Final Fantasy 6 Walkthrough with Dagger

[Dagger Dias]

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: STRAGO

Strago has the worst stats of any character in the game, overall. He has an annoying personality, and his Lores are a massive pain to learn. Strago makes a good caster although he is outclassed by Terra, Celes, and Relm. He's the worst fighter in the game and can't equip many of the game's better defensive items. The only positive about him is his Lore command, which still isn't better than regular magic. I'm not saying he's a worthless character. Not entirely. If you get all of his Lores he can be a good addition to your active party. However, more than half of them are not available at all until the second world and some aren't even available until the final tower. If the Lores were easier to learn, and learned earlier in the game, Strago would be a more fun character to use. Without the Lores, he's worthless. Get Step Mine in the first world, then Mighty Guard and Grand Train in the second world. Those are the main ones you need. Still can't stand the guy in an overall capacity though. I'll take Ultima over Grand Train any day. The Lore spells are extremely expensive for the most part too. Oh, and did I mention he has the worst limit break in the game? It doesn't work on targets immune to instant death. Come on! Yeah, he's my least favorite character. With or without the Lores, which I end up unlocking and using with Gogo instead most of the time.
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Special: Lore
Uses enemy spells learned by viewing them in battle. Strago must legitimately "see" the spell and live to tell the tale. So he cannot be inflicted with darkness, be petrified, or unconscious.

Aero (41 MP)
Wind attack on all enemies

Aqua Rake (22 MP)
Water attack on all enemies

Big Guard (80 MP)
Casts both "Safe" and "Shell"

Blowfish (50 MP)
Does 1,000 damage to one enemy

Clean Sweep (30 MP)
Water attack on all enemies

Condemned (20 MP)
Death countdown starts on target

Dischord (68 MP)
Halves target's level/stats

L5 Doom (22 MP)
Instantly defeats targets with a level that is a multiple of 5, does not work on targets immune to instant death

Exploder (1 MP)
Does a lot of damage to one target but Strago goes to zero Health Points and is unconscious afterwards

L4 Flare (42 MP)
Non-elemental damage to targets at levels that are multiples of 4

Force Field (24 MP)
Protection from attacks

Grand Train (64 MP)
Does a lot of damage to all enemies

L3 Muddle (28 MP)
Confuses targets who are at a level that is a multiple of 3

L? Pearl (50 MP)
Does damage to enemies that are at a level that is a multiple of the last digit of your GP total

Pearl Wind (45 MP)
Recovers HP equal to the caster's HP

Pep Up (1 MP)
Recovers target's HP but eliminates Strago from battle

Quasar (50 MP)
Defense piercing attack

Reflect???? (0 MP)
Effects relate to status

Revenge (31 MP)
Does the same amount of damage as the last enemy did to Strago

Rippler (66 MP)
Trade status with enemy (glitchy, don't use with Shadow in party!)

Roulette (10 MP)
Randomly eliminates one target from battle, could be an ally, an enemy, or Strago himself

Sour Mouth (32 MP)
Inflicts lots of negative statuses

Step Mine (22 MP)
Damage depending on the amount of steps you have taken in-game

Stone (22 MP)
Damages and confuses target unless immune to confuse


Limit Break: SabreSoul

My biased character rank:

14th of 14

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[Dagger Dias]

ESPER GATHERING PLACE
Party: Locke, Terra, Strago

Head south along the path on the world map from Thamasa past the forest and up to the cave that has now shown up on the northern mountain. Inside is where the espers went. Relm might follow you some in these screens at first. The chest to your right leads to a Heal Rod! It heals the party member (or enemy!) that you target with it.


THE HEAL ROD DOESN'T ALWAYS HEAL!!!!

Be VERY careful with the Heal Rod. There is one capacity where it does NOT heal you. That is when Shadow Throws it at an enemy. Keep that in mind for when Shadow returns later. It could save your life if, say, you're about to die against Atma Weapon with Shadow as the only one left at low Health. One time I threw it in such a situation and ended up defeating the boss with that attack. Other times, people have thrown it at Shadow thinking it will heal him. What happens next isn't very funny if you're the one holding the controller. For anyone else it's one of the funniest things in the world.


There is an opportunity to learn a Lore for Strago here, and one of his better ones too. Go to the outdoor areas of the Esper Gathering Place. Walk around until you encounter an Abolisher so Strago can learn a Lore called Pearl Wind. Wait long enough for the Abolisher to use the spell. It's up to you if you want to do this. It makes Strago a lot more useful until the second world, where most of his other Lores become available. I'll do a breakdown of his Lores available in the first world (which hardly counts as the first world, it's literally RIGHT before the final monster lair of the first world) later on.

