Final Fantasy 5 Walkthrough With Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: READ AHEAD

CLASS: ORACLE

LEVEL: 4

AP NEEDED: 300


My Thoughts:
This reduces the chances of a random encounter. If the monsters are annoying you and you don't feel like fighting anything, this is an ability you may want to pick up. It won't nullify all random encounters but it helps. It's also not so bad to unlock if you use ABP Up while learning it. Also this masters Oracle so your Mimes and Freelancers will get the Magic stat boost if that particular character has gotten this skill. Not bad at all.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: COMBINE

CLASS: CANNONEER

LEVEL: 3

AP NEEDED: 300


My Thoughts:
This is stupid. It's like the Chemist's Mix ability but even less useful. You mix ammunition items together to unleash other attacks. If you're like me and dislike gathering components then skip this ability. It's outclassed by several other abilities by this point and not worth it at all. Avoid it unless you're out to master everything, if you unlock this then you have mastered Cannonneer so there's that.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: BLADEBLITZ

CLASS: GLADIATOR

LEVEL: 4

AP NEEDED: 450


My Thoughts:
This makes you attack every enemy target on the battlefield simultaneously with a normal weapon attack. When combined with Dual-Wield and Spellblade it can take out larger enemy groups. It would be ideal for your main fighter to be able to cast Flare Spellblade and then hit all targets at once, such as the last form of Exdeath which has 4 targets. Get it for Bartz or whoever your main fighter is but it is recommended for anyone. This masters Gladiator so if you have not mastered Monk yet then your Mimes/Freelancers would get a big boost to their Strength stat when you get this.

 

[Dagger Dias]

JOB MASTERING CHECKPOINT

KNIGHT: ****MASTERED****

MONK: ****MASTERED****

THIEF: ****MASTERED****

WHITE MAGE: ****MASTERED****

BLACK MAGE: ****MASTERED****

BLUE MAGE: ****MASTERED****

BERSERKER: ****MASTERED****

MYSTIC KNIGHT: ****MASTERED****

TIME MAGE: ****MASTERED****

SUMMONER: ****MASTERED****

RED MAGE: ****MASTERED****

NINJA: ****MASTERED****

BEASTMASTER: ****MASTERED****

GEOMANCER: ****MASTERED****

RANGER: ****MASTERED****

BARD: ****MASTERED****

DRAGOON: ****MASTERED****

SAMURAI: ****MASTERED****

CHEMIST: ****MASTERED****

DANCER: ****MASTERED****

MIME: ****MASTERED****

ORACLE: ****MASTERED****

CANNONEER: ****MASTERED****

GLADIATOR: ****MASTERED****


Other Thoughts:
Every single class should be mastered by now with one or two exceptions. If you saved Mime for last that would be understandable. Keep everyone as Mimes for the remainder of the game. The final class is Necromancer and you have to defeat the new final boss, Enuo, to get it. If you're playing the older versions then at this point master everything. After that we're off to the Phoenix Tower to get the last Summon and the last Blue spell, then The Void which is the final quest in the older versions.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BLUE MAGIC SIDEQUEST (MIGHTY GUARD)
My Level: 48

This is one of the tougher Blue Magic spells to get.... For the Mighty Guard spell you will want to go over to where the Tower of Walse used to be. If you are having a hard time finding it again then fly southwest of Carwen. Make everyone be Mimes with Learning, Control, and White Magic. Land in the water in that area and float around in ship form. Wait for an encounter with a Stingray. Control it to make it cast Mighty Guard, then defeat it to get one of the best Blue spells.


