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Phantasy Star IV
A comprehensive FAQ/Walkthrough/Strategy Guide
By Marak
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Version: 1.0
Author: Mark Quaintance, a.k.a. Marak
e-mail: nematocyst@hotmail.com OR mquaintance@sbcglobal.net
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Table of Contents:
1. Legal Text
2. Revision History
3. Introduction to my guide
4. Preamble: The Playable Characters
5. Complete Game Walkthrough
6. Wrap up and things to come
7. Credit where credit is due
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1. Legal Text
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This FAQ is copyrighted material.
LIMITED REPRODUCTION LICENSE: This FAQ may be posted, emailed, or saved to a
disk without express permission, provided that the FAQ remains unaltered, and
the full copyright notice is in place. Removing the copyright notice and
rights disclaimer voids any rights assigned.
Exclusions: This FAQ may not be used for promotional purposes, nor may it be
incorporated in guides, magazines, secured websites, or in any state or place
where a fee is charged in order to obtain the information contained within.
All professional use rights are retained by the author.
Future revisions of this FAQ may be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com.
Contact me!
If you have anything you want me to add to this guide, if you know something I
don't know, if you have a better way to beat a certain enemy or Boss, or if
you have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism/feedback, or heck, even if you just have a
question about the game, PLEASE e-mail me at:
nematocyst@hotmail.com
OR
mquaintance@sbcglobal.net
and tell me! You could also post on the GameFAQs Phantasy Star IV Message
Board, but I don't get the chance to hang around there as much as I would
like. You'd get a faster reply by e-mailing me, trust me on this one.
This FAQ should be found in only one place:
http://www.gamefaqs.com
(and I better not see it anywhere else...)
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2. Revision History
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Version 1.0 - Completed 8/4/04
My first attempt at a full-fledged Walkthrough. I think it turned out pretty
well, but we'll see. Guide includes descriptions of every playable character;
the location of every treasure chest; the location of every town and a listing
of every shop and what it sells; how to get to every dungeon - and how to get
THROUGH every dungeon; descriptions of every monster as you encounter them in
the game; tactics for beating every Boss; and a walkthrough that takes you from
the game's introduction to the defeat of the game's end Boss. The storyline is
also paraphrased, so you can reference important plot points, and I give
information about how the storylines and characters from Phantasy Stars I and
II tie into the plot line of Phantasy Star IV.
Now that we have all that out of the way, it's time for the...
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3. Introduction to My Guide
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Welcome! I'm glad you've chosen to at least check out my (not so) little
Phantasy Star IV FAQ.
I'm going to attempt to make this thing a bit different than most FAQs, in that
it's going to be one continuous walkthrough, rather than being split up into
all these different sub-sections and whatnot. In addition, the Walkthrough is
going to contain a TON of relevant info within it, including:
-Monster descriptions: their capabilities, attacks, and weaknesses. Also, what
attacks/Skills/Techniques your characters should use for a quick victory.
-Character Rundowns: a description of each character is given when they join
the Party. Starting Level, Techniques, Skills, and combat role are all given.
-Ability info: a description of what each character's Techniques and Skills do,
both when they join the Party and whenever they learn new ones.
-Storyline descriptors: I paraphrase the storyline as it happens, and give
clarifications and additional backstory (from Phantasy Stars I and II) where
appropriate.
-Town sections: lists Inn prices, what each store (weapon, armor, item) carries
and how much each item costs, and what you ought to buy for each character
while in said Town.
-All the side-quests: as soon as they become available/reachable, I describe
all of the game's optional dungeons and Hunter's Guild Jobs, giving the
requirements and rewards of each.
-And, of course, complete walkthroughs of each dungeon: monster stats,
directions to each and every treasure chest, directions on how to get to the
end of each dungeon, and lastly how to beat the Boss that awaits you there.
A quick note on transrations: In the original Phantasy Star, the 3 planets of
the Algo Solar System were Palma, Motavia, and Dezoris. In Phantasy Star IV,
they are referred to as Parma, Motavia, Dezolis. Gotta love that whole "The
Japanese use "l" and "r" as the same character and thus when games are
transrated you get crap like Parma/Palma and Dezoris/Dezolis" thing we got
goin' on here.
And so, because I'm stubborn, I refer to "Parma" as "Palma", because it was a
fertile planet (think, PALM trees). And, I refer to Dezolis as Dezolis and not
Dezoris because it is the DEZOLATE (yeah, it's spelled desolate, I KNOW)
planet. You get it? PALMa and DEZOLis. I'm not crazy; I just disagree with
certain tranration choices.
In addition, the game's transrators couldn't decide on whether to use the term
"Dezolian" or "Dezolisian". I will ONLY use Dezolian, because it matches the
other terms the game uses: Palmanian and Motavian. Three syllables across the
board.
Finally, it's Lassic, not Lashiec. Uh, so there, SoA!
But enough rambling... let's get on with it, shall we?
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4. Preamble: The Playable Characters
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Before we get to the Walkthrough itself, I'll start with a detailed description
of the game's playable characters.
THERE ARE SOME MINOR SPOILERS HERE, SO BE WARNED.
*Ahem*, anyway, I'll first tell you how each Character Entry will be broken
down:
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Name - Job, Sex Age
Class Type: Not on your Status Screen. This is MY description of what type
of character this is. Do they fight with Melee or Ranged weapons? What kinds
of Techniques and Skills do they have? I take these things into account and
list what type of fighter they are here.
This first paragraph will detail a bit about the character's past, as told to
us either in the game's instruction book, via the storyline, or both.
The second paragraph will list the character's strengths. Which of their
statistics get a high score? Do they have a lot of HP/TP? What powerful
Techniques and/or Skills do they learn? What is their best role in combat? I
answer questions like these in this area.
The third paragraph (just to be fair) lists the character's weaknesses. Yes,
every character does have a least a couple of weak points, and I list them all
here.
Techniques learnable: I list every single Technique the character will ever be
able to learn here. This can be a spoiler, of a sort, so read this entry at
your own risk.
Skills learnable: Same as above, but Skills instead of Techniques.
Overall: Here, I put all the above info together for you. I spell out how
powerful in combat the character is compared to your other Party members. I
reiterate their best combat role. Tell you what you can expect the character
to do for you while they are in the Party. Stuff like that.
-----
OK, that about covers it. PLEASE NOTE, that throughout this guide, I will
FREQUENTLY abreviate Techniques as "Tech" or "Techs." I may even say *gasp*
"spell" because some of them are so magic-like that I can't help myself.
And now, your Cast of Characters:
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Chaz - Hunter, Male Age: 16 Starting Level: 1
Class Type: Hybrid Melee Fighter and Balanced Tech user.
Chaz is the game's Main Character. Originally an orphan, he was saved from a
hard life on the streets by Alys. Alys, herself a famed Hunter, has trained
Chaz to follow in her stead. As the game begins, Chaz has been promoted from
Assistant to full-fledged Partner. There has been a mysterious outbreak of
monsters in the basement of Motavia Acedemy, and Alys and Chaz have been hired
to wipe them out. But perhaps this "simple" job will lead to greater (and more
sinister) challenges...
Chaz is primarily a Melee Fighter. He weilds two-handed swords (and is able to
equip daggers) and can wear most any type of armor. Thus, Chaz will always
have very respectable Attack and Defense. Chaz also learns a variety of
damage-dealing and Travel Techniques, which will benefit the Party greatly (and
can save you a crapload of time, to boot). Chaz' Skills are also very
formidable. The proper Skill used at the right time can end a battle quickly.
He also has a healthy supply of HP: this, combined with his formidable Defense
and adequate Magic Defense, make him one tough cookie to take down.
Chaz's weaknesses are few, but they are there, nontheless. He has a relatively
small amount of TP, and his Mental stat (which governs how powerful your
Techniques are) is, for a Hybrid Caster, pretty abysmal. Finally, his very
limited selection of Healing Techs pales in comparison with most other Party
members.
Techniques learnable: Res (Gi,Na), Tsu (Gi,Na), Hinas, Ryuka, Anti,
Zan (Gi,Na), Rimpa, Brose, Rever, Megid
Skills learnable: Earth, CrossCut, AirSlash, RayBlade, Explode
Overall: Chaz is one of the best characters in the game. Great physical combat
ability combined with a wide selection of useful Techniques and some of the
most powerful Skills in the game makes for one potent character. Oh yeah, and
he gets the most powerful weapon in the game as part of the storyline.
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Alys - Hunter, Female Age: ?? Starting Level: 7
Class Type: Stealth/Ranged Fighter and Offensive Tech user.
Alys is a world-famous Hunter who hunts the biomonsters of Motavia for a
living. She took in Chaz a few years ago and has trained him to be her
Partner. Alys has a very straightforward personality and doesn't take crap
from ANYONE. Her determination to get the Job done, coupled with Chaz's
curiosity, starts a quest to stop the spread of evil across the entire Algo
Solar System...
Alys is best described as a Mass Damage Character. Her regular weapons -
slashers - attack all foes at once, although they are not very strong compared
to Melee weapons like Axes and Swords. She also learns a number of Techs and
Skills that affects multiple foes at once. Alys has above-average HP for a
non-melee character and also has respectable TP. In fact, almost all of Alys's
stats are strictly average, except for her Agility, which is quite high.
Alys's weaknesses include a marginal Mental stat and a lack of Techs and Skills
(she only learns a handful of each).
Techniques learnable: Foi (Gi,Na), Shift, SaNer, Zan (Gi,Na)
Skills learnable: Vortex, MoonShad(e), Death
Overall: Alys starts out a few levels higher than Chaz and Hahn, so she is your
most powerful Character for quite a while. Once everyone's Levels catch up,
she becomes less impressive, dealing less and less damage as her slashers'
attack power falls behind that of the straight Melee weapons. Still, she's a
good character to the end.
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Hahn - Scholar, Male Age: 24 Starting Level: 1
Class Type: Tech User, with an emphasis on defeating Biomonsters.
Hahn is a scholar studying with Professor Holt. When the good Prof. goes
missing, Hahn "hires" Alys and Chaz to help search for him. Little does he
realize that finding the Professor means finding other, less desirable
things...
Hahn is, basically, PSIV's version of PSII's Biologist class. He has a lot of
TP, high Mental, and most of his Techniques focus on the healing, harming,
disabling, and destruction of organic creatures. He also learns some Techs
that are useful against more than Biomonsers. While Hahn can use daggers, he's
actually better off not attacking physically. It's honestly not a bad idea to
equip him with two shields (one in each hand) and simply use Wat and Vol as his
primary "attacks".
Hahn's weaknesses are the same as those of most Tech Users: below average HP
coupled with a poor physical defense and low, low attack power. He also has a
VERY limited selection of Skills, and half of those are nothing special.
Techniqes learnable: Res (Gi,Na), Gelun, Wat (Gi,Na), Anti, Doran,
Zan (Gi,Na), Vol (Sa), Rimpa, Rimit
Skills learnable: Vision, Astral, Eliminat(e)
Overall: Healing coupled with a wide array of attack Techs makes Hahn a force
to be reckoned with - if you can keep him alive, that is. Two Shields (or 1
Shield and a Dagger) is a good way to acomplish this. Even with 2 daggers,
Hahn will never deal good damage, so... go with the shields.
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Rune - Wizard, Male Age: ?? Starting Level: 16
Class Type: Wizard, duh. Emphasis on destructive Techs and Skills.
Rune is an enigma, at least when you first meet him in the ruined town of
Molcum. He knows Alys from somewhere, but neither will say from where or when.
He picks on Chaz frequently, and yet, he seems to have Chaz' well-being in
mind, often giving him advice or warnings. He leaves shortly after joining
Alys & company, departing with Grandfather Dorin on a mysterious quest. Fear
not, your path and his will cross again...
Rune is your Party's main magic damage dealer - essentially, he's Chaz' magical
counter-part. His Techniques - with a few limited exceptions - focus solely
on dealing damage or teleporting the Party. He has a huge selection of
offense-oriented Techniques, and ALL of his many Skills deal damage or attempt
to slay your foes outright. In fact, Rune has SO much firepower at his
fingertips that it's not a bad idea at all to have him "pull a Hahn" and equip
two Shields. With his massive, massive stores of TP and damage dealing Skills,
it will be a very rare occasion that Rune will ever need to attack physically.
This is good, because his attack is just downright pathetic.
Rune shares most of Hahn's weaknesses: low HP, terrible attack power, and
pathetic physical defense. However, his high magic defense makes him a bit
more survivable than Hahn, especially in Boss Battles.
Techniques learnable: Foi (Gi,Na), Wat (Gi,Na), Gra (Gi,Na), Arows, Hinas,
Ryuka, Seals, Rever
Skills learnable: Flaeli, Hewn, Diem, Tandle, Efess, Negatis, Legeon
Overall: Rune could compete with Chaz for the "most powerful character" award.
He can fight with Techs and Skills until the cows come home, so do NOT be
afraid to have him cast a spell or use a Skill in every single round. If you
use him like the Battle Mage he is, you'll go far. An excellent addition to
the Party.
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Gryz - Motavian, Male Age: 19 Starting Level: 6
Class Type: Melee Fighter. Pure Melee Fighter.
Gryz is a young Motavian driven by a burning desire for revenge. Zio the Black
Magician murdered his parents, and when he finds out that Alys' Party is also
looking into Zio's activies, he invites himself along in the hopes that he can
confront Zio and make him pay for his crimes. Maybe he ought to be more
careful what he wishes for...
Gryz is your Meat Shield. He has the highest HP of any character (except,
perhaps, for Wren) and has excellent Attack and Defense, as well. With his
massive, two-handed Axes, he can deal more damage than even Chaz, which is no
mean feat. He also had good Dex, which means he'll get more than his fair
share of Critical Hits.
Unfortunately, Gryz's weaknesses really outweigh his strengths. He has only
one Tech, and only three Skills, of which one is useless and another you won't
get until the very end of the game. He also has absymal magic defense, which
means he takes outrageous damage from most bosses. He's also pretty slow,
which doesn't help his case any.
