Final Fantasy 6 Walkthrough with Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

LOCKE'S SCENARIO - SOUTH FIGARO
Party: Soldier Locke

Now the soldiers think you're one of them. The ones guarding will tell you to get back to work. Others gossip, one calls Kefka a clown. The Magitek Armored soldiers do not attack you now. The soldier blocking the path to the Inn and bar will move if you talk to him while dressed as the green soldier. He thinks it's his turn to take a break. Go the bar. Remember the guy who took cider to the old man? Go talk to him and whether you are dressed as a Soldier, Merchant, or Locke's normal outfit, he calls you a thief. We all know Locke won't react well that.


BATLE: Merchant

You can steal his clothing or defeat him. I'd steal the clothing so you can look like a merchant again. If you defeat him then there is another merchant in the Inn who you can steal his clothes from, he humerously claims he has nothing to sell you if you talk to him as a soldier. You need to be a merchant again to proceed.


LOCKE'S SCENARIO - SOUTH FIGARO
Party: Merchant Locke

Take the cider to the old man. You have to be a merchant to get the cider to the old man. He tells you to tell his grandson the secret password and this will convince him to show you a secret passageway but the old man forgot the password! You have to pick one when his grandson asks for it. It is "Courage". If you pick either of the other two a lightning sound effect plays and you end up back at Duncan's wife's house without your disguise if you were dressed as a Soldier or Merchant. I always wondered.... if that little boy knows lighting magic (Thundara given the sound effect) why didn't he fight the soldiers when they invaded? Oh well. What's also weird is that even if you are a green soldier the grandson will still let you give him the password after the first time you tell him it's "Courage". So head into the secret passage.

This takes you over to the mansion. Take the Elixir from the clock and go upstairs. No music plays in the mansion's main floor and upper floor for some reason. Go past the bookcase to the left of the rich guy to get to the basement. Now it sounds like a wind is blowing. Downstairs you get the chance to change back into your normal outfit. Don't. Celes' reaction to Locke while still disguised is more entertaining. Go over by the door and Locke will listen to soldiers interrogating Celes, who you now get to rename. Then if you are a Merchant or no longer disguised Locke hides by climbing up a pillar when the guard leaves. If you're a soldier Locke salutes the guard and pretends to be guarding the basement instead. Go inside and rescue Celes. The guard is asleep.



FIRST IMPRESSIONS - CELES AND LOCKE

Celes' first impression of Locke is a different line of dialogue depending on if you are still disguised when you rescue her.



Reaction to Green Soldier Locke: "You're awfully short for a soldier"

Reaction to Merchant Locke: "What do you hope to peddle down here?"

Reaction to undisguised Locke: "And you are...."

Unfortunately Locke permanently removes his disguise after this if you were disguised. Merchant Locke and Soldier Locke are now both unplayable for the rest of the game. They and their great sprites will be missed. Oh, well, let's proceed.

 

[Dagger Dias]

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: CELES

Celes is the 2nd playable character to have access to magic. While Terra's spells she gets from leveling are more offensive and lean toward the element of Fire, Celes' are more supportive for the most part and lean toward the element of Ice. She can cast Cure which is important at this point. Celes is an excellent addition to any team. As a former General in the Empire, she is proficient with many of the best swords and armor in the game. She is also one of the best casters in the game, in the top tier alongside Relm and Terra. I bring her quite a bit. In the second world she is the first one to become playable again. The love story between her and Locke is well written for a game this old, more on that later though. Her "angry" sprite (seen below, first from the left) might be the coolest looking sprite in the whole game. The only reason I don't rank Celes higher than I did is due to special abilities of others being superior.​

Special: Runic
Yeah, so I never use this. Ever. It nullifies the next spell to be cast and then Celes absorbs it with her sword for some Magic Points restored toward her total. The downside is your own party's spells can get absorbed by this, which is really annoying. The ability can be useful but I personally don't like it. Celes is so gifted at casting AND fighting that she doesn't even need this ability anyway. Leo's Shock skill would have been a better Special in my opinion.

Spells Learned by Leveling
Level 1 - Ice / Blizzard
Level 4 - Cure
Level 8 - Antidote
Level 13 - Imp
Level 18 - Scan
Level 22 - Safe / Protect
Level 26 - Ice 2 / Blizzara
Level 32 - Haste
Level 32 - Muddle / Confuse
Level 40 - Berserk
Level 42 - Ice 3 / Blizzaga
Level 48 - Vanish
Level 52 - Haste 2 / Hastega
Level 72 - Holy / Pearl
Level 81 - Flare
Level 98 - Meteor

Limit Break: Spin Edge

My biased character rank:

4th of 14

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[Dagger Dias]

LOCKE'S SCENARIO - ESCAPING
Party: Locke, Celes

Celes will not let you leave, even to get her better equipment. So much for that. The soldier who was guarding Celes has slept through their entire conversation. He talks in his sleep about eating soup and bread. Funny. Take the clock key he had and go use it to wind the old clock in the back of the room to the right. Now you can get down into the next room.