Ok, so go through the door on the right part of the screen, north of the entrance. You're in an outdoor area. Follow the path to the next room then leave through the door to your right. Inspect the three statues in here to trigger the next boss battle. You have to inspect them, the trapdoors in the next room do not trigger until you have fought the next boss. It is none other than Ultros! He claims getting these statues will "get Siegfried's attention" although this is the only time in the game that any rivalry between these two NPC's is mentioned. Ultros attacks you.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Ultros

This isn't as bad as the other Ultros encounters. He can also use Lode Stone, which takes away 75% of your current Health Points, so be on the lookout for that. After Ultros takes enough damage, Relm shows up. She convinces "Uncle Ulty" to draw his portrait which makes him run away upon seeing it. Relm joins after the fight. The regular battle theme plays here for some strange reason. Boss battles should have the boss theme playing.
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[Dagger Dias]

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: RELM

Relm's usefulness depends on how much magic you teach her. Without magic, she is the game's worst character. With it, she's has a lot of potential. Relm has the highest magic stat of anyone in the game, outclassing everybody except Terra when Terra is Morphed. Use this to your advantage. Teach Relm the entire spellbook and she will show you just how useful she can be. Or, have her hang out with Gau on the airship during a No Esper Challenge as she is worthless in such a challenge. Her special is HIGHLY glitchy so be very careful with it. I use it for unlocking some of Strago's Lores, and switch immediately to Control which is her second and much better special, in the second world when it becomes available. Her stats aren't that great other than magic, but they are higher than Strago's. Relm's high potential as a caster and her interesting Control command bumped her up a little in my rankings. I cannot stress that enough though, teach her magic, or else she sucks. Her limit break sucks too, it's the 2nd worst in the game after Strago's. Like Strago's it attempts to inflict instant death and will not work on targets immune to it. It has a nice shiny battle graphic animation when used, so there's that.
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Special: Sketch
Relm paints a portrait of the enemy which attacks the enemies once and then goes away. This is notorious for glitching the game, so be super careful with it. Other than unlocking a few of Strago's Lores and defeating Ultros in one of the battles against him, I never EVER use this horrible command. It also does not work on some enemies.

Special: Control
This is much better. Relm literally assumes control over an enemy. She can tell it what to do and who to use an enemy skill on.

Limit Break: Star Prism

My biased character rank:

10th of 14

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[Dagger Dias]

ESPER GATHERING PLACE - CONTINUED
Party: Locke, Terra, Strago, Relm

Relm might need some new equipment, feel free to head back to Thamasa to rest and buy equipment for her if you want. When you're ready to move on.... Go through the door and you will find a save point. There's three trapdoors. Take the northern one on the left first. You fall down into a puzzle. Follow the bridges to the door southwest of you. It leads to a chest with a Tabby Suit in it for Relm or Strago. Go through the door and now go north along the bridges. This leads to a chest with a Chocobo Suit for Relm or Strago. Head back inside and follow the bridges to the south. Jump down to the platform from the broken bridge and now work your way back to the trapdoors. Take the trapdoor to the right and now cross the bridge to the door on your right to get to a chest with an X-Potion. Jump down to the platform from the broken bridge. Go back to the trapdoors and take the one on the left. Cross the bridges north and go through the door. The espers are in here! Yura, their leader, approaches Terra. He agrees to meet with General Leo.

In Thamasa the meeting with General Leo, the espers, and the party seems to be going well. That is, until Kekfa shows up! He has Magitek Armored soldiers attack everyone. He turns the espers into magicite, which he takes. All are unconscious except for General Leo, who you now have control over for this brief event!


THAMASA
Party: Leo

Yep you read that correctly, you get to play as General Leo in this event. Kefka's soldiers block the exits to town so you cannot exit. If you try to leave you are forced into an unwinnable battle with a Guardian, you can run from these. You can go to the Inn, go shopping at the weapons and armor shop, rest at the Inn, and walk around town. When you are done you need to go confront Kefka.

 

[Dagger Dias]

CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT: LEO

General Leo might very well be the most popular playable Guest NPC in the entire Final Fantasy series. He has been the focal point of countless recruitment myths ever since the game first got released 21 years ago. I am here today to tell you the sad truth that these are in fact all still myths, and it is impossible to play as Leo outside of this brief Thamasa event, without using cheat devices or exploiting a number of glitches in the game. He has good Health Points and an excellent set of equipment. Leo is equipped with a Crystal Sword, an Aegis Shield, a Gold Helmet, Gold Armor, an Atlas Armlet, and an Offering Relic. Due to the Offering he will always attack four times when you select his regular attack command. His Special is "Shock" and IS, in fact, available to you later on in the game. Gau can use it through the Retainer Rage in the second world. Despite being a loyal warrior of the Empire, Leo has earned the respect of the heroes and countless people who have played this game. I to this day wish there really was a way to recruit him in the main story through side quests.... Oh well. There's always the Retainer Rage in the second world.​

Special: Shock
Deals a lot of non-elemental magic damage to all targets and removes Invisible status of targets.

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[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Kefka

Easy. Just have Leo use Shock a few times and the fight ends, but not the way you might think if you haven't played this game before. Every time I play Final Fantasy 6, I look forward to this scene due to getting to battle as Leo, but always hate viewing the end of the battle. The ending of this scene is inevitable and cannot be changed. What follows though, is one of the coolest scenes in the game! I guess they wanted to make up for the sad part with something awesome right afterwards.
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[Dagger Dias]

THAMASA
Party: Kefka

So, yeah Kefka is basically in a playable slot here, although he is computer controlled during the one battle that takes place in this event and you cannot view his Health Points or stats. You also cannot view his equipment although he is equipped during this scene with a Morning Star, Paladin's Shield, and a Ribbon. He has no commands since he is computer controlled so if you got him into your party through using cheat devices, the game would freeze. The Sealed Gate is shown with the formation of rocks that looked like a skull. A smaller rock that looks like a butterfly falls out, making the other rocks fall and the gate opens! A number of espers fly out. They are portrayed with the graphics of Bahamut, Zoneseek, Fenrir, Shiva, Kirin, Bismarck, Carbuncle, and Phantom.


WHERE'S THE IMPOSTER IFRIT?

