Carbon Ocelot's Final Fantasy IX Walkthrough

Disc 3

A New Queen in Alexandria

OK. So now you're Vivi in Alexandria. Be sure to look around a little before walking in to check up on Zidane. Head right one screen. Since this is the only chance you'll have for a while, you may want to consider racing Hippaul here, if you want (see the Racing Hippaul Section). When you come back to the other screen, talk to the tour guide (with the trumpet). He's looking for work. Head left and check out the item shop. Head left one more screen (to the screen where the Ticket booth is) and you can visit the weapon and synth shops. The next screen up is the dock.

Head there and search just above each of the guard's platforms. You'll find 3927 Gil on the right and a Phoenix Pinion on the left. Head back down to the Ticket booth screen (one down) and left two screens from that one (don't talk to Marcus or Blank), and head to the bell tower. Run up and talk to Kupo (mognet/save) then meet with the others, too. Be sure to buy the Phoenix Pinion , Hi Potion and Elixir for 777 Gil from Stiltzkin. Check to make sure you have space available, then head up the ladder and pull the rope to get Hippaul's Treasure (part II): Shiva Card, Ramuh Card. Wander into the bar and try to talk to Zidane, then talk to the bartender.

You'll discover you need to head to the mini-theater. If you don't already know, it's in the alley where Blank and Marcus are hanging out. Go try to walk down the stairs, then agree to go with Marcus and Blank. Head on down. Watch some cut scenes, then you'll become Eiko. First see if there is anything you need to equip, then head into town. Eventualy, you'll become Zidane back at the bar. Equip him up and head out. Go to the bell tower and read a letter from Stiltzkin. Stop off at the mini-theater and you can pickup 2680 Gil on the floor at the bottom edge of the screen.

Now that you aren't alone, you can head out of town, if you want to learn some skills, but you can do that later when you add Freya and Amarant to your party. If you head into the weapon shop (as Zidane) you can meet up with Genero, Benero and Zenero. Their "Game" is that they move around fast and you have to guess where each one is. If you have a few friends (each watch a different person) it's a little easier, but you can also record it and play it back in slow motion. Or if you're using an emulator like OpenEmu, just save before answering. :)

When you're ready to go on, head to the river surrounding the castle (one screen up from the Ticket booth screen). After you break up the fight you'll be all four characters. NOW if you wanted to go outside the castle, you could use the opportunity to teach your guys some skills, if you like. There isn't really any place you can go, though.

Into the Castle
When you step out of the boat and onto the dock, search on either side. There's an Ether on the left and a Phoenix Pinion on the right. Behind the fountin (at the top of it) is a Lapis Lazuli (Zidane gets his Ability Up and Accuracy+). Head left one screen and into the left tower. On the far right of the screen (next to the gate) is a Phoenix Pinion . Go into the door on the left, and head to the top right of the screen to find the Leo Stellazio (See the Stellazio Side Quest Section for more information). Head back to the fountain and up one screen (there is nothing to do at the harbor at this time, and the right-hand tower is gated off at its entrance) then watch a bunch of cut scenes, then you'll end up as Zidane in Treno.

Zidane in Treno

Read a little here before attempting this. This is the only time you can get the Burman Coffee (see the Mordid's Coffee Section for more information), which you'll need if you want to get the Theater Ship Model, which will increase your treasure hunter rank. In fact, there are lot of things you'll want to think about doing here. When you first end up as Zidane, you'll want to head down the stairs. At the next ATE, have Vivi stay in Treno. A subsequent ATE (Hippo's Prize) will allow Mario to gain the Namingway card so you can earn it during the Card Tournement.

Take the path that leads you to the right, through the entrance and around through the slums to where the Moogle is and mognet/save there. Head on into the Auction house and buy stuff if you need too. If you can get it, you really want the Dark Matter . At this point, though, my guys have so much dough that I just bought one of everything. What else am I gonna do with 500,000 gil? Also, people near the outdoor cafe will buy some of this stuff from you. You can sell the Griffen Heart for up to 10,000 Gil (two offers only), and the Rat Tail to the same guy for 15,000 Gil (two offers again). The Scholar in the Synth Shop will buy Doga's Artifact for 10,000 (one offer only) and the fat guy in red will pay 25,000 gil for Une's Mirror (two offers). You can use Une's Mirror and Doga's Artifact later on, so some folks say you shouldn't sell them. On the other hand, if you *do* sell them, you can head strait back to the auction house and usually buy them back again for less than you sold them for - meaning you can turn a profit of a few thousand gil.

Anyway, after you have any stuff you want to buy, head into the Treno Knight's house (door on the right) and talk to the old woman there. You can ask about the monster and offer to fight it. If you fought the moster previously, this time it should be a Catoblepas, so equip stuff to prevent Status Abnomality: Petrify. He's got an Ether , a Phoenix Pinion , a Hi Potion , and a Soft . He casts thundara, so auto-reflect can help keep you healthy. He also uses earthquake magic, so auto-float can be nice (if you are not fighting as Zidane, or if you have Feather Boots , which both have auto-float AND absorb earth attacks). If you've been doing a lot of stealing like I have, Zidane's Thievery skill can be very useful (it hits for 9999 every time). Just FYI: I think this skill does around 15 pts of damage for every time Zidane has stolen. If you've stolen 200 times, 200 x 15 = 3000 pts of dmg!!!

When you defeat him, you'll get 15,000 Gil. Continue down the path toward the card statium and watch the ATEs. Keep going and head to up from the outdoor cafe and go sell off your Stellazio Coins (See the Stellazio Coins Section for more information). There is an Ether on the ground near the tree to the left (if you didn't get it earlier). If you stop by the Synthesis shop, be sure to get the Angel Bless . Be sure to enter every location and then head OUT of Treno. Yup. You read that right. As long as you've got a decently high level, just leave town. If you're still at a low-level, keep watching some of the ATEs so you can get characters later.

Mordid's Coffee Quest
(NOTE: For efficiencies sake, I have reproduced some of the information in the Mordid's Coffee Quest Section within this section. You don't have to flip back and forth anymore.) Leave Treno. Save once you get outside and head through Southgate to the town of Dali. If you enable counter, the random battles on the way don't take as long. Unfortunately, though, it appears that the cars for southgate are powered by mist, so you can't go down them. The wench is still running though, so apparently the game designers missed something. ;) The ice cavern is still off-limits, so Dali is really the only thing you can do over here for now.

