on the right going southeast (make sure to time your passes between the yellow geysers that shoot out of the walls along this path). Slide down the ramp along this path to end up on an outside corner of the wall between two yellow geysers. Continue to the right and head down the path just to the right of a small stair set. Slide down the ramp (avoiding the yellow geysers as best as you can, but you're probably going to get hit), to reach a small ledge and a chest containing the Ring of Fire. Equip it to someone and then jump off the ledge (also make sure to cure any confused party members). Now, make your way back up by climbing the small yellow ladders to the left. Climb the ladders and cross the small lava patch to reach the small stair set you saw before. Go up it and exit this area through the cavern at the right. Follow the path in this next area to the right and then downward. Keep going down this path, around the lower section where the dragon gene is, and then southeastwards to reach a junction. Take the northeastern path all the way around until it slopes downward. Walk down and around the lava, hugging the left ledge, to obtain the Miracle gene. If you're bold enough, walk through the big lava patch southeast of there to get the Flame Talons in the chest (make sure you heal immediately afterwards). Now, return all the way back to the main path where the junction was and head southeastward. At the next junction, go down the southwestern path to pick up a Wisdom Fruit, and then return to that junction (heal your party) and head up the northeastern path. As you come across a narrow path between two pools of lava, you'll be halted by a drooling old man who starts babbling something about the tower. He'll then summon two monsters, Scylla and Charybdis, to kill you. Prepare yourself for a huge fight! Boss fight: Gisshan, Scylla, and Charyb HP: Gisshan- 800, Scylla/Charyb- 1000 each Exp- 1500 / Zenny- 1000 / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Garr Recommended level- 19 Notes- This is a pretty challenging fight, but if you come well prepared then you'll take control of the battle. Both Scylla and Charyb will sometimes use Wall of Fire (a moderate flame attack) and Snap, but they will most often hit you with their normal attack. Gisshan will either be defending or annoying you by casting Sleep on your party (so equip the Dream Ring) and Vitalize on himself and his cronies. If you haven't rested since your flame inoculations, then you already have complete resistance to their fire based attacks. Even if she's had a shot, have Momo equip the Ring of Fire so that she'll absorb flame attacks as HP, and also equip her with Ice Chrysm. Have Ryu cast Shield on the party and then transform using the Frost and Eldritch genes. Once again, just have Garr use his normal attack. First, focus all of your attacks on Gisshan, and have Momo heal when necessary. After Gisshan dies, have Ryu pound away at the two serpents with Blizzard until his AP gets low (then use Frost Breath). Garr should keep laying into them with his physical attack, and Momo should attack with her Ice Chrysm and keep healing when needed. With another victory under your belt, continue up the path and through the cavern at the end. Now head down this next short path to the exit, but first, use your camera angles to spot a chest containing a Life Shard near the end of the path. The Urkan Region At this point in the game, the Urkan Region only has a few points of interest. The Urkan Tapa is a little ways east of Mt. Zublo, and Angel Tower is to the southeast of the Urkan Tapa. There's a fishing spot to the south near Mt. Zublo, and Junk Town lies to the far northeast. If you have a good amount of zenny in your pocket (about 15000-25000), then consider going to Junk Town and view the weapon selection in the shop there. The weapons are mighty expensive, but when you see how powerful they are, you'll know why. Once you're done exploring this new region, head over to the Urkan Tapa. The Urkan Tapa You'll quickly find out that the Urkan Tapa is a very religious place, and it is also home to the guardians. Take some time to explore the confusing layout of the village, upgrade your weapons and armor, and stock up your item inventory. Urkan Tapa Item Shop: Urkan Tapa Weapon Shop: Healing Herb- 10z Claymore- 2500z Vitamin- 50z Flare Sword- 3200z Antidote- 12z Long Spear- 1000z Eye Drops- 20z Halberd- 2100z Panacea- 100z Mithril Armor- 2100z Ammonia- 200z Mithril Helm- 1100z Spirit- 50z Mithril Shield- 1600z Baby Frog- 50z Popper- 50z Float- 50z While exploring the southeastern part of town, you should come across a building with a large boulder blocking the entranceway. The village elder, Sudama, is meditating inside, so put Garr in your party and have him push the rock aside. Go inside the room, and Garr will talk to the elder about something that you probably won't understand yet (unless you've played the game before). Sudama will then tell you to go to Angel Tower, so exit the Urkan Tapa, and you'll automatically set up camp. While camping, Garr will begin to tell Ryu why he said that he