Chrono Cross: Walkthrough

The game starts with a nice FMV of a tower. Then three people come up an elevator: Serge, Kid, and a third, totally random character. The characters' stats are completely buffed up here; you're at 20 stars, have Mythril equipment, and some kick-ass Elements like MagmaBurst and MeteorShower. Serge and the random character (not Kid, however) will have their Level 3 techniques, as well. However, the enemies are total wusses, so this is a good time to get used to the combat system and try out your Elements.

First off, you can go either right or left. Go left to see a switch (so close and yet so far!); just head back right. There's only one way to go here for a bit (you can't get to that raised platform from where you are) so follow the path south, down the stairs, and out. Take the stairs up and left. Go up and right, ignore the path downwards (it's a dead end) and all the upward staircases, and head to the top left. Here's that switch again; go up to it and press X. Go back to the main room; notice that the raised platform is undulating now? Head up the second upward staircase (you can run past the Cybot if you want), onto the platform, and press X. Now just walk upwards to end this scene.

Memory Card Save: "Arni Village - Where the tides start to turn..."
"Opassa Beach - A calling from beyond time..." (after speaking to Leena)

Yawwnn... what a whacked-out dream, huh? Or a premonition? (Cue dramatic chord.) Well, like Chrono Trigger, you get to explore a bit now. For starters, check your bed again to get your secret stash of a whopping 200G; go to the left side and snoop around for five Tablets. You've already got a Tablet and a Cure+1 equipped on your measly three Element slots, so keep the new Tablets for use outside of battle. From now on, you can rest in your bed for free. Now talk to your mom like a good boy, then head out of the house.

There are four houses here: yours is the bottom left, Leena's is the top left, the bar is in the top right, and Kiki's house is the bottom right. There's a lady who sells both Elements and equipment at the bottom of the screen. I recommend buying a Fireball to stick in your third Element slot. Also, check her pile of junk for the Shellfish window frame. Anyway, let's explore the houses. First go left and talk to the fisherman. Tell him "You're probably right!" to get a Komodo Scale.

Leena's house has her grandma. Talk to the cat for an interesting piece of info you can store away. Also, check the buckets near the top of the screen for a PhotonRay.

The bar's a bit more interesting. You'll hear about the Radical Dreamers (who sound like a nasty piece of goods), gawk at Miki's poster, talk to the bargirl for some original poetry, or talk to Belcha, the barkeep, for your first taste of the CHArming Guldovian speech. Check the barrel near the top right of the screen a few times for it to cought up an Uplift Element. The main goods are past the door in the top right. Search near the top left of this screen for a Heckran Bone, and in the chest at the top right for an Ivory Helmet, which you should equip right away.

In Kiki's house, head down the stairs to talk to her father, who'll give you his Shark Tooth amulet. Head outside and use the Komodo Scale next to the boy moping outside Kiki's house. You can try to sell it for 1000G, but it won't do any good; you can give it to him to get an Uplift Element.

Now for the main event: go up to the docks and talk with Leena. Man, she's bossy. And selfish, I guess. Talk to the sleeping man twice for another interesting (and hard-to-find, too) bit of info.

You can head to the west part of town to meet the elder, Radius, who will enter you in the School of Hard Knocks and teach you a bit about the combat system. Gonji will explain how to use Key Items (not all that tough). The gardener in the lower left of the screen turns out to be Toma XIV (son of Toma XIII from Chrono Trigger). Examine the pail next to the house for a Heal Element. Inside the house, in one fo the picture frames to the left, is a Cure Element. Back outside again, you can see Poshul running around at the top of the screen. You can give her your Heckran Bone to make her join you, but take my advice and wait a bit; you can get her later, along with Leena! If you get her now, Leena will never join you, sniff sniff... Before you leave, talk to Kiki's grandfather in her house for some tips on hunting Komodo Pups, if you like... oh wait, I'm gonna tell you anyway. ^^;

Well, you're done snooping around your home town; head to the right and out into the great beyond... well, it's not so great, there aren't too many places to head. You're supposed to head south to Lizard Rock, but take a detour west to Cape Howl.

There are a total of two chests here. Get 'em both. I'd recommend exchanging your Cure+1 for the Heal; it's better strategically when you use it in battle. You might as well fight the Beach Bums here; you might get your HPs raised a bit. Go past them to the top left and read the oh-so-pretty message on the rock, if you like. Watch out for the steam blasts; if you happen to get caught by one you'll lose 5 HP (not the end of the world, but...) Now head out and to Lizard Rock.

There are three screens in this level, and each screen has one Komodo dragon pup. The third pup will be rescued by its mother, though, so be prepared for a boss battle there. The battles will be fairly short and not difficult. You only have 3 Element Levels, so one weak hit and one medium hit will fill it up. My advice is, if there's only two enemies, finish one off with physical attacks and use your Fireball+2 for the other. If there are three, finish one off, Defend, then finish the second one off, then use Fireball+2 on the third one. If you're hit at all, just use physical attacks; that way you can automatically use your Heal after you win the battle. If you have Poshul it's quite a bit easier, but it's not too tough with just Serge. We'll start with the screen you're on.

Push the rock out of the way with the X button. First off, there's a Beach Bum guarding a chest in the lower right; the chest holds another Fireball. Keep it around. Now head left (along the lower side of the screen). You'll see a Komodo Pup run up through a little tunnel, away from you. See that rock to the left of the tunnel? Go around it and push it to the right, blocking the tunnel. Now go around to the right, up, and left. The Komodo Pup will try to run down the tunnel, but it's now trapped; just go in and duke it out for your first Komodo scale. (You can't see them on the Key Items list, but they're still there, don't worry.)

Now head to the bottom right and into the next screen. You can't catch the Komodo Pup here, so leave it for the moment. Go to the bottom left of the screen; a Beach Bum is guarding a rock. Push the rock into the water and wait for a few seconds; a treasure chest will float up. It holds a Silver Loupe; equip it right away. Now go to the top of the screen. Jump onto the green stalk which leads back to the screen above you. Head right and back down. You're now above the Komodo Pup you saw before, walking back and forth below you. You can jump on it with the X button, but you have to time it right or you'll miss and it'll run away. The best time is a split second after it starts moving back left from its far right position. Beat it for the second Komodo scale.

Now go to the top left to the last screen. Again the Komodo Pup will run away, but this one's a bit slower than the others. Ignore it for the moment. First, there's a hard-to-see-slope right near the lower-right entrance you just came in from, which leads to the water and a Beach Bum, which guards a chest holding another five Tablets. Just keep them around. Go back up and all the way around left and down. At the left side of the screen there's a hole you can jump in which again leads to the water. The chest on the island has a Bone component; now head to the top right into the little cave. Once in the cave, hang LEFT to get to an Ivory Helmet. Now go back into the hole you came from. Heal up using Tablets if you're low on HP. Now all you have to do is chase the Komodo Pup around counter-clockwise; you'll eventually catch up to it. When you beat it the Mama Komodo will appear. Use your Fireball against her, but don't let your stamina drop too low. Use physical attacks then defend, then use the Fireball, then finish up with physical attacks. Use the Heal if your HP gets below 25. When you win you'll get your first Star and a new Element slot in Level 1; equip your second Fireball there.

Now just head out and left. You'll end up back on the world map, and you can now pass through Lizard Rock as though it wasn't there (kinda like Zenan Bridge in Chrono Trigger). If you happen to be low on HP stop back in Arni to rest (if you don't have Poshul by now you REALLY don't need her), then go into Opassa Beach.

Memory Card Save: "Opassa Beach - A calling from beyond time..."
"Arni Village - Nothing has changed but everything!" (after warp)

A typically serene sequence will play out. Her two questions are important to get her special technique later in the game. Answer "I remember" your promise, and "We'll always remember this day" to be guaranteed to get it. Of course, once this bucolic scene is over, something goes terribly wrong. When you wake up, things are... different. Head out and back to Lizard Rock... but you can't just waltz through it any more, no, you have to fight your way through again.

There are much fewer chests here, but more enemies. The new Opah Fish have more HP than previous enemies, but will still go down with one Fireball+2. The chest on the island in the first screen now holds a Feather. In an ironic twist, the Opah Fish will now chase YOU around the water. Head down.

There's a chest at the lower left guarded by another Opah Fish, which holds a Bone. Head right, and holy cow more irony, the Komodo Pup jumps on YOU. Heh. Head up to the last screen. The chest at the lower right is now guarded by a Komodo Pup, and it's an Ivory Helmet. Exit to the top right, and head back to Arni.

Memory Card Save: "Arni Village - Nothing has changed but everything!"
"Cape Howl - A reminder of one's former self..." (after speaking to Leena)

If you paid attention to what people said in Arni before, you're in for some big changes. Seems like Viper (who disappeared in your Arni) has always been around here; Belcha's wife now runs the pub instead of him; Miki's poster has been replaced with Nikki's; etc. etc. Poshul isn't around any more (the sign on her doghouse in Leena's house says she's gone on a "rong journey", go figure).

The biggest shock, natch, comes in your own home, where the owner's never heard of you before. If you try to rest in your own bed, you'll have to pay 100G... man, that bites. But you can get it back by searching in the top left of "your" room for a MagmaBomb, your first multiple-hit Element. Equip it in your level 3 spot.

The barrel in the pub has turned into a pot; search it a few times to get an IceLance. The upper-right room in the pub still has a chest in the top right, but it's hidden by curtains; it holds five Tablets. The bucket next to the chief's house now has a TurnRed, and the picture frame inside has another five Tablets. Now head to the docks and talk to Leena. If you answered one of the questions wrong in Opassa Beach, say "I'm Serge!" to still be able to get that technique later on. (If you answered both wrong, you're screwed permanently). When you're ready, head out of Arni and back to Cape Howl.

Memory Card Save: "Cape Howl - A reminder of one's former self..."
"The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..." (after waking up in Arni)

Make sure to pick up both treasure chests; exchange your Fireball+2 for the ElectroJolt. Go up and read the inscription on the rock, which is now a tombstone... A bunch of surprising things will happen, and you'll find yourself thrust into a fight with three Acacia Dragoons, but you have yourself a temporary ally, conveniently called Girl. She comes with her own Elements (including a MagmaBomb). Have her use the MagmaBomb as soon as she can, and have Serge use his brand-new ElectroJolt on Karsh and his own MagmaBomb. Concentrate on Karsh, then get his bumbling cronies. They won't put up too much of a fight. As for all early battles, defending is key to survival. When you beat them, you'll get a Star and a new L.2 Element grid space.

Now the new character, Kid, will ask if you want her to join you. If you already have Poshul tell her yes; otherwise tell her no. Three times. (For the slow, that's "Refuse", "...", and "No thanks".) You'll wake up in Arni either way. If Kid joined you she'll give you the Tele-Porter; if not, Leena and Poshul will be next to you, and they'll join you. Congrats, you now have yourself an RPG party! Woo-hoo! Buy more Elements (including AquaBeams and Cures) at the Element Shop and distribute them among the three characters.

Regardless of whether your third character is Leena or Kid, you now definitely want to see this! Head into Kiki's house (bottom right) and down the stairs. Give the Shark Tooth you got from the first Arni to this guy. He'll say some fairly depressing things then kick you out. However, when you try to leave you'll be stopped in your tracks when his good luck charm-cum-idol begins to talk! That's right, he's been praying to the one and only Mojo! Also known far and wide as Lucky Dan. This whacked-out voodoo doll has a weird way of talking and a weirder way of fighting, but he's so damn charismatic... and he's now yours! I personally switched him for Poshul; I can't stand Poshul. 8-)

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Theoretically, you can just head down and left and out. But up top is at least one Rare Item you'll want. So go talk to the Dragoon at the top center of the screen and pose as exorcists ("Yes we are"). First off, just head up. A skull will hop towards you. Go ahead and take it; it can't hurt. Now head left and up. Go past the Drongo (you're probably too weak to fight it as of now) and pick up the Bellflower. If you think you can hack it, head down and to the left and down the ad hoc ladder to reach a jumping Dodo and a Big Egg. The Dodo's rather tough. M mentions that using Elements on it will cause it to attack you with a strong technique, so just use normal attacks. But in any case you might want to come back a bit later; absolutely nothing changes and you'll be more beefed up. Anyway, when you're done head back down the original ladder and to the exit I mentioned earlier, where you'll fight Solt and Peppor again. They're a bit tougher here. Get rid of Solt first; he has less HP. If someone's HP drops below 30, use a Tablet. You won't have too many problems, though. When you're done, head left and out to return to the world map, and you can now pass through Fossil Valley without having to fight. Save, then head up and left to Termina.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

When you enter Termina you'll be treated to a short scene. Now you're free to explore this place thoroughly. You can talk to everyone as long as you first DON'T talk to the man standing by the statue of Lord Viper at the top of the main square. Here's how Termina is set out:

A: Main Square: Bar, Inn, Lisa's Shop, Viper's Statue, Skelly's House
B: Docks, Magical Dreamer Ship
C: Boardwalk: Artist, Fortune Teller, Rarity Shop
D: Zappa's Smithery, Glenn's House, Van's House
E: Shrines, Greco's House

Let's start with A. The Inn is there for 100G. If you have Leena, you'll have a cute little scene in Lisa's Element Shop. Stock up on stronger Elements and diversify a bit; you can now buy Green Elements as well. Remember that you'll be fighting more bosses and your Element grids will grow, including getting L.4 spots, so keep some in reserve. Buy some MagmaBombs as well; they're the only multi-enemy Element thus far. Don't worry about the status Elements for now. You can look at the poster on the wall to find out about Nikki. You can find Guile in the Bar, but he won't do anything till you talk to that guy I told you not to talk to. The house at the top left of the main square has a little kid who's sick; you'll find out about Korcha there. Snoop around near the very top left of the screen to get a hidden fella who'll give you the Tea For Three window frame if you say you understand him. Finally, you can enter the top right house where you'll learn about Skelly. Let's move on.

The Docks hold absolutely nothing now, let's go east. The Fortune Teller is kind of useless, but interesting. As you walk right, you'll see a scene involving Korcha, a merchant, and a mermaid. Not much else here; head to the lower right to enter the shrines. You'll see Glenn and Riddel at the grave of Dario and Garai at the lower right; you can give them your Bellflower for a scene. (I never tried asking for money; I don't know if it makes a difference later on. Sugeng says if you don't give it to him, he doesn't tell you about Radius later on, when Kid falls sick.) Greco's house is empty for now, and Korcha won't take you anywhere because you don't have anyplace to go.

Heading back to the boardwalk, go north this time. Have Poshul talk to the dog guarding the yard for a funny scene. The house on the left is the smithery (the door's a bit tough to get to open, fidget around a bit). They sell Copper and Iron items, but as of now you have only two Coppers. Upgrade Serge's weapon to a Copper Swallow, and buy a Bronze Mail as well; give it to your weakest character. The room down below houses Pierre for now, but he's also useless. Going south again gets you to the front yard of Glenn's house; if you have Mojo, talk to the training dummy for a foreshadowing scene. There isn't much in Glenn's house. Head north to Van's house. Check behind the staircase for a Profiteer Purse; give it to Serge right away. Go up the stairs and talk to Van for another scene. Now when you go back to section C, there'll be a man at the lower left who'll paint your portraits.

OK, you're done. Go ahead and talk to the man by Viper Statue. Kid'll show up; this time let her join. She'll give you the useful Tele-Porter Item, which you'll be using a LOT. Now stick her in your party and never take her out. Her Pilfer technique is extremely useful, especially at the beginning of the game. Now you have... a CHOICE.

You can go one of three ways here. You'll enter Viper Manor any way you choose, but you'll get a different character each way, and you can never get the other two. To choose Nikki's path, talk to his manager on his ship at the docks (go up the stairway at the docks). Nikki's a decent character with some nice story sidelines, and his path is of medium difficulty. To get Guile's path, talk to him at the bar. Guile is a solid character for the very beginning and end of the game, but fairly useless in the middle, and his path is the toughest. Finally, to get Pierre's path head to Zappa's house. Pierre's path is the shortest and easiest, but he's possibly THE wimpiest character in the game, at least until the very very end. So, choose your path and keep going below!

Head left to the docks, then up to the Magical Dreamers ship. Enter the lower door. Talk to Nikki's manager at the top right. Tell Miki you'll help her. Now leave town and head east to the Shadow Forest.

Enemies: Bulb, Cuscus, Cassowary, Quaffid, Wraith, Gloop, Gerridae, Solt, Peppor, Zoah

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Start by heading left into the next screen. Note the location of the red land octopus, though. Head up now and fight a Bulb who guards an AeroSaucer Element. Going straight left is a dead end; head down and left to see Nikki trying to get a green land octopus to go with him for some reason. Follow him to the exit at the top left, but stop off to get a slightly hidden chest to the lower left which holds an Uplift Element.

Nikki is beset by Cassowaries on this screen. Go up to them to start a fight. Nikki will weaken the three enemies for you, but it's up to you to finish them off. MagmaBomb works wonders. After you beat them, he'll just say "..." like so many RPG characters have the ability to do, then hop into an underwater cave to the right. Follow him in there.

Talk to him in the cave to get him to join you. (I think he's only marginally better than Mojo; you decide.) You'll also find out about what you have to do. Read the notebook lying on the floor for more info; you'll also be able to pick up the Angry Scapula, for Skelly. Open the chest for the Aroma Pouch.

There aren't that many enemies, but chances are you'll have to fight all of them because they get in your way while you do this little puzzle. You have to feed the land octopi to the Quaffid. Feeding one octopus to him wakes him up and you have to fight him; feeding him all three just makes him shrink and give you the Skullduggery window frame.

There are three trees on the screen with the cave. Once you have the Aroma Pouch, they'll give off a pollen ball which will follow you around. The lower left one has a red pollen ball, the rightmost one (you have to go under the little bridge) has blue, and the top left one is green. I think it's easier to work backwards, so hit the lower left one first for a red ball. Now head back to the beginning of the Forest. Talk to the red land octopus to get it to pick up the scent, then start running. You have to stay enough ahead of it so that it doesn't eat the pollen, but not so much ahead of it that it gives up. Once it follows you to the next screen, it'll stay there even if it gives up or eats the pollen, so that's one less screen for you. Lure it all the way to the Quaffid to get it to eat it. Like I said, you can have one or all three. The other two octopi are on the previous screen (green) across the lake, and inside the waterfall cave (blue).

Once the Quaffid's out of the way by whatever means necessary (it's not tough at all if you have to fight it, just use Yellow Elements), head past it left. Going up towards the cave results in a fight with Zoah, Solt, and Peppor. Concentrate on Solt and Peppor (they give annoying status spells) before hitting Zoah. MagmaBomb works again, as does Green Elements. Zoah has a strong tech, DragonRider, but he doesn't use it very often. Keep HP above 40. You'll get another Star when you win. Stop off at the top right to pick up a Heal Element, then enter the cave.

On the first screen there are a bunch of enemies, but you can more or less avoid them all by sticking to the left side of the screen. However, there's a MagmaBomb in a chest on the right side among the roots. You probably don't need it too badly as of now; your choice. Anyway, continue up. In the next screen you can do it the hard way (keep beating all the bugs) or the easy way (go up the left bank, defeat the Wraith, and push the rock to block the opening). This slightly affects a scene later on, but nothing major.

When you're past this section, your goal is the cave in the top right. Watch out for a Gloop to drop unceremoniously onto you when you near the cave (it's possible to avoid it by hugging the right wall). You can see a chest with a bug on it, but can't do anything right now. Don't worry. When you reach the cave, Nikki's section is ended. Congrats! Continue here.

