Final Fantasy 1 Walkthrough With Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Aice

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 4

As you may expect, "Aice" is short for Anti-Ice. It is just like Anti-Fire only for ice attacks instead of fire attacks. It's useful in the Ice Cave quest so you might want to get it now so that you do not forget about it by that point. The Red Mage may have other spells you want for the 4th level but make sure your White Mage gets it.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Amut

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 4

This spell can help prevent enemy casters from inflicting Mute status on your party. That is a status that prevents casters from casting. In the original NES it's actually rare for any enemies to use those types of attacks so I would go ahead and skip this one. Even for the White Mage. The Red Mage cannot learn it until after the prestige classes and by then he has better options.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

WORLD MAP - ELFLAND AREA
My Level: 12

Alright so now we are off to the next monster lair. Exit the town of Elfland and head north in the forests on the world map. Make sure you have Pure potions and Heal potions! Keep heading north until you see a castle. Let's go inside. It is not important, just yet, but it is worth visiting now.


RUINED CASTLE (OPTIONAL FOR NOW)
My Level: 12

There is a green haired king in the central chamber. He asks you to retrieve his crown from the cave to the south. There is a door west of the green haired king's chamber, you have to follow a path from the lower right corner all the way around to get there.... And it is locked by the Key. Getting annoyed of that Key aren't you? Luckily we will obtain it soon. Alright we are done here unless you want to talk to the bats. None of them say anything relevant. Let's exit. To the Marsh Cave!



WORLD MAP - ELFLAND AREA
My Level: 12

Head south of the Ruined Castle to find the Marsh Cave. Make sure you use a Tent to save before going inside and BE AT FULL HEALTH! I'm not kidding. This is a very difficult quest.

 

[Dagger Dias]

MARSH CAVE
My Level: 12

You will be thankful you spent an eternity getting all that new gear and the new spells when you notice how the enemies suddenly skyrocket in difficulty when you enter this cave. If you have NOT been leveling up and purchased the latest equipment, you are in for a very rude awakening and will probably not survive this quest. The creepy music likely does not help much either. When you get poisoned by enemies (Notice that I did NOT say "if" but "when" as in it WILL happen) use a Pure potion. Having a ton helps.

The main enemies to be on the lookout for are the Scum enemies. They are not tough, or really even dangerous, just very annoying. They have a ridiculously high resistance to physical attacks and you do not want to use too much of your Red/Black Mages' spell slots until the boss so just run if you see these guys. Your Thief will be the best at this.

Alright, so starting from the entrance, head north. Take the stairway. In the next room head north of you through the door to find a Large Knife. You can sell this later. Head west to the next door, inside is a chest with 680 gil. Now head to the door in the southern part of the room. Inside are a Short Sword and 620 gil. Sell the Short Sword since the Fighter and Red Mage have better weapons equipped, and the Thief cannot equip it. You are done in this room, go back up the stairs and make your way south of where the entrance to the cave was, look for a stairway inside a room at the bottom of the screen. Go down the stairs.

In this floor there's some chests to be found in a few of the rooms. Unfortunately none of them have anything in them! Seriously. That was just mean of the developers to do that. Ignore every room in here except for the one in the southeast corner. Go inside then back out on the right side, and down the stairs.

You're now in the bottom chamber, it is a large chamber with 16 different rooms in a 4 by 4 layout. No worries, I am here to tell you what is in each of these rooms. I will refer to each room by where it would be on a grid, in rows. The first room of the first row has an Iron Armor in it. You have one already so it can be sold. The second and third rooms of the first row are empty so ignore them. The fourth room of the first row has 295 gil. The first room of the second row has a Copper Ring, you should alreadt have one by now though so you can sell it. The second room of the second row has a House, its other chest is empty though. The third and fourth rooms of the second row are empty, ignore them. The first room of the third row is empty, ignore it. The second room of the third row has the boss in it, we will be back here in a moment. The third room of the third row has 385 gil in it. Ignore the fourth room of the third row as it is yet another empty one. Not the Key again! The entire fourth row of rooms are locked. We can come back after we get the Key, which is actually quite soon.

When you're done and prepared, head for the second room of the third row, make sure you are at full Health when you go inside. The Crown is being guarded by a group of "Wizard" enemies who oddly enough aren't Wizards at all other than their name. They are more powerful than anything else you have encountered so far.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Wizard (x4)

Despite their name in the original version, these guys are NOT casters oddly enough. They are very dangerous for this point in the game though. Have your Fighter and Thief attacking a different one each. The White Mage has to be ready to heal as needed. Have your Black Mage cast Lit2 on them. The Red Mage can assist the offensive casting or healing areas as needed. If you do not have a Black Mage, then have the Red Mage cast Lit2. If these guys defeat you, level up. There's no other way around it and it will only get tougher from here.