might die, but then he tells you never mind. Once you've broken camp, save your game and enter Angel Tower. Angel Tower First, head up the long set of stairs until you come across a break in the railing to the right. Walk through that gap in the railing and jump off the ledge above the chest to reach that chest (it contains Ivory Dice). Jump off that ledge too and then go through another break in the railing to the right. Jump off this next ledge at the outside corner to get a Wisdom Seed from the chest, then jump from that ledge also. Now walk left, following the canal, to reach the beginning again. Climb back up the stairs and go through the break in the railing again. Jettison off the ledge where the Urkan guy is standing and off the next three ledges as well. Then head up the long narrow stair set to the right and go through the doorway. When inside, go down the only set of stairs in this small room. In this next area, continue to the bottom of the stairs and then head left to what looks like a dead end. Have Momo blast away the cracked section of the wall with her gun to reveal an opening. Go through the opening, head down the stairs to the left, and then exit through the next doorway. In this room, head right to pick up a Diamond Ring and some Moon Tears (equip the Diamond Ring to someone because there is an enemy in this place that uses death attacks). Now return all the way back to the bottom of the first long stair set that you came down when you first got inside, and head right. Go around the small inward-jutting wall, and climb down the next set of stairs that you see. At the bottom of those stairs, go up the small stair set immediately to the right, continue up that path, and then exit through the doorway at the end. In this room, you'll see two inclined breaks in the upper section of the room, and a large green block at the east end of the room. In order to get the chest in the upper section of the room, you must have Garr push the green block into the first inclined break going from right to left. If you don't understand these directions, then refer to this crude diagram: upper section chest ====================\ /============\ /============= ====================| |============| |============= lower section ^-<-<-<-<-<-<-<-<-<- [green block] Once you've done this, exit the way you came in , go back down the small stair set at the end of this hall, and go back up the stairs to the left. From the top of these stairs, head right and go through the doorway at the end of the path. You'll now be in the upper section of the room you were in before, and you can now access the chest containing a Mithril Helm at the east end of the room. Again, exit the way you came, return to the bottom section of this room, and continue through the doorway at the right end of the room (directly below where the Mithril Helm was). Follow this next hall northwest, and then go through the doorway near the end of the room. Head left from here, grab the Soul Gem, and then exit this room. Now climb down the stairs directly south of you. In this next area, head down the next stair set you see (to the southwest), and use your camera angles to find a chest containing Napalm near the stairs. Now, continue down the path, past the small stair set on the right to reach a big green block (similar to the one you saw before). Have Garr push it straight against the ledge to the far right and then up two spaces. Return to where you first entered this room and go right. Follow this path to a stair set going down. Head down those stairs to reach another block. Have Garr push it to the left three times and then position yourself north of it to push it southwards all the way it can go (to get north of the block, you'll have to switch your lead character to Ryu, because Garr's too big to get between it and the ledge). Once you've done that, get back to the east of the block and continue down the path, hugging the rightmost wall. Walk to the left and take the upper left path to get behind another green block. Push it up twelve times so that it forms a bridge with the block you pushed before. Now, as you can probably see, you've formed a path to the stairs going down at the east end of the room. Use the path you've made to reach the stairs, and then climb down them. When you get to the basement, Garr will ask your other party member to leave so that he and Ryu can go on by themselves. Now, walk over to the tower in the middle of the room and examine the plaques that rest on each side. Each plaque will have a guardian's name and a number below it. Take a deep breath and examine the plaque on the far side to find Garr's name on it. As Garr will tell you, it turns out that he fought in the dragon war hundreds of years ago, and the number below his name is the number of dragons he killed. The basement of Angel Tower serves as a graveyard for the ancient Brood, and Garr has brought you here to kill you because you're the last of the Brood. Some friend he turned out to be. So get ready for round two against Garr. Boss fight: Garr HP: 300 Exp- 400 / Zenny- none / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu