Only 3 commands this time. Umaro does not get an Item command, so neither will you in this set-up. Now, I had to get creative here. Gau can use Umaro's Snowstorm ability through the Black Dragon Rage, so that's why you get to use Rage. Gogo cannot use Umaro's throwing allies at enemies ability. So this is as close as it gets.
Leo cannot cast spells, so neither can you in this set-up. Retainer's Rage allows Gau to use Leo's popular Shock command. Make sure to equip Gogo with the Offering Relic (Leo had one) and the Gradeus Knife, it is the closest thing to Leo's Crystal Sword (and Gogo's ultimate weapon in the main story anyway). Have fun with this one, it's the closest the game lets you get to having General Leo in the main party! Leo obviously heavily outclasses Gogo at the 4x melee attack, but this is more about Shock than anything. Gogo's better at Shock than Leo is!!!! Surprising, huh? Oh, and Shock does magical damage, so Gogo will be better at it than Gau when you use the Retainer Rage.
Banon did not have a Magic command, so neither will you. His Health command was essentially casting Cura (Cure 2) without using any Magic Points. The closest thing to this is the Dahling Rage which allowed Gau to cast Cure 2. Gogo will be more effective at this than either Banon OR Gau! By the time you get Gogo, Health would have almost completely outlived its usefulness. You're expected to start learning Cure 3 by that point. Anyway.... Not as cool as the Leo set-up, but still worth trying out.
Every ability here is magically oriented. Unleash the entire spellbook whether it be Restorative, Offensive, Supportive, or a Lore! Provided the other characters in the active party know the spells and Strago knows the Lores, of course. Runic's thrown in there too for absorbing spells. I don't like it, but it fit better for an "all magic" theme for a set-up. Want to fully utilize Gogo as a caster? This is the set-up you want to give him/her.
This is a popular set-up for Gogo to allow for some melee type abilities to be used in favor of Magic or Lore. Stick to the magical attacks like the Bum Rush Blitz or the Stunner SwdTech for more effectiveness since Gogo's not much of a fighter. There's a lot of diversity in the skills open to you here, and without having to turn Gogo into a berserker like Dance or Rage do.
I've already gone into detail for why giving Gogo both Magic and Lore boosts his/her potential, include Blitz as well for Bum Rush which is such an incredibly popular ability for a reason. Gogo can still be effective with it due to it being considered a magical attack, and it gives you a powerful option for something to do when you're not relying on a spell or a Lore. You want the best possible set-up for Gogo, in my admittedly biased opinion? This one, right here. Use this set-up. You won't regret it. Unless you hate Blitz (I know there's some who do) and in that case you should give Gogo the Tools command or SwdTech. Whichever you prefer. Drill doesn't require you to wait an eternity to charge up while Quadra Slice would attack 4 times in the same turn. That decision is up to you. Blitz would be better though. So.... yeah. This is my favorite Gogo set-up of all!
This place has not changed since the first world. The script in the dressing room even still has the same page open! Well, it did change in one capacity. Go upstairs and talk to the Impressario to learn that a dragon is on the stage scaring everyone. Go into the upper right room and flip the switch third from the left to end up on stage, the battle starts once you do.
HARD MODE NOTE:
This event is available, but it will not serve much of a purpose to do as you cannot defeat all of the dragons and no one can equip the Magus Rod you win.
This dragon looks more like a dinosaur than a dragon.... Anyway, he is very physically strong. His weaknesses are Wind and Water. Have Gogo or Strago use the Big Guard Lore to increase everyone's defenses right off the bat. They could assist with casting and healing after that, or cast Aero to hit the weakness the dragon has to the Wind element. Mog and Edgar should Jump with a Dragon Horn equipped. Shadow can Throw Water Skeans if he is with you. Make casters such as Relm, Terra or Celes your primary healers. Sabin should use his strongest Blitz (Bum Rush at this point if you have been to see Duncan) or attack with his claws. Gau should keep using the Stray Cat Rage. Have Locke attack from the back row with his Snipers, equipped with a Genji Glove and the Offering if you have it by now. Cyan should use Quadra Slice if he has it, or Quadra Slam. Setzer is best off attacking with his dice or using GP Rain if you can afford it, or assisting with healing and casting. Umaro better be equipped with the Rage Ring if you brought him here. That should cover what your party ought to be doing. If you're struggling level up and try again. This is one of the stronger dragons so do not feel bad if you get defeated. Your healers should have mastered Starlet and Phoenix by now. Do so if you haven't. Oh, and wear Gaia Gears if you have them, since the dragon might cast Quake.
Your prize for winning is a Magus Rod! Give that to Strago.