Techniques learnable: Brose
Skills learnable: Crash, WarCry, Sweeping
Overall: Gryz is there pretty much there to balance out the Tech-heavy Party
you have when you get him. He can take a lot of hits, and dishes out some nice
damage, but his lack of ability to do anything other than attack, attack,
attack really keeps him from being a "must have" Character. You won't be
shedding any tears when he finally leaves the Party for... personal reasons.
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Rika - Numan, Female Age: 1 Starting Level: 1
Class Type: Melee Fighter/Healer hybrid.
Rika is a genetically enhanced humanoid, the product of a thousand years of
improvent on a Prototype from prior to the 'Great Collapse'. She is sent by
her "father" - the AI dubbed 'Seed' - out into the world in an attempt to stop
the outbreak of biomonsters. Rika is compassionate and intelligent and
capable, but will her naitivete hinder your quest?
Rika is probably third on the list of "most useful characters", after Chaz and
Rune. She is a capable fighter, able to deal almost as much damage as Chaz.
She also has HP and Defense equeal to Chaz'. In addtion, she learns a useful
assortment of defensive and healing Techs, and a few powerful offensive Skills.
She also has high Dexterity, Agility, and Strength.
Rika has few weaknesses, actually. She lacks offensive Techs, and a lot of her
Skills simply aren't as effective as you might think, but Rika still has good
stats all around and isn't really lacking in any particular area, except
perhaps an ability to damage multiple foes at once.
Techniques learnable: Res (Gi,Na), SaNer, Deban, Shift, Sar (Gi,Na)
Skills learnable: Illusion, DblSlash, Eliminat(e), Disrupt
Overall: You'll be pleasantly surprised when Rika joins the Party. Rika is
versatile, powerful, and durable. In addition to the basic Res line of Techs,
she learns the Sar line of Techs (heals all humanoids in the Party
simultaneously), as well as Deben, which cuts down physical damage dealt to the
entire Party. Offensive skills like DblSlash and her ability to weild powerful
Claw weapons makes her a force to be reckoned with in melee combat, as well.
Rika is one of my favorite characters, and I think you'll find she grows on
you, as well.
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Demi - Andriod, Female Age: 324 Starting Level: 12
Class Type: Ranged Attacker and Healer.
Demi is an Android, a robot given human form. She is very knowledgable about
machinery and the various Climate Control Systems still functioning on Motavia.
After you rescue her from the clutches of Zio, she will join your Party in an
effort to stop the systems from spiraling out of control, thus destroying
Motavia's climate and making the planet unhospitable.
Demi, like Gryz, seems to be more a part of the plot rather than a well thought
out character. She has a few useful Skills and respectable HP, but all her
other stats are average at best, and her Gun weapons aren't that great, either.
If there's one thing that Demi does well, it's kill Mechanical creatures, but
that is literally ALL she does well.
Demi has more than her fair share of weaknesses, as well. The fact that she's
not alive means that Healing Techniques (and items) do not work on her; thus,
she must use her Recover Skill to heal herself. She also has no Mental score
(which means that she has abysmal Magic Defense), TP, or Techniques.
Techniques learnable: none.
Skills learnable: Recover, StatisBm, Spark, Barrier, Medic Pw, Phonomezer
Overall: It's good thing that Demi is only with the Party for a limited amount
of time, because quite frankly, she sucks. One strength with a host of
weaknesses and unhealthy dose of all-around mediocrity does not a good
character make. You'll just have to bear with her for now; she thankfully
won't be with you for too long.
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Wren - Android, Male Age: 998 Starting Level: 20
Class Type: Front-line Fighter.
Wren is the android in charge of keeping Motavia's control systems functioning
properly. When he is rendered helpless by an unknown usurper, he joins the
Party in order to find out who is messing with the Algo Solar System, and how
to stop them.
Wren is basically a better, stronger version of Demi. He has more HP than
anyone else, period. He also has very high defense, and his Gun weapons are
much more powerful than the ones that Demi uses. With both Flare and Spark,
Wren is equipped to handle both Biomonsters and Mechs.
Wren does have a few weaknesses, namely his magic defense, which is generally
horrendous due to his having a 0 Mental stat. This means that he spends the
better part of most Boss battles using Recover repeatedly instead of
contributing. He is also a bit on the slow side, and since he is an Android,
he is completely bereft of TP and Techniques.
Techniques learnable: none.
Skills learnable: Recover, Flare, Spark, Barrier, HiJammer, BurstRoc(ket),
Posi(tron) Bolt
Overall: Wren is a welcome addition to the party, stepping in to fill Gryz'
shoes as the, uh, guy who can take a hit - only he does it better. He can take
the hits and dish them right back out, which helps immensely. His greatest
weakness is his magic defense, which is beyond abyssmal, and results in his
taking more than his fair share of damage in most Boss battles. Wren will be
with you permanently, so you had better get used to him. However, I think
you'll be okay with that.
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Raja - Priest, Male Age: 85 Starting Level: 25
Class Type: Primary Healer, undead slayer.
After the Party "crashes" Raja's temple, he decides that he was bored of being
in charge of the temple, anyway. He invites himself to tag along with the
Party, supposedly in order to help them find an alternative means of leaving
Dezolis. That, and he hopes to find to good time. Along the way, Raja
continuously states his belief that the foul Garuberk Tower is the cause of the
current unending Blizzard that is threatening Dezolis. No one seems to believe
him, but perhaps they ought to. Raja may be more than he seems...
Raja's strengths are an insane amount of TP, excellent magic defense, and a
dangerously high Mental score. He also has passable physical defense, and his
Skills are very powerful and useful. His selection of healing and recovery
abilities is without equal.
Raja's weaknesses include low HP and no way to deal damage to anything that
isn't undead or unholy: his attack power is pathetic, and he has no damage
dealing Techniques. He's also very slow.
Techniques learnable: Res (Gi,Na), Anti, Rimpa, Sar (Gi,Na), Arows, Rimit,
Seals, Rever, Regen
Skills learnable: Blessing, HolyWord, Ataraxia, Miracle, St. Fire
Overall: Raja is a bit like Hahn, except that his focus in not on Biomonsters,
but on foes that are undead or otherwise rely on the evil energies of Dark
Force. As such, his Techs deal exclusively in healing and recovery, while his
Skills are a blend of recovery and undead slaying. The main problem with Raja
is that he literally cannot hurt anything unless it's undead/unholy. However,
his ability to heal the Party is second to none. And with Ataraxia, Raja
doubles as your own personal Inn. Don't be afraid to abuse Ataraxia!
-----
Kyra - Esper, Female Age: 18
Class Type: Ranged Fighter and jack-of-all-trades.
After the Party rescues her from the carniverous forest, Kyra accompanies them
to the Esper Mansion, where they mean to seek out the assistance of the most
powerful Esper of all, the legendary Lutz. Kyra may be roung and reckless, but
she means well, and she is a good ally to have. Hopefully her crush on Lutz
won't complicate matters for the rest of the Party...
If Kyra has a strength, it's her ability to use Slashers to damage all foes at
once, and the use of the Medice Skill, which can heal even androids, and for
a signifigant amount of HP. She also has a LOT of TP.
However, her other stats are all completely average, and she doesn't have too
many HP, either. Also, her offensive Techniques leave a bit to be desired.
I mean, really, GiFoi and Gra, this late in the game? Her Flaeli and Hewn
Skills are a joke compared to Rune's.
Techniques learnable: Res (Gi,Na), Foi (Gi,Na), Anti, Rimpa, Gra (Gi, Na)
Skills learnable: Medice, Flaeli, Telele, Hewn, Warla, Bindwa, Tandle
Overall, Kyra is a useful character that does a lot of things well but has no
real outstanding strengths or debilitating weaknesses. Her slashers do good
damage, but she has only moderate HP and defense. She has a lot of TP, but
not a lot of useful Techs to use them with. She has a nice balance of
offensive and defensive abilities, but with her slightly-above-average Mental
score, her abilities aren't as strong as say, Rune's or Raja's.
She's Rune without the insane Mental score; Raja without the ability to utterly
obliterate the undead; Alys without the powerful offensive abilities. A jack-
of-all-trades, and a master of none.
-----
Seth - Scholar, Male Age:??
Class Type: Weak melee fighter and Battle-Skill user
Seth is a mysterious "traveling archeologist" who accompanies the Party while
they are exploring the Soldier's Temple in search of an important artifact.
Not much is know about him, but he seems to be able to hold his own in battle.
And don't some of his skills seem a bit, oh, I dunno, familiar?
Seth would be compeletely pathetic if not for his array of potent Skills. With
attacks like Corrosion and DeathSpell at his command, Seth can kill monsters
with the best of them.
Weaknesses? Let's see... pathetic, Hahn-like attacks, mediocre HP, and poor
speed and magic defense. No TP or Techs, although he DOES have a Mental score
higher than 0. Once again, Seth would be a joke if it weren't for his insane
Skills.
Techniques learnable: none.
Skills learnable: Shadow, Corr(o)sion, MindBl(a)st, D(ea)thSpell
Overall, Seth is a very limited character. Sure, those Skills are nice, but
that's ALL HE HAS. On the bright side, Seth won't be with you long after you
clear out the Soldier's Temple.
-----
OK, that's all of the playable characters. We now proceed to...
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5. Complete Game Walkthrough
----------------------------
Before I begin, let me tell you the about the general layout of this
walkthrough.
Basically, it goes like this: I start off by paraphrasing the storyline. Then,
I tell you what Town you are currently in - or the one you should be heading
to. Once in town, I list the things you can do there: what the shops sell,
what rumors are floating around town, who you need to talk to, and other things
of that nature. From there, I give directions to the next dungeon you're
supposed to tackle.
Each Dungeon walkthrough will go like this: First, I'll list all the monsters
and items that you can find in chests (or other places) in this dungeon. I'll
then give the Level I think that most of your Party members ought to be at to
tackle this dungeon, and a Level you should really make a serious attempt to be
at when you fight the Boss and/or complete the dungeon (not all dungeons have
Bosses).
After all that, I list the floor or level you start on, and then I give you
directions on how to get to all the treasure chests on said level. Then, I
tell you the shortest route the stairs (or elevator, or whatever) that lead to
the next part/level/floor of the dungeon. I will repeat these last two steps
until you encounter a Boss and/or reach the end of the dungeon.
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Please note that I will frequently use N, S, E, and W in place of North, South,
East, and West!! (If I didn't, this file would be a megabite instead of only
500K. I'm almost serious about that.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Boss section will tell you the best way to take down the beastie with the
characters you currently have, at the Level I recommended they be at at the
start of the Dungeon walkthrough. I'll list what each character should be
doing and when, as well as describing what the boss can do to you, and a rough
estimate of its HP. Not all dungeons end with Bosses, so some dungeons
obviously will not have a Boss section in their walkthroughs.
Other things I'll include are general tips on how to fight the various monsters
that you'll encounter, and (most importantly) what new Techs and Skills your
characters will learn by reaching the Recommended Level. I'll also tell you
what these new Skills and Techs are best used for, and how much TP they consume
(in the case of Techniques).
In addition, I will give in-depth coverage of each side-quest (or side-dungeon)
as soon as you are able to get to it. If you don't feel like doing the side-
quest (they are optional, after all), I'll even tell you what section to scroll
down to in order to skip the side-quest and get on with your mission.
Hrmm, that should be about it. On with the walkthrough!
------------------------------------
Introduction: Chaz and Alys' new Job
------------------------------------
Things start off with Alys and Chaz, in Alys' home in Aeido. Alys tells Chaz
that his training has ended and he is now a full-fledged Partner. Chaz is
pleased about this, until Alys yells at him to get a move on: they have a new
Job that they've been hired to do. As they leave Aeido, Chaz asks Alys for
some more info, and she says that they are going to Motavia Academy in the far
off town of Piata. And so, off they head for Piata...
A cut scene then describes how Biomonsters have been increasing in number in
recent years, and how a new class of people has emerged to combat them:
Hunters.
Fade out, fade in... and we find Chaz standing by himself in a corner. Now,
you can finally take control of Chaz and the game begins in earnest.
---------------
Motavia Academy
---------------
Unless you're legally blind, it shouldn't be too hard to find Alys, although
you can always explore the rooms to the North first, if you like. In this
game, you'll be rewarded with amusing and/or informative messages if you search
things. "Things" include objects such as: books or papers on desks, bookcases,
cupboards and cabinets, people's kitchens, fireplaces, jars, mirrors... well,
you get the idea. Searching never yields plot-important info or nets you
items, but it IS kinda fun to read what Chaz has to say about darn near
everything.
At any rate, once you hook up with Alys, she'll tell you that the Academy's
Principal has all the details of the Job, and thus they should find and talk
to him. You can do this right away or you can explore the Academy and town
first; it doesn't matter much, as people say pretty much the same things
whether you've spoken to the principal or not, and you can't leave town in any
case until you complete the Job.
You might notice a statue on the first floor of the Acedemy. If you search it,
you'll see that it refers to a "Dr. Lubetz". Welcome to the wonderful world of
discrepencies, boys and girls! This statue is obviously supposed to be a bust
of Doctor Luveno, who helped the Heroine Alis from the original Phantasy Star.
Now, how do you get "Lubetz" out of "Luveno"? I don't know, but this is the
first of many transration oddities I'll point out in this walkthrough, mainly
because they bother me and I want to gripe about them. Enjoy!
The Principal's office is that big doorway due NW of where you rejoin Alys.
Once you've satified your wanderlust, head into his office and chat it up with
our nameless Principal friend.
After some pointless chitchat, the Principal finally gets to the heart of the
matter: about a month ago, monsters began appearing in the Academy's basement,
and the Principal wants you to go a-monster hunting. Alys does a bit of
prying as to the whole "how did monsters get into a town?" mystery before the
Principal tells her to stop asking questions and start killing monsters.
Alys comments on the Principal's evasive behavior once you leave his office.
The Academy's basement is the game's first Dungeon, so if you're feeling
nervous or inadequate, you can take the 500 Mesata you start off with and buy
some Monomates (basic healing items) from the Item Shop in town, but it really
shouldn't be necessary. You have Res, the basic healing spell, and the
monsters (including the, um, "boss") really aren't that tough.
At any rate, the entrance to the basement is on the First Floor, in the same
spot the Principal's office is on the Second Floor. Here you will find Hahn
pacing back and forth, preventing anyone from getting to the stairs that lead
to our friendly monster-infested basement. Talk at him.