Your prize for winning is the Crown. Now get OUT of here!!!! You'll have to work your way back the way you came. Use a Tent to save once you are out of the cave.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

RUINED CASTLE
My Level: 12

You unfortunately have to go all the way back through the Marsh Cave. If you have a Tent then use one immediately when back on the world map. At this point you can return to Elfland to rest or return to the Ruined Castle. If you feel confident enough then go ahead and make your way from the Marsh Cave back up north to the Ruined Castle. Whether you went there earlier or not. You have to go there now regardless. If you do return to Elfland to rest, there honestly isn't much of anything else to do there just yet. Once you are inside the Ruined Castle, enter the central chamber. Make sure you are at full health. The green haired king is glad you have the Crown. However, he has tricked you, he is Astos the dark elf in disguise! Boss time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Astos


He can be tough and might catch you off guard if you gave him the crown without knowing that he would attack you. His resistance to both physical and magical attacks are higher than the previous bosses so come prepared to fight. Watch out for the Rub spell, he will try to take someone out in one shot with it. He may cast it more than once too, though he'll typically use Fir2 after the first attempt at Rub. I like to save outside the castle so I can reset and try again in case he defeats anyone with that annoying Rub spell. Black Mages and Red Mages should cast Lit2 while the White Mage heals as needed and your Fighter/Thief attack. Black Belts should attack too if you have one. Trivial note, this boss inspired the Dark Elf boss who is in Final Fantasy 4. They have nearly identical appearances other than the obvious jump from 8 bit to 16 bit. ​

 

[Dagger Dias]

THE KEY - OBTAINING
My Level: 13

Now you finally get the Key that has locked a number of doors along the way. First we must save the Elf Prince though. Take the Crystal you got from Astos (not to be confused with the four Crystals you are out to save) to Matoya the witch. She is in a cave north of Coneria, if you did not go there earlier. Talk to Matoya to get the Herb, then go back to Elfland Castle and talk to the elf next to the prince as well as the prince. Now you finally have the Key! We're going to go back to all the places that were locked by it for exploration purposes though Coneria Castle is the only place you HAVE to go back to so we will go there first.


THE KEY - CONERIA CASTLE
My Level: 13

Coneria Castle's treasure room is the most important place to visit after obtaining the Key. From the entrance follow the right path around to the back and go inside. There are chests with a Saber, Iron Staff, Silver Knife, Iron Shield, TNT, and an Iron Armor. Sell all of this except for the TNT (which you cannot sell anyway). We'll be taking that to the Dwarf Cave.

 

[Dagger Dias]

THE KEY - TEMPLE OF FIENDS (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 13

Now we can return to open all the other doors we saw that were locked by the Key. The first of these locations is the Temple Of Fiends. The southeastern room's chest has a Rune Sword. Give it to your Thief. The northeastern room has a Were Sword and a Soft potion. You'll want to sell the Were Sword since your Thief cannot equip it while your Fighter and Red Mage are better off with the Silver Sword. Both treasure spots are guarded by Gargoyles, by the way. They aren't too much of a threat so long as you are at or near full health though.



THE KEY - ELFLAND CASTLE (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 13

Back at Elfland Castle again we will be able to go into their treasure room using the Key if you did not earlier. From the entrance go right in the grass just south of the lower right wall and follow it upward. Inside you find a Silver Hammer for your White Mage, 730 gil, and a Copper Gauntlet. Give the Copper Gauntlet to your Fighter since no one else can equip those. The White Mage will be using the Silver Hammer until pretty much the end of the game.



THE KEY - RUINED CASTLE (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 13

Now for the Ruined Castle, return there with the Key. From the entrance go right and follow the hall around, you will see a door that was locked but you can enter it now that you have the Key. Inside you find three chests. One in the center is guarded by Image enemies that look like ghosts. Inside this chest is a Falchon. Sell it, you have better gear as it is. The left chest is guarded by Mummy enemies. It has a Power Staff. Give it to a Black Mage if you have one, otherwise sell it. The chest to the right is also guarded by Mummy enemies. It has a an Iron Gauntlet for your Fighter.