PSYCHIC FRIEND (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 48

This is a weird event, which can hardly even be called that. Fly to Karnak and turn the airship into a submarine in the body of water south of Karnak. See the cave? Take the submarine there. Now go inside and you will find an old man. He introduces himself as Mr Clio your psychic friend. He tells you stats about the game so far such as how many monsters you have defeated and the percentage of treasure you have gathered. This technically does nothing, it's just something worth checking out.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PHOENIX TOWER
MY LEVEL: 47

The Phoenix Tower is southwest of Northern Mountain in the desert. Make everyone Mimes with Rapid Fire, White Magic, and Equip Sword/Lance/Axe/etc. Equip Katanas may be the simplest bet since you could then give Bartz the Masamune and then go buy 7 Kiku-ichimonji katanas for the other weapon slots. I like diversifying the weapon slots a bit though. Krile had swords, Lenna had katanas, Bartz had spears, and Faris has axes. Make it fun, you can equip just about anything by this point. This is a difficult quest and I always save it for last in the third world for a reason. There's many floors to this tower and you have to inspect walls to find staircases. If you pick the right spot, the staircase appears. Sometimes you still have to fight a monster in order to find the staircase. These monsters include Bandercoeurls, Kuza Beasts, and (oddly enough) former bosses such as Liquid Flame or the Soul Cannon.

1st floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

2nd floor: Go up the stairs.

3rd floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

4th floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion, but you will have to fight a monster.

5th floor: Battle the Magic Pot if you want, or just go up the stairs. The jars had 5000 gil and a Phoenix Down guarded by a Magic Pot.

6th floor: Go up the stairs.

7th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

8th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

9th floor: Inspect the left portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

10th floor: Battle the Magic Pot if you want, or just go up the stairs. The jars had 10000 gil and a Phoenix Down guarded by a Magic Pot.

11th floor: Go up the stairs.

12th floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

13th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

14th floor: Inspect the wall on the right portion.

15th floor: Battle the Magic Pot if you want, or just go up the stairs. The jars had 15000 gil and a Phoenix Down guarded by a Magic Pot.

16th floor: Go up the stairs.

17th floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

18th floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

19th floor: Inspect the wall on the right portion.

20th floor: Battle the Magic Pot if you want, or just go up the stairs. The jars had 20000 gil and a Phoenix Down guarded by a Magic Pot.

21st floor: Go up the stairs.

22nd floor: Inspect the left portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

23rd floor: Inspect the wall on the left portion.

24th floor: Inspect the wall on the right portion.

25th floor: Battle the Magic Pot if you want, or just go up the stairs. The jars had 25000 gil and an Aevis Killer guarded by a Magic Pot.

26th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

27th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

28th floor: Inspect the right portion of the wall.

29th floor: Inspect the center portion of the wall, but you will have to fight a monster.

30th floor: This is the top floor. The dragon is there. Lenna has a flashback. When given the option make sure that you pick "NO" otherwise you will not be able to get the Phoenix summon. If you picked "NO" then the dragon becomes a Phoenix and you will be able to summon him. Now cast Teleport from your Time Magic spellbook to warp out since I doubt you want to go back down all 30 floors.


BATTLE: Magic Pots

Extremely annoying. Their defensive and Health Point count are ridiculously high. Plus you cannot cast spells against them. Only way to win is to use an Elixir on them and hope they run away after you do so. If you win you get a lot of Ability Points but by this point I've mastered everything already. You can just run away if you find one but do not want to fight him.


BLUE MAGIC SIDEQUEST (FINAL!)

You can learn a Blue spell here, Roulette. Look for a Parthenope enemy and wait for her to use Roulette. You may want to give all four characters "Learning" in case the spell hits one of your characters. Then switch back to whatever you wanted the final ability slot to be before you replaced it with Learning. That's the last one. Congratulations on completing the entire Blue spellbook!

 

[Dagger Dias]

PREPARATION FOR THE INTERDIMENSIONAL RIFT
My Level: 48

Well, we're here. The final quest from the original version of the game. In order to prepare for this quest it is recommended that you have fully built your characters for their roles BEFORE starting this event. As in your main fighter should already have Ninja, Ranger, and Mystic Knight mastered. Your main healer should already have White Mage and Red Mage mastered. Your offensive caster(s) should have mastered either Black Mage, Time Mage, or Summoner. Mastering a number of fighter type classes to obtain the Equip Sword/Katana/Lance/Axe abilities couldn't hurt either since this gets better weapons for Mimes, which I highly recommend you go in as. Having 99 Hi Potions, 99 Ethers, 99 Phoenix Downs, 99 of each of the items that heal a negative status effect, as well as a ton of Elixirs and as many Cottages as possible might be a good idea if you can afford it.