Go ahead and talk to Guile in the bar. He'll tell you about a bet he has with the Fortune Teller, to get an item in the Viper Manor dining room. His way of getting to Viper Manor is by boat. Go down to the shrines and talk to Korcha (head all the way around the land bank surrounding the sword to get to Korcha). He'll take you to Viper Manor Bluffs.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

For starters, head RIGHT (yes, there is a pathway there). Go up the cliff to the next screen, then left and up again. Here and everywhere, watch out for boulders (they'll take off 10 HP from the entire party, and knock you off wherever you are). Also watch out for waterfalls. They can knock you down the cliff you're climbing. Time it right to get past them. A waterfall can hit you if you're quite a bit below it, but only a tiny bit above it, so don't go too quickly when you see it start to stop. The chest here has a Heal Element. Go back down but DO let the waterfall hit you. You'll land on a small cliff with a PhotonRay Element; give it to Serge. Go right and climb down to reach the start again.

Don't Pilfer the enemies here; they give lousy status Elements. However, the Gobledygooks might drop Antitoxinal Caps when you beat them; they're as strong as Ivory Helmets but also protect against Poison. And no, you can't avoid those Loch Nests. Anyway: Go up to the next screen, then up again. Let the waterfall hit you to get a chest with five Tablets. Climb down the left side of this cliff, now climb past that waterfall. You'll reach a ledge with three staircases. The right one is a dead end, the left one leads to a Meteorite Element (even better than PhotonRay for Serge), and the middle one leads ahead.

In the next screen, don't stay on the long central cliff; instead, go up a little bit and take the first real left (not the little platform). Go up past the waterfall to get a Trap FreeFall Element, which you won't be able to use for a little while. Go back down to the start of the screen; this time go right (the first right at the very bottom of the screen). Go up, take the first left, go down, and follow this path up to the end. You'll be attacked by two Acacia PVTs, who aren't particularly hard, nor do they have good stuff to Pilfer. When you win, you'll get a Star. Remember to equip new Elements in your grids (except for Guile, who doesn't gain a new spot). Heal up using Tablets, because your next fight will be your first real challenge in the game.

Definitely Pilfer from the KingMoaman; you can get either a Copper (useful) or a FeatherDress (even more useful). Concentrate on the two colored Moamans; they'll be a major pain. Defeat exactly one of them, then the King, then the other (if both are defeated at once, the King will use worse attacks.) Don't let anyone's HP drop below 40. Only use Elements at full stamina; if you use a physical attack, defend when you're down to 1 Stamina Level. MagmaBombs work even against the RedMoaman. Good luck! You'll win another Star. Now you'll wait until dark. Congrats, you've finished Guile's path! Continue here.

Memory Card Save: "The Port Town of Termina - The pride of the Acacia Dragoons..."

Go into Zappa's smithery (east, then north of the main square). Head left and down to the next room, then talk to one of the most annoying characters in the game (including the horribly-lisped Pip). Head down to the backyard and talk to the kid running around to get the Hero's Medal. Use it on Pierre, then talk to him a few times to get him to join you (man, what a PRICK!). Head straight to the front door of Viper Manor. You'll end up charging, but you can see more of Pierre's utter stupidity by picking "think of a plan". You'll have to fight a set of two Acacia PVTs, then two Acacia SGTs. Try to Pilfer an SGT for a useful Bronze Helmet. You'll win a Star when you're done. Re-equip Elements and give the Bronze Helmet (if you got it) to Pierre. Walk up to start one of the weirdest fights in the game, which of course features Solt and Peppor.

They've brought a friend named Ketchop, who wallops Serge for about 500 HP at the start. Have all your characters target Ketchop for all attacks; don't worry about Solt or Peppor. Solt revives Serge for a very stupid reason, so don't worry about that. After a while, both Solt and Peppor will be put out of commission by their unstable friend, but if a character's HP is below 60 and he's hit by the attack, he'll probably be dead. Don't worry about it too much. Just keep hitting Ketchop with your best stuff and he'll go down. You'll win a Copper, a Brace (or a Magic Ring if you're lucky), and a Silver Earring (give it to Pierre right away). That's it for this section, just continue below.

Enemies: Acacia PVT, Acacia SGT, Gobledygook, WillO'Wisp, Gloop, Portalgheist (plus Dodo, Komodo Pup, Bulb), Big Boxer, Li'l Boxer, Neo-N-Bulb, Man-O-War, Man-At-Arms, Marcy, Lynx

No matter who you have, you'll end up waiting till nightfall. Pierre will be by the gate, Nikki will be by the well in the south part of the main screen, and Guile will be on the eastern screen (yep, there are only three screens outside). Whoever you are, pick up a chest on each screen: a TurnYellow behind the gate, an Ointment x5 at the top left of the well screen, and a TurnBlue inside the little pavilion at the eastern side of the eastern screen. Do all this while either avoiding or fighting the guards. Your goal is to head to the top right of the eastern screen and enter the dragon stables.

There's a save point here, but more importantly there are dragons. (Man, I'm glad video games don't have smell...) You're trying to get into the manor, the old stable keeper has a Manor Key, wow! No, wait, you'll have to work for it. You have to (gasp) feed the dragons! No, don't worry, they eat hay. But it's still not easy:

You can carry three bales of hay at a time; there are five dragons. Use X to fill up on hay at the very left of the screen, and the same button to feed the dragons. Dragons won't take food unless they're hungry (they'll rear up and roar for a split second), but if you wait too long to feed them, they'll turn a shade of red. Miss the same dragon three times and you lose. Luckily, you can just use a tap of the control pad to move between dragons and the bale of hay. You set your own limit: Feeding 10, 20, 30, 40, or 100 times. Each time you'll get a different prize (no, sorry, only one prize per level) as follows, in order: Knee Pad, Bronze Helmet, Bronze Mail, RecoverAll, Iron Vest. I found the first three levels laughably easy, the fourth (40) a bit challenging, and 100 times is only possible if you have superhuman reflexes, or are using New Game+ and can slow the game down by using the L2 button. The prize isn't all that worth it, anyway. Whatever you manage to do, the stable guy will let you have the key (it's in the cupboard at the top right of the room).

Now head into the manor proper (the entrance is on the same screen as the well). You'll have to fight two Acacia PVTs and an Acacia SGT to get through; try Pilfering the SGT for another Bronze Helmet. Once you're inside, there isn't a lot of choice of where to go, as both sides and the front are blocked. Go and look at the viper statue. You can turn it! Go ahead and do so; no matter what you do, you'll be wrong and you'll be dropped into a trap.

Kid will annoy the guards if she's in your party and get them to open the door where you can whip their asses. Or, if she's not, just wait around and bang the door and Kid will rescue you wimps. You'll steal the guards' costumes. (Poshul and Mojo can't fit in, but no one will find them unusual what with all the monsters around.)

The manor is actually fairly small, but it's set out in a way to make it seem larger. Here's an ad hoc map. (top line is top floor, bottom line is bottom floor. Letters are doors, hallways being implicit.)

OK, it's not that small. You start in the trap room. There's a staircase down to the basement here, where you'll meet up with the Boxer Brothers (enemies who disguise themselves as chests) for the first time. Hit one of them. If you're right you'll get an item; if you're not, you'll fight them both. You can still Pilfer from them if you care to do so, but won't win anything after the battle. If you pick the wrong one, you can run away from battle and try again (thanks to Edson Walmor Wuerges for that tip). The items aren't amazing, but you might as well give it a shot. Talk to the soldier at the left for a hint for later on, then head back upstairs.

Throughout the manor, NEVER walk in the middle of the hallway; you'll have to fight WillO'Wisps and Gobledygooks that way. Hug the top or bottom. Anyway, the first door you come to to the left (door G) is the kitchen. (This is where Guile is supposed to get to, though he doesn't mention it when you reach it.) You'll meet Glenn at the bottom right, and find out that he knows the code for the statue, but has to write it down. You'll follow him in a sec. For now, a chest in the top right holds a Dragoon's Honour, and a cupboard at the top of the left side of the room (behind the cook, Orcha) holds a TurnGreen Element. Remember about that dishwasher for much later. Head back to the hall through the left door in the kitchen (F) and into the next room (E).

Glenn is at the top of the room, staring at the wall, then he leaves to sit on his bed. Go and check the wall for the password to the viper statue (it's random). Write it down. The left side of the room has a chest in the bottom right with a Revive Element - very important! Equip on the character with the highest HP and/or the best Defense. Now head out and left to go to the top floor.

Door A (leftmost) has a room with a sleeping harlequin who talks in her sleep in a French accent. It also has a big chest with a TurnBlack Element, and a little chest who is again the Boxer Bros. The next door, B, is guarded by a Portalgheist. These guys are beatable, but very tough (especially if you're using Pierre). They use strong Yellow Elements and call on helpers through the battle - including Dodos! You can avoid them if you just enter the room when the roving eye is closed. However, this room is locked anyway, so forget about it. The path to the right is blocked by a huge Roborg who won't let you through. You can beat him if you like, but I say explore the rest of the mansion first: head back downstairs and to the trap room, and this time go right.

The first door to the right (H) is the treasure vault. Talk to the guards for them to ask you the password. Anything you choose will start a fight with them, but if you just wait a few seconds without choosing anything, they'll let you through. (The password is silence, get it?) Inside the treasure room, there are three treasures on the left side of the screen which prove to be a Bronze Sword (for Pierre), a Bronze Mail (great!) and a Hero's Shield (again for Pierre, but useless). The vase at the top right of the screen is a monster named Potty, not very tough; when you beat it you'll get a TurnRed Element.

When you're done, look at the shiny thing on the right wall. No matter what you choose, you'll be thrust into Luccia's lab (the next room to the right, Room I), but you'll get a Silver Pendant. Luccia will let you out if you fight her latest Franken-veggies, the Neo-N-Bulbs. These are mutated versions of the Bulbs from Shadow Forest, but still not too tough. Use Yellow Elements if you have them. You'll get a Star when you beat them. Luccia will let you out for real now, but when you try to leave she'll tell you to come back later for her help. Before you leave, though, talk to Pip at the bottom left of the screen (in the cage). It doesn't matter what you do, he'll get out eventually. Now head right and out of the screen.

If you missed something in the treasure room, you can now go left and fight the Roborg to get him out of the way. Defend wisely throughout the fight and use Green Elements. If you've gotten everything, just head right and into the rightmost room, J. It's also guarded by a Portalgheist; see above. In here, the chest at the right holds another Bronze Helmet (you should have at least one for everyone now). This is the ONLY useful thing in here right now. The shield at the right is a Decor Shield. Put it on the suit of armor which is missing it for a battle. You get absolutely nothing useful after the battle (MagmaBomb is good during it, though). You can move the viper statue in the middle of the room into the slot designated for it in the right side of the room... but all this did before you fought that battle with the armors is cause Gloops to fall down, and now it just opens a door into a gas-filled room... like I said, nothing useful. You'll come back here later.

Now head right to get back to the main floor. The first door (D) is guarded by a Portalgheist; it's Zoah's room. He even sleeps with capital letters and exclamation marks! Try picking up his chest to get him to wake up. You can talk to him and learn more about the story, but you can't get the chest right now.

The next room, C, is Karsh's room. Talk to him as well to find out why Serge was being chased by him. You can indeed get this chest if you're persistent enough: press X by it 20 times to get a Dragoon Gauntlet. You're now done exploring the manor. Head back to room E to save, then go back to the main hall and use the combination you got earlier on the snake statue to open the door upwards.

There are guards up ahead and a Roborg to the right who won't let you pass, so you've gotta head left. You'll enter an outside walkway into a library (kinda reminds me of Guardia Prison, but hey...) Talk to the little girl up top to initiate a scene involving Marcy and the Prophet of Time; after it's done, you'll fight Marcy. She'll usually use attacks, which aren't all that strong; but once you get her near critical status she'll start using magic like IceBlast and Cat'sCradle, which can be nasty. Make sure Kid doesn't have the Revive Element, because she'll get hit the worst. RecoverAll will be useful as well. Keep the regular Attack/Defend/Element pattern going. You'll get another Star when you beat her (remember to equip new Elements).

Before you leave, head back upstairs and trip the switch you saw Marcy hit earlier. You'll drop the ladder; climb up it to get a TurnWhite Element. Now go back right to this floor's main room. Look to the left, you'll see four narrow pillars. Go behind the second from the top (it's easier if you walk, not run) and press a hidden switch to lower the throne from upstairs. The guards will get mad and rush you, but you've seen them before. Go up to the throne and press yet another switch to raise it to the top level.

There's a welcome save point here (you still can't use the Tele-Porter, though), and two doors guarded by PortalGheists. The left one is locked anyway; go into the right room to enter Viper's study. Look at the blue glowing thing on his desk (the Dragon Tear) to initiate another scene, where you meet Lynx for the first time... and fight him as well.

Lynx's only really nasty attack is HellSoul, where he completely kills one ally. His physical attacks are pretty bad as well, so Defend whenever you're not attacking. If you have the Meteorite from Nikki's path, use it quickly before he can cast AntiWhite! Try to get him down as quickly as possible. You'll get yet another Star, and another scene. In the middle of the scene you'll be shuttled to the menu screen; the point of this is to de-equip Kid from any good Elements, accessories, and armor she might have. After a bit of walk and talk, you'll regain control in Guldove, in the doctor's office.

Talk to Kid to get the Astral Amulet. Korcha will now ask you an important question. If you tell him you'll help Kid, you'll go on Korcha's Path. You'll keep the Astral Amulet and search for the Hydra Humour; you'll eventually get Korcha, Razzly, and Mel to join you. If you tell him twice that you can't help Kid, you'll follow Macha's Path. Korcha will take the Amulet from you, you won't get the Hydra Humour, and you can get Macha, Doc, and Glenn to join you. Oh, and Macha will give you the Tropical Paradise frame.

Whatever you choose, you're now free to explore Guldove, and you'll want to. Your first component trader is just south of the door. Make sure to talk to him, as he'll give you the Pelvic Bone as well. You'll probably want a Leather (and a Carapace too, if you want to use Leena) for making Bronze weapons. You can't make iron weapons yet, even though the weapon shop (to the left, inside the half-circle of boxes) sells two of them. The best way to trade items is to buy lots of Level 2 consumable Elements at 15G a pop and trade them. When you're done, head left.

A man here will tell you about Shiny items, which you won't see the light of for a LONG time. Check inside the bar for a scene involving Doc and Orlha, the barkeeper. Head up the ladder. Inside the tent here is the Element shop. Back out, go left to reach Shaman Direa's tent. Show her the Astral Amulet (Korcha's path) or talk to her (Macha's path) to advance the story. Her sidekick Steena will answer questions about the Dragons. Head back out and right twice to reach the residential tower. Macha is on the main floor, Mel is below, and Korcha's room is up above. Left of Korcha's room is a kid who'll let you "become the wind" - ride a rope back to the entrance of town, where Korcha (or Macha, if you're not helping Kid) waits to take you to Termina. (The girl in front of the Shaman's tent will also let you "become the wind", but only once you've talked to her brother in the residential tower).

New Characters: Korcha (if you're on Korcha's path); Macha and Glenn (if on Macha's path); Greco

Let's make this easier by splitting it up into the two paths.
Korcha's Path: Talking to him here will let him join you; from now on, talking to him at the docks will let you return to Guldove.
Macha's Path: Go to the entrance of town to view a scene involving Glenn. Go back to the docks and talk to Macha to get both her and Glenn to join you, and be happy, because Glenn is a great character. Macha will also give you her BOAT! Take Glenn to his house near the Smithy for a scene, then look at his trophy for a flashback scene.

A very few changes here. The man Korcha yelled at before (with the mermaid) is now a trader. The man in yellow just right of the entrance from the main square will ask you how much to charge for Viper Churros. I told him to lower the price to 50G, and from then on he gave me a free one every time I talked to him (they restore all HP).

If you took Guile's path, and remembered to pick up the Dragoon's Honour in the kitchen in Viper Manor, take Guile to the fortune teller. Have his fortune told to get a free Brass Rod.

Head down to the shrines (south of that screen) to see a scene with Greco, an ex-wrestler who's a master of psychic forces as well. He'll go into his hut when it's done. Go inside and talk to him to get him to join you. He's a decent character, but oddly Korcha has better stats than him (even Strength!). If you take him now, you'll lose him soon for a long chunk of time. If you wait, you can later get him for good. The two time amounts more or less cancel each other out, so it's your choice. For a bit of fun, you can pick up his barbells and walk around real slowly. 8-)

Well, maybe not, but she has the right accent. A Roborg is blocking the entrance to the manor, but you can beat it up and continue in again. Besides searching for any chests you might have missed, head back to Luccia's lab (second from the right, lower floor). She's not there, but that weirdo dishwasher is. You can let him out now. He drops a hint that she's on the top floor balcony. Before heading there, though, go back to the trap room on the lower floor and go downstairs. Search the pile of boxes at the lower left for the Parlor Key. It opens the second door from the left on the top floor, which holds a measly Daemon Charm... not worth locking up, really.

OK, head back upstairs. You don't have to worry about combinations any more, just open any doors you want. The library still has the Prophet, who'll tell you that everyone's gone to Fort Dragonia. Upstairs, Riddel's room is now unlocked, but she's no help either. Viper's room is also empty. Go right to get to the balcony, where Luccia will boast to you about her NeoFio, then head BACK to her lab. Before following her, climb up the ladder to your right to pick up a Sight Scope. Now follow her, and talk to her here to get her to join you. For right now, she's a half-decent party member. Be sure to pick up the Silver Earring on her desk before leaving the manor.

All right, you're done for here. If you're in Macha's path, skip down to exploring the world map. If you're in Korcha's path (which you are if you're still reading this) your next destination is Hydra Marshes... but entering there in this world is useless, because the Hydras are all gone! You have to head back to your world, and to do that you must go once more unto the beach, young lad. Opassa Beach, that is. Use the Astral Amulet to warp between the worlds; use it on the green flashing thingy on the floor. You can press X to skip the warping FMV if you wish.

You'll end up back in Home World, but nothing much is different. You still can't explore any new locations, but Hydra Marsh, as you'd expect, is now accessible.

Enemies: Swarmp Bug, Potpourri, Quaffid, Beeba, Wingapede, Pentapus, DaggyDwarf, DaffyDwarf, Dwarf, Hydra

My party for this was Korcha and Mojo, but I found it tough going; maybe you can find a better combination. ^^; There are almost no minor enemies here; it's just one boss battle after another.

First off head to the lower right and pick up the Feather. Now go to the top left; there's a submerged Bone left of the log leading north. Go north to the next screen briefly to pick up a Cure, then head back south and west to get to an organic-looking screen. Head left and up, and a large winged creature will fly above you. Keep going, pick up the chest you see for five Braces, and soon you'll see a strange-looking creature holding a parasol with bells on it. This is a Beeba, and you are about to enter one of the most annoying battles in the game.

The Beeba has close to 300 HP, and you'll have to fight FOUR of them at once. They have no techs, but for every full attack sequence your characters will execute (such as one weak, one medium, one strong attack) EVERY ONE of them can attack once. They're not terribly strong, but they attack WAY too often. Elements aren't much use unless you have a really good magic user; concentrate on physical attacks and always defend for your last Stamina point. Use RecoverAll and Heals when necessary. Not a difficult battle by any stretch, but a LONG one (I clocked 20 minutes). When you're done, the Beeba will drop a Beeba Flute (but it's kind of a cheap gift, as you'll see in a second). Go and save your game, then head right.

There's another Beeba guarding a Bushbasher. It's a useful Element in the battles to come, but you're supposed to do ANOTHER 20-minute annoying battle to get it. Your call. (If you're quick, you can sneak behind the Beeba and grab the treasure, though.) If you do fight, save again when you're done. Now go right again; once you reach the large bluish platform, use the Beeba Flute. You'll call the Wingapede, but oopsie, the Beeba forgot to give you any food for it! It gets nasty and attacks. Don't bother healing its status effects; it'll cost too many stamina points and put you out too long. It doesn't have a huge amount of HP, though, so the battle's actually easier than the previous one if you go a little on the offensive. Save again when you're done, then go back to the bluish platform and walk across the middle. You'll fall through to a cave.

