========================================================================
An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Walkthrough
Version 1.9
========================================================================
System: Sony PlayStation
Author: Cephiroth (cephiroth@yahoo.com)
Author's Notes:
Hello, and welcome to version 1.9 of "An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII
Walkthrough". As of current writing, I'm still undecided whether to
base this FAQ solely on the U.S version, or both the U.S and Japanese
versions simultaneously (there are subtle differences between both
releases). Let me know what you think; for now, I'm sticking to the
latter option. Btw, this FAQ contains spoilers (mainly meant for
those playing the Japanese version), so watch out for the *warnings*.
I recommend that you view this document in a font with a fixed width
such as courier, as the layout for this FAQ has been optimized in using
the courier font.
================
Revision History
================
- Version 0.1 (24th July, 1998)
Wrote a mini-walkthrough for the trial edition of ff 8.
- Version 0.2 (31st July, 1998)
Corrected some mistranslations thanks to Jon Chang's guide.
- Version 0.3 (16th April, 1999)
Updated the walkthrough up to the end of Disc One.
- Version 0.4 (13th June, 1999)
Updated the walkthrough up to the end of Disc Two and fixed some
errors from the earlier v 0.3.
- Version 1.0 (23rd June, 1999)
Completed the walkthrough, added a SeeD Ranking section, a few new
names to the Credits section and corrected some mistakes from the
earlier v 0.4.
- Version 1.1 (26th June, 1999)
Fixed some errors from the earlier v 1.0, and tidied up the format of
the walkthrough.
- Version 1.2 (3rd July, 1999)
Added Cast and Card Battle sections, plus corrected a few typos in
the guide.
- Version 1.3 (10th July, 1999)
Re-arranged and corrected some parts of the guide, but nothing too
major.
- Version 1.4 (24th July, 1999)
Revamped the format of the guide, updated both the Basic System and
Battle Tutorial section.
- Version 1.5 (30th July, 1999)
Updated the Menu Tutorial section and made a few touch-ups.
- Version 1.6 (8th August, 1999)
Corrected some typos and tweaked a few ambiguous portions.
- Version 1.7 (15th August, 1999)
Rectified some errors in the FAQ.
- Version 1.8 (22nd August, 1999)
Minor update, corrections made to a few sections.
- Version 1.9 (12th September, 1999)
Updated the FAQ (partially!) with the U.S translations, added more
area maps and created a Miscellaneous section.
I'm not through yet with updating my FAQ, but due to time constraints,
I won't be updating again for a while. As such, I won't be entertaining
any gameplay questions, at least until October.
The newest revision of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com.
Disclaimer:
This FAQ is intended for private and personal use, and can only be re
-produced electronically if you contact me via e-mail and receive my
permission to do so. This FAQ cannot be used for profitable purposes.
All copyrights and trademarks that are not specifically mentioned in
this FAQ are acknowledged. No parts of this FAQ may be altered in any
way; please give credit where it is due.
"Final Fantasy VIII" (c) 1999 Squaresoft
"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc.
"An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Walkthrough" (c) Cephiroth 1998-1999.
=================
Table of Contents
=================
I. Cast
II. Basic System
III. Battle Tutorial
IV. Menu Tutorial
V. Card Battle
VI. SeeD Ranking
VII. Full Walkthrough
- SeeD
- Assassination
- Edea the Sorceress
- Esthar
- Lovers
- Time Compression
VIII. Miscellaneous
IX. Credits
If you want a list of items, spells, G.Fs, abilities, cards and
whatnot, I suggest you check out Part II of Scott Ong's Final Fantasy
VIII FAQ instead, at www.gamefaqs.com.
========================================================================
I. CAST
========================================================================
[Introduction]
A graduate from the world famous military school, Garden, Squall meets
a mysterious young girl at a campus party. Her carefree nature gradually
influences Squall, a cold-hearted young man who rejects the presence of
others. In a sudden twist of fate, the nation of Galbadia declares war
on the entire world... standing by the Galbadian President as he makes
his speech is a sorceress, a symbol long forgotten from the memories of
the people...