Recommended level- Any Notes- This fight is an exact opposite to the first time you fought Garr. Just transform into any dragon you want that has Frost Claw and nail him with it. You can also use the Miracle gene by itself and batter Garr with your normal attack. You'll be slower than Garr, but who needs speed when you have 500+ HP and your opponent is only doing 20 damage to you. Once you make short work out of Garr, he'll ask you why you won't finish him off just before some chaos will erupt. The tower will seem like it's falling apart and the Behemoth Kaiser will come down upon Garr. As Ryu is walking through the darkness, the same Brood warrior, who beckoned him in the dream he had at the beginning of the game, calls to him again. Ryu will then have a seizure, and the scene will fade out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Revenge About ten years after the incident at Angel Tower, Garr is hired to get rid of a dragon that appeared in Dauna Mine. Garr finds the Whelp dragon and gives it a good whack with his spear. As the dragon reverts back into it's human form, a familiar blue-haired young man appears. It turns out that the dragon is Ryu, and he's grown-up now. Garr explains that he's been searching for you for many years, and he asks you to forgive him (although your answer will have no baring on the game). He'll then give you your equipment, and after Ryu changes into some clothes, you'll have control. Follow Garr by heading down and around the path and exiting at the right (this area should be familiar from the very beginning of the game). When you meet up with Garr again, he'll tell you his doubts about the righteousness of the war he fought in 400 years ago, and he asks you to journey with him to see his god. Your first concern, though, is getting out of the mine, so once you're done talking, continue on. Dauna Mine From here, head right all the way to the end of the room and then exit to reach the area with the big green skull. Walk to the leftmost end of this area and climb the stairs there to get to a platform with three chests on it (they contain a Vitamin, Life Shard, and Magic Shard). Now walk back to the eastern end of the room and take a path going downwards all the way to an elevator. Examine the panel and take the elevator up to B1, and as you ascend, you'll be followed by a dark, ghost-like mass. Follow the wooden path right from the B1 elevator, and then go down the wooden ramp. Head left on the mining cart tracks to get the Light Clothing in the chest. Now go back to the wooden ramp and walk to the right on the tracks to exit this area. Follow the tracks through the next two areas to get outside. Head inside the nearby hut and pick up the 200z inside the drawer, and stock up on healing items (especially Panacea) from the fish merchant. After you're done here, return all the way back to the elevator and go to B2. If you walk through the doorway near the B2 elevator, you'll find a room where you can rest and save your game, so use this room as often as you need to. From the elevator, head to the right, past the save room, to reach a small slope going downward. Go northeast from there (don't go down the slope yet) all the way to a doorway at the end of a short hall. Head inside and get the MultiVitamin in the chest, and then exit the way you came. ***Note- When you get Momo back in your party, return to that room and have her blast away the weak section of wall with her gun to reveal a room with the valuable accessory, Coupons, inside***. Return to the small slope back in the other area and go down it to find a mining cart full of explosives on a track. Throughout this area, you'll find switches that change the direction of the track. Walk past the mining cart and hit the first switch you come across along the track. Then follow the track northeast and hit the switch on the right side of the track. Now have Garr push the cart full of explosives, and it should end up forming a small bridge that lets you get to the chest containing a Feather Sword on the ledge. Grab the Feather Sword and then have Garr push the cart back to where it was when you first found it. Then hit the switch to the south of the Feather Sword chest again (the 2nd switch you hit). From that switch, head upwards and hit the switch directly northwest of it. After that's done, push the cart, and it should end up stopping at the left end of the northernmost track. Push it from that location, and the cart should collide with and shatter the big boulder that was blocking the passageway out. But before you can leave, the same dark, disembodied mass that was stalking you before will appear and take shape in the form of the Dragon Zombie. The zombie inquires Ryu about why he is allied with a guardian. And when you refuse to kill Garr, it'll try to kill both of you. Boss fight: Dragon Zombie HP: 2500 Exp- 1000 / Zenny- 300 / Item- Power Food Recommended team- Ryu, Garr Recommended level- 21 Notes- You're going to want to beat the Dragon Zombie as quickly as you can, because this guy is a nuisance fighter. It's Rotten Breath attack is almost