Save outside the village, then head inside. Head straight to the mayor's house and snoop around. Check the desk and you'll get a Mini-Brahne . Search it another time or two until the Mayor's Son says "Zzz..." Now check the Heater and you'll receive the Mayor's Key . Quit, then go to the windmill and head up the ladder. You should be able to get to both chests now. The upper one has a Cachusha in it, the lower one has an Elixir .

Back downstairs, search the room that's always said, "You need the Mayor's Key " before. Now you can go look around where the chocobo is (you may have to wait for him to move out of the way before you can get to the chest). The far back corner has a chest with 30,000 Gil in it. Search the treasure chest again (There's something under the treasure box...) Select "Reach for it" to receive the Burman Coffee . You shoud now have all three specialty coffees.

Head out of town and go to the the "Observatory Mountain" just a bit North-East. Mordid should be standing at the bottom of the stairs. Isn't it nice that he's getting some sun? Standing there... Blocking your way to go up the stairs... Whatever... Go talk to him and he'll be VERY happy you have the beans. Give them to him, and he'll send you the model of the Theater Ship. Head back to Dali and stock up on low-power weapons you might have sold off or synthed. Head back toawrd Treno by going through south gate and save outside the city. Unequip stuff with abilities that you might want someone else to learn.

Pop back in, save your game and then head to the tournament stadium. You'll have to win two rounds in the stadium before you can challenge the champion, but you can leave and save in between each battle. I had good luck playing with any card that's weak and has arrows all around (I can flip it on my last move and win everything touching it), Tantarian, Nova Dragon, Lindblum, and Ribbon . After the first battle, you'll be treated to an ATE with Amarant and Freya. When given the choice, chosing not to pry information out of him will mean you can find both of them around town later. Remember when I told you to leave town and do the coffee side quest earlier? If you're too low a level, having one or both of these characters can really even the odds outside.

Anyway, once you start the final card battle, you're committed to leaving this area. Be sure to save before the final card battle. If you can manage to win, you'll receive a Rebirth Ring . If you don't win, you can reload and try again. When you've won the battle (or decided you just can't play any more cards), you'll watch a few cut scenes and then head...

Back to Alexandria
Random rant: Some of the people here STILL refer to Dagger as a princess, not a queen. You use the phrase "your majesty" when addressing a queen, not "your highness." And she's already assumed the throne. In fact, a little further on she'll say "I should never have assumed the throne," so you KNOW she's actually the queen now. Sorry, but sneaky inconsistancies keep me up at night. Anyway, your first act as *queen* here is to tell people you want them to do stuff. You'll be asked what your orders are, then who you want to do them. Here's the optimal deployment pattern:
Knights of Pluto Deployment:

1. Gather Information -> Blutzen and Kohel
2. Protect the townspeople -> Weimar & Haagen
3. Contact Lindblum for Reinforcements -> Breireicht & Laudo
4. Begin preparations to fire the cannons -> Dojebon & Mullenkedheim

Rebuilding Lindblum
When you finally wake up as Zidane, you'll have the wonderful oppertunity to wander around the bedroom and open the chests again. Right from the bed is an Egoist's Armlet . There's a Elixir upstairs. Talk to Mogki (the Moogle) and get a letter for Moodon, then save and head for the Lift. You can't leave or play cards at this point. Ride the lift DOWN to the Base Level, and take the right Trolly to the Serpent's Gate. Explore toward the top of the screen for a Chimera Armlet , then get back on the trolley and head to the Dragon's Gate at the other end of the line.

Explore around the corner where you've found treasure before and you'll get a Remedy . Get back on the trolley and head up to the upper level. When you get there, head left and go upstairs to the Telescope area and talk to Dagger, come back to the lift area and go forward, then up the stairs and into the Royal Bedchambers. When you have control again, head down to the next level down and go to the Guest Room and watch more. Eventually, you'll be turned loose in the city with instructions to find the " Unusual Potion , Beautiful Potion , and Strange Potion ." Zidane tells you that he thinks Cinna has the Unusual Potion .

In an atempt to be subtle, the game cleverly gives you an ATE showing you that the Tantalus folks (including Cinna) are - I know this will come as a HUGE surprise to everyone - haging out at the Tantalus Hideout! Anyway, ride the lift to the Mid Level and take an aircab into town. Head to the Business District first, though. Talk to everyone around town and you'll learn that a Potion collector used to live in a studio in the Theater District. Stop off at the inn, sign the guest book and head upstairs and give Moodon Mogki's letter.

While you are wandering around town, don't forget to search on the ground one screen up from the Inn screen (on the far left) for the Sagittarius Stellazio Coin (see the Stellazio Side Quest Section for more information). Also, head upstairs in the Card Freak's house and open the chests there again. Once has an Elixir and the other has a Remedy . Alice (The lady who owns the Item Shop) has the Beautiful Potion . Be sure to stop off at the Weapon/Item shops and restock (new weapons are available). When you've got that Potion and all the weapons you want (don't forget to synth if you need), head to the theater distrct. Head down into the artist's studio and open the chest in the bottom right corner for another Lapis Lazuli . Talk to the guy, the search in the bottom left corner for the Strange Potion .

Head down the stairway toward tanalus' hideout. When you leave the screen, head back and go inside the hideout. Open all the chests again. 4692 Gil, 970 Gil, 1273 Gil. If you've done the coffee sidequest, you can see the airship model in the lower left corner of the screen, near the ladder. Now head back to Lindblum Castle and head upstairs and into the royal bedchambers. Watch the ATE about Quina, then head into town and pay his bill. I'd also recommend you head to the weapon shop and see if there are any new weapons you can buy. *hint hint* If you want to play cards, you can head to the theater district and play the card freak and his new apprentice. When you are ready to move on, take the lift to the base level. Head (right) to the Serpent's gate and outside, the examine the ladder by the ship to board the Blue Narcissist.