SOLITARY ISLAND REVISITED
My Party: Umaro, Celes, Locke, Gogo
If you return to the Solitary Island after getting the airship.... there is a new piece of magicite on the beach by Cid's house! It is the Palidor esper. Cid is in his house if you had saved him. He thanks Celes even if she is not with you in your party.
UMARO'S CASTING SPRITE
Yep, he has one within the game's data! Seen above, in case you missed it in the game. It is only possible to view this sprite during this event so make sure you bring Umaro to the Solitary Island to get the Palidor esper. Have Umaro be at the front of the party and then grab the magicite, he will be in his casting sprite's image when you obtain the magicite. It is proven that this is his casting sprite since if you switch whoever is at the front of the party after this without moving, anyone else will be in their recognizeable casting sprite.
HARD MODE NOTE:
Nothing changed here compared to playing the game normally, other than you won't get to see what Umaro's casting sprite looked like. This side quest is still available.
Paidor's usefulness depends mainly on if you care about support spells. Haste and Haste 2 could be useful if you want your characters to act faster in battle. I never use Slow or Slow 2 personally. Float may come in handy against the Dirt Dragon, but equipping Gaia Gears is also effective there. While offering a spell teaching list that's ok but not amazing, Palidor does have one of the game's coolest summons. He makes each member of the active party perform a Jump attack. It could make you evade a dangerous enemy attack.... but also who doesn't like Jump attacks? Especially when done by Edgar or Mog when equipped with a spear. In other versions his name was changed to Quetzalli. I like the name Palidor better.
DUNCAN'S HOUSE
My Party: Edgar, Sabin, Terra, Locke
You had this party at the beginning of the game when Sabin first joined and spoke of Master Duncan, so it only feels right to bring the same group when you finally find him. Sabin must be with you for the event to play out. Otherwise Duncan just jumps around in the cabin and will not talk to you. Fly northeast of Narshe and you will see a group of trees in a plus sign formation. Enter that. Duncan will recognize Sabin and teach him the Bum Rush Blitz!
NO, THAT'S NOT BANON!
Duncan looks just like Banon but with the same color scheme that Locke's sprites have. Rumors have speculated if they are the same person since Banon never appears in the second world and Duncan never appears (to you anyway) in the first world. It's got to just be a coincidence, they have similar sprites. The similarities end there.
HARD MODE NOTE:
You can visit the cabin, but nothing will happen since you cannot recruit Sabin and he is required for the scene to trigger.
Go to Figaro after having gotten the airship and ask the old man to move the Castle. You will bump into something on the way. You have the option to keep moving or to go explore. If you explore you can go through the hole in the walls of one of the cells in the dungeon. The hole leads to an underground path. The Serpent Trench theme plays here for some reason. If you bring Strago he can learn Cleansweep from the Enuo monster encountered here.
The first room has a weird layout. The right path ends up forming a platform over the left path. Make your way to the lower left corner of the room. There is a chest with a Wing Edge. The chest in the lower right corner has an Ether. Go through the left door out of the three along the south wall. Follow the path and go down the stairs, to the north will be a chest with Doom Darts. Sell these when you get to a town. Now go back through the door to where you were. Head through the right door out of the three along the south wall. The next room has a chest with an optional boss in it....! The Master Tonberry. I'll cover the bosses of this area in a moment. Your prize for defeating him is the Gradeus Knife. Many characters can equip it, but give it to Gogo. He needs it the most.
Go through the wall to your left to be on a platform underneath the path you took to get to the Doom Darts. Keep going left until you leave the screen. In the next area, go left a bit and you will see a stairway going downward. Go south of the stairway to find a couple of chests. They have a Magicite item and an X-Potion. Now go down the stairway. Use the save point down here if you need to, then go up the next stairway to be at the ruins of a castle. You find out that a battle was fought here between Odin and a powerful sorceror inside the castle during a war 1000 years ago. Head north toward the gates. Go through the door to the right of the main gates. Inside is a chest with a Punisher. Go through either one of the two doors to the left of the gates to find a chest with another optional boss in it, the Katana Soul! Your prize for defeating him is one of the best items in the game, the Offering Relic! It makes you attack 4 times in a row. Give it to Locke along with the Genji Glove so he will attack 8 times.
