Walkthrough

The intro, oddly enough, is in English with Japanese subtitles. But the English is pretty hard to make out. 8-) Here's the full text of the intro. (By the way, anyone who's seen Star Trek VI will not wonder why Star Ocean never made it to North America... SUE 'EM! SUE 'EM ALL! The intro is copied right from it... right down to the coffee! 8p)

Captain: "Captain's log, stardate 346. Our ship has completed its mission of deep space investigation, right on schedule. Now we're heading home."
Ensign: "Would you like some coffee, Captain?"
Captain: "Yes, I'd like that. Thank you."
BOOM.
Ensign: "Captain! We've just picked up a huge amount of unidentified energy!"
Captain: "Where?"
Ensign: "Mark 301.209 in Sector Gamma."
Captain: "Resonia Section? Get it on the screen!"
Ensign: "An enormous Rift Wave is approaching!"
Captain: "Shield the ship!"
BOOM.
Captain: "What the hell?!"
Captain: "Stardate 346. Now, through an unknown force, a totally new age is about to begin. Is it God's will, or the irony of fate? And still mankind makes its way where no one has gone before. [SUE 'EM! Bwhahah!] People say the universe is a star ocean."

Starting off, stop by the bottom of the screen you're in to pick up a Blackberry, Flare Bomb, and Resurrect Bottle. You probably won't need them (or any items) any time soon. Leave your house and you'll be attacked by thieves! You'll fight the thieves in two sets of two; just approach a thief to start. Just hack away at the A button and you'll make mincemeat out of the Thiefs. They might also drop Blueberries. Only you and Dorn will fight these battles. After beating the two sets you'll fight three Thiefs and Boss Baird. Same strategy will win it for you.

After tea, you'll wake up the next morning in Ratix's house. Leave and head south. There's a chest hidden behind a tall bush with a Talisman in it. Equip it on Ratix. You can explore a bit now, and you can even leave the town to the north and south now. I recommend waiting a bit to get your other party members before you do, though. You can't enter any shops. Your goal is back in the patrol HQ at the top right (the house you started in).

The elder will tell you of an epidemic in Cool, a town to the north. After a longish scene, Milly will find out some bad news via carrier pigeon. She runs off to the north (yeah, it looks like she went south, but she didn't). Follow her north out of town. The enemies here are wimps as well. Ratix will learn his first skill, Rift Wave, around now. It's a short-range skill, but feel free to use it (your MP will be completely refilled after Cool).

You'll notice a crashed ship to your right as you head north, but you can't do anything with it. At the first crossroads, head north to pick up a Savory, then go back and head west. Head right at the stairs, then down to pick up a Blueberry. Go back up, then head west all the way till you see what looks like a stone tablet. Head left a bit more and take the steps down into the sandy beach. Head south for a Savory, then go back up the stairs. Go north from the stone tablet to pick up 200 Fol, then head back down to the tablet and go right.

In the next screen, take the upper right path at the sign and continue on to Cool. Just before entering, head left and grab a Ruby. Follow Milly to the second house. After the scene, you'll end up back in Clatos. You'll gain control of Ratix and Milly; find Dorn to the left of the patrol HQ, where he'll join you. Now you're off to Mount Metox to find the cure to the epidemic.

Before you do, now's a good time to stop and smell the roses south of town for a bit. The same easy enemies will attack, and this time Milly's in your party as well. Just south of the exit is a chest in plain sight with a Blueberry. Head left, take the stairs up, then back around down to the sandy area. Go all the way down near the surf, and head right to pick up a Necklace; give Milly the Talisman and take the Necklace for Ratix. That's all that's here; head back into town and go all the way back to Cool.

Head to the top left and exit north to reach Mount Metox. Go north and head right; you'll be attacked by two Fellworms. The enemies here (including those worms) are still pushovers, and Milly will heal you if your HP gets low. After the short scene, follow the path up to the top of the mountain. The Killer Bees can be annoying, but not too bad; neither are the Fellworms that appear randomly. In a flower patch near the top another scripted battle with two Fellworms will occur. Another short scene. Continue all the way to the next screen. You may want to de-equip Dorn now. Go to the top of the screen and two people (Ronixis and Iria) will beam down, Star Trek-style. They offer to take you to their ship, the Calnus.

When you regain control, Ratix and Milly are joined by Iria (as an NPC) in a tour of the ship. Go north on the left side of the conveyor belt to reach the elevator pod. You're on the medical floor. Going north again ends up back at the transporter room. Going on the left pod leads up to the bridge, where you can talk to Ronixis.

Going on the right pod takes you down a floor. Go down to see the Holodeck Refresh Room, where you can pretend you're back on Roak. You can't do anything there, though. Going up from the pod on this floor leads to the control room for the Holodeck. Going back to the pod lets you go up or down. Go down to reach the crew's quarters; you can talk to them. Go down yet another floor to reach the entry point for the Calnus. Ronixis will contact Iria and tell you all to return to the Medical Room. After a conversation, an alarm will go off. Run all the way north to the transporter pad. You'll fight twice against two Fellworms; use Rift Wave to make it go faster.

When you gain control of Ratix, head north to the elevator and take the left one up to the bridge. A very long scene will play out. When you regain control, first de-equip Milly and Ronixis of everything they have! You'll definitely find it useful. 8-) Now return to the bridge (all the way up to the main floor, then take the left pod). Another longish scene, then the real game starts! 8-)

Ratix will awake near Iria. This place should look familiar; you're south of Clatos. If you missed any chests, they'll still be here. Iria realizes her clothes will make her look out of place. Ratix will make a choice. Same thing happens either way. Ratix has to find some clothes now! Head into town.

For starters, go all the way right to the trees. Up is a Blackberry, and south is a Spectacles. Near that chest is 420 Fol. You can also get any chests you missed in the future (or present, or whatever). Now, there are three ways to get the clothes. Two involve the clothesline at the east end of town and one involves a shop.

Way 1: Go near the clothesline and you'll get a choice. Pick the top one to steal them.
Way 2: Enter the house north of the clothesline and talk to the old lady. Pick the top choice and she'll give you the clothes.
Way 3: Go to the shop south of the clothesline and talk to the blond man at the top. You'll get a choice; pick the top choice to ask about the clothes (the bottom choice enters the normal shop menu). You'll get one more choice; picking the top choice buys the clothes for 10 Fol.

Whichever way you choose, get them and return south of town, where Iria will change and rejoin you. You can do your first PA here if you wish (press Y). Don't bother buying anything in the shops. Continue north to Hot. The path hasn't changed any (though the crashed ship you might have noticed in the past has disappeared), but you won't be attacked by monsters (good thing too, since you have no weapons). If you missed any chests in the future/present, they're still here.

There are a few things to do in town (a PA is not one of them, yet). After a short scene involving a large man and a weapon vendor, head left, then up; look on your right for a chest with a Flare Bomb. Visit the Inn to see the large man again, but not much will happen.

Heading right from the inn will meet you up with Raddle the Traveler, who wants to go to Portmis, but is lost. Choose the first answer, "north"; you'll be rewarded later. East of Raddle is a shop, and east of that is the skill shop. First go to the left end of the skill shop, talk to the middle shopkeeper, and buy all three Skill Sets (1000 Fol total). Teach any character the Gale skill; you can now run by holding the Cancel button. Divvy up the other skills however you want. Now go back to the first shopkeeper when you enter. His name is Badam, and he'll give you a three-way choice.

Choosing (2) cancels, and (3) opens the shop screen. Choosing (1) will advance the story. You can't take the job he wants you to do because you have no weapons. Bummer. Head back to the entrance of town and talk to the weapon seller, who'll offer to sell you a weapon for 20 Fol. When you try to buy it, though, the large man intervenes, warns you that the merchant is a fake, and then walks off. You might want to exit town and save now.

Return to Badam in the skill shop to discover that the job has been taken by the large man, who enters and introduces himself as Cius. He agrees to take Iria and Ratix with him. Badam then says that you need a pass to get to Portmis, which you'll be given the next day. You'll get 200 Fol, a Long Sword, and a Knuckle (which, if your Equipment Wizard is still on, will be equipped automatically. I always turn it off; it gets annoying later.) If you plan on keeping Cius, check if he has the Originality Talent in the status screen; if he doesn't, you may want to consider restarting and trying again to get it. Assign his skills, give him Milly's Robe if you kept it (it's stronger than Cius's armor!) then go to the inn and stay the night. (You MUST do this to proceed!) Return to Badam to get the Pass Key Item.

Exit to the top left; you're back near Mount Metox. You can do a Private Action now if you wish. Going north, you'll now be attacked by enemies (if you try going back to Clatos, you'll find enemies on the way there too). With your new weapons they shouldn't be that tough. Iria might be a bit weak, though, so give her the Talisman. Watch out for the Bandits' ability to poison you! Bring along a few Aquaberries. And always go for the Slimes first in battle, because they can split into two (plus they have fairly high attack power)!