Anchors Away!
Now that you have a ship, there are many things you can do. First off, if you have a Kupo Nut , sail around to the southern part of the Mist Continent and head into Gizamaluke's Grotto. You should be able to give it the Moogle there (you should get an Extension if you're following along here). You might be tempted to just level up folks like Steiner who probably aren't at the level that other folks are, but if you're going to do the chocobo stuff, wait and level folks up after you've found a bunch of cool gear so you can learn awesome abilities at the same time. :)

At this point I usually recommend folks head to the Lost Continent (It's covered in Ice, you can't miss it) in the north western Hemisphere. Take the quick "Cold Field" chocograph side quest here and visit the town of Esto Gaza while you are at it. You'll have to come back here eventually, and you may as well get the weapons and items here that you can't get before this. I'd also recommend stocking up on a Vaccine or 20 too, but that's up to you. While you're at the shop, walk around the left edge and wrap behind the entire counter until you come out on the right. You can find a Wing Edge here. Leave the village and get back on the ship and head south to Chocobo's Lagoon

At chocobo's Lagoon, get all the chocographs you can - including the Daw Lagoon. Head back to the mist continent and get the Dawn Lagoon treasure so you'll have mountain ability for Choco. Use this to pop over to Treno and particiapte in the auctions there. You can get a Promist Ring now, as well as the Thieves Gloves . You can also partcipate in lots of card battles in the stadium now, if you want. If you picked up the Sagittarius Stellazio coin (see the Stellazio side quest Section for more information) from Lindblumb, be sure to sell it off, too. Not to far away from Treno is southgate. If you have a mountain chocobo, you can go OVER the pass to the other side of southgate (where Stiner and Dagger came earlier). You can now open the chest at the top of the ladder and get an Elixir card.

After that, retun to Chocobo's Forest and now you can get more chocographs. Use them, then head to Chocobo's Lagoon when you have an Ocean Chocobo. Get all the stuff you can (including Cracks and Bubbles - see the Chocobos Section if you don't know what I'm talking about). You should have all but four chocographs, and of the ones you have, you should be able to find all but three treasures: Dusk Plains, Forgotten Plains and Outer Island (which means you can't get the Ultima Weapon yet either). There are also 2 cracks you cannot get to at this point. All the stuff you cannot do is on the Forgotten Continant, and you can't get there until you have an air ship. That will happen soon enough. You *could* try and get the friendly Garuda to give you its Diamond , but you don't really need them, and you can come back anytime (I like doing those in order; see the Friendly Monsters Section for more information). Plus, you could just do the chocobo side quests here and get a Diamond fairly easily.

If you head to Alexandria, you should be able to get a few more gems. As soon as you get there, grab the Sapphire just opposite Lila. On the next screen up is an Ether in the lower left corner. One screen up from that has a Remedy in the lower right and 365 Gil in the Upper right. Talk to the girl on this screen for the Alexandria Card. There's also an Amethyst in the lower left. Head up to the moat; the two stashes there have be restocked. The right one has 4832 Gil, the Left one has a Topaz . Take the boat across the moat, and the other side has an Opal on the left and a Peridot behind the fountain, on the right. In the far back left is a Sapphire . Thats pretty much all your options for side quests at this time. The above took me 8 hours, though I came out of it with a great many characters leveled up mightily. I think I spent 4 hours just leveling up - I watch TV and level-up using Picture-in-picture, so I'm distracted While I'm doing it; the superbowl was on and I had fun watching that while leveling up. Anyway, once you're ready to go, head...

Back to Black Mage Village!
Pilot the Blue Narcisist north to the forgotten contient, and head over to Black Mage Village. Head into the item shop, and hop up on the ladder behind the counter. At the top, examine the bed to jump on it and get the Black Belt out of the chest (unless you got it earlier). Follow Vivi to the Graveyard and then head toward the Chocobo stable. When you have control again, leave. Head to the Ship, then east. If you have a mountain chocobo, you can just go straght east. There is a lot of a desert on the easternmost edge of the continent, you're supposed to go there and fall into the quicksand, but... First, make sure you've done all the side quests you want to do at this time, and unequip anything important from Eiko, Dagger, and Freya. There are four patches of quicksand. If you fight an antlion when you fall in, you didn't fall in the right one. The four are more or less in a Diamond shape. You want the northmost one. When you fall into the right (meaning correct) one, you'll wake up in...

The Forgotten Continent
So you have to do Kuja a favor. When he lets you out, head down to where the Black Mages are standing then you'll be teleported to where Kuja is. Walk right and talk to Kuja for a bit. You'll be asked to choose three friends, and told you are going somewhere that you can't use magic. What does that mean to you? Right. No Vivi, No Eiko and No Dagger. Except that you actually DO want Dagger, since you can quickly farm Lapis Lazulis here if both she and Steiner are in your party.

I like to have Zidane take along Steiner, Dagger, and Quina (because there are some enemies you can eat here). Now it's time to fly away. When you have control, you'll be in the middle of a glowing platform. Jump off and head right and up, over the platform, then down and left toward the ship. Step onto the ship, and wait while you are flown across the sea to the Forgotten Continent.

Quina: While wandering around the contenent, learn Limit Glove from Catoblapas, Bad Breath from an Anemone, and Matra Magic from Armstrong. When you first get to the Forgotten Continent, if you have been doing what I suggested, you'll want to way head north (and slightly west) until you find the Chocobo Tracks there. Call Choco and go exploring. The Forgotten Plains are just west of this area on one of the bluffs you can see in the image, and the dusk plains are just south and west of Oeilvert. Hit up the remaining two cracks too, if you want. You can't get any further than this until you have the Airship, so just ignore the rest of the Chocobo Side Quests for now. I'd also recommend visiting the forests east of Oeilvert and meeting up with Jabberwock (see the Friendly Monsters Section for more info). Walk around in the Qu's Marsh here until you find an anemone, then have Quina learn Bad Breath. You can't get into Ipsen's Castle just yet, though. Be sure to equip any new weapons/armor/accessories you have found, then head south to...

Oeilvert
Let's start with a few notes here. First off, if you run across any enemies that appear to be made of stone while you are here, you can throw a Soft at them to insta-kill them. On the other hand, if either Steiner or Dagger are in your party, you can farm Lapis Lazulis here. Some of these gravestones will summon a doppelganger of Steiner and some will summon a doppelganger of Dagger. You can steal Lapis Lazulis from them. This is important because the power of the Summon Ark is directly proportional to how many Lapis Lazulis you have in your inventory, and this is the only chance you have to earn them. If you leave this area with 55 or so, you'll have a VERY powerful summon later on.

