Walkthrough

=====================================================================
                   Secret of Mana FAQ/Walkthrough
               Version 1.0 (Last updated 19 May 2002)
                         by Chris Brennan
=====================================================================

------------
0. Contents:
------------

1. The boring but necessary stuff...
1.1 E-Mail info
1.2 Copyright stuff
1.3 Version history
1.31 Future plans
1.4 A little about the game...
1.5 A little about this walkthrough...

2. Walkthrough
2.1 Returning home
2.2 The journey begins...
2.3 Pandora and Gaia's Navel
2.4 Dwarf Village
2.5 Haunted Forest and Elinee's Castle
2.6 Undine, the Water Elemental
2.7 The Underground Palace
2.8 The mystery of Pandora
2.9 The Water Seed
2.10 The Upper Land and Sylphid
2.11 Matango and the White Dragon
2.12 The Ice Country and Ice Palace
2.13 The Desert and the Sandship
2.14 Kakkara and the Fire Palace
2.15 Southtown and Northtown
2.16 The Northtown Castle
2.17 A couple of side quests...
2.18 Journey up the Lofty Mountains
2.19 The Palace of Darkness
2.20 The Gold Isle and Golden Tower
2.21 The Moon Palace
2.22 Tasnica
2.23 The test of courage
2.24 The Tree Palace
2.25 The Mana Palace
2.26 The Grand Palace
2.27 The Pure Land
2.28 The Mana Fortress

3. Strategy notes

4. Item lists 

5. Magic info

6. Weapons lists and info

7. Credits

8. Copyright and random info again





------------------------------------
1. The boring but necessary stuff...
------------------------------------

-----------
1.1 E-Mail:
-----------

[email protected] is my e-mail address for everything to 
do with my FAQs. I usually check my e-mail every other day at least,
unless I'm overly busy. During holidays though (Easter, Xmas, Summer) 
I don't always have Net access, so don't be surprised if you don't get 
a reply for a while at these times. Any recommendations, praise, 
(constructive) criticism, and corrections to this walkthrough are 
welcome.

--------------------
1.2 Copyright stuff:
--------------------


This work is Copyright 2001/2002 Chris Brennan 
([email protected]). It is for personal use only, and may not be 
reproduced without the author's permission (if for some warped reason 
you do want to put this on your site, e-mail me with details). And 
kiddies, plagiarism is baaaaad, so don't do it... ;)

--------------------
1.3 Version history:
--------------------

0.1 - Started this guide. First section complete, a provisional contents list 
drawn up, and walkthrough completed up to and including Elinee's Castle.

0.2 - Walkthrough complete up to Matango, contents list revised.

0.3 - Items list done, walkthrough complete up to Kakkara, magic list 
started.

0.5 - All lists bar monster list complete. Credits section done.

0.6 (04 Feb 2002) - "Strategy Notes" section complete.

0.8 (21 Feb 2002) - Walkthrough done up to and including Moon Palace.

1.0 (19 May 2002) - Walkthrough complete. Magic list complete.

------------------
1.31 Future plans:
------------------

By the next update (v1.0) I should have...

- Included a monster list.
- Improved the walkthrough... if it needs improving. All suggestions are 
welcome! :)

----------------------------
1.4 A little about the game:
----------------------------

Ahhh, old school SNES RPGs... aren't they great? And Secret of Mana 
(henceforth SoM) was, and indeed still is one of the best. An 
action-orientated RPG along the same lines as the equally wonderful 
Zelda games, SoM is one of those games that I can keep playing through 
without getting bored. My play through the game while writing this 
walkthrough was about my 8th time through the game (albeit spread out 
over 5 years or so...), so I can vouch for its replay value. The plot 
is good, if a little unoriginal, and it has a great multiplayer option, 
a rarity in SNES RPGs. Whether you’re playing SoM for the first time 
(where have you been?), or the tenth, this guide is here to make sure 
you don’t miss out on anything.

------------------------------------
1.5 A little about this walkthrough:
------------------------------------

The walkthrough assumes that you’re playing single-player mode – although 
very little actually changes if you are playing multi-player, except for 
the fact that it’s a lot more fun and your human partners will (hopefully) 
be a little more intelligent than the somewhat dumb computer-controlled 
characters. For simplicity, the hero is called "The hero", the girl is 
called "The girl" and the Sprite is, amazingly called "The Sprite", 
although you can name your characters. The walkthrough may contain 
spoilers, although I’ve tried to avoid it it’s almost inevitable that 
a couple will sneak in at some point or other.

Anyway, that’s quite enough of me blabbing...





---------------
2. Walkthrough:
---------------

------------------
2.1 Returning home
------------------

After a short introduction, the game starts with the boy being a tad 
clumsy and falling off a log bridge, from which point you now have 
control of him. Proceed south and you'll hear a strange voice calling 
you. Cross the river and head north and you'll notice that your path 
back home is blocked off by some bush-type things. You need something 
to cut through them, so what about that nice shiny sword you probably 
just noticed? Head towards it and "talk" to it. You'll hear a voice 
telling the boy to remove the sword, and he obliges. It doesn't seem 
like any ordinary sword though...

Now head back to those bushes blocking your path, cut them down with 
your sword, and head east. You'll encounter your first enemies on the 
next screen (Rabites), but they're very easy and will be mincemeat in 
one or two hits. Keep following the path and killing the Rabites. If you 
see any chests, pick them up as they'll almost always contain Candy, 
which can be used to replenish lost HP. You'll soon arrive in Potos 
Village, home. However I'd recommend going back outside and killing more 
Rabites until you get to level 3 or 4, it may be tedious, but it helps. 
Anyway, once you're done, head back to Potos and go to the shop (the 
house with the sign with a blue vase on it) and buy a bandanna. Don't 
forget to equip it! Now you can talk to the other villagers if you wish 
and go to the Inn and save your game but you ultimately want to head to 
the house in the top right corner of town. Talk to the old guy, and 
he'll tell you the truth about the sword you have, and why removing it 
wasn't such a smart move. An argument ensues which is only interrupted 
by an earthquake. You fall down a hole and meet the first boss in SoM.

----------------
BOSS: Mantis Ant
----------------

Yawn... he's really easy. If you levelled up to level 3 or 4 and 
equipped the bandanna you'll be able to block most of his attacks. Just 
hit him a few times with your level 1 sword attack and he'll die, simple. 
Even if you do somehow manage to die yourself you'll be revived anyway, 
so there's no need to panic.

For defeating the Ant you'll receive a Sword's Orb, which can be used to 
improve your sword later on. For now, you'll chat with Jema, who tells 
you to visit Luka in the Water Palace for advice. First, go into the house 
in the top-right corner of town, and you'll walk into a serious 
discussion. Seems like your popularity rating's gone down a little since 
you removed that sword...

After that, head downstairs and pick up the chest for 50GP. Go back
upstairs and talk to the Elder, who gets a little sentimental. Once 
done, head to the south-east corner of the village and talk to the guy 
there. Say "yes" and you'll be banished from the village...

-------------------------
2.2 The Journey begins...
-------------------------

So... the only thing you can do now is follow Jema's advice and make 
tracks for the Water Palace. You can either use the Cannon Travel Service 
(Jema's paid your far, so it's free), or you can walk. Walking gets you 
more experience and more money, so it pays not to be lazy. Besides which, 
that cannon's gotta hurt...

Just follow the signs for the Water Palace and you can't go wrong. You'll 
encounter a couple of new enemy types as you proceed, but they're almost 
as pathetic as the Rabites. Watch out for the Mushboom's (yes, "boom") 
spore attack though, because it can knock you unconscious. Along this 
path, you may want to stop at Neko's (it's signposted) and buy a wristband.

Just before you reach the Palace, you'll encounter a small group of 
soldiers. Talk to them, and you'll find out a little about their mission. 
Once they've headed off, go north and enter the Palace. Just keep heading 
north, standing on the switches to activate the bridges, until you meet 
Jema and Luka. Talk to Jema, and a long conversation will ensue. Once Jema 
leaves, talk to Luka. Just reply "...no problem" and "Okay!" when you get 
the chance to end the conversation (it will keep going round in loops if 
you don't). Eventually after a little scene with the sword and the "Mana 
Seed", Luka will tell you that you must visit the 7 other palaces in the 
world and gain the power from the seeds there. First though, you need to 
head for Gaia's Navel. Save, equip the spear that Luka gave you if you want 
and exit the Palace.

-----------------------------
2.3 Pandora and Gaia's Navel:
-----------------------------

You now need to go back the way you came, but on your way you'll get an 
unpleasant surprise. Seems like some Goblins want to invite you to dinner,
and not in the nice way. Just as you're about to be boiled though, a girl 
comes and rescues you, then takes off abruptly. Head south to Pandora.

You'll notice that a lot of the villagers here are strangely silent, and 
some are downright miserable. You'll be finding out why later. Stay at 
the Inn and save if you need to, then head to the exit in the north east
of town, and to Pandora's Castle. The shop in Pandora sells nothing of 
note if you already bought the wristband, so it can be ignored unless you 
need to stock up on candy/medical herbs.

Explore the castle, and eventually you'll meet up with the girl who saved 
you again. After a little discussion, she joins you. Now go through the 
door just to the left, and you'll meet Jema again. Talk to the King if 
you want, them leave.

Jema told you (again) to head for Gaia's Navel, so that would probably be 
the best course of action. Take the south-western exit out of Pandora, 
and follow the path. You'll meet another new enemy, Buzz Bee, who poses 
no threat to you. At some point along this path you'll see an exit to the 
west. This leads to Kippo Village. Enter, go to the item shop and buy 
whatever armour you can afford. Explore the village if you want (there's 
nothing vital to the plot here), and rest at the inn and save if you need 
to. The exit the village and continue on the path to Gaia's Navel, heading 
north. Keep going north and eventually you'll come to an exit to the north. 
Here, you have a choice. You can either proceed with the girl's quest, 
finding Dyluck, or you can head to Gaia's Navel. You will be unable to 
finish the girl's quest right now, so the best option is to head to Gaia's 
Navel. Take the steps to the south rather than the north exit. You'll soon 
reach a place where two cave openings are accessible. Enter the left one.

Now, the girl will suddenly realize you're not off to save Dyluck, and will 
challenge you. If you refuse to go with her (by saying "Underground Palace" 
then "Yes"), she will leave the party. If you say "Exit", you will be 
teleported outside and will have to go through the Haunted Forest (the 
north exit that you ignored earlier). I would let her go - you'll have to 
fight a boss without her (although the boss is pretty easy anyway), but 
it saves a bit of time in the long run.

A lot of new enemies here. The bats are harmless but can cast Balloon, 
which holds your character motionless for a while (8 seconds or so), and 
is quite annoying. The Green Slimes can be annoying, kill them quickly 
so they can’t reproduce. They can poison you if they hit you. The Kid 
Goblins are easy. Along the way, you'll soon reach a room with a lava 
pool blocking your path. There's an exit to the left of this area that 
you need to take. Head north in this new area, and hit the skull switch 
at the dead end to clear the lava.

At the extreme south of this area, where there are some stairs leading 
down, don't go down them. Instead, go west, then north and head through 
the doorway. Inside this room are two goblins and a treasure chest. Kill 
the goblins and open the chest. It contains the magic rope, which allows 
you to exit some areas should you get lost or need to rest. Now take 
those stairs to the south. Continuing along the route, you should come 
to a room with a Goblin and another Skull Switch. Hit it and head back 
to the previous room, where an exit to the north should have opened up. 
You'll now be in the Dwarf Village.

------------------
2.4 Dwarf Village:
------------------

Go through the usual routine here of resting and saving if you need to 
and buying the best armour available. Be sure to keep 250 GP handy though,
 you'll need it soon. Now go through the door in the extreme north-west 
of town. Here, you'll meet Watts the blacksmith, who will offer to forge 
your sword for 100 GP. Accept. The door to the west of the item shop is 
your next destination. Head through here, and through the left doorway in 
the next area. Pay 50 GP to see the show, and when prompted, agree to 
donate 100 GP to the "poor sprite child". Don't worry, you'll get it back
soon. Once the show is done, go out and take the right doorway. Seems 
those two have a bit of a scam going on... oh well, at least you get 
your money back. Head back to the main area of the village. You'll be 
greeted by another earthquake, and be forced into another boss fight.

-----------------
BOSS: Tropicallo:
-----------------

Easy. He pops up in one of three places, just hit him when he does and 
he'll disappear again, only to pop up in one of the three places again 
for more punishment. Ignore the two Bramblers, they can revive if you kill 
them, and concentrate on Tropicallo. Use the time while he is buried to 
charge up your level 1 sword/spear attack, then let him have it when he 
reappears. The pumpkin bombs he fires out do little damage, so don't worry 
too much about them. He should bite the dust after a couple of minutes. 
Your reward for defeating it is a Spear's Orb.

A short conversation follows, and you should let the Sprite into your 
party. Talk to the Sprite and you get a chance to name it. Now the Elder 
tells you to go to Elinee's Castle to get her to dissolve the seal 
protecting the Underground Palace. Coincidentally, this is where the 
girl has gone to find Dyluck...

First, go and see Watts. After a short scene, he'll offer you an axe for 
100 GP. Accept - you'll need it soon. Watts then shows you a shortcut 
out of Gaia's Navel, but I'd choose to go out the long way and build up 
the Sprite's levels a little. Before you depart, upgrade your spear if 
you have the money and buy some armour for the Sprite.

---------------------------------------
2.5 Haunted Forest and Elinee's Castle:
---------------------------------------

Whichever path you choose out of Gaia's Navel, you'll want to head for 
that exit to the Haunted Forest I mentioned earlier. Head north here. 
When you reach a line of stone pillars, head north as far as you can and 
you'll be teleported to the Forest.

