Final Fantasy 5 Walkthrough With Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

KORNAGO GOURD (SIDEQUEST)
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

This is a sidequest available to you right now. I never do it because I find it to be rather useless but if you want to do it here is how to do it. In Quelb go to the well and inspect it to find an old man in the well. He jumps out and asks for you to give him a frog. If only it was simple enough to cast Toad on yourself.... You have to use the Beastmaster class to Catch a Kornago Frog which is encountered on the world map in this area. If you Catch one then go talk to the old man he asks for the frog and 10,000 gil then you get the Kornago Gourd which.... makes it easier to Catch enemies. It's useless because all it does is make it a little easier to use one of the game's stupidest abilities. Skip this one. Seriously. If you really want to do it go ahead, but it's a waste of time.

 

[Dagger Dias]

DRAKENVALE
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

It starts out straightforward. You might encounter an unknown enemy who attacks you then runs off before you can even do anything. That's Golem. Make sure you find him in one random encounter in the first area before moving on. Now go into the cave on the right to find a chest with 5000 gil. Then go back out and enter the left cave, follow the path and get the Cottage from a chest along the way. Once you are back in the outdoor area again you will see some bones. It is possible to grab a Bonemail from one of the bones. Don't. This armor makes you have undead properties so you are immune to instant death or poison but you are unable to be healed in battle by restorative spells or potions. I do not recommend it despite its high defensive stats. You might run into Golem again in this area, see the sidequest note for more on that. Make sure you complete that optional sidequest before facing the boss of this area.

You will find what looks like a dead end. Look around on the eastern part of the platform and you will fall down a hole into a new chamber. Open the chest for 7000 gil. Go through the left door and flip the skull switch to open another path outside then head down the right path to get back to where the hole you fell down was. Head outside and follow the new path into the cavern east of you. Go down the left path to find a Hypno Crown and a Wind Slash. Now go down the right path to proceed. There is also a chest with a Phoenix Down on the way. Proceed forward and you'll find the next boss, the Dragon Pod, which was attacking anyone who tried to get to the dragon grass. Lenna and Faris try to inspect the flower thinking it is dragon grass but it attacks them. Galuf saves Lenna and Bartz saves Faris then your party enters a battle with the Dragon Pod.

 

[Dagger Dias]

GOLEM SIDEQUEST
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

This is a summon, but he is obtained in arguably the strangest way of any other summon in the game. You encountered Golem in the first area of Drakenvale but he runs off before you had a chance to do anything else. In another outdoor area by the dragon bones you might run into a battle against Golem, a Bone Dragon, and a Zombie Dragon.

BATTLE: Golem, Bone Dragon, Zombie Dragon

The two dragons immediately turn on Golem and attack him. He yells at you to help him. Unless you're a horrible person you likely are going to accept his request. Attack the two dragons but do NOT attack Golem. If you defeat the two dragons with Golem also surviving the fight you will get the Golem item which you then use to unlock the Summon.


If Golem dies, then you'll need to try again in another random encounter. If you do not complete this quest now, then the summon is not obtainable again until the Interdimensional Rift at the very end of the game, so you might want to do it NOW instead. Rather odd, yet worth the effort. Golem's a good summon.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Dragon Pod, Dragon Flower (x5)

The Dragon Pod will summon Dragon Flowers throughout the battle. You'll want to use abilities that hit the entire enemy party so that the Dragon Flowers cannot inflict status effects on you. They are capable of inflicting Old, Confusion, Paralyze, Zombie, and Blind. Summoning Golem also helps since many of the boss' attacks are physical. The Dragon Pod is not immune to Death Claw, so that's another option. Not that bad of a battle as long as you keep the Dragon Flowers gone.
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[Dagger Dias]

SAVING THE DRAGON
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

After the battle against the Dragon Pod (make sure you also got Golem) head back down the mountain, south through Quelb, and back to Bal Castle. You have to enter through the moat since the guard thought Galuf was a monster. Go to the upper right corner of the moat to find a Great Sword. Give it to Bartz. Go to the upper left corner and flip the switch. You will be able to go inside this way. Talk to Krile who is resting in her bedroom and she tells you that you need to visit Ghido an old sage. Then go visit the dragon. Lenna tries some of the dragon grass to show the dragon it is safe to eat but poisons herself in the process since it is not safe for humans, Krile gives her a potion to recover. Now you will be able to fly on the world map with the dragon. He is just like the dragon from the first world so all the same restrictions apply.