He begs you to take him with you into the basement. When Alys asks why, he
explains that he is an assistant to Professor Holt, who disappeared while
doing research at nearby Birth Valley. Shortly thereafter, the Principal
issued a decree that no one else was allowed to go to Birth Valley, and has
since evaded questions as to why it's suddenly off-limits. Hahn thinks there
is a connection between the Birth Valley quarantine and the sudden appearance
of monsters in the Academy's basement.
And so, after Alys extorts 100 Mesata out of Hahn (she basically makes him
hire her and Chaz as bodyguards), he officially joins the Party and the path
to the first dungeon lies before you...
--------------------
The Academy Basement
--------------------
Monsters found in this Dungeon:
Xanafalgue, Zoran Bult
Items found in this Dungeon:
Monomate, 100 Mesata, Antidote
The Boss of this dungeon is:
Igglanova, the pathetic test tube Biomonster
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 1, Alys 7
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 1 or 2, Alys 7
Well, here we are, the first dungeon. It's short, fairly straightforward, and
the monsters are weak, so it's not a bad idea to wander back and forth in one
of the long hallways, fighting random battles to get a feel for the game's
combat system.
The XP and Mesata you earn by fighting these weak creatures is helpful, but you
can beat the boss at Level 1 without any problems, so fighting enough battles
to get Chaz and Hahn up to Level 2 in this place is entirely up to your
descrection.
I recommend that you just skip leveling up here, as the monsters outside Piata
are worth twice the XP and really aren't any more dangerous than what you're
fighting here.
Basic Combat strategies:
Alys starts out at Level 7 to Chaz and Hahn's 1. As such, she will be
invincible in this place. The monsters can only deal 1 HP of damage to her,
and she has enough TP and Vortexes to kill most anything at a whim. You can
just use the pre-set Macro A to win most battles down here with a minimum of
fuss. Just keep an eye on Chaz and Hahn's HP - unlike Alys, they can take up
to 5-6 damage per hit, and they don't have that many HP... yet. So don't be
afraid to have either Chaz or Hahn whip out a Res spell if either one loses
more than 15 HP or so.
Don't forget that Alys' Boomerang can hit every monster at once!
P.S. Macro A works better if you change its order to Alys, Chaz, Hahn instead
of Chaz, Alys, Hahn. Trust me on this one.
As for the foes you'll face down here, there are two types:
Xanafalgues are weak little critters. You should have no problem with these as
they have very little HP, poor defense, low attack power, and lack any sort of
special attack. Just attack with your weapons (think Macro A) and take them
down.
Zoran Bults, on the other hand, can be a bit of a threat. They can do some
decent damage to Chaz or Hahn, and they have a few more HP than Xanafalgues.
Still, don't do anything drastic like using up a Vortex on them; just be
cautious and watch Chaz' and Hahn's HP, and be ready to cast Res if necessary.
If you encounter them singly, it's not a bad idea to end the battle quickly
with Alys' Foi Technique.
Now, for your character's Skills and Techniques:
Alys starts at Level 7, and begins the game with the following abilities:
Skills
Vortex: Alys can use this Skill to deal around 50 damage to a single enemy.
Try to save these for the "boss", Igglanova, as this skill will take him down
in the shortest amount of time.
Techs
Foi: Basic Fire Tech. Deals around 30 damage. A good way to quickly dispose
of those annoying Zoran Bults and other weak individual foes. Uses 3 TP.
Shift: Increases 1 Ally's Attack Power. An excellent Tech to whip out for
Boss battles, but kind of a waste against normal foes. Uses 7 TP.
SaNer: Increases the entire Party's battle speed. But since your Party is
faster than these monsters 90% of the time, it's a waste to use it here. Uses
6 TP.
Chaz starts at Level 1, and begins the game with the following abilities:
Skills
Earth: Paralyzes one foe for 1 round (sometimes 2). Don't bother; attack
instead.
Techs
Res: Restores about 25 HP to a single Party member. Uses 3 TP. Don't forget
to use this to heal either Chaz or Hahn if they lose more than 15 HP or so.
Hahn starts at Level 1, and begins the game with the following abilities:
Skills
Vision: Increases the Party's Dexterity, which means you'll get more Critical
Hits and take slightly less damage (provides a minor Defense Power boost). If
you don't feel like watching Hahn do 8 whole damage with his knives, use this,
but save at least 1 for Igglanova.
Techs
Res: The same Tech that Chaz has; however, since Hahn has a higher Mental
score, his Res will recover more HP per casting than Chaz' will. Uses 3 TP.
Gelun: Attempts to lower the Attack Power of all foes, but has a very low
success rate, and it really sucks up Hahn's TP. It also will not work on
Igglanova. I wouldn't bother with this one. Uses 4 TP.
Walkthrough:
------------
Floor B1F (Monomate, 100 Mesata)
As soon as you walk downstairs, you'll see a chest to the West. Head on over
there and snag the Monomate it contains. From here, you can see a set of
stairs leading down to the next floor, again just to the West of where you
are standing.
Once you walk West and approach the area where the staircase is, you'll notice
that there is a side passage that leads even further West. You may as well
follow it, as it leads to a small room with another chest. This one contains
100 Mesata. Now you can go back and head down the stairs, which take you to...
Floor B2F (Antidote)
Once again, there is a chest immediately to the West. This one contains an
ever-useful Antidote. Whoo. Let's move on. Following a rather disturbing
trend, you can again see the next staircase from the chest, and again it's a
hop, skip, and a jump to the West. Descend the stairs, and you'll find
yourself on...
Floor B3F ("Boss": Igglanova)
This very small floor contains nothing but monster breeding capsules (!) and
our good buddy Igglanova, who is presumably spawning most of the Xanafalgues
that you've been slaughtering wholesale. Once you put him down, your task will
have been completed... right?
Igglanova the Pathetic (300 HP)
Iglanova is technically a Boss, but it's such a pushover. It only has two
attacks, but only one deals damage, and if you play your cards right, Iggy
won't ever even use it. Anyway, its attacks are as follows:
Fission: if Iggy is alone or only has 1 Xanafalgue at its side when its turn
comes up, it will use this ability to spit a new Xana out.
Iggy also has a regular attack, which it will ONLY use if there are two living
Xanafalgues when its turn comes up.
Thus, if you have Alys and/or Chaz disposing of the Xanas and being diligent
about NEVER letting a new round of combat start with 2 Xanas still left alive,
Iggy will never so much as lay a slimy tentacle on you. And even if does, it
won't do all that much damage, anyway.
I recommend doing the following:
Alys should alternate between tossing her 'rang (to weaken the Xanas that Iggy
is constantly producing) and nailing Iggy with Vortexes.
Chaz' time is best spent alternating between attacking weakened Xanas and Iggy
itself every round. If Hahn can kill a weakened Xana, have Chaz attack Iggy
instead, since he does more damage.
Hahn should definately use Vision in the first round of combat, and then just
have him mop up the wounded Xanas in subsequent rounds with physical attacks.
This frees up the much more powerful Chaz to attack Iggy more often.
If you so desire, you can have Alys cast Shift on herself and Chaz to boost
their attack power, but that's two rounds spent boosting yourself when you
could be nailing Iggy with Vortexes. Pass.
Iggy does have one thing going for it: 300 HP, which seems like a lot; however,
since the above strategy ensures that he never once attacks your Party... well,
suffice to say you'll put old Iggy down with extraordinary ease.
*Begin Rant* In fact, this "boss" battle is SO easy, I even loaded up a
savestate from before I fought it and tried to make it a bit harder: by using a
Level 1 Party, and only physical attacks. I still won without him touching me;
it was sad. However, things WILL only get harder (a LOT harder) from here on
out, so if this thing somehow gives you trouble, do yourself a favor and just
set the controller down now. *End Rant*
After the fight is over, Alys tries to humble the excited Chaz by telling him
that he needs practice: his swing is too slow. Alys then asks Hahn if he knows
anything about the monster breeding capsules. Hahn claims to know nothing
about them, and Alys says she'll believe him... for now. The Party decides
to back and ask the Principal a few questions.
From here, you must backtrack out of the basement...
------------------------------
The Motavia Academy, revisited
------------------------------
...and hike back on up to the Principal's office.
The Principal insists on playing dumb until Alys begins threatening him
physically, at which point he caves in (the wuss), and begins telling you
everything you want to know.
He begins by saying that Professor Holt identified Birth Valley as the source
of a recent monster outbreak. The Professor and his team of researchers found
the remains of an ancient-yet-advanced civilization deep in Birth Valley!
They brought back the monster breeding capsules they found there to the Academy
for study, and departed immediately for a second expidition, from which they
never returned.
Hahn acuses the Principal of twiddling his thumbs and doing nothing to rescue
the missing scientists, but the Principal says it was because, as he was
organizing a rescue party, a man named Zio appeared before him...
Using his dark magic, Zio showed the Principal a vision of the research team,
all of whom - even Professor Holt - had been turned to stone in the depths of
Birth Valley. He threatens to do the same to the Principal if he doesn't keep
everyone else out of Birth Valley.
After hearing all this, Hahn rashly decides that he must head to Birth Valley
himself and try to help the research team. Alys reminds him of the dangerous
Sandworms that prowl the area, and offers to tag along for a mere 300 mesata.
Hahn readily agrees, and tells them that Birth Valley is to the Northeast.
We'll head out for Zema and Birth Valley in a minute, but first let's take a
good look at...
-----------------
The Town of Piata
-----------------
Inn: 5 mesata per person (15 mesata)
Item shop: Monomate 20 mesata
Not much to do here at all, really. I would advise staying at the Inn to
quickly recover your lost HP, TP, and Skill "charges". You can talk to the
townspeople, but most of them don't have anything terribly important to say.
However, one of the stundents in the dormatories mentions that one of his
classmates joined a strange new religion and disappeared; this will become
important later on.
Once you're done chatting it up with the townsfolk, exit the town (the town's
gate in the center of the south wall), and we'll begin our journey...
----------------------
To the Village of Mile
----------------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 1 or 2, Alys 7
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 3, Alys 7
Foes you might face: MonsterFly, Crawler
There's actually a small town between you and Birth Valley, and it has both a
Weapon and an Armor shop, so it's worth your while to stop off there. From
Piata, head just a bit to the East and then head almost due North.
You'll probably encounter a few foes along the way, but don't let them scare
you. As I stated earlier, they're not much tougher than what you fought in the
Academy's basement. The monsters you'll face out here are:
MonsterFlies, which are a bit like Xanafalgues, but much faster. Thier attacks
can deal a bit of damage, but they don't have many HP and are pretty easy to
kill with Alys' Boomerang.
Crawlers are harder to kill than MonsterFlies, but not by much. If you want,
you can have Alys cast Foi to eliminate one insantly. Otherwise, just use
Macro A.
It's not a bad idea to kill enough random baddies to reach Level 3, if you
aren't already. The extra HP, TP, and stats will make the upcoming trek into
Birth Valley much easier.
After heading NNE for a bit, you'll see a village just south of a large patch
of quicksand. Note the sinister-looking building on the other side of the
(currently uncrossable) quicksand. At any rate, the aforementioned village is
our next destination. Let us explore...
-------------------
The Village of Mile
-------------------
Inn: 10 mesata per person (30 mesata)
Item shop: Monomate 20; Antidote 10
Armor shop: Lthr-Helm 80; Lthr-Crown 90; Lthr-Band 70; LthrShield 140
Weapon shop: Dagger 40; Hunt-Knife 120; Stel-Sword 280; Boomerang 80;
Slasher 160
The first thing to do here is hit the Weapon and Armor shops. This is
another reason I told you to Level Up outside of town: you'll need a fair
amount of Mesata. Be sure to purchase all of the following:
For Chaz, a Stel-Sword. Don't sell his two Hunt-Knives just yet (see Hahn,
below).
For Alys, get 2 Slashers. Now Alys can REALLY dish out the damage. Sell her
old, obsolete Boomerang.
Since Hahn is getting Chaz' hand-me-downs, you don't need to buy him anything,
really. You can just equip him with Chaz' old Hunt-Knives. HOWEVER, I
STRONGLY recommend an alternative to Hunt-Knives: buy and equip him with 2
LthrShields. "But Marak," I can hear you cry, "If Hahn has 2 Shields
equipped, he won't be able to attack!" And you'd be right. But you never
need to attack with Hahn: he deals much more damage with Wat - which he will
learn at Level 4 - and has enough TP to cast it repeatedly. If you find him
running low on TP, just use Vision. So, for now, give Hahn a Hunt-Knife or
two, and once he hits Level 4, slap on the LthrShields.
You can also buy a couple of Monomates if you like, but with Hahn and Chaz both
able to restore the Party's HP with Res, they really shouldn't be necessary.
If you blew a bunch of TP leveling up outside of town, feel free to hit the Inn
and heal up. Having enough Mesata should be no problem, between the Mesata
you've harvested from fallen foes and the cash you've bilked out of poor Hahn.
Don't forget to sell any old weapons you have left over after upgrading at the
shops!
Points of Interest in town include:
A fledgeling sand worm ranch at the entrance to town. There's only an
immature sand worm burrowing about at the moment, but this location will become
important later, so try to keep it in the back of your mind.
And, uh, that's about it. This town is here mainly to intoduce you to
Quicksand and to upgrade your weaponry. Let's move on, shall we?
-------------------
To the Town of Zema
-------------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 2 or 3, Alys 7
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 3 or 4, Alys 7
Foes you might face: MonsterFly, Crawler
The next destination, Zema, is home to this Birth Valley everyone is so
concerned about. To get there, simply head due NE. You'll see Zema at the
base of a mountain range. Go ahead and enter.
You'll notice that there are several ways to go once you reach Zema, however,
most lead to nothing at this point. If you go NW, you'll find a broken,
uncrossable bridge. To the S, you'll find the Village of Molcum, but a pair of
crabby Motavian gatekeepers won't let you in the village. East of Molcum is
Hahn's hometown of Krup. Here you can find out some things about Hahn a bit
ahead of schedule, and buy some better equipment if you can afford it, but
since the monsters in Birth Valley are so weak, there's really no point in
doing so. If you go N of Krup, you'll find a cave, but the entrance is blocked
by a landslide. So, basically, you can go a LOT of places right now, but you
can't do anything relevant to the storyline until you find Professor Holt deep
in Birth Valley. So, let's go do that now.