New enemy here, Chobin Hoods (nice name...). Try and keep the Sprite out 
of the way of them for now, as it will probably still be at a low level. 
Use your sword to cut the bushes down, as usual. Along this path you'll 
soon see Neko. Save, and buy anything you need. A Cup of Wishes or two, 
and any healing items (candy, chocolate) you can afford might be a wise 
investment here, just in case the Sprite (or indeed you) bite the dust. 
Head up the stairs and step on the strange symbol etched into the ground. 
This is a teleporter, and you'll emerge in a new area. If you let the 
girl go off on her own, you'll now see her having a little bit of 
werewolf trouble. They can be a little difficult, just keep the Sprite 
out of their way and keep hitting them (don't use your charge-up attacks,
it only leaves you vulnerable while you're charging). Kill them as 
quickly as possible, as they can cast Cure Water (restores HP) and 
Lunar Boost (attack up, evade down) on each other. The Girl will help 
you out as well (and she can't be killed in the fight). The Sprite may 
well be killed here (that's why you bought the Cup of Wishes), so revive 
if necessary after the fight. As long as you're level 7 or so with decent 
armour, you'll be fine.

In the next area with the toadstools, go right and continue along this 
path until you reach another teleporter. Step on the teleporter in the 
next area, and head back to the area with the toadstools. Now go left, 
and you'll see what looks like two skulls mounted on pillars. Equip 
your axe and hack them down (this is why you wouldn’t have been able 
to complete this quest before visiting the Dwarf Village). Continue on, 
using any teleporters you see, and you'll soon end up at the entrance 
to Elinee's Castle. No enemies you haven't met before here. Be careful 
with the Werewolves - try and protest the girl and Sprite, who will be 
at a lower level than you. Don't get too close to the Wizard Eyes as 
they can turn you into Moogles with a weird Moogle Ray (Kupo!). When 
you reach the entrance, go in. 

Proceed, using switches to open doorways where necessary. Be wary, 
some of the chairs you'll see will come to life and attack you! 
They're pretty easy though, and the path is quite simple. You'll 
come to a switch which doesn't seem to work... odd. Go down the 
stairs to the south, and you'll arrive in the dungeon. Free the 
soldiers and you'll find out why the switch wasn't working. Neko 
is also here, save your game and stock up on healing items, and 
buy a few Cups of Wishes - there's a boss fight coming up soon and 
it can be difficult. If you don't have enough money, just head back
through the Castle and kill some more enemies.

Now go back to that switch. It will open up a bridge to the north. 
Proceed. When you come to a room with three doors, take the middle one 
to save hassle. Use the switch to clear a path and keep going. You'll 
soon meet up with Elinee, and she'll escape through the door. Follow her, 
noting that this is your last chance to stock up on healing items and level 
up before a boss fight. Make sure the boy is level 9 or 10 at least. A 
short scene will follow, and now it's another boss fight!

-------------------
BOSS: Spikey Tiger:
-------------------

He can be surprisingly difficult for a boss at this early stage in the game. 
Be careful and keep your distance whenever possible. It may be a wise idea to 
equip yourself with a ranged weapon here to make things easier. His rolling 
attack (whether it be the ground or air attack) can knock you unconscious, 
so beware. When he jumps up, just run towards the furthest corner of the 
area. Hit him, then move away, as he counters almost always after being 
hit. If the girl and/or Sprite die (which is quite likely) don't bother 
reviving them unless you really feel the need to. When he jumps up to one 
of the higher areas, either equip the bow and continue hitting him (it's 
the only weapon that you can attack him with while he's up there) or use 
the time to charge your sword/spear attacks up (you should have at least 
one of them at level 2 by now). Spikey can cast Fire Bouquet and use 
Fire Breath (which is nasty) while he's up there. Be sure to heal once 
you get reduced to 40 HP or so. He shouldn't take long to kill, and the 
quicker the better as far as you're concerned. Once done, a Boomerang's 
Orb is your reward. 

Once Spikey has been killed, go back to the previous room where you first 
saw Elinee. Talk to her and a scene will follow. She tells you you need the 
magic of ice to get into the Underground Palace. For now, open the chests 
and pick up some money and the whip. Now exit the castle. Unfortunately you 
can't use the magic rope here, so you'll have to backtrack yourself. You'll 
notice the enemies are gone now though, which is nice.

--------------------------------
2.6 Undine, the Water Elemental:
--------------------------------

Once outside the castle, you'll see a short scene, and Luka will summon 
you to the Water Palace. Head back to the Haunted Forest. Now, after 
exiting the first area of the Forest you can take a shortcut out of 
there by heading up the stairs visible to the north and using the whip 
to cross the chasm. I'd recommend taking the long way out and gaining 
some valuable exp and money though.

If you take the shortcut, you'll emerge just south of the Water Palace. 
If you took the longer way out, as soon as you leave the Forest take the 
first exit to the east and use the Cannon Travel Center to get to the 
Palace - it saves a lot of unrewarding travelling.

Go inside and talk to Luka. She'll tell you about Undine, who it seems is 
in need of a little help. Exit the Palace and head north-east. You'll come 
to an exit leading to a cave entrance, guarded by a few Iffish. Just 
hoard them together and you can deal damage to all three at once, easy. 
Repeat the process in the first room inside the cave, then proceed to 
another boss fight!

----------------------------
BOSS: Tonpole/Biting Lizard:
----------------------------

The Tonpole is easy - imagine a Rabite but with a lot more HP. Just keep 
attacking and soon the Tonpole will morph into a Biting Lizard. He doesn't 
look all that tough, and, well he isn't really. The key here is to attack 
him from a diagonal position so he can't eat you. What I mean is, get 
yourself into a position where he is diagonal to you, then move in, 
attack, and move out again. Using the whip or boomerang might make this 
fight a little easier too. If you are unfortunate enough to get eaten, 
switch characters (press Select) and hit him quickly to limit the damage 
done. Once you've dealt enough damage, he'll start casting Cure Water on 
himself - don't panic, just keep pummelling him and he'll give up the 
ghost eventually. If the girl or sprite die there's no real need to revive 
them - you can win the battle on your own easily enough. A Glove's Orb 
is your reward for disposing of the Lizard.

An entrance will have opened up to the northeast. Go through it, and 
meet Undine. She'll restore your HP/condition and a scene will follow, 
during which you will gain Undine's powers! She'll also give you the 
pole dart, which you can equip on the girl or sprite if you want. Now 
go back to the Water Palace and speak with Luka again. She'll tell you 
(in case you'd forgotten) that Undine's powers can remove the seal on 
the Underground Palace in Gaia's Navel. So it might be a wise idea to 
go there then. You might want to stop off at Neko's first and buy a 
Faerie Walnut (replenishes MP), but if you don't have the money (1000 GP) 
don't panic - you can get by without one for the time being.

---------------------------
2.7 The Underground Palace:
---------------------------

Head for Gaia's Navel, either by Cannon Travel or on foot. Once there, 
it may be an idea to clear the caves out a few times to gain some money 
and exp. Be sure to raise both the girl's and the Sprite's Undine magic 
to level 1 (if you keep using the magic, it's level will go up in time), 
it'll help with a boss you'll be facing soon. Just cast spells until 
you're out of MP, then rest at the Inn at the Dwarf Village and repeat.

When you're done (you should be level 11 or 12 and your allies should be 
level 10 or 11), go to the Dwarf Village. Before entering the Underground 
Palace, first make sure you're equipped with the best armour from the shop 
there. Then go and see Watts and get him to forge all the weapons you have 
Orbs for, and stock up on healing items if you need to.

Now, making sure the Sprite has at least 2MP (if he does there's no need to 
rest at the Inn just yet), head into the cave opening directly south of the 
Inn. Here you should see a pool of lava and a Crystal Orb. Have the Sprite 
cast Freeze on the Orb and the lava will vanish, clearing a path through to 
the Underground Palace clear for you. Now you can rest at the Inn and save 
if you need to before proceeding.

Once rested, go north past where the lava was and enter the opening. You're 
now in the Underground Palace. A few new enemies here. The Goblins can be 
annoying - kill the pink ones first to stop them spawning others, and be 
wary of their boomerangs. The Chess Knights pose no threat, but can be hard 
to hit. If you can't kill them easily, ignore them.

Proceed north, and you'll come to a T junction with paths leading off to 
the left and right, and a blocked doorway to the north. Switches lie at the 
end of both of these paths and you'll need to step on both of them to open 
the doorway to the north. Continue through this door once it is cleared and 
proceed along the path. Again you'll need to use the whip to get across a 
chasm at one point. Soon you'll arrive at the stage room and a gnome will
 block your path. A short scene follows, but you are interrupted by yet 
another earthquake, and yet another boss fight!

-----------------
BOSS: Fire Gigas:
-----------------

His weakness, unsurprisingly is Ice. Have the girl cast Ice Saber on the 
hero, and keep the sprite busy casting Freeze. When he morphs into a lot of 
small fireball-like things, that's the time to charge up your sword attack 
and heal if necessary (you can't target him with melee or magic when he is 
in this form). When he resumes his initial form, continue to attack him. 
He casts Exploder on all party members which is nothing to fear (~30 HP of 
damage each). You should be able to kill him fairly quickly, and you get an 
Axe's Orb for doing so.

Now head north into a new area. Keep going north and you'll see the gnome 
again. A quite amusing scene follows, after which you receive Gnome's powers! 
Don't be fooled, he may be a small guy but he's got some pretty nifty magic 
for you to use. Now walk up the steps and press 'B' by the Mana Seed to gain 
it's power. After you've done that, a scene follows during which the Sprite 
regains some memories of the past. Apparently he lives in the Upper Land 
Forest, but right now you don't have a clue how to get there. Great. Anyway, 
use the Magic Rope to exit the Palace. In the Dwarf Village go through the 
usual routine of forging weapons, stocking up on healing items, saving and 
resting if necessary, then exit and make tracks for Neko's. You may as well 
use Watts' shortcut out of Gaia's Navel now, as the enemies give too little 
exp and GP to be worth troubling yourself with at this point. You can also 
use the Cannon Travel Center south of the entrance to the Haunted Forest to 
save time and effort (select "Water Palace" as Neko's is just south of 
there). Buy a Faerie Walnut or two, depending on how much money you have, 
as you will be needing them soon. Once done, head south to Pandora.

---------------------------
2.8 The Mystery of Pandora:
---------------------------

There is a girl with blue hair wandering around by the southern exit out of 
town. Talk to her and she'll disappear. Hmmm, odd. It's time to check out 
the ruins and find out what's going on here...

Take the southern exit out of town, and head east and north and you'll arrive 
at the ruins. Lots of people are wandering about, but it seems that none of 
them have anything to say to you. Talk to the girl who disappeared in Pandora 
and she will walk away and inside the ruins. Follow her. The girl may have 
said you have to hurry, but this is a nice time to level up your magic and 
gain a little more exp. Feel free to wander around the ruins a little (don't 
stray too far in though...), using magic liberally and then returning to 
Pandora and resting to restore MP. If possible, get Undine to level 2 and 
Gnome to level 1 for both the girl and the Sprite, but if this gets too 
boring for you, just focus on getting Gnome to level 1, it'll come in useful 
very soon. Once done, rest, save and go back to the ruins. Now it's time to 
investigate properly.

New enemies in the ruins include Tomato Men, who seem to be impossible to hit 
with normal physical attacks (either ignore them or try using charge-up 
attacks), and zombies (spawned by the Tomato Men), who are easily killable 
but can cast speed down. An easy way to gain exp is to kill the zombies that 
the Tomato Men spawn, but leave the Tomato Men alone. They just keep spawning 
zombies, and you just keep killing 'em. The Tomato Men themselves pose no 
threat if you keep your distance, although they can cast fireball. Evil 
Swords are pretty easy, but watch out if they cast Moon Saber, it allows 
them to replenish their HP if they hit you, which isn't nice...

Anyway, from the first monster-occupied room in the ruins, go north and 
through the double-doors in the centre. Continue along the path (it's a 
simple path), conserving magic if possible (you'll need it soon). You'll 
soon arrive in a large room with a few people scattered around and a 
particularly scary-looking guy in the centre. Talk to him, a little trash 
talking will follow, and it's time for another boss fight!

----------------
BOSS: Evil Wall: 
----------------

This boss can be annoying if you don't keep a relentless attack going. Go 
for the eyes first, the "face" keeps casting Cure Water on itself anyway. 
Keep hitting them with level 2 sword attacks, and try and conserve your 
magic for now. When the eyes "die", they can be revived, but with very few 
HP and so a couple of level 2 sword attacks should be enough to see them 
off again. The face mainly attacks with Freeze and the eyes use beam attacks 
which are quite easy to dodge. Once both eyes are gone, the wall will start 
to move. Errr, better kill it quickly then, don't you think? Those spikes 
suddenly look a little bit threatening... This is why you've (hopefully) 
been conserving your magic thus far. Cast Stone Saber on the hero, and keep 
pummelling it with Gem Missile and level 1/2 sword attacks. You should kill 
him with plenty of time to spare. A Bow's Orb is your reward.

Thanatos will take off with Dyluck and Phanna, but on the plus side the 
villagers seem to be back to normal now. Talk to Jema and he'll tell you 
to go back to the Water Palace (again) and teleport you to just outside 
the ruins. Before going back to the Water Palace, head into Pandora again. 
If you explored Pandora earlier, you may have noticed a "shop" that wasn't 
selling anything. Well, now everything is back to normal, that isn't the case 
anymore. The shop is in the east of the village, and has a purple sign just 
above the door. Go in here and upgrade your armour, making sure to stock 
up on healing items. Now, remember visiting Pandora's Castle? Well, visit 
it again (the north-east exit out of town if you've forgotten). Head for the 
King's room (the north-west exit from the Throne room, and speak with him. He 
decides to part with his treasure, which is nice. Head down the now unguarded 
stairs and pick up the treasure chests. You get some money (200 GP in all), a 
Sword's Orb and a Spear's Orb. Now rest /save at the Inn before going to the 
Water Palace.

-------------------
2.9 The Water Seed:
-------------------

Talk to Luka, and she'll tell you what's wrong. The Water Seed has been 
stolen, the scoundrels! She tells you it's located around Gaia's Navel, so 
that might be a good next destination.

