Walkthrough

Here's a starting tip: As soon as you can, open the menu and go to Status, then press Triangle. If you're interested at all in Pickpocketing (you should), see if Claude has the Dexterity talent. If not, restart and try again.

First, go to the top left and examine the switch. When you regain control, walk north. Save at the save point if you want, then continue all the way north to see a scene. You'll regain control in Shingo Forest, and a girl is being attacked below you. Rush up to the monster (a Ghark) to start a battle. It's pathetically easy, just keep pressing L1 to beat it. You'll win 300 FOL from it. When you're done, the girl will run off to the left; follow her. In the next screen, she'll introduce herself as Rena and will take you into Arlia Village.

You're free to explore now. For starters, the house at the top left has a Rose Hips and a Blueberry upstairs. Herbs like Rose Hips and Aceras will be fairly plentiful throughout the game, but they're useless for actual HP recovery; they're used in the Compounding Specialty. Go right a screen and you'll see three chests in front of the general store, with a Leather Armor, 200 FOL, and a Resurrection Bottle. The Leather Armor will be automatically equipped on Claude; if you know anything at all about RPGs, you shouldn't need this feature. Go to the Equip screen and press Triangle to bring up the menu which lets you disable it.

The house at the top right has a chest with a Strawberry Jam. When you're done, go to the bottom left house, which is Rena's. A scene will play out, after which Rena will temporarily join you. You can now actually shop at the store; buy two or three Blueberries and a single Sandals. All the other people react differently to Rena, as well. When you're done looking around, go back to Rena's house for another scene. You'll regain control upstairs. You can't go into Rena's room to the right. Try to go downstairs (you won't be able to) then return to your room and wait. Westa will come up and talk to you; after another longish scene, you'll come to in Mayor Regis's house (no, not Philbin). Go downstairs and the Mayor will give you a Long Sword; equip it right away. You're now free to leave Arlia village (north of the left village screen).

If you stick to the road, you should get no battles at all. It doesn't matter, as they're pathetically easy anyway. Follow the road to the city of Salva.

The shops here have a bit more than in Arlia. Don't bother buying anything at the jewelry store, but pick up a Leather Helm and Leather Greaves at the weapon shop. You can also get a Heavy Ring in the shop. It lowers defense against Elemental magic, but also raises Hit and Critical rate, and since no one casts magic quite yet, go ahead and equip it. Go north one screen, then into the top right house, which is Alen's Mansion. Go upstairs and into the top left room to pick up a Portrait B (don't bother trying to Use it). Finally, exit the mansion and Claude will tell you to go back to Arlia. 8-) Listen to him; after all, he's you.

Back in Arlia, surprise, Rena's been captured! Before you leave, return to Rena's house and enter her room upstairs (the game lets you now) for another Blackberry (whoopee). Now you can return to Salva. The jewelry shop is closed, so if you need more Blueberries head to Arlia again. Alen's mansion is locked, but Claude will blast his way through using the Phase Gun. This means you can't use it any more (sigh...)

Once in Alen's mansion, go to the right room on the first floor. You'll pick up Rena's Hairpin. Examine the statue at the top right to open a passage to the Salva Drift. There's an incapacitated carpenter at the entrance to the Drift, and a save point. Head past them to the north. You'll now encounter random battles along the way, but the enemies are easy as anything. The only ones which might give you trouble are the bunnies; use an Air Slash or two (once you learn it) to soften them up. Don't worry about assigning any SP to any skills yet.

You'll see two chests with a Rose Hips and a Blackberry, and a branching path. First take the left path. The way down is blocked by soldiers (and just leads back to town), so keep going left to pick up a Blueberry and a Silver, which raises defense by 1, so equip it. Go back right and now take the northern path. You'll get to a chest with an Iron; don't bother equipping it. Go down a bit and left (the passage is a bit hard to see, but saves you a bit of walking around).

You're now in a confusing-looking place, but it's not too bad. First, keep going left and to the next screen to pick up a Gold. You can't go any further left here (right, like you'd be able to beat a dragon with a Long Sword) so go back right one screen. Go up and take the first left to reach a Blueberry and another Gold. Go back right and up again; you'll see a save point. Going right (the passage below the door, that is) leads backwards, so head left for a Spectacles. Now save at the save point and head into the nearby door.

You'll confront Alen and enter a "boss fight". Alen-Tax has a mere 400 HP and is a total wimp; plus you'll have Rena for this fight to heal you if you get tired. He'll go down easily. You'll end up just outside Mayor Regis's house in Arlia. Go back into the house and talk to him for a longish scene, and you'll wind up upstairs in his house. Go down and to the balcony for yet another scene. Now go back up, downstairs, and exit the house. Head left a screen and down to the bridge for your last scene. Now that the story's all set up, Rena joins your party and the game begins!

You can now enter into Private Actions by pressing Square on the world map near a town. You can do one in Arlia and two in Salva. Before you leave, re-enter Salva with all your characters and go meet Alen in his mansion (he's in the top left room on the second floor); talk to him twice he'll give you a Ring of Happiness. Give it to Rena. Now head north out of Salva and keep going till you hit Cross.

First go to the inn at the top left; a scene will play out and you'll be all rested up in the morning when you're done. Now resist the urge to go shopping and head north to the castle. Talk to the receptionist on the left; you'll then be able to explore the castle. It's largely symmetrical, so you can swap the directions I give you here (turn right into left and vice versa).

Go down the lower left staircase, then right a bit and up into the central room (the armory). Pick up the Leather Helm and Wooden Shield, then return to the main hall. Go up the upper left staircase, then head north. The door to the right leads to the throne room; talk to the soldier guarding it. Before going back, though, head left and up another staircase. Go into the left room (the Prince's room) to pick up 500 FOL. Now return to the main hall and talk to the left receptionist. Go up to the soldiers to start another scene. When you're done, the King will give you 600 FOL and your Passport to Clik.

Head down out of the castle. When you reach town you'll see a bit of entertainment. Go and watch it, and when you're done Celine will join your party. (Actually, you can choose if she should or not, but whichever choice you make, she'll join anyway. ^^;) Celine is THE quintessential magic user. She starts at Level 8 (probably way higher than either of the two heroes), and her current magic is useful for the immediate present (since the enemies are usually too slow to outrun it).