This part can be a little tricky because there are hidden paths in the walls. Go to the right a few steps and get an Iron Armor from the chest. Go to the right a little more. Now go up and follow the path to a couple of chests with a Heavy Shield and a Regal Cutlass. Give these and the Iron Armor to Celes. Back track the way you came a bit. Follow the path of the hallway and go south until your character sprite becomes unseen due to the graphics. From that spot go south two spots, then left three spots, and then down until you get to a hidden stairway. Downstairs is a chest with an Ether and another with an X-Potion. Walk directly south of the X-Potion chest and then inspect the wall, there was a chest here with a Ribbon relic! Go back upstairs. Work your way back into the hall you were going down and head south. A chest to the left has an Earrings relic. You're finally done with this area. Head up the stairs on your right, a talking scene between Locke and Celes plays out, and you emerge at a part of town you can safely leave from.

Now you can either go to Sabin's Cabin to rest, or through the South Figaro Cave. You cannot go to Mt Kolts, a soldier is blocking entryway. You also cannot re-enter South Figaro. When you are ready to proceed, go to the South Figaro cave, which now has stronger monsters and better treasure in it. Remember when I said to not open chests there the first time through? You're about to see why.

In the cave you will hear a rumbling sound as you explore. The chest in the left part of the main room now has an X-Potion if you never opened it. Go ahead if you want to, but there is still one more trip later in the game when another item is available here. The same goes for the chest in the right part of that room, it now has a Tincture. The chest upstairs now has a Thunder Rod which makes the upcoming boss fight MUCH easier. Go to the room where the turtle and the recovery water were. Get ready for a boss fight!

 

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BOSS BATTLE: Tunnel Armor

This fight can be ended in one turn if you use the Thunder Rod as an item. Celes casting it at level 14 will do over 2,400 damage! If you want to do this fight the harder way.... Locke should attack while Celes heals as necessary. The Tunnel Armor can use a Drill which looks weird because the animation makes it look like he throws a drill at you. The fight's not as hard as Vargas or even Ultros but if you are having trouble just use the Thunder Rod and end it fast.

Locke is done after this. If you're following my order then Sabin is up next!
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[Dagger Dias]

SABIN'S SCENARIO
Party: Sabin

Sabin has the longest and toughest of the three scenarios. You start off at a house in the middle of nowhere. Shadow is here! You can name him now if you haven't yet and you can also hire him. If you do hire him, he has a small chance of leaving after any battle on the main world map (he will not leave in the Imperial Camp or on the Phantom Train) but he will leave when you get to the waterfall. If you want more experience points for Sabin (or a challenge) then ignore Shadow. The game will still force you to name him later. A merchant(?) rides up on a chocobo. He may claim he's a merchant but he has the sprite of a soldier. Anyway, buy some stuff from him. If you did hire Shadow, buy as many Shurikens as you possibly can. I'll save Shadow's spotlight for the event he is required for later on.



THE WEIRD OLD MAN

Chances are you have seen this scene if you played the game before, but it's a classic and hilarious. Here it is in its entirety.


OLD MAN: You the clock maker? I been waitin for ages!

SABIN: Un no. I'm not the clock maker.

OLD MAN: There it is, on the wall. Ain't been tickin for 1, 5, shucks, maybe even 10 years!

OLD MAN: Lawnmower repairman, eh? Couldn't provide worse service! Grass's 25 feet high out back!

OLD MAN: No more lip, repairman! Fix that stove, on the double!!

SABIN (after touching the stove and burning himself): Yaaaouch!!!! Phew! No child couldbe this mischievious!

OLD MAN: Child....? Ain't no child round here! Bolderdash! I'm ready for you to leave! Go on, git! I'm tossin ya out onto the Veldt!

SABIN: I'd rather take a stick in the eye than deal with that guy again....

He'll also tell you to fix his bed too and if you come back with other characters he asks a few of them if they are there to fix the door. Funny stuff.




CHALLENGE NOTE

Want a challenge in the next couple of areas? Do not hire Shadow here. It's still quite doable, but it is easier with an extra ally. The fight against The Telstar in particular can be tough with just Sabin.

 

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CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: SHADOW

Shadow is optionally playable for the first time here and most people do hire him for Sabin's Scenario so I'll do his spotlight now even though he "officially" does not join until the end of the first world. Shadow is a great character, as his name implies he is one of the better character at evading attacks, sometimes his dog Interceptor jumps in to protect Shadow, which can result in Interceptor counter-attacking one of the enemies called "Wild Fang" or "Takedown" for decent non-elemental damage as long as the target is not floating. You can optionally hire Shadow twice. Once during Sabin's Scenario and a second time in the Kohlingen/Zozo events before the Opera House. He joins "officially" during the Crescent Island area, but leaves for a couple of events until you find him at the Floating Continent. If you wait for him to follow you off the island, he can then be optionally recruited in the second world. More on that when that event takes place. Shadow is counted by some as a secret character for that reason, it is possible to miss the opportunity to get him back in the second world. One odd thing about him is his "angry" sprite looks more sad than angry to me. He could be either a fighter or a caster, it's up to you. This balanced natural stat build and his Throw ability make Shadow a good addition if you want to bring him when you can. Try to view his dreams when you get a chance, randomly triggered to play when resting at an Inn. There's 4 total and each only plays once.​

Special: Throw
Shadow can throw an item at the enemy. Once thrown it "breaks" and you cannot get the item back. Buy lots of Shurikens (and Ninja Stars later in the game) or elemental Skeans for Shadow to throw. He can also throw old weapons you no longer need anymore, although it is often better to sell them for more GP instead. Just do NOT throw the Heal Rod at a party member. More on this when that item is available.