So not only do they again use sprites of espers that are already magicite within the main story.... the one esper brave enough to battle Kefka wasn't shown in this part. It would have made sense to use sprites of World Of Ruin espers. The esper sprites used here with the exceptions of Bahamut (why is he in all of these scenes?) and Fenrir are all already magicite. Maybe all should have been palette swaps like the Imposter Ifrit, who should have been in this scene. Oh well. Cool graphics for its time at least.



So back to the actual story. The espers fly to Thamasa and Kefka casts a spell that is apparently meant to neutralize the espers' abilities, and for some reason it makes his soldiers disappear too. He turns a ton of espers offscreen into magicite. After a couple of magicites are taken, an esper that looks like a palette swap of Ifrit challenges Kefka to a fight. Unfortunately, the poor esper doesn't stand a chance.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Unnamed Esper / Red Esper / Imposter Ifrit

No clue what the official name for this guy is. There's at least 3 different names for him. I've seen him called "Unnamed Esper", the "Red Esper", and I doubt I'm the only one who calls him the "Imposter Ifrit". While growing up and playing the game as a kid, I noticed even back then that he looks just like Ifrit only red/orange instead of green. Acts just like him too, relying 100% on fire spells. What's worse is if you're playing the mobile version of the game he truly IS an Imposter Ifrit, in those versions he looks IDENTICAL to Ifrit in appearance. This battle is a scripted victory for Kefka. The Ifrit Imposter will cast Fire 1, then Fire 2, and then Fire 3!!!! Kefka either blocks or absorbs each spell. Sometimes he blocks the spell with a shield, and sometimes he lets the spell hit him which instead of hurting him will heal him. It's randomly determined. I prefer seeing him absorb them. Kefka casts a cooler looking version of X-Zone and then picks up the magicite of.... whatever esper this was. It is literally impossible to lose this fight, so just sit back and enjoy the show! The epic "Metamorphosis" track plays during this fight, making it all the better to watch.

Afterwards Kefka takes a ton of magicites at once and laughs maniacally as the scene fades out.
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[Dagger Dias]

THAMASA - AFTERMATH OF KEFKA'S ACTIONS
Party: Locke, Terra, Strago, Relm

The scene then fades back in to the party, who all regroup with the others that flew in on the airship. They decide to plan the next strategy on the airship, but not until after Relm calls Sabin a "puffed up aerobics instructor", ah Ted Woolsey and his awful translation. The game makes you leave and you are on the world map, but you should re-enter town before getting on the airship. Firstly you can buy some new equipment if needed now that the other party members are back, secondly you can talk to Gungho, a friend of Strago's. He is the old guy in red standing by the elder's house. Talk to him with Strago and Relm in the party.

When you get onboard the airship, you see a scene of Kefka and the Emperor walking through the Sealed Gate. The Floating Continent rises up into the sky. Do NOT pick "Find the Floating Continent" yet. Pick either "Lift-Off" or "Not Just Yet" when given the option. There are some optional things you can still do for now.



PARTY CHANGE LINES (BEFORE FLOATING CONTINENT)

TERRA: I'm alright. I'm sure peace is within our grasp!

LOCKE: I can't believe we played a major role in it all!

EDGAR: We Can't be smug. We must be thinking of our strategy.

SABIN: Let me at the Empire!

CELES: I was one of the Empire's generals, but I still know evil when I see it.

CYAN: The Empire deserves the worst!

GAU: GAU become stronger on the Veldt.

SETZER: What's the most important thing in life? Being free of obligations! Otherwise you lose the ability go gamble....

MOG: Kupoppo!!

STRAGO: In all my travels, and in all my years....

RELM: I know. Let me draw their portraits!

 

[Dagger Dias]

SIDE QUEST - STRAGO LORES
My Party: Celes, Gau, Relm, Strago

Let's get Strago some of his Lores that are available at this point.

He starts with Aqua Rake, Revenge, and Stone.

You might already have Exploder from the burning mansion. If not, head to the Bomb Forest West of the Veldt across the river, south of the Phantom Forest. Battle Grenades there who use Exploder.

Next will be Pearl Wind. You'll want to head to the mountains by Thamasa where the espers had gathered. Enter battle with an Abolisher until it uses Pearl Wind then win the battle to learn it.

Now you need to fly to the triangle island in the upper right corner of the map and fight an Intangir. It is very poweful so cast Doom on it while it is still invisible. Now go to the Veldt (this is why you needed to bring Gau) so he can learn Rages for Zombone and for Intangir. Then have Gau use both of their rages so that Strago can learn Comdemned and Pep Up.

If you encounter Pipsqueaks on the Veldt, have Relm do Sketch on one to learn Roulette.

If you encounter a Telstar on the Veldt it will eventually use Dischord, Strago will learn it.

Now try to encounter a Chaser or Trappers on the Veldt. Defeat the Chaser to make Trappers appear. If Strago is able to survive it on his level he can learn L3 Muddle, L4 Flare, and L5 Doom from the Trappers.

Almost done. Now fly to the South Figaro area and encounter a GreaseMonk. Cast Muddle on him and have Strago survive the battle if they use Step Mine he will learn that. Now you should have half of the Lore spellbook completed, and Strago is done learning Lores for now.



OTHER SIDE QUESTS BEFORE FLOATING CONTINENT
My Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Locke

At Doma Castle there's some treasure you may have missed up until now. Remember when Cyan and the guy who looks like a green merchant were looking for survivers of the poison and the green merchant looking guy blocked a door from entry? You can go in there now. The clock, as always, has an Elixir. The chest has an Ether. Go through the door south of the door to Cyan's room. Follow the path outside to a door on the southeast corner. The chests in here have a Phoenix Down and a Beads. The chest in Cyan's room has an X-Potion.