Here is my setup. It will change up a bit for some of the boss battles in the Rift but I used this setup for the exploration portion.

Faris - Mime with abilities of Rapid Fire, Time Magic, and Equip Axes.

Lenna - Mime with abilities of Rapid Fire, White Magic, and Equip Katanas.

Bartz - Mime with abilities of Rapid Fire, Blue Magic, and Equip Lances.

Krile - Mime with abilities of Rapid Fire, Summon, and Equip Swords.


When you are ready, fly into the dark blue circle where Tycoon Castle used to be. You will be sent to the Void. The music here is fairly cool. You'll go through lots of different areas and fight many bosses with only a few save points in between. Take advantage of being able to Mimic in battle. For instance you could have Krile Summon Bahamut then have everyone else Mimic her. Or just rely on Rapid Fire or even Zeninage on most of the enemies.

 

[Dagger Dias]

THE RIFT - DESERT
My Level: 48

I'll do the section on The Rift divided into its different areas since it is such a large quest. The first part of the Rift is a desert. This part is mostly easy. There are some sand currents, you can tell which direction they will push you in if you stop and look. Make your way to the right and you find a door. When you approach the door the remaining monsters from that group of monsters Exdeath freed from the Void appear. Meet your next several boss fights. Other than two optional ones, all of the monsters seen here must be battled during this quest. From left to right they are Azulmagia, Catastrophe, Calofisteri, Necrophobe, Halicarnassus, Twintania, and Apanda. The two optional ones are Azulmagia and Necrophobe. The group of monsters taunt you. Enter the door and go down the chain to get to the next area.


THE RIFT - RUINS
My Level: 48

The next area is just like the Ronka Ruins and the Catapult. The chest in the left corner of the northern part of the chamber has an Ether. The chest on the right side has a Cottage. Head down into the southern part of the chamber. Open the chests to get an Elixir from the one in the left corner and a Dark Matter from the one in the right corner. Ride the chains down in the next area and follow the path. Now you see three chains. Ride the right one up to a chest with an Elixir. Now ride up the left one. There is a Blood Sword in a chest to the right of the door in the next room, you have to go the long way around the walls to get it but it's easy to get to. Exit this area.


THE RIFT - MIRAGE TOWN?
My Level: 48

Yep. It's the Mirage Town. However, unlike the one you visited in the main world this one is frozen in time. No one is able to move except you. The door you walked out from should look familiar. It is the one that was sealed by strange forces in the main world. Now you know why. The town is stuck in the interdimensional rift itself. Weird. Exit the town by going the way you would to get to the world map in the regular world. This takes you to the next area. Be sure to drink from the recovery water in the jar on the way out of the first building.


THE RIFT - FOREST
My Level: 48

Now you're in a forest. It looks a lot like the Great Forest of Moore. Unfortunately it is about as difficult to navigate. Follow the path and head north of the first big tree. There is a chest with a Dragon Fang. From that chest head back to the tree and follow the path west of the tree to a bigger area in the room. There is a Lilith Rod in the chest at the east end of the room. South of this chest is another with an Enhancer Sword. When you find the big tree in the southeast corner of the room with the star in it, be careful. Yes it will open a path like in the Great Forest of Moore but there is a boss fight first! Proceed into the next area after that fight.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Calofisteri

This is not bad if you came in prepared. She can cast Reflect on herself which means you do NOT want to rely on Black Magic. A good strategy would be to have someone Summon Bahamut then have the rest of your characters Mimic that. Your healer should be ready to heal as needed though if you just Mimic Bahamut enough times it should end quickly. Be careful with this strategy so as to not end up miming the healing instead of miming the summoning.
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[Dagger Dias]