Limit Break: ShadowFang

My biased character rank:

7th of 14

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[Dagger Dias]

IMPERIAL CAMP
My Party: Sabin, Shadow

Ok, so whether you hired Shadow or not you now need to head to the Imperial Camp by Doma Castle. Let's go! If you have the Fire Dance Blitz then use that against groups of enemies. If you don't, you might want to level up until you do. If Sabin is by himself he will ask himself where all the soldiers came from, if Shadow is with you he will say there's too many soldiers. Either way, you end up hiding behind a wall as two soldiers start gossiping when you first enter. Sabin listens behind a wall. The soldiers do not like Kefka and respect General Leo. The gossiping soldiers are ordered to go attack Doma Castle by a higher ranking guard who has black armor. You get to name Cyan during the following scene!


DOMA
Party: Cyan

The goal here is to have Cyan go stand up to the leader of the soldiers who attacked the castle. You can fight each of the brown armored soldiers, but you do not get experience points for it so it's not even worth wasting time on doing so. Just go for the leader so this scene will end.


BATTLE: Leader

Pretty easy even though you only have Cyan. If you have Quadra Slam, just use that. If not, the basic first SwdTech of Dispatch will be fine.



IMPERIAL CAMP
My Party: Sabin, Shadow

And we're back to Sabin. Do not talk to the soldiers or else it triggers battles that you get no experience points for. There is a dog next to the tent at the right of the entrance. Go into the tent and try to open the chest. If you hit the chest a soldier hears you. Sabin hides and meows like a cat, the soldier falls for it. Odd. If you kicked it instead the dog will hear it and attack you.

BATTLE: Doberman

Use Fire Dance to finish them off quickly. If you don't have it then attack and heal with Tonics or Potions as needed.

Whether you tricked the guard into thinking you were a cat or you defeated the dogs you get a Star Pendant from the chest which now unlocks. Further down you see General Leo talking to a soldier. Sabin respects Leo with the classic line "He could be my friend if he weren't my enemy". Leo has to leave and he hands control over the camp reluctantly over to Kefka who goes behind Leo's back ordering a Poison attack on the castle. Sabin runs out from his hiding place to attack Kefka after hearing about the poison tactic. You enter a short battle with Kefka, which is basically a scripted victory unless you're super low on Health since he does still attack you. It's easy. Just attack him a few times or use a Blitz. Aurabolt will knock Kefka down which is funny looking. You will have to fight him again, just as easy the second time. Go into the tent above you to get a Mithril Glove from the chest on the right. The one on the left has a battle against a Telstar!

BATTLE: Telstar

This is actually kinda tough, especially if you didn't hire Shadow. Use Aurabolt unless you get Berserked. Then you kinda just have to sit back and watch Sabin fight uncontrollably, hoping you win. Telstar knows Tek Laser and can summon more guards with an alarm. Shadow should throw Shurikens if he is with you. All you get for winning this is a Green Beret Helmet so it's really not worth it.

Fed up with you chasing him, Kefka makes the soldiers fight you in his place as he runs off to unleash his poison.

BATTLE: Templar (2), Soldier (2)

Use the Fire Dance Blitz to finish them off as quickly as you can. Shadow should throw Shurikens.

 

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DOMA
Party: Cyan

Kefka has unleashed the poison. Everyone dies at the castle except for Cyan and one of the sentries. Go to the king's room which is downstairs and to the north. The king dies. Cyan and the sentry split up to look for survivors. Go through the lower right door and search the jar for a Remedy. Go through the upper right door to find Cyan's family, also gone. Cyan is enraged he storms onto the Imperial Camp to fight every soldier. Sabin shows up. Now you get to help Cyan!


IMPERIAL BASE
My Party: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan

If you step in between Cyan and the soldiers, then talk to Cyan while facing the soldiers, you will get knocked downward and Cyan asks if you're friend or foe. When you're done goofing around stand next to Cyan and some battles start.


BATTLE: Grunt (3)

These battles are odd in the sense that Cyan is there too, but he is computer controlled. He also shows up in the middle of the battlefield rather than in formation with you. Use Fire Dance. Cyan will attack you if you attack him, which is funny.

Cyan runs up to another group of soldiers. Keep helping him.

BATTLE: Grunt (2), Cadet

Very similar to the Grunt battle. Use the same strategies.

Hey! Magitek Armor! This is the 2nd of 3 times in the entire game that it is available, so enjoy it while it lasts. Sabin, Shadow, and Cyan all have the same Magitek abilities that Vicks and Wedge did. 3 elemental beams and a healing ability. Make your way to the entrance of the camp.

BATTLE: M-Tek Armor

Super easy. Have Sabin and Cyan heal each other up with Heal Force then use a Bolt Beam to finish the enemy off.

You will face a couple more enemy Magitek Armor groups as you escape the Imperial Base.

BATTLE: Soldier (2), M-Tek Armor

Also easy. Wait until only one enemy is left, heal up, and use a Bolt Beam to defeat the M-Tek Armor and Ice Beam on the soldiers.