Albrook is now dark. The Floating Continent is up in the air right above it, making a big shadow over the whole town. It's kinda cool looking.

You can return to Vector but there is not a single person anywhere in town.

At the Esper Gathering Place near Thamasa you can go into the room where the espers were, but there's nothing to do in there. If you absolutely had to know where that went, it's just a dead end.

 

[Dagger Dias]

PREPARING FOR THE FLOATING CONTINENT
My Party: Edgar, Celes, Setzer, Locke

Go to Thamasa and buy equipment for everyone if you haven't already. Even those you are not taking to the Floating Continent so that everyone will have equipment ready to use when you begin re-recruiting people in the second world. This marks the final monster lair of the first world, and roughly the halfway point of the game if you count all the optional content in the second world. Here is how I have everyone equipped right now....

LOCKE
Hawk Eye
Hawk Eye
Mithril Helm
Gaia Gear
Genji Glove
Thief Glove

TERRA
Morning Star
Gold Shield
Mystery Veil
Gold Armor

EDGAR
Stout Spear
Gold Shield
Gold Helmet
Gold Armor
Dragoon Boots

SABIN
Fire Knuckle
Mithril Shield
Tiger Mask
Gaia Gear

CELES
Morning Star
Gold Shield
Mystery Veil
Gold Armor

CYAN
Tempest
Gold Shield
Gold Helmet
Gold Armor

GAU
Unarmed
Mithril Shield
Tiger Mask
Gaia Gear

SETZER
Darts
Darts
Mithril Helm
Gold Armor
Genji Glove
Coin Toss

MOG
Stout Spear
Gold Shield
Gold Helmet
Gold Armor
Dragoon Boots

STRAGO
Morning Star
Mithril Shield
Plumed Hat
Tabby Suit

RELM
Morning Star
Mithril Shield
Mystery Veil
Chocobo Suit
Memento Ring

Make sure that you also have equipment ready for Shadow, he will be re-joining soon. He'll need a Blossom Knife, a Gaia Gear, a Mithril Helm, and a Mithril Shield.

Nothing else to do anywhere, really. We're about to enter the final World Of Balance event, so do whatever you need to do in each available location. Celes/Setzer/Edgar need to be done with available espers now too if you're attempting the challenge where you only play as them in the World Of Ruin.

Ready? Get on the airship and press X, then go up to the wheel and pick "Find The Floating Continent".

 

[Dagger Dias]

FLYING TO THE FLOATING CONTINENT
My Party: Edgar, Setzer, Locke

So for this event you can only use three people. The reason is so you'll have an open slot in the party available for Shadow, who re-joins in the following event. It is recommended that you do NOT bring Celes since she will automatically show up later on if you didn't bring her, to replace Shadow for the last portion of the Floating Continent. Bring Terra, Relm, and Strago for the most magic-oriented party. Bring Edgar, Sabin, and Cyan for the most fighting-oriented party. Or just pick your three favorites. If you're going by my picks then in this event I personally like to use the party of Edgar, Setzer, and Locke here. Edgar and Setzer get re-recruited early on in the second world, so if you bring them here then they will get the experience points they might need. I also brought Locke because he's awesome. You could bring Strago also to learn a new Lore, but it'll be available in the World Of Ruin as soon as he's re-recruited so it's not necessary.



YOU MUST BRING 3 PEOPLE!

Oddly enough it will not let you bring only 1 or only 2 people. The game makes you set a party of 3. So, no trying to bring only Celes to the scene at the end of the Floating Continent with The Emperor.


Awesome music starts playing (the same as the war against Kefka in Narshe's snowfield and the mine cart ride in Vector) as the airship flies up to the Floating Continent. You get attacked by the Imperial Air Force! Flying armored soldiers attack you for several fights.

BATTLE: Sky Armor, Spit Fire

Defeat the Spit Fires first so that they do not get a chance to use Absolute Zero, a strong Ice elemental attack. The Sky Armors are less of a threat when the Spit Fire is gone, they can inflict Silence though so watch out for that.


After about 4 battles, "something curious approaches".... A couple of more Sky Armor and Spit Fire fights take place, and then you find that the "something curious" was a pink flying monster, and next to it is Ultros! Yep, again.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Ultros, Chupon

Ultros says "No really, this is the LAST time we'll battle!", for anyone playing the first time you'll think it's a joke, but he is telling the truth. You never fight HIM again after this. Ultros has an ally, it is Mr Chupon, the pink flying monster you saw earlier. Chupon is the real boss here as Ultros does not even have to be defeated. Ignore the Tentacle attacks and the Ink attacks and concentrate on Chupon. He might use Fireball on you, so heal if necessary. Silly lines of dialogue include Ultros telling you Chupon gets hungry when he's angry, and Ultros stating Chupon started gnawing on his head one day when Ultros was trying to sleep. Chupon absorbs Fire elemental attacks. When Chupon takes enough damage and literally sneezes you off of the airship, the battle ends. You'll never battle Ultros ever again. Chupon is available to battle in the second world in an optional capacity, but more on that later.