THE RIFT - WATERFALL CAVE
My Level: 48

The next portion of the rift is a cavern that resembles the Waterfall where you fought Leviathan. Follow the path all the way as far right as you can go. There is a hidden room behind the waterfall there. Inside is a chest with an Angel Ring. Go back to the room you just came from. Hey look! See that robot down on the platform beneath you? Yeah, stay AWAY from him unless you want a REAL challenge. That's Omega. One of the superbosses of the original version of the game. Go enter the door to your left. Grab the Coral Ring from the chest on the way and go downstairs. There is a save point here. Use a Cottage to rest and then save. When you exit this room you will be on the platform Omega was on. He is optional so again, do NOT approach him AT ALL unless you are ready and want the challenge. Omega is THE most difficult enemy in the original version of the game. Some may regard Shinryu as tougher and it is generally an evenly divided debate on which of the two superbosses is the toughest, but one thing is absolute fact. Both are so difficult that they put the final boss to shame. In the next room, upon inspecting a book is the boss Apanda who unlike Omega you do have to fight. It is highly recommended that you save Omega for later and instead go after Apanda instead in order to proceed. If you want the challenge now, see the note below on what you must do in order to even stand a chance against Omega.



PREPARATIONS FOR OMEGA

You MUST have Flame Rings equipped on everyone. This negates the fire elemental attacks the boss uses. Everyone also should have mastered Ninja and Ranger to make this easier. You need at least one person to have mastered Mystic Knight. Make everyone Mimes with your choice of Equip Sword and Rapid Fire. One person needs Spellblade, the other three should have White Magic so that you can heal or revive when needed. Notice that I said "when", not "if".

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Omega

Words cannot describe how difficult this boss is if you have not prepared. Odds are if you fought him for the first time without knowing what to expect, you got obliterated. You need to have your Spellblade user cast Thundaga on themselves immediately. Have the rest of the party Mimic this except for your healer. You could also consider having one person equipped with Time Magic in order to cast Hastega on the party. Now have the healer ready to heal as needed while the fighters use Rapid Fire. Repeat until you win. Omega uses powerful fire elemental attacks so you absolutely must equip Flame Rings on all four characters. He can also confuse you, inflict Stone, and use Encircle to banish someone from the battlefield. Oh, and also.... DO NOT HOLD BACK AGAINST THIS BOSS! Your prize for winning this tremendously difficult battle is the Omega Badge. It quite literally is an item just for bragging rights and does nothing other than serve as proof of winning the fight.
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[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Apanda

Weird name. In the PSX version his name was Apprehender and that was a cooler name. Anyway, his weakness is Fire. You could summon Ifrit which scares him, which is similar to the Byblos fight and they even have similar sprites. That's funny. For the easiest time here have someone cast Firaga while two others Mimic that character, leaving your healer to still be ready to heal or revive as needed. He can half your Magic Points and turn you into a frog both of which are annoying. Compared to Omega he is super easy. Make sure you left the book open before exiting the room.
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[Dagger Dias]

THE RIFT - TOWER & CASTLE
My Level: 48

Now you're in a tower similar to the outside area of the Pillar from world two where you fought Atomos. The path starts out straightforward. There's some invisible pathways so you could use the Thief's ability to see hidden paths or try to do it without that, it's not tough if you do the latter. You'll find a door to a castle. Head through the southern door in the westernmost portion of the main hall. Go into the smaller tower outside and it leads to a chest with a Thor's Hammer. Follow a similar path on the right portion of the main hall to get to a chest with Hermes Sandles. Now go back to the main hall and go down the downward staircase in the center. You have a few bosses to fight in here. One of which is optional and defeating him gets you a save point, so it is recommended to fight him first. I am referring to Azulmagia who is in the chamber in the lower left corner of the basement.

The remaining chambers have old men in green robes running around. Those aren't old men. They are monsters called Alte Roits guarding chests that have Red Slippers and a Rainbow Dress. Defeat the Alte Roits first before entering the upper right chamber, which has the next boss that you need to defeat in order to proceed. Save in between each fight just in case.


BATTLE: Alte Roit

They can use Encircle to ban a character from the battlefield so defeat them as soon as possible. Rapid Fire works nicely here.