[Characters]
Final Fantasy VIII offers a wide cast of characters who play various
roles in this epic saga. Appearing in no particular order:
Squall Leonhart
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Height: 177 cm (5'10")
Blood type: AB
Birthdate: August 23rd
Weapon: Gun Blade
The main character of ff 8, Squall is a short-spoken and emotionless
young man. A student of Balamb Garden, he's an introvert with little
concern for his comrades; few can actually claim to understand him. A
cool and mysterious guy.
Limit Break: Renzokuken (Sequential Blade)
Squall launches into an array of slashes, and sometimes finishes off
his 'Renzokuken' with a spectacular blow, which varies accordingly to
the type of Gun Blade he's carrying. Damage is increased by timing R1
with the cuts.
Rinoa Heartilly
Age: 17
Sex: Female
Height: 163 cm (5'4")
Blood type: Unknown
Birthdate: March 3rd
Weapon: Blaster Edge
Final Fantasy 8's female lead, Rinoa, is both angelic and bubbly. She
loves to speak her mind, and has the habit of acting on impulse. Rinoa
and Squall met during one of SeeD's inauguration parties.
Limit Breaks: Combine / Varly
Rinoa summons Angelo, her pet dog. She's capable of dealing out
several unique attacks. Angelo learns new tricks when Rinoa reads 'Pet
Pals'. The respective skill then appears in Rinoa's 'Specials' window.
Learning a new skill is done by highlighting it with the arrow; the
more steps Rinoa takes, the more the bar fills up. A trick is
considered to be learnt when the bar is fully filled.
Varly will only become available in the later stages of the game; in
this mode Rinoa is controlled by the computer and can only cast random
spells, all of which hit for maximum results.
Seifer Almasy
Age: 18
Sex: Male
Height: 188 cm (6'11")
Blood type: O
Birthdate: December 22nd
Weapon: Cross Sword
Seifer is gifted with natural fighting abilities, but his eagerness for
victory and impatience makes him one of Balamb Garden's problematic
students. He is aware of Squall's capability, and views him fiercely as
a rival.
Limit Break: No Mercy (Japanese version: Shimatsusuken)
Seifer casts a spell on the enemy, then gathers energy upon his Cross
Sword before unleashing multiple energy arcs which home in on their
targets, leaving spectacular green trails behind them.
Zell Dincht
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Height: 168 cm (5'6")
Blood type: B
Birthdate: March 17th
Weapon: Gloves
Young and brash Zell aspires to be just like his grandfather, a famous
military figure. His ambitions made him enter Balamb Garden at the age
of 13. Zell doesn't give in without a fight, however his actions make
him appear somewhat immature and rash.
Limit Break: Duel
Zell displays his hand-to-hand prowess with a dazzling combo of skills.
All of them are performed SF-style under a timer. Zell gains new skills
via collecting issues of 'Combat King'. When the window appears, enter
the commands quickly in the given time period and a new one should
appear. Trigger those as well, and keep at it until you see his
finishing move command appear in the window. Perform that to end a
successful 'Duel'.
Quistis Trepe
Age: 18
Sex: Female
Height: 172 cm (5'7")
Blood type: A
Birthdate: October 4th
Weapon: Chain Whip
Orphaned at the age of 5, Quistis joined Garden at 10 and officially
became a member of SeeD when she reached 15. She's a good mentor
towards Squall. Quistis is one who's not used to setbacks, and demands
only the best from herself.
Limit Break: Blue Magic (Enemy Skills)
Quistis draws from her massive collection of enemy skills to unleash
upon her opponents. Unlike the rest, Quistis learns new skills via
special items dropped by (or stolen from) her defeated opponents.
Irvine Kinneas
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Height: 185 cm (6'0")
Blood type: A
Birthdate: November 24th
Weapon: Shot Gun
Irvine is full of confidence of himself and his shooting skills are
unmatched by none. He hails from Galbadia Garden, and calls himself
'Garden's Elite Sharpshooter'. Easy-going and humourous, Irvine's
also a big flirt.