You fall off the airship and immediately enter a battle with a tougher boss.... the Air Force!
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[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Air Force, MissileBay, Laser Gun, Speck

This guy can be tough. Defeat the two allies first since they do some powerful attacks on you. Once the Laser Gun is gone, Air Force will launch a Speck. Defeat the Speck immediately as it will absorb magic otherwise and a countdown begins that if it reaches zero, Air Force will use a dangerous attack called Wave Cannon. Air Force also has some physical attack resistance so you will need to cast Thunder elemental magic or rely on special abilities. I will share a strategy for every available character. Locke should attack from the back row with his Hawk Eyes and hopefully the attacks will be the randomly thrown kind. Terra should Morph and cast Bolt 2 if you have it. Edgar should Jump or use his Drill. Sabin should attack with his claws. Celes should heal or cast Bolt 2 if she has it. Cyan should use Quadra Slam. Gau, his strategy never changes so use the Stray Cat Rage. Mog could use his Dances if you want to take a chance with that, or if you gave him Dragoon Boots he is better off Jumping. Setzer should just use GP Rain if you can afford it. Strago should use his Step Mine Lore if you have it. Relm won't be of much use here unless you taught her some spells, if she has Bolt 2 she will be casting that. Whoever your best caster is (for me between Edgar, Locke, and Setzer, it was Setzer) needs to be ready to heal when needed.
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[Dagger Dias]

FLOATING CONTINENT
My Party: Edgar, Setzer, Locke, Shadow

The party falls down at the edge of the Floating Continent after the battle with Air Force. Shadow is right next to where you landed, he is upset that he almost got killed without getting paid. He wants to be left alone but the party insist he come along, he re-joins you. Check immediately on Shadow's equipment and give him the best available equipment you have for him. Now go save. You'll want to. Unless you're low levelled and have no restorative items, then don't because if you saved you'd be stuck here forever upon a game over.

So the enemies here are the most dangerous you have ever seen at this point in the game. Brainpans can use Smirk which Stops a character. Highly annoying. Behemoths have strong physical attacks. Misfits can use Lifeshaver so try to finish them off in one or two hits or else they will use Lifeshaver to drain Health Points from you! Dragons can Sneeze someone off of the battle screen which is annoying. Ninjas are here too. You may remember them from The Sealed Gate. Defeat them as fast as you possibly can, they remain dangerous at this point. If you are not prepared you could be in big trouble. Refer to my list of recommended equipment earlier and make sure you have Sraphim's spells mastered for the restorative side and at least Maduin's on the offensive side. If you're doing a No Espers challenge then you may want to bring Terra or have lots and LOTS of potions and other restorative items. Well, here we go.

From where Shadow was, follow the path. It seems blocked off but it will automatically open up for you. There are a few spots on the continent that will do this so do not assume a dead end is truly a dead end until you reach the end of the path. See the little blue spheres? Those are the treasure chests in this event. You'll find one shortly after where Shadow was. It has a Murasame. Keep that for Cyan, or give it to him if you brought him. Past the chest/sphere is a path leading to a warping platform, I'll come back to that in a moment. Go over to the seemingly blocked off sphere. A ladder shows up and a path opens up for you to climb down to it. MAKE SURE YOU ARE AT MAXIMUM HEALTH!!!! It has a monster inside it.


BATTLE: Gigantos

This guy can completely take out your whole party if you're not ready for him. Cast Vanish if you have it, then have your fighters attack. Or just unleash your most powerful attacks like Edgar's Drill. Shadow should throw Shurikens. Heal as needed. Your prize for winning is a Hardened Knife for Shadow, give it to him.


Alright go back to the warping platform I initially told you to ignore. If it seems blocked off approach it and the rocks will open up. You are taken to a different spot on the map. See the switch that looks like rocks sticking up out of the ground? Go step on that. Cross the area that the switch opened up. Follow the path to the next warping platform. It takes you to an area with two other warping platforms. Take the one on the left as the one on the right just takes you to a dead end. Step on the switch south of you. Now go step on the switch north of you. Cross the path to your left that opened up from the switch then go south down the two flights of stairs, and go to your right. Follow the path all the way as far right as you can go. You'll see a blocked off warping platform, a switch, and another warping platform southeast of you. Step on the switch to open the path in the rocks to the northern warping platform. Now go through the southeastern one to get to a much needed save point. Use a Tent here and SAVE! This is a rather good leveling up spot if you have a lot of Tents to spare. Fight monsters on the continent then go back down here to rest and save as needed.

When ready, go back up and step on the northern warping platform. Grab the sphere the east of the warping platforms first for a Beret. Give it to Relm if you brought her, or hold onto it for her later. The airship will be below you. You are given the option to return if you wish. This is your LAST chance to go do anything you want to do in the first world. After the next boss fight and the event that follows, everything changes. If you do return to the airship, Shadow leaves until you return to the Floating Continent (you and Shadow both start off at the same spot again) and you will not have to fight the Imperial Air Force upon trying to re-enter the Floating Continent. If you are prepared for the boss, keep moving on. You will see a big mythical scary cat-like creature. Make sure everyone is at full Health Points and full Magic Points before going anywhere near the boss.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Atma Weapon

This is one of the hardest bosses in the game. As if the intense music wasn't going to give that idea away immediately, I have given that disclaimer. With him being the final boss of the World Of Balance, it makes sense for Atma Weapon to be the most difficult boss of the first world also. This guy's hard. REAL hard. No matter what you do to prepare, you might struggle. Ok, so you better have Gaia Gears equipped because he can cast Quake. It will do a lot of damage if you're not protected against it. He can also cast Flare, Bio, and Meteo. Mind Blast can inflict lots of bad status effects. As if that wasn't bad enough, he will use Safe, Shell, and Haste on himself and eventually begins charging up for his most powerful attack the Flare Star. This attack depends on your party's level, it will do 80 times your party level divided by the number of targets in your party, worth of damage to the whole party. I'm level 34 as of writing this, it did around 800 damage to my team. Chances are it will defeat you or leave you super weak. Have your primary caster (for me it was Setzer) ready to heal immediately after that!