BATTLE: Jura Aevis

This is what the Alte Roits turn into once you defeat them initially. This is their "true form" as the game implies. They are much more dangerous in this form. Sticking to Rapid Fire should be enough to defeat a Jura Aevis if all two or three characters use the ability one after another.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Azulmagia

This boss is weak against Poison. He has an extremely clever strategy. He can learn Blue spells if you use them on him! Do not use any Blue spells in this fight for that reason. Stick to the Bio spell or perhaps Bio Spellblade. Whichever you prefer. The Spellblade route may be better due to Azulmagia's strong resistance to spells. An effective method may be using Spellblade on two characters or Bio the Black Magic spell while the other two heal when needed with White Magic.
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[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Catastrophe

If you come into this battle with Float status then the boss will use Gravity 100 to undo the Float status. You could have a caster keep casting Float to keep him busy with undoing the status, long enough for the remaining three characters use Rapid Fire to defeat him. Pretty simple strategy. If you do not use this strategy then you risk the boss using Earth Shaker on you. He can also try to turn you to stone with Evil Eye. Really easy boss if you know what you're doing.
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[Dagger Dias]

THE RIFT - CASTLE (CONTINUED)
My Level: 49 (Bartz), 48 (everyone else)

After defeating Catastrophe some random girl who was standing behind him thanks you for saving her and goes up a stairway. Follow her. This eventually leads to an outdoor portion of the castle. Head to the left and down the stairs. This leads to a chest with a Man Eater. Now head back upstairs and go through the central door of the outdoor area. The stairway in the middle of this hall leads to a door you can open. It goes down to the main hall which you could not proceed further from earlier. Head back the way you came. Turn everyone into frogs before approaching the upper left door. When you try exit through the door to the upper left corner the woman from the basement comes back but it turns out she was actually the monster Halicarnassus in disguise! It is recommended to have fought Azulmagia before Halicarnassus so that you can save both before and after the Halicarnassus fight. Be sure that you do save after this fight because you will be fighting another boss in the room right after this one.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Halicarnassus

If you were already Frogs then the boss will turn you back into normal as the battle starts since Halicarnassus is programmed to instantly use the Frog spell on you. Ha! The bad news is, if you start the battle out normal instead of already being frogs then guess what happens? The boss turns you into frogs at the start of the battle. Restore everyone to normal immediately if this happens. Now have your Summoner cast Golem since the boss has a strong physical attack. Then after that you can rely on Rapid Fire until you have won. Not too bad overall, just another one where you could be caught off-guard without knowing what to expect.
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[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Twintania

The graphic of this boss makes him seem quite intimidating. He can be. Other than one very clever strategy you can use later on in the fight, he's quite tough compared to most of the other Rift bosses. If you attack he can counter with Tidal Wave. He starts charging at one point to use Giga Flare which is extremely powerful. The good news about the Giga Flare attack is that it makes him very vulernable. Once he starts "charging up" to use it, he suddenly becomes weak against instant death. The simplest strategy would be to give Summon to one character and White Magic to everyone else. Be healing each round until he begins "charging" for Giga Flare. Now just Summon Odin and the boss will instantly die. That was easy!
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[Dagger Dias]

THE RIFT - CRYSTALS AND TREES IN SPACE
My Level: 49 (Bartz), 48 (everyone else)

This is the last area of the Rift. The music changes to an even cooler one here. The area looks awesome. As I described above, it looks like a crystalized area with trees up in space. The monsters encountered here as as dangerous as ever so don't feel bad about having to resort to running or using Zeninage. There is a chest just to the right of you with a Fuma Shuriken. You will eventually run into, of all people, Gilgamesh.


BATTLE: Gilgamesh

Be sure to Steal a Genji Shield from him. Then attack or summon Bahamut and he will eventually recognize you. When he does, just let him talk and then he runs off. I don't even count that as a boss fight since it goes by so quickly and the music did not change. They should have had Gilgamesh's theme play here despite how short the "fight" is.