THE KEY - MARSH CAVE (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 14

If you dare, head back to the Marsh Cave. You'll want to work your way back all the way down to the floor where the "Wizard" enemies guarded the Crown. The fourth row of rooms were all locked by the key so let's take a look. The first room of the fourth row has a chest guarded by Cobras. It has a Silver Ring. Give it to your Thief for now. If you do not have a Thief then give it to a caster. I'm not even going to bother assuming you do not have a caster. The second room of the fourth row has a chest guarded by Wizards from the left and Cobras from the south.... Uh oh. If your Red Mage or Black Mage can afford it then use Lit2 on the Wizards if you encounter them. The chest in here has a Silver Knife that you'll want to sell. The third room is empty so ignore it. The fourth room has a chest that is also guarded by Wizards again. This chest has 1020 gil. You're done. Now get OUT of here!

 

[Dagger Dias]

DWARF CAVE
My Level: 14

If you had already been here before, you just need to talk to the dwarf at the southern part of the cave and go inside the large room now that you have the Key. If you haven't been here yet make sure you go north of the entrance to find a house with chests that contain 575 gil and 450 gil. Inside the large building are chests with a Cabin, an Iron Helmet, a Dragon Sword, a Silver Knife, a Wooden Helmet, Silver Armor, 575 gil, and a House. Give the Iron Helmet to your Fighter. Give the Silver Armor to your Red Mage if you have one, otherwise to a Fighter. Give your Thief the Dragon Sword. Be sure to sell everything you're not using since we will be headed to the next town soon and buying even more equipment. After talking to the Dwarf at the southwestern end of the cave, he takes the TNT and you will now be able to sail out into the larger portion of the ocean. Get outside and back onto your ship. Now it is time to seek the elemental fiends and restore the crystals.

 

[Dagger Dias]

MELMOND
My Level: 14

Sail left of the Dwarf Cave and you will find the town of Melmond. This is one of the biggest towns in the game. You will see that it looks.... a little different. The earth is dying and some of the buildings were destroyed. You'll meet a guy named Dr Unne who becomes important late in the game so remember where he is. One thing of note here is that there is no Cleric. So if you need someone to be revived, go back to Coneria. It is cheaper there anyway so I always return there regardless. You'll want to buy new equipment and magic if you can afford it. You've arrived at the town nearest one of the game's biggest levelling up spots so you are not far from where to go if you run out of gil, which you surely will here.

For shopping, start with the most expensive. The Armor Shop. That Steel Armor is going to do some major damage to your gil count but your Fighter needs it. Luckily no other class can equip it. Odds are you're completely broke now if you bought that. I'll make note of what to buy and then explain where to get lots of gil rather quickly. Steel Armor for your Fighter comes first once you can afford it, get it out of the way. Buy Silver Rings for your Thief and White Mage if they do not have them yet. The weapon shops do not sell anything you will likely need right now. Magic shops, on the other hand.... White Magic is a tough choice this time. Cure 3 is crucial so get it first. Heal 2 is useful if you need to heal multiple heroes at once so get that. Harm 3 might be tempting to inflict damage on undead though Life revives an unconscious ally (outside of battle) so pick between Life and Harm 3. I go with Life typically. The Black Magic selection is easier. All you need there is Fire 3. So get Fire 3 for a Black Mage. Red Mages should get Fire 3 and Cure 3. More on the magic will come in the spells' individual spotlight posts.


I'M A FARMER

This groundbreaking, earth shattering, insightful piece of important information is shared when you speak to one of the men in this town. Note my sarcasm. Come on! At least the annoying people who tell us to "revive the Orbs" say something relevant. Who cares, Mister Farmer! No one. Trivial note, there is a dwarf who says this in Tomra on the original SNES version of FF4. Could that have been a tribute to this? Who knows. It's a candidate for one of the most random NPC lines in the game. He's over to the right of the weapon shop, go visit him sometime to see this irrelevant line in all its glory.

 

[Dagger Dias]

HALL OF GIANTS (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 14

Low on money? Here is one of the game's best places to fix that. From Melmond head west then south to find a cave, this is the Earth Cave. You'll be back here very soon but for now let's just cover the Hall Of Giants portion. It has a tan color on the cave floor tiles so you'll know the Earth Cave when you find it. From the entrance head for the path to the left of you, it could be the northern part of the southern part but you want the hallway area to your left. This is called the Hall Of Gians for a reason. Make sure you saved first!!!! Every step in this hall of the cave has automatic triggered battles against Giant enemies. They are strong but leave lots of gil. If you are brave enough to do so at this point, make your way through the entire hall. You'll have a ton of gil if you make it. Or just stay at the first tile going back and forth on it and exiting if you need to go use a Tent on the world map. Meet your leveling up spot for the next several portions of the game. We'll be back multiple times.