Before heading out, go left and into the weapon shop. Buy a Broad Sword, Banded Helm, Banded Mail, and Iron Greaves for Claude, and get Boots for Rena. Also stop by the Skill Guild and buy all three skill sets. You won't be using them just yet (save up your SP) but you'll need to get them sometime. Also, go down to the peddler to stock up on Blue and Blackberries if you really need them (you shouldn't). Before you leave Cross, go back and do a Private Action. You'll see a three-eyed man on the way to the castle. This is important if you ever want to get Opera in your party.

Your next destination is Cross Cave, to the east of Cross Castle (near the signpost).

The enemies here are only nasty when they gang up on you. When Celine learns Ray, turn it off because it saps her MP quite fast.

Start by going north into the big black crack. Take the first left and follow it for a Blueberry, then go back right. Go up. Take the left path again, and follow it to the next screen for an Artemis Leaf and a Sweet Syrup. Go right, but this time take the top right path instead of bottom right (it saves a bit of time) to reach a room with a Cure Poison. Go up again for a room with two visible chests (with a ?MINERAL and Lavender) and one invisible one, hidden at the top of the black stone thingy in the middle of the room. It holds a ?JEWELRY.

First head up, then turn right at the crossroads to pick up a Tri-ball and Magic Canvas. Go back left and down, then head left twice. You'll see a chest with a Lavender, but to actually pick it up you have to circle up a bit and around. Now go north, then left for a Stink Gel and Sweet Syrup. Go back right, down, and go left for a ?ITEM (in a huge room). Go left again, then down past the red-carpet-looking thing into a room with a Cure Poison and Blackberry.

Return up and right. There's a passage downwards here inside a little indentation in the southern wall towards the right end of the screen. Follow it for a Feather Pen, 600 FOL, and a Resurrection Mist, then go back out. Go north through the door.

Examine the big green glowing thingy for a scene, after which the way east will be open. Save your game and go there. There are five chests here. The bottom left one holds the Ancient Writings, your goal. The top left box (the one actually resting on the star) is actually a boss fight. Although it's optional, I'd say go for it, because the bosses give great EXP and FOL and aren't all that tough. Be sure to turn Ray back on before you go for it, though, 'cause they're weak against it. They have 1500 HP each and there are two of them.

The other chests in the room have 700 FOL, a Heart Barriers, and a Green Beryl (fairly useless right now). Now you just have to make your way out. Go left (save again if you wish), then down twice, then right, then down all the way to exit.

Your next destination is Clik, but if you want to get some Pickpocket stuff (and you SHOULD, since you can't pickpocket Clik after you finish with the bit here) you'll want to take a side trip to Herlie (all the way east) to pick up some more Skills from the Skill Guild. See the Strategies section for how to make quick cash and build up skills to be able to pickpocket the people in Clik. It'll take about two hours, but it makes the rest of the game infinitely easier.

If you have the pickpocket ability like I said, go into a Private Action and filch from Filia in the Fountain Plaza (west of the first screen) to get a Mischief, an AWESOME item which gives random items and FOL as you walk around. If not, continue.

First, getting treasure: The first house near the bottom of the screen has a Lyre, and the restaurant (first door on the second screen) has three chests with cooking ingredients at the left. Stop by the weapon shop and buy a Sinclair Sabre, Hard Knuckles, Round Shield, and Iron Greaves and give them to Claude and Rena. (I haven't figured out what the Secret Boots do, so leave them be.) Now head to the docks (left and down from the first screen) and talk to the Captain at the lower left of the screen.

Walk back up one screen and Claude will be pickpocketed by a kid. First you have to find him. Go back down and talk to the two kids at the bottom right of the docks screen. Now go back up and right and you'll see the blue-haired menace by the warehouse to the right of the weapon shop. There'll be a scene, then the kid will give you back your money and start showing you around.

There are several scenes to see (they have no strategic impact, though). First is back at Ketil's house (where you found the Lyre); second is in the restaurant (talk to the manager, then the cook. You'll get three choices, none of which matter); third is when you enter the Fountain Plaza; fourth is in the clothing store (this one's hilarious) and you can buy Ketil ice cream or pancakes from the vendors in the plaza. When you're done, go back to the docks and talk to the kids to finish this up.

Talk to the captain again, then go back north. BAM! Bye-bye Clik. When you come to, talk to the captain again (he'll give you your Passport back), then start walking up the steps you see. BAM! again. Talk to Ketil, then exit ex-Clik. There are a few Private Actions open now that you couldn't get before, in Salva and Cross. When you're done, go east of Cross and enter Mars Village.

First go to the elder's house (leftmost house in the left screen, at the top of the screen) for a longish scene. When you're done, Rena will temporarily leave your party. Explore the back of the Elder's house for a Sour Syrup Silence Card, and Purple Mist, and go to Celine's house (the rightmost house in the village). Go upstairs, then left into Celine's room and pick up a Silk Robe (give it to Celine). Now go get ready to enter the Heraldry Forest.

Mrs. Roof's is at the lower left of town. Buy Ruby Wand, Fame Helm, Magical Hat, Ringed Mail, and Suede Boots and equip them on Claude and Celine. (It's up to you to get a Flame Blade or not; it makes early battles way easier, but you'll find one in the forest as well.) Also make sure to have 20 Blueberries and at least 3 or 4 Blackberries. When you're done, talk to the elder in his house to rest for the night. When you wake up, he'll give you a pair of Mud Boots. They're weak, so don't bother equipping them until you need to (when you come across some mud in the Forest). Head north into the Forest at the right side of the left screen in the village. Save your game at the save point.

Go left and pick up a ?HERB (which is a Rose Hips when you identify it). Head right and you'll meet three Bandits. If you're at a low level, they'll make mincemeat out of you, because they're way faster than you and gang up. Have Celine continually cast Ray (or Starlight, if she knows it). Claude can use Air Slash if he wants, but Head Splitter is better if he knows it. These fights can be nasty because you don't have Rena to heal you. Still, you should be able to win at the end. Heal up at the inn if you really want to (it's only 20 FOL), then head right.