The big question is, how exactly are you supposed to defeat this guy with all you're up against? Show no mercy at all. Unleash all your most powerful attacks. I'll include a strategy for every character that could be here. Locke should attack from the back row with his Hawk Eyes. Sabin should use his best Blitz or attack with his claws. Edgar should Jump or use his Drill. Cyan should use Quadra Slam unless you happen to be over-leveled enough to have Quadra Slice by now. Gau, Stray Cat Rage. Setzer should use GP Rain if you can afford it, and never stop, unless you're like me and brought him as the better option for a caster in the party. In this case, he's healing every round with Cure 2. Strago should use Step Mine if he has it, otherwise help with casting and healing. Relm should help with casting and healing. Terra and Celes, if there, should be casting restorative spells to protect the fighters and conserve potions. Mog should Jump or help with casting and healing. Shadow should just Throw Ninja stars like there's no tomorrow. If you cannot defeat Atma Weapon, level up on the Floating Continent until you can. Keep trying if you lose, you can do it!

Trivial note. This boss battle always brings back a fun memory that makes me laugh without fail. A friend of mine was playing this game over at my house once about 15 years ago. He lost everyone but Shadow throughout the fight and Shadow was getting weak. He had Shadow Throw the Heal Rod on himself. It didn't heal Shadow, as the Heal Rod does not heal when Shadow Throws it. This resulted in a game over for my friend while I rolled on the floor laughing. You know who you are if you're reading this, and you knew I had to give you a hard time about that day again for old time's sake.
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[Dagger Dias]

THE END OF THE WORLD.... OF BALANCE
My Party: Edgar, Setzer, Locke, Celes

Shadow runs off after the Atma Weapon fight and Celes will show up if she was not already with you, when you reach Kefka and the Emperor. The rest of the party minus Celes gets trapped by what look like Save Points on top of their character graphics. Kefka tells Celes to kill the party but she turns around and attacks Kefka instead. Prompting the infamous "hate hate HATE" speech. Kefka says the word "hate" 17 times here. He tries to absorb the power of the statues for himself, the Emperor begins casting spells to try to stop him but Kefka commands the statues to kill the Emperor, but not until after uttering one of the game's weider lines "Run, run, or you'll be well done!". Kefka shoves the Emperor off of the Continent. Then he starts moving the statues. Shadow shows up and traps Kefka in between two statues, but it is too late. The world is going through a cataclysmic change and you have to get off of the Floating Continent immediately!

The amazing "Metamorphosis" track plays as you race to the edge of the Continent with a timer counting down. You run into annoying enemies called Naughty here. Defeat them as fast as you can to save time. If the timer reaches zero, it's game over. Follow the path and it will begin to break. Go down a step if you were at the top of the path, then cross right, and left. The platform you were just on crashes down into the sky below. Hurry onward. Another platform will crash down into the sky from behind you. Keep going! You will see a blue sphere. Be careful here, you CAN get this item but you must go the long way around the wall or else the platform in front of it will crash down into the sky. The sphere has an Elixir.


BATTLE: Naughty

Extremely annoying. They can freeze a character which takes up even more of the time you don't necessarily have here. Either cast Rasp to deplete their Magic Points (Having lost all their MP will defeat them) or unleash powerful attacks to kill them quickly. Osmose works too. Just don't waste any of the limited time you have on these guys. By the way, you cannot run from these enemies either. Win as fast as you can!


Make sure to conserve time, since there is a mini-boss at the end. That's NOT a Save Point!!!! That's Nerapa!


BATTLE: Nerapa

Some consider this guy a boss, but to me he's way too easy to be even classified as one. His main purpose is to make you lose even more time after fighting all those Naughties on the way to the edge of the Continent. Just use your best attacks and get past him quickly. He'll cast Condemned to give you a countdown until you die, but I doubt he lasts long enough for the Condemned countdown to finish counting down.



****IMPORTANT!!!! WAIT FOR SHADOW!!!!****

Ok, this next part is super important. Are you paying attention? Seriously. This is the most important tip you'll find in this walkthrough. When you get to the airship, DO NOT, and I repeat DO NOT jump!!!! WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT JUMP YET!!!! If you jump now then Shadow DIES. As in you will NEVER see him again for the rest of the game. Select "Wait". Now go back to the airship again. Select "Wait for Shadow" this time. If you do this, he can be recruited in the second world.


Now sit there and wait until 5 seconds remain. Shadow catches up to you, and the party escapes, triggering the world-changing scene that ends the first world. An Imp falls off a cliff as various pieces of land are broken apart. Why was there even an Imp there? Anyway, the world continues to tear apart into ruin. The party tries to fly to safety in the airship but the airship itself is hit during the ongoing cataclysm, causing half of the party to fall off. The airship breaks in half and the turbulence causes the remaining characters to fall off other than Terra and Setzer. Terra and Setzer try to hang on for a split second, but they fall as well. The group is separated and you will now begin the second world. As only Celes. Everyone must be re-recruited!