I'd walk to Gaia's Navel, using the journey to level up your magic some more 
(rest at Pandora and Kippo Village to restore MP). Both Undine and Gnome 
should be close to or at level 2 by the time you reach Gaia's Navel. Once 
there, take the shortcut to the Dwarf Village. Upgrade whatever weapons you 
can with Watts, then head for the Inn to save and rest. Once done, look just 
south of the Underground Palace entrance and you'll see Jema, the Dwarven Elder, 
and a big hole in the ground. Walk to the small platform that's poking out by 
the hole and you'll climb down into the hole. Note that if you realise you've 
forgotten something you can use the magic rope to escape. Head down the stairs 
to your immediate south. Next, pick up the treasure chest in the north-east 
of this new room for a Whip's Orb. Head through the doors to the north, and 
you'll come to the Water Seed. Seems the "Scorpion Army" have stolen it. 
You'll have a little chat, then walk north through the next set of doors and 
it's a boss fight!

-------------
BOSS: Kilroy:
-------------

He is easy. Hit him with level 2 sword attacks and have the Sprite keep 
casting either Gem Missile or Freeze, depending on which is at the higher 
level. If they're both at the same level, Freeze works a little better. Let 
the girl cast Ice or Stone Saber on you if you want, but it's not necessary - 
the fight's easy enough without it. After a while he'll start moving a little 
faster courtesy of a wheel that just seems to appear below him. Just keep 
attacking him in the same way and he'll soon become scrap metal. His hammers
 can turn you into Moogles (kupo!) and he can cast Lunar Boost on himself 
(attack up, defense down). You get a Javelin's Orb for killing him.

The Scorpion Army will take off, leaving you with the Water Seed. You'll be
teleported outside the hole, next to the Elder. Talk to him, he'll tell you 
that Jema has left. Before returning to the Water Palace, rest/save, and 
visit Watts to get your weapons reforged. Now go back to the Water Palace.

Hmmm, seems there's trouble afoot at the Water Palace. There are enemies 
lurking about for one thing. You've met the Iffish before, and the Water 
Thugs are easy to deal with as long as you keep them isolated. A quick word 
on your level, as I haven't mentioned it in a while, you should all be level 
14 or close by now. If not, level up around the Water Palace for a while, 
going to Neko's to heal. Anyway, proceed through the Water Palace to Luka 
and you'll see some unfamiliar faces. Soldiers from the Empire are the latest 
people to want the Water Seed. It doesn't matter whether you choose to hand 
it over or run when prompted, you'll end up losing it anyway. The seal on 
the Seed will be broken, and you'll end up in a boss fight! 

------------------
BOSS: Jabberwocky:
------------------

Keep moving when you're not attacking - that way it's heads can't get at you 
as easily. The Sprite should be busy casting Gem Missile and/or Earth Slide, 
and have the girl cast Stone Saber on the hero and heal when necessary. The 
hero should be using level 3 sword attacks (charge them while the Sprite is 
casting magic, then release them a few seconds after the spell hits). The 
boss' melee attacks can knock you unconscious, he can use poison gas (no 
great threat) and he can cast Acid Storm on your party (~55 damage each and 
defense down, nasty). When one of it's heads disappears you know he's close 
to death, so keep up the pressure. A Bow's Orb is your reward for killing 
him.

Talk to Jema and he'll give you a Whip's Orb, as well as telling you how to 
get to the Upper Land (where the Sprite lives, remember?). Now talk to Luka 
and restore the seal on the Water Seed. Talk to Luka and she'll tell you of 
your longer-term mission.

Now rest and stock up at Neko's if you need to, then head for the Cannon 
Travel Center by Potos, like Jema said (it's signposted in case you've 
forgotten where it is). Talk to the guy there and select Upper Land, and 
you're off!

--------------------------------
2.10 The Upper Land and Sylphid:
--------------------------------

A short scene will occur upon your "landing", and the Sprite will get a 
touch of memory loss. Great. Anyway, you're in some sort of Moogle encampment. 
Talk to one of the Moogles to find out what happened to their village, then 
head to the north of this area and you'll see Watts. Get your weapons you 
have Orbs for reforged if you have the money, if not don't panic, just 
proceed. Before exiting this area, equip the spear (you should have the 
"Sprite's Spear" by now) on the hero. It can balloon standard enemies, 
which is VERY useful. The southern exit leads to Neko, so go see him if 
you need items or want to save. Upgrade your armour with him too if you 
have the money.

Now take the north-eastern exit out of the Moogle encampment. In this 
area you'll meet Nemesis Owls who can (and will) cast Silence. This 
reverses your directional controls if cast on the character you're playing 
as, which can be annoying. If you have trouble, just switch characters. The 
Owls attack pretty relentlessly too. If you have trouble with them just 
ignore them as best you can. Take the south-eastern exit out of here. This 
area contains Silktails, basically souped-up Rabites who can cast Acid Storm, 
Energy Absorb, and Cure Water. This still doesn't make them very dangerous 
though...

Take the north-western exit out of here, and you'll end up in the Moogle 
Village. Well, the ex-Moogle village anyway, it seems some Pebblers are 
in occupation of it now. Well, there's only one thing to do, right? The 
Pebblers are easy. You shouldn't need to use magic, or even charge-up 
attacks, but if you do need to use magic, Freeze is your best bet. Once 
they're defeated, head towards the exit from the village, and the Moogles 
will return! Kupo! Talk to one of the Moogles and the Sprite's memory will 
return. He will tell you that you have to "Walk the seasons" to enter his 
home.

Open the two chests in the north-east of town to get a Glove's and an Axe's 
Orb. Talk to Neko and buy whatever you need, then see Watts and get any 
weapons you can reforged. Now, try and get to level 16 by wandering about 
close to the village. Try not to use any magic though - you can't rest to 
restore MP and Faerie Walnuts are expensive. When done, head back to the 
village. Now head out again. This area is "Summer" (remember, you've got 
to "Walk the seasons"). From this area take the south-west exit to proceed 
to "Spring". Now go back the way you came (into "Summer), and take the exit 
towards the north-east of this area and you'll end up in "Autumn". The 
north-western exit here leads to "Winter". There's only one exit here, to
the southwest, and it leads back to "Spring", which is where you want to go. 
If you've "Walked the seasons" correctly, you should hear a noise. 
Apparently it came from the right, so go that way and through the exit in 
the north-east of the area. 

Now you're in the Sprite's Village, but he will notice that something is 
amiss. Go north, through the exit, and it's a boss fight!

------------------
BOSS: Spring Beak:
------------------

Quite easy. He is hard to hit with physical attacks and very mobile, so 
don't bother trying to hit him with your weapon. He can easily damage you 
if you get too close too, so keep away as best as you can. Magic is your 
sole damage dealer here. Have the Sprite continually casting Gem Missile, 
and the boss will fall shortly. 5 castings of level 2 Gem Missile will kill 
him. He can cast Thunderbolt (~50 damage each), but he shouldn't get the 
chance to. You'll receive a Boomerang's Orb upon its defeat.

An exit will open up to the north, so proceed. Enter the Palace and talk 
to the old man there. After the scene, you'll have gained Sylphid's powers! 
You will also be healed and can save now. Once done, don't forget to seal 
the Mana Seed with your sword before leaving.

Now, if you want to you can go back to the Moogle Village and stock up on 
items as well as reforging weapons if you want. Then, go to "Spring" and 
take the south-western exit, then go south-west. You should see a Crystal 
Orb, much like the one that was by the Underground Palace. Have the Sprite 
cast Air Blast on it to clear the path for you. Now proceed. You'll meet 
a new enemy, the Crawler in this area, but it's nothing special, although 
it can cast Sleep Flower. Just switch characters if he casts it on the 
hero - the effect wears off pretty quickly. Take the exit to the west, 
then the exit to the north-west, then enter the cave to the north.

----------------------------------
2.11 Matango and the White Dragon:
----------------------------------

Inside the cave, you'll see a Kimono Bird. They keep spawning Pebblers if 
you let them, and they can cast Thunderbolt. Use Air Blast to kill it if 
you have trouble hitting it with melee attacks, or alternatively you could 
just ignore it. There's only one other exit in the cave, go through it and 
you'll emerge in Matango. The mushroom-type people here are friendly, unlike 
those enemies you may remember, so don't panic! Proceed along the path and 
you'll come to an exit. In this new area is Fung Castle, home of King 
Truffle.

Before going into the main area of the castle, go into the shop you'll see 
beside it and upgrade your armour as well as stocking up on healing 
equipment. Stock up on Faerie Walnuts too now they're cheaper. Now enter 
the other door, and in this room you'll see Watts. Is he stalking you or 
something? Oh well, it's not worth complaining as you can reforge your 
weapons now. When done, go through the left-hand door and you'll meet King 
Truffle. A short scene will follow, after which you should head up the stairs 
to the right and pick up a Javelin's Orb from the chest there. Go back to 
Watts and get it reforged if you have the money. Beside the room with Watts 
in it is an Inn, just go up the stairs to the right. Now use the exit south 
of the entrance to the Inn and you'll be back outside. Carry on along the 
path and into the next area. Here, try to build up Sylphid's magic a little, 
level 1 is fine, but try and get it to level 2 if you can be bothered. You'll 
get decent exp and money while doing so here too, and head back to the Inn 
to heal and restore MP when necessary.

Okay, you should all be around the level 19 mark now. Head out of the exit 
to the south of the Inn entrance, then proceed along the path until you come 
to a cave opening to the north. Go in. Continue along this path, using charge 
up attacks to deal with the Kimono Birds as they're hard to hit with standard 
attacks.  You'll need to use the whip to get across small gaps again at 
several points. After the second gap you cross with the whip, head down the 
stairs nearby. The path is quite simple form here, and you should soon reach 
a room with a Crystal Orb in the southwest corner. Use Earth Slide on it. 
You won't see anything happen, but head back the way you came. In the area 
after the room with the Orb, proceed to the newly-opened exit in the 
south-west. Continuing along this path, you'll soon arrive at a boss fight!

------------------
BOSS: Great Viper:
------------------

Use either Air Blast or Thunderbolt continually. Attack quickly with your 
sword when he stays still, using Thunder Saber, but be wary that he can 
pygmise you if you get too close (shrink you, meaning you do practically 
no damage and take more damage when hit. Use Remedy or Med Herbs to restore 
normal status if this happens). When he disappears, use the time to heal if 
necessary. If you have Sylphid at level 2 this should be an easy battle. 
You get a Sword's Orb, and an exit opens up to the north, so go through it.

This path leads to a small dragon. Talk to it (don't worry, he's friendly), 
and a short scene will follow, after which you'll be transported back to 
the Castle. You'll have a chat with King Truffle, and he'll tell you to go 
to the Fire Palace in Kakkara via the Cannan Travel center to the south. 
Exit, making sure to reforge your weapons and rest/save before you go. Now 
go back along the path you took when first entering Matango.

------------------------------------
2.12 The Ice Country and Ice Palace:
------------------------------------

Once you're through the cave with the Kimono Bird in it, head south-east 
and take the exit to the east. You should be at a Cannon Travel Center. 
Now, don't go to Kakkara like King Truffle said, you need to go to the 
Ice Country instead. Why? You'll find out soon...

You'll "land" in Todo Village. Go to the item shop and buy the best 
armour you can (as well as stocking up on essentials) and save/heal at 
the Inn as well as visiting Watts if you need to (he's in one of the houses 
in the south-east of the village). Now would also be a good time to build 
up your levels and magic around the village (all magic at level 2 and your 
characters at level 22 would be good going), as the monsters here give good 
exp and money. The area next to the village is filled with Howlers, who can 
do some damage if you're not careful and if you let them attack you in 
numbers.

So, once you're done levelling, head back to Todo Village and save/heal 
as well as buying any armour you couldn't previously afford, then head 
back out again (there's only one exit). In this area, take the 
south-western exit and you'll end up in a new area with a house and little 
else. Talk to Rudolph (yes, it's THAT  Rudolph, nose an' all...) and he'll 
tell you his master (hmm, who could that be?) has disappeared! He thinks 
that he's been held by a monster in the Ice Palace. Okay, now go into the 
house and collect the Spear's Orb from the chest. Now exit and exit this area 
to the south.

The Shellblasts in this area are easy. Proceed until you see an exit to the 
right (leading to a Cannon travel Center) then take the western route when 
you have the choice between going west or south, and the exit from this area 
is to the west. The LA Funk's in this area are impossible to hit with melee 
attacks, so either hit them with Gem Missile or alternatively just ignore 
them. If you stay close to them for too long they'll cast Freeze on you 
and/or freeze you with their cold breath. Here the exit you want is to the 
north-west. Take it, and you'll end up in another boss battle!

------------------
BOSS: Boreal Face:
------------------

Remember Tropicallo? This guy is basically a souped-up version of him. Magic 
is ineffective here, so just use charge-up attacks on him (charge up when he 
disappears, hit him when he fully re-emerges). He'll emerge in one of the 4 
corners of the area when he burrows underground, so just wait for him. His 
attacks are pretty weak and shouldn't cause you too much bother. He can cast 
burst however, which is quite nasty (you'll know its coming when he dances 
about for a few seconds instead of spitting the pumpkin bomb he normally 
does). As soon as he's cast it on you, get the girl to cast Cure Water on 
all of you to recover. He takes a while to kill, but should pose no great 
threat to your health. If the girl and/or Sprite die (it's easily possible 
if you aren't careful), don't bother reviving them - you can win the battle 
on your own. You get a Bow's Orb for killing Tropicallo Version 2...

After the boss battle, you'll be whisked to a village which seems strangely 
warm. Hmmmm, time to see what's going on, methinks. Go north a little and 
talk to the guy by the stove who may look a little familiar. Once he leaves, 
approach the stove and you'll hear a tapping sound. When prompted, say "Yes" 
and the stove will open, revealing Salamando, the Fire Elemental! He'll give
you his powers, which sure is nice of him...