----------------
The Town of Zema
----------------
Inn: Locked.
Item Store: Locked.
Armor Store: Locked.
Weapon Store: Locked.
Yep, you read that right. Every building in this town is locked up tight.
You'll also notice that it's not just the researchers in Birth Valley that were
turned to stone by Zio; the whole town has been petrified! You can "talk" to
the statues to elicit a reaction from Chaz, but there's literally nothing you
can do except head north, into Birth Valley (the cave in the back of town).
------------
Birth Valley
------------
Monsters found in this Dungeon:
Xanafalgue, Zoran Bult, FlattrPlnt
Items found in this Dungeon:
CrbnShield, Monomate, Crbn-Suit
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 3 or 4, Alys 7
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 4, Alys 7
Well, here we are: the infamous Birth Valley. This is another short dungeon
so don't be afraid to tackle it even if you're not fully healed or a bit low on
TP. There are two nice pieces of armor here: the Carbon Shield and Carbon
Suit. Both are better than what you have, so be sure to snag them before
meeting up with Professor Holt and his researchers.
General combat strategies:
You've fought Xanafalgues and Zoran Bults before, and with your new weapons,
they're complete pushovers. There is one new monster here:
The FlattrPlnt. Uh, Flattr? Flutter with an a? Plants that are flatter than
normal? At any rate, these things are a bit tougher than Xanas and Zorans,
due to their Acid Spit attack, which can deal 10-12 damage to a single
character. They're pretty rare, however, so fear not. Just nail them with a
Vortex when they do pop up and watch them go down.
Your characters should reach these levels and gain these abilities:
Chaz will learn the Tsu Tech at Level 4. Similar to Hahn's Wat, but instead of
being ice/water element, it's Holy element. Holy element isn't anything
spectacular right now, but it becomes very important later on. Anyway, as I
was saying, Tsu is similar to Wat but more powerful. However, it uses up a
staggering (for Chaz) 6 TP, so try not to use it unless you're REALLY in a
bind. Chaz needs to save his TP for healing and let Hahn use his more
TP-efficient Wat. Speaking of which...
Hahn learns the Wat Tech at Level 4. This will be the mainstay of Hahn's
offense for quite a while. Wat costs only 4 TP, but it deals about 35 damage
(on average) to most foes, and it will do even more damage as Hahn's Level
increases and his Mental stat goes up. Hahn generally has enough TP that you
can make this his primary attack; that is, don't be afraid to have Hahn cast
this instead of attacking. With Wat in his arsenal, Hahn can forego using
weapons at all, and instead cast Wat while hiding behind a pair of shields.
Sure, it sounds silly, but it's surprisingly effective in practice.
Walkthrough:
------------
Floor 1F (Carbon Shield, Monomate)
Head N until you come to an East/West T intersection. Go E first, and you'll
come across a chest containing a CrbnShield. Equip this on Hahn if you're
using my "Mage Hahn" advice, then backtrack to the T intersection and go W this
time. Follow the passage as it almost immediately turns N. Ignore the side
passage to the E for now and continue going N. You'll soon stumble across
another chest, which contains a Monomate. Now backtrack and take that E
passage you bypassed earlier. Follow it E, then N, then W, and you'll come to
a staircase that takes us down to...
Floor B1F (Carbon Suit, Professor Holt)
Head N from the Stairs and you'll soon come to another E/W T intersection; head
E first, following the path as it curves to the N. Take the Crbn-Suit out of
the chest you'll find at the end of the passage. This can be worn by Chaz,
Alys, OR Hahn... Personally, I would give it to Chaz, as he will eventually
surpass Alys in HP and move to the front of the Party formation, but the choice
is yours. Now, head back to the T intersection and head W. Once again, the
path will turn N immediately. After a short walk, you'll find yourself in a
wide passage - filled with petrified people! Looks like you've found what you
came here to find... Sure enough, the Petrified people are none other than
Professor Holt and company, all turned to stone by Zio's dark magic.
That's right, no Boss for this dungeon, just stoned scholars. Hahn will
immediately recognize the man standing in front of the large metal doors as
Professor Holt. Alys says that she can't believe that anyone is able to
inflict a potent magical curse on people in this age of Techniques and
technology. She also mentions that she's heard of a medicine that can restore
stone to flesh called "Alshline". (Ahh, more fun with bizarre transration
issues. In Phantasy Star, this same medicine was called "Alsulin". How you
get "Alshline" from one transrator and "Alsulin" from another is beyond me.)
At any rate, Alys says she heard about Alshline being found in the Motavian
village (as in, peopled by native Motavians) of Molcum, far to the south.
Hahn insists on rushing off to Molcum immediately, and Alys generously agrees
to tag along for a mere 500 Mesata. Who needs to fight biomonsters for Mesata
when you've got Cash Cow Hahn to milk?
The game then takes you back to entrance to Birth Valley. Leave Zema and its
cursed population behind for now; it's time to travel...
------------------------
To the Village of Molcum
------------------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 4, Alys 7
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7
Foes you might face: MonsterFly, Crawler, Locusta, Sand Newt
From Zema, head S, keeping the mountains to your left (and the river to your
right). After a bit of a walk, you'll see Molcum just a teensie bit to the
East. If you're not Level 5 yet, you should really fight some more Biomonsters
until you are.
Speaking of biomonsters, let's run down the new ones you may encounter:
Locusta: these guys are kind of nasty. They have around 70 HP and can deal a
fair amount of damage. Don't be afriad to use Vortex, Wat, or even Tsu to take
them down quickly.
Sand Newt: These guys can be dangerous in large numbers. They have about 50
HP, decent defense, and a painful attack. Use Wat if you can, as it really
does a number on them. Alys' slashers will also help to soften them up. If
you get 4 of these in a battle, you can get almost 100 exp. Not too shabby.
When you're ready (and Level 5), feel free to enter...
---------------------
The Village of Molcum
---------------------
No shops.
This village looks normal... until you move North only to see the blasted
remains of buildings..! There is no one to be found - save for the mysterious
white-cloaked figure standing in the midst of the destruction. You may as well
talk to him, as it appears that this person is the only one who may have a clue
as to what happened here.
The man's name is Rune, and Alys seems to know him, but neither says how they
might have met. Rune comes off as more than a little aroganat, and he seems to
enjoy taunting Chaz (possibly because he is amused by Chaz' hotheaded
reactions). Despite all this, Rune is actually quite knowledgeable, and since
you're in Alys' company, willing to help you out.
After some prodding, Rune tells you that Molcum's destruction was at the hands
of (no wait, you'll never guess)...Zio!! No way man, no way! Ahem, sorry...
At this point, Hahn mumbles something about Alshline, and Rune suggests that if
you're looking for that, you should head to the nearby, not-destroyed Motavian
town of Tonoe, to the north. He also suggests that you stop by Krup, due East
of here, before setting off for Tonoe.
Hahn REALLY doesn't want to stop at Krup, but since when does anyone care what
Hahn wants? Rune also decides to tag along(!), saying that he has some
business in Tonoe as well. Chaz isn't too thrilled about Rune coming with, but
Alys is the Boss here. Grow a pair, Chaz!
And so, you get to play with Rune! Let's do a Rune Rundown, shall we?
Rune, Wizard, starting Level: 17.
Techniques
Foi: Foi is your basic Fire attack Tech. Cheap TP-wise, but not too powerful.
Well, okay, when Rune uses Foi, it blows the damage Alys can do with Foi
right out of the, uh, water. Yeah. Rune rules. And Foi uses 3 TP.
Gra: Gra uses pockets of intense gravity to deal insane damage to ALL your foes
at once. It uses 10 TP, but casting it will end any battle instantly at this
point - none of the monsters in these parts can survive the damage it deals.
Wat: You should be familiar with Wat, but Rune's does much more damage, due to
his much higher Mental stat. Uses 4 TP.
Arows: Awakens sleeping Party members. You'll probably never use this. To
boot, it eats up 9 (!) TP if you do.
Hinas: Escape from the dungeon you are currently in. ONLY works in dungeons
(for obvious reasons). Uses 8 TP.
Ryuka: Warps the Party to any previously visited town. Only functions when
you're in a Town or on the World Map. Uses 8 TP.
Skills
Hewn: It's just like Gra, except that it's a Skill instead of a Tech, and it
uses tearing winds instead of gravity pockets. Like Gra, it deals so much
damage that using it will slay whatever you're currently fighting.
Flaeli: Magic that is similar to Foi, except that it's a Skill instead of a
Tech. For being "free" (i.e. consumes no TP), it sure does a lot of damage.
In fact, it seems to do MORE damage than Foi, so I recommend you use this up
first, then switch to Foi and Wat. It's not like he doesn't have enough
"charges" of it.
OK, here's the deal: Rune is a god at this point. He's (generally) your
fastest Party member, so have him cast Gra or use Hewn in every battle to end
it in one fell swoop. This a great way to power up: drain Rune dry of TP and
Hewn charges; stay at an Inn; lather, rinse, repeat. Go ahead, try it! It's
fun!
If you REALLY want to get those pesky random battles over with quickly, set up
the following two "Rune Macros":
1) Rune: Gra, everone else: attack
2) Rune: Hewn, everyone else: attack
Enjoy!
-------------------
To the Town of Krup
-------------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7, Rune 17
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7, Rune 17
Foes you might face: Crawler, Sand Newt, Locusta
Krup is literally only one "screen" to the East, so you won't have to strain
yourself getting there or anything. Play with Rune's godliness if you want -
there's going to be some new equipment to buy once you enter Krup, so try to
have at least 1,800 Mesata handy, if not more. Heck, just suck Rune dry (as
described above) because it's easy, EASY XP and Mesata - you can always rest
in Krup's Inn to restore your (his) TP and Skills.
When you're ready, head East and a smidge North, and enter...
----------------
The Town of Krup
----------------
Inn: 15 mesata per person (60 mesata)
Item Store: Monomate 20; Antidote 10; Telepipe 130; Escapipe 70
Armor Store: Crbn-Helm 200; Crbn-Crown 150; Circlet 100; Crbn-Suit 550;
CrbnShield 220
Ahh, Krup. You'll notice right away that most people in this town seem to know
our good buddy Hahn... they ought to, as this is his hometown. The Armor shop
is where Hahn's parents live: his dad acts all peeved because Hahn left to
study at the Academy rather than make Crbn armor for a living... but his mom
tells him to just ignore the old codger: they both still love their son. How
sweet. You can also meet Hahn's fiancee (!!) Saya at the town's school. She
and Hahn will share a moment before Hahn leaves her to resume the Search for
Alshline.
By the way, Saya's School is a riot. Be sure to talk to the kids, and seach
ALL of the bookshelves, the kids' desks, both ends of the blackboard, the
dressers in the back room, the mirror... everything! Some rather amusing stuff
to see here, if you're thorough.
After talking to Hahn's folks, be sure to stop by the business end (ba bum BUM)
of the Armor shop, and purchase the following:
For Chaz, a Carbon Helm, and a Carbon Suit if you didn't give him the one you
found in Birth Valley.
For Alys, a Carbon Crown, and a Carbon Suit if you didn't give her the one you
found in Birth Valley.
For Hahn, a Circlet, and a Carbon Suit if you didn't give him the one you found
in Birth Valley. You can also buy him a second Carbon Shield if you're
following my "Mage Hahn" build (you ARE, aren't you?).
The only thing that Rune can use from this shop is the Circlet, but he already
has one, so you don't need to get him anything at all.
Once you're fully equipped (don't forget to sell all that now-worthless Leather
equipment!!) and well rested, it's time to leave Krup behind and begin the
journey to Tonoe.
---------------------------------------------
To the cave which leads to Tonoe (ValleyMaze)
---------------------------------------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7, Rune 17
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7, Rune 17
Foes you might face: Crawler, Sand Newt, Locusta
Another long, arduous journey. Follow the river N, then E, and you'll see a
cave just a bit more to the North. Go ahead and enter it. Chaz will notice,
quite astutely, that the entrance is blocked by a rather sizable stack of
rocks and boulders. However, Rune clears a path by blasting the stones aside
with his Flaeli magic. Hahn mentions that he doesn't recognize Rune's
Technique, and Rune explains that it's not a Technique - it's actual Magic.
Very unusual; not many people know Magic. Most use Techniques.
Anyway, you are now free to enter the cave. Go on, it won't bite.
----------
ValleyMaze
----------
Monsters found in this Dungeon:
Sand Newt, Blob, Carrion Cr(awler)
Items found in this Dungeon:
Antidote, 300 Mesata
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 5, Alys 7, Rune 17
Suggested Level to reach: Chaz & Hahn 6, Alys 8 (finally!), Rune 17
This place normally would give you a bit of trouble - if it weren't for Rune.
Use your Rune Macros to slaughter anything that so much as looks at you the
wrong way. This little cavern then becomes a hunt for the meager treasures
found here before you sprint for the exit.
General combat strategies:
There are two new monsers to "contend" with in here. Or, to be more accurate,
to look at briefly before Rune obliterates them:
Blobs have high physical defense but very little HP. Strangely, their attack
damage varies wildly, dealing 1 damage one time and 10 the next. Just use
Wat, or better yet, Gra/Hewn to dispose of them quickly.
The other new monster, the Carrion Cr(awler), is merely an upgraded (and
palette-swapped) version of the reddish Crawlers you were fighting around
Zema. Dispose of them as you see fit (GRA *cough* GRA). Oh, yeah, they have
the frightening ability to use Thread. This fiendish ability forgoes dealing
damage to instead lower one character's Agility. Be afraid; be very afraid!
Your characters should reach these Levels and learn these abilities:
At Level 6, Chaz will learn CrossCut, a handy little Skill that allows him to
deal double damage to one enemy. However, until you go up a few levels and
get more than a single "charge" of this at a time, it's best to save it for
Bosses or unusually tough foes.
At Level 6, Hahn will learn Anti, which will save you the hassle of having to
buy those incredibly expensive Antidotes. Whee. Uses 2 TP.