Fight one more set of two M-Tek Armor enemies and then you're done. Hope you had fun with that because you will never be using Magitek Armor again other than in one optional quest very late in the game. The heroes disembark from the armor and leave the camp. The Phantom Forest is your next destination but before going there make sure you encounter at least one Stray Cat monster in battle. You'll need to in order for Gau, your next ally, to get one of his best abilities.

 

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CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: CYAN

Ugh.... I really dislike Cyan. His dialogue is highly annoying, speaking with words like "thy" and "thou". His sprite set is stupid, his theme music sucks, he is only proficient with Katana weapons (which for some reason got mistranslated as "Knives"), and he is HORRIBLE at casting unless you level him up many times with espers equipped who boost your magic stat. He can equip some good armor, but others like Edgar, Terra, or Celes all make better fighters. He has some cool abilities through his SwdTech but you have to wait for him to charge up in order to use some of the better ones. He's not worth wasting time on, but there are in fact other characters who are worse than him. I rarely ever bring him to any event other than what he is required for.​

Special: SwdTech
Cyan charges up until you confirm that you want to attack. The number corresponding to how long he charged up when you confirm determines the skill he will use. Some of these are cool, but the time that you waste in charging up can be better used for having other characters do their actions.


Level 1 - Dispatch (SwdTech 1)
Attack one target ignoring defense. The one I use the most other than the two Quadra techniques.

Level 6 - Retort (SwdTech 2)
Cyan delays his action unless attacked, if attacked he counters ignoring defense. I like Dispatch better. Don't get me started on "Psycho Cyan", I do not support exposing glitches.

Level 12 - Slash (SwdTech 3)
Halves HP of one target but many enemies are immune. Stupid. I never use this one.

Level 16 - Quadra Slam (SwdTech 4)
Cyan attacks 4 times. If multiple targets he might attack multiple targets but there are still only 4 hits. He laughs as he jumps in between slashes. This is cool, the one I use the most in the first world.

Level 24 - Empowerer (SwdTech 5)
Drains some HP and MP from one target. This heals undead enemies. Kinda stupid, and weaker than Quadra Slam so I rarely use it.

Level 34 - Stunner (SwdTech 6)
This hits every target for non-elemental magic damage and can inflict Stop status. If you feel it's worth the wait, try this out. It's Cyan's best area of effect skill, but both Quadra Slam and Quadra Slice are superior.

Level 44 - Quadra Slice (SwdTech 7)
Cyan's best ability. It takes a really long time to charge up for it, but he will do the exact same thing he does on Quadra Slam only it ignores defense. At a high enough level it can do a ton of damage.

Level 70 [or clear Cyan's Dream sidequest] - Cleave (SwdTech 8)
A colossal waste of time. It takes an eternity to charge this up and all you get for it is an attempt at using an instant defeat attack, that most enemies are immune to. Ridiculous. I hate this skill and never use it.

Limit Break: BackBlade

My biased character rank:
12th of 14

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[Dagger Dias]

PHANTOM FOREST
My Party: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan

The graphics here are great with trees and the beautiful recovery spring. You will see a fork in the road after the recovery spring. Take the northern path not the southern one, or else you end up back at the beginning of the forest. Then follow the path to the train. Cyan and Sabin get onboard the train (Shadow too if he was with you) and then the train starts moving. Now you're stuck onboard. You have to get to the engine. Go to the caboose first. There is a nice ghost there who will temporarily join your party if you'd like! If you don't have Shadow then you can recruit up to two friendly ghosts, just return to where the friendly ghost was and another respawns offering to join you. The 2nd one is weaker than the 1st. You cannot recruit a ghost if you have a full party. I would bring him along just for fun, but if you want more experience points for the main party then you should avoid him.


PHANTOM TRAIN
My Party: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Ghost

In the conductor's room of the caboose is a diary, a save point, and a switch. The train conductors are called "Impressario's" instead for some reason. This has to be a translation error. The Opera House "conductor" is also named Impressario. Either a translation error or "Impressario" may just be a common name in that universe. Cyan gets mad if you flip the switch. Now head back to the car you started in. Ghosts are in there! Some fight you, others will sell you items. A couple are recruitable. The next car has more ghosts of all three types. Fight the ones who attack you if you want the experience points.

The next car has no side door so enter from the front door. Once you are a few steps in, a ghost blocks the door. You can fight some more ghosts in side if you want, but you have to fight this ghost in order to advance. "N.o....e.s.c.a.p.e....!"



BATTLE: Ghost (3)

Use the Fire Dance Blitz and Cyan's Quadra Slam if you have them. Shadow and the Ghosts should attack if you have them with you.


When you defeat the ghosts blocking the doorway you can exit, but you begin being chased by more ghosts who keep saying "N.o....e.s.c.a.p.e....!" and "You can't escape.... Nowhere to run.... Nowhere to hide...." they chase you to the top of the car. Sabin makes the party run and jump to the next cart, they fall off the roof but seem safe, until one of the ghosts catches up to them! They decided to detatch the rear cars. Do so by flipping the switch in the next car. So long ghosts! I feel bad for the conductor in the caboose since he also got detatched, but oh well. Flip that same switch again to make a path open. There's a save point here, might be a good time to save before moving on. More ghosts in here of all three varieties, if/when you find a shopkeeper ghost buy some curative items if you need them.