Besides for the Bandits, you'll also have random encounters here. The Magiuses (Magiae?) have only 20 HP, but if they appear in a large group they can cast Starlight together and totally wallop your ass. They can also spin around. If one or more of them starts spinning around (or casts Fireball), have Celine cast Ray; otherwise, use Energy Arrow. If she casts Ray at the same time as they cast Starlight, it'll amplify their spell and you're screwed! Other than that, the Stingrays might be annoying because they're so hard to hit (again, Head Splitter is useful), but keep on truckin'.

Go up through the trees to the next screen, then left to meet another group of Bandits. Same deal. Keep going left to the next screen and you'll meet a patch of mud; you have to equip the Mud Boots to get past it. Look for a slightly hard-to-see passage up, which leads to an Amber Robe (give it to Celine). Go back down and left, then go up at the end.

Head left for a chest with some Smelling Salts, then right for your third and last group of Bandits. Go up to the next screen. Right is a Dummy Doll, then go back left and up. Go right to a save point. Just left of the save point is a hard-to-see passage down, which leads to a Flame Blade; equip it right away if you don't have one. Go back up and save, then head right across the mud (Mud Boots time), then up.

Right across the last mud patch is a Mandrake, then go left. Make sure to re-equip your Iron Greaves once you're clear of the mud. Keep going left and you'll see a scene, followed by a boss fight with Varmillion (sic). He's not that tough, especially since he's weak against both the Flame Blade and any of Celine's Light-Elemental spells (Ray/Starlight). Just keep slashing away at him and he'll go down in no time, and leave you a Talisman. Another scene will play out, and Rena will rejoin your party.

Go and outfit her at Mrs. Roof's with a Cestus, Magical Hat, and Suede Boots, and give her the Silk Robe Celine had before. Now try to leave the village and one last scene will play out, after which Celine will rejoin.

Your next destination is Herlie, east of Mars. First off, there's a few chests around. Head into Eleanor's house (top left of the second screen) and go up to the second floor to get a Ring of Sadness. And in Zand's mansion (all the way north), go right twice to get a Leather Boots and 1200 FOL, then go right again, up the stairs, and left to enter a room with Ringed Mail and a Sinclair Sabre. Now you can go shopping a bit. Go to the weapons shop and buy a Knight's Shield, Plate Greaves, and one Brigandine, and give them all to Claude. Also be sure to buy any skills you don't have yet.

Now you have to decide if you want Ashton or Opera (and possibly Ernest) in your party. If you want Opera/Ernest, skip to the next section. If you want Ashton (I recommend this for Claude's scenario), read on.

Just to the left of the entrance to Herlie are two men talking about a dragon in Salva. Talk to them, then return to Salva (southwest). Get ready to enter the Salva Drift (the entrance is left of Alen's mansion). The enemies here are tougher than before, so watch out. Bring lots of Aquaberries and a few Blackberries; the enemies poison you. You can use Rena's Antidote or Aquaberries; your choice. Make sure Claude has the Flame Sabre, because it makes life way easier. The Gerels can split, so go after them first, before they can.

You'll start in a familiar section. Go right, up, and left twice. Walk past the sign with the dragon on it and you'll be in the new part of the mine. Go up at the crossroads to get a Maple Syrup, then go back down and head left. At the next crossroads, down is a dead end, you'll find another Brigandine upwards, and left is the way onwards. You'll see Ashton looking confused at this point, then he'll run off.

Go up at the crossroads to pick up an Aquaberry and an Iron at the top right, then go all the way left to pick up a Golden Earring, then go back down to re-enter the room you were in before (but on the left side instead of the right side). Pick up a Cinderella Glass at the left, then continue down. Save your game, then go right to see a scene with Ashton, who gets possessed by the dragons. He'll demand that you take responsiblity for it. If you say yes, he'll join your party. If you say no, you'll run away. If you change your mind, just walk back into the room and he'll force himself into your party. If he gets in either way, head to the right where the dragon used to be to pick up a Star Ruby and a Diamond.

If you've done some pickpocketing, Ashton will probably be way weaker than Claude. Still, he's got some good moves and is quite fast - not to mention you now have a full party! You're about to embark on a longish journey, though, and it won't be easy.

First off, you'll probably want to pick up a special accessory for him. Before you do, go into the weapon shop at Salva and talk to the owner to get a Twin-Edge. Now go to the jewelry store and buy Ruby Earrings and Necklaces until your money's mostly gone (make sure you have at least 2000 FOL, though). Identify All! will be a boon. Now go south to Arlia and initiate a Private Action. Go into the item shop and talk to Ashton. He'll say Gyoro and Ururun (his dragons) want to buy a helmet. Go ahead and buy it; it'll cost 3/4 of all your money (that's why you should have invested in jewelry). You'll get the Salamander's Helmet, which is a fairly good accessory for Ashton. Now go and sell all that jewelry (again, use Identify All! if you have it) to regain most of your cash.

Your next stop is Mars, to the east. Enter the elder's house (far left). Examine the bookcase to the north (not west) and pick the third option to learn about what you have to do. Your first target is the Mountain Temple. Basically, go the same way you went to Clik, but go west just before the bridge. Follow the path up to the cave at the top of the mountain.

Talk to the soldier here to find out you need to go ALL the way back to Cross Castle. Do so, talk to the left receptionist, then go north to the king. He'll give you permission to enter the temple and 3000 FOL. Rest up, purchase needed items (buy a few Cure Stones if you can, even though they're expensive) and head ALL the way back to the Mountain Palace. The soldier will let you through now.

Pick up a Luna Tablet and Crystal in the very first room. The enemies here are quite tough, but if you ever want to rest just talk to the soldier. This is a great place to build up levels, by the way. It'll go way easier if you're at least at level 21. Go for the Archers and Werewolves first, because they're super-fast. The Petrogerells can turn you to stone, so hit them hard and fast. The Slimepools are weaklings; use Shooting Star at short range to hit them before they can move.

(By the way, you'll notice a lot of weird-looking things like stone tablets, bookcases, occult symbols, etc. and wonder what their purpose is. If you *didn't* want Ashton in your party, you come back here with Opera and with a totally different objective, and they come into play then.)

The only rooms shown here are intersections. Usually there are several rooms connecting the intersections, but they're one-way. Our goal is room B, so to collect all the treasure here's what we'll do first.

Head north to room 5. Go to the top right to continue to room 6. First head right and follow it until you reach Room E, which has a large tablet and two chests, which hold a Fairy's Statue and Emerald Ring. The Emerald Ring is extremely useful, so give it to someone. Now go back to your last intersection (room 6) and go north.