In the next room just follow the path. You'll find a chest with a Fuma Shuriken as you go down a stairway. Keep going until you get to the next teleporter panel. There's a chest south of it with an Elixir. You will see a chest down the long stairway in this room, avoid it for now. I reapeat. STAY AWAY FROM THAT CHEST!!!! For now. It has the original game's other superboss Shinryu in it guarding the Ragnarok Sword. We'll be back to fight him in just a moment, although I am sure you would want a save point first so you do not have to get back here again. Proceed to the left to find a chest with a Fuma Shuriken. Now go to the right and use the teleporter panel. In this room there is a white star in the far left corner of the area. Heal up to maximum health before approaching it. Give everyone Summon and White Magic. You'll get the game's final save point after defeating this boss, although he is optional.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Necrophobe, Barrier (x4), Gilgamesh

This battle has a secret to it, so don't try to end it too quickly. Necrophobe himself cannot be attacked until the Barriers are gone. Summon Bahamut until all the Barriers are gone. One or two characters could be healing if needed since spells like Holy and Flare might get used on you. Let the boss fall below 10,000 Health without killing him. This triggers a secret cut-scene with Gilgamesh. He shows up, redeems himself, and then sacrifices himself after encouraging each member of the party. This scene is worth seeing at least once. You can Steal a Genji Armor from Gilgamesh while the secret cut-scene is going on! So if not for the character development in Gilgamesh, at least view the secret in-battle scene so that you can Steal from him during it. That's silly when you think about it, really. He shows up and redeems himself after all he has put you through and then you, the heroes, Steal the last of his Genji gear.
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[Dagger Dias]

SHINRYU BATTLE (OPTIONAL)
My Level: 49 (Bartz), 48 (everyone else)

But wait, there's still one more challenge left for the content of the original game....! Remember that chest I said to avoid earlier? Now that you have defeated Necrophobe there is a save point you can use. You'll be glad you did. Ok so for this battle you have got to prepare for it. This boss is optional for a reason. Alongside Omega, he is regarded as one of the game's two toughest bosses. In the original game's content, anyway. You MUST have 4 Coral Rings. You will literally die in the first round of combat otherwise. Shinryu likes to open the fight with a lethal Tidal Wave attack that can do as much as a maxed out 9999 damage to you. With Coral Rings, you'll absorb that. Now make everyone Mimes. Pick two fighters (Bartz and Faris come to mind although I used Faris and Krile here to change things up) and the other two are your defenders. No, not healers. Defenders. Set them up with these abilities....

Your two fighters should be Mimes with the abilities of Rapid Fire, Spellblade, and Equip Swords. For their swords give them each an Enhancer then give one Excalibur and the other the Defender Sword. Your two defenders can be Mimes or Freelancers. They need White Magic and Summon. Give the Masamune to one of the defenders so that they get to go first. Alright, save and go open the chest.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Shinryu

This boss is extremely difficult and powerful. Have Coral Rings equipped or else you will die after the first round of combat. I'm not joking. There is a trick to the battle and believe it or not, he's actually easier than Omega. Not by much, though. Alright so due to equipping one of your defenders (for me it was Lenna) with the Masamune they will go first. Summon Golem IMMEDIATELY. Now for the first turns of the others have your second defender cast Berserk on Shinryu. Your two fighters need to cast the Flare Spellblade on their weapons. From here on out your strategy remains the same for the entire fight. Have your two defenders Summon Golem, since the boss will keep getting through Golem's defenses. Have your two fighters use Rapid Fire. Faris and Krile took down the boss in just a couple of rounds. Your prize is the Dragon Seal which, just like the Omega Badge, is just for bragging rights and proof of winning the battle. It does nothing. I do have one nitpicking gripe about this boss. For a fight intended to be so epic, why would they stick the incredibly boring normal boss music on him? At least his more powerful counterpart in the GBA & PC versions gets the Decisive Battle theme. That is what Shinryu himself should have had.