 

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CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: GHOST

The game data codes the friendly ghost(s) names as "????" but I refer to them as the friendly ghosts. There's two of them that can fight alongside you. The first Ghost joins you first always and if you have room for the second (Shadow cannot be with you) then the second will join. You cannot have more than two ghosts in the party at once. The second one has weaker stats than the first. Neither have any backstory whatsoever and both are considered to be male though this has not been confirmed that I know of. The Ghosts both fight unarmed and due to being undead within the story, are damaged by restorative spells/items. They can be healed outside of battle though. If a ghost dies during battle, he gets removed from the party. Another friendly ghost will respawn on the train in any of the spots where the ghosts can be recruited though if you lose one. Sure, the Ghosts are weak, but they are fun to play as during the one event they can be recruited in.​

Special: Possess
Defeats one target but the ghost will be removed from the party.

 

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PHANTOM TRAIN
My Party: Sabin, Shadow, Cyan, Ghost

The next car is the dining car. The first time you sit down Sabin asks for all the food they have. Cyan questions if they should eat. Your Health Points all get restored to maximum. You can now see the four possible eating scenes if you go back and sit down again, depending on who is at the front of your formation.


DINING CAR SCENE DIFFERENCES

Repeating this scene with different characters at the front of the formation causes different lines of dialogue. Shadow talks to his dog Interceptor before eating and gives him some food. Cyan will have the exact same line as the first time, only Sabin does not encourage him to eat like he did the first time. If Sabin is the one to sit down again he has a bizarre line. "Food! Chop! Let's go slop the hogs!".... What....? The ghost waves his hands up and down while moving his head back and forth a bit then eats.



Exit and then enter from the left side instead of the right to open the chest next to the waiter ghosts to receive an Earrings relic. The next car has more ghosts but there are two compartments. Go into the rightmost one to find a chest. Try to open it and.... Siegfried appears.

BOSS BATTLE: Siegfried

Extremely easy. No wonder this was optional. Just attack him with regular attacks. He takes the treasure and runs off afterwards.

Proceed to your left. Enter the car from the side door on its right side. There's more ghosts in here and another Impressario/Conductor. Or maybe it's the same guy, and he somehow escaped before the other cars got detatched. Go into the compartment on the left side. It has chests with two Fenix Downs, a Specter hiding in a chest, a Sniper Sight.

BATTLE: Specter

This guy may catch you off guard if you're not ready. He is strong enough to survive a Fire Dance Blitz and a Quadra Slam if you're around level 17 so be careful. Heal up afterwards and during the battle with potions as needed. Remember that the ghosts are hurt by potions used on them in battle if you have them with you. Your prize for winning is a Hyper Wrist Relic.

If you had the ghost(s) with you, they will leave the party after this car. No matter what. So long, ghosts! You're almost at the engine now. Go save at the save point and then head inside the engine. Look in the upper left corner to see a hint. You have to flip the first and third switches in the engine, then go outside and flip the switch on the smokestack. This same hint is also writtin on the lower left wall corner. Flip the switches as the hint on the wall tells you and this makes the train itself talk to you, it is angry and it attacks you.

 

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BOSS BATTLE: GhostTrain

This is the easiest boss in the game if you use a Fenix Down, he dies instantly. The train is undead so you can also hurt it with potions. Tonic does 50 damage, Potion does 250, X-Potion does 1900. So does an Elixir. You can also do it the hard way for fun if you'd like. Sabin can use his blitz called Suplex to Suplex a train! It's awesome. Cyan should use Quadra Slam. Shadow, if present, should throw Shurikens.

A scene plays out afterwards where the dead from Doma board the train to leave this life, including Cyan's family. Depressing, really.
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BAREN FALLS
Party: Sabin, Cyan

This is where Shadow will leave you no matter what if you had hired him and he never left randomly after battles (which he sometimes does). Sabin and Cyan will jump over the falls if you inspect the end of the cliff. You have to fight some fish on the way down.


BATTLE: Piranha

You'll fight these guys in groups of twos and threes. They keep respawning until a minute has passed. Then after the group currently onscreen is defeated, the Rizopas boss shows up instead of another group respawn. These guys are really weak.

BATTLE: Rizopas

Unlike the Piranhas, the Rizopas is dangerous. Unleash your best blitzes and SwdTech to defeat him fast before he can use El Nino on you. At this point it is probably still Fire Dance and Quadra Slam respectively. If he gives you difficulty then level up and try again.

At the bottom of the falls you get to rename Gau, your next character. He doesn't join yet though. You're at the Veldt. Do not fight anything here as you won't get experience points. Random enemies from all over the game are encountered here. Head to the town of Mobliz in the far east part of the continent.

 

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MOBLIZ
Party: Sabin, Cyan

In the weapon shop guy a Mithril Claw for Sabin and a Kotetsu for Cyan. In the armor shop guy a Buckler for Gau, a Bandana for Sabin, then Iron Helmets for everyone else. Also get a Kung Fu Suit for Gau, then Iron Armor for everyone except both Sabin and Gau. Now go to the item shop and make sure to buy at least one Dried Meat. You need this to recruit Gau. There is an Elixir in the clock at the mail office (the building with the bird on the pedestal in front of it). Two teenagers named Katarin and Duane are in love. They do not speak now but they will be important later.