Just above you is a save point. Continue north and right until you reach another intersection (room 7). Take the first north to room F, which has an Amber Robe (give to whoever doesn't have the other one), Crest Rod (for Celine), and a ?MINERAL which turns out to be a Damascus. Head back out of this room and continue right; follow until you reach room G, which has a Fairy's Cologne, Damascus, and a Wolfsbane. (Whoopee.) Now go all the way back to room 1.

This time go northwest to room 2, which is a four-way crossroads. First continue northwest to room 3, then northwest again to room A, which has a ?HERB (Artemis Leaf). Continue northeast to reach room 4. Go north. You'll now hit a long path of one-way rooms; one of the rooms has a ?JEWELRY (Shiny Earring) and a Resurrection Bottle, and a second one has a Cure Stone and Sweet Syrup. Eventually you'll reach a save point. Save, then continue northeast to reach a room with a Cestus, a ?MINERAL (Oricalchum), and... the Silver Goblet! Of course, you'll have to fight a boss fight before you can claim it.

The Nightmare isn't all that tough. Her worst move is casting Magnum Tornado, and if Claude and Ashton keep hammering away at her she won't have a chance to cast it. She seems to be very good at avoiding attacks, but she can't use any of her moves while she's doing so. Have Celine cast Energy Arrow and just use regular attacks. It'll be a long but not hard fight (she has 9,000 HP). You'll get a Healing Ring when you beat her.

Go back, save, and keep going till you reach your first intersection (room 4). Take right to end up at room 2. Take the southwest path to end up back at room 1, and go southwest to exit. Phew!

Go back to Cross, heal up and buy necessary stuff (buy about six or seven Blackberries, at least), then you're off to your next destination, Lassguss Mountain. Head west from Cross to reach it; you can't miss it. Thankfully, it's not very long or hard, but has a WICKED boss fight. I recommend at least level 24-5 if you want to be able to beat it at all. Unlike the previous level, there's no treasure and no maze; just keep going north. You'll have to climb using the Accept button, but you can manage it.

At the top you'll fight XINE. The most important thing to do here is keep on him. Ashton seems to do pretty well himself; he'll use mostly regular attacks. Have Claude keep using Head Splitter and Celine use Energy Arrow. Have Rena keep healing and keep using Blackberries on Claude when he runs low on MP. He has 20,000 HP, so this battle will definitely take a while. If he manages to use his Master Attack, he can drain most of the HP from one or both of your fighters, so have Rena use Cure All when that happens (she probably will by herself, though). And good luck! When you win, you'll get another Luna Tablet and the Tears of the King.

To finish this off, head back to the Salva Drift where Ashton joined your party. Here he'll join you for good (with his dragon pals) and you're back off to Herlie!

From Herlie, take the boat to Hilton. Don't worry too much about buying any equipment, as you'll be getting that in spades pretty soon, and before you reach your next dungeon. Head southeast towards the city of Lacour. Before entering, though, make another character decision: Do you want Precis or Bowman? (I say Bowman's nothing short of useless.) If you want Precis, keep going southeast past Lacour to reach the city of Linga. As soon as you enter, a scene will play out. Exit the city and then enter a Private Action. Go up one screen and go to the top left near the pharmacy. Another scene will play out and Precis will ask if she can join you at the end. If you want Bowman, skip all that and continue on to Lacour.

The weapons shops are all closed here, due to the huge Tournament of Arms going on. But we want to talk to the king, so head to the castle up north. Talk to the lower receptionist to learn that the king won't take any appointments till after the Tournament. (Once you do this, you can't leave the city for a little while.) Now exit the castle and Claude will express his wish to enter the Tournament himself. Of course we shall listen to him. Go back up and talk to the upper receptionist to register for the Tournament. Your next step is to choose one of the four weapons shops in east Lacour. You will get to use their goods in battle (you can't use your own equipment). Here they are, from left to right:

"Counterpunch": Sinclair Sabre, Brigandine, Buckler, Plate Helm, Silver Greaves.
"Knockout": Long Edge, Leather Armor, Wooden Shield, Leather Helm, Leather Greaves.
"Slayer" (inside the door): Walloon Sword, Ringed Mail, Round Shield, Iron Helm, Iron Greaves.
"Straight": Gusguine, Banded Mail, Knight's Shield, Banded Helm, Plate Greaves.

You'll only get 4 items to use in battle. 3 of the weapon shops will give you 2 Sweet Syrups (HP 30%), 1 Mixed Syrup (HP/MP 30%) and 1 Blackberry (MP 22%+). "Slayer" will instead give you 1 Fruit Syrup (HP/MP 45%), 1 Fresh Syrup (HP 100%), 1 Attack Vial (attack up for 1 battle) and 1 Violence Pill (either HP 100% or kills you; it's random). If you actually want to win the tournament (well, as much as you can), don't pick Counterpunch or Knockout; Counterpunch gives you horrible offense and Knockout gives you horrible defense. Slayer has slightly better defense than Straight, and Straight has slightly better offence than Slayer. My recommendation is Slayer.

Note that if you do manage to "win" the Tournament, you'll get a) all the items you were given for use in the Tournament, including healing items; b) 6500 FOL; and c) the all-important Sharp Edge sword. So if you don't win, it's probably best to restart. It's a huge pain (it takes at least 20 minutes) but trust me, you WANT that sword. Also, because you get to keep that equipment, some people like choosing Knockout becuase the Long Edge is so expensive. Your choice, but I've never won using them.

When you've picked a weapons shop, you'll get the Tournament Pass. You can now exit the town (Celine will be mad, but who cares about her?) and save. DO SO NOW. You can level up if you wish. However, while levels help, most of the battles are about luck, because the enemies hit so hard. Also, you can initiate a Private Action here involving an old woman in west Lacour. Go shopping for her and she'll give you a Star Ruby and Rainbow Diamond. When you're ready to fight, go to the inn at the top right and talk to the innkeeper.

You'll wake up the next morning. Head into the castle. First off, you can pick up a Star Ruby in here (go up to the throne room, right, up the stairs, left, and into the first door up to get it). Next you'll want to head to the Coliseum. From the start, head left twice, up the stairs, and keep going. Talk to the soldier, then after the scene head into the left room. Talk to four out of five of these people and a soldier will come in and ask if you're ready. Choose no to go to your equipment screen. The only thing you can really do at this point is change your Killer Moves. I go with Burst Knuckle (if you have it; Shooting Stars if you don't) and Head Splitter. When you're ready, enter your first fight.