Now exit the village (which looks a little less warm now) to the north. This 
area has two exits to the north. The western one will lead you to Neko, 
where you can stock up on items if need be, and also save. This is a good 
time to think about getting Salamando's magic up to level 1 (certainly at 
least the Sprite's Salamando magic), it'll help shortly. Just buy Faerie 
Walnuts from Neko to replace any you use while levelling your magic up. Once 
done, head to the exit east of the exit leading to Neko, and you'll arrive 
at the Ice Palace. Head north to get to the Palace itself, and enter.

First things first, turn up the music here! I love the Ice Palace music, it's 
among the best in any SNES RPG. Anyway, that aside, you'll notice that the 
switch to the north doesn't work so well. Go to the right and hit the switch 
at the end of the path, now you can proceed. Ignore the Blue Drops in this 
area if you want to preserve your sanity - they can be very annoying. Or use 
Salamando against them - but it would be a good idea to conserve your MP at 
the moment. Go through the right-hand door and continue along the path. In 
the room at the end of the path is a chest containing a Glove's Orb. Now go 
back to the room with 2 doors leading north and this time take the left-hand 
door. Use Salamando to kill the Blue Drop and then hit the switch and 
proceed.

In the next room, the right-hand switch is the one to hit. Go through the 
door to the north. The Weepy Eye is a new enemy, but he's easy to kill. 
Continuing along this path, you'll soon come to a library-like room. The 
Mystic Books are easy to kill, but can be annoying to kill if they cast 
Lucid Barrier (blocks physical attacks) on themselves. The Specters can 
be killed easily with Freeze or Gem Missile if they're annoying you. The 
path can get a little confusing, but this area is small and the exit is 
to the north-east.

In the next area, there are two switches to the north. Step on either of 
them and you'll fall through a hole and straight into another boss fight!

---------------------------------
BOSS: Tonpole/Biting Lizard (x3):
---------------------------------

Very, very easy. Just focus standard attacks on one at a time and when the 
Tonpole you're focusing on morphs into a Biting Lizard, hit it with a couple 
of Fireballs and keep up your melee attacks, but take care not to be swallowed 
(approach the Biting Lizard from a diagonal direction). If any of your party 
are swallowed, switch character quickly if necessary and hit the Lizard to 
release your character. They can cast Cure Water, but you'll be damaging them 
at a far faster rate than the rate at which they're healing themselves. Once 
one of them is dead, repeat this whole process for the other two, and you'll 
be victorious very shortly.

You'll emerge in a new area. Continue along this path (you'll need to use 
the whip to get across some gaps). At the end of this path, step on the 
switch and you'll be teleported to a new area. Go through the door above you. 
Now you'll be told to leave by a strange voice, reply "No" and you may well 
have already guessed it's going to end in a boss fight!

------------------
BOSS: Frost Gigas:
------------------

Easy. Hit him with your charge-up sword attack, and have the Sprite cast 
Exploder or Fireball on him continually. If he casts Ice Saber on you, 
counter with Flame Saber, and keep attacking and curing when/if necessary. 
When he morphs into lots of little pieces, that's the best time to cure if 
you need to and charge up your sword attack.  He casts Acid Rain a lot, 
which does surprisingly little damage as well as his standard melee attack 
and his Freeze Breath, which is his one annoying attack (it freezes you and 
does decent damage, use Remedy or a Medical Herb to restore condition). He 
should fall quite quickly though if you have level 1-2 Salamando for the 
Sprite. You'll receive a Boomerang's Orb for defeating him.

You'll be transported back to the Throne Room, and Santa will tell you 
what's been going on. After the conversation, Santa will give you the Fire 
Seed (this is why you came here before going to Kakkara) and you'll be 
transported outside the Palace. Now head all the way back to Todo Village, 
rest/save, stock up on items and reforge weapons.

---------------------------------
2.13 The Desert and the Sandship:
---------------------------------

Now you'll want to head to that Cannon Travel Center you may have seen a 
sign for on the way to the Ice Palace. To get there, head out of Todo Village 
and go to the south-west exit in the next area. Now carry on south past 
Rudolph and the house, and exit the next area to the east (the first exit 
you'll see). Select Matango - the guy doesn't have enough gunpowder to get 
you to Kakkara.

Exit Matango and head for the nearby Cannon Travel Center there. Now you 
can go to Kakkara, and should do so. You'll end up "landing" in the middle 
of the desert. Go north out of the fist area and you'll be in an enemy-filled 
area. The Sand Stingers are new, but way too slow to be threatening. Take the 
western exit here, and again in the next area, where you need to take care 
not to fall into the sand whirlpools, because the Spider Legs within will 
attack you with Earth Slide, not nice. You an use Air Blast or Thunderbolt 
to make your passage a little safer if you want, but if you're careful it 
shouldn't be an issue. Take the southern exit here, and the western exit 
in the next area. 

If all has gone well, you'll see a little scene. Head north and onto the 
Sandship. After a chat with some of the crew, you'll be separated from the 
girl and Sprite and assigned to kitchen duties. I know how much you all 
hate kitchen work, so you'd better work on getting out on there! Talk to 
Sergo (the big guy at the top of the room) twice, then talk to the guards 
at the door. Sergo will pretend there is a fire, and you'll escape. Now, 
to find your friends...

Keep walking around until you see some more stairs heading down into a new 
area. Go down them and through the door in the next area and you'll see the 
Sprite, who's obviously been very busy. Talk to him and he'll join you 
again! Now head back onto the deck of the ship and go south then a little 
east and through the door you'll see (it's a couple of screens below the 
guard if you have trouble seeing it - it's quite difficult to spot).

Head up the stairs immediately north of you and talk to the guard to save 
your game. Now go back and talk to the guards guarding the doors to the 
north of the stairs. The Sprite will get rid of them, so go through the 
doors. In this room you'll find Morie, who's busy trying to have his wicked 
way with the girl. Seems like you timed your entrance pretty well. Just as 
you're about to be recaptured, you'll be interrupted. Seems like the Empire 
is snooping around. The soldiers on the ship will (pathetically) surrender. 
Talk to Geshtar (the guy with the green hair on the top of the ship) and 
he'll blab on for a while, after which you get the joy of another boss 
fight! Woo-hoo!

-----------------
BOSS: Mech Rider:
-----------------

He looks pretty cool, but that's about as good as it gets as far as he's 
concerned. Use your highest level attacking magic on him (almost certainly 
Gnome or Undine) as well as charge up sword attacks when you get the 
chance. He'll cast Speed Up on himself, which has very little noticeable 
effect, and fire missiles at you, as well as speeding into you. His attacks 
are weak though, and you should get through the fight without having to 
heal - it really is that easy. After you've done enough damage, he'll run 
off, leaving you with a Whip's Orb as a little pressie (how kind of him!).

You'll end up in a new area. Talk to Morie, Meria and Sergo if you want, 
then talk to a soldier in the south who will say a rescue team is coming. 
Reply "Yes" to him and you'll leave the area. Go north into Kakkara.

---------------------------------
2.14 Kakkara and the Fire Palace:
---------------------------------

In Kakkara go through your usual village routine. There's no new armor on 
sale here, so if you bought the best armor in the Ice Country then you're 
optimally equipped. Once you're done in Kakkara, head out via the south 
exit. Now head south again into the next area, then west, then north, and 
you should emerge in a new area close to the Fire Palace. In this area are 
Robin Foot's, archers who can use Flame Saber, but they're nothing 
especially difficult about them. Proceed along the path and into the
Palace. 

Once inside, go through the doorway to the left and along the path. You'll
come to a room filled with lava, and with a Crystal Orb in the middle, as 
well as a couple of Dark Funks. Kill them with Freeze and then cast 
Exploder on the Orb to clear the lava and open the path. Continue, meeting
another new enemy, the Red Drop in the next area. They're annoying, but can 
easily be killed with Freeze if you're having a lot of trouble with them.
Take the exit to the lower-left corner and in the south-west corner of
this area is a chest with 1000G in it. Now go back a couple of areas, and 
take the stairs up in the middle of this area. You'll be in a new area
where another Crystal Orb lies just to the south-west. This time use
Fireball and a path will open up. Head around and up the north-leading
path to pick up some more money from a chest. Now go back down and through
the door in the east of this room.

In this new area, go down the stairs that are directly to the west. The
path here leads to a chest with an Axe's Orb. Now go back up the stairs
and now you'll want to head down the stairs just south-east of the stairs 
you've just come up. From here the path is simple, just hit a switch and 
use the whip to cross a gap when necessary. Before long you should arrive
in a room with a switch and a lot of unlit torches. Step on the switch
and a Crystal Orb will appear, and all the torches will light up. Use 
Freeze on the Orb and all but 2 of the torches will go out. Step between
the 2 lit torches and a set of stairs will appear. Proceed, and you'll
come to a boss fight!

---------------
BOSS: Minotaur:
---------------

His weakness is Sylphid, so cast Air Blast and/or Thunderbolt and he'll
die quickly. He's easy to beat, although he casts Earth Slide on you for
quite a lot of damage. He'll turn a reddish colour and speed up a little 
when he's near death. You get a Javelin's Orb for beating him.

Now go through the doors to the north and you'll be in the stage room. 
Restore the seal with your sword, then use the Magic Rope to warp back to 
the Palace entrance. Now you'll want to head back to Kakkara. 
Save/heal/buy/reforge as necessary, then talk to the old guy standing in 
the middle of the village. He says they need a Sea Hare's tail to stop the 
wells running dry - but you won't be able to get one for a while yet.
Talk to the woman wandering about in the north-west of town, and she'll
say something about Cannon Travel having a route to the Empire. Go to the
Cannon Travel Center just east of Kakkara and select "3". Now you're headed 
for the Empire...

-----------------------------
2.15 Southtown and Northtown:
-----------------------------

You'll end up by anouther Cannon Travel Center. Go out of this area and
follow the path around, talking to the people you see if you want until
you reach the Inn/shop (first building you come to). The shop is upstairs
and sells some good new armour - be sure to buy what you can. In the 
north-west of town there is a house with a woman standing outside - 
approach it and she'll go inside. Follow her and talk to her and you'll
find out that she's a Tasnican spy. You'll have a short chat and she'll 
give you the code to enter the sewers in the east of town (634). Talk to 
the guard who's guarding the sewer entrance and give him the code, and 
he'll let you pass.

There are a couple of new enemies in the Sewers. The Dinofish are basically
souped-up Iffish who can fire missiles at you. The Blue Drops are annoying 
but good for gaining experience and money if you need it - they keep 
reproducing, you keep killing them, you keep getting exp and gold - nice. 
If you're level 28 or so with the armour from Southtown then they're both 
no trouble. Anyway, the path through the Sewers is very simple and there
are no treasures to collect, so proceed and you'll soon come to the base
of the Resistance.

You'll chat with the Resistance's leader Krissie, and hear about what's
been happening around town. Anyway, make your way through the base, talking 
to people as you go to get more information. You'll soon emerge outside.
Now would be a good time to rest/save and stock up on items. Also, be sure 
to buy the new armour that's available and visit Watts, who's in the 
basement below the Inn.

Once you're fully kitted out, head to the Ruins via the north-eastern exit 
out of town. Walk to the north, and you'll see Phanna, who obviously isn't 
herself. Krissie will come along and take her to the local doctor. Now go 
north and through the doors. In this next area there are two sets of
stairs, one at each side of the room. Go up one of them,then continue and 
you'll notice there are two doors. Go through one of them and continue
along the path, then repeat the process with the other door to pick up a
Bow's Orb and a Spear's Orb.

Once you're done with that, feel free to wander about a little (without 
venturing too far into the ruins) and level up both your characters and
your magic a bit. Right now you should be focusing on leveling all of the 
Sprite's magic up to level 3 and the girl's Undine to level 3 as well -
the rest you can do without. Your characters should be level 30 or so.
Return to the Inn in Northtown if you need to restore HP/MP. Once you're
ready to proceed, go back to the big room with the stairs on either side
and go through the double doors to the north.

There are lots of new enemies in the ruins, most of whom are souped-up 
versions of enemies you've seen before, so you should know how to deal 
with them. Watch out for the Imps - they evade attacks quite well and can 
cast Fireball and Exploder for quite a bit of damage. If they're 
frustrating you, ignore them or kill them with Freeze. The Specters 
should either be dealt with by magic (Salamando works well) or just 
ignored completely.

Anyway, once you've gone through the doors into the next area, proceed 
along the path which is pretty simple for the next few areas. After the 
room with the Blue, Green and Red Drops in it, go through the door to the 
extreme left - the middle door leads to a dead end. Continuing along this 
route you'll come to a room with a couple of sets of spikes blocking your 
progress. Take the exit to the south-east of this area and carry on along 
this path. Soon you'll come to a small room with a switch, step on it and
head back to the room with the spikes. Now go through the door in the 
left of this room (the spikes blocking it will be gone) and pick up the 
chest for a Sword's Orb. Now go to the other area that once was blocked 
off by spikes and step on the switch there. A door appears to the north,
go through it.

From here the path is simple - step on the nearby switch to remove the 
spikes when you reach a room filled with them. After passing through a 
few more rooms you'll walk rather unceremoniously into a boss fight!

------------------
BOSS: Doom's Wall:
------------------

He looks just like Evil Wall (the boss you fought in the Ruins by Pandora),
but he attacks quite differently. Your strategy however should be exactly 
the same as it was before. Attack the eyes first with charge-up attacks,
and maybe a little magic if you're struggling then use your highest-level
magic on the "Face" (probably Freeze or Gem Missile). The Face can revive 
the eyes, but they'll have little HP and be easy to re-kill The Wall's 
attacks are generally nothing to concern you, although it can cast 
mid-level Thunderbolt and Energy Absorb for decent damage. The Face also 
uses a move called Cave-In which is somewhat annoying - be ready to heal.
Unlike Evil Wall, Doom's Wall doesn't move once the eyes are dead, so
there's not much of a rush to kill it. A Whip's Orb is your reward for 
destroying the Wall.