 

[Dagger Dias]

SOLITARY ISLAND
Party: Celes

Celes has been looked after by Cid for a whole year and now he has become ill, you get to return the favor. Go to the beach and look for fish. The faster the fish, the more it will help Cid recover. His health slowly deteriorates the more time is spent (disregarding when the menu is up). The only way to respawn the fish is to talk to Cid. Do NOT give him the slow moving fish! It makes him sicker! Try to get the fast one only. Go for the medium one if no fast one spawned. If there's only a slow one, then talk to Cid to respawn the fish. The bird doesn't do anything. He just chirps if you talk to him. I wonder if possibly he eats some of the fish while you talk to Cid and them more swim up toward the show, that might be where the other fish went. Anyway, try to save Cid. If you give him enough fish to restore his health he thanks Celes and shows her a raft she can use to sail off to find her friends. If Cid dies, he leaves a note explaining about the raft and where it is. You can visit Cid later when you get a new airship if he survived.



ALBROOK (Optional)
My Party: Celes

You don't really have to visit this town. The people are concerned about Kefka and his Tower, which is nearby. An old man near the weapon shop talks about sealed monsters who got released after Kefka destroyed the world such as Phunbaba, Doom Gaze, and the 8 dragons. All of which you will eventually meet. The Armor shop has updated armor for sale if you need it. The old man who painted the Emperor's painting shares that he sold it to Owzer in Jidoor if you speak to him, that will be important later. Celes should have a Gold Shield, Mystery Veil, and Gold Armor if she doesn't already. You can buy a Gold Helmet at the armor shop if you don't have a Mystery Veil. The bartender thinks back on when the soldiers were in the bar having a party. No one is in there now. That's about it for this town. When you're ready to move on, head to the north.

If you're re-recruiting everyone, then the game wants you to get Sabin first. He is in Tzen, which is directly north of Albrook. If you're following the Edgar/Celes/Setzer challenge, then you'll want to go to Nikeah next.

 

[Dagger Dias]

CELES, EDGAR, AND SETZER (HARD MODE) CHALLENGE!


Now that you're in the second world you have to re-recruit everyone. The only characters the game makes you re-recruit are Celes, Edgar, and Setzer. It is possible to play through the rest of the game with ONLY those three, making it much more challenging. I will do the rest of the main portion of the game in two parts. One that is normal (anyone is re-recruited) and one that I'll refer to as Hard Mode which only allows you to use the three you are required to re-recruit.

A few events are NOT allowed to be done in this challenge, due to it making you run into one of the other allies. For instance, you CANNOT go to Tzen or Mobliz in this challenge since it makes Celes find Sabin and Terra, respectively. I will note if you are allowed to do each event in Hard Mode or not. You'll only have 3 people in the events that remain available, except for the Phoenix Cave where you have 1 party of 2 and 1 party of 1, or Kefka's Tower where you have 3 parties of 1.

Keep in mind, this means a couple of espers will also be off-limits. Phoenix, Alexander, and Starlet, for example. This means.... you guessed it! You are not able to learn the full spellbook. Make sure to learn all the spells from the espers you do get.

One more thing regarding this challenge, if you're playing the GBA or ios version.... I'm going to ask that you refrain from completing any of the new content for this challenge. None of the new espers are allowed until after you clear Kefka's Tower.

If you want to play this game in its most challenging form, then this is the challenge for you! And, yes, it can be done. I'll show you how!

 

[Dagger Dias]

TZEN (NORMAL)
My Party: Celes

Once you try to enter the town, Kefka fires "Light of Judgment" on it, causing a building to start to collapse. Sabin is there holding it up but you have a limited amount of time before he loses his strength and the building will collapse. You have to save the child that is trapped inside. Guess what else? There's monsters inside! Buy a Jewel Ring from the relic shop before going inside, since there are monsters in who can Petrify you. One of the NPC's even says so if you talk to him. Talk to Sabin when you're ready. Hurry! A timer counts down as you search for the child. There's some treasure in the house, some are worth it while others are not. If you feel confident, fight the monsters. If you aren't it may be better to run to save time.

The chest in the room straight ahead from the entrance has a Heal Rod. Turn south and go into the next room and open the chest in there to find a Pearl Rod. Leave that room and go to the southwest corner of the floor, the chest there has a Hyper Wrist. The chest in the northwest corner of the floor has a Tincture. Now go over by the steps. The chest by the stairway has four PM Stalkers in it.

BATTLE: PM Stalker (4)

They aren't so bad if you know Cure 2 or Fire 2. If you don't, just attack them. The timer is your bigger problem though so end this fight quickly if you attempt it.

Downstairs in the lower left corner of the room is a Drainer in a chest. Give that to Celes. Go up to the fireplace in the upper part of the room to find the boy. The chest to the left of the fireplace has 4 more PM Stalkers hiding in it. Want the EXP, go for it, otherwise you save time by ignoring the chest. The chest to the right of the fireplace has Magicite. Now that you've found the boy, race back to the entrance. If you make it there before the timer runs out, Sabin re-joins. If you don't, it's a game over. The house collapses whether you made it out or not.


AKWARD MOMENTS CREATED BY GENERIC UN-CHANGED DIALOGUE (SABIN'S RE-RECRUITMENT SCENE)

Even if you saved this event for later and brought a different party, the lines of dialogue without Celes in the party are nearly identical. If you brought Mog or Gau with their unique ways of speaking, it's still the same generic line which reads "We thought everyone was gone.... We'd given up all hope.... but.... fortunately I was wrong! Now I know they're all alive! We need to find everyone! Then....". I can't really picture Gau saying that but if you brought Gau by himself to re-recruit Sabin, that's what the dialogue reads.