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Life

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 5

This can revive an unconscious ally. It does not work in battles in the original version, for some reason. It does not have a casting animation due to this. Only the White Mage can use this spell. There are a lot of useful level 5 spells so whether you want to get this for your White Mage or not is up to you. I often just reset anytime an ally gets to zero Health so I end up not needing the spell.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Cur3

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 5

You may be more familiar with this spell's other name, Curaga, from many other Final Fantasy names. I like this spell a lot. It restores a large amount of Health to one ally. It is also as far as the Red Mage gets in terms of White Magic. He can learn a couple more as a Red Wizard later on. Get this spell for both the Red Mage and White Mage.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Hrm3

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 5

An even more powerful version of "Harm". At this point in the game you're encountering a lot of undead enemies so this spell could be useful for the Earth Cave quest and it remains useful a bit later on too. Get it for the White Mage, no one else is able to learn it anyway.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Hel2

Spellbook: White Magic
Level: 5

This is just like "Heal", only stronger. It restores a lot more Health per person than the first "Heal" spell did. This makes it a LOT more useful. Make certain that you get it for your White Mage. Unfortunately she is the only character proficient with it. This spell will be very useful when enemies have hit your whole party for lots of damage, to restore some of the Health back.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Fir3

Spellbook: Black Magic
Level: 5

This spell is better known as "Firaga" in other Final Fantasy games. It is the third "Fire" spell and as such as more powerful than either Fire or Fira. It does a large amount of damage to all enemies and is fire based. The spell will be quite useful during the Ice Cave quest and remains useful until the end. It is the Red Mage's best Black Magic spell and he is basically done after this, disregarding after he becomes a Red Wizard. Get this spell for both the Red Mage and Black Mage.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Warp

Spellbook: Black Magic
Level: 5

This does not have a casting animation because it is only for use outside of battles. The Warp spell can take you back on floor in a monster lair. Some monster lairs have a LOT of floors. You end up wasting a lot of 5th level spell slots that could go toward Firaga instead. You're better off without this one for the Black Mage. No one else can learn it, anyway.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Bane

Spellbook: Black Magic
Level: 5

This has the potential to instantly kill enemies with poison. I rarely ever like to use instant death attempts in these games. There is one particular boss battle where this spell does work well and that is the first battle against Tiamat the Fiend of Wind. Go ahead and get the spell now so you do not forget about it later. The Black Mage can learn it and so can the Red Mage after he becomes a Red Wizard.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SPELL SPOTLIGHT: Slo2

Spellbook: Black Magic
Level: 5

This is just like "Slow" only it has a better accuracy. Skip it. Even for the Red Mage. You won't need it.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

CRESCENT LAKE (OPTIONAL FOR NOW)
My Level: 17

You do not have to go to this town just yet but it is available as soon as Melmond is. You can get some equipment upgrades. The Earth Cave is really tough so this would be a good idea. It's expensive though, so leveling up in the Hall Of Giants first would be a good idea. To get to Crescent Lake leave through the newly opened area by the Dwarf Cave and follow the continent's coast south, then east, then north. Get off the ship at the dock then walk over to the town and enter. Be warned that the monsters here may be too strong for you at this point.

There are not very many people in this town. Most of them are wizards over in the far right portion of the town, you'll be back to speak with them after the Earth Cave. Let's go shopping since that is the whole reason we came here early. First up is the Weapon shop. Buy a Silver Axe for your Fighter and a Silver Hammer for your White Mage if she does not have one yet. It will be her weapon for quite some time. At the Armor shop buy Silver Armor for your Red Mage if they do not have it yet. The Fighter will not need it if you have Steel Armor. Your Fighter does need a Silver Shield though so buy one. Buy Bucklers for your Thief and Red Mage. Buy a Silver Helmet for your Fighter. Buy Silver Gauntlets for your Fighter. That should do it. Don't worry about the spells yet.

Odds are you will run out of gil at least once during this sidequest. Go back to the Hall Of Giants and level up again if this happens. If you manage to afford everything, you're done. Head to Melmond and we will be proceeding with our main quest. You'll be back here to talk to the wizards later but the equipment upgrade will make the Earth Cave much less difficult.

 

[Dagger Dias]

EARTH CAVE
My Level: 17

Alright we're really going through this place this time and it's pretty tough. You will at some point encounter Earth elementals. These are strong enemies and often guard treasure chests in this cave so be careful of them. From the entrance head north to find a room that has 1975 gil. South of the entrance is a path that splits in two. Go left to find a Heal potion and 880 gil. Head right from this same fork in the road to find 795 gil and a Pure potion. Head east from where the entrance was and go down the stairs.