When you first arrive, don't forget to look beside you. There's a Moogle here. Mognet/Mogshop/ Tent /Save, then head to the building. When you get in, there are exits left, up and right. Grab the Remedy in the treasure chest under the stairs leading up, then go up those stairs and get the Rising Sun in the chest there.

Go left from here (that's the "up" exit) and grab the Elixir from the chest in the next room. Examine the thing in the middle of the room (it should turn red) then head down the stairs. Take the right exit from the entry room and talk to Stiltzkin in the back. Buy a Hi Potion , Emerald and Elixir for 888 and then mognet/ Tent /save with Mooel. Grab the Gaia Gear from the chest on the right. Go back two screens left. There are two treasures here. The lower one contains a Diamond Sword , and the upper one has a Shield Armor . There are four exits to this room: right (you came in here), up and right, up and down.

Head Down. There are two chests here. One on the lower level, and one on the upper. The lower level chest has a Power Vest and the upper level chest has a Feather Boots . There are also Four glowing lights here, two on the lower level and two on the upper level. You have to touch them all in the proper order to make them work. Start with the light to the left on the upper level, then the one to the right. Next, go down the stairs and touch the one on the right, then the one on the left.

Take the left exit from the upper level and cross to the center of the bridge there. Examine the orb in the middle, then go the rest of the way across the bridge. On the next screen, take the blue door to your left. Backtrack to the room with the Moogles, then save your game and head right. Step onto the platform there and you'll head down. Word of warning: This guy will "confuse" your party. Equip appropriately (read: everyone in your party needs to have "clear headed" equiped). I had Quina's Add Status + Bistro Fork combination, and that put him to sleep for a few rounds. Heh heh. Examine the pedistal in the middle of the room to start the battle with Ark. You can steal a Holy Lance , Power Vest and an Elixir . Use Amarant's "No Mercy" skill, Zidane's Thievery skill, and have Steiner attack while he's tranced to do SERIOUS damage to this guy, and just generally wipe the floor with him. He's not really that powerful, unless he knocks all your guys loopy. When the battle is over, take a minute to unequip anything special (I basically unequip everything except some low-quality weapons; if you've got Eiko in your party, be sure to unequip everything from her), then grab the stone in the middle of the statue. After a few cut scenes, you'll wake up as the deus ex machina that is...

Cid the Frog Saves the Day!
Whatever. When you are in control as Cid, run down to where the Black Mages just left (Down the path and to the right). You're going to be timed here, so listen to the instructions carefully. You'll have six minutes to cross the floor and set the weights. Crossing is tricky, but DON'T get in a hury. Just push the circle button when the guy isn't looking. Watch one of his spines and stop as soon as it moves. You may have to try it a few times to get it right. Once you have the key, you'll be offered a few menu options.

Examine the weights; they are made of Iron, Stone, Clay and Wood. You need all but one. Put on all except the wood (that's clay, stone and iron - the last option) then jump on. As soon as you get control again, equip all your characters. You've probably got quite a few things you want to enable now - especially if you did some chocobo stuff on the forgotten continent ( Whale Whisker for Dagger = Curaga!). Head right and save at the moogle there (Mojito). You can also shop and mognet. Now it's time to enter the maze of...

Kuja's Desert Palace O' Fun!
You are the rest of the party, now. Eiko, Dagger, Vivi and Freya for my party. The point of this excercise is to turn on all the hidden lights in the palace. This will keep you from having to fight the final battle at a SIGNIFICANT disadvantage. If you run into a Grimlock (three balls stacked like a snowman) use ice magic on him if the red ball is on top, or physical attacks if the blue is on top. Go left two screens from Mojito the save moogle, then go up. On this screen are two angels. Examine the one on the left to light the candles. When something glows on your right, examine it. That's a bloodstone. You'll unlock Elemental Attacks for the final battle (and you'll get a Promist Ring ). This is a pattern you'll be repeating 5 more times.

The hidden Path
Go up another screen. Read the placards on all the statues there (don't try to get the chest yet, it doesn't exist) and try to leave by the left side of the screen. A lit path should appear. Head up that path and light the candles on the right side of the next screen. Go back down the light path and grab the chest on the right ( Fairy Earrings ) (it appears under the path that just lit up), then go left.

Tricky Braziers
On the next screen, you have to solve a little puzzle:

1. Light the three braziers (the one by the flowers is hard to see) and you'll open two doorways.
2. Go through the one, and you'll be on a small path; take the path and you'll come out the other doorway.
3. Light the brazier near the flowers (not the other two) then go back cross the path to the other side.
4. Light the braziers on the other side of the flowers (they are hard to see, there are two of them) and the statues should disapper.
5. Go light the other two brasiers on the right side.
6. Finally, light the brazier at the bottom of the screen to reveal the bloodstone.
7. Examine it to disable his magic power enhancement for the final battle (and get an Anklet ) then take the doorway on the far right.

1. First, light the candles at the far left (by the statue).
2. When some stairs appear, go up them and all the way to the left to light another set of candles.
3. The top shelf of books should move to reveal doorway.
4. Go through it and examine the bloodstone to unlock your physical dodge for the final battle (and get an N-Kai Armlet ).
5. Go back down the stairs, and this time go up the stairs to the middle level of books.
6. Light the candles on the right, but don't take that path yet.
7. Head back down and light the candles on the bottom.
8. A doorway should open up. Go through it and light the candles there.
9. Go back out and turn OFF the candles at the bottom of the statue on the right.
10. The lowest level of books should close again.
11. Now walk all the way left and you should be able to walk THROUGH the stain glass there.
12. You've now found Mogsam (the Moogle).
13. Mognet/ Tent /Save. When you are ready to go on, head through the doorway in the middle level of books and go left along the path.
14. Light the candles about half way up, then continue on. Light the candles at the top of the path, then backtrack to the Moogle.