There's a recovery spring on the first big screen (you've been here before), so this is a good place to raise levels. When you're ready, head left and back to where Ronixis and Iria first met you. Look for a Resurrect Bottle to your right as you go up. When you get there, head off to the left into a new area.

Follow the path till you see a chest; it has a ?Herb (Mandrake). You can't identify it just yet, so keep it where it is. Continue up to reach the world map again (or what passes for it in SO). Watch out for the Bushwhackers here; they can hit hard and fast.

Keep going till you reach the signpost. Left is blocked, so go right. At the crossroads, go down to get a Resurrect Bottle, then go back up. You'll see a bridge. Go left before you get to it and follow the path down to get 380 Fol. Go back to the bridge and cross it to the left. The next bridge you see leads to a dead end, so go north. Look for a Spectacles hidden behind a rock. Continue north and follow the path to Portmis.

Check around for Raddle the Traveler. If you gave him correct directions before, you'll get a Spell Potion. Buy everything at the Skill Shop. Level up stat-boosting Skills until they start getting expensive in terms of SP (7 or more). You can Identify your ?Herb now if you want. Head to the weapon shop (at the top right) to pick up the item Badam wants. Talk to the weapon owner (named Papas, apparently a crossover from Dragon Quest 5). Buy up any weapons and armor you can use, then spend the rest of your Fol on healing items.

Head back to Hot and talk to Badam to get 600 Fol. You'll have to make a choice here: stay with Cius or get Ashlay or Fear? You'll get either of them fairly soon if you let Cius leave. You can get Fear much later along with Cius/Ashlay, but you can't have both Cius and Ashlay in your party at the same time. Also note that if you get Fear now, you'll miss out on her Secret Skill, God of War. The choice occurs after leaving the shop. Choosing 2 has Cius tell you about the entrance to the Metox Ruins, and you get to choose again. Choosing 1 has Cius join permanently, and choosing 3 has him leave permanently.

Head back to Portmis. On the way (if you heard about the treasure and Cius is with you) Cius will point out the entrance to the Metox Ruins. Do NOT enter them now; the monsters are far too powerful for you. If Cius isn't with you, it's a good idea to raise a level or two by the healing spring in Mount Metox.

Head all the way back to Portmis and enter the dock at the left. Talk to the sailor (Ben) at the top of the docks. You'll find out about the pirates that are ravaging the sea routes. You'll then get a 3-way choice. Choosing 2 lets you come back later. Choosing 3 tells you to wait 20 days, but staying in the inn 20 times doesn't change the situation at all. 8-) Obviously, you'll have to choose 1 at some point. When you do, you now have access to the boat to your right. Choosing 1 takes you to the pirates' lair. Make sure to equip yourself with the armor and weapons from the weapon shop in Portmis, and buy lots of berries; you'll need them.

You can re-enter the boat behind you to return to Portmis at any time.
If you're at Level 10-11 (with Cius) or 12-13 (without him) and have equipped yourself, most of the enemies won't pose much of a problem. The only exception is the Velcant enemies, which have over 2000 HP, high evade stats, and can pack a wallop. He's weak to Fire, so Ratix's Blaze Sword attack is good for him. Luckily they don't appear often. You should start building a few Battle skills now for at least a few levels, and you might want to build up your School Skills to level 2.

You'll see a lot of wooden doors around. Some of them can only be opened by running into them while dashing (you need to have learned the Gale skill for any character at least one level). Just hold B and press Up; you don't have to back up more than one step. Dash three times to open the door. Other doors open as soon as you walk into them.

For starters, head to the right door and go straight for a Lavender. Go back down (ignore the path to the right, it's a dead end). The left door leads to a room filled with gas; ignore it for now. Bash down the middle door (straight up from the entrance) and go to the second floor.

Going right leads to more gas; go down instead. Go right and in the door for a Blackberry and Aquaberry. Go right again for a Resurrect Bottle. Head back left and go down to see a locked door. Just head right and hit the switch to open it, then enter. Follow the path to reach the third floor.

Going right leads to a weird-looking device that turns you into a ball of light. It's your first save point! Save, then bash the door and head up to fight a boss. This fight can be tough. The Bushwhacker won't be much of a problem. The Robber Axe, though it doesn't have a lot of HP, can hit *very* hard, so get rid of it quickly (keep Iria away from it! Put her at the very top or very bottom of your formation.) Then go back to smashing the other enemies. Use Blueberries to keep up your HP and watch out! You'll get a Flint Stone when you win. Also pick up the nearby chests for a Rainbow Diamond, Liqueur Bottle, and Sapphire.

Equip the Flint Stone on someone. Now you can press A to shoot out sparks. The sparks can destroy the gas you see around the place (but be sure to shoot the gas from OUTSIDE the cloud; if you're within the gas all your HP will shoot straight to 1!) First head all the way back to the first floor. Destroy the gas in the room to the left to open up a passage to a Blueberry and Liqueur Bottle. You can also take this opportunity to return to Portmis and heal up/stock up on supplies.

Head back to the second floor and destroy the gas up and right from the previously locked door. You'll open a passage to the right. Follow it.
Do NOT destroy the gas inside this room. Head right first, and up through the door to pick up a Magic Color and Magic Card. Now go back left and down. Ignore the spikes to your right (walking on them takes off 20 HP a step, and leads to the same spot as the other path) and continue down through two flights of stairs.

Another save point here. Head left and destroy the gas to open a passage to a Blueberry. Head back right and bash the door upwards, then do the same to the next door. Going left leads to dead ends either way, so head right. Ignore the doors to your left (dead ends). Bash in the door just above you to your right to reach the boss! Make sure to set your characters' AI all on "Use all your strength" before venturing in!

This guy is tough! If you don't have Cius, I recommend at least level 14-15. You might want to use a few Flare Bombs, since they're weak against fire. Rift Wave seems to work pretty well if you ever get trapped between the two juggernauts. Otherwise, Blaze Sword. Definitely get rid of the Velcant first. After that, get to the Velcant Boss from both sides. Periodically he'll scream and everyone will be pushed away from him, but unless the Velcant is still alive, that won't make much difference. You'll get either a Reverse Doll or a Book of Hentai when you win.

Continue up the stairs to the left. Open the door for another Reverse Doll. You'll hear a cat-girl playing her ocarina now. The next door has a Sapphire. Continue left and open the door to her cell. You'll take her back to Portmis, upon which time she'll throw you a raspberry and run away, dropping something shiny at the left side of the dock. Search around where she dropped it to pick up the Ocarina; this is the only time in the game you can get it, and you need it to get a secret character, so make sure to get it! Before leaving the port, talk to the blue-haired boy nearby to get the Saint Elmo, a decent accessory.

If you have Cius, continue below. If you want to get Ashlay, continue here. If you want to get Fear, continue here. If you want to get none of them, skip everything and continue at Parj Temple or you can even skip that if you want and head straight to Van, though it's not recommended.

Ramifications: If you go to Parj Temple you can get Joshua. If you have Cius, you'll need Joshua if you want to get Marvel. The same applies to Fear with an added catch - you can either keep Fear and Joshua or let both of them go. Marvel will always join you if Joshua or Ashlay are in your party.

Talk to Sailor Ben again and he'll offer to give you a free ride to Astral. Talk to him again to get your choice to leave or not. You can return to Portmis at any time by speaking to the sailor at the bottom of the harbor. In town, head up the stairs you see; in the top right corner is a free Poison Charm. You can buy the Technique 2 skill set here. Be sure to get everyone's new equipment, because it boosts all your stats considerably! A man here (near where you start) offers to paint Ratix's or Iria's picture for 5 Fol, but he always ends up with a Scribbles. You can sell those for 5 Fol each, though, so you won't lose any money. Another lady offers to sell you a book for 980 Fol, but it's just a Stalkers Comic, which apparently has no use whatsoever. You can do a neat PA now if you like.

Well, hopefully you're tricked out with new equipment and ready to head south out of town. The only enemies that'll give you much trouble are the Robber Axes; gang up on one of them at a time. Also watch out for the Fudds, which can split themselves. Go down one screen and check behind the rock for a ?Herb (Mandrake). At the first crossroads, head left (down is a dead end). Follow the path up and left across the bridge. At the next screen, there's a chest right away with a Blackberry. Follow the path past another bridge; check behind the large tree for a ?Gem (Rune Metal). Head left and up the stairs to enter Tatoroy.

At the far upper left of town is a Resurrect Bottle in a chest. The shops don't have much that Otanim didn't have, except for the Battle 2 skill set. A woman named Puffy is here, and she'll play a mini-RPG with you; you can also compete in the arena. See Side Quests for info on those. You should be able to beat the first two battle sets easily with Ratix.