The Gladiator is a pushover; just keep using regular attacks and he hopefully won't be able to touch you. When you win, go right, then go up the rightmost door. Go around the right side into the north end of the Coliseum, then go down the middle and talk to your party members. You'll watch Dias fight his round, then you're up again.

The Troll is tough. Use your long-range tech (Burst Knuckle or Shooting Stars) once to soften him up, then use Head Splitter. You have relatively more MP than HP, so use skills rather than risk regular attacks. If you have Flip at a decent level, you can try using regular attacks and you can kind of dance around him. Try to beat this without using any of your Syrups.

Another scene will play out, then you go to your last beatable match. Use a Sweet Syrup before the match if you need to, then go fight the incredibly tough Ogre. Use the same basic strategy as with the Troll, but be sure to heal yourself whenever you can and try not to get too close; use Head Splitter from a short distance away. Again, it's mostly luck. Good luck! After you beat him, you'll watch Dias again, then after another scene you'll fight him. You can't beat him, so don't try to.

Before you leave town, if you beat the Ogre, go talk to the guy who sponsored you (whoever you chose) to get your prize items and money. Also, head to west Lacour and go up the stairs to Gamgee's house. If you managed to beat the Ogre, talk to Gamgee to get the Sharp Edge, a sword which can be customized to get what's basically known as the best weapon for most of the game, the Eternal Sphere. You are now free to leave town. However, spend some of your new money on the now-open weapons shops. Buy Silver Greaves, Plate Helms, and Bucklers from Counterpunch, Long Edge (if you can) and Twin-Edge (if you have Ashton) from Knockout, and a Knight's Shield from Straight (if you chose any of these and won, you'll already have one of almost everything sold there, so you only need to get the other shops' wares). The stuff's expensive, so use Identify All! and get the Twin-Edge (for Ashton) and Bucklers first, followed by the helms, greaves, and Long Edge.

If you already have Ashton, skip to the next section. If not, you'll probably want to get Opera at this point. Continue reading to find out more.

Head to Hilton and enter the bar. (Do NOT go into a Private Action.) If you've seen the Three-Eyed Man PA in Cross like I told you to, you'll see a scene involving Opera and a drinking contest. If you didn't see the Three-Eyed Man PA, you can't see it any more, unfortunately. Go and get Ashton; you can still do it.

Assuming you've seen the Opera scene, get on a boat back to the Cross continent and go into the castle. Ask the king about the three-eyed woman and he'll give you 10,000 FOL as well as a pass to the Mountain Palace. The enemies in the Mountain Palace shouldn't be too difficult, but you can go back to Lacour and buy some new equipment if you like. You should, really. Some Cure Stones would be nice in case Rena gets petrified, and bring lots of Blackberries. Once you're ready, go the same way you went to Clik, but go west just before the bridge. Follow the path up to the cave at the top of the mountain.

There's a Luna Tablet and Crystal in the very first room. You can talk to the soldier to rest for free if you ever get tired. As for enemies, go for the Archers and Werewolves first, because they're super-fast. The Petrogerells can turn you to stone, so hit them hard and fast. The Slimepools are weaklings; use Shooting Star or Burst Knuckle at short range to hit them before they can move.

The only rooms shown here are intersections. Usually there are several rooms connecting the intersections, but they're one-way. We eventually have to reach room G, but since the "bosses" aren't very tough, I'll just give you the shortest method to get all the treasure (including room G) and leave.

From room 1, first go north to room 5, then right. You'll see Opera and a scene will play out, after which she'll offer to join your party. She's a welcome addition; she's quite fast and her Flame Thrower tech can deal some major damage to some of the enemies here. Continue right to room 6. First head right and follow it until you reach Room E, which has a large tablet and two chests, which hold a Fairy's Statue and Emerald Ring. The Emerald Ring is extremely useful, so give it to someone. Now go back to your last intersection (room 6) and go north.

Just above you is a save point. Save, then continue north. Another scene will play out, after which you start a battle with two Flarelizards. The start of the battle is pretty tough; long-range techs like Head Splitter and Flame Launcher will do the best damage. Have both fighters attack the same lizard (set the strategy to "Attack with all MP!"); once it goes down you can sandwich the remaining one between your fighters. They have 5,000 HP each. You'll get two Reflection Rings when you beat them.

Head right until you reach another intersection (room 7). Take the first north to room F, which has an Amber Robe (give to whoever doesn't have the other one), Crest Rod (for Celine), and a ?MINERAL which turns out to be a Damascus. Head back out of this room and continue right; follow until you reach room G, which has a Fairy's Cologne, Damascus, and a Wolfsbane. You'll also find out that Ernest isn't here. Now go all the way back to room 1; we're going to collect the rest of the treasure.

This time go northwest to room 2, which is a four-way crossroads. First continue northwest to room 3, then northwest again to room A, which has a ?HERB (Artemis Leaf). Continue northeast to reach room 4. Go north. You'll now hit a long path of one-way rooms; one of the rooms has a ?JEWELRY (Shiny Earring) and a Resurrection Bottle, and a second one has a Cure Stone and Sweet Syrup. Eventually you'll reach a save point. Continue northeast to reach a room with a Cestus, a ?MINERAL (Oricalchum). Go back, save, and keep going till you reach your first intersection (room 4). Go right to end up at room 2. Take the southwest path to end up back at room 1, and go southwest to exit. Phew! You can now continue on with the story; your next destination is the city of Linga.

Linga is southwest of Lacour. If you haven't gotten Precis yet, a scene will play out when you enter. You can still get her if you want, by the way. In any case, to advance the story, go straight to the right and enter the upper right house (next to the co-op). Another scene. Now go back to the pharmacy (one screen up, then to the top left), enter it, and speak to Bowman. Your next task is to enter the Sanctuary of Linga, straight across from Linga on the world map.