Madame Pentapus will break your fall. First of all, go to the bottom right and pick up another super-useful RecoverAll Element. If you want a new character and a boss battle, examine the cage above the chest; if not, just head to the top right and out. If you do look at the chest, Pentapus will attack. She has some nasty Blue Elements, so use Red ones and make sure Greco is NOT in your party. Even using Blue Elements like IceBlast will work fine against her, though. When you beat her, Razzly will join your party. Whether or not you take her into your active party right now will have a large impact later on. Putting her in makes some people happier, but you can only get Razzly's L.7 technique if you leave her out. Leave via the upper right, then jump down to the next screen.

Pick up the chest near the top of the screen for an AeroSaucer Element, then go to the next screen in the top left. There are two Quaffids walking around. It's possible to get by them, but you might want to fight them. Sometimes they leave more AeroBlaster Elements, which you WILL want for the next fight. Head right to the next screen and a save point. The chest to the lower right holds five Antidotes, but it's not really worth getting. Instead, head to the top right for another boss battle.

Compared to the other ones, this one's a blast. Pick off the dwarves one by one, physical attacks work fine mostly. Their defence is weaker than the other bosses'. Get the DaffyDwarfs first, as they have lower HP. The fewer dwarfs onscreen, the weaker their special attack. Use your RecoverAlls to restore HP. You'll win a Star when you're done. Equip new Elements and put as many Green Elements as you can in there. Save back at the save point, then head to the top right to fight the Hydra (finally!)

This one's a toughie. Use Green Elements and physical attacks. It has about 700 HP, but you can whittle it down with higher-level Elements like IceBlast, AquaBall, and especially BushBasher. Don't bother curing your Dizziness; it uses that technique too often. Keep pounding away, heal if necessary (high magic power is a very definite plus) and good luck. When you win, the head dwarf will give you a guilt trip, then disappear. Examine the Hydra's body for the Hydra Humour. When you go back left, you'll see that all the dwarfs have disappeared from the marshes. You'll be warped to right near the entrance; just head down to leave.

Go back to Opassa Beach, use the Astral Amulet, then head back to Termina. Talk to Korcha at the docks to go back to Guldove.

Memory Card Save: "Guldove - Where ripples become waves..."
"Hermit's Hideaway - Meeting with the 'other' swordsman..." (after healing Kid)

Rush, rush! Into the doctor's office we go (straight up), then right, then give him the Hydra Humour to see a longish scene. It doesn't matter what choices you pick throughout here, until Kid actually comes back into your party and you discover that Mel has been up to her tricks. Make sure that you do chase after Mel (even though Kid tries to discourage you). First off, talk to Orlha at the bar. Also, talk to the dwarf here twice to get a Green Tinkler, useful later. Now head up to the shaman's tent and talk to the man in front there. Head right twice to get Mel's goat (Korcha seems to be enjoying it a bit too much). Now you can go back to the docks (Korcha will leave your party) and Termina. Go back to the entrance of town to see a scene involving Glenn, then go back to the docks and talk to Korcha again for an amusing scene. He'll join your party yet again, and you'll get... A BOAT! Woo-hoo, exploration time!

Enemies: Scorpiod, Fossicker, Bomber, YellowBelly, SnibGoblin, SnobGoblin, Potpourri, Centaurpede

This section applies to both Korcha's and Macha's paths. Stop off by Guldove. Get the Green Tinkler from the dwarf in the bar if you haven't yet. If you're in Korcha's path, put Kid in your party and talk to Mel to get her to join you! Now let's do some exploration.

Let's start with the main island. I recommend going back and doing the dungeons you haven't done yet depending on your branch (Shadow Forest and/or Viper Manor Bluffs) - there's some good treasure in there. No matter what, go back to Shadow Forest to pick up the Angry Scapula in the little cave if you missed it. Anyway, get back on your boat when you're finished. Your first stop should be Water Dragon Isle (south of the main island).

Every chest here holds a valuable Iron component. One can be gotten by climbing a cliff on the top right, then going right and down, past the Scorpiod (not too bad, but can gang up on you). Another is by climbing the cliff straight to the left (not diagonal up/left). Now head towards the next screen (north), but before you reach it turn right and talk to the man in green to get the Sturdy Ribs. Now go north. The two chests here are in the top left and far bottom right. You can talk to the fairies here, but not much else; get back to your boat. To play it safe, go right to Termina and create some Iron equipment (you might have to trade some consumables in for Humours, but they're cheap - 10 Levels each. At 15G for 2 levels via Antidotes, that's only 75G per Humour.) I recommend the Steel Swallow and Iron Dagger for Serge and Kid, and Iron Mail for your two weakest characters.

Now you can stop off in Marbule, farther to the east of Water Dragon Isle. (I couldn't find this my first time around. Head left right after you get off your boat.) Not much happening here either, but Bro of G's shop has some decent Elements (buy some Capsules, and I recommend Weaken and/or Strengthen), and the Sage in the cave to the top right will answer some questions you shouldn't have yet, but already do for some reason. Back to the boat.

Now go all the way to the top right, ignore the smoking island for now, and dock at the Isle of the Damned. Ignore the red door to your left, it's a dead end right now. Go to the cave at the top left for Mixed Bones, then back down the stairs and to the cave in the bottom right for an Eyeball. Back to the boat.

Stop off at Earth Dragon Isle, north of Guldove (west of the main island). Go down the big hole, hang a right, and get the chest you see for five Braces. Go right some more, avoid the enemies here (they're way too hard for you right now) and head south to the next screen. Head left to see a chest with five Capsules. Go straight down from the entrance and follow the path left, down, and right to a chest with an Upheaval Element. Back to the boat.

OK, now's the time to tackle the Hydra Marshes on the main island. (What! you say. Yeah, you heard right. But the Another World marshes this time - completely different.) There's some really good stuff here, not too hard enemies, no bosses. Make sure you have the Green Tinkler from the dwarf in the Guldove bar before going in.

The evil green stuff in here will damage you, but not majorly. Head straight to the left, back to the organic section. Follow the path, pick up the chest you see for an ElectroJolt, till you reach the blue platform where you fought the Wingapede before. Talk to the man on the lower left to get a Safety Gear; now the poison won't affect you. Go back to the beginning. Head up (there's a chest to the lower left of the exit to the north, which holds five Tablets). Go north to the next screen.

Pick up a Bushwhacker to the lower left, then head up to the plant. Use the Green Tinkler on it to get it to lower; walk down it to the evil green stuff again. The chest to the north holds a Seed. Go to the top left for the next screen. There's a Carapace here.

Go back to where the Hydra was (right twice) for a short scene, an easy battle with two SnobGoblins, and pick up the submerged chest for the Life Sparkle. Head back left to the screen with the save point. Try to avoid the Centaurpedes if you can; they have very high defense and can be annoying. The chest on the lower part of the screen holds a Copper component. Go down to the next screen.

Go to the lower part of the screen then hang a right across the green stuff and into the cave; poke around for the Good Backbone, the final component of your skeleton buddy, who'll disappear (unless you missed one or more items; don't worry, they're all still there). Go around the cave and pick up that chest for another five Tablets. Head down (via the brown land, not the green stuff left of it) to the next screen and pick up a Copper, then go back up and exit to the left. Use the Green Tinkler again to get back down, and exit the Marshes; you're done here.

Two more things now. You can get two characters here, but decide: If you get them now you'll lose them soon, for about 20 hours of gameplay (but will later regain them). If you wait, you can get them in about 10 or 15 more hours, and keep them. Your choice. To get them now: First head to the balcony of Viper Manor and use the Life Sparkle on the flower floating in the pond; it'll come alive and NeoFio will join your party! Head out and back to Termina. Go into the house at the top right and talk to the granny: Skelly will enter! Leave the house then come back in and talk to Skelly to get him to join you. He's a fairly solid addition to your team. That's it for exploration.

Enemies: Harle, Man-Of-War, Polly, Fargo, Wraith, Crossbones, Dead Beat, Tzetze Fly, Dead Head

Memory Card Save: "Hermit's Hideaway - Meeting with the 'other' swordsman..."
"From Pirate's Ship to Ghost's Ship - A mariner's worst nightmare..." (after boarding ship)
"On to Water Dragon Isle - In search for the dragon blue..." (after beating ghosts)

First, head to the Hermit's Hideaway, west of the Isle of the Damned. You'll start a laughably easy fight with Harle; if you're lucky you'll win a Moonglasses off of her. After a longish scene with Radius, it's back to the boat, mateys. Save your game, make sure you have at least two Iron weapons (especially the Iron Swallow) then enter the mist south of the Hermit's Hideaway. (I did this one in Korcha's path, which is a bit easier because you're on a higher Star level.) If you have Nikki in your party for this bit, you'll get an extra scene at the end.

My party was Kid and Leena; it seemed to work quite well. If you're in Macha's path you won't have Kid; I recommend Glenn, but it depends on your personal stats. When you pull up to the ship, you'll see a short scene and then be thrust into a battle with three Man-Of-Wars; this is simple. After this is a fight with Polly. It has a medium-strength single tech, but that's about it; just keep pounding away and heal if necessary. You'll get a MagmaBurst when you're done. One more boss fight with Fargo, who's even easier than Polly. He does have a few strong Elements, but his magic power isn't that great. When you win you'll be knocked out for the count.

When you wake up you'll be thrust into a fight with a Crossbones and two Dead Beats. Whenever you meet a Crossbones, be sure to Pilfer it for an Iron (when I was done this level I had about 20 of them, which is about 5 too many, but hey). Watch out for the Wraiths; they appear out of nowhere to fight you. None of the enemies are particularly tough here; mostly you can just use regular attacks and rely on auto-healing after battle. You have to beat EVERY Crossbones on the ship, as well as the Wraith inside the room left of the fire on the top floor, to proceed.

Leave the room you're in (save your game if you wish, but be careful: you can't leave until you've finished the level). The door to your right is your ultimate destination, but it's locked right now. The door to your left has a Crossbones guarding an AquaBall Element. The door to the left of that is locked. After that is a ladder; left of the ladder is a chest with a FirePillar guarded by a Wraith, and another locked door. Go up the ladder now.

Now you're on the top floor. To your left are two doors (one up, one down), but one is locked and the other inaccessible. Head right. The first door has a Wraith guarding a chest holding five Panaceas (which you can't even equip yet). There's a fire blocking the hallway further right, but you can continue by climbing into the duct to the top right of this room. You'll end up in the next room to your right. There's a chest in the top right (guarded by another Wraith) which holds five Capsules. Head out to the hallway again. Talk to the fat guy to your right twice and he'll move; now talk to the thin guy to the top right to get a "key" (no, it doesn't show up on your inventory) if you've beaten all the pirate-fighting Crossbones. Head all the way back to the right side of the bottom floor and enter the door leading right, previously locked. You'll go into the arsenal.

You won't be able to avoid too many enemies from now on, so it gets a bit annoying. Head right then down and out (you'll get that chest in a minute). The fat man on the right offers you a drink, but don't take it; more often than not it causes Poison in a character. Your after-battle healing should take care of your HP needs. Head left and ignore the openings in the wall; they're fake and just hold Wraiths. Head down the ladder to the left, then go right under the oars. Enter the room at the end here.

Look for a little white guy hiding between two cannons. When you try to talk to him, he'll run to the top left of the screen. Talk to him there and he'll run down a bit and to the right (top right corner of this section of the room). Talk to him again and he'll run to the lower left of the screen. Talk to him there and Pip will join your party. Pip's an interesting character; if you keep him in your party long enough, he'll actually evolve and his stats and Element grid will grow. However, he starts off pretty weak. It's up to you to decide whether to use him or not.

In any case, pick up the chest to the right (just north of where he hid the third time) for five Capsules, then go to the lower left and up along the canvas to get a Gravitonne Element (very nice, but don't equip it just yet). Now go to the lower right staircase to exit. Pick up the PhotonBeam, definitely equip it, and exit south. Save your game to your right, heal up if necessary, then climb up the ladder to your left.

You'll enter a battle with a few Wraiths and/or Tzetze Flies, no problem. Run to your left. After a short scene, you'll fight the boss, Dead Head. Actually, White Elements don't do all that much against him: not only will he cast Imbecile and Diminish, he'll use Black Elements so often that the White ones will be too weak due to the field effect to do any real damage. Try to use Green and Blue ones instead (but any ones besides Black are fine). Actually, physical damage is the best way to go. Keep everyone healed up (don't let HP go below 60). The battle will drag on a bit, but you'll eventually win a Star and Level 5 slots for most characters!

The fog has now dissipated, and apparently everyone in El Nido loves it, because all the Element shops (besides the one in Arni) have upgraded their stock. Buy up CurePlus, HealAll, and level 3 Elements in Termina, and higher-level White and Black Elements in Guldove. Gravitonne and MeteorShower (especially MeteorShower) can kick some major ass, so pick a few up. Marbule also has a new shop (Little Bro) but he sells currently useless Trap Elements. You might want to pick up a Magnify from him, though.

If you're in Macha's path, head back to Guldove and Doc's office. Strangely enough, there's Kid, up and about! Thank that mysterious stranger for it. Talk to Doc to get him to join your party. You'll also gain the Astral Amulet you never got in this path.

You now have an optional quest to follow: the Ice Breath quest. Using the Ice Breath allows you to harden the lava in Mt. Pyre, which means no annoying HP loss. It also means you can get Razzly's L.7 tech later in the game. I definitely recommend doing it. (This is where both Korcha and Macha's paths reconcile completely.) If you want to skip it, continue here.

Head to Opassa Beach and use the Amulet to return to Home Dimension. Enter Arni and speak with the old man on the docks with Leena twice. He'll offer to take you to Water Dragon Isle; say yes, of course.

If you have Razzly, make sure she's in your party for this segment. For starters, there's all these lily pads attached to islands which ferry you around. Each pad follows a two-way path (backwards and forwards). Here's what it looks like.

Up, top left, down, top left for AquaBall, then back down, top right, up, bottom right, bottom right, for IceBlast; then down, left, and top right to exit. There's a save point here. Before heading out, go right to the waterfall and search it for an Iron. Put Razzly in your party if she isn't already.

The dwarfs have taken over here. You don't have to fight any of the ones wandering around if you don't want to. With your iron equipment they're breezes, anyway; equip Bushbashers to make it even easier. Go to the far bottom right to pick up a Nimble, then go straight north and into the cave here (there aren't any more treasures on this screen).

You'll fight 3 DaffyDwarfs, 2 DaggyDwarfs, and 1 Dwarf here. This is exactly the same fight you had in Hydra Marshes in Korcha's path, but you're now stronger so it should be easier then before. MeteorShower works wonders. You'll get a Star when you win. After this, ignore all the blue doors and dwarfs running around, except for the very top left door, which leads to a Magic Ring. Climb down the lower left and exit south.

To your left is a save point, guarded by a DaggyDwarf, DaffyDwarf, and Dwarf. Head right and climb down twice, then go left. Enter the waterfall for a Scaley Dress (guarded by two DaggyDwarfs). It has higher magic defense but lower physical defense than the Iron Mail, and it can only be equipped on females. Anyway, head back left, down, and right for a boss battle.

You're up against the Hi-Ho Tank and its two mechanics (Dwarfs). First off, use MeteorShower to soften up the Dwarfs, then physical attacks to get rid of them. The Hi-Ho Tank uses a very nasty attack called Element Shot; it uses a random Element, but will always hit for somewhere around 80 HP; be sure to heal up after you're hit. Use Green Elements (Raz-Star works nice) against the tank. It'll be a bit long but not hard. You'll get a Star when you win.

Head right to see Rosetta lying against the right wall. If Razzly's in your party she'll stay there for now; change party members and head to the top right to meet the Blue Dragon, who'll give you the Ice Breath and your first Summoning Element, *FrogPrince, great for Leena. If Razzly was in your active party during the Hydra Humour quest, you'll get a Wisp Cape before you leave. (If you never got Razzly, you won't get the scene with Razzly but you will get an extra-special scene involving Kid and Serge after you get the Ice Breath.) You'll end up back at the lily pads. Go lower left, right, lower left to exit and talk to the fisherman to head back.

Before you do anything else, I'm going to speed things up a bit. Go back to the Hermit's Hideaway. There's a gray patch in the grass which the game tells you is very hot, when you walk over it. Use the Ice Breath on it to cool it down. This has no immediate ramifications, but will later on.

Heal up, make sure you have a few Ointments and lots of Tablets, and head to Pyre Shore, at the east of the main continent.

Enemies: Lava-Boy, HotDoggity, CatBurglar, Solt, Peppor, FireDragon, Karsh,, Marcy, Zoah

The lava here will sap your HP... very fast. If you have the Ice Breath you can cool it down by standing on it (you have to be slightly immersed in lava for it to work) and using the Ice Breath, but be careful: Any submerged chests will be frozen. Get the chests, then use the Ice Breath. Every screen is treated by itself (using the Breath on one screen means the others are still un-frozen). However, there's only one or two half-decent chests here, so let the others rot! If you don't have the Breath, however, you're in for a bit of a rougher ride. Make sure at least one character has a RecoverAll in his/her Level 1 slot so they can use it right away in battle. Another tactic is to run away as soon as you start battle, use Tablets, then enter battle again refreshed. Your call.

For starters, head straight left across the lava and pick up the MagmaBurst - this is the one decent chest here. Use the Ice Breath immediately if you have it, and from now on use it as soon as you walk on the lava. Now head to the top left (the Lava-Boys drop more MagmaBursts, if you like). There's a chest here guarded by a CatBurglar, but all it has is five Tablets. Continue north.

You'll be thrust into a battle with those comic relief dudes, Solt and Peppor, who'll demonstrate what Trap Elements are. It looks like they'll only use physical attacks here, so don't worry about this battle too much. If you haven't done the Ice Breath quest, you'll win a Star here. Continue north.

The path east here leads to a MagmaBomb Element and then back to the entrance, and it's NOT worth it, so just head to the top left. In here, if you want you can pick up an Inferno Trap Element to the left; you have to leave off the Ice Breath until you pick it up, if you want it. The chest to the far right has five Tablets, and up the little stairs to the right of the entrance has five Capsules. Exit northeast; there's a save point here. Equip high-level Blue Elements, and make sure Leena's NOT in your party.

Walk to the next screen to start a battle with the FireDragon. He's harder than he looks; he has a very strong fire breath attack which will totally decimate any Blue innate characters, and severely wound anyone else. His physical attack can also be powerful. Go at him with Blue Elements. He doesn't have a very lot of HP, so this fight will be a bit shorter than usual. You'll win a Star when he's done. Go back and save again, heal up, reinstate Leena if she was in your party before, and head to the top left for yet another battle... this time with the three Devas of the Acacia Dragoons.

Karsh and Marcy both have multi-target attacks (although Marcy's seems to be more powerful) and Zoah has strong single-target attacks. (When the Devas do physical attacks they shout out things, some of which can be funny, especially Marcy. 8-)) I recommend getting Karsh first because his HP is lowest; then go for Marcy, then Zoah. You can Pilfer a Stamina Ring off Zoah if you have Kid in your party. You'll get yet another Star (which gives most characters access to their Level 5 techs! Yeah!), a Gold Earring and two other prizes, then a scene and an FMV. Just exit to the top left. Mount Pyre can now be passed through like Lizard Rock, so if you need to heal up or buy more Elements, you can do so. When you're ready, head back through Mount Pyre to Fort Dragonia.