Sabin always greets you with "Hey! You're alive!!! Get in there, quick!". No matter what. So if you show up with Gogo as your only party member, Sabin still says this. How can you be glad that Gogo is "still alive" when you've never even met him/her before!? The funniest of all is bringing Umaro by himself here. First, Sabin "recognizes" him just as he would any other member of the party despite having never met Umaro here. Then, the child in the basement is told "don't worry, you're safe now". Ummm, if a big abominable snowman walked down into my basement when my house was falling apart, I wouldn't feel safe. Let alone addressing the fact that Umaro hardly talks at all. Last but not least, Umaro's definitely not going to have "given up hope" as that last generic un-changed line states. It could have been due to laziness, or it could have been Ted Woolsey being Ted Woolsey, or maybe a lack of time caused things like this to go un-noticed. It's more fun to blame Ted Woolsey though, so it's his fault.


HARD MODE NOTE

This event is NOT available due to Sabin re-joining if you complete it, and it is impossible to begin it without meeting Sabin.

 

[Dagger Dias]

MOBLIZ (NORMAL)
My Party: Celes, Sabin

Follow the island along its shores to the northwest corner and you will find a bridge (it can be a little annoying to locate it) and cross it. Now you're in what was once the Serpent Trench. The right path goes to Mobliz and the left path goes to Nikeah. Take the right one for now. You'll eventually find the town after a long walk. Dogs bark at you when you enter. The town is almost completely destroyed. Follow the boy into the building, which was once the post office. Downstairs where the boxes used to be in the corner, is a door. Head inside to find a ton of kids, and Terra. She is glad to see you but goes into the back room. Talk to her again. She says she cannot fight anymore. Now leave. A boy runs up to Terra saying Phunbaba's coming. Remember the old man who mentioned the monsters who got unsealed? He's one of them.

Terra runs out to challenge Phunbaba, but it is a scripted loss. She cannot win the battle. Your party runs back to help.


HARD MODE NOTE

You CANNOT do this event in Hard Mode since you find Terra during it.

 

[Dagger Dias]

BOSS BATTLE: Phunbaba

He's extremely weak against Poison. So if Celes knows Bio, cast it. Sabin should be equipped with Poison Claws and attack or use Blitz. If you don't have anything that is of the Poison elemental, then it will be tough. If Celes is by herself it's actually quite difficult. Either go get Sabin (or wait until you have the airship) and return when you are more confident in attempting this battle. You can wait until later and it is much easier if you have a full party, although the game wants you to do this event now. Heal as needed and use the best attacks you have, especially anything that is of the Poison elemental.

Your prize after you win is the Fenrir esper!
​

 

[Dagger Dias]

ESPER SPOTLIGHT: Fenrir

Summon: Howling Moon / Moon Song (70 MP)
Casts Image on the party

Spells Taught:
Warp x10
X-Zone x5
Stop x3

Level up bonus while equipped: MP + 30%

Learn the first two spells that Fenrir teaches, but stop after X-Zone. You won't need Stop unless you're a completionist and want to know the full spellbook. X-Zone is the most important spell that Fenrir teaches, so you will want to make sure your primary casters know it. For two reasons. One, there's the infamous Vanish + X-Zone trick, and secondly it is highly crucial for the Wrexsoul boss fight during Cyan's dream. Without X-Zone, it is one of the hardest boss battles in the game. With it, you can win in a matter of moments. The MP boost Fenrir provides when you level up with him equipped is good for someone who will be doing a lot of casting so consider it for Terra, Celes, Strago, or Relm.

Fenrir is NOT available in the Celes/Edgar/Setzer challenge.
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[Dagger Dias]

NIKEAH (NORMAL)
My Party: Celes, Sabin

Go to the shops. Buy an Enhancer for Celes and for Edgar, who is about to return. Terra can equip it too but she won't be back for a bit. At the Armor shop buy Diamond Shields for Edgar and Celes. Terra, Cyan, and Setzer can also equip them for when they return. Same goes for the Diamond Helm, all the same people can equip it. The Diamond Vest is expensive, if you have the money to spare. Everyone but Strago and Relm can equip it. There is a ferry that is about to leave for South Figaro but the sailor says it belongs to the Crimson Robbers. They are a group of thieves who are in the Bar. Go talk to them. Make sure you talk to each thief, when one of them exits the bar it will trigger for their leader, Gerad, to show up in the town market.

Gerad looks just like Edgar. He's got red and blue armor with brown hair instead of green and blue armor with blonde hair like Edgar. Gotta be a coincidence, right? Gerad might be a bit hard to find at first. He's standing by the barrells and apple basket, his sprite blends in with the scenery. Edgar, umm sorry GERAD, stops a couple of times before going to the ferry. Celes accuses him of "playing possum". Yeah, mistranslation right there. He's not faking death. He pretty much gives himself away by calling Celes "my lady", and his sprite does the "uh oh!" animation when Celes calls him Edgar. Anyway, follow Edgar to the ferry. It will depart for South Figaro.



HARD MODE NOTE:

This is the first event to play out differently during the hard mode challenge. You'll save money on equipment by only having to purchase stuff for Celes. You should still buy Edgar and Setzer stuff too, since they are both about to re-join regardless of if you're re-recruiting everyone or not. That's about it here though. Celes does all the talking in the dialogue whether you had Sabin with you or not.