Your next destination is Astral Castle. There's two ways to get there: the easy way and the hard way. 8-) The easy way is to head into the harbor to the east of town and talk to the sailor below you; he'll take you there for 80 Fol per person. The hard way is... harder, and longer, but you'll get some neat treasure, and raise some much-needed levels on the way. I recommend it. To start, enter the cave west of town.

In the cave, the Armed Knights show up depressingly frequently, and they are TOUGH. Do your best not to let them throw their boomerangs, because if you get hit both on the way there and back you're guaranteed 450 HP of damage! I highly recommend building your levels up until everyone is at least at level 15. A good way of doing this is by fighting the Fudds outside town, hitting one once, and letting them multiply until the point where you can smash 'em all down for lots of EXP and Fol. Using the Fol you win, buy a bunch of Blackberries in town, because you'll want to use techs a lot inside the cave. In particular, Shock Sword works wonders against those pesky knights. If you're lucky enough to fight a bunch of Slimes, they might drop Blueberries for you.

For starters, head right past the first little platform, up the staircase, left, down the staircase, left, and down a bit; go up the ladder for an Aquaberry and Blackberry. Ignore the bridge; it's a dead end. Head to the top right from here and examine the crystal for a Sapphire. Head all the right and examine this set of crystals for another Sapphire. Go down to pick up a Blueberry. Ignore the large path to the left (it's a dead end). Go all the way back to the start (go back into town to rest up if you like).

At the small sign you see, head left under the bridge and to the next screen. Head up to reach a save point. Head down all the way and left past the little path; enter the little door to pick up a Spectacles. Go out of the room and head left and up; enter this door and hit the switch. Head back to the save point and go up through the now-open door to the next screen. Head left and down through the door. Head all the way down, right, and up a bit; enter the door for 1200 Fol. Head back to where you entered this floor and go right this time. Go all the way right (don't go down) and up through the door. Examine the crystals on the left to get a Crystal, then go up the staircase. You'll see a small scene.

You can now go down or right. Head down, through two doors and into the next room. First go down again to pick up a Saber, Necklace, and Fresh Bottle. Go right to see another two doors; one up and one down. Go up (down just leads around back here anyway). Head right, up, and through the door to reach another save point.

Going left leads back to where you came from, so head up. The switch you see controls the doors in the main chamber. You can collect treasure before heading out: First head right, down to the lower left, then enter the door to your lower left for a Claymore (though you should have this already). Return to the switch and hit it once. Now head down, right all the way, and up (all the other doors are locked). The single crystal at the top right has a Silver, and the small round crystal to its left (just below the crystal cluster at the top left) has an Iron. Follow the path north and left all the way, then up to reach a Hard Knuckle. Go back to the main chamber and hit the switch again. Now head left and up to get a Flare Bomb. Return to the switch and hit it one more time. Now you can head north all the way through.

Follow the path to reach a save point and a golden statue that will restore your HP and MP (phew!) This is a good place to level up if you wish. Ignore the path to the lower-right, you'll be returning here soon. Head straight north to reach Astral (you can save just outside).

After a longish scene, you'll head to the inn and take a room. You'll have a choice: Go to bed, or explore the town first. Of course I'll tell you to explore first. 8p Buy one or two Ring Mails and a Chinese Gi at the weapon shop (plus any other equipment you don't have yet). You can buy Technique 3 at the skill shop, but don't bother buying Battle 3 yet; it's just two skills (Link Combo and Motormouth) and it's not worth it at this point. You can also stock up on goods at the other stores (make sure you've got a bunch of Blueberries and Blackberries). When you're ready, rest at the inn.

You'll wake up in the middle of the night. Head to the lower right of town and exit. Fear temporarily joins your party here. She rocks, by the way; her dual boomerang knives will make mincemeat out of the monsters here.

Start by going to the lower right of the gold restoration statue. As you follow the path, check for a door to your left which leads to a room with a Reverse Doll. The path is long; keep following it until you reach a bridge downwards. Head left (ignore the upwards path). Go down and left, through the door, and right to reach a Poison Charm. Head back to the main room. Going to the top right leads to a one-way door back to near the start of the cave (by a save point). Now head right two screens to confront the monster.

Get rid of the Stropers as soon as you can; they can split themselves, and you do not want to be near a whole bunch of these idiots! The Black Widow can teleport, poison you, and has a web attack that hits everyone at once (albeit for weak damage). Have Fear attack her from afar while Ratix uses items and the other two characters pound her from either side. Just keep wailing on her and she shouldn't be too tough. You'll get a Long Sword +1 when you win.

Fear leaves after the monster fight, and you return to the inn. However, she sends Ratix and co. a messenger. He gives you a present: a Cinderella Vial, Luna Talisman, and 30 free SP for all characters. He also tells you that Parj Temple might have a clue as to where your friends are. You'll now get a choice; 1) to go to Parj Temple, or 2) to skip it and head to Sylvalant. I recommend going to Parj first (you can get both Joshua and Marvel this way; if you don't go, you can't get either of them). Before you leave, buy the Battle 3 skill set by now if you can afford it. Also pick up a Ruby Wand if you're going to Parj. Continue here.

Talk to Sailor Ben again and he'll offer to give you a free ride to Astral. Talk to him again to get your choice to leave or not. You can return to Portmis at any time by speaking to the sailor at the bottom of the harbor. In town, head up the stairs you see; in the top right corner is a free Poison Charm. You can buy the Technique 2 skill set here. Be sure to get everyone's new equipment, because it boosts all your stats considerably! A man here (near where you start) offers to paint Ratix's or Iria's picture for 5 Fol, but he always ends up with a Scribbles. You can sell those for 5 Fol each, though, so you won't lose any money. Another lady offers to sell you a book for 980 Fol, but it's just a Stalkers Comic, which apparently has no use whatsoever. You can do a neat PA now if you like.

Well, hopefully you're tricked out with new equipment and ready to head south out of town. The only enemies that'll give you much trouble are the Robber Axes; gang up on one of them at a time. Also watch out for the Fudds, which can split themselves. Go down one screen and check behind the rock for a ?Herb (Mandrake). At the first crossroads, head left (down is a dead end). Follow the path up and left across the bridge. At the next screen, there's a chest right away with a Blackberry. Follow the path past another bridge; check behind the large tree for a ?Gem (Rune Metal). Head left and up the stairs to enter Tatoroy.

At the far upper left of town is a Resurrect Bottle in a chest. The shops don't have much that Otanim didn't have, except for the Battle 2 skill set. A woman named Puffy is here, and she'll play a mini-RPG with you; you can also compete in the arena. See Side Quests for info on those. You should be able to beat the first two battle sets easily with Ratix. If you don't have Cius, you can pick up Ashlay here as follows: First enter the arena, go to the right door, and go up to the top. Ashlay is directly above the arena floor, looking down. Talk to him and he'll walk off. Now go back and enter a battle in the arena. You don't have to win, just fight in it. Now leave town and save, then re-enter and go to the docks east of town. Ashlay will greet you and you can get him to join you now; you'll automatically go to Astral Castle via boat this way. You can return to Tatoroy via boat, but it'll cost you 80 Fol per person. Ashlay starts far stronger than your other characters, and already has two techniques learned. If he doesn't have the Originality talent, just restart from the save you just did and meet him at the docks again.

Your next destination is Astral Castle. There's two ways to get there: the easy way and the hard way. 8-) The easy way is to exit the harbor to your right. 8p The hard way is... harder, and longer, but you'll get some neat treasure, and raise some much-needed levels on the way. I recommend going back to Tataroy and taking the long way. 8-) Take the ship back to Tataroy and head west from town to reach Astral Cave.

In the cave, the Armed Knights show up depressingly frequently, and they are TOUGH. Do your best not to let them throw their boomerangs, because if you get hit both on the way there and back you're guaranteed 450 HP of damage! I highly recommend building your levels up until everyone is at least at level 15. A good way of doing this is by fighting the Fudds outside town, hitting one once, and letting them multiply until the point where you can smash 'em all down for lots of EXP and Fol. With the addition of Ashlay, though, you should be just strong enough to raise some levels inside the cave. Using the Fol you win, buy a bunch of Blackberries in town, because you'll want to use techs a lot inside the cave. In particular, Shock Sword works wonders against those pesky knights. If you're lucky enough to fight a bunch of Slimes, they might drop Blueberries for you.

For starters, head right past the first little platform, up the staircase, left, down the staircase, left, and down a bit; go up the ladder for an Aquaberry and Blackberry. Ignore the bridge; it's a dead end. Head to the top right from here and examine the crystal for a Sapphire. Head all the right and examine this set of crystals for another Sapphire. Go down to pick up a Blueberry. Ignore the large path to the left (it's a dead end). Go all the way back to the start (go back into town to rest up if you like).