There is also a method that makes the fight even easier. You can make everyone have the Jump ability while equipped with two Dragon Lances. These are very effective against Shinryu. The only problem with this method is that they are only obtained by using the Steal command on a Crystal Dragon. The odds of a Crystal Dragon having a Dragon Lance are VERY low. Getting one Dragon Lance, let alone 8, would take an eternity. I recommend sticking with the Golem and Rapid Fire method instead.
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[Dagger Dias]

FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR THE BATTLE WITH EXDEATH
My Level: 49

This is the final boss of the original version of the game. You could go a couple of different routes here. Everyone must be either Mimes (preferred) or Freelancers. If you want to bring in the best possible fighter then have Bartz as a Mime with Equip Swords, Spellblade, and Rapid Fire. Equip him with the Ragnarok and Excalibur. Then have him cast Flare Spellblade and use Rapid Fire. That's real fun. It works well against Exdeath's first form but it unfortunately is not as good for his second form. You can still bring Bartz in set up like this if you'd like, but I have a better plan for him. He can be a healer while the three girls focus on offensive casting. In this set-up make Bartz a Mime with White Magic, Summon, and Item. White Magic is obvious and Summon is there so he can use Phoenix if needed. Why is Item there? Mimes do not get an automatic Item command like the other classes and you might need to throw an Ether or Elixir to one of the girls after they get low on Magic Points. For Lenna/Faris/Krile they can all enter the fight in the same set-up. Mimes with Time Magic, Summon, and Dualcast. Save at the savepoint you got from fighting Necrophobe and then go approach Exdeath. A cool scene with King Tycoon and the four Dawn Warriors plays out before the fight.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Exdeath (Tree Form)

No sprites this time in order to avoid spoilers for those who have not played the game, as this is the first form of the final boss if you're playing one of the older versions. For this fight if you followed my character set-up have one of the girls use Dualcast and then cast either Meteor or Bahamut as your two spells. Have the other girls Mime this while Bartz heals as needed. Repeat until you win. You do need to try to end this battle quickly since he can use a move called White Hole that instantly defeats AND petrifies a character at the same time. You could be Freelancers with Ribbons equipped or use a Mime ability slot for Equip Ribbons, though you're better off finishing this battle quickly in order to use the best strategy for his final form.
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[Dagger Dias]

FINAL BOSS: Neo Exdeath

If you're playing the Playstation Anthology version or any other version from before 2006 then this is the final boss. He is similar to the first part of the final battle in FF6 in that there are four targets instead of one and he looks like a bunch of deformed beasts merged together. Alright so your biggest concern in this fight is a move called Grand Cross that randomly inflicts all sorts of horrible status effects on all characters at once. You will either need to be able to equip Ribbons or you need to end the fight as quickly as possible. The big challenge is to try to win with none of the characters getting knocked unconscious, this gets you a better ending. With there being four targets it is best to not go with the Spellblade + Rapidfire strategy. So if you followed my suggested set-up then you will be able to use a great strategy. Have Lenna use Dualcast. For her first spell have her Summon Bahamut then have her cast the Time spell Quick. This gets her two immediate turns. For both of these immediate turns have her Dualcast, with Summoning Bahamut for both turns. This means she just Summoned Bahamut 5 times in a row. When Faris and Krile get their turns, have them do the exact same thing. Not Mimic, but the same commands you gave Lenna. Mimic will only have them do two summons as opposed to five. This means you can quickly get a grand total of 15 Bahamut attacks in which will do thousands of damage to all four targets. Have Bartz use an Elixir on Lenna when he gets his turn. Now have Lenna do the same strategy yet again, and by this time you can just have the others Mimic her until all four targets are defeated. It would be best to use area of effect attacks like Bahamut so that you defeat all four at once. If any of the four targets survives by itself, if will constantly cast Meteor on you which you do NOT want. Try to get the good ending if you can. This strategy will get you a win without too much trouble, it's making sure all survive that makes it more challenging.

One more sidequest remains along with two superbosses and a new final boss if you are playing the GBA or PC versions. The Sealed Temple. That will be coming up next in this thread so stay tuned.
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