sure to poison both your party members every time, and it's worst attack is Bone Dance, which damages and confuses all targets. But if you have a good supply a Panaceas and Antidotes, you can quickly restore your normal status by having Ryu and Garr heal each other. Have Ryu use Shield once, if you want to, and then have him transform using the Flame and Eldritch genes. Then use the Restore spell on the Dragon Zombie to do over 500 damage with each casting. When Ryu's AP gets down to about a third of it's maximum, stop using Restore and start using Flame Claw. Have Garr stick to his normal attacks, as well as curing status changes using items. After you've defeated the Dragon Zombie, a true member of the Brood will come and vanquish it for good. As the evil spirit dissipates, it will release the Shadow gene, and the true Brood spirit will grant you the Fusion gene. Once this is done, exit this area through the cave that you just unblocked. In this next area, follow the tracks up to a junction and head southeast. Take this path all the way to the end and go up the small wooden stair set to exit this area through the doorway on the right. Next, follow the wooden path down and go throught the first doorway you see. Take the next path up and go northwest at the junction to get a Lion's Belt. Return to the junction and head northeast to pick up a Protein, and then exit this room the way you came in. Continue down the wooden path and exit this room through the passageway at the end. Then follow the next wooden path southeast and go through the doorway at the end. Hit the switch inside this room three times and then exit to find the metal bridge raised. Cross over the bridge and leave the inside of the mine. When you get outside, one of the workers will confront Garr and ask him if he got rid of the dragon. Once you're done talking to the chief, head southeast to the area where the two houses are. Enter the leftmost house to talk to the boss and get your reward. Before you leave, the boss tells you about some monster that's been attacking people near the road. Now use the house to the right to save your game and then leave Dauna Mine. You'll automatically make camp, and Ryu will have a reminiscent dream. He wakes up and then goes outside to talk to Garr. Garr will tell Ryu that they must head east to Angel Tower again and then you'll break camp. Exploring the Dauna Hills Region Dauna Hills is a very small region compared to other places that you've been to, but there's still a lot to see here. You'll find fishing spots to the south and to the west of Dauna Mine. A little ways southeast of the mine you'll find a [?] hut with a familiar bunch of faces inside. To the south lies Ogre Road, and Syn City is to the southwest. Also, there's at least one flower ring in this area, so check up on the faeries and you can begin building your faerie village (find out more about the faerie village under side quests). When you're done looking around, head over to Syn City. Syn City This place is the headquarters of the blackmarket and the gang that Balio and Sunder worked for and is populated by the same kind of crooks and lowlifes that you saw in Genmel. Take time to check out the shops here, as well as talk to the people in town. The bum sitting near one of the shops will give you information about the blackmarket and the monster at Ogre Road for a small price. Syn City Item Shop: Syn City Weapon Shop: Sekine's Weapon Shop: Vitamin- 50z Silver Knife- 1400z Ashura's Sword- 3600z Antidote- 12z Thieves Knife- 3200z Manly Clothes- 1000z Eye Drops- 20z Wind Cutter- 2200z Panacea- 100z Shotgun Shell- 2200z Ammonia- 200z Rood Spear- 2900z Spirit- 50z Light Clothing- 2700z Baby Frog- 50z Silver Mail- 3900z Popper- 50z Steel Gauntlets- 3000z Float- 50z Gold Hairpin- 2200z When you're done exploring Syn City, go back to the world map and head south to Ogre Road. Ogre Road First, walk down the path to a small incline going downwards. Go down the incline and continue to follow the path around the ledge with the chest on it until you reach a junction. Head northwest a little ways from the junction and have Ryu cut down the strange looking plants to obtain Horseradish. Then go southwest to an incline going up. Head up it and follow the path all the way around to reach the chest containing an Hourglass that you saw on the ledge. Now go back a little ways and jump off the ledge to the right of where the Horseradish was. Now walk southeast all the way to the end of the road, where you'll be stopped by the Weretiger, the monster that's been attacking people on this road. Just hit it with your normal attacks, and after taking a couple hundred HP's of damage, the Weretiger will flee the battle. Then continue downward and exit Ogre Road. The south exit of the road will empty you out into western Yraall Region. There's really isn't anything else here besides a new fishing spot and Mt. Levett, so continue onward to Mt. Levett. Mt. Levett Once you enter Mt. Levett, head right and then northeast up a long, steep slope. Go left from the top of the slope and then to the southwest to reach two sliding