At the small sign you see, head left under the bridge and to the next screen. Head up to reach a save point. Head down all the way and left past the little path; enter the little door to pick up a Spectacles. Go out of the room and head left and up; enter this door and hit the switch. Head back to the save point and go up through the now-open door to the next screen. Head left and down through the door. Head all the way down, right, and up a bit; enter the door for 1200 Fol. Head back to where you entered this floor and go right this time. Go all the way right (don't go down) and up through the door. Examine the crystals on the left to get a Crystal, then go up the staircase. You'll see a small scene if you haven't already taken the boat to Astral and come back.

You can now go down or right. Head down, through two doors and into the next room. First go down again to pick up a Saber, Necklace, and Fresh Bottle. Go right to see another two doors; one up and one down. Go up (down just leads around back here anyway). Head right, up, and through the door to reach another save point.

Going left leads back to where you came from, so head up. The switch you see controls the doors in the main chamber. You can collect treasure before heading out: First head right, down to the lower left, then enter the door to your lower left for a Claymore (although you can't use it). Return to the switch and hit it once. Now head down, right all the way, and up (all the other doors are locked). The single crystal at the top right has a Silver, and the small round crystal to its left (just below the crystal cluster at the top left) has an Iron. Follow the path north and left all the way, then up to reach a Hard Knuckle. Go back to the main chamber and hit the switch again. Now head left and up to get a Flare Bomb. Return to the switch and hit it one more time. Now you can head north all the way through.

Follow the path to reach a save point and a golden statue that will restore your HP and MP (phew!) This is a good place to level up if you wish. Ignore the path to the lower-right, you'll be returning here soon. Head straight north to reach Astral (you can save just outside).

After a longish scene, you'll then head to Warren's house. You'll have a choice: Go to bed, or explore the town first. Of course I'll tell you to explore first. 8p Ashlay won't be with you as you explore, but you can eavesdrop on him and Ryas inside the mansion if you want. 8-) Buy one or two Ring Mails and a Chinese Gi at the weapon shop (plus any other equipment you don't have yet). You can buy Technique 3 at the skill shop, but don't bother buying Battle 3 yet; it's just two skills (Link Combo and Motormouth) and it's not worth it at this point. You can also stock up on goods at the other stores (make sure you've got a bunch of Blueberries and Blackberries). When you're ready, rest in Warren's house (just walk into a bed in the right bedroom).

You wake up in the middle of the night. Follow Ashlay out of the room, then when you regain control, head out of the mansion. Chase after the assailant to the right and down out of town. Enter the cave.

Start by going to the lower right of the gold restoration statue. As you follow the path, check for a door to your left which leads to a room with a Reverse Doll. The path is long; keep following it until you reach a bridge downwards. Head left (ignore the upwards path). Go down and left, through the door, and right to reach a Poison Charm. Head back to the main room. Going to the top right leads to a one-way door back to near the start of the cave (by a save point). Now head right two screens to confront the monster.

Get rid of the Stropers as soon as you can; they can split themselves, and you do not want to be near a whole bunch of these idiots! The Black Widow can teleport, poison you, and has a web attack that hits everyone at once (albeit for weak damage). Just keep wailing on her and she shouldn't be too tough. You'll get a Long Sword +1 when you win.

Ashlay will now leave and Ratix and Iria will have to hoof it themselves all the way back through the cave. If you haven't already cleared it out, your levels will be low enough for it to cause you some problems, but Ratix's new Long Sword +1 should help a bit. Refer above on how to get through the cave again. Return to the castle. Fear will give you a present: a Cinderella Vial, Luna Talisman, and 30 free SP for all characters. You'll then return to Ryas's mansion, and Fear will tell you that Parj Temple might have a clue as to where your friends are. You'll now get a choice; 1) to go to Parj Temple, or 2) to skip it and head to Sylvalant. We'll go to Parj first (you can get Joshua this way; that's the only ramification). Before you leave, buy the Battle 3 skill set by now if you can afford it. Also pick up a Ruby Wand if you're going to Parj. Continue here.

Talk to Sailor Ben again and he'll offer to give you a free ride to Astral. Talk to him again to get your choice to leave or not. You can return to Portmis at any time by speaking to the sailor at the bottom of the harbor. In town, head up the stairs you see; in the top right corner is a free Poison Charm. You can buy the Technique 2 skill set here. Be sure to get everyone's new equipment, because it boosts all your stats considerably! A man here (near where you start) offers to paint Ratix's or Iria's picture for 5 Fol, but he always ends up with a Scribbles. You can sell those for 5 Fol each, though, so you won't lose any money. Another lady offers to sell you a book for 980 Fol, but it's just a Stalkers Comic, which apparently has no use whatsoever. You can do a neat PA now if you like.

Well, hopefully you're tricked out with new equipment and ready to head south out of town. The only enemies that'll give you much trouble are the Robber Axes; gang up on one at a time. Also watch out for the Fudds, which can split themselves. Go down one screen and check behind the rock for a ?Herb (Mandrake). At the first crossroads, head left (down is a dead end). Follow the path up and left across the bridge. At the next screen, there's a chest right away with a Blackberry. Follow the path past another bridge; check behind the large tree for a ?Gem (Rune Metal). Head left and up the stairs to enter Tataroy.

At the far upper left of town is a Resurrect Bottle in a chest. The shops don't have much that Otanim didn't have, except for the Battle 2 skill set. A woman named Puffy is here, and she'll play a mini-RPG with you; you can also compete in the arena. See Side Quests for info on those. You should be able to beat the first two battle sets easily with Ratix.

Your next destination is Astral Castle. The easy way to get there is to head into the harbor to the east of town and talk to the sailor below you; he'll take you there for 80 Fol per person. There's a hard way, too, involving the cave west of Tataroy, but I'd tell you to leave it alone. With just Ratix and Iria, you probably won't be able to beat it. Just take the ship to Astral.

After a scene, you'll head to the inn and take a room. You'll have a choice: Go to bed, or explore the town first. Of course I'll tell you to explore first. 8p Buy one or two Ring Mails and a Chinese Gi at the weapon shop (plus any other equipment you don't have yet). You can buy Technique 3 at the skill shop, but don't bother buying Battle 3 yet; it's just two skills (Link Combo and Motormouth) and it's not worth it at this point. You can also stock up on goods at the other stores (make sure you've got a bunch of Blueberries and Blackberries). When you're ready, rest at the inn.

You'll hear bells in the middle of the night, and wake up to a bit of chaos. Head to the castle and go down into the basement prison (go to the top right, then head around to the left and go down the stairs). Talk to the guard to open the door. Head right to talk to Fear. To advance the story, pick 2, 1, and 1 (anything else will end the conversation, but you can start it again by returning to the cell). Head back left and down; Ratix'll knock out the guard. Go back right and you'll break Fear out; she'll join you. You'll warp to just before the entrance to Astral Cave. Enter.

Start by going to the lower right of the gold restoration statue. As you follow the path, check for a door to your left which leads to a room with a Reverse Doll. The path is long; keep following it until you reach a bridge downwards. Head left (ignore the upwards path). Go down and left, through the door, and right to reach a Poison Charm. Head back to the main room. Going to the top right leads to a one-way door back to near the start of the cave (by a save point). Head right two screens and down to exit. You'll have a conversation and another choice. Picking 2 will make Fear leave forever; picking 1 will have her join you. Another choice will occur now: 1) to go to Parj Temple, or 2) to skip it and head to Sylvalant. It's a bit of a choice. Going to Parj means you have to get either Joshua AND Fear, or let both of them leave. Not going means you can keep Fear without Joshua. I still recommend going and picking up both of them. Also note that Fear can never return to Astral now; whenever you try entering (either via cave or ship) she'll wait outside. This means that there's not much point in going through Astral Cave (the items inside aren't particularly valuable anyway). But return to Astral via ship and buy the Battle 3 skill set by now if you can afford it. Also pick up a Ruby Wand if you're going to Parj. Continue below.

To get to Parj Temple, take a boat back to Tataroy. Head out to the south and head west. Pick up a Moonite along the way. You'll eventually come to a crossroads; head north. At the next crossroads, first go west to pick up a Ruby and Smith Hammer, then head right. At the next crossroads, go up (right is a dead end). Now follow the path till you get to a pair of caves. The left one has 1000 Fol and an Iron. The right one leads onwards. Keep following it till you reach a large clearing. First head right and down for a Lion Statue, then back up. Ignore the staircase and head left. This big gateway is Parj Temple - actually, just the front door, which ends fairly abruptly. ^^;

There are some nasty magic users here; go after the Magiuses first in battle! Their whirling attack can be devastating! They have to charge it up first though, so get 'em. The Sargwens are nastier versions of the Armed Knights, but by now you shouldn't have too many problems. Your stamina will start being high enough that you'll regain MP fairly fast after battles, so experiment more with using techniques.