Limit Break: Shot
Irvine selects from his collection of special ammo and unleashes it
upon his opponents. Hit R1 repeatedly to fire his gun. Bullets are
purchased from stores, obtained from enemies or received via 'Ammo
Refinement' and 'Card Mod.' menu abilities. Each type of ammunition
has its own unique element.
Selphie Tilmitt
Age: 17
Sex: Female
Height: 157 cm (5'1")
Blood type: B
Birthdate: July 16th
Weapon: Nunchaku
A student of Trabia Garden, Selphie is known to be responsible yet
naive in her thinking. She's playful and child-like, but overall
Selphie's comfortable to be with.
Limit Break: Slot
Selphie casts a random spell from her slot machine. When this window
appears, the 1st option lets you scroll through the spells randomly;
the 2nd makes Selphie cast it, often with doubled or tripled results.
Remember that time runs while you're selecting spells, so be quick.
Fuujin
Age: 17
Sex: Female
Height: Unknown
Blood type: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Weapon: Pin Wheel
Tomboyish, emotionless and quiet, Fuujin exhibits a tough demeanour
equalling that of any man. She also has a habit of speaking entirely
in short, curt sentences.
Raijin
Age: 18
Sex: Male
Height: Unknown
Blood type: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Weapon: Staff
Loud-spoken, rash and unrefined (?), Raijin is the exact opposite of
his sister. Both of them work under Seifer in Balamb Garden in the
Disciplinary Committee.
Laguna Loire
Age: 27
Sex: Male
Height: 181 cm (5'11")
Blood type: B
Birthdate: March 1st
Weapon: Machine Gun
A man with a strong sense of justice, Laguna believes in protecting
the weak. Formerly a soldier, he's now a journalist with Timber Maniacs,
having decided to trade in his sword for a pen. Optimistic and cheerful,
Laguna is very much a people's person.
Limit Break: Desperado
Laguna hurls a grenade at the enemy, leaps and latches onto a rope
while opening continuous fire with his Machine Gun, and ends his Limit
Break with the detonation of the grenade, throwing the enemy sky-high.
Ward Zarback
Sex: Male
Age: 25
Height: 217 cm (7'1")
Blood type: A
Birthdate: February 25th
Weapon: Harpoon
Tough-talking and ominous, Ward sports a scar (which seems to be all
the rage nowadays in ff 8) and a big, mean harpoon. Not someone you'll
want to agitate. He's pretty at ease with his pals, Laguna and Kiros
though.
Limit Break: Massive Anchor
Ward throws his harpoon into the air, leaps up to retrieve it, then
pierces the enemies with a downward thrust, causing a massive explosion.
Kiros Seagul
Age: 23
Sex: Male
Height: 191 cm (6'3")
Blood type: O
Birthdate: July 6th
Weapon: Katals
Looking much more refined than his fellow counterpart Ward, Kiros
formerly served in the Galbadian army, with katals as his weapon. Both
Ward and him have a very good working relationship with Laguna.
Limit Break: Blood Pain
Kiros goes into a slashing frenzy with his katals, approximately
cutting the enemy 7 to 8 times. Critical hits appear at random.
Edea
Age: Unknown
Sex: Female
Height: Unknown
Blood type: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Weapon: Magic
Not much is known about her, but supposedly she's a sorceress bent on
creating trouble. Edea is said to be the mastermind behind Galbadia's
world domination plans, and has shocked the world with her return...
sorceresses were thought to be extinct previously.
Cid Kramer
Age: Unknown
Sex: Male
Height: Unknown
Blood type: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
This lovable character once again makes an appearence, this time as
the headmaster of Balamb Garden! He's well-liked by students for his
kindly nature and friendly student policies. Cid tends to be a little
long-winded this time round, and contrary to previous Cids, he has
trouble dealing with mechanics initially.