At Level 8, Alys will learn Zan. Zan is like Gra, in that it attacks all your
foes at once. However, it's Wind-based instead of Gravity-based, and since
Alys does NOT have the Mental abilities of Hahn or Rune, it actually doesn't
deal that much more than her slashers do. Think of it as a stronger Slasher
attack, and save it for large groups of tough foes (like four Sand Newts).
Uses 8 TP.
Walkthrough:
------------
Floor 1F (Antidote, 300 Mesata)
Follow the winding passage until you come to a spot where a side passage
branches off to the W. Ignore that side passage and instead continue into the
chamber straight ahead. You'll find a chest with an Antidote with it. Now, go
back and take that W passage, which turns N after a short time, and ends in an
opening. Head through it.
The opening leads to the next section of the dungeon. Head N, then W. You'll
see a branching path that leads N, but it leads to nothing but a dead-end
cavern, so just ignore it and continue heading W. The passage turns N after a
short time, and ends in another opening. Again, go through it.
You'll find yourself in the third major section of the dungeon. Walk N to a
T-shaped intersection, and head E. Go through the opening that presents
itself, and raid the chest in the watery chamber for a quick 300 Mesata. Now,
turn around, and head W at the T intersection. This passage leads to another
of those openings, which again you should enter.
Once through the opening, you'll be in the fourth and final section of the
dungeon. Walk due N for a while and you'll exit the cave. You'll appear
exactly three feet away from Tonoe. Let's check the place out, shall we?
-----------------
The Town of Tonoe
-----------------
Suggested Level: Chaz & Hahn 6, Alys 8, Rune 17
Suggested Level to reach*: Chaz & Hahn 7-8, Alys 8-9, Rune 17*
* You should reach at least Level 7 with Chaz/Hahn while collecting the
necessary Mesata to buy all the new equipment this town offers.
Inn: 15 mesata per person (60 mesata)
Item Store: Monomate 20; Antidote 10; Cure-Paral 120; Telepipe 130;
Escapipe 70
Armor Store: Circlet 100; Titn-Helm 570; Crbn-Suit 550; Titn-Mail 1120;
CrbnSheild 220; TitnShield 600
Weapon Store: Hunt-Knife 120; TitnDagger 240; Stel-Sword 280; Titn-Sword 560;
Slasher 160; TitnSlashr 360
Let me start by saying: do NOT enter ANY building other than the Inn! If you
speak with Grandfather Dorin in the building N of the Marketplace, Rune will
leave the party, and you do NOT want that to happen just yet.
Instead, let's hit the shops. In this town, the Weapon and Armor stores aren't
located in nice, comfortable buildings. Oh no. Instead, they are found in
unlabeled stalls in the marketplace in the SE corner of town:
The Armor store is in the third stall from the left in the bottom row of
stalls.
The Tool store is in the second stall from the right in the bottom row of
stalls.
The Weapon store is the second stall from the left in the top row of stalls.
The Motavian folk in this town are adept at making Titanium equipment, and
that's mostly what you're going to find here. Unfortunately for you, Titanium
is very pricy. In order to buy everything you need, you require at LEAST 4530
Mesata. I'd even recommend a few hundred more, for Cure-Parals and a couple of
Inn stays. Yes, that's a LOT of cash, but we have a REAL easy way of getting
both XP and Mesata, don't we?
Yes, that's right, it's time to abuse Rune some more. Make sure your Rune
Macros are set up (see Rune Rundown, above), and just use them over and over
and over on the critters outside of town until you have enough Mesata.
An alternative method is to just forget Rune abuse and head directly to the
next dungeon, the Basement Warehouse. Rune will leave the Party, but you'll
get a replacement (see below). In the Warehouse you will find large quantities
of Mesata scattered about; you can loot 800 Mesata from the Warehouse, and pick
up quite a bit more from the random battles there. It's your call.
At any rate, get the money now, or get it later, just remember at some point to
buy the following:
For Chaz, pick up a Titn-Sword, a Titn-Helm, and a Titn-Mail. Be sure to sell
your Stel-Sword, Crbn-Helm, and Crbn-Suit
For Alys, puchase two TitnSlashrs and a Titn-Mail. Sell her old Slashers and
Crbn-Suit.
If you've been following my advice, Hahn will need nothing from either shop.
If you're not doing my Mage Hahn thing, go ahead and get him either two
TitnDaggers (or, just one TitnDagger & keep your CrbnShield).
I would recommend getting Rune 2 CrbnShields and selling his worthless
Wood-Cane. See, if you're having Rune attack, you're not following my advice
anyway, so you might as well keep the cane.
You should also buy a couple of Cure-Parals, since monsters in the upcoming
dungeon can (and will, most likely) Paralyze someone at least once. Problem
is, until Hahn learns the Rimpa Tech, Cure-Parals are the only way to cure
Paralysis short of walking around and hoping that it wears off before the next
battle (it will wear off "by itself", but only outside of battle after a
seemingly random number of steps are taken). Getting an Escapipe isn't a bad
idea, either. Yes, I know that both Chaz and Rune have Hinas to take you out
of dungeons, but Rune is leaving you soon, and this way you can still escape if
you accidently use up all of Chaz' TP.
Right about this time, you'll notice that Chaz' HP and Defense will surpass
Alys' HP and Defense, due mainly to the Defense boost Chaz gets from his
Swords. So, right about the time Chaz hits Level 6 or 7, don't be afraid to
re-arrange your Party to this order: Chaz, Alys, Rune, Hahn. From this point
on, Alys will no longer be this invincible Tank that can absorb all kinds of
punishment, so it's best to "back her off" a bit.
And that's enough on equipment and such; onto the storyline. We're here for
Alshline, remember?
Talking to the townsfolk reveals little relevant info, other than a couple of
hints to go to Grandfather Dorin with "questions". We can find Dorin in a
white tent just to the North of the Marketplace. You can't miss him; he's the
big Motavian in the comfy-looking chair. You may notice Gryz and his little
sister standing off in the corner, but trying to talk to them at this point
will yeild nothing, so don't bother unless you just HAVE to talk to everyone.
Ironically enough, it is not any of your Party members, but Grandfather Dorin
himself who asks the questions around here. If you answer "Yes" to either of
the first two questions, you'll get a tidbit of dubiously useful information,
but then you'll have to talk to Dorin again and start all over from the first
question.
However, when he asks you if want to know Alys' measurements, say "Yes". This
will prompt a humorous response from Alys. Rune will calm things down a bit
and finally manage to steer the conversation to the subject of Alshline. Dorin
tells you that there's some Alshline in the basement warehouse out back.
However, the warehouse is in a state of disuse and probably a teensie bit
dangerous - i.e. filled with monsters and the like. Being the nice guy that he
is, Dorin sends Gryz to help you along.
At this point, Rune tells you that he's leaving with Grandfather Dorin. Before
he disappears, however, he mysteriously issues a warning to Chaz: don't even
think about trying to fight Zio; you're no match for him at this point.
Chaz is a bit shell shocked at the idea, but before anyone comes up with any
sort of appropriate comment, Rune and Dorin dash out of the tent. Fear not,
you'll bump into Rune again, soon enough. At least he left you with a
replacement Party member, right? Let's do a quick Gryz Rundown:
Gryz, Motavian Warrior, Level 6
Techniques
Brose: Attempts to instantly destroy all Mechanical enemies at once. The
problem is, you don't fight any Mechanical enemies for quite some time, and
even when you DO use this on them, it has an abysmal success rate. Uses 16
TP.
Skills
Crash (7): Crash is Gryz' other instant death ability. It works on any type
of creature, and has a farily high success rate. However, unlike Brose, it
can only affect one creature at a time. Still, it comes in handy for
killing creatures quickly, or eliminating the biggest threat in a hurry.
And that's it. Gryz is mainly here to take hits and attack physically. He
does both of these things quite well, but he's still a boring, limited fighter
with almost no tricks up his sleeve. And he's none too quick, either. After
fighting a couple of battles with Gryz, you'll begin to REALLY miss your old
pal, Rune - condescending comments and all.
At least Gryz comes fully equipped with the lastest Titanium equipment, meaning
that you don't have to buy him anything from the Marketplace. It also means
that his attack and defense are even higher than Chaz'. Couple that with his
higher HP, and you have a new Party "leader". Stick Gryz in the front position
(so we now have Gryz, Chaz, Alys, Hahn) and let's go get us some Alshline.
If you like, you can now speak to Pana, Gryz' sister, and she will give you a
little backstory on where Gryz comes from and why he's so anti-Zio.
The Warehouse is North and a bit West of Grandfather Dorin's house. "Search"
the trapdoor you find there, and Gryz will open it for you. Note to the
curious: no, you can't get into the Warehouse without Gryz in the Party; only
he knows the "trick" to getting the trapdoor open. Now, it's time to tackle...
----------------------
The Basement Warehouse
----------------------
Monsters found in this Dungeon:
Blob, Abe Frog, Toadstool, Carrion Cr(awler)
Items found in this Dungeon:
Monomate, 100 Mesata, 500 Mesata, 300 Mesata, Antidote, Titn-Crown, Escapipe,
Alshline
Suggested Level: 7 (Alys 8, Gryz 6)
Suggested Level to reach: Gryz 8, Alys/Chaz/Hahn 9
Surprisingly enough, this is actually a somewhat lengthy and demanding dungeon,
filled with a lot of treasure - and a lot of Biomonsters. Be sure to enter
this place fully rested: you're gonna need those TP for this one, especially
with Rune gone...
General combat strategies:
Grandfather Dorin was certainly right about one thing: this place is crawling
with hostile critters. You'll encounter a few new foes down here:
The Abe Frogs are pretty nasty. They have a lot of HP and their attack can
really rip Alys or Hahn a new one, so try to Crash or Wat them before they are
able to lick anyone to death.
The Toadstools don't pack quite the punch that the Abe Frogs do, but they make
up for it with numbers and a chance that each attack might Paralyze someone.
Their low HP makes them fairly easy to take down, but you still want to be
quick about it, lest you find yourself using up the last of your Cure-Parals.
They also LOVE ganging up on Hahn, so watch his HP and be sure to Res him if
he loses more than 25 HP. Try to have Chaz do all the healing, as Hahn will
need his TP for continual Wat usage.
Even though you've gone up a few Levels since the ValleyMaze, your characters
are in a bit of a "we refuse to learn useful combat abilities" funk right now:
Chaz learns Hinas at Level 8. This allows to you warp out of a dungeon, no
matter where in the dungeon you are. It costs 8 TP but it will save you
TONS of time throughout the game.
In addition, Chaz learns Ryuka at Level 9. This outrageously useful Tech
allows you to travel instantly to any town you have previously visited. It's
actually very convenient that you learn this Tech at this level, as it will
save you a long and annoying walk back to Zema. Uses 8 TP.
Hahn learns Doran at Level 7. Another one of those "why bother?" Techs, Doran
will lower the agility (battle speed) of all your foes at once, with a high
probablity of success. But why lower their agility when you can just kill
them? The only monsters I want to lower the agility of are the Bosses, and of
course all of them are immune to Techs such as Doran. Sigh. Uses 4 TP.
Fortunately, Hahn does learn Zan at Level 9. Hahn's Zan is much more effective
than Alys' Zan, since Hahn's Mental stat is so much higher. If you have Alys
attack, and have Hahn use Zan, you can kill mulitple foes in a single round!
It does tend to suck up Hahn's TP quickly, though, so don't go overboard.
Uses 8 TP.
At Level 7, Gryz learns nothing.
At Level 8, Gryz learns nothing. Isn't he fun?
Walkthrough:
------------
Floor B1F (Monomate, 100 Mesata)
From the stairs, head slightly W, then turn N, and go N until you can't any
more. You'll see a chest to the W - open it up to procure a Monomate. Head
back to the stairs; from there, go slightly E and then turn N. Head N until
you can't go N no more. You'll walk into a second chest which contains 100
Mesata. Now, go back to the stairs and head due N to find a new set of stairs
that descend down to...
Floor B2F (500 Mesata, 300 Mesata)
This one gets a bit confusing, so pay attention: from the stairs, head W, then
S around the bend, and then take the first E passage you come to. You'll
immediately hit a 4-way intersection: N and S both lead to small rooms. The N
room is empty, but the S room contains a chest with 500 Mesata in it. Go back
to the intersection and head E a bit more: you'll come to another 4 way
intersection, again leading to small rooms N and S. Once again, the N room is
empty, and the S room has a chest containing 300 Mesata. Now that you're
filthy rich, go back all the way W and head S, follow the passage back E, and
you'll hit the stairs down to...
Floor B3F (Antidote, Titn-Crown)
Oh no, more rooms. If you head E from the stairs you'll come across the stairs
to B4F, but let's loot this floor before we go that way. Basically, there is
a passage that wraps all the way around this floor, with another passage
cutting it down the middle. Thus, the floor is split into 4 rooms. Each room
is enterable via an opening in its West wall, and contains the following:
NW room: a chest with an Antidote inside.
SW room: nothing.
NE room: nothing.
SE room: a chest containing a Titn-Crown. Oh yeah! Slap this on Alys, pronto.
Now, let's proceed to...
Floor B4F (Escapipe, Alshline)
This level is very straightforward. Head N, then E, and you'll see a set of
large metal doors. You can't open them, but there's a way around. Keep
heading W until you come a cave-ish area, then head N, E, and finally S through
a break in the N wall of the room you just circled around. In this hard-to-
enter room are three chests. One of them is open (and empty), but the other
two remain unlooted. The right-hand chest contains an Escapipe (how
convenient, an Escapipe at the very end of a dungeon), and the left-hand chest
contains the ever-elusive magical medicine, Alshline.
Opening the Alshline chest starts a short conversation: Hahn, of course, wants
to immediately head back to Zema in order to de-stone the townsfolk (and Prof.
Holt, of course). Gryz wants to tag along, because he thinks that you're going
to fight Zio, because of what Rune said. Chaz evades the issue, saying that
Rune was spouting random nonsense, and that they're "not necessarily" going to
fight Zio. Alys says that it's okay for Gryz to come along; apparently she
enjoys having a big blue meat shield standing in front of her in battle.
Now that you're holding that big pink bottle of Alshline in your sweaty little
hands, go ahead and use that Escapipe you just got to escape from The Basement.