Keep going up till you reach a large room. Head left and down to pick up a Resurrect Bottle and Spell Potion, then go back to the large room and exit to the lower right. Continue up to enter a room with a switch. Hit it, then return to the large room and enter the now-open door at the top left. Examine the crystal to get 6 free SP for everyone. That's it for here; head back out of the temple.

Go south and right; go up the staircase you saw before. You'll meet Joshua, who'll show you the real entrance to the temple. If you have Cius or Fear, s/he and Joshua will get into an argument. You can choose 1) to have Ratix stop them, or 2) not to stop them. Either way, Joshua will automatically join you temporarily. If you have Ashlay, no argument will take place and Joshua will go in by himself. Follow him inside the REAL temple.

Inside the temple, you'll see some blue jelly blobs running around. They'll teleport you, usually to places you don't want to go; try to avoid them. If you have Joshua already, equip him with your Luna Talisman to boost his HP, and give him the Ruby Wand if you were smart enough to buy it in Astral. Keep him in the back at all times! If your party's level is below 20, you'll have some tough times here. Luckily, you now have a healer in your party; as long as Joshua doesn't die and you have some Blackberries, you can level up fairly easily. You can also find some HP/MP recovering crystals a fair bit into the temple.

First head up; you'll see two doors leading upwards. Enter the left one, hit the switch, then go back out and enter the right one. Here, head right and into the door for a Resist Ring and two more crystals that will give you a total of 6 SP; go back left and up. There are more blobs running around here; avoid them or you'll end back at the start of this room. Your goal is at the top right; you have to keep heading there, avoiding the blobs. It'll take a few tries.

Once there, go left (right is a dead end) and up. If you're with Ashlay, you'll see Joshua fighting a Velcant, a Bushwhacker, and a Robber Axe! This is the same fight from the Velcant Lair, so you can plow right through them. Joshua will then join you. Give him the Luna Talisman and the Ruby Wand (if you have it) and stick him in the back. If you're with Cius or Fear, you already have Joshua. Anyway: you'll see two doors where you are. Take the right door, then go right at the intersection to reach a door with a switch. Hit it, then head back left and go up. You'll reach another door; go left and up for another door with a switch. Hit that too. Now go back down to the next screen. Head through the door. (You're now just above the left door from the original double doors.) Go left now and up through the two now-opened doors.

You're at a save point now. Save, then head up. All the passages here lead to each other, so head right, up, right, and in the door. The left door here has crystals that will refill your HP/MP; the right door's crystals will give you another 6 SP. Head right into the next screen. Here, there's a bunch of red blobs and a single blue blob. Touch the blue blob while avoiding the red ones to proceed. That's tougher than it sounds, because the red blobs all follow you while the blue one stays where it is. RUN to the right as soon as you enter, and lure all the red ones to one corner, then maneuver around them and touch the blue one. You'll enter the boss's room.

Touching the blue blob brings you back to the save point. Go up to fight four Wolf Shapes. This battle is TOUGH. The hardest part is keeping Joshua alive. A good way to try is Astral Shift with Joshua in position 4. Use your strongest and fastest attacks! You'll get at least one ?Gem (Rune Metal) when you win.

Walk up into the next room for a longish scene. You'll be teleported to outside the Temple. Joshua will start to leave. You can have him join your party permanently by choosing 1) twice; choosing 2) in either choice will make him leave permanently. If you have Fear, it'll go a little differently. Here's what the choices will do:
1, 1, 1, 1 - both join
1, 1, 2 - Fear chases Joshua; neither join
1, 2 - same as above
1, 1, 1, 2 - Joshua chases Fear; neither join
2, 2 - same as above
2, 1 - both join

Whatever happens, your next stop is Tropp, a city far to the west.

To get to Tropp, first you have to head ALL the way back till you reach the small crossroads back near the path (with the large horizontal sign near it). It's mostly one-way, so you shouldn't get lost. When you reach it, head left and follow the path till you reach a large clearing with another sign and a tablet. Just to the lower-left is a Liqueur Bottle. Head up for a Resurrect Bottle, then head left till you see a bridge. Don't cross it, go down first, and head to the lower left of the screen for a Ruby. Now go back up, left across the bridge, then go up, around to the right, and down to pick up an Iron. Now head to the top left and go up.

As you head left you'll see a ship crash into the planet (yep, this is the same ship that you might have noticed between Clatos and Cool 300 years ago). You'll get a choice, but it doesn't matter what you choose. Continue on to Tropp: Follow the path left and down. Look near the lower right of the screen for a Stink Bomb and (further down) a Meteorite. Head back up and cross the bridge to the left. Go down and right to pick up a Sour Syrup. Go back left and up. Just before entering town, head right to get a Spell Potion, Resurrect Bottle, and Mega Flare Bomb. Go back left and enter town. You can't do any PAs yet.

Buy the Knowledge 3 skill set here. You can also order a main course and a dessert in the nearby restaurant; they have good values for their HP healing properties. Look for a Cinderella Vial near the top left of town. You shouldn't have to buy anything at the weapon shop. When you're ready, head to the docks left of town and talk to the sailor up at the top. He'll take you to Portmis for 60 Fol per person. Warning: It's a one-way trip!

I should hope by this time you'll have no problems making it all the way back to Hot and down again towards Clato. Go check out the ship on the way, then head all the way back to Portmis. ^^; You can go for the Metox Cave by now, but it'll still be pretty difficult. Still, it's a good way to raise levels. I recommend coming back later, though. Continue on to Portmis, and hop on a boat to Otanim (nope, you can't head straight back to Tropp). You'll probably want to stop by the arena in Tataroy on your way back, and beat as many fights as you can to get the prizes. If Ratix is at level 25-6 or so he should be able to blast his way straight through C Rank, at which time you get some kickass armor and the 7-Star Secret Skill! And the other characters (even Iria and Joshua, if you're very lucky) can also blast through C Rank if you give them that Star Guard you just won, since the stars it gives off can instantly kill most of the enemies you'll fight there! You'll need a little luck, though. You can raise people's levels and get mucho Fol, too, since you can sell all but one of the Trumpets you win at Rank F! You can make the next bit very easy by doing this.

Speaking of which, here's the next bit: head to Tropp on the west coast and buy passage to Ecdart for 80 Fol. If you have Cius, you'll see Milly as soon as you exit the harbor. Head to the inn. Milly is there, and she'll join you. If you have Ashlay or Fear instead, however, you won't get Milly for a while and nothing will happen in this town. If you have none of them, you will get her here. Anyway, you can do some exploration in the town. The house just below and to the left of the entrance to the docks has a free Spectacles left of the door. You can also buy your last skill set here, Sensibility 3, which includes Effort, a great skill (though expensive) that lowers the necessary SP to learn other skills! Also, talk to the blonde girl at the very bottom of town to get a free Bijoubu. Once you're done, Ionis is your next stop! However, you can stop off and do a subquest if Joshua is in your party. I recommend it, like all subquests. You can't do any PAs just yet.

The enemies outside are the same ones as in Parj Temple, with the addition of the Kobold King, an extremely fast enemy, so be on your guard. Note that if you have Milly she'll be extremely low-level compared to your other characters; you might consider taking, say, Iria out of your active party and putting Milly in so she can level up. Astral Shift is probably the best formation to be in.

If Joshua's in your party, basically as soon as you exit Ecdart he'll point out a forest pathway to the left. (You can't enter this if Joshua isn't in your party.) Go ahead and follow it; it's not very long. At the end you'll meet Foster, who'll tell you about the nearby forest being awash in monsters. You have two choices; choosing 1) will have you go out and get 'em, and choosing 2) has you rest the night, but the monsters are gone in the morning and you can't do the subquest. (You can still pick up the treasure chests, though.) We'll choose 1), because we're hardy warriors, arr!

The forest is north of the house. There's a save point at the start. You won't have any random encounters here, but as soon as you get near the wandering monsters you'll be attacked. They're not tough, just seven sets of three Grells and seven sets of Dragonflies (either four or two). The Grells attack you from the back, so be prepared! Switch your characters' positions before approaching them (back to front and vice versa). They can also split themselves, so get rid of them quickly. The Dragonflies are pathetically easy. 8-)

There are two Grells on the first screen. Head left from here for another three Grell sets; in the lower left is a Blueberry; just right of that (circle around) is a Spectacles and ?Guard (Dwarven Mail), and in the upper right is a Lavender. Go back to the main screen and head up this time. Your last two Grell sets are here, but no treasure. Head left from here. Defeat the set of Dragonflies and pick up a Dwarven Guard at the left. Head back to the screen to your right and go right and down. There are two sets of Dragonflies here. Pick up the Dwarven Helm and Shadow Flower at the lower right and exit to the top right (lower left leads backwards). Another three sets of Dragonflies here. Pick up a ?Guard (Dwarven Boots) at the top left. That's it; you're done! Head back to Foster's house and talk to him and you'll get an Elven Bow, a great weapon for Ronixis! End of side quest. Note that Joshua can equip the Dwarven Boots, so you may want to give them to him.