SIDE QUEST - SENDING LETTERS

There is an injured soldier in the house on the upper left side of town. He asks you to read a letter from Lola. Go inside the post office and offer to send mail to Lola. Now go talk to the guy to the right of the building who speaks of the Serpent Trench, say that you have not heard of it, and an overworld map scene will play out. Now go talk to the injured soldier again. He will have a new letter from Lola. Now he wants to send her a record, so go talk to the guy in the mail office and then the guy outside. The soldier has another letter. Now repeat the above to send Tonic. He has yet another letter, repeat the above to send a response. Another letter! Now you're sending a book. This time the soldier has no letter but he will give you a Tintinabar Relic.


You're done here, let's go recruit Gau.

Head out to the Veldt and get into a random encounter. If Gau appears, select Dried Meat from your inventory and use it on him. A weird dialogue scene plays out and Gau joins you. Then an Imp named Kappa shows up to give you a tutorial on Gau's ability, Rage. Fight around on the Veldt until you encounter a party of Stray Cats. Then have Gau use "Leap". Wait a couple of fights and Gau will return. Do not attack him. He will rejoin you if you wait and he will now know the Stray Cat rage which is really the only one you will ever need. It makes him randomly use a powerful attack called Cat Scratch.

When you are ready to proceed further, go to the mountain at the south. Gau will begin looking for the treasure he was going to give you. He forgot where it was. Search around the cave. In the corner northeast of where you started Gau searches, finding nothing. To the west of that is the edge of a platform, Gau finds a Tonic there. Cyan asks if that is the treasure, in an amusing little scene. Do not go up to the upper left edge! Gau will cause Sabin to lose a pouch that had 500GP in it! Move over to the darker square toward the lower right door, Gau find his treasure here, a diving helmet. Now you can swim through the serpent trench.

 

[Dagger Dias]

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: GAU

I really dislike Gau. He's a strange character that is difficult to play as properly unless you REALLY know what you're doing. He has no Fight command. Instead he has a Rage command that allows him to attack like an enemy he has encountered and Leaped after on the Veldt. Different enemy types will cause Gau to use different skills when entering a Rage. He becomes computer controlled for the rest of the current battle if he Rages. Gau cannot equip any weapons, but he can equip some armor and is ok at casting. He's not worth it, really. I never use him other than the one event he is required for, The Serpent Trench. I then re-recruit him in the second world but once he rejoins he sits on the airship for the rest of the game. He's not THE worst character in the game, but I find the time needed to learn good Rages to be a huge waste of time. Get Stray Cat, you'll never need any other Rage. Trying to learn every Rage is nearly impossible, but if you want to take on that challenge then by all means go for it.​

Speacial: Rage
Gau's replacement for "Fight". He enrages, become computer controlled, and begins doing randomly determined skills based off the skill set assigned to the monster you chose to Rage as.

Special: Leap
This is how Gau learns new Rages. Leap is only available on the Veldt. He jumps offscreen and observes the monsters. Fight a couple of battles then he will return, assuming you did not attack him. He will now be able to Rage as the enemy he Leaped to observe.

Gau has no Limit Break because he has no "Fight" command.

List of default Rages available
Brawler
Whisper
Were-Rat
Rhinotaur
Lobo
Hornet
Trilobiter
Exocite
M-TekArmor

My biased character rank:
13th of 14

​

 

[Dagger Dias]

SERPENT TRENCH
Party: Sabin, Cyan, Gau

You are swimming through the water and there are a couple of forks in the road. Pick the right path to get more battles and some items in underwater caves. During the battles Sabin should attack while Cyan should use Quadra Slam and Gau should use the Stray Cat Rage. The underwater music keeps playing here even during the battles which is a nice change of pace. The main monster you want to look out for is the Aspik. He has a powerful lightning attack. Always defeat him first if he shows up in battle. Restore everyone's health with potions in the caves. The chest in the first cave has an X-Potion. The second cave has an easy puzzle. Go upstairs and there is a water filled area, step on the switch to make the water drain. Now jump down the hole it drained down through. The chest in the next room has a Green Beret.


NIKEAH
Party: Sabin, Cyan, Gau

You wake up on the harbor of the town Nikeah. The ferry can take you out of town when you are ready to go, but you should go shop first. The Inn has an Elixir in its clock. If you did not give Edgar the Mithril Pike from Mog earlier, buy one for him here at the weapon shop. A weird scene will play out in the bar if you talk to the dancer, she hits on Cyan. He calls her a "licentious howler". As far as the rest of the shops are concerned, you're done unless you missed the equipment you needed to buy in Mobliz. Talk to the sailors to board the ship and this scenario is finally over. That was longer than Terra's and Locke's quests combined! If you have played out all three, a meeting takes place in Narshe and then you get to fight a war!