Now go inside the main castle gates. Go through the door and you will be in the main hall. Inspect Odin's statue and it turns into magicite. Go through the left door in the upper right corner. In here are two chests that have a Gold Hairpin which you should give to your best caster and a Blizzard Orb for Umaro. Go to the right in the main hall to find a stairway leading into a room that has a bookshelf that for some reason has a shiny light. Inspect that. It is the Queen's diary and she wrote about her love for Odin, Terra reacts to this if she is in your party. To get to the next basement, go back to the throne. Now go 5 spaces south of the right throne (you should be on a set of stairs) and inspect the floor, there was a switch there. You'll be able to go down the stairs now. Down in the basement is a statue of the queen, who looks just like Celes did when she was pretending to be Maria the opera singer. The Blue Dragon is down here as well. You can battle him if you feel you are prepared.
WARNING REGARDING ODIN!
Do NOT inspect the Queen's statue if you do not want to lose the Odin esper. You lose it once you inspect the statue. You get a better esper in return, but he teaches a different spell. Odin is one of two espers to teach Meteor, so make sure you have finished teaching everyone Meteor (or can wait until you get Crusader) before turning Odin into Raiden.
HARD MODE NOTE:
You can do this event but make sure that all three characters have learned Meteor before turning Odin into Raiden. You do not have access to any other esper in this challenge that can teach Meteor.
I'm not calling him "Master Pug". That's a stupid mistranslation. His real name is Master Tonberry. Anyway, he's just like the regular Tonberries only stronger and has better spells. He can cast Holy/Pearl, Cleansweep, Quake, Step Mine, Fire 3, Ice 3, and he can change his elemental weakness. You are best off relying on non-elemental attacks since he can change his elemental weakness. His Health Point count is pretty high, so take the extra measure by having non-elemental attacks ready that hit multiple times like Cyan's Quadra Slice or by making Mog/Edgar Jump with a Dragon Horn. Bring a dedicated caster like Terra to heal. He gets closer and closer to your party through the fight, kind of like the regular Tonberry enemies did, and when he gets to where your party is he uses the powerful Cleaver attack before re-appearing on the left side of the screen. While not awful, this boss may defeat you if you aren't prepared.
Give the Gradeus Knife you win afterwards to Gogo.
HARD MODE:
Celes needs to be your main caster here but Setzer can help her in that area. Edgar needs to be Jumping with a Dragon Horn equipped every round. Watch out for Step Mine. Give Celes the Gradeus Knife afterwards.
This guy can be deadly. If you cast spells on him three times in a row he will throw an Ashura Katana at someone hitting them for several thousand points of damage, then use GP Rain on you. If you attack him physically six times he will use an instant death ability on one character. He can attack on his normal turns with elemental skeans. If enough time passes he gains Blink, Reflect, and Haste status! So, the key here is switching it up a bit between magical and physical attacks. Have your fighters using their special abilities and your casters using their magic. If Gogo or Strago are with you, Big Guard might be a good idea too.
HARD MODE:
This is actually a bit tough with only three. Edgar should Jump with the Dragon Horn equipped. Have Celes and Setzer healing as needed but do not forget to have at least one of them cast a couple of spells on the boss. Do NOT rely fully on magic or fully on physical attacks or you'll regret it. Give the Offering to Setzer afterwards along with 2 Dice and a Genji Glove, then watch him what happens afterward. 8 dice rolls to attack! Granted the degree of damage inflicted is random, but it's great. With 8 rolls you're almost guaranteed for a couple of them to be high rolls.
Despite the intimidating graphic he has, this guy is not too tough. Have your casters cast Bolt 3 on him and be ready to heal. Your fighters should use their strongest abilities. Locke with the Offering and Genji Glove, Terra casting spells while Morphed, and Mog Jumping while equipped with a Dragon Horn made this a fairly short battle. The dragon relies on water attacks such as Cleansweep, Acid Rain, and Flash Rain. Do NOT bring Shadow to this fight! The dragon might use a spell called Rippler that has a glitch, this glitch causes Shadow to lose Interceptor's protection. Not much else to look out for. He's got a lot of Health Points but compared to the Katana Soul and Master Tonberry he's actually the easiest of the three bosses in this event.
HARD MODE:
You can fight the dragon here, but like I said about the Dirt Dragon, there's not much of a point to it since you cannot complete the dragon side quest anyway.
You'll get a Scimitar for winning. Now you're done here. Head back to Figaro Castle and move the castle back to where you had the airship, likely Kohlingen.
Summon: Zantetsuken / Atom Edge (70 MP)
Attempts to instantly defeat enemies.
Spells Taught:
Meteor x1
Level up bonus while equipped: Speed +1
Odin has a really cool looking sprite and is the only esper in the SNES version that gives a Speed boost upon leveling up. However, his summon isn't that great and there's really no reason not to upgrade him to Raiden. Crusader teaches Meteor faster while Raiden has a spell exclusive to him.
Summon: Shin-Zantetsuken / True Edge (80 MP)
Attempts to inflict instant death, stronger rate of success than Odin's version.