========================================================================
II. BASIC SYSTEM
========================================================================
[Controller Operations]
Under the default settings in the U.S. version, the controls are as
follows:
All of the pre-rendered areas in ff 8 are considered field screens.
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party around and highlights choices
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
X: Opens up conversations, picks up items, activate switches, examine
ladders (press Up or Down on the d-pad to climb), confirms choices
Triangle: Cancel. Press together with the d-pad to WALK / Displays
Rules screen in Card Battle
Square: Opens up conversations or initiates a Card Battle game - more
on that later
Circle: Displays the menu screen
The Overworld is the huge 3D polygonal map you use to travel between
towns and dungeons.
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party or vehicle around and
highlights choices
Right Analog-Stick: Moves vehicle forward or backward
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
X: Search locations, mount/dismount vehicle
Triangle: Reverses vehicle
Square: Accelerates vehicle
Circle: Displays the menu screen
R1: Rotates the camera clockwise
L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise
R2: Switches between view points
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Highlights commands
Start: Pauses the game and brings up the help window, along with the
rumble feature window
Select: Hides all windows when held down
X: Confirms selected command
Triangle: Cancels and closes windows
Square: When a G.F. has learnt 'Boost' G.F. ability, hold down Select
during the summoning sequence; tap repeatedly when the finger
icon appears, and stop when a red cross appears over the
finger. You can increase your G.F.'s power if you do it right /
Press to scroll in the Status window if a character is
affected by multiple conditions
Circle: Hit to switch to another character who has a full time bar
R1: Trigger. When timed in conjunction with Squall's Gunblade, this
will allow for double damage / Press repeatedly during Irvine's
desperation sequence to fire his gun
L1: Toggles the target window on/off
R2+L2: Press together to escape. Does not work on bosses
R1+R2+L1+L2+Select+Start: Resets the game. Works only in battle
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the cursor / Moves scroll bar left or
right in the Junction, Item, Magic, G.F,
Abilities and Card screens
X: Confirms the selected command / Brings up the Element, Status, G.F.
and Specials chart in the Status screens / Brings up the Abilities
list in the G.F. screens
Triangle: Cancels the selected command and closes the menu screen
Square: Displays character's Specials chart in their respective status
screens / Removes junctioned magic spell
R1/L1: Switches between characters or G.Fs in their respective status
screens
Which gets kind of confusing, especially if you're used to the controls
in the previous Final Fantasies. Try customizing the controls in the
Config. command in the menu screen to the Japanese version:
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party around and highlights choices
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Circle: Opens up conversations, picks up items, activate switches,
examine ladders (press Up or Down on the d-pad to climb),
confirms choices
X: Cancel. Press together with the d-pad to WALK
Square: Opens up conversations or initiates a Card Battle game - more
on that later
Triangle: Displays the menu screen / Displays Rules screen in Card
Battle
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the party or vehicle around and
highlights choices
Right Analog-Stick: Moves vehicle forward or backward
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
Circle: Search locations, mount/dismount vehicle
X: Reverses vehicle
Square: Accelerates vehicle
Triangle: Displays the menu screen
R1: Rotates the camera clockwise
L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise
R2: Switches between view points
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Highlights commands
Start: Pauses the game and brings up the help window, along with the
rumble feature window
Select: Hides all windows when held down
Circle: Confirms selected command
X: Cancels and closes windows
Square: When a G.F. has learnt 'Boost' G.F. ability, hold down Select
during the summoning sequence; tap repeatedly when the finger
icon appears, and stop when a red cross appears over the
finger. You can increase your G.F.'s power if you do it right /
Press to scroll in the Status window if a character is
affected by multiple conditions
Triangle: Hit to switch to another character who has a full time bar
R1: Trigger. When timed in conjunction with Squall's Gunblade, this
will allow for double damage / Press repeatedly during Irvine's
desperation sequence to fire his gun
L1: Toggles the target window on/off
R2+L2: Press together to escape. Does not work on bosses
R1+R2+L1+L2+Select+Start: Resets the game. Works only in battle
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Moves the cursor / Moves scroll bar left or
right in the Junction, Item, Magic, G.F,
Abilities and Card screens
Circle: Confirms the selected command / Brings up the Element, Status
G.F. and Specials chart in the Status screens / Brings up the
Abilities list in the G.F. screens
X: Cancels the selected command and closes the menu screen
Square: Displays character's Specials chart in their respective status
screens / Removes junctioned magic spell
R1/L1: Switches between characters or G.Fs in their respective status
screens
[Getting Started]
The 2 choices that appear when you start up the game are 'New Game' and
'Continue' respectively. If you're continuing a game from saved data,
take the 2nd option. Otherwise, move the cursor to 'New Game' and hit
'Circle' to proceed.