Back outside, head through the path back to Ecdart; rest at the inn if you wish, then continue on. The path is only one-way again. When you enter Ionis a longish scene will play out. If Joshua or Ashlay are in your party, Marvel will automatically join you. If Cius or Fear are in your party without Joshua, she will automatically leave. The interesting stuff comes if none of the above are in your party. You'll have a choice to drink at the bar. If you do drink, you'll find out the real truth about Marvel, but she won't join. If you don't, you'll be able to have her join. No matter who's in your party, Ronixis will now rejoin you.

In Ionis, check for a chest in the left side of town that has a Resurrect Bottle, and one north of the inn that has a Magic Card. Don't bother buying weapons and armor yet, because you'll get an upgrade very soon. There's a shop here that sells all kinds of item creation stuff, if you like. Anyway, when you're done browsing, head out of town. Next destination is Van, to the west. You still can't do any PAs yet.

Head south and follow it till you reach the beach. Don't bother going into the beach; there's nothing there. Just head left. Next intersection, head left and *do* go down into the beach. At the bottom right is an Mind Bomb. Head back left and follow the path up. Keep going (through a small cave) till you reach Van.

Well, the town's actually called Van I Il, but everyone calls it Van for short. A short scene, then you can explore! At the bottom right is a chest with a Spectacles; left of the inn (south of the weapon shop), examine the end of the narrow path for another Mind Bomb. The shops here have way more than before; lots of upgraded weapons, plus a merchant now sells Liqueur Bottles and Resurrect Bottles, so stock up! Head to the castle and talk to the king. Apparently the demons are coming from Sylvalant, so that's where you're headed. Unfortunately you can't get through without permission from the king. And before he gives it to you, he shoves you into the Trial Labyrinth to test your skills (don't you just HATE it when NPCs do this to you?)

If you don't have Ashlay, a fight will start immediately. These fights can be nasty; get rid of the Flood Sherrys and Pyre Sherrys as soon as you can; the Flood Sherrys can cast Blizzard, so hit them first. Before exploring the rest of the cavern, I recommend you head back, rest, and explore the castle first. You can exit the cavern by heading up the staircase to the lower right. To return to town, just head up the staircase, out of the room you find yourself in, then follow the staircase south; that's the entrance room. Head south to leave.

Back inside the castle, the rightmost north-pointing hall leads back to the cavern. You can explore the upper floors by heading through the north-pointing hall at the left side of the screen. There isn't anything on the second floor, so go up to the third floor by heading up the hall in the same position as before (upper left). Here, go down and enter the right door; head right for two chests with a Resurrect Mist and an Emerald Ring! This ring lowers your MP cost during battle, so go ahead and equip it! That's it, but it was worth it. ^^; Go down three floors to return to the cavern.

Ignore the right and left doors and enter the center one. There's a lot of dead ends in here, so be careful. First, see that indentation above you and to your left? Head down it. Head left, up, and enter the door. The door on your left has a Mithril and Stone Charm; then exit and head to the up, right, and exit down. (This leads you to the same place where you'd be after going up from the main room.) Take the door to your right and continue north till you reach a stone slab. Exit north again. Examine the flashing crystal (facing up, just right of the circular little crystal) for a Rune Metal. Head to the upper right of this room and exit to reach a save point. Go north to see another slab, then north again. Hit the switch and exit north.

I'd never have figured out this puzzle without Ian Kelley's help... ^^; Every room here has a switch. Hit the switches in the following rooms, in the following order: Far right, just right of the vertical passage, just left of the vertical passage. Exit north to the now-opened door. As you head left, you'll be attacked by a Peryton and three Whispers! Make sure to equip the Stone Charm on a character (preferably Ratix) before entering. You'll be surrounded. My advice is to have Ratix concentrate on the Peryton while the others take on the Whispers. You'll probably have to revive some of your characters with Resurrect Bottles during battle. You definitely want Joshua or Milly in there to cast Cure All! When you win, head left and down to exit.

The prime minister will take you back to the king of Van, who gives you the Van Emblem to show to the other four kings to help you in your quest. He also gives the Sacred Beast Secret Skill to any character that can use it. After a longish scene, the next day Ronixis will ask Ratix if he knows where he's going; if you choose 2) he'll remind you that you have to check back with the other three kingdoms to find out about the Eye of Truth. Before leaving, do a Private Action if you have Cius. He'll ask if he can borrow 1000 Fol; say yes (1). Then just leave. Cius will hand you a bunch of items worth way more than 1000 Fol: Silver Robe, Sinclair, Zweihander, Plate Greaves, Crossbow, Plate Helm, and Knight's Shield!

Your first destination is Sylvalant. Head west from Van I Il and you'll eventually reach a sentry, who'll let you pass. Keep going until you're just below that cave you see. At the lower right of this screen is a Mental Ring; now go up and enter the cave. Past here is the snowy land of Sylvalant. At the sign, head right (up is a dead end). At the next sign, go up again to enter Dulce. Rest at the inn and stock up on items, but there isn't much here. Head back out south again.

Head left and keep following the path till you reach a crossroads between continuing right and going up (the path up is just a little hard to see). Head up to pick up a ?Gem (Sage's Stone), Diamond, and Magic Card. Head back down and right; follow the path till you reach Sylvalant capital. If you have Ashlay or Fear, a longish scene will ensue and Milly will join you! She's extremely low-level, though, so give her the Luna Talisman and beef up her equipment. The weapon and battle item shops have lots of great stuff (probably way more than you can afford). You might want to use a Cinderella Vial to buy the stuff. There's a mansion in town, too. Hiding behind the tree to the right of its entrance is Santa, who sells you two extremely expensive items. Santa Boots are mostly useless, Tri-emblems extremely useful. You will not be able to afford either of them for a LONG time. Anyway... Your next destination is the castle. Head up to it, but just before entering the castle itself, hang a left and keep going to pick up a Damascus. Do the same thing to the right to get a Sapphire. Enter the castle and the king will give you the Sylalant Emblem and the Elder Key.

You can now explore the castle. Head down out of the throne room (ignore the passages to either side) and go into the entry hall (you'll see three sets of stairs going down from where you are). Go straight down the steps then head right and up; pick up the Damascus here, then head left and up into the room to get a Blueberry and Resurrect Mist. That's it for free items here. You can now use the harbor to head to Portmis (1), Otanim (2), or an island where the entrance to the demon's world is (3). The ports in the rest of the world will now open up to take you all over instead of one place (although they'll cost a bit more). If you got Milly back in Ecdart, there's something you should do before going to the port. Go out and do a Private Action. Just leave town again and Milly will give you the Charm, an excellent accessory! If you want, do yet another PA and leave again and she'll give you a second one! Equip both to really max out all of Ratix's stats (unfortunately no other character can equip them). If you got Milly just now in Sylvalant, you can only get the Charms by Customizing them from Ruby Persias.

You have a lot of different things you can do now... if you've gotten every possible character, you'll still have an extra spot in your character list. You can get Fear, Tinek, or Perisie. However, it is possible to (later on) "lose" Marvel and free up another space. Getting Perisie is the only way to get the awesome Bunny Whistle item, which allows you to travel quickly on the overworld without fighting enemies (though you can't get it till much later). They're all pretty good fighters (although IMO Fear's the best, followed by Tinek). Here's how to get them all:

FEAR: You can get her automatically when you get the Astral Emblem.

TINEK: Build Ratix up to at least Rank C in the Tataroy Arena, then start another bout. Win the first four matches and Tinek will fight you instead of the boss. Beat him (it's impossible to lose) and choose 1).

PERISIE: You must have the Ocarina from way back in Portmis. Head all the way back to Clatos and do a Private Action. Talk to Milly, who's next to a cat. She'll ask you what to name it; the best answer is 3). Now just equip the Ocarina on Ratix and press A to play it.

Now might also be a good time to try to beat the Metox Cave or the Sylvalant Ruins. The continent of Moore is a good place to start since the Metox Cave is there anyway, and should be tackled first if you want to do it.

Head to Portmis and enter the castle to the north. The prime minister will meet you and take you to the palace treasure room, where he says monsters are appearing. Make sure you're stocked up. The enemies here are tough, but you'll find some neat equipment here (unfortunately you'll have to give it all back if you leave). You REALLY want to do this in one sitting, because if you leave you can't get back the treasure you got that time through! If you're planning on using Perisie, be sure you already have her before entering here.