 

[Dagger Dias]

NARSHE - WAR AGAINST KEFKA

Before the battle begins, you get a chance to equip everyone. You start out as Terra and everyone is in a line. Go the menu and select optimum from the equip screen. Do this for everyone to double check that you have their best equipment set. Easiest way to do it is to go from left to right in the line starting with Terra then switching to Locke and making your way down to Gau. Here are my set ups:

TERRA
Regal Cutlass
Mithril Shield
Iron Helmet
Iron Armor

LOCKE
Air Lancet
Guardian Knife
Iron Helmet
Iron Armor

CELES
Regal Cutlass
Heavy Shield
Iron Helmet
Iron Armor

CYAN
Kotetsu
Heavy Shield
Iron Helmet
Iron Armor

EDGAR
Mithril Pike
Heavy Shield
Iron Helmet
Iron Armor

SABIN
Mithril Claw
Buckler
Bandana
Kung Fu Suit

GAU
Unarmed
Buckler
Iron Helmet
Kung Fu Suit


Be sure to save at the save point!!!! Now you have to form a set of three parties to fight Kefka's army. The possibilities are countless, so I will throw out some suggestions that I like before the battle begins. You will switch between the groups with Y just like you did with Locke and the Moogles in the mines. You MUST have 3 groups. The game will not let you use two groups with one having 3 and the other having 4 even if that would have been the easiest way to split the team.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PARTY SUGGESTION #1 - SCENARIO SPLIT

Party A
Terra, Edgar

Party B
Locke, Celes

Party C
Sabin, Cyan, Gau

This is the split for the scenarios you just did. The two smaller parties have curative magic members in them while the group of three has three attackers. Locke's party might struggle a little bit here but Celes can heal Locke with magic. Sabin's party could be the line of defense while either Terra's or Celes' party goes after Kefka. The third party that isn't going after Kefka would be the secondary line of defense.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PARTY SUGGESTION #2 - Moogle Placeholders

Party A
Sabin, Celes

Party B
Locke, Cyan, Edgar

Party C
Gau, Terra


Wondering what the significance of this setup is? These groups are taken using the placeholder trivia of the Moogle parties who helped Locke in the beginning. Party A was Mog's party, Party B was Locke's party while Party C was the all moogle NPC party. This is pretty evenly distributed. Locke's party has no healer, but between Cyan's Quadra Slam and Edgar's Autocrossbow you still have enough area of effect attacks that they may be ok. Locke's party should be the main line of defense while either Terra's or Sabin's party goes after Kefka. Make your third party then be the secondary line of defense.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PARTY SUGGESTION #3 - One Party Challenge (With Terra)

Party A
Terra, Celes, Edgar, Sabin

Party B
Locke

Party C
Gau, Cyan

The point of this is to set up the most balanced party to get through this battle using only one group. Locke is in deep trouble if anyone gets to him so have him hang out in the back by Banon. Gau and Cyan can be a backup group but leave them out of it, the point of this is to get through as many toops as possible (including Kefka) with just Terra's party. It can be done and it's a great source of leveling up.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PARTY SUGGESTION #4 - One Party Challenge (Without Terra)

Party A
Locke, Celes, Edgar, Sabin

Party B
Terra

Party C
Gau, Cyan

Here is the party setup that I use for this event, I saved it for last out of my suggestions for that reason. Pretty much the same thing as my 4th suggestion, but Terra is by herself. She leaves for several events after this war anyway, so the point of this setup is to offer a 1 party challenge and also keep Terra out of action so she doesn't take anyone else's experience points. Gau and Cyan are your backup group, but try to get Locke's party to defeat as many troops as possible. These are the same four I'll be using for the next several set of events anyway so this is a great spot to level them all up.

 

[Dagger Dias]

NARSHE 3 PARTY BATTLE VS KEFKA'S ARMY
My Party (Primary): Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Locke
My Party (Secondary): Cyan, Gau
My Party (Third): Terra


Ok so ideally you want to have your three parties guarding each of the three main paths the enemies are taking. The rightmost path gets attacked the least so put your weakest party there. Your two better groups should be in the left and middle path respectively. You can then play defensively and let the soldiers come to you until all troops have been defeated other than Kefka and the guarding him. Or you can play offensively by having the two weaker parties guard two paths (one guards the left path while the other guards both middle and right) and a third party makes their way down to Kefka.

Wanna do this the hard and more fun way? Me too. I picked a party of Locke, Celes, Edgar, and Sabin since they are the ones who need the experience anyway for the next few events and had them defending all three paths! You have to work your way around very quickly. In battle have Sabin doing Fire Dance, Edgar using Autocrossbow, Locke attacking, Celes healing or attacking (conserve her Magic Points as much as you possibly can!!!!) The troops attack in numbers. Be ready to go over to the right side if you were just in the left side, for instance. It can be done, and your one party gets a lot of experience points for it. Just don't let anyone reach Banon or it's game over. One enemy unit guards Kefka, so once you're ready go after that enemy, then after Kefka. If you defeat all the troops then have your strongest teams going after Kefka and his guard unit. Or if you did my strategy then Celes should still have her MP full and you had enough potions to keep everyone healed up between fights, you'll be good to go for the two bosses.



SECRET LINES OF DIALOGUE DURING THIS EVENT

Talking to another party triggers a unique line of dialogue depending on who is at the front of that group's formation! Here is what each character will say....