inclines (like the one you saw at Mt. Glaus except smaller). Slide down the left one to pick up 800z in the satchel and then slide down the next incline. Enter the cave to the right, and follow the path inside up to the exit. Exit the cave and walk right, past the top of the steep slope you went up before, and take the lower path. When you get to the middle of the path, you'll fall through a hole in the ground and into a cave. Pick up the Gold Hairpin in the chest near you and head southwest to exit the cave. Jump off the ledge outside and hike back up the steep slope. Once you're at the top again, walk northwest a small ways and follow the upper path going right. Take this path right and then downwards all the way to the exit. When you get back on the world map, go to the [?] hut north of Mt. Levett. Pick up a Healing Herb in one of the drawers inside, and then continue east. Head across the bridge that was out at the beginning of the game and enter Yraall Road. Reunion in the Yraall Region When you enter Yraall Road, head up the path to find Wyndian guards blocking the road. Talk to them and they'll tell you that there's a crime investigation going on, that's why the road is closed. Garr then suggests that you go see what's going on at McNeil village. So enter McNeil and talk to the innkeeper (she's standing right in front of the inn). You'll then go inside the inn and talk about the tiger you saw on Ogre Road. It turns out that the tiger was last seen going into Cedar Woods, and Garr offers to help get rid of it. The innkeeper lets you stay the night for free, so rest at the inn and then go to Cedar Woods ***CAUTION: SPOILER AHEAD***. Enter Cedar Woods and then walk over to the place where your destroyed house is. When you arrive at that area, you have a flashback of when Balio and Sunder came to kill you. Go up to the path leading to your house and Garr will tell you to go on alone. Continue along the path and up to your house to find the tiger. It's Rei! He'll recognize Ryu right away, and he is amazed about how strong you've become. Rei is relieved to see that you're alive, but Teepo is still nowhere to be found. Ever since you were separated, Rei's been hunting down the people Balio and Sunder worked for, and he's been using his power to attack people on Ogre Road. But before you can tell him that you've already killed Balio and Sunder, he tells you that he won't stop until he avenges you and Teepo, and then he runs off. So now, meet up with Garr again and head down to McNeil village. When you get there, you'll see that Rei got revenge on Loki. After talking to a few of the villagers, go to the farm, and from there, go to McNeil manor. Once you're done talking with Garr, you'll witness Nina arresting Mr. McNeil, and after a little confusion, she'll ask you what's going on. The three of you then go to the cow pasture and explain everything that's happened since the separation at Angel Tower. Nina agrees to the idea of Ryu learning more about the Brood, but she insists that finishing the investigation should come first. Nina suggests that you all go to Syn City to finish the investigation, so exit back to the world map and return to Syn City The Massacre When you arrive at Syn City, the smell of blood is in the air, so you know immediately that's something's wrong. Walk around town and talk to all the wounded people. It's obvious that Rei came here looking for the boss of the blackmarket. Head over to the other side of the city (which was inaccessible before) and go inside the cave there. Speak with the people inside, and you'll find out that the boss fled from Syn City up to the northwest Checkpoint. So pick up the Old Painting in the chest and leave Syn City. Rest and save your game, and then head over to the Checkpoint to the northwest. You'll arrive at the Checkpoint just in time to see that Rei has hunted down the blackmarket leader, Mikba. After a few cross words, Rei will give Mikba a good slash with his knife, and then your party will show up. But while you're conversing with Rei, Mikba will transform into his fighting form, and he knocks Rei senseless with one blow. He'll then recognize Ryu as the one who killed Balio and Sunder, so he decides to take you out as well. It's time to fight Mikba! Boss fight: Mikba HP: 2500 Exp- 3000 / Zenny- 1500 / Item- N/A Recommended team- Ryu, Rei, Garr Recommended level- 21 Notes- Mikba is no pushover, so don't take him lightly. Aside from using Venom Breath to poison all of your party members, Mikba also has a ridiculously high reprisal rate, and he gets Lucky Strikes very often. The battle will start with Ryu and your third party member at normal health, but Rei will be unconscious. If you choose to revive Rei during the battle, do so carefully because he'll immediately transform into the Weretiger. You will have no control over Rei when he is in this form, and he will also slowly become berserk, which means he might attack his own allies. If you have the Influence skill (learned from Boss Goblins), you can bait Mikba, and this will cause Rei to become berserk much more slowly (or not even become berserk