 

[Dagger Dias]

GHIDO'S
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

Fly on the dragon to an island northeast of Drakenvale. Then go into the cave to try to meet Ghido. You won't be able to because of a sudden earthquake. Exdeath knew you were coming. Well, so much for that. The party escapes just in time by flying away on the dragon. Now what? Heading to Quelb and speaking to Kelger he will offer you some advice. Try to take out one of the barrier towers so you can get into Exdeath's Castle. Xezat, one of Galuf and Kelger's former allies is already trying to do this with his fleet north of Drakenvale. That's where we will head next.


WHY IS WORLD 1'S MAP MUSIC PLAYING HERE!?

For some reason the world map theme from the first world plays at the entrance to Ghido's Cave before the earthquake. That just seems SO out of place. Why in the world would that song be in world 2? Must be something the developers missed during the original version of the game and didn't bother to fix during the remakes.

 

[Dagger Dias]

SURGATE CASTLE
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

Xezat's castle is north of Drakenvale, fly like you did to get to Ghido's island and then fly west. At the gates one of the guards takes you to the throne room. Xezat has already left with his fleet but the guard lets Galuf take anything in the castle that he or his friend may need. Take the southwest staircase from the throne room to find Xezat's bedroom. The red book on the desk contains the Swift Song, a new Bardsong that you will learn. Go back down the stairs and take the northwest staircase. Follow the path to find blue haired scholars. They have an old book that is missing half of its text. Hmmm.... This should sound familiar. Wasn't there another book missing parts of its text somewhere else earlier....? Yep. If you did not figure it out, then the book will still come into play in world 3 and you'll find out at that point.

In the basement downstairs from the scholars is a library. Talk to the old lady and she asks you to help put books on shelves. Do so. The shelves are labeled alphabetically so it is not hard to see where every book should go. Pick up a book and take it to the right shelf until all are put away. "Forgotten" would go on the "F" Shelf for example. Follow the old lady after she leaves and go downstairs. Open the chest to get 5500 gil and then go outside. Head west and go in through the door to find the Float spell in a chest. Head back to the throne room and go down the eastern staircase. There are guards in the next room you can talk to, go downstairs to find the Inn and some shops. Buy 4 Great Swords and any spell you may be missing from these shops.

After this you're done. The guards gave you a piece of advice, that you are able to land a dragon on the king's ship which is on its way to Exdeath's Castle. Let's fly out that way next. You'll see the fleet of ships just east of Exdeath's Castle.

 

[Dagger Dias]

XEZAT'S FLEET
My Level: 36 (Bartz), 35 (everyone else)

The party lands on the ship then Xezat and Galuf catch up for a bit before he tells you to rest downstairs. Doing so will trigger an enemy attack and that awesome music that plays can only mean one thing.... Gilgamesh is here. Make everyone Red Mages who can use Steal because this is your first chance at one of the Genji equipment pieces. Go talk to Xezat and then the monsters show up. Each of the goblin sprites can be approached for a battle.


BATTLE: Gobbledygook

These are green goblins that are the strongest of the basic goblin types, but still fairly weak. Just use your regular attacks with everyone and these fights should be no problem.


The only underling that you must fight here is the Gobbledygook guarding Gilgamesh. A couple of others are on your ship, they are optional. Why not fight them too for a little more EXP while enjoying the excellent music? Once you are ready for the boss battle go approach Gilgamesh. Make sure you have at least one person able to Steal!

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Gilgamesh & Enkidu

The battle begins with your party against Gilgamesh. Have Faris or whoever you gave Steal to use that command to get a Genji Glove. Keep trying until you get it. Then after a while Gilgamesh's best friend Enkidu shows up to join him. Now the fight really begins. Enkidu can use White Wind though it is impossible for a Blue Mage to learn it from him. Magic is best for attacking Enkidu since he is behind Gilgamesh in formation, regular attacks will do less damage to him due to that. Heal up if you get weak and keep casting Fira/Thundara/Blizara on Enkidu. Ignore Gilgamesh for now. Once Enkidu is defeated Gilgamesh runs away after whining about how sidekicks can't run off. It is possible to win this fight before Enkidu shows up however if this happens then you would not get to see the silly exchange between the two villainous friends when he shows up. This is a fun fight in its full form, don't take the quick way out by defeating Gilgamesh before he has a chance to summon Enkidu.

After the battle Xezat takes you in his submarine to the Barrier Tower.
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[Dagger Dias]

BARRIER TOWER
My Level: 37 (Bartz), 36 (everyone else)

The party enters the Barrier Tower. Xezat goes into the basement and you are climbing up to the top floor while communicating with him through a Whisperweed. Here we go! The music that plays in here is pretty cool. Go up the stairs from the area where you split up from Xezat, there is a save point in there. The next room has two chests. The one on the right has 9000 gil. The one on the left is guarded by a Red Dragon so make sure you are at maximum Health before opening any chest. You receive a Blood Sword. The Red Dragons hit hard so you will need to alternate between healing and attacking. I had Lenna and Galuf healing while Bartz and Faris attacked mostly. Head through the southern door to be outdoors. The graphics looks great out here. Enter the next door upstairs. Just to your left is a chest with 18,000 gil. Keep following the path.