Once you're back in town, use a Telepipe or the Ryuka Technique to return to...
----------------
The Town of Zema
----------------
Inn: 20 Mesata per person (80 Mesata)
Item Store: Monomate 20; Antidote 10; Cure-Paral 120; Telepipe 130; Escapipe 70
Armor Store: Circlet 100; Crbn-Suit 550; Grpt-Suit 1200; CrbnShield 220;
GrptShield 900
Weapon Store: Hunt-Knife 120; Stel-Sword 280; Slasher 160; Broad-Axe 1000
As soon as you enter Zema, the game will take over and show you a cut scene
wherein your Party uses the Alshline to return the townsfolk and the research
team to normal. The Good Professor, seemingly unfazed by his run-in with
petrification, orders Hahn to head back to the Acedemy and make a report while
he re-opens the investigation into the deeper levels of Birth Valley. Alys
suggests that they take a well-deserved day off, and Chaz agrees.
And so, we find the Party talking amongst themselves in the Inn. Hahn says
that he's going to return to the Acedemy, while Gryz expresses his suicidal
desires to fight Zio, even if he has to go alone. Chaz mentions that tackling
Zio single-handed probably isn't the smartest thing to do, and Alys says that
Standard Operation Procedure dictates that she and Chaz should return to Aeido,
and report that their job is complete to the Hunter's Guild (which enriches the
lives of hunters).
At this point, someone screams in terror, and the Party rushes to investigate!
As they near the entrance to Birth Valley, our good buddy Iggy reappears,
barring entrance!
"Boss": Iggy
That's right, you get to fight Igglanova AGAIN. This is the EXACT same
creature that you fought in the basement of the Academy. And if it was a
pathetic excuse for a boss at Level 1, just imagine what it's like now...
In fact, I'm not even going to give you a strategy. Do whatever you like, Iggy
will die in a round or three, and we can get on with things.
After the gueling, hard fought battle, Chaz asks Alys how his swing looks now,
and Alys grudgingly concedes that it's gotten better. The superstitous
townsfolk start going on and on about curses and the violation of "sacred"
Birth Valley. Hahn expresses concern: monsters are coming out of Birth Valley,
but none of the research team are. Alys generously offers to protect Hahn from
the dangerous beasts of Birth Valley for a mere 1000 (!) Mesata. Hahn pouts
about having to dip into his wedding fund but eventually agrees. Looks like
we have a new Job on our hands, eh?
Well, before we tackle the mysteries of Birth Valley, let's look around town.
The townsfolk aren't much use here; they either thank you for unstoning them
or they give vague warnings about going into Birth Valley. The real fun is in
the shops. You should have more then enough Mesata - you only need 4000 - to
cover things, but if you somehow do not, you get a crapload of Mesata from the
monsters in the Bio Plant. At any rate, purchase the following when you can:
For Hahn, a Grpt-Suit and at least one (*cough* twogettwo *cough*) GrptShields.
These are must have items, as without them Hahn takes outrageous damage from
the monsters in the Bio Plant. Sell his outdated Carbon gear.
For Gryz, snag a Broad-Axe. Since all he does is attack, you may as well
ensure that he can deal as much damage as possible. Sell his old Titn-Axe.
There's no better equipment to buy for either Alys or Chaz in this town.
--------------------------------
Return to Birth Valley/Bio Plant
--------------------------------
Monsers found in this dungeon:
Xanafalgue, Zoran Bult, FlattrPlnt (Birth Valley)
Gicefalgue, Ismounos, Guilgenova, Sensor Bit, NeoWhistle, Arm Drone (Bio Plant)
Items found in this dungeon:
Cure-Paral, Grpt-Crown, Crmc-Sword, Antidote
Suggested Level: Gryz 8, Chaz/Alys/Hahn 9
Suggested Level to reach: Gryz 9, Chaz/Alys/Hahn 10
This is potentially quite the tough little dungeon, depending on what monsters
the game throws at you. Don't be afraid to use Hinas (or an Escapipe) in order
to retreat back to town and use the Inn (and buy the rest of that equipment,
perhaps?) if your Party's TP and/or Skills start to run dry.
General Combat strategies:
You'll encounter quite a few new foes down here, some of them quite nasty:
Gicefalgues are an upgraded, palette-swapped version of our old friend the
Xanafalgue. They can do some mediocre damage, but they're easy to kill and
pose no real threat. Don't waste Crashes or Wats on these guys; regular
attacks will suffice.
Ismounous are, well, weird fish creatures. They have a lot of HP and hit hard,
so break out your "single target" stuff: Crash, Tsu, Wat, Vortex, etc. to kill
them before they can put the hurt on your Party.
Guilgenova: Iggy's big purple cousin makes his debut! Guil is exactly like
Iggy, except that it spits out Gicefalgues instead of Xanas, and it has a few
more HP. Like Iggy, if you can continuously kill the Gices, it'll expire
without ever getting the chance to attack you. Use your single-killers (see
above) to kill it more quickly. Finally, Crash DOES work on Guilgenova (just
not every time), so use it!
Sensor Bits are the very first Mechanical foe that you have to face. These
things are evil, I'll warn you now. They dodge physical attacks quite often,
they pack a punch with their guns, and they're fast, too. Alys' Slashers and
a Zan from Hahn can wipe them all out at once, so that's not a bad idea. If
you're running low on TP with Hahn, have your other Party members hit the Bits
with Skills and Techs in order to cut down on missed (i.e. wasted) attacks -
while your regular attacks can miss, Techs and Skills never do.
NeoWhistles are probably best described as the mechanical equivalent to
Ismounos: tough, slow, and hard-hitting. Use the same strategy on these guys
as you would the Ismounos, and you'll be alright. Just remember to watch your
HP and Res-tore your characters when necessary.
Arm Drones are kind of like mechanical Gicefalgues: not too tough to deal with,
since they have only mediocre attack power, defense, HP, etc. Regular attacks
should be more then enough to finish these off with ease.
Your characters should reach these Levels and learn the following ablities:
Alys learns the Skill Moonshad(e) at Level 10. This skill will simultaneously
Paralyze every foe at once, with a good chance of success. However,
Mechanical foes are immune to the effect, so don't try it on groups of Sensor
Bits. Save it for large groups of Ismounos instead.
Hahn learns the Vol Technique at Level 10. This deceivingly useful Tech will
instantly slay any living creature, with a very high rate of success (unlike
in MOST RPGs, where Instant Death spells fall into the "why bother" category).
This means that you can use Vol to kill irritating foes like Ismounous or
Guilgenova without having to deal a bunch of damage to them... not bad. Vol
has one major drawback, however: it will not work at all on anything
Mechanical. Hahn IS this game's Biologist, remember. Uses 8 TP.
At Level 9, Gryz learns nothing. Such a jack-of-all-trades, he is!
Walkthrough:
------------
Fist things first, we need to get back to that door that the formerly stoned
Professor Holt was blocking when we first came here. To do that, head N to the
T, go W then N, take the E passage and follow it to the stairs down.
Now on Floor B1F, head N to the T, then go W and N. You'll see the bodies of
a couple of poor researchers lying near that mysterious door. Talk to them,
and they'll tell you that Professor Holt went deeper inside Birth Valley, but
has yet to return. Although it seems unlikely that he's still alive, let's
head in there and look anyway...
Bio Plant, 1st Floor (No items - a first)
As soon as you try to head into the Bio Plant, a red light shines on your Party
and freaks Chaz and Hahn out. Alys tells them to chill out, and then it's time
to move on. (If you read the screen to the left of the door, you find out that
the red light was some sort of "Sterilization Treatment").
Follow the yellow glowing line in the floor, through the doorway to the N.
Head N a bit in the next room until you come to an Elevator leading down to
the...
Bio Plant, B1F (Cure-Paral)
Head S from the elevator, and you'll come to a 4-way intersection of sorts. To
the W is a little dead end; to the E, you'll find a chest containing a Cure-
Paral; to the S, you'll find 2 elevators. The West one (W3 according to the
sign) will take you to the West block (optional treasure section), while the
East one (E3 says the sign) will take you to the Central Block (where we need
to go, eventually). For now, take the W elevator down to...
Bio Plant, B2F West (Grpt-Crown)
Head S out of the elevator, and follow the path as it curves to the W, and
finally to the N. You'll come upon 2 empty chests to your left, but keep
going N. You'll eventually find another set of 2 chests, this time with only
one already looted. The other chest contains a Grpt-Crwn. Grpt, by the way,
apparently stands for "Graphite" and it the next "grade" of armor you'll be
encountering. It's better than the Titn-Crown, so equip it on Alys.
You can continue a bit further N, but all you'll find is a collapsed tunnel.
Guess it's time to take that Eastern elevator... Walk S, then E, and then N
back to the elevator. Take it back to...
Bio Plant, B1F revisited
Just walk E until and take that other elevator down to...
Bio Plant, B2F Central (No items)
From the elevator, follow the passage E, then N, then back W. You'll come
across more of those monster breeding capsules; Chaz and Alys will discuss them
if you "search" one. Anyway, head N until you come to an E/W T intersection.
The W path is a little dead end, so head E instead. You'll soon find yet
another elevator, which will take you down to...
Bio Plant, B3F (Crmc-Sword, Antidote)
Well, this floor is certainly... different. Head S from the elevator, ignoring
the W walkway for now. You'll literally walk into a chest; open it and claim
your Crmc-Sword. Ahh, nothing quite like having a new toy for Chaz to play
with! Once you've equipped Chaz with his potent new weapon, backtrack and take
that W walkway we ignored before. You'll quickly come to a N/S T intersection:
the N path quickly dead ends, so head S instead. Follow this curving walkway
until you see a side passage heading E; you can see the chest from here, so go
ahead and snag the Antidote out of it. Or not. Continue S now, following the
path as it curves some more, and you'll go through a doorway, which leads to
the next part of this floor.
Part 2 of B3F returns us to the traditional "green hallways with gold floor
lines" theme. From the doorway, head S some more and you'll see an elevator
just to the W. This elevator will take us down to...
Bio Plant, B4F (Prof. Holt, Rika, Seed)
You'll emerge from the elevator, and immediately see two doorways: one to the
NE, and one to the NW. You can take either one, they just lead to opposite
sides of the same area. You'll see Professor Holt in this northern room! When
you approach him, the game will enter a lengthy and important cutscene:
Hahn greets the Professor and expresses his relief at finding the good Prof.
unharmed. Alys asks how Holt was able to escape being brutalized by the
plethora of monsters that inhabit this place all by himself; he replies that
"this person here" (the myserious woman dressed in black, standing behind the
Professor) came to his rescue.
The woman greets the Party, telling them how glad she is that they are here.
She answers the obvious "who are you?" question by introducing herself as Rika.
Alys notices Rika's unusual ears, and asks about what exactly Rika is and where
they are. Rika tells them that they are in the Bio-plant, a research facility
from 1000 years ago. Hahn asks if the plant is still operational; Rika says
that it is - and in fact, it is not the only still-functioning system. It is
thanks to these systems, which somehow alter the climate and soil of Motavia so
that it is not one huge desert (the planet's natural state, as seen in the
original Phantasy Star), that the human race survived the 'Great Collapse' at
all.
At this point, Hahn and Professor Holt ask Rika why the climate of Motavia is
reverting, if these systems that protect it are still working. Rika tells them
that the systems can barely maintain the minimum conditions required to support
human life, and currently some systems are beginning to malfunction. After
hearing this, Hahn puts 2 and 2 together and asks if the recent outbreak of
Biomonsters is connected somehow to this Bio-plant. Rika confirms that this is
so; the Bio-plant is fouling up. She says that, for details, the Party ought
to talk to 'Seed'.
Rika and the Professor walk N, into the next room, and the Party follows.
There, they find a humongous supercomputer the size of a large room. Alys asks
where this 'Seed' person is, and Rika tells them that "he" is right in front of
them.
Seed, the control computer for the Bio-plant, then greets the Party. He tells
them that the system is out of his control, and is continuously breeding (and
releasing) dangerous biomonsters. Seed goes on to say that if the systems
continue to spiral out of control, there will be violent, earth-altering
earthquakes to go along with mutant biomonsters and an increasing inhospitable
climate; in short, Motavia will be destroyed!
Hahn asks what they should do, to which Alys suggests that they shut down the
entire system. Hahn points out that shutting things down completely would
create its own set of problems (like revertion to a desert climate because
there would be no climate controal). Gryz says that it would be better to shut
the system down rather than have it ruin everything, and Chaz points out that
it will be problematic to shut down all the systems, seeing as how they are
spread out over the entire planet.
At this point, Rika says that shutting everything down is as simple as
deactivating 'Nurvus', which supples power to all the systems. Seed then
requests that the Party rescue a 'control android' named Demi. Apparently Demi
is the only android with the knowledge (programming?) need to shut Nurvus down.
Alys asks Seed what he means by 'rescue', and Seed tells her that she is being
held hostage by a man named... you guessed it... Zio. Rika tells them that
Demi is currently being held in Zio's Fort. Hahn remembers that Zio's Fort is
that huge castle on the other side of the quicksand by Mile.
Alys says that it's a bit far to travel, but she's obviously intruiged (and
excited) about foiling Zio's plans. Similarly, Gryz is ecstatic that he can do
something to piss Zio off, and perhaps even confront him.
Seed then requests that you take Rika with you. Alys asks who Rika is, and how
she came to be so knowledgable. Seed replies that Rika is his child, of sorts,
a product of 1,000 years of improvement on a Prototype from prior to the 'Great
Collapse'.
Alys agrees to take Rika along, and Rika expresses excitement over being able
to see the "outside world". After the party leaves, Seed comments vaguely
about having "one way" to stem the outbreak of monsters, now that he has sent
Rika out on a mission.
We join the Party as they are leaving Birth Valley altogether; Rika is amazed
at how vibrant the outside world is. But then, they hear an explosion behind
them: Seed has self-destructed, taking himself, the Bio-plant, and all of Birth
Vally with him! Well, that certainly is one way to stem the outbreak of
Biomonsters...
You now have control of the Party, with Rika, standing just outside of Zema.
Before we proceed, however, I'd like to fill in some gaps in the backstory,
just in case you haven't played Phantasy Star and Phantasy Star II.