A doorway will open up to the north, so go through. Keep going north until
you see Dyluck. A scene will follow, and it will become fairly obvious 
that Dyluck isn't himself either. You'll knock a bit of sense back into
him, but it may be too late. Go through the door at the top of this area,
and after a little scene it's another boss fight!

--------------
BOSS: Vampire:
--------------

He'll jump around a lot - be sure to chip in with attacks when he's on the
ground, and keep on the move while he's airborne. Just keep casting any 
high-level magic on him (his weakness is Lumina, and you don't have Lumina 
yet..) and he'll soon die. If he sends the hero to sleep, just switch 
characters and keep casting. He'll use some mid-level magic, mainly Undine,
but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. You get a Boomerang's Orb for 
killing him.

You'll see a short, sad scene, after which you should use the Magic Rope to 
get out quickly. Go back to Northtown and into the right-hand door of the 
large building just to the left of the small fountain-type feature and talk 
to Phanna and the doctor. Now go back to the Resistance's base and see 
Krissie. Krissie will tell you that the Emperor wants a truce, and that
you should follow them to the castle to go see him. Suspicious? You should 
be...

Go out and save/heal/stock up/reforge as necessary before going to the 
castle (the entrance is to the north). Don't make the same mistake I did 
the first time I played through the game and think the Emperor really 
wants peace - I had to go through the castle (and two bosses) with no magic 
and without bothering to save beforehand, which was a little awkward to say 
the least...

--------------------------
2.16 The Northtown Castle:
--------------------------

You should be about level 32 at this point. There's only one path you can 
follow here, and it will lead you to thethrone room - where you'll see the 
Emperor but strangely Krissie and theothers aren't there. Talk to the Emperor 
and you'll find out what's going on. You'll be thrown in a prison cell. Talk
to the guard at the door and he'll let you out... into a boss fight!

-------------------
BOSS: Metal Mantis:
-------------------

Oh dear. He is pathetically easy - don't waste your magic, just hit him with
level 1-2 charge up attacks and he'll die quickly. His one relatively 
damaging attack, Fire Beam, is perhaps the easiest attack to dodge in the 
game. If it does hit you and you get engulfed, just use Remedy to restore 
status. If you must use magic, just cast a few higher-level spells (he has 
no spell weaknesses or strengths) and he'll be toast soon enough. You get a 
Glove's Orb for defeating him.

Now step on the tile that appears and you'll be transported to a new area.
Use the little yellow thing to clear the gap and proceed along the path. 
Pickup the treasure chest on your way for 1000GP. In the next areas monsters 
will start appearing. The Embermen are annoying - they're quite quick and can 
reproduce but their attacks can be blocked more often or not if you're at a 
reasonable level. Use Freeze on them to help out if you need to. In the next
room is the jail cell you were imprisoned in - step on the switch to free the 
others then go up the stairs to the left.

Carry on and you'll arrive outside the castle. Here there are Armoured Men 
around - they're easily killable and too slow to be a threat. Proceed past 
the door inthe middle of this area and go up the stairs to the right and 
through the door there. At the end of this path are two chests - one with an 
Axe's Orb and the other with a Whip's Orb. Now go back outside and throught 
the door you ignored earlier. The Dark Ninjas are quite fast and can cast 
Flame Saber, Burst, and Speed Down, so take care and use Freeze/Gem Missile 
sparingly if you need to. Go up the left-hand set of stairs - the right one 
leads you back to a deserted throne room.

The path from here is simple, step on the switch to open a nearby door when 
you see it. When you arrive in the room with the tiles that knock you back
(you'll see what I mean), go to the right and step on the tile there to be
transported to another part of this area. Here, before stepping on the tile 
to the north, hit the switch on the wall beside it (it's hard to see if you 
don't know about it - I was stuck here for ages the first time I played 
through...).

Go through the double doors and you'll meet up with the Emperor and a few 
of his henchmen. Geshtar will volunteer to fight you, and it's another boss
fight!

--------------------
BOSS: Mech Rider II:
--------------------

He's quite quick and you're in a very small area, so attack quickly. Just
have the Sprite reel off a few Gem Missiles or Freezes at a time, and hit 
him with your sword (don't bother charging past level 1) if you get the 
chance. He'll attack you with his charging attack (which can knock you 
unconscious) as well as missiles, but you should kill him quickly enough so 
that you don't have to heal more than once or twice at most. Once you've 
dealt enough damage he'll run off again, leaving a Javelin's Orb behind.

Geshtar isn't done with you yet though. He sets the castle alight, trapping 
you. Is this the end...? Of course not! You'll hear King Truffle, so go to 
the right and talk to him. He'll tell you about Flammie, and he'll give you 
the Flammie Drum, which can be used to call him anytime you're outdoors.
You'll hop on Flammie and escape.

Truffle told you to take him to Matango, which is to the south-west. It's just 
to the north of a huge forest and just south of a small mountain range. Land
there. Truffle will then tell you to go to the Lofty Mountains, to the 
south-west.

-----------------------------
2.17 A couple of side quests:
-----------------------------

Now you have Flammie you can get a couple of items which could be useful in
the future. First head to Gaia's Navel, which is to the south-east of Matango.
It looks something like a few waterfalls in a couple of rings of hills. Land
there and go to the Dwarf Village. Talk to the Dwarven Elder and he'll give 
you the Midge Mallet, which can (un)shrink you.

Now go out, get back on Flammie, and fly between north-west and west. You 
should see a very small hexagonal island, land there. Go into the large hut
above you and talk to the shopkeeper. He'll give you a Sea Hare's tail.
Remember Kakkara? They need a Sea Hare's tail there, coincidentally. Fly there
(it's to the north). Talk to King Amar, and the wells will be refilled and as
a bonus he'll give you the Moogle Belt, which (de)Moogles you. Right, now
those things are out of the way, it's time to proceed to the Lofty Mountains.

------------------------------------
2.18 Journey up the Lofty Mountains:
------------------------------------

Go southeast form the desert and you'll see a small village surrounded by
mountains. Land there. Visit the shop and buy all the new equipment you can 
afford, and visit Watts in the south-westernmost house to reforge weapons.
Finally, save at the Inn before exiting Mandala to the south.

Now you need to go up the mountain. There are a few new enemies here. Bomb 
Bees are just souped-up versions of Buzz Bees from very early on in the game.
The Trap Flowers cast Sleep Flower as soon as they are acivated by you coming
near them which can be annoying if your level isn't high enough for you to 
resist the attack- use level 3+ charge up attacks or Gem Missileon them to 
prevent this.Eggatrices are easy - they're very sloooow. Take the chance while 
heading up the mountain to level up your magic if you want.

The path is simple - you'll need to use the whip a few times, but that's as
complicated as it gets. At the top of the mountain there's an entrance to a 
cave - go in. There you'll meet someone who is apparently called Jehk. He
tells you that Sage Joch (the guy you're looking for... remember?) went to 
the Palace of Darkness at the base of the mountain. Go back down the 
mountain - you can use Flammie to shorten the journey but I'd recommend 
walking it to gain exp and money. You'll see Neko on your way down - I'd 
ignore him and buy anything you need from the village as it's cheaper there.
You can use Neko to save if you want though. Now level up a little if you 
need to - you should be level 36 or above before going into the Palace of
Darkness.

----------------------------
2.19 The Palace of Darkness:
----------------------------

Go back to Mandala and save/heal/stock up. Once done, go out via the south 
exit again. This time enter the cave opening you ignored earlier - this is the
Palace of Darkness. New enemies in here are the Fierce Heads, who are easy,
and the Dark Knights, ditto.

From the entrance go north, then through the right-hand door, then north. Use
the axe to chop the spikes down, and go through the exit to the south-east.
Then go through the doorway to your immediate left and step on the switch.
Now exit this area and go to the exit in the south-east. Go through the 
doorway to the east, ignoring the switch to your left for now. Along this 
path is a chest containing 1000GP, take it (duh!). Now head back the way you 
came, to the room with the switch you ignored earlier. Step on it, then use
the Magic Rope to warp back to the start of the Palace, then go north and
through the middle doorway. In here will be a chest containing a Glove's Orb.

Go back one area and through the right-hand door, then go north twice and 
you'll be back in the room with the spikes. Go through the south-east exit
and then take the exit to the south (these areas should be pretty familiar by 
now..). Go along the corridor you got the chest with the money in it from,
but this time use the exit at the end of it. Exit the next area to the north, 
then go north again. Use the whip to cross the gap and step on the switch.

Now use the Magic Rope again. Again, go north, right-hand door, north to get 
back to the room with spikes, but now use the newly-opened door to the north.
Now go north, and in this next room you'll have to step on the switches and
walk between the torches that light up to proceed (you'll see what I mean -
it's pretty simple..). The exit is to the north, and leads to a boss fight!

-----------------
BOSS: Lime Slime:
-----------------

A lot of people seem to make a lot of fuss about how hard this guy is, but
I really don't think he's that difficult. The main difficulty lies in the
fact that you have very little room for maneuver, and some of his attacks 
are annoying. Just be ready to heal at a moment's notice and if anyone dies,
revive them immediately. Magic isn't all that useful, as the boss has no
magical weaknesses (except Lumina, which you don't have yet..), so you'll be 
relying heavily on charge-up attacks. You can try casting a few Gem Missiles/
Freezes at a time for moderate damage if you want, but the battle is possible 
(and probably quicker) to win without magic. Having your allies set 
agressively (top-left) on the action grid with charge-up attacks set to level
4 or so will help too, as will having Speed Up cast on all of you. He can cast 
Dispel Magic, which is little to worry about as the Sprite's magic isn't 
needed and curing can be done with items if necessary. He attacks mainly with 
blobs of slime that he fires at you, but also has a few spells, albeit weak 
ones at his disposal. He just attacks very relentlessly and can freeze/engulf 
you when he turns blue/green, so keep an eye on your HP and use Cure 
Water/Remedy as needed. He gets smaller as you damage him, so this is a good 
indicator of how damaged he is (it saves you using Analyzer, anyway... :P).

You get a Javelin's Orb for beating him and will be warped to the stage 
room. Talk to Shade and you'll get his powers! Don't forget to seal the Mana 
Seed with your sword before using the Magic Rope to warp out. Go back to 
Mandala and heal/save/reforge/stock up as necessary, then head up to the top 
of the mountain again, taking the opportunity again to cast a few spells and
level your magic up as well as yourself.

Go into the cave at the peak and talk to Jehk again. Hmmm, seems Joch went
wandering off to the Gold Isle, to the north-east. Proceed back down the
mountain (I recommend doing this just for the exp and money..), 
rest/save/stock up/reforge if you need to, then call Flammie.

------------------------------------
2.20 The Gold Isle and Golden Tower:
------------------------------------

Head directly north-east and you should see a smallish island - land there.
Now go up the stairs just to the left of the guard who talks about the 
Golden Tower and make your way around this path. At the end of the path is
an old man who will tell you about the Tower and where to find its key, on
a Tasnican Spy in Southtown. Well, what are you waiting for? Call Flammie
and go to Southtown (it's to the east). Go to Mara's house (you land right 
by it and talk to herand she'll give you the key. Now go back to the Gold 
Island again.

Now have a wander about, talking to the villagers if you wish and buying the 
best new armour at the shop (note: it's pretty expensive, if you find yourself
short of GP just go back to the Lofty Mountains and run through them a few 
times, you really need the best armour for the next section..). Save/heal at
the Inn if you need to, and visit Watts too. Now go to the second/third floors
of the Inn and talk to the people there to learn a little about how money
crazy they all are (there's no real need to do this, it's just quite amusing.. 
:P).

Anyway, once you're fully stocked up, take the northern exit out of town, then
enter the Golden Tower. The Beast Zombies here are souped up Howlers, and can
be very dangerous if you let them corner you. If you find yourself getting 
pummelled by them, level up some more (39/40 should be fine). Flame Saber also
works quite well, as does any of the Sprite's magic, but you should try and 
conserve your magic for the moment.

In the first room is a chest that you can't miss with a Spear's Orb inside it.
The path through the Tower is very simple, so just proceed up it. Walk up the
first set of stairs, and it's a boss fight!

-----------------
BOSS: Blue Spike:
-----------------

Remember Spikey Tiger? This guy's just a more powerful version of him, but he's
actually easier to beat than Spikey because now you have magic and the area
you're in is less enclosed here. Just have the Sprite fire away with any 
high-level magic (Freeze seems to work best for me..) and hit him with 
low-level charge attacks, simple. When he goes up onto one of the ledges, just
equip the bow and keep attacking. He'll use a few different attacks but none 
of them are very life-threatening, just keep one eye on your HP and be ready to
heal if the need arises. The first time you "kill" him he'll come back to life,
but with few HP, and should be easy to finish off for good. You'll receive a
Boomerang's Orb for killing him.

Now if you need to restock, head back to town and do so. Proceed up the Tower
(the path is still simple..), making sure not to miss the treasure chest on
the way (Axe's Orb). Up the next set of stairs there is another boss waiting 
for you!

------------------
BOSS: Gorgon Bull:
------------------

Incredibly easy. Cast Thunder Saber on the boy, then have the Sprite cast
Thunderbolt continually, steling a hit with your sword every now and then if
you want. He has fairly damaging spells and a nasty charge attack, but if
you act quickly you need never see them. You get a Bow's Orb for killing it.

Now proceed up to the stage where you'll meet Lumina, whose powers you will 
gain. Don't forget to seal the mana seed with your sword before leaving (use 
the Magic Rope).

So, having not found the elusive Sage Joch again, there's little left to do 
but to head back to the Lofty Mountains. Save/heal/reforge/stock up in 
Mandala, then head on up the mountain again, once more taking the opportunity
to level up magic and get gold and experience. Talk to Jehk again at the peak 
of the mountain, and he'll tell you that Joch is out AGAIN. This time he's
gone to the Moon Palace, apparently. You may well be starting to think that
something fishy is going on by now, but you may as well check it out. Get out,
call Flammie, and go to the desert (to the north - stop by at Kakkara to 
rest/save if you want). Specifically, you want to land by the opening in the
almost complete circle of mountains with a weird dark area inside it.