Xezat eventually contacts you through the Whisperweed. He has found the generator in the basement. There are two paths in the next outside area. The left leads to a chest guarded by two Yellow Dragons. This is much tougher than the Red Dragon. Focus on attacking just one dragon first. I had Bartz attacking each round while Galuf and the girls healed everyone up as necessary and if one or two more could afford to attack that turn they did. The second dragon is easier to defeat once he is by himself. Stay healed up and attack. You get a Gold Hairpin for winning. The right path leads to a save point, make sure you save here. The boss can be tough.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BLUE MAGIC SIDEQUEST (BARRIER TOWER)
My Level: 37 (Bartz), 36 (everyone else)

While in the Barrier Tower you might encounter enemies called Travellers. Make sure to have someone equipped with Learning get hit by their Time Slip attack before this event is over since you will not be able to return to the tower again after it explodes. Like with previous Blue Magic sidequests, get it now while you have the chance. Otherwise you might get stuck trying to learn the spell at the end of the game. I'd rather get them as soon as possible.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Atomos

This can be hard. Atomos can cast Comet and it may be strong enough to take out a character in one shot. Atomos is infamous for his Wormhole ability which can draw a character with zero Health towards him, once they are close enough Wormhole then removes that character from the battle completely. He then repeats with Comet on another character. He can use Gravity, Graviga, Slow, and Slowga as well. This would be one of the few cases where I recommend the Samurai's Zeninage ability. If you have plenty of gil to spare give that to all four characters and just use it each round until you win. If you do not have any gil then the next best plan is to cast Sleep on him then use your best offensive spells on him until he wakes up then cast Sleep again, and repeat. I wouldn't recommend wasting gil with Zeninage unless I thought it was worth it. The few times I rely on that strategy can be counted on one hand, and this is one of them.

After the battle the tower explodes and Galuf says farewell to Xezat.
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[Dagger Dias]

BARRIER TOWER AFTERMATH & EXDEATH'S CASTLE
My Level: 37 (Bartz), 36 (everyone else)

You can now go inside Exdeath's Castle! Well, only the first floor. Xezat's soldiers beat you to it and they are paroling but no one can get past the locked door on the first floor. One soldier suggests that Ghido might know something. His island sunk after the earthquake but you can get to it underwater in the submarine! Let's head there. It is located at the underwater equivalent of where it was previous when it was above the surface. If you forgot where this was, it was just northeast of Drakenvale.


GHIDO'S CAVE
My Level: 38 (Bartz), 37 (Everyone else)

The cave is mostly straightforward. You will find a room with five chests and one has a stone in it. You need to move the stone to one of the empty chests in order to open the doors. Each chest opens a different door. Putting the stone in the upper left chest opens a door leading to a skull switch you need to press. Putting the stone in the upper right chest leads to a dead end, as does putting it in the lower right chest. Put the stone in the lower left chest to proceed, if you had pressed the skull switch earlier. Go to the lower left corner of the next room and press the skull switch, now go down the stairway that just appeared. Now keep following the path until you see a turtle. Turns out this turtle is Ghido the sage. He gives you the Guardian Branch that can be used to gain entry to the Forest of Moore which is where Exdeath is trying to go next. Make your way back to the entrance. Put the stone back inside the center chest when you get to that puzzle.

 

[Dagger Dias]

SHOAT SIDEQUEST
My Level: 37 (Bartz), 36 (everyone else)

IMPORTANT NOTE: You need to do this sidequest NOW otherwise it is not available during the third world, and you are approaching the end of the second world. Do it now so that you do not forget about it. Just a recommendation. Or skip it completely. I never use Shoat. This is more for the completionists.

Take the submarine to the upper left corner of the map and you will see if you pull up the underwater map, a location called Sea Floor. Head there. It is an underwater cavern that leads to the world map. Save as soon as you get outside! A summon, Shoat, exists here as a random encounter and he could catch you off guard. Yes I know he is called Catoblepas in the later versions of the game. I hate that name revision, he will always be Shoat to me. There is also a forest here in the southeastern corner of the island with a female chocobo.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: SHOAT

No, I am NOT calling him Catoblepas. His name is Shoat. That was a stupid name revision. Anyway, Shoat uses the Evil Eye ability A LOT. You can either use a party of Dancers (someone would then be able to equip a Ribbon) or be prepared to use Soft potions. If you are able to end the battle quickly it would be an advantage to you. You could rely on Zeninage if you absolutely had to.... Once you win you get the summon. You have to use it as an item to unlock the spell as you did with some others.
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[Dagger Dias]

MOORE (TOWN)
My Level: 37 (Bartz), 36 (everyone else)

Take the submarine west of Ghido's cave to find the entrance to Moore. You will find it marked on the map luckily. Resurface when you get to the spot marked as Moore on the underwater map. On the main world map you find yourself in a small body of water surrounded by forested land. Disembark and enter the town. Don't go into the forest yet!