Phantasy Star takes place 2,000 years before this game does. In Phantasy Star,
the people suffer under the wicked rule of the corrupt King of Palma: Lassic.
Alis (now a legendary Heroine of yore) sets out on a quest to destroy Lassic
after his bodyguards kill her brother Nero for "sniffing around in Lassic's
affairs". She gains three companions: Odin, the mighty warrior; a talking
cat-like creature (and a friend of Odin's) named Myau; and the powerful Esper,
Noah. The 4 travel to Dezolis and Motavia, gathering the potent Laconian
armaments, before finally killing Lassic in his own Sky Castle high in the
skies above Palma. But, that's not the end of it... Lassic was corrupted by
a powerful evil force, Dark Falz, whom Alys and company find cowering in the
basement of the Governor of Motavia's mansion. After defeating Dark Falz,
peace settles over the Algo Solar System for 1,000 years.
Phantasy Star II takes place 1,000 years after Phantasy Star one. High
technology reigns. Motavia has been terraformed into a plant almost as lush
as Palma, and the AI system dubbed "Mother Brain" takes care of everything, so
that the people of Algo live in peace and contentment. The Hero of Phantasy
Star II, named Rolf, is directed by the Government of Motavia to investigate
a disturbance in the bio-plant. After being joined by several companions, Rolf
finds that a rogue Biomonster is trying to sabotage the control systems of
Motavia. One of his companions, a half-human named Nei, is the better half of
the rogue biomoneter, named NeiFirst. Rolf has no choice but to kill NeiFirst
in order to save the planet, but killing NeiFirst means killing Nei as well.
Greiving over their fallen comrade and branded outlaws by the government for
screwing up the control systems of Motavia, the Heroes escape to Dezolis.
However, the unthinkable happens: Mother Brain directs one of the control
satellites orbiting Motavia to instead collide with Palma! The impact destroys
the entire planet. Having lost both their friend and 1/3 of the solar system
to the Mother Brain, the Heroes meet up with Lutz, the distant ancestor of
Noah, who teleports them to the Satellite where the Mother Brain is housed.
After destroying the malicious AI and it's defense mechanisms, Rolf and the
others come face-to-face with none other than Dark Force! 1000 years after its
defeat at the hands of Alys, it has come back to destry the entire solar
sytem. The Heroes defeat Dark Force, only to learn an even more sinister
truth: Dark Force did not create the Mother Brain, it merely corrupted it.
No, the Mother Brain was given to the citizens of Algo by a group of
Earthlings, who wanted to pacify the people of Algo so that they could take
over the Algo solar system. Although vastly outnumbered by hightly advanced
Earth soldiers, the Heroes fight for their freedom, and are never heard from
again...
But that's not even the end of it. A piece of the destroyed planet Palma
smashes into Motavia, with an effect similar to the meteor that practically
wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth. This impact comes to be known as 'The Great
Collapse', as it represents the collapse of the highly technological
civilization provided by Mother Brain, not to mention the near extinction of
the human race in Algo...
In addition, Seed mentions a Prototype from 1000 years ago that Rika is
an improvement on; that Prototype would be Nei, the Numan who escaped from the
bio-plant where she was created and eventually died saving Motavia from her
other half, the malicious NeiFirst. So Rika is Nei with 1,000 years of
genetic and technical advancement; it's no wonder she's so powerful.
Personally, I really like how they made so many tie-ins to previous games in
the series, as it makes this one so much more compelling. And now, back to
your regularly scheduled walkthrough.
OK, now, before we go running off after Zio and Demi, it's time for a Rika
Rundown!
Rika, Numan, Level 1
Technique:
Res: the basic healing spell. Chaz and Hahn have this already, so you ought
to be familiar with it by now. Uses 3 TP.
Skill:
Illusion: lowers the agility of all foes, seemingly with a 100% success rate
(except on Bosses, of course). While it's sort of useful to slow your
enemies down, it's much more effecient to just kill them. Don't waste time
with this.
Rika will level up very quickly, so don't worry too much. Just keep her way in
the back, behind Hahn, until she reaches Level 8 or 9, at which point she can
fight with Alys over who gets to be in third place behind Gryz and Chaz. Rika
may not seem like much at first, but once she starts catching up in levels,
you'll find that she fights almost as well as Chaz, plus she has a choice
selection of very useful healing and defensive Techniques to call on. Rika is
a welcome addition to the Party, to be sure.
You can stop back in Zema if you like, but the only pertinent information to
be gained is that someone finally fixed that broken bridge to the Northeast.
This is good, because it gives us a way to return to Aeido. In addition,
Rika's starting armor is just as good as what's for sale in Zema, and she is
unable to use any of the weapons sold here, so you don't need buy her anything
before heading out. In fact, just forget Zema, and let's just head...
-----------------------
To the Village of Nalya
-----------------------
Suggested Level: Rika 1, Gryz 9, Chaz/Alys/Hahn 10
Suggested Level to reach: Rika 6, Gryz/Hahn 10, Chaz/Alys 11
Foes you may encounter: MonsterFly, Crawler, Locusta, InfantWorm, Scorpirus
All right. From Zema, head W and then turn N, keeping the mountains on your
right. You'll soon come across the now-repaired bridge. Go ahead and cross
it, then continue heading N until you see a small village. Before we enter, I
would advise that you take some time to fight the local monsters. You really
want to raise Rika's level to at least 6 before we venture into any dungeons.
It's no fun when the monsters keep killing your newest Party member in one or
two hits because she's still only level 2 and only has 40 HP and below-average
defense...
Speaking of Rika, she learns the Skill DblSlash (Double Slash) at Level 4.
This is basically indentical to Chaz' CrossCut, in that Rika will deal double
her normal damage to whatever foe she elects to use this on.
Chaz will learn the Antidote Tech at Level 11, making the Antidote items
completely obsolete. If you still have any cluttering up your inventory, just
sell them. Uses 2 TP.
Oh yes, and Gryz learns nothing at Level 10. Just so you know.
You will most likely encounter two new foes whist powering up Rika:
The InfantWorm is actually the best monster to fight at this point. They are
average in every way - HP, defense, attack power, speed - but are still worth
33 exp each. So, you can kill groups of 2 or 3 with ease and still net
yourself a decent chunk of exp.
The Scorpirus, on the other hand, is a big pain in the rear. They have about
170 HP, and very high physical defense, and are resistant to Wind Techs (like
Zan). In addition, they have a powerful attack that can poison you. Nasty.
However, they are weak to Techniques with elements other than Wind, so Tsu and
Wat will damage them quite a bit. They are also quite susceptable to Instant
Death attacks. Thus, the easiest way to dispose of these things is to simply
target them with Vol and Crash, while the other characters attack so as not
to waste TP/Skills hurting a monster that will be insta-killed later in the
round. At least they're worth 1 1/2 times as much exp as the InfantWorms are.
Once Rika reaches Level 6, go ahead and enter...
--------------------
THe Village of Nalya
--------------------
Inn: 25 Mesata per person (125 Mesata)
Item shop: Monomate 20, Antidote 10, Cure-Paral 120, Telepipe 130, Escapipe 70
As for the village itself, there really isn't much to do here. A meteorite
recently crashed nearby, and the ensuing shockwave destroyed or damaged half
the buildings in town, leaving a lot of townfolk living in tents or damaged
houses. There is a working Inn, and an Item shop, but no Weapon or Armor
shops. The main purpose of this town is to serve as a base of operations
should you decide to tackle the optional dungeon nearby. And you really
should, as the Experience, Mesata, and items you can gain there make it well
worth the time and effort of clearing out this non-storyline-influencing
dungeon.
You should be able to see a tangled pile of metal a short ways Northwest of
Nalya; this is the game's first side-quest, the Wreckage. If you don't want to
clean this place out (for whatever reason), and instead want to proceed
directly to nearby Aeido, just scroll down until you see the "To the Town of
Aeido" section. Otherwise, it's time to raid the...
--------
Wreckage
--------
Monsters found in this dungeon:
Whistle, Warren286, Tracer
Items found in this dungeon:
CrmcShield, 1500 Mesata, Dimate, Crmc-Knife, Crmc-Mail
Suggested Level: Rika 6, Gryz/Hahn 10, Chaz/Alys 11
Suggested Level to reach: Rika 8, Chaz/Alys/Gryz/Hahn 11
This dungeon has some powerful Mechanical foes, and is a bit complicated (at
least compared to other dungeons we've been through) but perserverence will pay
off big time in terms of XP and Mesata gained, not to mention a few useful
pieces of equipment and items. Don't be afraid to Hinas out in order to go
back and heal up at Nalya's Inn; this place WILL drain your TP quickly, as your
robot foes deal a good amount of damage, forcing you to cast a LOT of Res
spells to keep your Party's HP in a safe range.
General combat strategies:
First off, let's cover our wonderful new mechanical foes, shall we?
The Whistle (another PSII monster) is this dungeon's "average" sentry bot.
They can deal a fair amount of damage, and are reasonably quick, but with the
addition of Rika you shouldn't have any problems killing them quickly with
just regular attacks (and maybe the occasional Wat from Hahn, if you get a
group of 3 or 4).
The Tracer is a bronze-colored, tougher version of the Whistle. They have more
HP and do more damage (like most palette swapped baddies) than their lesser
cousins, but still really aren't much of a threat, so try to save your TP
and Skills charges for the real threats here, the Warren286s.
The Warren286s are humanoid sentry bots, armed with automatic weapons that pack
a punch. They can also attack with Flare Shot, which can deal upwards of 40
damage to a single character, so keep your HP up when fighting these guys!
Since they have such a potent offense, it's best to whip out some of your good
stuff for these guys: Crash, Vortex, Wat, maybe a CrossCut if you're getting
badly injured. Use Chaz or Rika to heal with Res or Monomates if someone
drops below 45 HP, unless you want that character Flare Shot to death...
As for character abilities gained:
Hahn will finally learn GiRes at Level 11. Now, Phantasy Star uses prefixes
to denote the more powerful version of various Techs: "Gi" is the more potent
version of a Tech, while "Na" is its most powerful form. At any rate, GiRes
can cure about 100 HP at a pop, and it only gets stronger as Hahn's Mental
stat increases. It costs 6 TP, so don't go crazy with it; try to save it for
healing emergencies, when a Party member is on the brink of death.
Rika will learn the SaNer Technique at Level 8. Alys also has this, and as you
may recall, it increases the Agility (Battle Speed) of the entire Party.
Useful for Boss battles, but not much else. Uses 6 TP.
At Level 11 Gryz will - you guessed it - learn nothing. Incredible!
Walkthrough:
------------
Entry Level (CrmcShield, 1500 Mesata, Dimate)
You enter the Wreckage via a large hole torn in a wall. You'll notice that the
floor is torn up in several places, creating impassable "pits". At any rate,
from where you enter, head W and take the passage that leads N (continuing W
just takes you to a dead end). You'll soon find yourself at a 4-way
intersection. The N and E passages are both little dead ends, so head W.
Follow the passage as it turns to the N, and you'll soon come to an E/W T
intersection. In the N wall, you'll see an opening, and there's another
opening just like it if you head a bit to the E. Take the E opening: you will
enter a small room with 2 chests! The left one has a CrmcShield in it, while
the right one contains 1,500 Mesata. Not a bad haul, eh? Hahn can't use the
CrmcShield, however, so I normally just sell it. You can slap it on Alys or
Rika if you want to severely reduce their combat effectiveness, I guess.
Anyway, go back and enter that first opening we encountered (the one on the
left, W of where you are now). You'll find yourself in a narrow hallway, which
will branch off to the W. Take this side passage, because you'll only hit
another dead end if you continue N. Don't be in such a hurry that you miss the
chest sitting in a little alcove in the N side of the corridor; it contains the
first-ever Dimate! Dimate is, basically, Monomate's big brother. Instead of
healing 45 HP, it can restore close to 100 HP. It's GiRes in a can, so save it
for an emergency or a Boss Battle (Zio looms in the distance, remember?).
Continue W, and when the corridor turns N, follow it. You'll run smack dab
into an elevator, which takes us down to...
Floor B1F (Crmc-Knife, Crmc-Mail)
Ooh, another nifty walkway area! From the elevator, head W and then N. You'll
walk into a T instersection, complete with treasure chest. Open the chest for
a Crmc-Knife (if you're not doing my "Mage Hahn" thing, give it to him,
otherwise just sell it for more Mesata). From here, you can go either W or E.
W will lead to the elevator down, so instead head E for now. The walkway leads
N, so follow it N all the way to an opening, ignoring the side passage you'll
see heading W. The opening enters into a small room with a chest containing a
suit of Crmc-Mail. Finally, something worth equipping! You have a choice to
make here, as Rika, Alys, Chaz, AND Gryz can all use it, and it ups your
defense by 10 over the Titn-Mail. I normally give it to Chaz or Gryz, but the
choice is yours. Exit the room, head S, and take the first side passage going
W. Follow this skinny walkway W, then N, then W again, and you'll come to the
elevator that leads down to...
Floor B2F (No items, only plot)
Once out of the elevator, follow the green line W and N, through the opening.
In this next little area, follow the path N, then W, then N through yet
another opening. Keep going N until you come to computer terminal.
Now, the game will launch into a mini cutscene wherein Sega tries to pass off
the not-Phantasy-Star-at-all PSIII as a legitimate part of the Phantasy Star
story (although it's not, AT ALL, but that's another rant for another time).
Basically, the ship that the characters of PSIII inhabit is a humongous escape
pod that was launched from planet Palma before it was hit and destroyed.
Apparently, the inhabitants of Palma were able to lauch some previously readied
escape pods that doubled as miniature worlds. Thus, some of the people of
Palma where spared.
Some of the pods, instead of landing on Motavia or Dezolis, shot off into
space (like the ship of PSIII). The ship you're in now suffered damage when a
chunk of Palma struck it, and its systems were damaged. Instead of landing on
Motavia as is was supposed to, it locked into an orbit around the planet
instead.
Over the course of 1,000 years, the life support systems gave out and the
inhabitants on the ship died. Then, its orbit began to decay when the ship's
computers could no longer support it, and it crash landed near Nalya.