TERRA: Kefka.... He stuck that crown on me? (facing south looking down/sad sprite)

LOCKE: Bloody Empire!! We are your worst enemy! (embarrassed sprite [the one edgar is showing on his rename screen])

EDGAR: Kefka.... grr.... What's he up to....? (facing south but looking left sprite)

SABIN: Master Duncan's techniques mustn't fail me. (ready to attack sprite)

CELES: I'm free.... The Empire can't control me! (angry sprite)

CYAN: I will avenge the people of Doma!! (ready to attack sprite)

GAU: GAU hit hard!!!! (ready to attack sprite)

BANON: We're history if they reach me! Good luck! (faces south normal sprite)


There is one soldier who runs back and forth in front of Kefka. He is the only one that does not try to get up to Banon. You CAN avoid him, but it's tough. Might as well just fight.


BATTLE: Rider

This is the guard unit who is protecting Kefka at the bottom of the screen. Unleash your Fire Dance Blitz on him, Autocrossbow, have Locke attack or use potions, and Celes should heal as needed or attack. As for other characters if they are with you.... Terra has the same tactics as Celes. Gau should use Stray Cat Rage. Cyan should use Quadra Slam. He has a lot of health, but you should be alright. If you were using multiple parties it is recommended to have one of the other groups take on Kefka if this guy weakens you. If you only used one party, be sure to heal up with potions before facing Kefka.


Oh, one quick thing. If you are following my 1 party of Celes/Locke/Sabin/Edgar then go ahead and switch over to the other two teams for a moment if you are down to only Kefka with no remaining other enemy units. Un-equip Terra, Gau, and Cyan. Terra will not be playable after the Kefka battle for a long time. I stop using Cyan and Gau here until pretty much the second world here as well. You're welcome to bring them on the next quest if you want, but Cyan and Gau are both done in terms of fighting for now for me. You can sell their equipment for more GP toward more potions or more equipment for the characters I do use, later on. Anyway, let's fight Kefka next.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Kefka

This is actually a bit tough. Make sure whichever party challenged him is ready and at full Health Points. Preferably Terra/Celes should be at full Magic Points too. Have Celes/Terra healing with Cure as needed. The Rider was tough but Kefka is stronger and can cast some spells on you. Sabin should use Fire Dance, Gau if present should use the Stray Cat Rage, Cyan if present should use Quadra Slam, Locke should attack. Celes should heal if needed or attack. Have Terra if present follow the exact same tactics as Celes. Once you defeat kefka he retreats and any remaining enemy units if there were any will automatically disappear.
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

The party goes up to see the frozen Tritoch esper. Terra reacts to it, changes form, and flies off. The party then has a meeting in the old man's house. They are going to look for Terra while those not exploring will protect the town. You pick up to 4 to go look for Terra. I personally recommend Locke, Celes, Edgar, and Sabin for two reasons. The first is, they have side quests you can do in the next couple of areas. Second, they are overall better than Cyan and Gau.


PARTY CHANGE LINES

Thought it'd be fun to keep track of these throughout the game. This is what the characters say at your base/airship/etc when you come to switch party members. Here's what they say at this time.

LOCKE: I promised TERRA I'd.... keep her safe....

EDGAR: Find TERRA!

SABIN: I'll watch over Narshe! Go quickly!

CELES: She ripped outta here! Looked just like.... an Esper....

CYAN: We have to help her!

GAU: GAU.... GAU do his best!



NARSHE
My Party: Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Locke

So now you are free to explore the city. Go buy some equipment (I'll get to that in a moment) and you can freely look around the town. Follow the path south of the old man's house where your non-active party members are. Inside is a treasure room with chests containing 5000 GP, a Wall Ring, a Sneak Ring, Earrings, a Hyper Wrist, and a ThiefKnife. The one in the back is locked but you will get a chance to return later for this chest, it deals with a sidequest available later down the line.

The Armor shop is to the left of the old man's house. Buy Mithril Shields for Edgar, Sabin, Cyan, Celes, Gau, and Locke (unless you have him equipped with the Genji Glove like I do). The rest you should already have if you bought everything I recommended in Nikeah and Mobliz. To save more money, ignore buying anything for the members not in your active party. For me that is Cyan and Gau. They are done until the second world for me at this point. The clock in the elder's house (far left side of town) has an Elixir in it.

The weapon shop is the only other main point of interest right now. Go down all the steps fron the old man's house where the other heroes are, then take a left until you see the sign with the sword on it. It's in that house. Buy two Full Moons for Locke and put him in the back row with the Genji Glove! These do the same damage from the back row so he will take less damage despite not having a shield, and the damage they do at this point of the game is great. You can buy a Mithril Pike for Edgar if he still doesn't have one, a Kotetsu for Cyan even though I'm not using him at the moment, and a Mithril Claw for Sabin if he doesn't have it yet. Celes can use the Flail but she cannot Runic if she is equipped with a Flail so keep that in mind. The bed in the back room of the weapon shop is a free night's rest. Not that you need it though as the training room at the town entrance also has a free restore through the recovery jar.

You can go into the mines if you want. Remember the right path from the very beginning that Terra and the soldiers could not go through with Magitek Armor? Now you can. The path in there leads to.... the snow field where you fought Kefka's army. The frozen esper is at the summit.




UMARO IN THE WORLD OF BALANCE?

At the entrance of the mines you might see a yeti sneak his head out of a hole and make faces. That's Umaro, a secret character who can be recruited in the second world. You cannot talk to him or get to where he is yet. You can only wait and see him peeking out and make faces. This is the only place he shows up in during the first world.


That's it for now. Next we'll pick up with some side quests before heading to Zozo.