---------------------
2.21 The Moon Palace:
---------------------

Go north, and get on the ferry (yes, the captain does look like a Chobin Hood,
but he's friendly..). Once off the ferry, go north, then north again. The
enemies here are pathetically easy, by the way. Now you should be in a dark,
almost empty large room. It's difficult to say where to go here, but I
usually just head in a general north-easterly direction. Hopefully you'll
soon see a Crystal Orb (note: if you get really lost, the Magic Rope works
here..). Use Lucent Beam on the Orb to be transported to a new area. Here,
go north to the stage room and talk to Luna, who will give you his powers.
Seal the Mana Seed, then get out with the Magic Rope, go back to the desert 
via the Ferry, then call Flammie, and it's time to go back to the Lofty 
Mountains AGAIN...

Rest in the Inn and stock up if needed, then proceed up the mountain again.
Use the opportunity to build up your new Luna magic a little (the girl's Luna
is especially helpful, Moon Saber and Moon Energy will be very useful later),
as well as building up any other magic that needs leveling up. I haven't
mentioned your character's levels in a while - you should probably be around
level 41 by now. If you're in serious need of levels, just run through the
mountain path a few times (this is a good way of getting GP too..).

Anyway, talk to Jehk again, and, amazingly, Sage Joch is STILL not in!
This time he's gone to Tasnica or so Jehk says. It's to the west, so hop on 
Flammie and go there after resting/stocking up if necessary.

-------------
2.22 Tasnica:
-------------

Once you've landed, head north into the castle. You'll see Jema, and he'll
tell you about what's going on here. It seems there's a spy in the castle 
who's after the King. Well, let's go investigate then! Proceed through either
the left or the right-hand door, it makes no difference as you'll end up in
the same place ultimately - the throne room. Talk to the King and a guard 
willreveal him to be an imposter. After a little chat, a boss fight will 
ensue!

----------------------------
PATHETIC BOSS: Dark Stalker:
----------------------------

Just hit him a few times and he's dead. I didn't put the word pathetic there 
for no reason, you know... :)

Talk to the king once the crappy boss is out of the way, then talk to him
again and he'll give you a Sword's Orb. Now talk to Jema and he'll tell you
to find Sage Joch. Well duh, that's what you've been trying to do for the
past few hours isn't it? Oh well, one more trip up the Lofty Mountains is in
order I guess. Luckily, this will be your last necessary one. Go out of the
castle, call Flammie and head back to the Lofty Mountains. Stock 
up/rest/save/reforge as needed, then go back up the mountain again. Save your
MP this time (especially the girl's) as you'll be needing it soon.

-------------------------
2.23 The test of courage:
-------------------------

Once up the mountain, talk to Jehk again, and you'll finally meet Sage Joch!
He will ask you to attempt a test of courage. Say yes, and a passageway will 
open up. Go through it and into a new area.

The enemies here are annoying, and the bast advice I can give you is to
equip the hero with the Axe and run through the area, maybe using something 
like Ice Saber to stop the enemies in their tracks. The path is quite simple,
just follow it and you'll soon come to an exit to the north-east. Go through
it and you'll face the test - a boss fight... against yourselves!

--------------------------------------
BOSS: Shadow X1, Shadow X2, Shadow X3:
--------------------------------------

As lond as you're level 42 or so, this is pretty easy. Don't bother with any
offensive magic, as it is ineffective here. Instead, use Moon Enrgy on the
boy, and hit them with charge-up attacks (normal attacks seem to be 
ineffective). Concentrate your attacks on one of them at a time (use the
Targeting menu), and they should be gone before long. They don't use magic,
only physical attacks, but if you get trapped you will probably die, so
keep moving at all times. Heal if/when necessary.

Once they're gone, go back out of the area and talk to Jehk. He will reveal
that he is actually Joch (please try to resist punching the screen at this
moment..), and he'll tell you that you weren't ready for the test before.
He will also tell you to head for the Tree Palace, so let's get moving!
First, head back to Mandala and make all necessary preparations.

---------------------
2.24 The Tree Palace:
---------------------

From Mandala, call Flammie and head in an easterly direction. You should
see a purple island with a Palace in the middle of it - land here. Enter
the Palace and you'll meet a few familiar faces. The Emperor will tell you 
of his plans, then Sheex (the Dalk Stalker from Tasnica) will volunteer to
kill you. Yeah right...

-------------------
BOSS: Aegagropilon:
-------------------

Don't be fooled by that cute name - this guy is quite nasty. He'll use
Dryad's magic often (Wall, Sleep Flower, Burst) and his physical attacks 
pack a punch too. I'd suggest not using offensive magic, as if he casts Wall
at the wrong moment it can *really* screw you over. Also, don't let him trap 
you in a corner, as if you do you may as well just reset. The best strategy 
to use is to cast Moon Saber on everyone, then Moon Energy on the hero, and 
melee away - use standard attacks, charge-ups leave you too vulnerable here.
Keep recasting them as necessary, and healing too. If he uses Sleep Flower,
counter immediately with Remedy or a Medical Herb - he has a nasty habit of 
double-casting Burst on sleeping characters, and a sleeping character hinders 
your mobility too - which is really important here. If the character you're 
controlling is sent to sleep, press select to switch character, then cure. 
Heal if any character's HP drops under 100 (it shouldn't though if you're 
using Moon Saber..). He doesn't seem to have that many HP, so you should be 
able to dismiss of him quite quickly. You gat a Spear's Orb as your reward.

Now go left and down, then up the stairs. Try and seal the Mana Seed with
your sword, and you'll quickly realize you're too late. Dryad, the Tree 
spirit appears and tells you to get out. After a bit of convincing, he 
agrees to join you. The Palace will begin to rise, and Flammie will save
you. Take this opportunity to stock up/heal/etc at a village of your
choosing, and then head back to the newly-risen Mana Palace.

---------------------
2.25 The Mana Palace:
---------------------

Upon landing, kill the Dark Knights around you, then talk to Jema. Then go
south down the stairs and down the left-hand set of stairs into the water.
Some ofhe enemies here are annoying - I suggest you ignore the Shapeshifters 
as they take too long to kill, but try and kill the others as they give good 
experience and GP. Once in the water, go north-west and down the stairs you
see.

Now you're inside, chop down the little spike things with your Axe, and use
the little yellow springy thing to bounce up to the next level. Walk across 
the waterfall (you need to be at the top to avoid falling down) and pick up
the chest for a Boomerang's Orb. Now go through the door just to the left.
Now you should be in an area with lots of those spike things. Head north,
ignoring the switch you'll see and the first path to the left. Go left when
you can't head north any more, then go down the waterfall, walking upward to
slow your descent down a little. Be sure to hit the switch to the left with
your weapon to stop the flow of water. Then go back up, left and down the 
second waterfall, then left again and down a third one, hitting the switch to 
the right as you go. Then head back up and to the left, through the door and
into a boss fight!

------------
BOSS: Hydra:
------------

Pretty easy, especially if you have the Sprite's Salamando at level 3 or 
above. Cast Flame Saber on the boy, and keep casting Fireball on the Hydra
while using charge-up attacks in-between castings. His attacks are generally 
weak, he mainly uses Undine but has a nasty mone called Fire Breath which can 
engulf you in flames (stopping movement and spell-casting). Just use Remedy or
a medical herb to counter if this happens. You only need to heal if your HP 
drops into double figures. One of the Hydra's heads keeps disappearing and 
reappearing as you damage it, just ignore that (just because the head 
reappears doesn't mean the Hydra is healing..). You'll get a Whip's Orb for 
beating him.

After the boss fight you'll meet the Empire's main men again. Rather than
fighting you they'll leave, thinking that the Mana Fortress will destroy you
(heh, fools..). Anyway, exit this area to the north once the conversation's
over. Continue along the path for a few rooms (it's simple..). You'll come to
a room with two conveyor belts - go down the right-hand one, then up the left
hand one while holding left to get to a small hidden room with a switch in it.
Hit the switch, then go all the way up and back down again. The switch opened
a doorway that was blocking the path to the south, but now you can get
through. Along this path go through the first doorway you see to meet up with
Watts and a few Resistance members. Krissie will heal you if you need it (she
won't restore your MP though..).

Now go back out and follow the path to the right and up. Follow the path for 
a couple of rooms (there's only one way you can go..). Step on the first
switch you see to open a doorway for you back towards the left (you'll have
probably noticed it as you passed). Head through there and continue along the
long corridor until you drop down into a small room with a blocked corridor to
the north-west and 4 tiles on the floor, looking like this...

        T

   T    S    T

        T

S denotes where you need to step to open the blocked doorway (it was kinda
hard to put into words.. :P). Now carry on up the newly-opened passage into
a new area. Carry on along this path until you reach an area with 4 lights
on the wall. Hit them with your weapon in this order: red, blue, yellow, 
green to open up the door just below you. Go through here and into a new 
area. Step on the switch you see before dropping down to the area below it,
or else you'll have to go all the way around again. Now continue along this 
path, go down the conveyor belt you'll see, and into a new area.

Here, ignore the doorway immediately to your right and carry on right, then
up. You'll come to a train, enter it via the left door. Once inside, keep 
going to the right. It can be tempting to rush through, but take the time
to kill the Ghouls as they're easy and give decent exp (and there are lots 
of them here!). When you can't go right any more, head down and out of the 
train. Ignore the Eggplant Man, as he's hard to kill and spawns Needlions
(very annoying souped-up Pebblers..). Anyway, go south until you reach an 
area with a blocked off doorway to the south and two 'H'-shaped areas above 
it. Go through the middle of the right-hand one to hit a switch that opens up
the doorway below. In the next area, head for the door to the south-west.
Enter, and you'll meet the Scorpion Army again (remember them from the Water
Palace and the Ice Country?). It seems they've been busy, and they're all too
ready to take you on in a boss fight!

-----------------
BOSS: Kettle Kin:
-----------------

Pretty simple. If you feel daring, try casting Moon Energy on the boy, then 
Lucid Barrier and meleeing him, but otherwise I'd just keep your distance and 
use any of your high-level magic (Freeze and Gem Missile work well), as his 
melee attack where he spins around and clobbers you all is pretty nasty and 
Lucid Barrier won't last long. If he casts LucidBarrier on himself, of course 
it would make sense to scrap any melee you're attempting and just use magic 
to finish him off. As before, when he's near death a wheel appears below him 
and he speeds up, but you should be able to kill him quickly enough from here 
to make sure that isn't a threat. He has few HP, so the battle will be over 
quickly, and you'll get a Bow's Orb for killing him.

The Scorpion Army high-tails it, and you end up back outside. Head to the left
and go up the stairs all the way up until you see Jema. He'll tell you that
they've found a shortcut to the Grand Palace, which is good. Now would be a 
nice time to call Flammie and head out to a village and 
restock/save/heal/reforge, so do so. Once you're done, return and head all the
way back down the stairs, taking the right set of stairs at the end and 
entering the door just to the left. Now you're in the Grand Palace.

----------------------
2.26 The Grand Palace:
----------------------

Ack... this place is annoying, both in terms of the enemies here and in terms
of finding your way through the place. There are a few new enemies here, the
Heck Hounds are quite dangerous and have a couple of nasty spells, so be sure
to take care of them quickly. The Turtlances and Doom Swords are less 
dangerous, and the Gremlins can be awkward to kill and their ice breath 
attack can be a pain - just ignore them if you have a lot of trouble hitting 
them. Right, in the first room in the Palace go striaght up and into the 
doorway there- ignore the door above for now. In the next room there are doors
to the right and left, go to the left one first. At the top of this room is a 
Crystal Orb, and these rooms are (I think) supposed to represent the 8 
Elements. You'll have to activate the Orbs in all 8 rooms to proceed, but 
first you actually have to _find_ all 8 rooms...

Anyway, in this room cast Gem Missile on the Orb to proceed. If you can't be 
bothered dealing with the Doom Swords, just go up the side of the room until
you see the Orb, then use your magic. Now go back one room, and go into the 
right-hand room in this area. This time use Freeze on the Orb at the top of
this room to activate it, then exit. Now go back one room and exit this room 
the way you first came into it - through the middle stairway. In this room
(you should be back in the first room of the Palace) go up one of the sets of
stairs and exit through the uppermost door. Go down in this room and use the 
whip to go down, then left. You should be able to get to the door here - if 
not then you haven't activated the first two Orbs so go back. Go through this
door and in the next room use Air Blast on the Orb to activate it. Now go 
back one room and go straight down - you should emerge in a new area. Go all 
the way to the right and enter the doorway and you should travel up to an
area with a doorway just above you. Enter it, and cast Fireball on the Crystal
Orb to activate it.

Now go back to the last room, and go straight down - back the way you just
came. Now go up the stairs and into the middle doorway that you went past
earlier. You should now be in an area with a passage blocked by a grille 
directly above you. Ignore that for now, and go a little left then down. In
this next area go a little to the right and pick up the chest you should see
for a Sword's Orb, then go through the leftmost door to enter another room
with a Crystal Orb. This time activate it by casting Lucent Beam. Go back one
room and go all the way to the right and enter the door there. Cast Dark Force 
on this Orb to proceed. Now go back and through the door immediately to your 
left.

This room should look pretty familiar, but now a new stairway has appeared!
It's directly above you, in case you didn't notice. Go up it and through the
door. Now follow the path until you get to a switch, then hit it and you 
should see the grille blocking the passage move, clearing that passage. Now go
back to that room (the way you came..) and go through the newly-opened passage
in the middle of the room. Carry on up and go through the doorway/stairs
there.