Lost Continent: Esto Gaza
Quina: Eat a Vorpal for Mustard Bomb, and a Red Dragon for Twister. I tried to go find more chocographs but I couldn't. That being said, when I was wandering around the snow field outside Esto Gaza I ran into Feather Circle (See the Friendly Monsters Section for more info on this guy.) If you want to go that route, you can also get Rainbow Garuda at this time, too (should you need a Diamond .) Head to Esto Gaza and talk to the priest. Be sure to buy at least 25 vaccines, along with the new weapons, too. (What these guys are selling has changed since the last time you came through here - and you really want Vivi to get a Octagon Rod so he can learn Firaga / Blizzaga / Thundaga. When you are done shopping, equip new stuff then head left one screen then up one screen. Talk to Mogrika and mognet/ Tent /save. Head right and then up to enter...

Mount Gulug
If you run across a Hydra here, you can steal an Antidote or a Hi Potion . They look really ominous, but they only have around 5K HP. It's a dragon enemy, so just have Vivi reflect ice against him or use Dragon's Crest, Thievery, etc. For the Vepal enemies, use these same attacks. If you find a wraith, you can use these same attacks, but use cure magic instead of ice magic. Despite appearing to be undead eneimes, the Phoenix Down trick doesn't seem to work on them. For Red Dragons, you can steal a Tent , an Ether , and an Elixir (use master thief and bandit!) In addition, if you have Quina you can learn the Twister blue magic - very powerful! Again, dragon enemy, so ice, thievery, dragon crest, etc. Also, you can put them to sleep and slow them. For Grenade enemies, you can use Thievery and Dragon Crest. Generally speaking, Flare is good, but Meteor isn't so hot. Just FYI: I left this area with 6, count 'em, 6x Elixir .

When you first enter the mountain, go left into the little hut there. Examine the floor on the botton right for 9693 Gil, then search the far left for information, then go up the ladder and search upstairs for an Ether . Go left one screen then head down the ladder. Examine the upper right of the platform for a Red Hat then back track to the beginning of the level.

This time, go right into the hut (you'll see something large fly by). Continue right and pass the rope ladder. Examine the path at the end to climb up. Go all the way right and into the cave. Follow the path along and open the chest at the cross roads for a Golden Hairpin (helmet equip for Zidane - he can learn auto-regen). You can also inspect the lamp here to get more information about the level. Backtrack and go down the rope ladder, then head right and mognet/ Tent /save with Moolan (give a letter; get a letter).

In the bottom right corner of this room is a Wing Edge . Continue right a few screens and wind up the stairs (there's another bulletin board here) and back the way you came. At the end of the path, pick up the Gaia Gear , then head back. Go save at the Moogle again (if you want) then continue past the rope to your left. The next house you come to has a chest with a Demon's Mail and a note telling you that you have to pull the lever three times to make it work. Just outside the door is a cave leading up. Go in there and give Mogtaka a letter. You can also continue on a little further and fight more red dragons. There's a chest here with another Elixir , too. I had a couple of charcters that had nothing to learn at this point, so I back tracked and swapped them out.

When you are ready to go on, head back to the rope and pull the lever down three times. Hop on the rope and slide down. You won't be able to get back up from here. EDIT: Actually, you can. I don't know why I wasn't able to before. You just hop on the rope at the bottom of the screen and scurry up. Fight more red dragons then head out the hole opened up by the Red Dragon. You'll eventually have to fight Meltigemini (Zorn + Thorn). You can steal a Demon's Vest , a Golden Hairpin and a Vaccine . You've probably got all these already, so just toast him. Holy is your friend. After the battle and cut scenes, you'll want to make sure to use a Vaccine on anyone who needs it to clear the virus status abnormality. You did buy them when I recommended it, right? If not, you better go do it now, because Remedy doesn't work on that. You'll eventually meet up with Hilda and return to...

Gonna fly me an airship!
OK. So Cid is back to being a man and you've woken up in Lindblum Castle. First things first, head over and mognet/save with Mogki, then head to the conference room and watch a bunch of cut scenes. Eventually, you'll end up with an airship! Cool, eh? Before you head to Ipsen's castle, though, you may want to do a few things first. If you have Stellazio Coins (or get one durring the Daguerreo Side Quest below; see the Stellazio Side Quest Section for more information) take them to treno and trade them in. You should be able to get the Rosetta Ring by this time (heck, I had 3 before I went to ipsen's castle.) If you have any kupo nuts, head to Gizamaluke's Grotto and give them to the Moogle there. You may also want to wander around in some forests to find Ragtime (the final 6 encounters should be unlocked - remember to tap the d-pad and wait 20 seconds between encounters). I found him while I was looking for Friendly Monsters. Here are a few optional side quests to complete.

Optional: Treno Knight's house: Amdusias
If you want, you can head to treno and fight the Amdusias. You can steal an Ether , a Phoenix Pinion , an Antidote , and a Hi Potion . He casts Level 4 Holy, so if your guys are a multiple of 4, ouch. He will also jump up in the air, after which he'll use physical "horn" attacks. By now, your guys are probably pretty high level, so hopefully that won't be a problem. He will cast bio a lot, so having reflect is pretty helpful. Between reflecting Bio back to him, and equiping the ability "Mug", when I was ready to kill him off, it only took a single Thievery attack. For this battle, I received Running Shoes as a prize. It was a good thing, because the pair I ALREADY HAD wasn't good enough. lol.

Optional: Chocobo Sidequest
You can now go back to Chocobo's Forest and get the final chocograph pieces that make up the chocograph which points to the mist ocean. There Choco can learn to fly, and you can visit Chocobo's Air Garden for the rest of the Chocographs. I usually finish the Chocobo side quest here. See the Chocobos Section for more information. Well maybe not the whole thing. I don't actually do the Ozma battle yet. I usually do that after I've met the Master Synthesist on Disc 4 (in memoria).

Optional: Friendly Monsters
You may also want to finish the Friendly Monsters Section at this time. See the Friendly Monsters Section for more information.

Optional: Daguerreo

When you first get the airship, this is one of the first places you'll want to go. It's an island with a HUGE mountain in the middle of it, near Chocobo's Lagoon. There are waterfalls, too. You can't miss it. When you first enter Daguerreo, head right and search in the water for the Capricorn Stellazio Coin. Continue going right, and you'll meet a four-armed man (Gilgamesh) on the next screen. This is the guy you want to talk to about treasure. As your treasure hunter rank goes up, he get's more and more impressed. By the time I got here, I was rank S. He said, "Parden my for my rudeness and ran off." If/when he does this to you, follow him outside and talk to him near the entrance to Daguerro for the Rank S Medal .