Your goal is to find a rare herb. There are two you can find: Clarisage (it's found in several places, actually) or Dill Whip. Dill Whip is rarer and can only be found deeper into the cave, but I have no clue if having it instead of Clarisage makes any difference at all. Once you've gotten one of the rare herbs, the other ones turn into common herbs like Lavender and Rose Hips. There's also an optional boss fight at the end of the dungeon. This cavern is HUGE, so you'll be fighting a lot (which is good, because if you have Precis she starts way back at Level 15). You should be near Level 30 when you're done here, unless you take the short way out. The enemies aren't too tough (Ashton, Opera, and Precis are great against the bunnies; use Rena's Dispel when you fight the slimes, and don't use any of Ashton's techs against the wolves or werewolves, as they go very fast. Opera's techs are sort of lacklustre until she gets Alpha on One, so watch out for her.) Watch out for the lady's Black Saber spell, as well.

Here's the legend for the map. Chests are red squares, herbs are dark green ones. Black denotes the upper level and blue denotes the lower level; green denotes stairways which connect the two levels. Rooms H1 and H2 only hold herbs. Following is a list of treasure (herbs are regular herbs unless noted).
Room 1: Top-right chest is a Might Chain, lower-right chest is a Ruby.
Room 2: Top chest is a Bubble Lotion, lower chest is a Mixed Syrup.
Room 4: Chest is a Rainbow Diamond. Both herbs are Clarisages.
Room 5: Chest is a Poison Check; herb is a Clarisage.
Room 6: Herb is a Clarisage.
Room 7: Top chest (lower level) is a Straight Punch, lower one (upper level) is a Twin-Edge. Top herb is a Dill Whip.

Here's the short way: Go right, then take the top-left pointing branch to reach room 2. Continue up two screens (it'll take a while) to reach room 4. Take the top-right branch to find the Clarisage, then exit. You're done. However, there are some nice treasures in here you should really want to get.

And here's the long way, to get all the treasure. First go left, then up to get a Ruby, then continue up to room 2. Head right under the stone bridge to pick up a Mixed Syrup. Walk up to pick up a Bubble Lotion. Continue up to reach room 4. You can go to the lower-left here to eventually get to a Rainbow Diamond and a Clarisage (if you get it, you can't get the Dill Whip; your choice). Go up the stairs near the herb to reach room 3; go down, and take the right at the bottom to return to room 1. Go down to get back to start, leave and save (phew!).

Now take the middle branch (right, then top-left) from start. Take the stairs to your right to pick up a Might Chain (right from this is a Rose Hips and a dead end, which isn't worth checking out). Now go back left and take the path up to reach room 4 again. Up-right is another Clarisage. Up-left leads back, so go straight up to reach room 5.

You can go left or right from start. Go left and pick up a Poison Check. Go left again to see a Clarisage; keep going to the top right to reach room 5 again, but the top part of it. There's another Clarisage inside the skeleton to the lower right; ignore it if you're this far already. Don't go up the stairs yet; instead, go to the top right, under the stone bridge. You'll pick up a Straight Punch (awesome weapon for Precis). Go to the lower right, under the ledge, and you can go left or right. Go right to get a Lavender, then left to return to room 5.

Go to the top right and exit to the right to reach room 7 again, but this time on top of the ledge. Here is a Twin-Edge for Ashton, and the Dill Whip herb! If you want a bit more treasure, keep going to the top right. Save at the save point (yay!) and keep going into a large cavern with (surprise!) a boss fight against three Visseyers.

Stay as far away from these guys as you can. They can swallow you up and they won't let you go unless they're hit hard. They're slow, though, so they're easy to hit. They're weak against Thunder, so if Celine has Thunderstorm keep her using it! They have 10,000 HP each. When you win, pick up the three chests for a Cinderella Glass, a ?GUARD which turns out to be a Rune Buckler, and a Spring Water. Go back and save, then keep heading down to exit. Congrats (phew!)

Return to Linga and talk to Bowman in his shop. You'll get a different reaction depending on whether you got the Clarisage or Dill Whip, but the end result is the same: he'll tag along with you. Go to Keith's house and he'll gain you entry. Go upstairs and Keith will agree to decipher the writings. You'll then find yourself in Bowman's house. If you have Pickpocket at a high level, you definitely want to steal from your party members! You can get great weapons for each person here. (Don't bother stealing from Nineh; she just has a lousy Magical Hat.) Try to get at least 2 weapons, but even at a high level they're very tough to steal from. After that, go upstairs and talk to Bowman. If you don't have Precis in your party, he'll offer to join you. When that's done, you'll end up back in front of the pharmacy.

Before returning to Lacour, you'll want to finish up all the stuff you need to do. First off, go and do all the Private Actions you want (on both the Continents of Lacour and Cross - it only costs 30 FOL per person to cross back and forth). Bowman in particular has a whole bunch of interesting PAs. Second, see if you can use Publishing to write some books. If you manage to do so, sell them to the editor at the far east side of Lacour; they'll come in handy much later on. Third, you'll want to do the Raddle side quest. Finally, buy a Bandit's Gloves in Linga if you don't have one yet. Now let me elaborate.

Private Actions: Most of these are fairly useless (although entertaining). There are a few useful ones, though (see Private Actions for a complete list of actions and consequences):

• If you have Opera in your party and want Ernest, go back to Arlia, enter a PA, and talk to her on the roof of the elder's house. Exit, re-enter with all your characters, and enter the Shingo Forest. A scene will play out; this is necessary to get Ernest into your party.
• If you have Ashton and Precis, go to the west side of Cross to see a PA which can net you almost 20,000 FOL and a Music Box.
• If you have Precis (whether or not you have Ashton), the same place has another PA which can get you an Aphrodisiac.
• A PA involving a small child in Lacour triggers another one in Herlie, which includes a boss fight in which you can win one or more Core Plates and/or Neo Greaves (great items!)
• If you have Bowman, you can initiate the Eleanor side quest in Herlie.

Publishing: You need everyone to learn the Authoring Specialty, and at least one person to learn Machinery. Authoring is very easy to level up, since it only relies on one Skill (Writing) and you can get that up to level 7 within 10 SP, assuming you have max Perseverance. Apparently having the Talent "Writing Ability" doesn't really matter here. Each character can write up to two different books, which you can sell at the editor's for 2000 FOL (if you use Identify All! at level 10) and you can collect royalties later on.