Enemies: Dragoon, Acacia PVT, Googhoul, Cybot, Alphabat, Combat, Paper Boy, GiantGloop, Taurusoid, SunOfAGun, Bunyip/Bunyip, Gen. Viper, Lynx

OK, here goes... First off, if you didn't finish the Ice Breath quest, you'll be faced with a battle witha Dragoon and an Acacia PVT. Use Blue Elements and MeteorShower to quickly finish off the PVT, then concentrate on the Dragoon. He can use some nasty physical attacks and single techniques, so be ready to heal if necessary. You can steal a Dragoon Gauntlet from him. When you win, you'll get a Star and the *FrogPrince summon.

Now enter the fort. You'll see four doors, each attached to a small circle on the floor and each representing one of the first four Elements. Your current goal is to activate a switch in each door. When all four switches are activated, you'll gain access to the rest of the fort and the last two switches; when those are done, you can get to the final battle. There's a save point in a convenient location, so you can save after each switch. All of the enemies and half of the bosses are dark Elements (Yellow/Red/Black) so using the other Elements (Green/Blue/White) will prove effective here. MeteorShower again kicks ass, especially in regular battles, as does Serge's newly usable Luminaire Level 5 tech.

Let's start easy, with the lower left door (Yellow). You'll see two Googhouls running around here; chances are you'll have to fight them anyway, so do so. You're now free to run around. Head to the bottom left of the screen (the maze isn't very hard to navigate), up the stairs at the end, then into the door to the left.

Here's how this puzzle works. Number your characters, from front to back, 1, 2, and 3. Now every combination of that, when you talk to the panel here, will change the position of a small platform outside. A problem is that you can change characters' order with the Select button (from 123 to 231 to 312) but not their positions. To do that, you'll have to walk outside and upwards, and onto the small blue tile, which will scramble your characters' positions so that when Serge is back in front, the other two characters' positions will be switched. This way, you can get all the possible combinations.

First off, just talk to it in the order 123. Now the platform connects to a blue button. When you hit the button, a staircase will open at the right side of the room.

Next, use position 231 (press Select once). You can now get to a chest at the left of the room, which holds an Earth Charm. There's a Charm for every Element (besides Green) in this fort, but I found them completely useless.

Now press Select again for position 312; you can now get the ElectroBolt at the top right by using the staircase you just opened on the right side of the room.

Finally, scramble your positions using the blue tile, and use position 321. Again by using the staircase at the right side of the room, you can access a tablet near the bottom of the screen, which will lower the central platform into the ground. You can now hit the red switch, and this door is done.

Now head to the bottom right door (Red). Again a puzzle. It depends on the way the gargoyle is facing. Take that direction as north; then, to his right is east, to his left is west, and behind him is south. Choose a direction, then you'll fall into a hole there (there are four holes). The direction he faces next depends on the last hole you fell into. I'll use regular directions so you know which hole I'm talking about:

The left hole leads to a red triangle which restores your HP (rather useless); the top hole leads to two Cybots (they have tough defense and attack, and a lot of HP, but are weak against magic), the bottom hole leads to four chests with a Flame Charm, Trap Volcano, MagmaBurst, and FirePillar; and the right hole leads to the switch. You're done. (To get the chests, then the switch, just go west twice.)

The other two are a bit tougher, mainly due to boss battles. Let's start with the top left (Blue). There's a lone Googhoul flapping around, but you can avoid it easily. Here's how THIS one works: There are three sets of two chests in the level; each set controls a ledge. Taking the chests from the front (the direction you open them in): Having both chests open or closed means the controlled ledge will be horizontal; having the left one open and the right one closed (remember, your left when you're facing them) will point it diagonally top-left/bottom-right; and having the left one closed and the right one open will point it diagonally in the opposite direction. You can walk on walkways between the sets of chests, and the top and bottom sets of chests control the same ledge. It's not that hard to navigate, but you'll have to do a bit of walking around.

That said, here's what each door holds, once you've swivelled the ledges around so that the ledge points to the right place and you can actually get to the ledge: The door straight to the left has the only chest, a Sea Charm; the door straight to the right has a battle with a Dragoon, which you really don't have to fight. The door to the lower right has a blue button which will let down a staircase (in case you want to return and save), and the switch, which is guarded by a GiantGloop.

The Gloop has very high defense, some powerful techs (including one that can freeze you or turn all three field effects Blue), and can lower Evade % for the entire party. Red and other Dark techs work well for this one. Keep one character at a high enough Element level to be able to use HealAll on the party. When you win you'll get a Star and access to the switch; you're done here.

Now for the final room, top right (Green). This is not only the most confusing section, it also has the most enemies. Watch out for the Paper Boys' PaperMoon attack; it can be really bad on the wrong character (i.e. Razzly).

At the start, you have a choice of going straight or left up the stairs; go straight to the next screen. Then head left down the stairs, down, right through the blue door; you can now go upstairs or down; choose down, left through the bottom blue door, and up the stairs for a Bushbasher and HealAll Element. Now go back downstairs and right, and this time head up the stairs. Follow the path left and down to the next screen for an Antidote x5. Now head all the way back to the start.

This time head left up the stairs, follow the path to the right and the next screen. Follow the path around, and at the intersection (down or up) go down for (eventually) a Trap Tornado, then return to the intersection and go up; follow the path to exit at the top left. First head down for an AeroBlaster (your first Level 4 Green Element), then head up, around, down, around to the left, and hit the blue button to drop a staircase back to the start. I recommend going back and saving your game, just in case. Go back to the button and head up two screens for another boss battle with the Taurusoid.

This guy has pretty nasty single attacks, but he has two major weaknesses: He's extremely slow, and he heals himself. While he heals himself, he can't attack you. Heal up if you need to (keep HP above 90 or so), and let loose with good Yellow attacks like ElectroBolt (you should have plenty of them if you did the Ice Breath quest). A long fight, but not too bad. When he goes down you'll get another Star and access to the fourth switch. A new door will now appear in the central screen.

Save your game, then enter the door. Whew! There's the white switch already! Nope, not that easy, you have to beat SunOfAGun first. This is an interesting battle, as this guy has very high defense AND magic defense, but very low HP. It periodically changes modes, but I can't tell the difference. It uses AntiBlack (very bad), an attack called KissyWissy which puts a character to sleep, and a very nasty HolyLight (DO use HealAll after this!) Elements still do more damage than physical attacks, but don't let your Stamina go down too much. Use Red or Yellow attacks if he uses AntiBlack on you. When you beat him you'll get another Star (and your sixth Element level for most characters), an Iron Component and access to the white switch, which will also lower an elevator. Save your game, then get on it. Going down yields nothing, just a broken machine with some eggshells in it which is currently unusable. Go up for a very familiar location...

Yep, we're back in the intro. Only this time it's real. You can head to the bottom left to grab a look at the black switch if you like. Get out and head to the bottom right. Whoa! Where did all those enemies and chests come from! Oh well. First, head down, right, and below the warp platform you used before to pick up five Capsules. Go back left and follow the path upstairs and down to the next screen. This staircase is now guarded by a Dragoon (although not as tough as the one at the entrance to the fort). Use similar tactics, but it's a much shorter fight. Head up and left to the next screen.

This time, take the staircase straight down. At the top left here is another MeteorShower (you should have enough of these already) and at the bottom right is a door leading to an Angel Charm. Head back up that staircase and head right. Ignore the first staircase to the top right, but take the second one to get a Daemon Charm guarded by an Acacia PVT. Head to the top left door for your boss fight.

This guy, Bunyip, is innately RED... weird, huh? It uses MagmaBomb against you, but not much else; it won't have a chance to because once you get it down a bit, it'll transform into a particularly gruesome Black innate monster. Make sure to Pilfer off of it; you can get a valuable FreeFall Element. White Elements, as always, are useful. This guy has lower physical defense than usual, but it's your Elements that will still be the best (MeteorShower kicks ass). Watch out for status effects (although you can't do anything about them right now) and his Gravitonne spell. He should be fairly easy compared to earlier bosses. When you win you'll get another Star and the final switch, which will not only activate the plaform, it'll add a ladder below it leading back to the start. So go ahead, take the bottom right staircase you ignored before, across the platform and down, back to the elevator, go down and save (if you like playing around with the characters you have now, including Serge, I suggest you save on a DIFFERENT save slot). De-equip any non-active characters from any good armor or weapons, then head back up to the platform and... well, you know the drill.

You'll be treated to yet another FMV when you open the door... but also a boss battle with General Viper. Viper has some bad physical attacks, but his techs aren't too nasty, and his HP is low. (Supposedly he's just warming up.) You can Pilfer a Stamina Ring off of him. You'll get another Star... but then, damn that Lynx, you've gotta take him.

Lynx has the worst physical attacks of anyone yet, and he's smart enough to target your weakest character (and to use correct Elements, too). Each attack can take over 40 HP, and he can do them up to 4 times in a row! Have some strong healing magic. His techs will hurt Serge bad, so watch out. White Elements will do the trick here, as you might expect; do your best to keep the field element White. You might be able to Pilfer a Sky Djinn Ring off of him. When you win, you'll get another Star and be treated to a very strange scene. Try moving around after that and... what was that?!

You'll be thrust into a battle with... your own party! You play as Lynx... man, talk about irony. Now you know how it feels to be confronted by an intrepid group of kick-ass youngsters. You'll die, of course, don't worry. (It IS possible to beat them if you're in New Game+, and the scene changes slightly, but the final effect is the same.)

Memory Card Save: "Temporal Vortex - Where lost souls wander..."
"Back from the Darkness - And on with a new journey..." (after arriving in the swamp)
"The Lost Portal - Isolation of people from the world..." (after trying the Amulet on the beach)

Hoo boy... that's right, you now play as Lynx. You've still retained your Swallow, but all your techniques are now Black ones, and you'll have to re-equip your Elements and accessories (don't worry, all the ones from your party are back in your inventory). Your HP is down to 1, but don't bother healing. First thing, let's see just what the hell's going on.

Go left and climb up the cliff to see a blue door, which is locked. You'll get to it in a minute, but your first priority is getting that chest you see. Head right, into the hole and up, then go up the hard-to-see path just left of the hole, around to the left, and push the rock down. Go back down the hole, and this time go into the hole to your left past the waterfall, and push the rock down yet again; you can now get the chest by going left from the locked door. It's a Revive, which you really really want.

Now go right of the locked door and walk onto what looks like a giant palm frond. You'll knock a berry down; the locked door will open and a strange little green feller will jump out and run after the berry. Before she gets back to the door, hightail it inside.

The impish creature will introduce 'erself az Sprigg, give you a long, depressing speech, then let you sleep the night away. When you awaken, you can go down the ladder to the right to save your game. When you try to leave, Sprigg will join your party. I find that she's a lot more fun in New Game+. Her skill, Doppelgang, allows you to change her into monsters she's defeated. However, since her normal form is fairly weak and can't equip any decent Elements, I find that she's kind of useless till New Game+. Right now, though, beggars can't be choosers.

Head back up to the top of the screen and enter that large towerish structure, where you'll be treated to something out of M.C. Escher's nightmares, and Harle, who seems quite at home in the surroundings. After you finish listening to her, look on the top floor for Serge, who'll enter one of the rooms. Follow him by entering the door in the same direction but on your floor. When you come out your floors will be reversed (he'll be below, you on top). Keep following him by using the door with the same direction on the other floor. (If you mess up, another playable character besides Serge will be walking around, and you'll have to start over with entering the same door he/she/it does, after which it'll be Serge again.) You will eventually come out in a room which is physically impossible. Harle loves it, of course. She'll join up as well, giving you a complete party. She's a pretty strong character.

For starters, hit the switch to your lower right and look at what happens: A pathway near a fairly central pillar will change. Head to that pillar and follow the path to the lower right. A chest at the top right holds a Mythril, and to the bottom right holds a Pendragon Sigil C. Now go back to that switch and hit it again to return the path to normal; go back to the pillar and follow the new path to the lower left.

In the lower left section of the screen, two paths cross over one another. First take the top (leading top-right) path for a Mythril, then take the lower path and the staircase. Head towards the big hole in the bottom right and you'll end up back in Hydra Marshes, in your Home dimension. The warp back to the Vortex disappears, but it'll come back later. For now, Harle drops a hint to head back to Opassa Beach, so do so. (Oh, and all the characters you had before Fort Dragonia are no longer usable... them's the breaks.)

Try using the Astral Amulet... "?!" you say. "!!" I say. Yep, you're stuck. Go save your game, then head back to Arni and talk to your mother.

Memory Card Save: "The Lost Portal - Isolation of people from the world..."
"Termina - Knight or day...?" (after beating Radius)

Looks like you're not very popular in your new form... jeez. First off, go say hi to the shop lady near the bottom of the screen; she now carries Mythril equipment. Buy a Silver Swallow and another Mythril Mail. Now head into your house and talk to your mother; Radius will come in and challenge you to a fight.

Radius isn't very tough; his main problem is his high evade stat. Use Sprigg's Lagoonate morph for an easy win. When you do win you'll get another Star, and he'll join your party and tell you to head for Termina. Switch him for Sprigg for now. On your way, though, you'll have to pass through the now-open Fossil Valley.

Nothing much has changed here. Head up to the top screen; behind the large skull to the left is a new window frame, Infrared Vision (one of the better ones, IMO), and at the top left, behind a Drongo, is a Mythril. Head down the bottom left ladder for another Mythril, guarded by a jumping and squawking Dodo whom you can nevertheless evade. In fact, you can get through this whole level easily without getting into a fight. Exit to the top left of the first screen, as usual. Now you can head into Termina.

Quite a bit has changed here. Termina has been taken over by Porre, so they're all over the place. You can head into Lisa's to stock up on Elements, including the new WhiteOut and BlackOut. Go into the back room to find out that her father's gone mushroom hunting. You can't get into the docks section yet, but talk to the soldier guarding it anyway. Apparently there are some pluses to being a big scary cat-man.

Head right then up. Enter Zappa's smithery and talk to him once or twice to get him to join you; he's looking for the Rainbow Shell. He'll also give you the Smith Spirit, an incredibly useful item that can be used on the world map and save spots to forge equipment whenever you like; it'll upgrade itself as you progress in the game. Go south to see a new kind of trader, previously Zappa's assistant. This one will not only give you metals for fairly cheap (you can even trade for Mythrils!) he will also trade you other components for a fraction of the previous levels, with a catch: they have to be a certain Element. Since you can buy any and all Level 2 status Elements for 15G a pop (well, except for Black/WhiteOut), you should have no problems, so take advantage and buy them all up. You shouldn't need any more Mythril, though.

Head out and up into Van's house, which seems a lot smaller here. Enter the right room and talk to Van. Let me warn you to act nice throughout this scene if you want Van in your party. Play along with everything he says (tell him you want a guide, say you're looking for the Frozen Flame) and he'll join you.

There's nothing along the shrines area right now (presumably Greco is out exorcising things) so just head out of Termina (use the Smith Spirit to make two Mythril Helmets; you should have two Mythril Mails coming equipped on characters and have made one Mail already; the only weapon that needs upgrading is the Silver Swallow, which you should have already done; and you'll find a third Mythril Helmet in a moment) and back into Viper Manor.

To get the best scene here, have Radius and Harle in your party. The soldiers will let you through the front gate. Head down and into the well, and try to ignore the rubble that used to be a nice dungeon level before. Inside the well, climb to the top left and into the cave (this had a grate behind it in Another World, remember?) First thing, head left, up the stairs onto dry land, then follow the path around. You'll see a chest behind a soldier to the right of some square white bunkers; go behind the bunkers to get the Mythril Helmet. Go back to the start and follow the water this time; the exit's on the top left. Go up, and to the far right door, to talk with Norris, who'll tell you about the Dead Sea, then enlist in your party. You'll end up back at the docks in Termina, with... A BOAT! However, I'd actually put off large-scale exploration for the moment, except for three places on the main continent: Shadow Forest, Viper Manor Sewers, and Viper Manor Bluffs; and a few minor places of interest.

All the monsters here are slightly stronger than before, but still no match for you. For a complete walkthrough from the Another World version, check here. The chests are in different locations, though. For starters, go left one screen. The chest straight to the north (guarded by a Cuscus) holds five Capsules. Go to the top left of this screen to pick up a Mythril. Go back to the lower left and keep going till you reach the huge lake to the north (you'll come back to the little waterfall cave later). The chest inside the water to the top right holds a Trap Carnivore Element.

Go into the cave and up again one screen. There's a hole in the land on the left side of the screen. If you didn't block this in Another World to stop the flow of fish, a Wraith will be in front of the hole. Beat it to get a Mushroom. If you did block it up, just head to the lower right of this screen (of the main bit, not the very bottom) and poke around there; you'll get the Mushroom anyway. Now head back to the waterfall cave (where the Aroma Pouch used to be). Talk to the man there and accept his offer; he'll eat the dubious mushroom and turn into Funguy! He'll join you automatically. Pick up the chest behind him for a Forest Charm (the only one you never got in Fort Dragonia). That's it for this place. Head back to where you got the Mushroom and go up one screen to reach the entrance to the Viper Manor sewers again.

Now that you've got Norris, the Viper Manor is open for exploration... well, what's left of it, anyway. Start by heading down the well and going through the doorway (like you did to get to Norris's office before). Or, you can go through Shadow Forest as noted above to get to the same spot. Anyway, the underwater section is now teeming with Alphabats. (If you have problems with these, I have no clue how you got to this point.) Start by going to the island of land near the top right and pushing the barrel into the water. Now go to the lower left, onto the large land mass, up and around, and push the second barrel in. They'll form a bridge leading to the blue staircase to the left. Go in and tighten the valve to stop the water flow. Ah, but how to get to the water? Go back out the well and search the rubble to the right. At one point (near the top of the rubble; you can see a soldier among the stones to the right) you can climb up the rubble, and if you examine the end of the path near the soldier you'll see a sinkhole. Jump in.

Now you're in sewer central, where besides Alphabats you'll also be confronted by Witchettys. They're not too tough, but they can create Gloops, which is annoying. Get them with Red Elements. For starters, go into the water and hold right. You'll manage to snag the topmost path; head up and follow it for a precious Revive Element. Go back in the water stream and hold right again to reach the lower path.

Follow the path to the staircase down, then go up the topmost left path and hit the wheel at the end. Go back to the intersection and take the topmost right path; follow it to the next screen till you reach a ladder and a valve, which you should tighten. Go back to the previous screen and take the lowest left path. Jump in the water and head right.

Go upstairs (going down leads back to the previous screen), then right, down, and right; the chest at the upper right holds a Carapace Dress. Go to the middle of the horizontal path along the bottom and jump in the water. Go left and up to the same valve you tightened before and open it. Go down and right and climb the blue ladder to reach three more ladders. Climb up the middle one for a Mythril Vest. You're done here. Go all the way back to the beginning (you'll have to tighten that last valve again to get through) and let the first water stream carry you back to the original sewer section via the waterfall. Exit via the well. You can check out one more spot if you like; take your boat to the back of Viper Manor.

You shouldn't actually need any of these items (you can easily buy Capsules and trade for Mythrils in Termina). The chests are exactly in the same spots as they were in Another World; check the previous walkthrough for tips on how to get to them. However, no annoying boulders this time, and the enemies are super-weak. 8-) The very first chest (gotten by heading right at the very beginning) holds five Capsules; the rest hold Mythrils. You can't get anywhere at the top, so once you've got the last chest just head back to your boat.

By the way, from this point on you can access the Bend of Time. It's the small round island between the main island and Marbule. You can fight any enemies you've missed in here, and in New Game+ there's extra challenges as well.

Head to the Hermit's Hideaway at the top right of the world map. Go inside. On the ledge at the top left (hidden a bit) is a Resistance Ring; climb the ladder for an Energizer Suit (weaker than Mythril Mail, but it restores HP continuously). This is where all the "cutesy" characters will eventually hang out. 8-) In fact, if you got Razzly as Serge, she'll be wandering around here! But you can't get her to join. Also, if you used the Ice Breath on the hot patch in Another Hermit's Hideaway, you'll see a plant growing here, but you can't pull it up just yet.