In this large room go up and left and down the stairs there. Continue along 
this path until you come to a dead end with a doorway nearby, which you should
go through (duh! :P). In here, go left and up and hit the switch there, then 
hit the one below it and go down, using the whip when needed. Enter the 
doorway in the bottom left of this area and cast Lunar Magic on the Orb to
activate it. Now go out of this room and in the room with the switches go to 
the top-right and hit the switch there, then go down and hit that switch, then 
carry on to the bottom-right of this area and go through the door there. Heal, 
then hit the switch nearby, and it's a (sort of) Boss fight!

------------------
BOSS: Snap Dragon:
------------------

I don't really know why I classified him as a boss- I guess it nust have been 
that groovy boss music... Anyway he's easy, just cast Fireball/Exploder a few 
times in succession and he's as good as dead. I don't really know if he has 
any other attacksbesides the "eat you" attack, because I didn't even let him 
get a chance to try. He should die in seconds... literally, and you get a 
Javelin's Orb for killing him.

This room should now look pretty familiar - you're back at the entrance to 
the Tree Palace! Go to the Stage Room (the lower-left exit) and you'll see the
Emperor there, but something seems amiss. You'll notice an exit behind the
stage - go through it and you'll meet Fanha and Thanatos, who were using the
Emperor all along! After a little trash talking, they take there leave, but
they leave you a little present... another Boss fight!

------------
BOSS: Hexas:
------------

She has a few attacks which are best described as annoying. Pygmus Glare 
pygmises (shrinks) one of your characters - use the Midge Mallet immediately
if you have it - otherwise cast Remedy or use a Medical Herb. Dispel Magic
cancels one of your characters spellcasting abilities for a while. Anyway, to
beat her cast Moon Energy straight away on the Boy, and have the Sprite busy 
casting Salamando (Fireball and/or Exploder), although maybe Gem Missile 
would be better if you have it at a higher level. Your main source of damage
here is the Boy, keep using low-level (I recommend level 3) charge up attacks 
and with Moon Energy you can do up to 600+ damage per level 3 charge-up hit. 
Just keep at it, she takes a while to kill, but if you keep using the Midge 
Mallet, recasting Moon Energy and healing when needed you shouldn't even come 
close to dying. Like I said, she's more annoying than deadly. You'll get a
Whip's Orb for defeating her.

Now I'd suggest you leave and go to a town to heal/save and stock up, as
another boss battle is imminent. Once you're prepared, go north from the room
where you fought Hexas and keep going up until you come to a switch. Step on 
it, and before you know it, Geshtar appears! Or does he...?

-----------------
BOSS: Mech Rider:
-----------------

He can and will cast Wall on himself, so it would probably be a good idea to
use offensive magic sparingly here, although try and hit him with a few Gem 
Missiles/Fireballs before he first casts Wall. You should, cast Moon Energy as 
usual, thenjust attack him with standard attacks - he's too quick to make 
charge-ups effective. He'll occasionally be stupid and try to cast Speed Up on 
himself while his Wall is still on, thus giving you a nice little boost. If 
you notice he is able to cast Speed Up on himself, then fire off a few more
spells in his direction, or alternatively you could use a low MP cost spell
like Analyzer to test to see if his Wall is still active, but I suggest you 
don't bother and just keep attacking him with weapons instead. He can knock you 
unconscious when he speeds across the screen, so be careful and heal quickly.
It may take a while, but he should die with little trouble.

You'll get a Spear's Orb for killing him, but the Mana Fortress will be 
activated. You'll escape on Flammie, and you'll notice the flight music has
changed. Land at the Tree Palace again, and talk to the people there,
especially Jema who tells you about the Pure Land, which will be your next
destination. If you go around the outside of the Palace in a clockwise 
direction, you'll come to Neko, whop is now selling the best buyable Armor 
in the game, so be sure to buy what you can, and I'd suggest you go raise 
some money killing enemies in the Lofty Mountains so you can get whatever 
you can't afford. Don't forget to sell old equipment too to raise more funds!

(Note: If you try to enter the Mana Fortress now (by flying close to it at a
high altitude and staying still) you'll simply not be able to enter, so don't
bother trying... :P)

-------------------
2.27 The Pure Land:
-------------------

After you've got what you need and have saved/restocked/reforged, call Flammie 
and fly to the Moon Palace. From there head directly north and you should come 
to what looks like a large mountain with a hole in the middle. Land in the 
middle of the "mountain", this is the Pure Land! Make sure you're all about 
level 50 before proceeding.

This area is very, very annoying, yet very cool. You'll be fighting a lot of
bosses here and even the regular enemies are no pushover, so be prepared. 
Remember you can turn back and head out at any time if you need 
healing/supplies by going back to the first area and calling Flammie (the Magic
Rope doesn't work here though, unfortunately..).

Upon landing you'll hear a voice telling you to "Come here quick!". I can only 
assume this is the Mana Tree calling for you to help it... but you've got a 
lot to get through before you get to the Mana Tree! Go north and out of the 
first area, taking care of the Needlion and Griffin Hand on the way. In this 
next area take the exit just north-west of your starting point (you can
proceed the other way but the path is slightly longer). Now go north, then
north-west, then east, then finally up into the small cave you'll see above.
Make sure you're fully healed, because it's the first of many boss fights in
this area!

------------------
BOSS: Dragon Worm:
------------------

Have the Girl cast Moon energy and Thunder Saber on the hero, and have the 
Sprite casting Air Blast or Thunderbolt. He mainly uses Earth spells, Earth
Slide being the most damaging, although he can petrify and pygmize you with 
his attacks, so be ready to cast Remedy or use the Midge Mallet at a moment's 
notice. When he disappears off the screen, that's the best time to cure and
recover status, as well as recasting Moon Energy and Thunder Saber if you wish
to or need to. Try to keep your meleeing to a minimum though, and don't use 
charge-ups, as the DragonWorm can hurt if you let him get too close. Once he 
is defeated you get an axe's Orb and can exit the area to the north.

Now you can either head back if you wish to restock, as is an option after 
every other boss fight here, or you can choose to proceed. Anyway, once you're
ready go north from the area in which you fought the Dragon Worm, then keep
going north until you find your path blocked by a voice which says you must 
defeat a dragon to pass. From here you can save your game if you wish, then
go west, then north-west, and prepare yourself for another boss!

------------------
BOSS: Snow Dragon:
------------------

As usual, you can use Moon Energy if you wish, along with Flame Saber, but you
may just find it easier to sit back and have the Sprite continually cast
Fireball. He of course uses Ice magic mainly, and has a pretty decent melee
tail attack. Just keep your distance and cast away, then when he disappears
from the screen is a good time to heal up if you need to. You'll get a Bow's
Orb for defeating the Snow Dragon.

Now go back to the passage you couldn't pass through before and now you will 
be allowed to pass. Go north, then north again, then go into the cave you
see to the east. Continue through this area, then into the next, where,
amazingly, you get to face off against another boss!

---------------
BOSS: Axe Beak:
---------------

You could try attacking him with the bow if you want, but I'd recommend you 
throw melee out of the window altogether in this fight. He is a fire-based
boss, so of course you'll be wanting to use Undine against him, Freeze more
specifically. Stay clear of him and you'll avoid the worst of his attacks -
the fight is rather easy though. When you beat him you'll get a Javelin's Orb.

Now proceed up from this area. After following the (linear) path for a while 
you'll reach another passageway that you can't get through. Save again, then
go to the west then up into the nearby cave, and you'll face off against boss
number 4 in this area!

-----------------
BOSS: Red Dragon:
-----------------

Basically just look above at the strategy for Axe Beak, as the same applies 
here, although the Red Dragon has some nastier spells (prepare to be burned,
make sure you're ready to cast Cure Water once your HP gets under 200 or so),
and you may need to use Remedy too. If you wish you can use melee here - it's
a little more effective here than against Axe Beak, just use Moon Energy/Ice
Saber on the hero and try low-level charge-up attacks. For defeating him you
will receive a Glove's Orb.

Now go back to the previously blocked off passage and continue through it.
There are a few paths you can choose to get to the next boss, and they all
ultimately converge in the same place. When you get to a + junction, go north
and continue, and you'll walk into boss fight number 5!

--------------------
BOSS: Thunder Gigas:
--------------------

He's offensively quite dangerous, so you'll want to kill him quickly. Cast
Stone Saber and moon Energy on the hero and use low-level charged attacks when
you get the opportunity, and have the Sprite chain together a few Gem Missiles
at a time. You may need to cure a few times - the bast time to do so is when
he "splits" into small orbs - he can't attack you then. Defeat him and get a
Sword's Orb.

Now proceed along the simple path heading north, and you will soon reach yet
another passage which is blocked off. From here, exit to the west and go
through the next area. You will come to yet another boss!

------------------
BOSS: Blue Dragon:
------------------

You need to use essentially the same strategy mentioned above for the Thunder
Gigas, although this time melee is less effective, so you may just want to
stick to reeling off a few Gem Missiles at a time and curing when necessary, 
ideally when the dragon flies off screen. He is slightly weaker offensively 
than the Thunder Gigas, so this fight should be relatively easy. Upon his 
defeat you will recieve a Boomerang's Orb.

Now, you are close to the end of the Pure Land now (no bosses left - yay!), 
so don't head back to an town now, silly! Just head back to the gateway that
was previously blocked and proceed through it. You'll be on a cliff, and the
view will pan downwards to reveal... the Mana Tree! You'll have a short 
dialogue, but while you are talking a huge beam of light engulfs the Mana 
Tree, and destroys it. You are knocked unconscious, and emerge next to the
Tree's remains. The Tree will speak with you, and will reveal some shocking
truths that I couldn't possibly spoil for you here... ;) It also tells you
that you must destroy the Mana Beast before it attacks the Mana Fortress, or
else the world will be destroyed! Ack... that sure ain't good news! There is
good news though - the mana seals on the Seeds are all restored with the last
energy of the Tree. Now it's time to go to the Mana Fortress!

-----------------------
2.28 The Mana Fortress:
-----------------------

Before you proceed to the Fortress, make preparations. Be sure to level up 
until you're about level 60 to make life easier on yourself, and take time 
to level your magic (be sure not to neglect Shade and Lumina - they may be 
generally weak but they are important in Boss fights later..), and level up 
your weapons too, which you should also go and reforge if you haven't done so 
already. Stock up on items - Royal Jam, Faerie Walnuts, the lot, and buy the 
best armor from Neko outside the Tree Palace if you didn't have the money 
earlier. Finally, once you're done, be sure to save.

Once you're ready, call Flammie and fly close to the Mana Fortress at as high
an altitude as you can. Stop when you get near to it and Flammie will fly off
the top of the screen and emerge beside the Fortress, dropping your characters
off on it. The path through the Fortress is quite straightforward, and you 
will be able to find your way inside it without any trouble. Note that all of
the normal enemies in the Fortress are souped-up versions of enemies you have
met before, so you should have little trouble dealing with them, especially if
you took the time to level up a little earlier. Once inside the Fortress the
path continues to be straightforward - just make sure to note that the pink 
gem-like things can be used to cross areas with the whip, and the green ones
can be hacked away with your sword. If you like, you can continue to build 
your levels, magic, and weapons up here, and if you need to exit the fortress 
just go outside and call Flammie. Plus, enemies in the Fortress can drop the 
strongest equipment in the game, AND can drop the final weapon Orbs, so that's
more of a reason to hang around for a while. Anyway, eventually you will reach
a small room with a Whimper (one of those weird flying eye things) and a green
tile. Step on the green tile, and you'll be transported to Fortress boss 
number one!

------------
BOSS: Buffy:
------------

No, not the vampire slayer, but... err... a vampire, much like the one you 
faced in the Northtown Ruins. Use Light Saber and Moon Energy on the hero,
coupled with low-level charged attacks, and also have the girl cast Lucent
Beam for huge damage. He will most likely use Wall at some point or other,
in which case you can use Dispel Magic if you have it at a high enough level,
you can keep casting a low-MP spell like Analyzer, where it doesn't matter if
it reflects to you until the Wall is removed, or (probably best) you can just 
stick to meleeing him with Light Saber and Moon Energy. Set your allies to
offensive on the action grid and use Moon Energy on them too if you wish - it
can make this fight a little shorter, if riskier. Once he is defeated, you will 
receive..... nothing. Damn. Oh well.

Now, from where you are go north-east and you should see an area you can cross
with your whip. Continue north, taking the first path to the east and you will 
soon see another green tile. Step on it, and it's off to Boss battle number 2!

------------------
BOSS: Dread Slime:
------------------

Okay, this guy is annoying. Very annoying. He will attack very quickly and
relentlessly with big blobs of slime, so be quick to cure if needed - try not
to let your HPs drop lower than 200 or you may well end up dead before you 
know it. He has a few nasty spells too - the threat of which can be 
neutralized by casting Wall on all characters. Melee doesn't work too well 
here, although a Moon Energy/High-level charged attack combination can work
quite well if you're willing to take a risk. The best way to kill him is have
the Sprite reel off Dark Force spells - Dread Slime is weak against Shade. If
you've raised Shade to level 6 or above you should be okay. One thing to note
with Dread Slime is as he takes damage he increases in size, until he fills 
the whole screen. His size is a decent indicator of how close to death he is
(well, it saves you from using Analyzer anyway... :P).

Once the slime has been vaporized, proceed into the next area. There are new
enemies here, the strongest normal enemies in the game (Master Ninja and
Terminator), but again they are essentially just souped-up versions of older,
easier enemies. Proceed through the Fortress (again the path is simple..) and
you will soon come to another green tile. Step on it, then go east and step
on the next tile you see to be transported to Thanatos, who is with Dyluck.
Thanatos will attempt to take over Dyluck's body, but he fails, and Dyluck
dies in the process. Obviously Thanatos isn't too happy at this, so he morphs
into his true form and decides to attack you - time for vengeance!

----------------
BOSS: Dark Lich:
----------------

This is another one of those "Turn the volume up!" moments, the music here is
great! Unfortunately, the boss is annoying, and will take quite a while to 
kill. Don't bother with melee here, even with Moon Energy and Light Saber your
weapons do no significant damage to him. Instead, cast Wall on yourselves to
protect from some of his spells, then go on the offensive. Lucent Beam and
Fireball seem to work best, althoguh you might want to use other Sprite magic
if your Salamando is at a low level (it shouldn't be though..). His beam 
attacks are easily avoidable, and his spells will be reflected by Wall, 
leaving him with little in the way of offense, so just keep whittling away at
him with spells of your own. Eventually, he will bite the dust.