Raddle the Traveler: Head to Salva. On the southern screen will be a scholar dressed in white named Raddle, who wants to find the way to Herlie. Tell him it's north. Now head to Mars and enter Mrs. Roof's tool shop; he's lost again. Tell him it's further east. Now cross to the port of Hilton and go one screen east; he's there again (doofus!) Tell him to take the return ship to Herlie. Take the ship yourself and enter the inn; he's in the first room in the west wing, and he'll give you the Funny Slayer. It's totally useless right now, but it's VERY useful in the bonus dungeon.

When you're ready, return to Lacour and you'll find that the city's under siege. Head towards the palace. Try going up past the receptionist and you'll be forced to register first. Do so, then go back up. Talk to Gamgee to get a set of Plate Mail, then go up again to the throne room. Head left, go up the stairs, then right; take the left door to get 10,000 FOL. Go back to the main hall (before the throne room), and go right this time. Keep going right, then go down the stairs, left, and down. A scene will play out, after which you'll get a Link Combo and Leon will temporarily join your party. Put him in your party right away; he starts at Level 30 with no SP, so you'll want to build him up.

You can now exit the castle and Lacour. Note that you can now enter a Private Action and steal stuff. There are some great items to be stolen if you can do so. Leon's mother has a precious Erlenmeyer Flask, and the little girl in the throne room has a Jack-in-the-box. Also stop by Linga and steal from Leon to get an Illustrated Book. Even if you can't steal yet, drop by and pick up a Reference Book from the co-op next to Keith's house.

Finally, head to Hilton and go on the boat. You'll end up near the Hoffman Ruins. If you want to return to Hilton, just re-enter this spot and talk to the soldier.

Great... another maze. First off, go up those huge stairs and up to the door. You and Leon will open it and you'll end up in a straight hall. Take the first left to get a Cure Stone, then go back and take the second left to get a Recoil Bracelet. Go straight to the end to pick up an Angel Hair and Light Box. Go back down and go right (just past the entrance). Save, then go up to enter the real maze.

In here, ignore all the levers you see besides one. All of them will damage your party nastily, but one of them will also open a new passage (I'll tell you which one to do). The enemies are quite a bit tougher - or, I should say, one enemy is tougher, the Salamander. This guy has 6000 HP, can practically destroy one or more characters with his breath, can paralyze people, has a high evade stat, and to top it off, usually comes in pairs. If Claude has Ripper Blast, use it; otherwise, use Head Splitter. Ashton should use regular attacks and Precis is fine with Hop Step. The Guarders you meet can only be hit from the back, so move around. One more thing to watch out for is the mine cart that barrels down the middle of the screen every so often; get OUT of the way; it hits for 50 HP each time it hits, and it can hit multiple times. (But it can get the enemy, too, so use that to your advantage if at all possible.)

Here's the short way to get to the exit. Go to the lower-right. Go down from here to get to a room with a Hexagram Card. Go down again to get to a room with a Paralysis Check. Ignore the lever and continue to the lower left. Go to the lower-left then lower-right to reach a room with a 'Spring' and a save point. Go up to fight your boss battle (see below).

And here's the long way.

Don't worry about the exact positioning of the lines and boxes; instead look at the direction of the lines to tell you which way to go.

You start off at Room A, in which you'll find a Holy Mist and Green Beryl near the top. Room B has a Cure Paralysis at the lower right. Go right in Room C to D. Press the lever in Room D (yep, this is the one) then immediately cast Cure All to heal up. Go up to Room E. At the top left here is a Zephyr Earring; at the top right is an Orichalcum, and at the bottom right is a 1-up Pudding and a Gold. Go back down to Room D and go to the lower right. Continue to the lower right and pick up a Hyperball. Go a bit left (to avoid the crate) and continue to the lower right. Ignore the lever to your right and go to the lower left to room I.

There's a Diamond and Spring Water in here. Go right to pick up a Fruit Syrup; at the lower left is a Hot Syrup and a Peep Half. Go right (ignore the lever) and down to get a Material Kit and a Peep-peep Bomb. Go back to Room I and head to the lower left to room K. Get the Blackberry; in the lower right corner of the room is another Green Beryl. Go to the lower left to room L; in the upper left of this room is a Sturm Ring. Go down to reach Room S, which has a 'Spring' and a save point. Save, then (might as well) go up to enter the boss fight.

These guys are pretty damn tough; they cast Thunderstorm and have amazingly high evade stats. If Celine knows Thunderstorm, have her use it; have Rena use Ray or Light Cross if she knows them. Gang up on one of them, then once you've beaten one the fight gets way easier. Keep Rena clear of enemies and have her use Cure All as much as possible! You'll get two Star Rubies and the Energy Stone when you win. Go back down and save; now we'll take the scenic route out.

Go left into Room Q. Head to the lower left into Room R; ignore the lever and keep going to pick up a Sour Syrup and ?HERB (Artemis Leaf). Go back to Q, then head to the upper right to P. Pick up a Paralysis Check and go up again to O. There's a Hexagram Card here; pick it up, then go north again to M. Head left (it's a bit hard to see) into Room N, which has a Dictionary (better weapon for Leon) and a Cure Paralysis. Go back right to M and to the top left and you're back at Room A; go to the top left to exit. Whew!

Now, if you have Opera in your party and you did the PA/sequence in Arlia, another scene will play out when you leave. You'll enter a fight with a Ghost, who's a complete pansy. Use Light spells if you want to make it even quicker. When you win, you'll get a choice to ask Ernest to join your party or refuse. Warning: If you refuse, Opera will leave as well! That's all for now.

Return southeast to the beach and talk to the soldier to return to Hilton. Go back north to Lacour. Before entering, de-equip Leon of everything he has. Go into town and enter the castle. Go up to the throne room and talk to the king; Leon will leave your party. (You'd get his accessories even if you forgot to de-equip him, but you won't get his armor.) You can now go back to Linga to see some more Private Actions, or go on to the front lines (northeast of Hilton; at the very edge of the continent).

Go up to the top. To your right is an armory where you can buy stuff; don't bother, though, because you won't be in any major fights before you can pick this stuff up for free. The Long Edge and Plate Helms might be useful if you don't have them, though. And make sure to have a few Bucklers on hand. OK. Now head left to the open space, left again (you can buy more stuff here, tools and suchlike), up twice, then to the far right to see a scene. After it's done, go out to your left for yet another scene. Now go back down and right and talk to Dias. Go back left, up, and to the top right for one more scene.