The enemies aren't too tough once you hit the first two treasure rooms. Watch out for the Stage, because it can fly way up and avoid your attacks, plus it has a wide-ranging powerful spread attack. The Mephitises can cast Blizzard and Cure All very quickly, so hit them first in a fight! And watch out for the Petrogrell's stoning ability. You shouldn't have too many problems.

First, head up and right and into the door leading north to pick up two Extravagant Swords, an Extravagant Staff, and an Extravagant Robe. Equip them on whoever you like (most characters can use one or more of these). They'll make battles WAY easier. 8-) The door to the right of this one has another Extravagant Sword, Extravagant Robe, Extravagant Staff, and Extravagant Armor. Follow the path to the right, down, left, and up to the next room. Keep going until you reach another door; this one has a Cure Stone, Cure Paralysis, and Ancient Scroll. Use the scroll on Iria or Tinek to teach them the Pa Kwa Zhang Secret Skill. The next door has a Resurrect Bottle and the Cat-Fu! Secret Skill for Perisie (if you don't have her, you can't open the chest). The next door's empty; ignore it. Go down to the next floor.

The first door you see to the right is empty; skip it and go down. Down all the way is a dead end; take the first left. The door you see is empty, so continue down. Go right a bit and up into the room to get another Ancient Scroll; give this one to Tinek or Iria (whichever you missed before). Go down to the next floor and a save point. Go up to fight the boss of this place. Go after the Succubus first, because if you leave her alone she'll cast Cure All and shoot spears at everyone. Have your other two fighters (or fighter and spellcaster) deal with the Shadow Beasts while Ratix pounds at the Succubus. When you win you'll get a Tri-Section Staff. Head up to pick up a Mental Ring.

Head all the way out now. The prime minister will confiscate all the Extravagant equipment, but he'll reward you with 20,000 Fol, 50 SP for every character, and a Stun Half. The king of Moore will then give you the Moore Emblem. There aren't any items in the castle, so just leave.

The next emblem is in Astral. Take a ship to Otanim, walk to Tataroy, and take the ship to Astral. Enter the castle and Fear will greet you and take you to the king. If you have an extra space, she'll offer to join your party. The king gives you the Astral Emblem, and gives Fear the God of War Secret Skill if she joined you here. No items in the Astral Castle either, so take the ship back to Tataroy and head west to Tropp, where you can return to Van. Talk to the king and he'll tell you to head to Parj Temple again! So that's where you're off to. Take a ship to Tataroy or Otanim and head to the Temple (west of Astral, go up at the crossroads). Buy a full load of Blackberries first.

Make your way back to the place where you met the three spirits (see above). The enemies should pose no problem by now. Quickie on how to get there: Go up and enter the right door, and continue till you reach the room overpopulated with blobs. Get to the door at the top right. Enter the left door, then head left again and go up to reach the save point. Go up again; head right, up, right, and in the door. Ignore the two doors and head right to the room with the blue and red blobs. Touch the blue blob then head up. The red Rune will lead you into the inner sanctum.

Watch out for the Duel-Forms and Flak-Forms here; their physical defense is very high, so have a spellcaster handy, and/or use lots of techs. You might want to fight around a bit at the entrance, since those HP-restoring crystals are just around the corner. Equip Ratix with Shock Sword to use against the Aspitels; Rift Wave works pretty well against the magical Forms.

For starters, ignore the path up and head right and up on top of the green platform. Pick up the Sweet Syrup when you exit it and head down and down the stairs. Circle around and go down the stairs again. Follow the path (the emulated version, at least, has a bug that lets you pick up a Lunatic Ring in a chest on the green path, even though it's really below you!). Go down the stairs you see into a room with a Fairy Ring and ?Herb (Mandrake). You can't open the Blue door you see, so when you exit the green path go underneath it to the bottom right (first go bottom left to pick up the Lunatic Ring if you haven't yet). Follow the path to a staircase; take it, then circle around and take the next one.

Head up into the door you see for a ?Herb (Artemis Leaf). There's a save point to the right and a Red door which you can't get into. Ignore the staircase above you (you'll come back soon), ignore all the narrow doors, and take the path up. Hang a right, go up through the door, and go down the large staircase. Continue on the path till you reach two doors. The right one has a Sour Syrup, left one has a Savory. Continue left and that door has a Sweet Syrup. Take the leftmost path up and follow it to a door with another Sour Syrup. Examine the terminal here to get the Security Card R. Now go back down to the three doors. Take the second from right path upwards to return to the previous floor.

Go back to the save point and examine the blinking red panel to open the nearby door; it has a ?Gem (Moonite). Now go up and right and enter that little staircase you ignored before. There are three round switches here. Hit all three switches so the slots are vertical. The door will close, but use your new card to open it again and head back up. Enter the door above you. Examine the chest for a Fairy Potion and then examine the terminal above you for the Security Card B. The two doors to your left are now open also, and they have a ?Gem (Meteorite), and Mandrake.

Now that you have the blue keycard, head down and left, and back up two floors to the blue door. Open it for a Wine. Head all the way back to the entrance on the first floor (you might want to stop off to save and heal yourself at the crystals back in the temple). On the first floor, instead of going right to the green area, go underneath it. Take the staircase to another Blue door; open it (the switch to open it is at the top left). Continue down and hit the switch so the slot is vertical. Now you have to backtrack all the way to where you found the red keycard (the one with three gray doors at the bottom and you coming down between the second and third doors).

This time, go up the far right path onto a green bit. The upper path leads to a Sour Syrup, but apparently if you've already gotten some of the other chests this one'll be gone (I haven't pinned down exactly which one(s) it is/are). If you got all the chests, ignore this path and keep going left at the crossroads. Use the card to open the door and head down to the next floor. First go down a bit and left and pick up an Aqua Ring, then up for a Flare Ring. Go back down and right, past the door you came in, and follow the path down (up is a short dead end). Pick up a Savory and enter the door. Keep going till you reach an entrance to another green area. Ignore it for a second, keep going till you hit a round knob, which turns itself when you touch it. Make sure the slot is vertical. Go back and enter the green area. Follow it till you reach an exit; take it. Ignore the path that goes down to the left/right the door; the only thing you can get this way is a ?Gem (Rock). Instead, head straight down the stairs and through the door to a save point. Head up and examine the door.

Choosing (1) repeats the four hints given to you by the king of Astral. The hints actually don't line up with the riddle; the correct choice is 4, 3, 1, 1 (URTH). Enter the door. After a longish scene, Ratix will get the Eye of Truth. Another longish scene later, and you'll end up in Van. Your destination is the Demon World; you can get there by taking a boat from Sylvalant.

Make sure to save your game normally outside Sylvalant, as I've had my game freeze sometimes here. It did work in the end, though. ^^; Ronixis will open the gate to the Demon World now. Once inside, you can talk to the gold statue to return to the island, and you can then exit to the south to return to Sylvalant. Head left above the statue to get a ?Herb (Mandrake), then head north to confront Del Argasi! This fight isn't all that tough, especially if you've done one or more of the optional dungeons. Just keep whacking at him and he won't get a chance to whack back. After it's over, you'll warp to Astral. Another fight with Del Argasi will ensue. This fight's almost identical to the other one (he's a bit faster now, is all).

When you win, the elder of Astral will give you two Force Swords. They're insanely powerful and can be used by Ratix, Cius, Fear, and Ashlay. You'll now be back at the entrance to the Demon World. Now's a good time to go to Ionis and try to do some major item creation. Make sure you have everything you need before returning to the Demon World, because there's no going back. (Well, you can return until you reach a certain point, but it's a pain to have to go all the way out and back in again.) Do some writing, copying, compounding, etc, whatever your skills permit. Having characters at different levels of Familiar is also useful. Oh, and be sure to have at the very least five or so Stone Charms (preferably ten); use Crafting on Iron or Gold to make them. This is extremely important!

Before entering the Demon World, if Ashlay is in your party, do a Private Action outside Sylvalant. If you have high AR for Ashlay, you'll get the Dragon Summon Secret Skill inside the castle, which is the key to Ratix's strongest techniques!

So, we're back in the Demon World. Start by going up past the statue. Ignore the first paths to the right and left and go straight up. When you see the round hole, go left for a ?Herb (Lavender). You can now head either to the top left or top right and out to the left or right. First head left. At the top left of this screen is a ?Weapon (Slayer Sword) and at the top right is a ?Weapon (Berserk Sword). Now head right two screens. At the bottom right of this screen is a ?Gem (Rock) - useless. Head up, right, and down from that to get an Emerald Ring - useful. 8-) Head up, left, and up for yet another crossroads - two roads leading up, one left and one right. Take the right one for an Orihalcon, then go back down and take the left one. You'll come to a four-way crossroads. First take the top left one for a Misty Symbol, then take the top right one to come to a save point. Save, then head right to reach Time & Space Lab. Enter!