Spells Taught:
Quick x1
Level up bonus while equipped: Strength +2
Raiden is better than Odin in nearly every capacity. His summon still sucks but is a little more effective. He teaches a better spell. The only downside to Raiden is not getting the Speed boost upon leveling. I'd rather have the Quick spell personally. You don't need ridiculously high Speed stats if you have that spell.
LEVIATHAN - GBA SIDEQUEST
Party: Celes, Mog, Locke, Gogo
This is a new sidequest that was added in the GBA version. To do this event you first have to have access to the airship. Talk to a guy in South Figaro who is standing by the Chocobo stable. He says he saw a shadow while sailing. Now go get onto the ferry from South Figaro's dock or Nikeah's dock. Leviathan will attack the party while you are out at sea.
LAST CHANCE FOR MOG'S WATER RONDO DANCE!
Bring Mog if you forgot to learn Water Rondo in the first world, this is your final chance to learn it in the second world as it is the only water battle. That is, unless you're playing the SNES or PSX versions which this event does not exist in.
HARD MODE NOTE:
This is available in hard mode, but not in the SNES or PSX versions. It didn't exist until the GBA version got released. It's tougher than most of the second world so save it for later on when you've had the chance to level up significantly.
This is hard. Do not attempt this boss unless your healers have learned Cure 3 or at the very least Cure 2. If you have any Thunder Rods, now's the time to use them. Have your best caster use one the first chance they get. Terra, Celes, and Relm would be good choices for this. If you've learned Thundaga (Bolt 3) then use that with your casters. Strago or Gogo casting Mighty Guard is also a great idea. Shadow should throw Thunderblades or Shurikens. Be ready to use your strongest attacks. Give both the Offering and Genji Glove to one of your fighters, for me in this case it was Locke. Keep your casters healing each round because Leviathan will use Tsunami a lot and it does a lot of damage.
HARD MODE:
This is even harder, for obvious reasons. Celes should use a Thunder Rod as soon as possible if you have any, if not then have her heal or cast Thundaga (if you have it). She should heal each round after that. Setzer should attack with his dice if you can afford to, otherwise have him help Celes with the healing. Edgar needs to be Jumping every round while equipped with the Dragon Horn. Make absolute certain that everyone knows Cure 2.
You will end up in Nikeah (or South Figaro depending on which town you were on your way to) with the Leviathan magicite added to your collection. You will need to ride the ferry back to the town you came from though, since the airship is there.
Summon: Tidal Wave (70 MP)
Lots of water damage to enemies
Spells Taught:
Flood x2
Level up bonus while equipped: Stamina +2
Leviathan uses a modified FF5 Leviathan sprite in this game, giving a very similar appearance to the FF5 version of Leviathan. He teaches a new spell, Flood. It's pretty cool. Better spells exist, although it is worth checking out whether you are a completionist or want a water elemental spell that isn't a Lore. His summon is also a water elemental and isn't bad. It's great to have Leviathan added to FF6 in the GBA version. His addition made me happy more out of nostalgia than anything else although I do like the new Flood spell.
CACTUAR - GBA SIDEQUEST
Party: Edgar, Terra, Celes, Locke
The first thing you need to do is speak to a thief in Maranda who mentions hunting cactuars. He is in the lower left corner of town, you will know him because he has a blue bandana instead of the red or black bananas the thieves normally have. He will speak of a massive cactuar. This triggers the event. Go out into the desert and begin fighting random encounters. You have to defeat ten regular Cactuars and then stand on a specific spot. It is in the middle of the desert on the left side. You'll want to be vertically parallel with the part that sticks out to the top of the lower left part of the desert and horizontally parallel to the part that sticks out to the left. Stand on the square where these spots line up. Sorry, I really do not know how else to explain that. If all else fails try standing on every single square of the desert one after another once you have defeated 10 Cactuars. The encounter is fixed and the trigger is defeating at least ten.
BATTLE: Cactuar
Make sure you bring Edgar or Umaro, they are good at killing Cactuars. Use Edgar's Drill or have Umaro defeat them with his beserked attacks. If Strago or Gogo know 1000 Needles (Blow Fish) then it will one shot the Cactuar since they only have 3 Health Points. It is their perfect defense stat of 255 that is the problem, and their high evasion rate. If your Health is high enough attacking with the Atma Weapon equipped is not a bad idea either.
CACTROT....?
The Cactuars were initially mistranslated as Cactrots. So not only is this event unavailable in the original versions, the monster's name isn't even accurate. I'm not calling them Cactrots. That's a stupid name. At least it's a better translation error than calling the Tonberries "Pugs" was.