Now you should stop off in Guldove. You can't do much here, but take a gander at the Element Shop; basically, you're never going to be able to buy better Elements than here. Stock up on anything that seems useful, especially Purify Elements. You can also enter the hidden room at the back of the residential tower for five Tablets (yay).

Now head to the El Nido Triangle at the south end of the map. Maneuver your ship onto the large blue spot and press X over it to enter the Triangle (yeah, you can breathe underwater). You can easily avoid the enemies on this screen, which I'd recommend: the Schoolmates are fairly easy, but the Puffys can do some major damage, so watch out. The chest at the top right holds a Mythril, and the next screen is reached via the top left.

On this screen, first head to the lower left and follow the path for another Mythril. Go back to the entrance to this screen and now head to the top right. There are four enemies (two sets of Puffys and two of Schoolmates) circling a chest in the center of the screen. As soon as you get the chest (a Star Fragment) they'll all attack you one by one. Heal frequently while fighting the Puffys (their NeedleWork can do over 120 damage!) and use your strongest Elements, especially Green. When all four sets are gone, you're free to leave.

Save, then go to Sky Dragon Isle, at the left of the world map. Climb up to the center of the island, and examine the chest to start a boss fight. MegaStarky has a hell of a lot of HP, but his attacks are fairly lacklustre. Watch out for MeteorShower, though, as not only does it do moderate damage, it also causes Fatigue. He doesn't use it very often, though. When you win you'll get a MagNegate Element, then Starky will shrink and steal your Star Fragment! Run after him and catch him with the X button. If you're quick you can get him right away; otherwise just try to cut him off. When you catch him he'll join your party.

Finally, exit the island, then re-enter and go back to where you fought Starky. Talk to the man to get a new window frame, My Favorite Martian.

To end this bit, head back to Arni Village with Starky in your party. Bring him to the large sawfish on the first screen; he'll pick up the Plasma Pistol, which can be equipped on either him or Norris. All right, you're done with the optional part, now to advance the story.

Head to Marbule and go inside. Kind of empty...? Talk to the Great Explorer Toma and ask him both about the village and the Dead Sea. Now enter the house on the lower left (first one you see when you enter the village) and rest there. In the middle of the night you'll hear a sound; go investigate. You'll see a mermaid crying on the bridge, but she'll run away. When you try to leave Marbule, she'll speak to you. Your next destination is the S.S. Zelbess, near the northeastern edge of the map.

Here's an interesting segment. Not a lot of fighting, but a lot of fun. For starters, climb up to the deck (there's only one way to go) and enter the staircase to the right, leading down. Inside the first door you see is a lot of people talking about Nikki's concert, and Miki is looking out to sea. The next place you should head for is Fargo's room, which is up the short stairs to the left. The casino is just below his room; keep its location in mind. When you enter Fargo's room you'll see a scene with him and Irenes, but you can't do anything else right now. Go back to the hall and down the ladder.

First, check out the first door to your right for an interesting magic show with Sneff, an arthritic illusionist. Nothing else to see right now, so head out. (If you go back in, you'll see a familiar duo with a rather dull sideshow. 8p) The next door is locked, but the one after that has what you want. Ask the old man about the Marbule Sage... man, he seems elusive. Follow him out the door to see him walk past the pirate guarding the door to the Grand Slam... and you can't get in without Fargo's permission. Sigh, go ahead back to the captain's room and ask him.

Cap'n Fargo places a bet: entry to the Grand Slam against your boat! There's nothing else you can do, so go along with it. Go to the casino below. You can try to play your best, but you'll LOSE! And now you're stuck. He seems rather confident for a game of luck, no? Let's investigate. Head down the ladder again; this time go into the inn on the lower left. Something's up with that demi-human, but if you could move around like a cat it'd be easier, hmmm... Well, why don't we return to the magic show (first room to the right of the ladder) and find out?

Yep, you've now been turned into cats! (Harle has an interesting pattern on her fur, non, cherie?) You can escape Sneff, but let him catch you for an interesting bit of information. Either way, you're free to crawl around. First things first, head back to the inn, under the desk via the top edge of it, and up the stairs, to reveal that... Fargo's a lowdown cheater, yep, you got it. And get it, too: the handle of that machine, that is. Before you try to change back, though, head up the ladder again to the top floor. The cat will give you a tip. The kitchen (two doors from the right) is locked, but there's a cat door next to the door. Enter and talk to the cat to get the Monster Mouth window frame, and open the chest in the top right for a Frypan Ag47.

Now head out and right to the deck. Climb up the mast on the left all the way, then right (follow the cat) to reach Nikki's ship. Enter that top door to see a scene involving Nikki and Irenes. (You don't HAVE to see this event, but it's nice to do so.) You can also talk to Fargo in his room for another scene. Now you're done with your feline stint, go back to the magic room and enter the cat door on the right-hand side of the room to end up back in the staff room, where Sneff will restore you. (Talk to Solt and Peppor... er, Lank and Stout for a funnily funny conversation!) Head out and back to Fargo's room, challenge him again, go back to the casino, and now he'll lose big time. You've got your ship back, and access to the Grand Slam.

Save your game at the Inn if you like, then head back down the ladder and to the right to enter the Grand Slam. The actual Grand Slam is down the ladder here. I'd recommend not going there right now. You can win three items and get a new character, but I'd wait until Sprigg has learned some more morphs, as your current ones are all but useless. You can go here if you really want to see, though. For now, head out one of the doors leading outside. Keep following the Sage as he goes in and out and eventually he'll confront you. Ask him about the Dead Sea and tell him you'll fight him.

He's White-Elemental, so Lynx and Harle will do nicely here. Even if the other character isn't Black, Sage will cast TurnBlack and then PhotonBeam, guaranteed to do at least 150 HP of damage each time; heal up quickly. His attacks are medium-strength, but he's fast. When you win you'll get a Star and a Mythril Helmet, and he'll give you the Fiddler Crab. Nikki will also show up and follow the Sage out.

You're not done yet, though. Stop by the casino to see Sneff win it big, then go back to the staff room (now open) to get him to join your party. Now head back to the deck, climb up the mast again, and talk to the pirate to be shuttled to Nikki's ship. Enter the lower door for another scene. You don't HAVE to see this scene, but if you don't, you'll miss out on a LOT of good stuff, including the ability to make Rainbow equipment. Talk to Irenes to get her to join you as well; she's a pretty good character for now, and your first Blue Element with Lynx. Now you're free to leave the ship.

Memory Card Save: "Marbule - The village of the demi-humans..."
"The Masamune - The blood-stained sword of evil..." (after seeing the Masamune)
"The Dead Sea - A place forsaken by the gods..." (after beating Garai)

Take your ship until it's touching the lower left part of that huge circle of smoke that is the Dead Sea, then use the Fiddler Crab (move around a bit if it doesn't work) to open the path to Death's Door. Enter, but Radius will show up (if he's not in your party) and tell you that you can't get further without the Einlanzer. First go back to the Hermit's Hideout where you'll see a flashback. Wait for Radius to come back out and you'll get the Garai Keepsake. Now go east to the Isle Of The Damned. Take Harle out of your party if she's there!

Go up and around to the left and fight the WillO'Wisps. Notice when you beat it that there's a little flash and the door opens? Also notice that it comes back to life? There are two more doors on this screen, one at the top left and one at the bottom right, which are both closed. To get them to open, lure the WillO'Wisp towards you (you have to walk fairly close in front of it, otherwise it'll lose interest) and go to the door. If you touch it by mistake while trying to lure it, just run away from the battle. Fight it in the right spot, right in front of the door, and the door will open; there's a chest in each door. The top left one has an Earthquake Element (useful for Yellow innate characters) and the bottom right one has a Carapace. Go back to the left, brightly lit door.

All the doors here close in on themselves and become dead ends, besides for one. To get there, go down THROUGH the large spine near the right side of the screen to end up on the left side. Go up and use the Garai Keepsake to continue.

There's yet another WillO'Wisp here. There's also a weird-looking suit of armor at the bottom left. Lure the WillO'Wisp towards the armor and fight it there; the armor will come to life and attack you. It's not that tough. When you beat it you'll get a Golden Tiara. There's one more locked door (down the ladder to the right of the central door) which holds an Inferno (you may have a few already from fighting all those WillO'Wisps). Get it if you like, then head into the central door.

Examine the gravestone (man, that's spooky) for another scene with Radius, a flashback, and a fight with Garai. This guy is fast, strong, and will be particularly devastating to Lynx, so make sure the other two characters have the Revives. If you stole FreeFall off of the boss in Fort Dragonia, this will be a bit easier, as it does huge damage (all Black Elements do). Make sure to heal up Lynx (and anyone else) quickly! Once he starts crouching it's almost over, so go all out. When you win you'll get a Star and a Dragoon's Honour, plus the Einlanzer. (Glenn can equip this, but you don't have him right now...) Now you're ready to take on the Dead Sea, so prepare yourself and head out there!

The enemies here aren't particularly tough, and they're easily avoidable, to boot. You've entered a sort of mini-world map (you can save and use Tele-Porter and Smith Spirit wherever you want). Start by going up at the intersection for an AntiRed, then into the Highway Ruins. Ignore the staircase leading up and go north to the left of it. Climb up, turn right at the street to get a Screw. Go back to the left side and climb up again, go around left into the structure there for another Screw. Now go across the bridge to the right, and down the steps. Up leads to a Mythril, down leads to a valuable FreeFall Element... which will really make you fall, down back to the beginning, conveniently. Now take the staircase up and right. Go down for five Capsules, then back up for a boss battle with the Highwayman.

This guy isn't really all that tough. He's strong, but really slow. Use White Elements on him. He can cause Darkness, which is nasty because it prevents you from raising your Element Level, so you might want to equip some BlackOuts or Purifys. You'll get a Star when you win (and some characters will get a level 7 Element level!); head up to go back to the pseudo-world map.

Go down at the intersection for an AntiBlue, then left at the next one for an AntiYellow. Enter the City Ruins. Head right as soon as you can for a Resistance Belt (useful). Go down and left, and into the structure. There's a chest on the left side of the room with an Earring of Light (upgrade to the Gold Earring). Go up and push the red button. Norris (if he's not in your party, he'll show up) will interact with the screen and you'll see some familiar info there... now head out.

Go down a bit and right, and into the little structure here; poke around for some Kung-fu Shoes (but don't go further north or you'll fight a Geos). At the bottom left of the screen is a chest "guarded" by a Geos (you can go around it) which holds a Stamina Ring. Exit to the south. Back on the "map", go to the bottom left for an AntiGreen, then save your game and enter the Tower of Geddon.

Memory Card Save: "The Dead Sea - A place forsaken by the gods..."
"A Portal Reopened - And the planet began to shake..." (after beating Miguel)

Start by going up the first two staircases. Go left and around for a Feather. Now go back to the staircase, and right into the blue door. Go to the bottom right and talk to the Geos there, who'll walk up towards the steps. Follow him and pick up the Station Pass he dropped. Now go to the bottom right of the screen, go up, around, and down for a Purify Element. Go up along the right side of the screen, left, through the gates to the north, and stop off to the right for a HolyLight Element (great, but don't equip it just yet). Go into the blue door to the left and search at the bottom right for the Medical Book, which you'll use much later if you got Doc in your party before. Go back right, and use the tube south to get back to the main hall.

Go up the third staircase. Go right and around for a Mythril. Now go back and to the lower left, press the red switch, and select 1F. Go back down all three staircases and into the circular blue chamber to the left to pick up a Trashy Tiara. It's useless to equip, but you can disassemble it for a bunch of nice components. Finally, head back up the staircases into the blue door to the top left.

Lynx will see something here, weird... The Tragediennes here each have a "specialty" which they'll announce at the start of battle. This ranges from Fireball, to HolyLight and BlackHole, and even RecoverAll (healing your own party). If you're lucky you can trap some nice Elements, but I just say listen to the order of who does what and get the most dangerous ones first. They'll announce them in the order of A, B, C, D.

Start off by going to the bottom left, and follow the ramp to get a Feather. Now go up along the right side, and you'll reach an intersection shaped like an X (you just came up the lower right end). Top right leads to a Prop Sword in a green area (you'll use it much later if you got Pierre before), bottom left leads to a HealAll, and top left leads out.

Follow the path till you reach a large circle thing; Lynx will have another vision. First go left, up the ladder, and up the next ladder. Hold left (walk into the light, my child...) and keep pressing X to search for a Mythril. Go back down one ladder, then all the way to the right for a SealAll. Return to the circle thing, and go up to exit.

You'll see a nasty sight here... all the Dragoons from this world, frozen in time forever. Gives me shivers, brrr... Head to the top left, then bottom left for a Diminish (which you might want to equip for the next battle). Then head through the portal at the top. It'll remain open if you should want to return (if you missed anything, you can't return to the Dead Sea once you finish the level!)

Now go to the right to see a save point and a familiar friend, an Enertron, which will heal HP and status effects. Start by going straight up (all the kids are there now) then right and up for a Screwy Dress. Go back to the start of the room, this time go left around the center, head left before the exit for a HellBound Element. Save your game if you haven't, then head up into the final screen. Examine the tablet on the left side of the structure here for a very long scene to pan out, after which you'll end up fighting Miguel.

This guy is TOUGH. He uses StrongMinded on himself and WeakMinded and AntiBlack on you. His HolyDragSwd is very nasty against one character, especially Lynx (make sure the Revives are on the other characters!) Bring along lots of Yellow and Red Elements in case he casts AntiBlack on you - and lots of healing. Watch out when he's critical: he'll cast MeteorShower and HolyLight soon after - heal up after MeteorShower right away! He has a high evade stat as well, so good luck... there's some of that too (luck) involved in this fight. When you win you'll get a Star and a Dreamer's Scarf.

Another scene/FMV, and you'll end up on Marbule's island. But guess what: Opassa Beach is open to your Astral Amulet now, and you can now buy Stone equipment via your Smith Spirit (d'oh, don't have any Denadorite yet...). Anyway, for advancing the story, head back to Opassa Beach and use the Astral Amulet. You'll get another interesting scene, then go back to Arni to find that... everyone's hiding from... Serge! Lucky you're not him any more. You'll have to return to Fossil Valley, as it won't let you through.

Memory Card Save: "A Portal Reopened - And the planet began to shake..."
"Back to Viper Manor - A captive audience awaits..." (after getting Karsh/Zoah)

Before heading to Fossil Valley, make sure to stop off in Arni. Examine the pile that the Element/equipment seller used to be next to for your first Rainbow Shell. You can't use it yet (and not at all for quite a while) though. Fossil Valley has absolutely nothing new besides different (harder) enemies. Your main problem lies in Termina, where the Porre military has taken over the town.

Head into the bar, where the bar lady will unlock the door on the left which has been locked the whole game. Go to the far left of this small room, face up, and press X to enter a secret room. When you try to explore it, though, you're cornered by Karsh and Zoah! Don't worry, they're on your side now. They tell you your next goal: to break into Viper Manor and rescue Riddel. One of them will tag along to help you. I recommend Karsh, since he has higher stats and you'll want a strong Green Element along with you. You'll get the other one eventually, no worries. One last thing, take Van to his "other" house here and have him talk to his "other" father. He'll get a bigger piggybank (this affects his L.7 PiggyBoink technique, when he gets it). Also, if you didn't get Greco yet, stop by his house (left, then down from the main screen) for him to join you. (If he already joined you when you had Serge, he won't do it now.) If you happened to have collected all of Skelly's parts but didn't have him join you, you can do that now too (upper right house on the main screen) That's it for now, try leaving town to see a scene with this world's Norris; you can now enter Viper Manor yet again.

Enemies: Spearfisher, Lantern Jaw, Roachester, Hell's Cook, Porre PVT, Porre SGT, Grobyc, Guillot

New Characters: NeoFio (if you missed her before); Orcha, Grobyc, Riddel, Viper, Fargo, Marcy; Karsh OR Zoah; Pip (Phew!)

Memory Card Save: "Back to Viper Manor - A captive audience awaits..."
"Surprise Attack!!! - Pursuers with heavy-hearts..." (after rescuing Riddel)
"To the Sea of Eden - Through the hidden holes in time..." (after the Dragoons join you)

Well, we're back. You can explore a bit (if you got NeoFio before, check the balcony for a funny scene... she still won't join you yet, though. If you have the Life Sparkle but didn't have her join you, you can get her to join now by using it on the flower in the balcony.) Your first destination is the Parlor (leftmost door on the first floor). I'm not sure if you can open it without the Parlor Key, which is in the basement on the left side of the screen (which you should have gotten after you finished the manor the first time). Anyway, Norris gives you the Prison Key here. Head down to the lower floor (you can save in the leftmost door if needs be) and press X next to the floor hatch to go inside.

If you did the Viper Manor Sewers section back in Home World this should look familiar to you (in fact, I'll be cutting and pasting from that section later, dum-de-dum...) The enemies are Spearfishers here, though. They can freeze you, so get them with Red Elements as quick as you can. Anyway, at the very start you can't do anything but be washed downstream by the waterfall. For starters, wade in the water to the lower right exit and kick the grate there, dislodging the chest; you can get it later. For now, go to the island of land near the top right and push the barrel into the water. Now go to the lower left, onto the large land mass, up and around, and push the second barrel in. The chest behind the white bunkers holds a Humour. The barrels will form a bridge leading to the blue staircase to the left. Go in and tighten the valve to stop the water flow. Head to the top left of the screen (stop off and get the submerged Denadorite, your first one) and then climb the ladder at the top left.

You're back in the lower floor. Save your game in the leftmost door if you want (use your Smith Spirit to make a Stone Mail with your new Denadorite), then go into the kitchen (second from left). Head to the top left and go in that grate. Enter the water stream, then hold right to get to the top path. The chest here holds a valuable Magic Seal; ignore the blob for now. Re-enter the water stream and hold right again to enter the lower path.

Go up (going down leads back to the previous screen), then right, down, and right; the chest at the upper right holds a Nimble Element. Go to the middle of the horizontal path along the bottom and jump in the water. Go left and up to the same valve you saw before and open it. Go down and right; you'll be ambushed by Roachester. It's not that tough a monster; it has some fair single- and multi-attacks, but has low HP and speed. You shouldn't have to heal very often. When you beat it you'll get a Star and an Elbow Pad. Head right and up the ladder to reach three more ladders. Your aim is the far right one, but try the other two first for the hell of it. 8-)

Head to the far right for a save point; redistribute your Elements, make sure you have strong Blue, White, and especially Green Elements. Now enter the far right door. You'll start a battle with the Hell's Cook. This guy has some nasty Red magic, so use Blue Elements to keep the field effect in your favor. He can heal his HP but not by a lot. It'll take longer than you're used to, but it's not too bad. Another Star when you win, Orcha will join your party, and you'll end up in the front hall. However, trying to leave in the front door yields no response, and both sides are blocked by Porre PVTs. Going up to the next floor is the only option.

When you reach the next floor you'll start a battle with two Porre PVTs and a Porre SGT. They're a laugh; a single FeralCats from Lynx can get them all at once. Next is a fight with Grobyc, which is a bit harder. He has high Stamina (can attack several times) and strong techs, both single and multi. Plus he can heal himself for a fair bit of HP, but doesn't do it very often. He's a bit slow. When he's low on HP he'll use Vigora, which means his next move will be an attack - which he can do up to 8 or 9 times in a row! Watch out. Use White Elements as much as possible. You'll get yet another Star when you win, but you'll be thrust into a battle with Guillot.

This is a one-trick pony; he uses a strong single tech which will probably leave a character as critical. Heal up quickly and blast it with Green Elements. It's easier than it looks, because this guy has only 1000 HP. When you win you'll be thrust into deja vu as you remember the X-ATM monster from FF8. You can't run away from this one, though! You'll fight it one more time before finishing. After a scene, Grobyc will join your party and you'll end up outside the Manor, with... a BOAT!! No explorations just yet, save your game and do some more story junk first. If you really really like Harle, save in a different slot.