In town you can get a Main Gauche if you walk around the bar and look inside a barell. Inside the bar is a piano so go play it. You can also talk to the people in the bar to find out more about navigation through the forest. In the Armor shop buy 4 Tiger Masks, 4 Diamond Plates, and 4 Diamond Armlets. In the Magic shop buy Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga, Curaga, Reflect, Berserk, Graviga, Hastega, and Old. You've got more spells! Guess what that means? Time to level up our classes again. We'll need it. The next event is awesome but tough too.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: WHITE MAGIC (5)

CLASS: WHITE MAGE

LEVEL: 5

AP NEEDED: 70


My Thoughts:
This allows any class equipped with it to get access to casting the previous White Magic tiers alongside Curaga, Reflect, and Berserk. Each has its moments where it can be useful, especially Curaga. It will be useful for the rest of the game. A must for your healer(s).

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: BLACK MAGIC (5)

CLASS: BLACK MAGE

LEVEL: 5

AP NEEDED: 70


My Thoughts:
This lets the character equipped with it cast the previous Black Magic tiers as well as the addition of Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga. Extremely useful and it is recommended for your offensive caster(s). Few offensive spells are as powerful as these so get this as soon as you can.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: TIME MAGIC (5)

CLASS: TIME MAGE

LEVEL: 5

AP NEEDED: 70


My Thoughts:
This lets the character equipped with it cast the previous Time Magic tiers with the addition of Graviga, Hastega, and Old. Not as useful as its White and Black Magic counterparts on this tier. Hastega can be fairly useful although I never use Old or Graviga. Needed in order to get to a better tier so might as well get it now.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: SUMMON MAGIC (4)

CLASS: SUMMONER

LEVEL: 4

AP NEEDED: 60


My Thoughts:
This allows the character equipped with it to summon the previous tiers of summons as well as Carbuncle, Syldra, and Odin. You won't have any of them just yet but Carbuncle will be available soon. Carbuncle is in the last monster lair of world 2 and you only have a couple left at this time. Syldra is the only one out of this tier that I ever use. She's available in world 3 and you're almost to that point anyway. Getting this ability now before it's forgotten about.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: SPELLBLADE (5)

CLASS: MYSTIC KNIGHT

LEVEL: 6

AP NEEDED: 100


My Thoughts:
The Spellblades continue to be tougher to learn than their regular casting counterparts. You really want this one for your main figher(s). This allows you to add properties on your weapon for the previous Spellblade tiers as well as Firaga, Blizzaga, and Thundaga. Very highly recommended.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: EQUIP SHIELDS

CLASS: KNIGHT

LEVEL: 4

AP NEEDED: 100


My Thoughts:
Allows any class equipped with this ability to be able to equip shields. Only useful if you want Mimes at the end who can use shields and I typically prefer having my Mimes or Freelancers dual-wielding instead. You need this first in order to get to a better skill later. Getting it now, plus we don't want the Knights to fall behind.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: HP +10%

CLASS: MONK

LEVEL: 5

AP NEEDED: 100


My Thoughts:
It does exactly what it looks like it will do. Increases the maximum Health of whoever has it equipped by 10% of the current maximum. This is another one that I never really use. You only need to get this if you plan on mastering Monk, which you should do anyway for the strength stat boost upon mastering it. We don't want Monks falling behind, so we'll be getting this now if you're following along with my path.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: VIGILANCE

CLASS: THIEF

LEVEL: 5

AP NEEDED: 75


My Thoughts:
If you hate being attacked from behind then this is the ability for you. It helps prevent back attacks. There are better abilities out there plus a strong enough party can simply take a turn to re-adjust the rows then fight as normal. In other words, I don't use this ability. It is another stop on the way to getting that agility stat boost so I'll go ahead and get it now.

 

[Dagger Dias]

ABILITY SPOTLIGHT: EQUIP WHIPS

CLASS: BEASTMASTER

LEVEL: 3

AP NEEDED: 100


My Thoughts:
This lets any class equipped with it be able to equip whips if they could not before. You get a powerful whip in world 3 so consider this ability if you want Mimes to be able to equip it. Otherwise you won't need this ability.