Now, with Thanatos defeated, the seal on Dryad's Mana Magic is removed. It's
time to take on the Mana Beast! Suddenly, the Fortress shakes - yep, that'll 
be the Mana Beast then. A short scene will follow, and you will all decide 
that althoguh the beast's intentions are good, and although defeating it may
result in the Sprite "disappearing", it's in everyone's best interests to
fight the Beast. You'll emerge on a small ledge outside the Fortress - time
for the final battle!

-----------------------
FINAL BOSS: Mana Beast:
-----------------------

He has 2 main attacks - he will swirl around in a pretty spiral shape and 
crash into you or he will just forget about the fancy stuff and charge 
straight at you. At regular intervals, he will fly slowly past you, this is
when you have the girl and Sprite *both* cast Mana Magic on the Hero, and
smack the Beast into oblivion. Don't botehr with any offensive spells, they do
no damage at all - even at level 8, just concentrate on hitting him with the
Mana Sword when you get the chance. Also, when he charges at you, if you cast 
Cure Water or a similar spell (defensive, affecting whole party) a few seconds
before impact, you can avoid taking any damage at all! This takes some 
practice to time though, and it's a little cheesy, so try not to use it... ;)

Once the Beast dies, you can sit back, relax, and watch the groovy ending.
Congratulations! You've just beaten one of the best RPGs of all time!





------------------
3. Strategy Notes:
------------------

- The Action Grid and weapon selection. If you're playing single-player, 
put your non-player characters in the lower-left corner of the action grid 
and equip him/her with a ranged weapon (bow, boomerang, javelin, whip). 
This provides generally the best balance between offense and defense.

I normally use the following weapon setup...

Hero - Specialise in Sword and Spear
Girl - Specialise in Whip and Javelin
Sprite - Specialise in Bow and Boomerang

If you're playing with friends, then that setup is definitely changeable,
but I think it makes the best usage of your 2 computer allies in 
single-player games. Finally, feel free to experiment with the level of 
charge-up attack your computer allies use (select it on the action grid 
screen).

- Continuous casting. With many offensive spells it is possible to 
continually cast them at enemies (bosses) while not giving the enemy a 
chance to respond. Cast the spell, then as soon as the spirit (Gnome, 
Undine or whoever) disappears, cast the spell again. If you've done it 
right, the two spells should hit one after the other, and you can repeat 
the process to pull off many casts in a row. Damage done by continuous 
casts can never exceed 999 though (the damage of continuous casts is 
registered only after the spells have stopped hitting, so they're damage 
is added up), so don't keep casting for too long! This trick loses 
effectiveness later in the game, where spells damage on their own gets 
close to 999 anyway...

- Levelling. If you find you're having trouble with a boss or in a certain 
area and the walkthrough isn't helping you, go back to a previous area 
and try and gain a couple of levels. It's amazing how much easier being a 
couple of levels higher can make an area (I found this to be especially 
true with the Pure Land).

- You can escape taking damage from a spell cast on you by simply exiting 
the area you are in before the spell hits you. Of course, this doesn't work 
against bosses though...





--------------
4. Item lists:
--------------

Item lists are in alphabetical order.

Armour:
-------

   Name            Cost          Defense bonus          Equippable by       

Battle Suit       30,000              139                    All  
Chain Vest         120                10                     All
Chest Guard        1,000              28                 Girl, Sprite
Faerie Cloak*      N/A                250                Girl, Sprite
Fancy Overalls     675                22                     All
Flower Suit       21,000              115                   Girl
Golden Vest        2,250              34                     All
Kung Fu Dress      350                17                    Girl
Kung Fu Suit       25                  4                    Girl
Magical Armour    11,500              78                     All 
Midge Robe         22                  7                   Sprite
Overalls           20                  3                    Hero
Power Suit*        N/A                245                   Hero
Ruby Vest          4,500              43                     All
Spiky Suit         260                13                 Hero, Sprite
Tiger Bikini       7,100              64                    Girl
Tiger Suit         6,375              52                 Hero, Sprite
Tortoise Mail     14,850              95                 Hero, Sprite
Vampire Cape*      N/A                243                Girl, Sprite
Vestguard         65,550              240                    All  

Helms:
------

   Name            Cost          Defense bonus          Equippable by       

Amulet Helm*       N/A                143                Girl, Sprite
Bandanna           50                  2                    Hero
Circlet            2,300              38                 Hero, Sprite
Cockatrice Cap*    N/A                142                    All
Dragon Helm        7,500              66                     All       
Duck Helm         11,250              78                 Girl, Sprite
Faerie Crown*      N/A                145                Girl, Sprite
Golden Tiara       350                17                 Girl, Sprite
Griffin Helm*      N/A                145                   Hero
Hair Ribbon        55                  3                    Girl
Head Gear          70                  7                    Hero
Needle Helm       30,000              140                    All
Quill Cap          110                10                 Girl, Sprite    
Quilted Hood       700                26                 Girl, Sprite
Rabite Cap         45                  5                    Sprite
Raccoon Cap        550                21                     All
Steel Cap          180                13                    Hero
Tiger Cap          1,100              32                     All
Unicorn Helm       5,625              55                     All

Gloves/Jewellery:
---------------

   Name            Cost          Defense bonus          Protects from      

Amulet Ring*       N/A                95                   Petrify      
Cobra Bracelet     280                 6                    None 
Dragon Ring        N/A                92                    None
Elbow Pad          90                  2                    None
Faerie's Ring*     N/A                100                 Confuse,       
                                                          pygmise,
                                                          balloon
Frosty Ring        1,200              16                    None
Gold Bracelet      3,750              24                    None
Golem Ring         750                13                    None
Gauntlet          37,500              90                    None
Guardian Ring*     N/A                41                    None
Imps' Ring*        N/A                94                   Engulf,
                                                           freeze
Ivy Amulet         1,875              20                    None
Lazuri Ring        8,800              35                    None
Ninja Gloves*      N/A                91                   Tangle
Power Wrist        150                 4                    None
Shield Ring        5,100              29                    None
Silver Band        525                10                    None
Watcher Ring*      N/A                93                   Moogle
Wolf's Band        400                 8                    None
Wristband†         45                  1                    None

* - Item can only be dropped by monsters
† - Only equippable by Hero and Sprite

--------------
Miscellaneous:
--------------

Name            Cost             Effect     

Candy            10            Restores HP
Medical Herb     10          Restores status
Chocolate        30            Restores HP
Royal Jam        100           Restores HP
Faerie Walnut    500           Restores MP
Cup of Wishes    150        Revives character
Barrel           900    Temporary invulnerability

Magic Rope       N/A         Escapes dungeon
Flammie Drum     N/A         Summons Flammie
Midge Mallett    N/A    Shrinks/enlarges character
Moogle Belt      N/A      (De)Moogles character





--------------
5. Magic info:
--------------

-----
Girl:
-----

Undine:
-------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Cure Water               Restores HP                  2
Remedy                 Restores status                1
Ice Saber          Adds ice power to weapon           2

Gnome:
------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Defender                 Defense up                   2
Speed Up               Speed/evade up                 3
Stone Saber       Adds earth power to weapon          4

Sylphid:
--------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Balloon              Holds enemies still              2
Analyzer             Gives info on enemy              1
Thunder Saber    Adds thunder power to weapon         3

Salamando:
----------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Blaze Wall       Wall of fire damages enemies         4
Fire Bouquet  Lowers enemy strength and does damage   3
Fire Saber        Adds fire power to weapon           2

Luna:
-----

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Lunar Boost            Battle power up                2
Moon Energy           Critical Hit % up               2
Moon Saber         Successful hits leech HP           3

Lumina:
-------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Lucid Barrier   Protects from physical attacks        4
Lucent Beam      Light beam attacks enemies           8
Light Saber       Adds light power to weapon          5

Dryad:
------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Revivifier           Resurrects character            10
Wall                   Reflects magic                 6
Mana Magic*          Restores the Mana Sword          1

* - Special magic not obtained until near the end of the game

-------
Sprite:
-------

Undine:
-------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Energy Absorb    Enemy's HP added to caster's         2
Freeze             Balls of ice hit target            2
Acid Storm      Damages enemy and lowers defense      3

Gnome:
------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Gem Missile      Shards of diamond hit target         2
Earth Slide          Mud falls on target              3
Speed Down       Umm, speeds target down. Duh         1

Sylphid:
--------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Air Blast      Powerful blast of air hits target      2
Thunderbolt         Lightning hits target             4
Silence               Confuses target                 2

Salamando:
----------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Fireball             Fireballs hit target             2
Lava Wave              Lava burns target              3
Exploder            Explosion damages target          4

Luna:
-----

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Magic Absorb           Steal enemy MP                 1
Change Form         Target is shapeshifted            5
Lunar Magic          Random status effects            8

Shade:
------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Dark Force        Dark matter engulfs target          2
Dispel Magic            Removes magic                 4
Evil Gate         Dark portal engulfs target          8

Dryad:
------

   Name                    Effect                  MP Cost

Sleep Flower        Sends target to sleep             2
Burst             Burst of energy hits target         4
Mana Magic*         Restores the Mana Sword           1

* - Special magic not obtained until near the end of the game.





-----------------
6. Weapons lists:
-----------------

Swords:
-------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Rusty Sword              3                      None
Broad Sword              8                 Agility/Evade up
Herald Sword             14           Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Claymore                 20              Effective vs. insects
Excalibur                27              Effective vs. undead
Masamune                 35               Critical hit % up
Gigas Sword              44                  Strength up
Dragon Buster            52              Effective vs. dragons

Spears:
-------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Spear                    4                       None
Heavy Spear              11                      None
Sprite's Spear           16                Balloons enemies
Partizan                 23           Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Halberd                  29                Confuses enemies
Oceanid Spear            38              Sends enemies to sleep
Gigas Lance              47                  Strength up
Dragoon Lance            54              Effective vs. dragons
Daedalus Lance           56                      None

Gloves:
-------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Spike Knuckle            2                       None
Power Glove              6               Effective vs. insects
Moogle Claws             11              Sends enemies to sleep
Chakra Hand              17              Intelligence/Wisdom up
Heavy Glove              24              Effective vs. insects
Hyper Fist               29           Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Griffin Claws            38                 Poisons enemies   
Dragon Claws             47              Effective vs. dragons
Aura Glove               53                      None   

Axes:
-----

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Watts' Axe               4                       None
Lode Axe                 11            Effective vs. plants/fish    
Stout Axe                16                Constitution up
Battle Axe               23            Effective vs. plants/fish         
Golden Axe               29              Effective vs. insects
Were-Buster              38        Effective vs. animals/birds/beasts
Great Axe                46            Effective vs. plants/fish
Gigas Axe                59                  Strength up
Doom Axe                 56                      None

Whips:
------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Whip                     2                       None
Black Whip               6                  Slows enemies   
Backhand Whip            14                Agility/Evade up 
Chain Whip               17           Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Flail of Hope            24              Effective vs. undead
Morning Star             30              Effective vs. insects
Hammer Flail             38                 Slows enemies
Nimbus Chain             47              Effective vs. insects
Gigas Flail              53                      None

Bows:
-----

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability
      
Chobin's Bow             3                       None
Short Bow                8                       None
Long Bow                 12        Effective vs. animals/birds/beasts  
Great Bow                20                Confuses enemies  
Bow of Hope              27              Effective vs. undead
Elfin Bow                35             Intelligence/Wisdom up    
Wing Bow                 43                Confuses enemies
Doom Bow                 52               Critical Hit % up   
Garuda Buster            54                      None

Boomerangs:
-----------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Boomerang                2                       None
Chakram                  6            Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Lode Boomerang           12                 Slows enemies
Rising Sun               17                      None
Red Cleaver              24              Effective vs. insects
Cobra Shuttle            30                Poisons enemies
Frizbar                  38           Effective vs. slimes/lizards
Shuriken                 47               Critical Hit % up
Ninja's Trump            53                      None

Javelins:
---------

   Name            Strength bonus          Special ability

Pole Dart                2                       None
Javelin                  6                       None
Light Trident            12        Effective vs. animals/birds/beasts
Lode Javelin             17                Balloons enemies
Fork of Hope             24              Effective vs. undead
Imp's Fork               30                Balloons enemies
Elf's Harpoon            38             Intelligence/Wisdom up
Dragon Dart              47              Effective vs. dragons
Valkyrian                53                      None





-----------
7. Credits:
-----------

Thanks go out to (in no particular order...)

- Square - For making this and many other great games, of course!

- Dallas Scott and AstroBlue - For their great FAQ writing guide. Go see 
it at www.dallasmac.com/faqwarp/ - it's a must for any prospective FAQ 
writers who want to know how to get started.

- Savior (www.rpgdreams.com webmaster) - For putting this guide up on 
RPGD, and for making a groovy lil' site... :)

- CJayC (www.gamefaqs.com webmaster) - For making probably the best game
resource site out there and hopefully putting this guide up.

- Dave - I still remember our 30-hour SoM marathon all those years ago... :)





------------------------------------
16. Copyright and random info again:
------------------------------------

This work is Copyright © 2001/2002 Chris Brennan 
([email protected]). It is for personal use only, and may not be 
reproduced without the author's permission, and if for some warped reason 
you do want to put this on your site, you must e-mail me first and get my 
permission! And everyone, plagiarism is baaaaad, so don't do it or nasty 
things will happen...

The following sites have permission to use this FAQ:

www.gamefaqs.com
www.neoseeker.com

The latest version of this FAQ can always be found at www.gamefaqs.com.

Contact me via e-mail ([email protected]) or AIM (Darksyde XVIII) if
you have any questions/suggestions/comments.



_,.~'End of Document'~.,_