Take your boat to Hermit's Hideaway. Riddel will join your party when you talk to her. After another scene you'll come to on the S.S. Invincible (the new headquarters for the Acacia Dragoons). Go inside to get a slough of new characters (all three Devas plus Viper and Fargo). You'll then make your way to the Dead Sea (de-equip Harle of any goodies), where Harle tells you your next bit of gameplay: beating the six Dragons and getting the Dragon Tear. It doesn't matter what you say when she asks her question. If you have Starky, a cute (and sad) sequence will play out and Harle will disappear at the end of it; if not, she'll just disappear. 8-( Nope, she never comes back.

One final thing, in case you want to: head back into the S.S. Invincible and enter the far right room on the bottom floor, where Pip will re-join you. If you're building him up, you'll want him as early as possible, so go ahead. 8-) Your next destination (although the game isn't as clear about it) is Guldove in Another World. By the way, put Fargo in your party now and never take him out, as he can steal from enemies.

As soon as you enter Guldove you'll be thrust into a battle with Orlha. You can steal Kung-fu Shoes off of her if you want. She can be tough (she has strong single techs) but she's weak against Red Elements. Your biggest pain is her extremely high Evade rate, so cast Numble on her or EagleEye on yourself to ease things up. The fight won't last very long, but keep healed up anyway. When you win she'll give you her Sapphire Brooch. Finally, stop off at Shaman Direa's tent and show her the Tear of Hate to get the Dragon Emblem, which you'll need later on.

From now till Chronopolis, the story is very open and exploration-based. There are six Dragons to beat (some of which have lengthy dungeons, others of which don't), plus several optional quests, before you take on Fort Dragonia. Some people like just clearing out the Dragons' dungeons, plus Fort Dragonia, before taking on the Dragons themselves; this may prove easier (especially Fort Dragonia, as you get tons of nice Elements). However, I'll just list the six Dragons, then Mount Pyre and Fort Dragonia, with the optional quests inserted at what I think are good points to do them; I tried to minimize all the traveling between worlds while making sure the easier battles come first so you're buffed up enough to handle the later ones. But remember that none of this is set in stone; you can do it in any order whatever.

Now some notes about the six Dragons. Each Dragon has a differently-themed quest, but they're each the same: they have high HP and magic power, and they absorb their respective Elements. The battles will be long, but generally not too hard. You can (and should!) steal a colored Plate off them; this Plate is an armor which lets you also absorb those Elements. Definitely steal the Green Plate if nothing else. This means you have to take Fargo with you. Actually, there's another plus to that - Fargo can use the FrogPrince summon, the only one usable at the moment. Finally, when you beat each Dragon you'll get a Star, a Level 8 summon spell, and a Relic. You can do them in any order; my order is purely arbitrary. Again, I've interspersed side quests among here as well to minimize traveling around.

Note: One thing you may want to do first is the Viper Manor sequence in Another World before taking on any of the dragons. That'll get you Karsh's L.7 technique, a Forget-me-not Pot, and you can finish the Mastermune quest any time before the Black Dragon without having to travel back and forth. Also, I'll be noting when you can grab some strong monsters for Sprigg's monster list; you'll need it to get Janice in the Green Dragon segment.

Start by heading to Guldove in the Home World. Use the Dragon Emblem on the guy in front of the shaman's tent to go in and talk to her. She'll tell you to get the six Dragon Relics, then come back. Let's get started, shall we? But first we'll take a short detour: Take Riddel to the Forbidden Island in Home World. This island doesn't show up on the map, but it's located at the top right of the main island (there's some smoke coming out of it). Go into the hut there and talk to the man. This is the start of the legendary Mastermune quest.

More optional stuff: L.7 techniques for Orcha and NeoFio. For Orcha, take him to Home Arni, go into the pub (lower left house), go behind the bar, and talk to the pub owner, Belcha. For NeoFio: Take her to Sky Dragon Isle (Home) and talk to the octopus there. Leave the screen, come back, and talk to it again (push it around a bit). OK, we're done; on to the Blue Dragon.

The Water Dragon is in exactly the same place he was during the Ice Breath quest, in Home Water Dragon Isle. Check that section for treasures if you missed them. (To get straight past the lilies, go up, top left, top right, top right.) The dwarves have been replaced with Lagoonates (not tough) and you'll have to beat a Sidesteppa to gain access to the dragon's lair (not tough either). Have Sprigg in your party (or equip a Forget-me-not Pot) while fighting a Sidesteppa to put it in her list.

Again, ask for the Dragon's blessing to start the battle. It shouldn't be too bad. Steal with Fargo and use Infernos and MagmaBlasts to whittle him down. His attacks shouldn't do more than 100 HP to all characters at most, and he's rather slow. Heal when necessary and keep bashing away at him to be victorious and win the BlueWhale summon and Blue Relic. Head out of here and on to the Yellow Dragon.

Head to Earth Dragon Isle in Home World. For starters, head right up the sand dune to pick up five Capsules. Now go north and fall in the quicksand. Head right against the flow; a Fossicker is guarding a chest to the south, which holds a Mythril. The Fossickers don't have a lot of HP, but watch out when they set a bomb in front of a character. You can't hit the bomb until the Fossicker is dead, and make sure the bomb-set character is defending when you hit it!

Anyway, go all the way down and try to move the RockRoach blocking the lower left; you can't. Go back up the ladder to the right and into the sand boil to exit. Now leave the island and come back in. Go back in the quicksand; this time head left to pick up another Mythril, then fall down again. Talk to the man in front of the now open exit for the Explosive. Head south.

Here, go left to pick up a Denadorite, then go all the way right. Examine the RockRoach, then use an Explosive on it. Now go left to another RockRoach. This one is of no use to you unless you attack it when it's just on the little ledge to the right. By this point the RockRoaches aren't that strong, but they have a bit more HP than usual. Have Sprigg defeat it or equip a Forget-me-not Pot if possible; it's a good addition to her list (for that matter, the other enemies, Fossicker and YellowBelly, are as well). Push it over the ledge once you've defeated it. Now head down and hang a right to pick up another Denadorite. Go back left and down into the main sand floor. Head to the bottom right and defeat the RockRoach, then push it right into the hole. A new sand boil will open near the center of the floor; jump in, then exit to the lower right.

Save and equip yourself with Green and Blue Elements; you should also have enough Denadorites for a full set of Stone equipment for your active party by now. Walk right. Tell the Earth Dragon you want his blessing to start the battle. I don't know if it was just me, but this guy was a major pushover; his only two attacks were physical attacks (not very strong, compared to Red/Black Dragons) and GiddyBreath, which makes someone Dizzy. In fact, he uses Elements so rarely, you can even turn the field effect all blue and let Fargo use FrogPrince against him! Keep hammering at him and he'll surrender his ThundaSnake summon and Yellow Relic. Save, go back out to the top left, and jump back in the sand boil from your current location. Head to the top-left and out of the island. Next up is the Green Dragon.

Stock up on Antidotes (you'll need them) and some Trap Carnivores, then head to Hydra Marshes (Home). Go back to where you fought the Beeba before (left, then up). The Beeba will attack you again, but this time you can cream it before it calls its friends. It'll give you the Beeba Flute and an Ancient Fruit when you finish with it (unless you already have either of them). Save, then go right to where the other Beeba stands and blow the Flute. A Wingapede will appear and take you to Gaea's Navel.

Leah will temporarily join your party here (she'll leave if you blow the flute and leave the island). I say put her in your party, since she's strong and a Yellow Element. And it's funny how she stacks up to your party given that she's only four feet tall. 8-) Anyway, your ultimate goal is to get the Tyrano to show up. First, though, let's do some exploration. About the monsters here: The Prehysterics can confuse you, so always get them first. The PreyMantises can and will poison you; either use Purifies or wait till after battle and use Antidotes. You can steal some nice items off of basically all the enemies here. Using Sprigg or Forget-me-not Pot once on the PreyMantises is a good idea, because they're strong.

For starters, head to the top right, behind the huge tree, then double back to the top left to pick up a Denadorite. (Beat both PreyMantises on the way.) Go back to the lower left of the screen and climb the tree here. There's a Green Brooch, but you'll be attacked by a Pterodact when you get it. They're tougher than most enemies here, but you shouldn't have problems. Climb back down and head right. Climb the moss on the tree at the bottom right and head right to the next screen.

Head right, down the ladder, and across the bridge. Climb up to the chest and pick it up for a Denadorite, protected by another Pterodact. Go back down and to the lower right. First head right to the next screen and pick up another Denadorite, guarded by a Prehysteric this time. Go back left to the last screen, and down the ladder. Go left for yet another Denadorite, then right to the next screen again.

First head right all the way for yet another Denadorite, then back left and up the ladder. First head top-right and pick up the Denadorite (dodge or fight the Prehysteric), then back. Go up the tree to the left of the save point and follow it left for your last Denadorite; you'll be attacked by a Pterodact again. Go back down. You can save here and make more Stone equipment (like an axe for Leah) if needs be. If you're ready to fight the boss, head right.

If the Tyrano doesn't appear, make sure you've beaten the two PreyMantises on this screen, and beaten the Pterodact on each of the three screens. (They'll appear when you pick up a lone chest near the top of the screen.) Save your game, then return to the starting screen. Walk up to start your battle. Get the Pterodact first (even better, use multiple-target Elements) and then concentrate on the Tyrano. If you have Fargo, you can steal an excellent Power Seal off of him. Use Water Elements. He has only one really nasty attack, which can take off over 150 HP even at high levels like I was at. Be careful, heal when necessary, and you'll beat him and net yourself a Star and a Resistance Ring. Leah will run north and you'll follow her.

As soon as you gain control of your character, go back down and left to save, then return to this screen. (If you accidentally start the battle, you can run away.) Walk up and talk to the Green Dragon to start your fight. This one is weirder than most, but not tough if you know what's going on. The Green Dragon has only two attacks. One, he'll use Bad Breath, which will cause random status effects. You can use Purifies, but most status effects aren't too bad. Frozen, Darkness and Confuse are really the only ones you need to worry about. Second, he'll use GreenField to turn the field effect green, then he'll keep using Carnivores. You can trap the Carnivores if you like, then just use any non-Green Element to get him to stop. You may have to keep using level 1 and 2 Elements if he does this too often, since he's fairly quick. When he gets critical status (he'll start looking like he's drunk) he'll cast HealPlus on himself; just keep duking it out and heal yourself in turn. When you finish, you'll get your Genie summon and your Green relic. Plus Leah will permanently join your party! Time to finish up the Janice side quest; we're almost done with Home World.

Enemies: Gloop, Beeba, Taurminator, Spearfisher, Cybot, Gobledygook, Airframe, Cassowary, Cuscus

First, take a trip into Mount Pyre (Home). Have Sprigg defeat a Taurminator (or equip Forget-me-not Pot) to add it to her list. You should now have three very strong enemies for Sprigg (Taurminator, Sidesteppa, RockRoach) as well as some pretty good ones (Lagoonate, Fossicker, YellowBelly, PreyMantis). Take your buffed up monsters to the S.S. Zelbess at Home and enter the Grand Slam (through the right-facing door on the lower level and down the ladder). Talk to the man at the top right to enter a battle using your monsters.

Those monsters you have should make the battle fairly easy. Distribute one very strong enemy per fight and the other pretty good ones throughout. Every round you win you'll get another accessory: first a Stamina Belt, then Resistance Belt, then Dreamer's Scarf, plus Janice will join you when you've beaten her three times. Now take her to the Bend of Time (it's the little island between the main island and Marbule) and talk to the land octopus to get her L.7 technique, What'sUpDoc. OK, we're done, time to find the Black Dragon!

There's a right way and a wrong way to do this. The wrong way is if you didn't talk to Nikki on his ship from the S.S. Zelbess before, and didn't get Irenes in your party. If you take Fargo to himself on the Zelbess, nothing will happen, and visiting the Black Dragon in Marbule will mean you'll get the Black Relic without a fight, and Home Marbule will remain in its ghostly state. (This means you miss out on a character, a weapon, three techniques, and you can never get Rainbow equipment.) Now here's the right way to do it.

Do talk to Nikki on his ship after the S.S. Zelbess segment and get Irenes in your party. Now take Fargo to his other self on the Zelbess (Home World). Nikki will stage a very cool concert, and you'll end up on Home Marbule, where all the monsters are now solid. (Fargo will get his L.7 tech, Invincible, before you get there.) You can leave if you want (to stock up/change characters etc.) but do so before killing any monsters, because when you leave they all regenerate. Your goal is to kill them all. This is easy if you have a few Inferno Elements (you might have gotten them from the WillO'Wisps on Home Isle Of The Damned). Your field effect starts off with two Reds, so the fights should be short. Another way is to let them make the field effect all blue and then let Fargo unleash a FrogPrince! You'll get Shiny Dews this way, too. 8-) There are about eight monster sets wandering around outside, and two inside the Black Dragon's cave at the top left. It's tedious, but not tough.

When they're all dead, head back to the S.S. Zelbess and into the first door inside; talk to Miki to get her to join you. Now head to Marbule in Another World; the Black Dragon has woken up. First, enter Marbule with all demihumans (anybody besides a real human, including Grobyc, Pip, and Skelly, count as demihumans). Talk to the first blue guy to the left to get the Valencian Cloth window frame. Go out and save, prepare yourself, then reenter and talk to the Black Dragon in the upper left cave to start your battle.

This guy's actually one of the easiest Dragons, mostly because his Black Element attacks don't hurt Lynx so much. Plus he's fairly weak physically. He can cause blindness, which can be annoying, so bring some BlackOuts or (better) Purifies. You can't use Lynx's techs against him, but anything else goes. You can trap FreeFall from him. When you win, you'll get the GrimReaper summon and the Black Relic. Another side quest next!

Take Zoah and Norris to Viper Manor (Another). (By the way, for quite a while you'll need Norris in your party to enter Viper Manor.) First off, go down the well and get the submerged treasure chest (you knocked it down from the sewers, remember?) for a Deluge. Now head into the manor. Talk to the other Norris in the leftmost room on the first floor for his level 7 technique, TopShot. Put Zoah at the front of your party and examine the chest in the rightmost door of the first floor for HIS L.7 tech, Toss&Spike. Now head downstairs.

In the rightmost door, go to the top left and examine the pillar there to uncover a switch. Hit it. If you haven't yet, take the Decor Shield from the wall and put it on the statue without a shield to fight it, which disarms a trap. Now move the viper statue you see into the notch near the wall (opposite the statue already set). The door will open. Go in to get Viper's Venom, a sword just for Viper, and your first Rainbow Shell, which you can't use yet.

Finally, if you so wish, go back upstairs to the library and snoop around behind the desk there. You'll discover a secret passage, to a very familiar-looking room. A Beach Bum here (yeah, they DO look like Nu...) will give you the Porre's Furnace window frame, and will change the name of the character in front of the party if you like (the only one he can't change is Lynx).

While you're here, let's continue the sidequest from the Forbidden Island. Head out to the east wing (where the Guillot was guarding before). Put all four snake statues in their spots (this is really easy) and a chest will appear. Pick it up from BEHIND (doing it from front will drop you back into that damn trap) to get a message. Let's follow up!

Take Karsh to the Isle of the Damned in Another World. Go back to where you fought Garai before. (Pass by the door leading there and head to the bottom right and in the little cave to pick up a new Revenge Element.) Now go in for another scene and a battle with Solt and Peppor. They're a bit more buffed up than before, but still not too tough. Get rid of Solt first, then go after Peppor. Peppor will use HiRes so he'll go down slower, plus he can use Earthquake now - although it's weaker than it looks. You can steal a Forget-Me-Not Pot from Peppor, which is useful when you eventually hit the New Game+. When you beat them you'll get two Denadorites (or Stone Mails), as well as Karsh's MementoPendant (the best Magic Defense item in the regular game) and his L.7 tech, Axiomatic.

We'll finish this subquest much later. In the meantime, let's do another side quest!

This is probably the longest mini-quest which nets almost no reward... but if you missed the Green Tinkler earlier on, this is the only way to explore Another Hydra Marshes, and so get NeoFio and Skelly. Also, Denadorites are always useful. I'm fairly certain you need to finish the Green Dragon quest before you can do this.

Pack some Antidotes, then head to Another Hydra Marshes. Go left and up (the way you went to fight the Wingapede, if you took Korcha's path). A Beeba is being beset by two Goblins; help him out (the fight's a joke) to get an Ancient Fruit. Go up and save if you wish, then head one screen to the right. On the little outcropping leaning out to the right, blow the Beeba Flute. A Wingapede will appear and take you to Gaea's Navel.

There isn't anything here story-wise (although the Home version is another story) but there is a bit of treasure. You really don't have to fight any enemies here at all (you can avoid them) other than one fight for a window frame. Anyway, back to the treasure:

First go down and one screen right to reach a Denadorite, then head back left and left again (so two screens left). Follow the path to the left for another Denadorite. Go back right a bit, down the small ladder, and right for another Denadorite. Go back left and keep going left to the next screen. Go up the ladder, and head to the top left to eventually reach another Denadorite. Go back to the main path and right a bit to a little crossroads; go north here and up the tree. Fight the Prehysterics here (watch out, they can confuse you) to get the Snakes & Orbs window frame. You're done here, so head left one screen and down the little curvy climbing path on the large tree to get back to the start. Go up towards the top part of the screen (just a bit left of the large light-colored rock) and blow the Beeba Flute again to head back to Hydra Marshes.

Go left and save if you wish, then head right and up to see a large hole in the floor. Jump down it. Everyone will sprain their ankle, but they'll go right into a battle. Don't worry about healing, because this guy is quite pathetic. You'll win a FreeFall when you beat him, plus get the HydraShadow technique which you should just keep around for now (you don't have the character it belongs to yet). Pick up the chest below you for a Pendragon Sigil B. To leave the marshes, you'll have to go the long way up and around to the right, then down and left; see the earlier section for details. OK, we're done with the sidequest. On to the Red Dragon.

Head to Mount Pyre in Another World. The end has collapsed in, so you can't go through, but that's not where you're headed. All the enemies are wusses by now, so breeze by them. If you have the Ice Breath, as before, this is easier... but even without it it's easier than before, because you now have a Dreamer's Scarf! Equip it on someone, put RecoverAll in his L.1 slot, and use it at the start of battles to avoid using up consumable Elements. Anyway:

Go to the top left and exit north, then hang a right. In the next room, go down, then towards the top right (this passage was closed before). First off, you can climb up the lava flow on the left. Pick up the Pendragon Sigil A in the submerged chest, then use Ice Breath (if you have it). Go across the little bridge for a Poultice Cap. Now go back down the lava flow and exit north. Load up on Blue Elements (and I mean that; make every attack Element you have Blue). Talk to the little guy to start the fight.

His current form is exactly the same as before, but that doesn't mean he can't hit Fargo for over 100 HP worth of damage! (You can't steal the Red Plate from this form.) He has low HP, though, so finish this form off quickly. He'll change into the REAL Red Dragon. Now, if you have Fargo, this fight may be extremely difficult but for one trick, akin to the Dario trick but simpler. Every time you attack him with a Blue Element he'll counter with a fairly weak fire attack (only takes off 40 HP from Fargo, and he's a Blue innate!) Keep doing this and he'll never have a chance to pull out the big guns. You can trap an Inferno from him (but he won't cast it if he keeps doing this attack - don't worry, they're easy to come by). If he does squeeze in his major attack, use HealAll immediately! You'll get the Salamander summon and the Red Relic when you win.

If this was your fifth Dragon as it was mine, several characters will now gain Level 7 techniques! Lynx, Leah, Radius, Miki, Van, and Sneff will learn their techniques. Enjoy them! Time to go for the last Dragon...