HARD MODE NOTE:
This is available in hard mode, but not in the SNES or PSX versions. It didn't exist until the GBA version got released. Since it is tougher than most of the second world (and tougher than the Leviathan quest as well) you should save it for later on when you've had the chance to level up significantly.
Ok here you need to be really careful. This boss, based off the Jumbo Cactuar from FF8, loves to use the 1000 Needles skill. Always, always, ALWAYS keep everyone above 1,000 health. He will counter attack with a Knockdown attack pretty often. Edgar's Drill is good here because it will not trigger the counterattack. Neither will casting Ultima if your casters have learned it. You could cast Safe to help against the Knockdown counter but it would not help against 1000 Needles. You can consider casting Life 3 because when he runs out of health he will use a final attack, ten seperate consecutive 1000 Needles attacks. You will receive the Cactuar esper after the battle.
HARD MODE:
Edgar uses Drill while both Setzer and Celes keep healing each round. Not much else you can do really, as you have to keep your health as high as possible. If you want you can have either Setzer or Celes casting offensive spells, but your priority is keeping the party alive. Really tough, especially if you're still on low levels.
Summon: 1000 Needles (50 MP)
Does 1000 damage to all enemies, or has a chance of summoning Gigantuar to use 10,000 needles for 9,999 damage to all enemies.
Spells Taught:
Warp x20
Vanish x10
Haste 2 x5
Level up bonus while equipped: Speed +2
Cactuar is the worst of the new espers. His summon is the weakest unless you happen to get lucky and summon the 10,000 Needles version. No spells are exclusive to Cactuar. The speed boost is good, however, for those who want to upgrade Odin without missing the chance to take advantage of Odin's speed boost upon leveling. I don't care about receiving speed boosts upon leveling that much and better summons exist, so while it is cool to have Cactuar as a new esper in the GBA content, it doesn't change the fact that that Cactuar's honestly the worst of the new espers overall. Still, for the completionists or those who wanted a new sidequest, he's still worth getting. If anything, he teaches Haste 2 at a faster rate than Palidor, so there's that.
GILGAMESH - GBA SIDEQUEST
Party: Edgar, Celes, Terra, Locke
Go to Jidoor. Make sure you have more than 500,000 GP/Gil. Talk to the blonde haired guy outside the Auction House, he mentions a rare sword. Go into the Auction House now. You may get a chance to buy an Excalipoor Sword. You must have this, so make sure you can afford it. If you are unable to buy it, reset and try again when you have enough Gil. When you have the sword, talk to the blonde guy again. He hints that somebody at the coliseum is looking for rare swords. You know where to go next....
Head to the Coliseum. Bet the Excalipoor. You'll have to fight an Onion Dasher. If you win, it will cause Gilgamesh to show up. He attacks your whole party, which is good considering he's tough and having to fight him under the one VS one rules like every other coliseum fight would really suck.
HARD MODE NOTE:
This is available in hard mode, but not in the SNES or PSX versions. It didn't exist until the GBA version got released. Since it is tougher than most of the second world (and tougher than the Leviathan quest too) you should save it for later on when you've had the chance to level up significantly. Chances are you may be low on Gil anyway, so take the time to level up while getting the large amount of Gil needed to buy the sword Gilgamesh is looking for.
No, sadly "Battle On The Bridge" does NOT play here. I wish it did. I muted the game and played "Battle On The Bridge" from FF5 in the background for the fight. Very fitting. They used a modified FF5 sprite like they did with Leviathan, so bringing in Gilgamesh's signature song would have been an awesome touch. Anyway, so like the other two GBA esper bosses, this will be hard. It resembles the 2nd Gilgamesh battle from FF5. He begins with strong sword attacks and Dischord. Then he after losing enough Health will cast Safe, Shell, and Haste. Now he uses the Jump ability, making it impossible to hit him when he is offscreen. At this point he only uses physical attacks such as Throwing a Ragnarok Sword at you, an attack called Blade Dance, or consecutive slashing attacks. Cast Vanish on your party at this point. Now just use your most powerful abilities until the fight is won. Give the Offering and Genji Glove to a fighter (I had Locke for this) while either Edgar or Mog do Jump attacks with the Dragon Horn. Bring casters to heal, and be ready to use Vanish for the last part of the fight. After you win, you will receive Gilgamesh as an esper!
HARD MODE:
Much harder. Your strategy here will once again be to have Celes and Setzer focusing on healing while Edgar Jumps. Make sure everyone knows Vanish. It can be done, but it won't be easy. Setzer and Celes both MUST know Cure 2 to even stand a chance and all three should know Vanish for the last portion of the fight.
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