So, here it is and here you are. Don't you feel enlightened?
Well, we're done here, unless you wish to fight some more and level up a bit,
but we have a couple of dungeons coming up to do that in, so let's just leave
this place, and head...
--------------------
To the Town of Aeido
--------------------
Suggested Level: Rika 8, Chaz/Alys/Gryz/Hahn 11
Suggested Level to reach: Rika 8, Chaz/Alys/Gryz/Hahn 11
Foes you may encounter: MonsterFly, Crawler, Locusta, InfantWorm, Scorpirus
Starting from either the Wreckage or Nalya, head a bit South and a lot West,
and you'll find Aeido just to the south of mountain range. Aeido is a huge
town, so let's get to exploring it!
-----------------
The Town of Aeido
-----------------
In the Marketplace:
Inn: 50 Mesata per person (250 Mesata)
Item shop (left): Monomate 20, Dimate 160
Item shop (center): Telepipe 130, Escapipe 70
Item shop (right): Antidote 10, Cure-Paral 120
Armor shop (left): Titn-Helm 570, Titn-Crown 490, Titn-Mail 1120,
TitnShield 600
Armor shop (center): Crbn-Helm 200, Crbn-Crown 150, Circlet 100, Crbn-Suit 550,
CrbnShield 220
Armor shop (right): Lthr-Helm 80, Lthr-Crown 90, Lthr-Band 70, Lthr-Cloth 160,
LthrShield 140
Weapon shop (top): Dagger 40, Stel-Sword 280, Boomerang 80
Weapon shop (middle): Hunt-Knife 120, Slasher 160, Claw 1000
Weapon shop (bottom): TitnDagger 240, Titn-Sword 560, TitnSlashr 360,
Titn-Axe 640, Broad-Axe 1000
Near the Hunter's Guild (where they enrich the lives of Hunters):
Alys' Home: same as a stay at the Inn, but free!
Weapon shop: Crmc-Knife 1600, Crmc-Sword 3600, Saber-Claw 1700, Struggl-Ax 4600
Armor shop: Grpt-Crown 1000, Crmc-Helm 1800, Grpt-Suit 1200, Crmc-Mail 3700,
GrptShield 900, CrmcShield 2300
Naura Cake Shop (hidden behind the Hunter's Guild; you must walk around the
wall that surrounds the town to get there): Shortcake 280
In the Hunter's Guild: 1000 Mesata and a Trimate in a pair of chests in a
"hidden" room (thru the West wall of the room behind the receptionist).
Aeido is a MASSIVE town. However, there's really not that much going on here.
There's a ton of people to talk to, but very few have important information.
A couple of people mention an army coming to and from the cave just north of
Aeido, and a couple of Hunters in the Guild mention that they might be part of
Zio's army. A lot of folks talk to/about Alys, seeing as how she's quite well
known here, being a succesful, famous hunter and all. The basic gist you
should be getting here is that the cave north of town will eventually lead you
to Zio's Fort.
As for shopping, avoid the "Marketplace" like the plague. There is nothing
there that you don't already own, and its Inn is horribly expensive, especially
since you can sleep at Alys' house for free. Instead, hit the Weapon/Armor
shop in the Northwest corner of town, just South of the Hunter's Guild.
For this little excursion, you're going to need a grand total of 22,700 Mesata.
However, unlike previous shopping trips, you don't need ALL that money right
this minute, although you should have most of it if you went through the
Wreckage. Now that you have the Ryuka Tech, you can warp back here whenever
you wish; thus, keep the following shopping list handy, and be sure to come
back here whenever you garner enough Mesata to buy a couple more things.
In order to have everyone fully equipped, you'll need to buy the following:
For Chaz, a Crmc-Helm and Crmc-Mail if you didn't give him the one you found in
the Wreckage.
Unless you missed the Grpt-Crown from the Bio Plant, the only thing Alys will
need a suit of Crmc-Mail - unless you gave her the one you found in the
Wreckage, of course.
Getting Rika fully equipped is going to cost you, unfortunately. She needs two
Saber Claws in addition to a suit of Crmc-Mail - unless you gave her the one
you found in the Wreckage.
Gryz needs a Struggl-Ax, and it costs an arm and a leg, but you really do need
in order to keep Gryz from being a complete liablity. He will also need a
Crmc-Helm, and some Crmc-Mail - unless you gave him the one you found in the
Wreckage.
If you're doing my Mage Hahn thing, you won't need anything for Hahn; however,
if you're NOT, you can buy him a Crmc-Knife or two.
If you went in and got all the stuff out of the Wreckage, don't forget to sell
the CrmcShield and Crmc-Knife (unless you're giving Hahn knives) for some extra
Mesata. Also, sell all your old gear as soon as you can, as the Mesata your
obsolete gear brings in might well be enough to allow you to buy everything you
need, even if you started with less than 23,000 Mesata!
As a side note, if you for some reason did not do the Wreckage, you're going to
find yourself rougly 7000-10000 Mesata short. Guess how much Mesata a trip
through the Wreckage will get you? That's right. 7000-10000 Mesata, after
you sell some of the stuff you find there (wink wink nudge nudge).
You're also going to want to visit the Hunter's Guild. It's the humongous
building Northwest of the Marketplace. Talk to the hunters here, working your
way East until you come to a bar. Go into the opening in the North wall at the
far Eastern end of the building. You'll find yourself in a room with a stage.
You can watch the totally uncalled for dancers do their thing, but you're here
for some semi-hidden goodies, so walk West past the stage, and go that little
section of wall that doesn't have the vertical "border" in front of it (it's
the Northmost part of the West wall; just walk through it). You'll now be in
the dancer's dressing room; again, head West through the gap in the wall. Keep
walking West, through the receptionists room, through the wall, and into the
"hidden" chamber. Here, you'll find two chests, one with a Trimate (restores
one ally to full HP) and the other with 1500 Mesata. Not a bad haul for doing
a little walking, eh?
Now, return to the front of the receptionist's desk, and talk to her. Welcome
to Side Quest Land, otherwise known as The Hunter's Guild (where they enrich
the lives of hunters). Currently, there is only one new Job available: The
Ranch owner. You can do this quest whenever you want, but since we're
currently trying to amass Mesata for equipment, this is as good a time as any.
If you don't want to do this side quest (you should. You can get everyone to
go up two levels by fighting a single battle), just skip ahead to the section
titled "The Cave North of Aiedo/PassageWay". Your loss, if you do.
--------------------------------------
Hunter's Guild Job #1: The Ranch owner
--------------------------------------
First available: upon first visiting Aeido's Hunter's Guild.
Reward: For the Worm, 5000 exp and 1000 Mesata. For completing the
Job, 5000 Mesata from the Hunter's Guild.
Associated Costs: None, unless you consider fighting monsters costly.
Difficulty: High.
Location: Village of Mile.
Suggested Party Level: 11+
The request for help comes from the sandworm ranch owner from the village of
Mile (remeber him?). The sand worms in his ranch have grown so large that he
can't control them any longer... He offers a reward of 5000 Mesata if you can
help him. Chances are, that 5000 is exactly what you need to buy the last of
the equipment that your characters need from the various shops in Aeido. Be
sure to rest at Alys' Home before using Ryuka or a Telepipe to warp to Mile.
The Ranch owner is the guy standing directly in front of you when you first
enter Mile. Talk to him, and he tells you that the worms are out of his
control, and asks you to do whatever you need to do. He then moves aside,
allowing you to walk through the gap in the fence and into the "ranch".
You will immediatly encounter a fully grown Sand Worm, and let me tell you,
this thing is DANGEROUS. It has 1400 (!) HP and deals 40-50 damage with its
attacks. For this fight, do the following:
Round 1: Chaz attacks. Gryz Attacks. Alys casts Shift on Chaz. Hahn uses
Vision. Rika casts SaNer.
Round 2: Chaz uses CrossCut. Gryz attacks. Alys casts Shift on Gryz. Hahn
casts Wat. Rika heals whoever got hit by the Sand Worm last round.
Round 3: Chaz uses CrossCut. Gryz attacks. Alys casts Shift on Rika. Hahn
heals whoever got hit by the Sand Worm last round. Rika uses DblSlash.
Round 4: Chaz and Gryz attack. Alys casts Shift on herself. Hahn heals
whoever got hit by the Sand Worm last round. Rika uses DblSlash.
Round 5+: Chaz, Gryz, and Rika attack. Alys uses Vortex. Hahn either heals
whoever got hit by the Sand Worm last round, or casts Wat if the Worm missed.
As long as you buff yourself in the first few rounds with Shift, Vision, and
SaNer, and make sure you cast Res on whomever the Worm attacks, you should be
able to walk away from this fight without anyone dying.
Now, with 5000 exp per person gained, each Party member will gain at least two
Levels. If you've been following this FAQ to the letter, your Party will be
at the following levels after beating the Sand Worm, and they will learn these
abilities:
Chaz will learn the Zan Tech at Level 12. Alys and Hahn know this already, so
I'm not going to describe it here again. Uses 8 TP.
Chaz will also learn the Skill Airslash at Level 13. This incredible skill
allows Chaz to attack every foe onscreen at once, dealing insane amounts of
damage in the process. Not too useful against bosses, but it's great when
you're trying to end battles quickly (dangerous foes, leveling up, etc.).
Just keep in mind that Chaz will never really have a LOT of "charges" for
this, so try to save it for battles that yeild great rewards (or danger).
Alys will learn the Skill Death at Level 13. Death is Alys' version of
Crash, but it only affects Biomonsters. Not too useful, but I guess it's nice
to have in a pinch.
Hahn will learn the Rimpa Tech at Level 12. Rimpa is the Tech version of a
Cure-Paral, and as such will cure paralysis. Whee! At least it saves you
from wasting 120 freakin' Mesata whenever someone is paralyzed. Uses 5 TP.
Hahn will also learn the Rimit Tech at Level 13. Rimit is one of those Techs
that could be great, if it wasn't for a prohibitive TP cost. Rimit can
paralyze every non-mechanical foe at once, leaving them at your mercy. It has
a good rate of success against most monsters, but the 10 TP cost means that
you won't be able to just whip it out whenever you feel like it. Like Zan,
you should save this one for groups of tough monsters. Uses 10 TP.
Rika, unfortunatly, "pulls a Gryz" and learns nothing at Level 9, 10, or 11.
Bad Rika! No biscuit!
I know this is going to be hard to believe, but Gryz learns nothing at Level
12. In addition, he learns nothing at Level 13. Go Gryz!
Right. In order to recieve your 5000 Mesata reward, return to the Hunter's
Guild in Aeido (where they enrich the lives of Hunters) and speak to the
receptionist. She will fork over your hard-earned reward money.
It is now time to move on. Be sure that you bought everything on the above
shopping list (and equipped it, and sold your old stuff), rest up for free at
Alys' Home, and exit the town of Aeido. Head due North and you'll see a cave
in the mountains, behind some trees. This is your next destination, the...
--------------------------------
Cave North of Aeido (PassageWay)
--------------------------------
Monsters found in this dungeon:
Zol Slug (Meta Slug), Speard
Items found in this dungeon:
Dimate, Cure-Paral
Suggested Level: Rika 11, Chaz/Alys/Gryz/Hahn 13
Suggested Level to reach: Rika 13, Chaz/Alys/Gryz/Hahn 14
Much like ValleyMaze, this area exists to take you from one part of a mountain
range to another. It's fairly straightforward, but the monsters you find here
can hit pretty hard, so be cautious and heal frequently.
General Combat strategies:
First, let's meet our new playmates:
Zol Slug/Meta Slug: Zol Slugs are weak, pathetic little critters - with a nasty
secret. They won't do much - they have low HP, low attack power, and low
defense - until you reduce their numbers to exactly two (they usually appear
in groups of 3 or 4). If two slugs are left alive long enough, they'll merge
together into a Meta Slug instead of attacking! Unlike Zol Slugs, Meta Slugs
are something to worry about: they have a lot of HP, strong defenses, and to
top it all off, they pack a punch. They do have one glaring weakness: you can
snuff them Instant Death attacks, so when a Meta Slug forms, break out Vol,
Death, Eliminat(e) and Crash. One of those WILL work, and you'll end up with
a whopping 400 (!!) XP for your troubles, plus 42 XP for each Zol Slug you
killed before they merged. Obviously, letting Meta Slugs form on purpose and
then killing them with Instant Death attacks is an easy, easy way to Level
your characters up at this point. Hint hint.
Speards are a bit on the slow side, and have only average HP, but they make up
for it by hitting hard and having solid defenses. Still, you shouldn't need
to use anything special on these guys.
Your characters should reach these levels and gain these abilities:
Chaz will learn the Rimpa Tech at Level 14. This is exactly the same as Hahn's
Rimpa Technique; it will remove paralysis. Uses 5 TP.
Alys will leann the GiFoi Tech at Level 14. This upgraded version of Foi can
deal even more damage than Vortex, and Alys has plenty of TP by now, so don't
be afraid to use it! Uses 6 TP.
Rika will learn the Skill Eliminat(e) at Level 12. Like Crash, Vol, and Death
before it, Eliminat(e) will instantly slay one foe. However, it is most like
Vol in that it only works on non-mechanical foes.
Rika will also learn the GiRes Tech at Level 13. You're going to need the
extra healing that GiRes provides very soon, so don't forget that Rika has it
in her repertoire! Uses 6 TP.
Gryz will ACTUALLY LEARN A SKILL AT LEVEL 14!!! WarCry will increase Gryz'
attack power for the duration of the battle. Wow, we had to wait 8 Levels,
and all we get is Gryz' self-only version of the Shift Tech? Whatever.
By now, Rika can move to the 3rd Position, behind Gryz and Chaz. Alys'
defense (and HP) are starting to lag behind, so moving her further back is a
good idea.
Walkthrough:
------------
Entry Level (Dimate, Cure-Paral)
From the entrance, head N and follow the passage as it curves W. Eventually,
you'll see a side passage leading S. Take it, for it leads to a chest
containing Dimate. Return from whence you came and continue heading W. After
a while, the passage will turn S. Soon after you begin going S, you'll see a
side passage heading E, but ignore it; it's just a little dead end. Continue
S while hugging the E wall. At the end of this little area is another chest:
snag the Cure