The Sky Dragon is sitting pretty on Sky Dragon Isle (Another), but won't fight you unless you've done the other five Dragons first. And be prepared, 'cause he's tough. He uses Magnify followed by very strong White Elements which hit the whole party, he's very strong physically, and he heals himself with HolyHealing. Keep the Black Elements coming (Lynx's new ForeverZero works nicely) and have lots of HealAlls and CureAlls around. If Lynx has the Mastermune, just his regular attacks will do some major damage here! You'll get your Saints summon and your White Relic and you have now finished the six Dragons! Now what, you ask? Back to Home Guldove.

Go left, up, and left and show the guard in front of the shaman's tent the Dragon Emblem you got in Another Guldove. Enter and talk to Steena. Now that you've gotten all six Relics, she'll join you and give you the Dragon Tear. (If you got the HydraShadow tech before, give it to her now.) You can either skip to Mount Pyre, or finish off the Mastermune quest; you should be able to do so fairly easily now.

Finally, it's time to finish up our Mastermune quest. Put Riddel in your party and head back to the Forbidden Island in Home World. A scene will play out, plus a battle with the one and only Dario. Dario is widely considered to be the hardest fight in the game. If you want to beat him the traditional way you'll either have to steal the Black Plate off of the Black Dragon and give it to Riddel, or wait quite a while until you're buffed up enough to take him on (at least after Chronopolis). However, there's a cheat (thanks to Carpe Diem for this hint).

Dario is programmed to counter any Element with another Element. White and Black Elements lead to attack spells, but attacking him with any other color leads to status attacks of the opposite color, as follows:
Red => Numble; Blue => Weaken; Yellow => BatEye; Green => LoRes. The most harmless of these are Numble and LoRes, so equip your characters with LOTS of Green and Red attack Elements. Have every character use one of them every turn (attack, then use an Element with your last Stamina point). He'll spend all his time using useless status attacks, and, although the battle will be long, you'll win easily.

When you do win, Lynx will get an excellent weapon, the Mastermune (restores HP during battle!), plus Riddel will get her L.7 tech, SnakeFangs. The Mastermune makes the next few boss battles a hell of a lot easier.

Our final outing as Lynx takes us back to Fort Dragonia, and of course through Mount Pyre yet again. Head there in the Home World.

If you have the Ice Breath, use it as soon as you can on every screen, as there are no submerged chests. There's one exception: the lava stream you can walk up (I'll warn you when you get there). If you don't, equip the Dreamer's Scarf and a RecoverAll in a L.1 Element slot for one character, and have him/her use it at the start of every battle.

For starters, head to the top left to the next screen, then right, then go down the flow. Go through the pass to the top right. This is the screen where you should NOT use the Ice Breath. Climb up the lava flow to the top left, then cross the bridge for a Red Brooch. You can use the Breath now. Go back down the lava flow. You really don't have to do this next bit, but for the sake of completeness: Exit north. There are about six HotDoggitys running around, and while they're not tough, they're annoying. Use L2 to slow the game down if you're in New Game+. Otherwise, try to avoid them. Your aim is the left side of the screen, where an Inferno, a Strengthen, and a Weaken await you. (Yay.) Now go back out to the lower right twice to reach the start of Mount Pyre again.

Exit back to the top left, then go top left again. The chest on the right holds a Mythril, and up the little stairs is a Denadorite. Exit north and right, then go up again to finish Mount Pyre; you can now walk through it like it's not there. Go down and enter Fort Dragonia yet again!

If Steena's not in your party, she'll appear; either way, she'll tell you that using the Dragon Tear will open the fort to you. All the switches (including the little blue ones in each door which lower staircases) will automatically switch themselves! (If you haven't gotten the Dragon Tear yet, obviously this won't work.) You could theoretically go right up into the elevator and continue, but you'd be nuts to miss up the treasure in the rooms. I'm assuming you remember this place well enough for me not to re-explain all the puzzles; you can re-check the earlier section if you're still stuck. I'll also assume you've already switched all the switches, so I'll ignore them.

OK... let's start with lower left (blue). Make sure Lynx is leading the party, then examine the tablet in the left room. Then press Select once and examine it again to get access to a Denadorite, and press Select one more time and examine it to get access to a ThundaStorm (on the right side of the screen). That's it for here.

Next, bottom right (red). Just select west and pick up the four treasure chests (two sets of five Nostrums, a Volcano, and a Denadorite) and leave.

Next, top left. The room straight to the right has an Iceberg. The room straight to the left has a useless battle with a Cybot; ignore it and exit.

Finally, top right (green). This one is a real level; you can't avoid too many enemies. They are tougher than before, but nothing you can't handle. I'm gonna do some cutting and pasting here, dum-de-dum... Ahem. At the start, you have a choice of going straight or left up the stairs; go straight to the next screen. Then head left down the stairs, down, right through the blue door; you can now go upstairs or down; choose down, left through the bottom blue door, and up the stairs for five Nostrums and a Denadorite. Now go back downstairs and right, and this time head up the stairs. Follow the path left and down to the next screen for a Nostrum x5. Now head all the way back to the start.

This time head left up the stairs, follow the path to the right and the next screen. Follow the path around, and at the intersection (down or up) go down for (eventually) a Tornado Element, then return to the intersection and go up; follow the path to exit at the top left. First head down for a Denadorite, then head up, around, down, around to the left, and go back down the staircase to the start and exit. That's it!

Save your game, then head into the elevator where you'll be surprised by your alterego, Dark Serge. (He won't show up if you don't have the Dragon Tear.) He's not very strong physically, but he has very nasty magic, including all the Level 6 spells (Volcano, Iceberg etc.) you just found, plus FeralCats and ForeverZero! (You can trap those L.6 Elements if you're lucky.) Have lots of HealAlls on you, and keep attacking as much as you can. Lynx's techs don't do a lot of damage, but other Elements can. White is the best, of course. When you finally beat him, you'll get another Star, and Lynx will get his first L.8 slot! Go back down and save, then enter the elevator.

Go down first. Use the Big Egg you got in Another Fossil Valley on the center machine here and Draggy will hatch and join your party. Cute little fella. Go up two floors. No enemies here, just treasure. More cutting and pasting, gimme a sec...

First, head down, right, and below the warp platform you used before to pick up five Nostrums. Go back left and follow the path upstairs and down to the next screen. Head up and left to the next screen. Take the staircase straight down. At the top left here is an AntiBlack Element, and at the bottom right is a door leading to another five Nostrums. Head back up that staircase and head right. Go past the first staircase, then up the second one for AntiWhite. Finally, go back to the platform, up, and into that damn room again...

When you're done here, you'll have Serge back. But not just Serge - all the characters that used to be with Serge, like Leena, Glenn, Poshul, etc. will rejoin you as well! The Dragon Tear will also turn into the Tear of Love. Now you've got a hell of a lot of options open for you, so yet another optional section (biggest one yet) ensues.

Tol' ya it was big. You definitely won't have all of these characters, but they're all listed here. I've grouped them in a logical fashion so you won't have to keep going back and forth between worlds except where absolutely necessary. Skelly and NeoFio are the only two characters who have findable techniques and you could EITHER have gotten them as Serge or Lynx. If you got NeoFio as Lynx, you could already have gotten her tech, but I'm re-listing it anyway.

Speaking of which... if you haven't gotten these two characters yet, you can do so now. 8p Instead of me copying and pasting, just check out the character pages for Skelly and NeoFio for how to get them.

Home Arni: Take Poshul to Leena on the docks and talk to her to get Poshul's Unleashed tech. Take Leena to her (other-world) grandmother in her house (top left) to get Leena's MaidenFaith technique. (To get this, you must have answered two out of three questions correctly at the start of the game - in Opassa Beach: that you remember her promise, that you'll never forget that day; and in Another Arni: "I'm Serge!!!".) Also, talk to the fisherman downstairs in the top right house (for use in getting Mojo's technique; see Another Arni, below).

Home Termina: Take Viper and Skelly to the barkeeper to get Skelly's OnARoll technique and gain access to the side room, where Viper will pick up his FlagBearer technique and a Dragoon's Glory (an upgrade to Dragoon's Honour). Take Greco to his house to get his GraveDigger technique. Take Mojo to the dummy in the yard behind Zappa's smithery to see an interesting (but strategically useless) scene.

Home Shadow Forest: Take Funguy to the cave where you found him and examine the mushrooms (it doesn't matter what you choose to say to it) to get his Myconoids technique.

(Home Sky Dragon Isle: If you just got NeoFio (or just got her back), take her here and talk to the red land octopus. Leave the screen, then come back. Talk to it again, then push it to get NeoFio's BamBamBam technique.)

S.S. Zelbess: Take Nikki up the mast on the left and to Nikki's ship (talk to the pirate to get there); and talk to this world's Nikki to get his LimeLight technique. While you're here, stop by the casino below the captain's room. By using the pausing trick in the Miscellaneous section of the shrine, you can get a Rainbow Shell.

Home Marbule: All of these are only if you completed the Black Dragon quest the REAL way. Take Irenes to the first hut and talk to the witch doctor twice to get her SirenSong technique. Go up to where the Black Dragon was in Another Marbule. Talk to Toma twice to get the Quill & Papyrus window frame. Talk to the man on the top left, who'll offer to sell you the Master Hammer for 10,000G. Buy it. Exit the town, then re-enter; talk to the guy in blue at the entrance (the one who gave you the Valencian Cloth in Another World) to get a FullRevival. You may have to enter and exit a few times until you get it from him.

Home Hermit's Hideaway: If you had the Ice Breath and used it on the hot patch in Another Hermit's Hideaway, take Poshul here and examine the little green thing to get Turnip to join your party. If you didn't use the Ice Breath, you can do so now (a bit of traveling, but hey). If you never got the Ice Breath, you'll just have to wait.

Home Isle Of The Damned: Take Steena to where Garai lies and examine his grave to get her GaraiShadow technique. OK, we're done here for now, back to Another World.

Another Arni: Take Mojo to the fisherman's house (top right) and examine, in order, Lasery, Aurey, and Lickey (bottom left cat, right cat, top left cat). Mojo will get his HoodooGuroo technique and his name will change to "Mojoy". (You must talk to the fisherman in Home Arni first to get this to work.)

Another Fossil Valley: Take Draggy to the skull up top to get his BigBreath technique.

Another Termina: Take Korcha to the mermaid inside the box (screen to the right of main square) and examine it. Leave the screen, re-enter, and talk to the trader. Go down to the shrines and all the way around (to where Korcha's ship was all the way at the start of the game) and talk to the mermaid to get Korcha's BigCatch technique. If you told the Viper Churro salesman (same screen as trader) to lower his prices to 50G earlier in the game, he'll have a Viper Churro for you, spiked with a Rainbow Shell. If you have Pierre, make sure he's not in your party, then talk to him in the room south of Zappa's smith room. If you got the Prop Sword in the Tower of Geddon, he'll get the Hero's Blade and SlapOfCyrus technique. Take Glenn to the grave of his father and brother at the shrines; the Einlanzer will now become two Einlanzers (kinda). (I'm not sure if you have to have the Mastermune or not before doing this.)

Finally, take Zappa to himself, where (if you bought the Master Hammer in Home Marbule) he'll learn how to make Rainbow equipment. (You might think you automatically get that Rainbow Axe he's working on, but nope.) It's the strongest in the game, but very tough to make. You have to use Summons in battle to destroy enemies, who'll leave Shiny components - but you need one of EVERY Element to make the equipment. PLUS it's over 20,000G per item. I recommend waiting till New Game+ (or at least till the absolute end of the game) for trying this. See Miscellaneous for more info.

Another Viper Manor: You need Norris to get in here. Start with Norris and Luccia in your party. Go into the kitchen (lower floor, second door from left) and enter the hatch at top left. Go into the water flow and hold right. Follow the path up and right and examine the blob to get Luccia's TestAmeba technique. Go back to the water flow and hold left, then go up the ladder to leave the sewers. If you have Turnip, go back upstairs and use the throne to get to Viper's room. In the nearby save point, change your party to Turnip and NeoFio. Go right to the balcony and examine the pool to get Turnip's VegOut technique. Go back and put Norris in your party again to be able to exit.

Another Guldove: If you got Doc, make sure he's not in your party, then go into his office (straight up) and give him the Medical Book you found in Tower of Geddon to teach him HangTen. Go out and left one screen, then into the bar; show Orlha the Sapphire Brooch for her to join your party.

Finally, head back to Home Guldove. Take Orlha with you and talk to this world's Doc. After a long scene, you'll get the Blue Brooch and Orlha's SisterHoods technique. Whew! You should now be pumped up to challenge FATE!

Enemies: VitaUnus/VitaDuo/VitaTres, PolisPolice, Gizmotoid, Aero-Guard, Gyroblade, Combot, Fate

Go into the Home Dead Sea Ruins. Enter any of the Fate Distortions (they all lead to the same place). Congrats, you've just entered Disc 2! When you open the disc cover, make sure the disc stops turning before inserting the second one, or it'll tell you "wrong disc!" >_<

Anyway... there are three islands here: Past (top right), Present (bottom right), Future (top left). In each one is a colored Record of Fate. You'll fight one of three bosses depending on which Record you examine LAST. VitaTres (found by examining Past last) is the easiest, but you want to fight VitaUnus (Present). Beating it nets you a Vigora Element, and it's the only place in the game you can get this great Element!

VitaUnus starts off using fairly easy magic, but hits hard physically. As you bash it down, it loses physical power but starts using stronger magic. Still, you shouldn't have too many problems. You'll get a Star and Vigora when you beat it, and you'll now have access to the central island here, Chronopolis. Save your game.

Walk to the right and you'll be treated to a largely unintelligible conversation between two shadows. These guys are all over the place here, and talking to them fills in points in the story (or is supposed to, anyway). I'll tell you how many are in a room just in case you want to know. Walk up to enter a fight with the PolisPolice. This guy is pretty damn strong - and has kick-ass techs, to boot! Your top priority is in using other Elements to keep the field effect non-white. His techs only hurt one person at a time, so you can use healing Elements like CurePlus in the meantime (or Revive! You'll be using that one a lot!) He doesn't have a whole lot of HP, however. Once you've finished the battle you'll get a Star and a PhysNegate Element. Go back outside and save, then re-enter.

First off, head left down the little staircase, and right; the chest up top holds a Yellow Brooch. Now go north to the next room. The door north is locked, so go right. Going up and opening the drawers nets you five Nostrums; go down and enter the hatch. Go left to activate the Robo-Sewer-Wash. You can move this guy around the narrow paths, but don't fall off. You have unlimited "lives", though. Compensate for the water movement (it goes to the top left). First head left at the intersection; a chest south (yeah, you can keep it) has a White Brooch, and the northern chest has a CureAll Element (useful!) Back at the start, go north this time, and follow the path till you leave the water at the top of the screen. Go right and hit the red switch to extend the bridge, then hit the Triangle key to stop controlling the little guy. Now go to the right side of the room and up a bit, and hit another red switch to complete the bridge. Take the ladder at the top right.

The switch on the desk below you opens the door which was locked before (useful if you want to leave). Go north to reach the Main Hall (what I call it). There are exits to the left and right, and a locked elevator. Going left leads to the docks, which has a save point and a shadow up at the top left which seems moped. Go back and take the right exit to reach a stairway. For starters, go up past the stairway then right to pick up a Forget-me-not Pot (useful if you want to start a New Game+ after this!). Climb the stairs till you get the big number "2", then enter the door on that level (further up is blocked). Yep, you're on the second floor.

Head left through a door and a laser-guarded opening (it'll call an Aero-Guard, which you can easily avoid) and exit south (the north door is locked for now). You're in a lobby-like room which you'll revisit for the other two floors. It consists of one door to the top left, one to the top right, and an elevator entrance in the center. The elevator, as before, is locked, so go to the top left. You'll see a presentation. There's a shadow in the top left; all the consoles do the same thing, switch the view between two modes. Hit the red switch on the left side of the large desk to unlock all those doors. The elevator is now active; you can go between floors 1-4, but not the basement yet.

If Grobyc isn't in your party, go back to the docks on the first floor and put him there. Go back to the top right door from the 2nd-floor lobby and enter the door north which is now unlocked. Examine the chest to the right to get Grobyc's level 7 technique, StrongArm. Now close all the safes (only one should be open) and examine the panel at the left. Enter 00 as your combination to get five Recharges (yep, the only place in the game you can get it). Don't get confused by the complicated look of this, there's absolutely nothing else here. Go back to the elevator and head to 3F.

The top right door has three shadows, and a door to the right, which has a HellBound Element guarded by a Combot. If you have the Forget-me-not Pot or Sprigg, have that character strike the last blow to add it to Sprigg's list - it's the strongest monster she can turn into. The top left room from the lobby has one shadow and three consoles to advance the story, plus the door at the top holds a Rainbow Shell. Now head to the fourth floor.

The upper left door is locked; go to the top right. There are four shadows in the room. The door to the right leads back to the staircase; go down to get a chest with a Magnify, and talk to the shadow. Go back upstairs and head to 1F and the docks. Talk to the moped shadow at the top left to get him to leave. Save your game.

Back in 4F, the top left door is now open. Examine the Record of Fate right when you enter for a presentation. You can talk to four Shadows if you wish. Head to the left and fight the Combot to get your Card Key. Examine the archive viewer at the top left of the screen for some interesting text... it's the intro from "Radical Dreamers", the game CC was based on. However, apparently it took place in an "alternate world" so boo-hoo, no Magil. Anyway, go back and save at 1F if you want to, then go to B1.

There are two Combots doing patrol duty, and you have to fight one of 'em, so go ahead. Heal up, make sure you've got lots of White Elements, and examine the panel to the left of the big door to enter. After the scene, you get your first major massive super-boss... Fate.

Like most major massive super-bosses, Fate is easier than it looks. It's a defensive powerhouse, having high defense and casting Diminish early on in battle. If you have the Black Plate, you can't lose this battle. 8-) Fate is a bit slow, though, so you should try giving Serge *Saints, building his Element level up to 8, and the others' Element levels to 3 or higher, then wait till everyone has full Stamina. Turn the field effect white by having the other characters use low-level White elements, then cast Saints!

Fate has a specific pattern of attacks, as follows:
Diminish (odd rounds) or a physical attack (even rounds), then Gravitonne, then HeatRay, then FreeFall, then GravityBlow twice, then DarkEnergy. Let's dissect them: Physical attacks are pretty weak. HeatRay can blind someone, so bring a BlackOut or preferably Purify. You can trap the FreeFall to neutralize it. Once you see it use GravityBlow, have EVERYONE use White Elements (including one RecoverAll) immediately! This means that its super-attack, DarkEnergy, won't have as much effect as it might. Heal up afterwards and keep going at it. Very cool music, though. Caspian Rampage mentions that AntiBlack just might work on Fate, which can make the battle much easier! You can steal a valuable HolyHealing Element off of it, and you'll win a Star (every character who learns L.7 techs by themselves has done so by now), and either an Earring of Light or a Magic Seal. After the long scenes/FMVs, you'll end up back on the world map.

New Characters: Kid, Mel (if took Korcha's path and missed her before); Turnip (if missed Ice Breath quest)

You can now head right to Terra Tower, but you want Kid back, right? I'm counting this as an optional quest because it's really possible to finish the game without getting Kid, but the rest of it won't make as much sense. 8p Seeing as it's optional, I'll stick in a few more odds and ends.

Head to the Divine Dragon Falls in Another World. It doesn't show up on the map, but it's the waterfall northeast of Arni. Go to the left and use the Tear of Love and Tear of Hate on the two pedestals, to get the one and only Chrono Cross! Hah!

Note for New Game+ players: You can now get back all the characters you had in your previous game! Go to Home Hydra Marshes and up one screen. You can go back to Sprigg's dimension using the Astral Amulet. Use the Chrono Cross when you get there and they'll all come back. Party!