Head back to the screen where you met the four armed man and take the elevator up to the next level. Mognet/ Tent /Save with Noggy. Just up from him is the Synth for Daguerreo. Not only can you synth some pretty powerful weapons, armor and accessories, but you can finally synth Jewels. If you do so, be sure to save at least 5 (you'll see why in a moment.) If you have the Hamlen weapon for Eiko, you can learn the Jewel white magic. This will allow you to extract "Jewels" from enemies. Basically, every time you use that magic you'll get an Ore . Find some place with low level enemies and just have her cast that over and over to get as many Ore as you can carry, then come back here and synth them into whatever jewels you like. This is important, because the attack power of your various summons is directly proportional to the number of certain jewels in your inventory. That being said, I don't recommend doing that until AFTER visitin Ipsen's castle, since you can earn various gems by defeating enemies there. Here are the items you can synth with Ore and what Jewel/Summon that helps with:

• Ore + Remedy = Garnet (Bahamut)
• Ore + Annoyntment = Amethyst (Atomos)
• Ore + Soft = Peridot (Ramuh)
• Ore + Antidote = Sapphire (Fenrir)
• Ore + Potion = Opal (Shiva)
• Ore + Eye Drops = Topaz (Ifrit)

Ipsen's Castle:
Before going to Ipsen's Castle, make sure everyone has wimpy weapons. That's right, bad ones. Go to Dali and buy them, if you have to. I'll caution you, though. Don't go in with bad ARMOR. The Straw Hat /aloha shirt/ Pearl Armlet /sandles combination would be a mistake here. When you are ready to procede, get on the airship and tell it to go to Ipsen's Castle. The place is marked on your map, and if you click 'X' while pointing to it on the map, Erin will take you right there. Park the ship outside and get ready for trouble.

The problem with this place, though, is that the normal damage of weapons is reversed. Equip your worst weapons (original ones, if you kept them). Your powerful magic and abilities are still OK, though. Right away Amarent will ask to go off on his own. Go ahead and let him, then climb the stairs and enter the castle. You can eat a Veteran to learn Doom. If you run into a Gargoyle statue (usually with another enemy) throw a Soft at it quickly. You're welcome. ;) To your immediate left upon entering the foyer is a chest with a dagger. That's a subtle hint that you need low power weapons. Across from that (on the right) is the Aquarius Stellazio coin (see the Stellazio Coins Section for more information).

You can't leave just yet, so don't bother trying to go trade it in (Zidane is worried about Amarant, I guess). If you climb the stairs and read the panel to your left, you'll get another clue about all this. Go ahead and go through the doorway to the next area. Mognet/mogshop/ Tent /save with Kumool (you should get a Kupo Nut out of this, if you aren't already carrying one). There is a chest in the upper left corner of this room. It's tough to see; it has a Cat's Claws . For the rest of the castle, I'm going to bullet each room to make it easier to follow along:

• Jump down the Pole in the center of the room. At the bottom, head up and right to get to the ladder (you have to follow the path down and left first, though). At the top of the ladder, follow the path to the left edge of the screen and go through the doorway.
• On the next screen, you'll go slightly up and in another doorway.
• On the next screen, jump on the ladder. Go up and Jump off to the right. Follow that path until you get the Broadsword out of the treasure chest, then head back. Now jump off and go left until you reach the chest with a Javelin . Go back to the ladder and this time head down. At the bottom, hop off and follow the ledge right and up the stairs. Jump on the ladder at the top of those stars. Go up and jump off the ladder. Follow the path up and right to get to the other chest. This one has a Rod . Go back to the ladder and go up to the next platform, then through the doorway.
• On the next screen, head up the elevator in the center by going to the far end of the screen. Watch some dialogue with Amarant, then head back out (you don't wanna grab these yet).
• Come forward until you reach the weird thing on the wall to the right and exmaine it, then push, then pound then think. Now do them all again, and then push a bunch. Evenually, you'll be give the option to "Try something drastic." Take that option, then rest.
• You should now be upstairs in the Foyer. Go right and open the chest there for another Barette , then go back through the doorway to the previous room. Next, take the elevator to the room where you met Amarant.
• Now go up to the wall and examine those discs on it. When you've grabbed them all, try to leave and you'll encounter Taharka. This guy has Orichalcon (a powerful weapon for Zidane), Mythril Claws and an Elixir . You should have pleanty of elixirs, and you can buy Mythril Claws at Esto Gaza. Just grab the Orichalcon , then kill him. He's worth 11 AP.
• After the fight, head back the way you came, don't stop until you reach Kumool (the moogle). When you get to the top of the pole (en route), a trap door will open. Each time you fall down a trap door, another one will be visible when you come up. Look closely; you can see them. Save, then head to the corner of the screen where the chest (with the Cat's Claws ) is. Walk around until you fall down, then get the chest there ( Maiden Prayer ). Hop of the ledge and head back up the pole.
• This time, head out toward the front of the castle, but look left in the foyer. There are two staircases there. Go up the right one (it used the be the sign). On the next screen, go across the walkway to the other side. Head left, and go through the doorway.
• On the next screen, go all the way to the left edge of the screen and get the Air Racket there, then go to the middle of the screen and stand near the pole (it's an elevator).
• This is a fun place. First off, grab the chest there to get a Golem's Flute . There are two vases and three platforms. Grab the right most vase and put it on the center platform. Now alternate moving the vases to the empty spot. You'll essentially be moving them counter clockwise a few times. Just keep it up untill a lot of lightning is channeled into one of them. Pick it up to get the " Ancient Aroma ." This lets Dagger learn Odin's Sword, which allows Odin to attack as well as try to instantly kill people off.
• Head back to where the moogle is and climb UP the pole this time. Open the chests hidden on the chadaler for a Fork and a Mage Staff , then jump down and head outside. When you get to the bottom, you'll discover that Amarent is missing and go in after him.
• Head to the moogle room and hop on the pole; go down. At the bottom, head down and left until you find him, then battle your way back outside.