You'll end up in the open space left of the armory. Go down one screen and save, then go around talking to people. Go up the stairs left of the tool shop and another scene will occur. Put Rena and two fighters in your party, then head to the top right (where you talked to Rena before) to enter your first timed boss fight.

Have the fighters all go on "Stay away from the enemy!", then control Rena personally. Keep away from Shin whenever possible. If he casts Foehn, use Cure All. The goal is to not die for one minute. Once you realize that, it's not that tough. 8-) You can't harm Shin in any way. Once you "win", go around and talk to some more people (save if you want). Then enter the nursery (top door in the hallway; you can rest here if you need to). When you try to leave, another scene will occur. Head back to the top right. If Precis is in your party you'll get a Thunder Punch here. Once this scene is over, go down and left to finish this bit.

You'll lose control of your characters for quite a while until you enter a battle with three Stonestatues. They're pathetically easy. After that you fight with Shin again, but this time your goal is to just die. 8-) So put everyone on attack mode, and control the spellcasters manually to run into the bastard to make the battle go faster.

You'll wake up on the El beach, and Leon will again temporarily join your party. Go right and up the stairs to end up on the world map. Go west (it's a very short trip) to enter the Eluria Colony. After another scene, the rest of your party members will re-join you. Go to the house in the top right for one more scene, after which you choose if you want Leon in your party or not (I go with YES!). You can rest here by talking to the woman.

Go to the house in the top left, the armory. You can buy tools from the strangely-speaking man here, but the main stuff can be found in the walls. Try examining spots more than once to get more treasure. To whit: The barrels at the right have two Plate Mails; at the top right you can get a Rune Cap; the crate at the top holds a Giant Fists and two Silver Greaves; left of that you can get a Metal Fangs and two Silver Robes; middle left is a Shield Sword; at the lower left you can pick up a Veil Piercer and Fine Shield. Equip it all then head outside. Your goal is directly east, although to actually enter the tower you have to go to the south side of it.

First off: The enemies here are WAY harder than before. The Magiuses now can cast Thundercloud (over 1000 damage to the whole party), some enemies can use Cure All, the Defenders can again only be hit from the back; the Darthwidows have a huge amount of HP and deadly long-range attacks (plus they can teleport), and of course there's the Coldlizard, the Salamander's older brother, with all of the problems it had (well, it turns you to stone instead of paralyzing you) plus DOUBLE the HP. If you have the Recoil Bracelet from the Hoffman Ruins, give it to a fighter; it's effective. Celine's Eruption spell is effective against them as well. My recommendation is to not venture into the tower until your average level is at least 40. You can level up outside (the enemies are the same as inside the tower) and rest in Eluria Colony. Build the Effort skill to at least level 4 for everyone. Also, build Claude's Pickpocket skill to the max (you DO have a Bandit's Glove, right?!) Someone having a high Familiar level is also useful (buy Pet Food in the Colony).

OK, now we're inside the tower. Go north and you'll use your ID card to enter the tower. First go straight up for a bunch of chests with a Meteor Ring (great!), X Box, Holy Mist, Stone Check, and Steel Helm. The glass man you see gives you a hint for a very easy puzzle coming up, but I'll tell you the answer soon. 8-) Go up either staircase to reach a small hall. The three chests here hold a measly Cure Paralysis, Sapphire, and Aquaberry. There IS a door to the left; go through it to get three awesome items: Musical Software, Crestier Guard (good shield), and Trickster! Give the latter to anyone not in the main fighting party and you'll keep randomly picking up great items! (It's the upgrade for the Mischief you possibly might have gotten in Clik.)

OK, head back right and up to reach a save point. (Yep, already). Go up into the teleporter. You can go left or right here; go left to see a chest with a Cure Stone and Star Ruby; then go into the teleporter at the top left. Continue right and enter that teleporter. Pick up the Crestier Guard and ?GUARD (it's a Core Plate, a great piece of armor) at the top left, and the Fresh Syrup at the top right. Talk to the man in the center of the screen, who asks for the password. It's APOCA (1,4,2,4,1). There's no penalty for guessing wrong. 8-) You'll get the Card Key when you tell him that. Continue into the teleporter on the right. Pick up the Ultra Punch for Precis, and a Crystal, then go into the lower teleporter. You're back at the first teleporter room. Go down the central one to save, then back up.

Take the left teleporter twice now. Go to the lower left and examine the red barrier to make it disappear using your Card Key. Now enter the large clearing (and I hope you have a high Pickpocketing level and a Bandit's Glove). Claude ends up on the bridge of Ronixis's ship. Pickpocket everybody, since you can get some great item creation stuff (and a Peep Non from Ronixis), but most importantly the guy to the right of the entrance. If you fail, restart. He gives you a Battle Suit, which ups your defense by about 500 points from its current value. That means one character is more or less invincible for the next, oh, three hours, and after that he/she will get single/double digit damage. 8-) After you get it, talk to Ronixis at the lower end of the screen to end the scene and return to the clearing.

Head to the upper right teleporter to find another save point; save then go up to fight Shin. Yep, he's beatable this time. Your spellcaster and other fighter can probably beat the Stonestatues easily (they're wimps); concentrate on Shin. Use Head Splitter or Ripper Blast for Claude; Ashton/Opera and Precis can use regular attacks, since they have wide range or high precision against flying enemies. If both fighters keep on him, he probably won't be able to do much. Use Peep-peep Bombs if you had the Mischief up till now. The fight will be long, but if your levels are in the low 40s at least, you shouldn't have much trouble. You'll get an Emerald Ring when you win. Go back down and save, then continue north.

There are three doors here. First enter the right door to get a Spring Water and Splinter for Ernest. Go back and enter the left door; pick up a Giant Fists and Murasame Sword. Go to the top right to end up in the middle chamber; pick up the Gale Earring (great for Opera or, later, Chisato), then go to the top right to finish the level. You'll fight against Berle.

Again, you can't harm Berle. Have fighters on "Stay away from the enemy!", put Celine/Leon on "Do nothing", and control Rena personally to use Cure Light (don't bother reviving people with Resurrection Bottles). Berle gets confused easily; he'll chase after one character, who can easily avoid him since he's so slow. After 60 seconds of this, the fight and Disc 1 will end. Congrats!