You'll have a little scene where you notice some monsters in stasis. Ignore them. 8-) The enemies here start off nasty, but they give lots of EXP and they quickly become just a nuisance. The Otifs can split and stone you; the Death Terrors are a variation of those annoying vampires that can throw spears at you. The Angel Knights are the worst, though. Turn off Light and Shadow attacks when dealing with them. Ratix's normal attack with a Force Sword should be more than enough to hold off most enemies here, especially if you have one or two Charms.

At the start, quickly go back down the little stairs, right, and up to pick up a slightly hidden chest with a Reverse Doll. Climb the stairs again and head right. At the crossroads, go up for a Blackberry, then go back down and take the left path. Pick up the Duel Suit (an excellent armor for Iria/Perisie), then continue to the top right. Go up the stairs. Go left, then up (going down just loops backwards), then down to the lower floor again. First head right across the narrow path for a Star Emblem and Protect Ring, then back left and up the stairs. Go right (left loops backwards), ignore the path down, then you'll come to a four-way crossroad. Up is currently a dead end, so go right. Head down the stairs, then follow the path for a Blueberry. Go back upstairs and head right, then right again. Follow the path out to the next screen.

Ignore the door first; head right, then right again for a Blueberry and Cure Paralysis. Go back left and head up at the crossroad. Follow the path up the small stairs and into the room for a Duel Helm. Go back to the crossroads, then left and take the door. Follow the path until you can go downstairs or left; go down first. Follow that path out a screen to the right to reach another Duel Helm, then return to the down/left crossing and go left. Follow the path to reach a room with a whole lot of monsters in stasis. Head towards the lower left, then go up and left a bit to reach a Sweet Syrup. Up is a dead end, so go back left. You can exit to the middle-left or lower-right. Go to the lower-right first, and follow the path to get a ?Herb (Artemis Leaf). Circle back to the large stasis-infested room, head to the lower left, then up and exit to the left.

At the intersection, both up and down are dead ends, so go left. Skip the door and continue left for a Stun Half, ?Guard (Sylvan Helm), and ?Guard (Sylvan Mail). Go back and take the door to reach a save point. Iria will go up to the computer and try to hack the code, and fail miserably, setting off alarms. At this point Asmodeus walks in and sic his cronies on you. Ignore the Death Charonas (even your weak characters can kill them in a hit or two) and keep wailing away at the DARKEYE?. His spin can be quite nasty, so try to surround it and keep it busy, preferably dizzy. Turn off Fire and Shadow spells for this fight.

When it's over, go up through the door and follow the path up. First head right and down the stairs; follow it right, go up at the intersection (down is a dead end) and exit right for a Cure Stone, Cinderella Vial, and Star Ruby. Go all the way back up the stairs, then head left and down the stairs; you can now go to the lower-left, bottom right, or up (under the upper level). First go the lower left to pick up a Blueberry and ?Jewelry (Fairy Ring). Exit at the very lower-left to an easy-to-miss room with the Gremlin's Lair spell for Ronixis, a Blueberry, Rainbow Diamond, Orihalcon, and Mithril. Go back right and up and take the bottom right path to eventually reach a ?Jewelry (Star Ring) and ?Gem (Mithril). Go back to the crossing and take the upward path. Remember that point of no return I mentioned? THIS IS IT. You can still return all the way back to Roak if you wish, but after going up to the next room, forget it.

A short scene, then a fight against Asmodeus! He has 28,000 HP and several forms. In the first one he'll fire lightning at you. He'll break off the top of his body then, and start throwing firebombs. Keep him busy, because if he gets to throw them you're fairly dead. Then he'll just kind of shrink into a big mechanical eye. He can now cast Explode and Cure Light, and Word of Death, which can instantly kill someone. Again, just keep him busy. His evade goes up a lot, though, so be careful. He then changes into a floating eyeball, which can shoot out a laser (not so powerful, but he does it often). Note that if you keep him dizzy for long enough and do enough damage, he may skip one of his forms before you get to kill him.

Now comes a long story sequence; you'll end up on Planet Fargett. You can save now if you like. Walk up and you'll start a fight, then another fight. These guys are quite a bit tough... the Gladiators are harder than the Elder Magiuses, though, so target them first. After you win both fights, another scene will ensue. When you regain control you'll be at the first floor of Revorse Tower. Going down just leads back to your capture room. Going up leads to a statue that will recover your HP/MP, and a bit above that is a save point. A good strategy is to stay here and level up a bit... you'll definitely want to, because the enemies are TOUGH.

Hopefully you made those Stone Charms back when, because if you didn't you will have quite a difficult time with the Medusa Eyes, who have huge range, can barrel right through you, and has about a 95% chance of stoning whoever it touches. Use long-range attacks if at all possible. The Dark Laws can also paralyze you, and the other enemies generally make themselves nuisances (especially the Lady Elviras). Build yourself up until all characters are at least level 40. The Clarinet 2 battle might help as well (you CAN win it if you have some nice special techs like 7-Star Twin Slash).

Head straight left of the save point to the next screen, which is a large room; go up into the first door you see to get a Star Cloak, Sour Syrup, ?Guard (Star Guard), and ?Guard (Magical Bikini). Exit this small room and head to the left and a bit down. The right door has a Reflex, Star Cloak, and Doom Blade. Go back out and enter the left door, then go up twice (ignore the down path, it leads backwards) for a Hermit Helm and Marvel Sword. Exit back to the large room. Go towards the lower left. The right door holds an Elven Cap, Reflex, and Meteor Swarm spell for Ronixis and Joshua. The left door leads onwards (finally!)

Follow the path. The first down is a dead end for now, so go up. Go up again at the next intersection for two Sylvan Bows and a ?Guard (Cat Band). Go down now. Follow till you reach another intersection. Go down first for an Elven Cap and Reflex, then continue up. You'll reach a room with a switch. Hit it and retreat all the way back to the beginning of this paragraph. 8-) (The bottom-left door of the first large room.) Head down and the door will now be open; enter and go upstairs. First go into the left door and up all the way. The top-left door has a Duel Suit; the top right room has an Elven Boots. Now head back down all the way and take the right door. Go upstairs to reach a save point.

You'll now be in a series of five rooms and switches. You have to hit the switches in a particular order to proceed. Basically, start at the upper left and go counter-clockwise. To whit: First go to the left and up two rooms and hit that switch. Go down one room and hit that switch. Go down to the center room and hit that switch. Go up the right side and hit that switch, then up again and hit that switch. Now go left and up into the door. Follow the path straight up till you reach a save point. Be sure to save normally here! Now go straight up to reach the final boss!

I recommend having Milly and two other fighters in your party, preferably ones with at least one special tech. Hopefully Ratix has 7-Star Twin Slash. Keep using special techs over and over, and have Milly continually use Fairy Light or Cure All. Just keep him busy. He doesn't have a whole lot of HP, but he has high defense. Avoid him if you see a glow around him. After you beat him he'll Reveal His True Form and attack again!

Again there isn't much you can do besides keeping pounding him, using special techs, and having Milly cast Fairy Light. Pray that you can keep him busy and dizzy as long as possible! Use Resurrect Mists immediately when a character dies. (Preferably have Milly do this, because it'll leave Ratix vulnerable for a second if he does it.) He has 32,000 HP. When they're gone, you WIN! The ending varies depending on your party makeup and the AR they have for each other. If you have Ashlay/Cius, Perisie, Marvel, and Joshua, you'll get a special scene in the ending.

It's not over yet! Restart the game. See that star next to the save file? Open the save file and teach one character the Oracle Ability. Go to the Special menu and use it; voila! You're in what looks like a cave. The five doors above you will open as you gain levels in Oracle, but all that's inside is the programmers for the game. 8-) More importantly are the two exits. The left one leads to the first floor of Revorse Tower, and the right one leads back to Tataroy. Besides for being able to return to Time & Space Lab, you can also enter the huge and difficult Seven Star Ruins! The entrance to the Ruins is in the exact spot in Tataroy where you were dumped from Oracle. See Side Quests for info on it.

You can also return to Sylvalant and take the ship to the Demon World and Time & Space Lab to pick up a few more items. Go all the way back to Asmodeus's room; this time you can go behind where he stood. Go up the ladder and off to the left to get a Cure Stone and a Duel Suit, then all the way right for a Mithril. (Note that if you already got the Mithril in the room just past the DARKEYE?, this Mithril will be gone for some reason.) That's it; use Oracle to return to Tataroy and tackle the ruins!