Breakin' the Seals (dun dun un)!
Before you break anything, you might want to consider trading in any Kupo Nut and/or Stellazio Coin you happen to have. If you only have the one Kupo Nut , you'll probably get a Phoenix Pinion from it at this point. As long as you are in Treno, you may want to fight the monster in the basement of the knights house if you missed it before, bid on auction items or play cards in the stadium. If you want to, head to Alexandria. You can find the jump rope group in the bell tower. If you have Vivi or Eiko in your party you can try your hand at jumping. I never really got into the jump rope thing, though.

Anyway, when you're ready Let's go break the seal. Save your game, then head to the swirling vortex in the large bay south of Ipsen's Castle. You'll fly the airship there and then let Eiko and Dagger off. After that, head north east to the Lost Continent (the frozen one). On the east side of the island is a large volcano. Go let off Freya and Amarent there. Head to the southern tip of the Forgotten continent, southeast of Oeilvert. Drop off Steiner and Vivi there. Finally, head to the Outer Contenent where the Desert Palace was. Go southwest until you see some weird looking stuff on the ground. That's the earth shrine. When you head out, be sure to check your equipment.

You'll wander down a path and watch a conversation with Quina. You'll have to jump when the esclamation mark show up, so be ready for it. You'll watch some stuff happening to Dagger and Eiko, then you'll have control again and be told it's time to put the mirror on the stone. Before doing so...

If you properly prepare for this battle, it's actually really easy. If both Zidane and Quina have auto-float, auto-haste, and auto-regen enabled, you can withstand most of the attacks from this enemy. It's also helpful to ensure Zidane has master thief and bandit enabled. (For the upcoming boss battle, I literally had Zidane steal twice, then had him use Thievery twice, then had Quina use Eat. Battle done.) If you're not sure about your character's power, an alternative strategy is to have a simple dagger equiped for Zidane (don't give him a more powerful weapon). Once you put the mirror on the stone, the battle starts after some cut scenes.

This enemy carries a Rubber Suit and an Avenger . As I indicated above, I had Zidane steal them both quickly while Quina just defended. Once they were stolen, I had Zidane use Thievery twice, which left the enemy able to be eaten by Quina. If your party isn't able to do this, here's an aternative strategy. Have Qunia use mighty guard and white wind to keep your guys healthy while Zidane steals. Once you've stolen those, try to eat him. Have Zidane use Theivery and Quina use Frog Drop. He's got about 20,000 HP, so when you are getting close to that number, start having Zidane attack normally. With just a dagger equiped, he'll do small amounts of damage, ensuring you don't kill him off before Quina can eat him.

You can learn Earth Shake from him, which is pretty cool. You get 0 EXP, 11 AP, 4512 Gil (with Quina's Millionare) and a Phoenix Pinion . I got him to around 18,500, and could eat him then. After a few more cut scenes, tell Amarant why you do what you do. You can chose Dagger, Kuja, or Dunno. Your choice will not impact the outcome.

Shimmering Island
OK. Step one: Re-equip all your guys, decide on a party, then save. If you're ready to head out, pilot the Hilda Garde 3 to the shimmering island. As you hover over the colorful area, you'll be able to land now. (You've not been able to do this until now, so if you're reading ahead, don't try it until after you've broken the seal.) Press 'O' to land, then tell your guys to "keep going." Watch the cut scenes, then you'll wind up on Terra. Head right one screen, then take the low road to the left. You can get to a chest with a Coronet here if you jump right. If you jump forward and wrap around to the right, there is a Dragon Wrist in a chest.

Grab those, then head back up to the main path. This time, take the road straight. On the next screne you'll find a chest on the left with an Elixir . A little further up, you'll meet someone who looks a lot like Zidane. Follow her. The next screen spans a long way to the upper right corner of the screen. On the next one, Zidane will ask, "Where'd she go?" Go to the far right and examine the blue net to climb down it. On the next level, take the net to the right down to pick up a Remedy , then come back up.

Go around the left corner and hop over the hole to get the chest ( Mythril Racket ) behind the corner. Come back toward the hole and this time "Go Down." Open the chest there for a Demon's Vest then head left. After the conversation, follow the girl. It's hard to see, but you'll go toward the top of the screen on the next screen. Go ahead and go on like she says and you'll end up where there are a bunch of stairs. On that screen, go up the first flight and head directly left, then wrap around forward and right. This hidden path will lead you to a chest with a Minerva's Plate inside. Head back up to the stairs and continue up to the next screen. Welcome to...

Bran Bal
After the cut scenes, you'll get control of Zidane. If either Dagger or Steiner are in your party, you'll regroup. Talk to everyone in this town. Head right first, and go through the first door on your right. Examine the rocking pot to free Moorock (a moogle) so that you can mognet/mogshop/ Tent /save (save enough money to spend 2222 on Stiltzkin, though). Open the chest here for a Wing Edge , then head back outside.

Immediately go back inside and talk with Stiltzkin. Buy Diamond , Ether and Elixir for 2222, then exit the room again. Talk to these guys, and head around to the upper left (don't go in any buildings yet though) keep talking. On the next screen, keep walking around that thing in the middle, but when you get to the bottom, go slow. There are two exits here. Both lead down and right, but the upper one is hard to see. Take it. You should end up under the stairs that lead up to Bran Bal. Go right (under the stairs) and examine when the exclamation mark shows up. Open the chest here for a Flash Hat .

Go back to the screen leading to the storage area (where Moorock is) and enter the other building. Head down the stairs on the right, and go all the way to the front of the screen. There is an Elixir here. Talk to these guys, then head back up the stairs and talk to the guys there. Leave this building using the lower left exit, then enter the inn on your left. Eventually Zidane will leave and you'll be in control as just him.

Head back inside the inn and run all the way to the back. Open the chest there for an Elixir . Talk to Freya if you want to rest, otherwise head out. If you really want to, you can level-up Zidane here by leaving the village and fighting. You better have auto-life and auto-reflect enabled, though. Roulette / bio can get really ugly. To continue on, head into the room to the right of the inn, where the weird crystal thing is and go down stairs and talk to the girl. When she leaves, follow her up the stairs. Eventually, you'll be Eiko, in charge of finding Zidane.

Leave the inn and head right. If you want, you can go save first (and, if you want, level up eiko by herself), but you're going to want to pick up other people. Grab Quina from the Crystal Room, then Vivi from in front of the storage room, and finally Amarant from the town entrance. Go through the glowing green doorway you couldn't get through before (it's on the same screen as Amarant), then follow the path and talk to the girl.