Now head to Hermit's Hideaway (Another). Put Fargo or Mel as your second party member. Go up to Kid and talk to her. If you have the Masamune, you'll be thrust into the past with all three party members intact; if you don't, use the Chrono Cross and Serge will have to duke it alone. (Don't worry, Serge is more than a match for the wimpy enemies you fight here.) If you have the Mastermune, you actually don't need the Chrono Cross to do this segment.

Go up and fight the Lava-boy. His attacks and magic will do almost no damage to anyone at all, but you have to wait them out, which is annoying. You can steal a Red Brooch from him, and he gives great cash. Anyway, after beating it, check the table in the right part of the room; a child will scoot out. Talk to him to find out about the Ice Gun. Recognize that machine up at the top part of the screen? Go up to it and press L1, Triangle, R1, Triangle (sound familiar?) to get Kid's HotShot technique. Go up to the next screen.

Beat this Lava-boy and examine the junk around the left side of the screen; another child will come out and give you five Nostrums. I'll call this "the hall" from now on. Go up the left staircase. There are some interesting memos around the place, but go and check in the top right of the screen for the Ice Gun (if you have other characters, one of them will disappear now). Go south from here to pick up a Diva Dress, then return to the hall.

Going right is a dead end, so DON'T go there (the other character will disappear if you do). Go north to get a Stardust Cape in the lower right of the room, but then a Lava-boy will appear at the doorway and you have to beat it to return to the hall. Now go up the right staircase. Beat the Lava-boy, then check the bed. A child will run out and give you a Rainbow Shell when you talk to her. Go south and beat this Lava-boy, and talk to the child to get another five Nostrums. Go back north and enter the hatch at the top right of the screen.

Go down to reach the right half of the dead-end room (if you still have your other character, he/she will disappear now). Check the drawings for some more familiar characters, then go to the top right. Use the Ice Gun on the flames to put them out and avoid the Lava-boy if you wish. Go north to end this scene, wake up in Hermit's Hideaway, and get Kid back!

Next, put Kid in your party and take Luccia out. Go to Viper Manor (Another) for the very very very last time ever, I promise. By now it should be completely denuded of all treasures, anyway. Go to Luccia's lab (lower floor, one room from the right) and talk to her for an interesting scene; you'll get a Rainbow Shell at the end.

If you didn't get Mel before losing Serge, you can get her now. To job your memory: you have to have 1) taken Korcha's path and 2) chased after Mel when she stole the Element grid. Take Kid to Guldove (Another) and enter the residential building (left, up, right). Go downstairs and talk to Mel. Kid has apparently told Mel Korcha's all hers. Mel will join the party and give you the Guldovian Stitch window frame.

Next, if you missed the Ice Breath you can get a new character. Go to Another Hermit's Hideaway and use the Ice Gun on the hot patch of land. Go to Home Hermit's Hideaway and take Poshul; she can dig up Turnip, who'll join you. Take him and NeoFio to Another Viper Manor, and go up to the second floor, then right to the balcony. Examine the pool to learn Turnip's L.7 tech, VegOut.

You can also pick up some goodies for Razzly if you have her, at Home Water Dragon Isle. You can only get this if Razzly was NOT in your party during the Hydra Humour quest, and she WAS in your party during the Ice Breath quest. Bring her here and the tree in the center should be in flower now. She'll get the Floral Rod and her L.7 technique, Raz-Flower. (You may have to wait until after Chronopolis or even after Terra Tower to get this; I'm not exactly sure.)

Finally, go to Arni in Home World. Go into the bar (lower right house) and talk to the barmaid at the right of the room to get the Book of Poems. Go back to Arni in Another World and give the book to the barmaid's alternate self to get a Rainbow Shell. That's it for optional quests.

If you don't have Starky yet (you evil bastard you) go ahead and get him. Take him (and Kid, for the best results) to the El Nido Triangle at the bottom of the Another World map, which is now enterable. The chest at the top right of the first screen holds a Rainbow Shell. Go down using the ladder at the top left. First go down (you CAN avoid the Sidesteppas if you wish) and follow the path for another Rainbow Shell, then return to the ladder and go up for a fight with RoyalJelly.

I have one word for this guy: TARGET. He does absolutely nothing. (Or close to it.) The catch is that neither physical attacks nor most Elements have any effect on him. Use your weak attack (1) (since damage doesn't matter, might as well go for higher accuracy) to build up your Element levels, then wreak havoc using Red Elements. For a real quick battle, have Kid steal, then have the other two use more Red Elements, then have Kid summon Salamander. 8-) You can steal an Earring of Light from him, and he'll drop a Resistance Belt. Starky will enter his ship and when you're done, your boat will be able to fly and you'll be in Terra Tower.

To leave, just examine the ship again. DO leave. Take Starky back to the El Nido Triangle and back to his ship; poke around and he'll get the StarStruck technique, the last technique in the game (sniff). There's nothing else to do (unless you want to stock up on more Elements) so go back to... Terra Tower! Bring a whole bunch of Traps with you, bought in Another Marbule.

Enemies: TerraTerror, Ectoplasm, Cytoplasm, Myxomycete, Whoot, Cupoid, Terrator, Pyrotor, Anemotor, Luxator, Gravitor, Aquator,
TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer/TimeDevourer

OK, here goes, the Big Evil Palace. Once you've beaten this place you can't re-enter, so make sure you get all the treasure!

You start near a save point, and you'll be returning here a few times during the first bit. Let me talk about the "Tors". These are bosses scattered throughout the tower, one for each Element. They use only that color Element, and have access to ALL the spells plus an Omega attack which is the "ultimate" attack Element for that color. They also use healing Elements (yeah, even consumables) when they get low on HP. You can trap L.7 summon Elements from them (and yeah, it's one of the only places you can do that). They absorb their respective Elements, and they drop (besides a Star) either a Field Element (changes the entire field to one color, really useful for using Summons) or a L.7 attack Element (for White/Black, which don't have Field Elements). You can also steal a colored Brooch off of them. The easiest way to beat them all is to equip a colored Plate (stolen off the Dragons) on a character. While that character can still be hurt by attacks, s/he will be healed by magic of that Element, so there ya go. For the later ones, you can also use the Field elements and Summons from the earlier battles to wipe them out.

Having said that, go up the stairs to the top left for your first fight, with Terrator. This seems to be the only one who does NOT use a summon Element, so don't bother trapping Golem. I've never gotten him to use it. He uses a tech to lower your defense and raise his, so keep those Green Elements coming. You'll get a Star and YellowField. Go back and save, then enter the main tower to the top left.

You'll be meeting those TerraTerrors around the place. Although they (and their buddies, Ectoplasm and Cytoplasm) aren't very strong, they can be annoying. Each of them absorbs their respective Element, so using Black/Green/Yellow Elements may be easier. If your Strength and Accuracy stats are high enough, you can probably defeat them with normal attacks before they can release the little buddies (especially if you have the Mastermune). Anyhoo: for starters, go to the top right and follow the path for five Nostrums. Go back to the entrance and knock over the pillar to the left to make a bridge; exit to the lower left.

Climb down the staircase; there's no treasure at all here. At the bottom, go to the lower right (guarded by a TerraTerror); it's easier. As soon as you go down that springy thing (which I'll be calling "cliffs" for the heck of it) you'll get another five Nostrums. Aim for the lower left and exit.

You're now in a pinkish organic-looking place. There's only really one path: follow it down, under a pass, left, top right, down, go left under another pass, and fall down to the screen below. Go left and you'll be treated to speech from a giant stone head; keep going left to exit.

Follow the path to the top right, down, lower left, right, up, and take the exit to the right to pick up a Pack of Lies. This is one of two special Rainbow weapons you can pick up here (for Sneff and Janice). You can disassemble them if you like, but keep in mind that you can never get them back if you do so (although Prism Pellets are identical to Pack of Lies), plus it costs 20,000G to re-assemble it into another weapon. Anyway, go back into the previous screen and go up. Cross the water to the top left (hold up and left so you don't get washed down) and pick up a Defender Plus. Exit to the right.

Go up the cliff at the right, and pick up the chest north (under the waterfall) for a Rainbow Shell. The next few levels have cliffs on alternating sides, and you'll probably be unable to avoid the TerraTerrors patrolling the place while you're switching. Go up another three levels, then go all the way to the right side and fall down to reach a door, which leads to the Betta Carrotene. Go back in, climb the cliffs all the way to the top, and exit at the top right.

You're back in the first room! Follow the path to the top right, then knock down both pillars to be able to reach that first save point again. Go back and save, then exit the top left of this room. Go top-right, then take the top-left path, which leads to a HealPlus. Go back to the intersection and go top-right for a fight with Pyrotor. This one lowers your attack, so again Elements are useful (Blue ones, particularly). He summons RedWolf if you let him turn the Field Effect all red. He'll drop a Star and RedField. You can go back and save if you wish, then return here and exit to the top left.

Some of the Cupoids in this room chase after you, so more unavoidable fights. Climb the ladder, go around left and up the next ladder to your right. Go down the next one right for a Rainbow Shell, then back up. Go up the next two ladders to your right, then go down the next two ones to your left to reach a Spectral Glove. Go back up those two ladders and exit north.

There are three straight staircases on this screen. Go up the right one all the way for a Rainbow Shell. Go back down two flights, then go left, down the middle staircase, and left for a HolyHealing. Go back up one, left and up the left staircase, right and up the middle staircase, then exit to your left.

And you will say "?!" as you find yourself in yet another familiar place. Talk to the Prophet of Time for some major plot spoilers. There'll be extra dialogue if you have the Chrono Cross. When he disappears, go back to the upper floor and hit the switch on the bookcase near the right side of the room to lower the ladder; you can get a BlackHole up on the top floor. Exit back to your right. Whoops! The door disappeared, but a new one opened north. Enter it.

Hmm, freaky. If you have an ear for music, pay attention to the notes played by the crystals (in particular, their order). It looks like there isn't anything here, but there IS! Go north, but turn left just before reaching the exit. Go to the lower left; you can climb down here. Don't go straight down; maneuver a bit to get to land on the lower landing (not below the landing, which is a dead end). When you reach the landing, go in either direction to pick up an UltraNova (the landing is circular). Go back up and finally exit to the top right.

Ah, another Tor, the Anemotor. It'll use InfoScope to turn the Field Element to its advantage. You can trap Sonja (and Tornado, as well) off of it. It has weak physical attacks, so don't worry too much about that. It'll drop a Star and a GreenField when you're done. The transporter it's sitting on will now activate, so go through it to reach the second part of this crazy castle.

You're at a save point in front of a forbidding-looking door which is currently locked by two laser beams. You have to go to either side and defeat the beam guardians to shut them down. I say go right first; it's easier.

Watch out for the wind here, which can blow you into the TerraTerrors. Just keep going right to reach a teleporter; walk in to get to a small platform holding the beam emitter and Luxator, the White boss. You can trap Unicorn off of this guy. He's much stronger than the other bosses so far, so keep your HP up. Also, it'll use Magnify at the start of the round (followed by OmegaWhite! Watch out!) so use that to your advantage and cast nasty Black magic. When you beat it you'll win a Star and an UltraNova, plus one side of the beam will shut off. Go back to the main hall and save, then head left.

Just avoid the Cupoids as you go left. This part is identical to before, except now you have to fight Gravitor. You might want to give Serge the Black Plate for this battle. He can use MotherShip and FreeFall, if you're interested, and is just as strong as Luxator physically. Plus, he can use HellBound and HellSoul, so watch it! Be free with your Revives, and use the ChronoCross if you have it to restore your Elements! You'll get yourself another BlackHole when you win, plus the door is now open!

Return to the main hall and save, then go into the door to fight Aquator. (Forgot there was one missing, right?) It can summon FrogPrince, but you already have that, so don't let him. (It uses BlueField, though, so be quick about using other Elements!) It's pretty weak physically, but uses some nasty Blue magic, including Nimble, Vigora, Deluge, and Iceberg (you can trap the last two). When you win you'll get a Star and BlueField.

Now the floor beneath you will light up (do those chimes sound familiar? Hmm, each chime has a color! Watch the order...) Go back and save, then return to this room and go up the left staircase and down to the teleporter. Use it, then go to the top left (the gate opens for you, wow, what a welcome) and top left again. If Kid's at the front of your party you'll get an interesting change in dialogue here. After that comes another mega-huge boss fight...

Here we go. This fight has rockin' cool music, and is most definitely the longest fight in the game. However, it's not particularly difficult, except that your Elements will start running out sooner or later. Use the ChronoCross (or, if you have Leena or Riddel, their techs). Have three different-colored characters, because this guy will change his innate Element to every single one throughout the fight (using a very weak multi-attack when he does so). His stats (including strength and HP) get bigger with every form. Glenn and Leena is an awesome party for this fight, because you have four different Element techs counting the X-Strike. Don't use strong Elements until you're fighting that Element's opposite (e.g. keep your Deluges for the Red form, don't waste them on the White form). You can steal yet another HolyHealing if you brought Kid/Fargo/Mel. Each form can use exactly four things: a single and multiple physical attack, the Omega attack for that Element, and all the spells in a specific level, as follows.

Remember this order: Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black, White. Should sound familiar already. Besides for being the order of this guy's forms, it's also the order in which he uses attack Elements. First form (white) doesn't count. Second form (yellow) can use L.1 attack spells and will use all 6 of them in order. Third form (red) can use L.2 attack spells, and will use the last 5 starting at Red. Fourth form (green) can use L.3 and does the last 4, etc., up until the final form, White, which can only use UltraNova. Bring a bunch of healing stuff, some traps for FreeFall, HolyLight (for Black form) and UltraNova (for White form), and use the Field Elements to help using Summons. When you finally beat it, you'll get a Star, an Earring of Hope, and then eventually the Time Egg. Oh, and the tower will break up, or something like that.

Memory Card Save: "For all the Dreamers - Our planet's dream is not over yet..."

Well, I'll put this in front. Go to the Earth Dragon Isle in Another World. Your opening the super-sand boil in the lower room in the Home World caused the same sand boil to open here, so go in and back to the room where the Earth Dragon used to be. A very strange fight will ensue.

There are two ways to finish this fight. Defend the first round, and the Criosphinx will babble some Latin and ask you a riddle. Respond by hitting him with the Element which answers the riddle, and write down the order of the riddles (er, whoops, already told you that one...) If you get them all right, he'll disappear.

To really fight him is pretty damn tough. In fact, impossible if you don't have the Yellow Plate. (He's kind of the Omega Weapon of Chrono Cross.) Give one character (preferably a Green one) the Yellow Plate and give the others up for lost. Oh, and give him high defensive items for the physical attacks. Just keep going at him and if you're lucky you'll win... after a very very long time. When you do win, you'll get the Sunglasses, which aren't as good as they're made out to be.

This trick was sent in by DeAd AnD bLoAtEd: Since the first color in the fight is Yellow, you can either set an Earthquake trap (you can get a whole bunch this way), or have Mel steal from him (you can steal a Rainbow Shell if you're lucky). Remember that you can run away if you miss the steal and try again.

Now for the End. Go to Opassa Beach in Another World. The three ghosts here will overload you with story info. When you're completely bug-eyed, give someone the Green Plate, take two different-innate characters (so you can use two different Summons using the Field Effects) and have the Chrono Cross equipped. Also try to take people with a high amount of Level 1 slots, and put one of every Element in the Level 1 slot (even healing/effect Elements, doesn't matter). Now go to the lower left of Opassa Beach, and use the Time Egg in the purple thingie.

This guy has a whole lot of HP. At the start, he'll only use Green attacks (hence the Green Plate). Just keep pounding him at this time. A Green innate character can do massive damage during this time. After a while, he'll switch his tactics to using different colored Elements... but he'll mostly use higher-level ones, including Omega attacks. Keep healing up...

Ah, but now we come to the crux of the matter. If you wish to see the so-called "bad" ending, you will keep pounding away using summons, high-level spells, etc., etc. until this thing is a heap of dust. But, but! If you want to see the so-called "real" ending, violence is not the answer. Now all those hints about order of Elements will come to fruition.

To beat him the "real" way, you must have the Chrono Cross equipped as an Element. After the Elements are used in a certain order, using the Chrono Cross will "harmonize" them all and repair time. The order (in case you STILL haven't gotten it) is Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black, White. This is practically impossible while he's still in his "Green-only" mode, but once he switches it becomes easier... I've even heard reports of him completing the sequence or doing it all himself. It can get annoying, but since the Chrono Cross recovers all Elements, including itself, you have plenty of chances. Good luck, man!

Save your game onto a new save slot; this one has yellow text. When you continue from this slot, you can start a new game using your old stats and Element grids! You do not keep Key Items, found techniques, or Summon Elements. You DO keep all equipment, Elements, money, and window frames, with a few exceptions: any piece of equipment or Element that's also a key item is not carried over, nor are any Dragoon's Honour items (since they're important in Guile's section of the game). You'll also lose any Summons and found techniques (i.e. not ones that you learn automatically). The game also keeps track of which characters you used to have. You can also use the Continue+ feature to do the same thing, but instead of starting a new game, you can start from any point in the game (provided you have a save file, of course) using the stats and equipment you had in your end-of-game save file!

At the very start of the game you'll have two useful Key Items. The Time Shifter lets you change the speed of the game; L2 slows it down (slow-mo battles!) and R2 speeds it up (very useful for moving around quickly). The Relief Charm lets you change another character for Serge during battles (Serge will be shown on the field screen, but another character will be there instead of him during battles). If the other character is already in Serge's party, the Relief Charm doesn't take effect. A neat glitch is that if you use the Relief Charm when you first get Kid and put her as Serge's replacement, then she can still fight when she's supposed to be incapacitated! You can't equip her or fool around with her Elements, though.

Next: After the opening sequence, you'll get the Time Egg. You can now fight the final boss at any point in the game. First off, you'll get different endings depending on when you fight him. Secondly, you can save another New Game+ using your new stats, Elements, etc.

Next: The Bend of Time (just southeast of the main island) now has a new challenge. Remember that locked door on the left? It's open now. Go in and talk to the giant land octopus, who should remind you of someone. Do what he says and walk around the room three times (hug the walls) to open a fight with the three Mystics, Flea, Ozzie, and Slash!

These guys aren't very tough when it comes to damaging you, but it'll be a long fight. Take out Ozzie first, because his MaxShield means you can't damage ANY of the enemies at all (physically OR magically) for several rounds. And he'll use it again as soon as it runs out. Once he's gone, take care of Flea, because he (I said HE, got a problem?) can confuse everyone at once. HolyHealing is useful. After that, Slash is simple. Try stealing from Flea; you might get his Flea Vest (although he seems very loathe to give it up... perseverance, my friend!). Also, take Sprigg or Forget-me-nots, because Sprigg can morph into all three of these dudes... in fact, her Slash morph has a special triple tech ability! When you win, you'll get Slash's Slasher, Flea's Dreamer's Sash, and Ozzie's Ozzie Pants.

Still not done, though... talk to the land octopus again for a challenge. Run around the room several times. You can talk to him three times and he'll give you hints telling you how close you are to the number he's thinking of (1-20). After your three chances, if you're still off, you lose and have to start again with a different number. If you hit the number right on, you'll get an unbelievably useful (especially for getting Rainbow equipment) Dreamer's Sarong.

Finally: Once you get the Chrono Cross, go to Sprigg's house using the dimensional portal in Hydra Marshes (Home), one screen up from the start. Use the Chrono Cross and all your characters from your old game will join you! You can even get Harle this way, and you can use her to fight through Terra Tower. (I think that's a glitch, though. 8-))

One last note: If you start a New Game+ from data when you finished as Lynx, any items you gave to Serge's characters before getting Lynx will be completely gone, never to return, so watch it!

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Nikki's Path

Guile's Path

Pierre's Path