There's bats in here. They don't really do anything but fly around and occassionally get in the way. Yeah, like in the Marsh Cave. There's doorways in the walls connecting the paths which can make it be a bit of a maze and harder to get through. There's two treasure rooms in here. The southern one is reached by taking the following path: south through 5 doorways, east 1, north 2, east 1, south 3, east 1, south 1. The treasures in there are a Wooden Shield and 5575 gil. Now from the treasure room go back out then north 1, west 1, north 3 then east a bit to get to the 4th consecutive north doorway, east 1, and into the treasure room. In here you find a Coral Sword, a Cabin, and 330 gil. From this treasure room go out then west 1, south 3, north 1 and down the stairs to get to the next area.

Be extra cautious in this room, you might encounter Cocatrices. They can petrify you! Have Soft potions in your inventory. You'll notice the bats are red now for some reason. They are eactly like the black bats. Other than get in the way in narrow pathways and say "kee...." they do nothing. In here follow the path and you find a room on your right, go inside to find a Tent. Now head north through 5 doorways, then east 1, south 1, east 1, south 1, to find another treasure room. It has a Heal potion. Now make your way back out and go north 1, west 1, north 1, west 1, south 1, west 1 and up into the next treasure room. It has 3400 gil. The rest of this area is straightforward so follow the path. There's another room along the way but it is empty inside (other than 3 random red bats) so keep going. Head south for a while, then east. There's a small room with 1020 gil. Follow the path south then east and you will find the first of two bosses (yes, you read that correctly) of this cave. The Vampire. Make sure you are at full health before talking to him.


****IMPORTANT!!!!****

Make certain to grab the Ruby from the chest behind the Vampire! This was the real reason we came this far at the moment. You'll need that very soon. Otherwise you went through the cave essentially for nothing.


THE EVIL PLATE

Head past the Vampire's chamber. See the red square on the ground? Go inspect that. The textbox reads "There is a stone plate on the floor.... You sense something.... Evil?...." Gosh that used to scare me as a kid. It's really intimidating, even if you already know what's waiting for you down there. Let's head back outside. Nothing else we can do just yet.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Vampire

He is actually weaker than the Earth elementals. So long as you start the battle out at full health you should be safe. Have your Fighter, Thief, or Black Belt attack while the Red Mage or Black Mage cast Fira (Fir2). The White Mage should heal as needed. The Vampire can inflict paralysis/stun on you which sucks. He's nothing and I mean NOTHING compared to the other boss in this cave though....

Now for the fun (sarcasm) part. You have to backtrack all the way back to the entrance. Seriously!?
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

TITAN'S TUNNEL
My Level: 18

Once you get back outside from the Earth Cave you should return to Coneria to rest (their Inn is the cheapest) then sell the Wooden Shield and head to the item shop. You by this point will likely have enough gil to max out your stock of Pure potions and Heal potions. Do so if you can afford to. Get some Soft potions as well if you can. Anyone who has encountered Cocatrices knows why those Soft potions may be needed. Now head back to the Melmond area. Walk like you're going to the Earth Cave (we aren't returning there just yet....) and instead of going to the Earth Cave keep heading west. You'll see another cave. Head in there.

You'll be inside a very cool looking cave. It resembles the Earth Cave only dark blue. If you had tried to venture in here before you would have been stuck due to the tunnel's namesake, a huge funny looking Titan who wants you to bring him a Ruby. Hey! We just so happen to have one from the treasure room behind the Vampire. Give it to the Titan to make him leave. His graphic simply just vanishes in the original version. Now proceed. Go south when you get to the fork in the road. There is a treasure room down there with a Great Axe, 1070 gil, and a Silver Helmet. Now go north to the exit.

 

[Dagger Dias]

SARDA'S CAVE
My Level: 18

South of the exit of the Titan's Tunnel is yet another cave, inhabited by an old man named Sarda. Go inside. It has the awesome music from Matoya's Cave. There is a room to your right with jars in it. There is nothing in there at all. Go ahead and inspect the jars, all empty. Sarda is in the room on the left. He gives you a Rod to use to open the plate on the floor that reveals the path to the true cause of the earth rot. In this original version of the game that is literally all Sarda does. He's just an old man who gives you a Rod. He became more important in other adaptations but here he has a minimal role. We're done here now. Make your way back through the Titan's Tunnel and over to the Earth Cave. Time to head back down to the Vampire's chamber and face the second boss of that cavern....