Pandemonium
When you first get control of Zidane inside Pandemonium, just make sure you are equiped and head forward. You'll have a short discussion, then you'll want to continue forward and follow him. You can't do much of anything else until after the Pandemonium title screen shows up. Follow Garland by jumping from platform to platform and listening to him going on and on. After a very long time, you'll be fighting an Amdusias - with Freya and Amarant helping out. You'll get a few friends to help, and go through a battle with an Abadon - with Quina and Steiner.

If you didn't learn twist from the Red Dragons in Mount Gulug, you can usually learn Twister by eating an Abadon. Unfortunately, Quina can't eat this one. After him, you'll be fighting a Shell Dragon. You can steal an Elixir from him, if you try hard enough, and thievery probably will do quite a bit of damage. This guy will use an attack called "Smash" that will reduce you to one HP. Then you'll get healed by Dagger, who is apparently the only one Zidane will listen to. You get 4 AP from him, though, which is pretty cool. After a bit of conversation, you'll get an opportunity to level up with Dagger, Qunia and Steiner. If you have it (and haven't already equiped it) be sure to equip the Ancient Aroma to Dagger. You'll wanna equip Clear Headed to your guys, too.

If you run across a Malboro, you can get seriously worked. Steiner's "Shock" works well on them, though. Level 4 Holy works on the Mover enemies, but Odin doesn't. Head back through the doorway you came in via and follow that hallway all the way to the rest of your party. Moorock has followed you here, so be sure to use him to Tent /mogshop/switch out party members. Choose your party and head past the Moogle. That's right, backtrack one screen and grab the Holy Miter on the chair. Now go ahead and head back to the right. When you pass the room you found dagger in, you'll enter a little maze. Examine the controls at the top of the screen, then try to avoid the lighted bubbles. Watch the video to see how to do this. (NOTE: You can right click on that link and "save as" to import it into quicktime. Once you have it on your machine, you can expand it to watch this full screen, which will likely be easier to see.)

Walk quickly through the maze and across the light bridge. In the next room, you'll find a device used to control a platform a little further on. There are two values here. Once controls the direction the platform faces, the other control shows the height it is stopped at. The way this works is, if you examine any ledge that's on a different level than the elevator, it'll come down to your level. The heading determines which direction the elevator entrance faces. Enter a value of 3, then head left and get onto the platform where you can. Once you get off, continue up, and you should be able to jump on again and get 20,007 Gil.

Ride back down and go back to the control room, and this time choose a value of 4. Go back and keep getting on and off the elevator until you get to a circular room. If this works for you and you've made it to the 4th floor, skip the next section.

(Optional) Note: It looks like there are a few things that can happen here. One time I ended up having my second party show up to help "man the controls" while you go play with the elevator. When that happens, have Zidane's party go left to where the elevator is. The ATE will let you switch between parties. If that happens to you, here's the magic formula:

1. Use the ATE to become party 2.
2. Set the Heading to 4 and press "X". Then press "O". If you don't do it in that order, it doesn't stay toggled.
3. Switch to Zidane and get on the Elevator. You'll go up.
4. When you get off the elevator, go all the way around and up, up up (you'll be on the 3rd floor).
5. At the very top and far left, examine the far edge.
6. Switch to party 2.
7. Use the ATE to change the heading to 4.
8. Hop on and "Go up to the fourth floor."

1. Take the platform that's left and down.
2. Of the two elevators on the next level, take the upper one.
3. There are two more elevators here - one up and one down.
4. Optional: Take the elevator down and right, then take the only elevator here and open the chest for Battle Boots . Go back down.
5. Take the elevator going up and right.
6. On the next level, take the only elevator you can get to.
7. Save/Mognet/etc at the Moogle (Mozme). You can now leave this area by heading right past the moogle, BUT FIRST - See the strategy notes below!.

1. Take the elevator up and left on the fourth floor.
2. Take the only elevator you see here.
3. On the next level, there will be 3 other exits. Take the far right one (it's blue).
4. On the next level, open the chest for an Elixir .
5. Go back to the previous level, this time, take the far left elevator (it's blue too).
6. Follow the path here to the chest for a Carabini Mail (steiner finally gets auto-regen).
7. Go back up the elevator to the previous level.
8. This time, take the pink elevator.
9. You should be back in the circular room with three exits. Refer to Section One instructions above.

1. Bandit and master theif (Zidane only)
2. locomtion
3. auto-reflect
4. reflect-null (healer only)
5. ability up (if you need it)
6. clear headed
7. insomniac
8. auto-regen
9. auto-life
10. auto-haste
11. dragon killer

Boss: Silver Dragon
You can steal Kaiser Knuckles , Dragon Mail and Elixir . By now I already had plenty of Elixirs and the Kaisre Knuckles, so I only wanted the Dragon Mail . Have Zidane steal until you have everything you want, then have him attack (don't forget about his Theivery skill!) In the mean time, use the other three to keep your guys alive. Have Freya use Rei's wind to heal, and Dragon Killer to attack. Steiner (or whoever) can use items to heal. Eiko or Dagger can cure, but Eiko has holy - and a trance with Holy can do two or three rounds of double white holy attack. THAT'S a powerful character. Anyway, after the battle, watch a few cut scenes, then fight...

Boss: Garland
You can steal Dark Gear , Ninja Gear and Battle Boots from Garland. Use the same attack pattern as above. Use white draw to replenish your magic, if you need to. Between Holy and Dragon's Crest, though, you shouldn't need to do much else. Afterwords, watch some cut scenes then begin the last battle on this disc...

Boss: Kuja
You can steal a Light Robe , a Carabini Mail and an Ether from Kuja. Watch out for his Flare Star attack. It can REALLY mess you up. Be ready to heal up when that happens. You probably already have the items he carries, so you may not want to steal. Eventually, he'll trance and cast Ultima, signaling the end of the battle. Get ready to run. After Kuja's Fantastic Pyrotecnics Display (TM), you'll regain control of Zidane. Head forward and around the bend until a light bridge shows up. Go across it and you'll get to a weird statue. As far as I can tell, there are no random encouners here. Run to where the genomes are and you'll auto-magically round them up and leave. Watch the cool cut scenes. Save your game (you don't wanna do all that again, do you?!?)