[Changing Discs]
The game will prompt you when you need to insert a new disc. Do this
by opening the CD cover (there's no need to switch off the power) of
the PlayStation, replacing the disc inside with the required one, and
closing the cover.
[Gameplay Basics]
Below are some of the basic systems and events in the world of ff 8.
Save often; this enables you to resume play at an earlier point should
you fail in battle or in certain game events. The Save command (found in
the Menu screen) is used to record a position on the Overworld or on a
Save Point. The latter are found as blue and orange bands of light
orbiting around a black orb. You need a Memory Card peripheral, which
is sold separately, to save your game.
A reduced world map/sphere (press 'Select' to switch between them) is
shown in the bottom-right corner of the Overworld. In this map, the
direction Squall is facing will be represented by a cone-shaped
yellow beam. The red dot shows Squall's current location.
There're various establishments in the world of ff 8. The following are
some of them:
HOTELS
Spend a night here to recover the HPs of your party members and G.Fs.
Characters affected by abnormal status are also cured. Hotels usually
house Save Points.
CAR RENTAL SHOPS
Cars can be rented for 3,500 gil here. They allow you to travel on the
Overworld quickly while keeping enemy encounters non-existent. Note
that you'll need fuel to actually drive one properly.
TRAIN STATIONS
Trains provide a convenient way of shuttling between major cities. A
ticket costs 3,000 gil.
SHOPS
You can pick various restorative items, fuel, ammunition and the
occasional book from them. They'll also offer to buy any excess items
you have in your inventory list.
JUNK STORES
They specialise in remodeling your weapons.
PET STORES
You'll find a wide assortment of items for your G.Fs and issues of Pet
Pals here.
In ff 8, Square has done away with armours completely, leaving only
weapons which can be remodeled. This is done via collecting raw
materials such as Screws and Steel Pipes by defeating (or stealing
from) enemies, then visiting Junk Stores -- they specialise in
upgrading your weapons. Throughout the course of the game you will
come across Weapon Monthly magazines; these detail the specific raw
materials needed to remodel a particular weapon.
The MP (Magic Points) system which has graced the Final Fantasy series
for so long has all but disappeared in ff 8. Rather, spells behave
more like items now, with limited usage of each spell, i.e. Laguna may
have only 20 'Fire' spells in his magic list, which means he can
only cast 'Fire' 20 times before it runs out. To replenish this
stock of spells, you must draw them either from enemies in combat via
the 'Draw' command, or depend on...
Treasure chests are non-existent in ff 8; they've been replaced by Draw
Points, special locations from where you can gain magic spells for free
from. Draw Points recover after a certain period of time has elapsed.
They're found as purple bands bonded together to form a sphere.
Some Draw Points never recover themselves; you can identify them when
they turn blue after they've been drawn from.
However, a new system has been created in ff 8: the Junction System.
This will be your main source of powering up your party members. Refer
to the Menu Tutorial section below for more details.
========================================================================
III. BATTLE TUTORIAL
========================================================================
[Battle Basics]
At anytime on the Overworld (with the exception of paved roads and
railway tracks) or in a dungeon field screen, you run the risk of
encountering enemies.
It's essential you master the Battle System in ff 8; I'll start by
giving a diagram of the battle layout, and explaining some of the more
basic features. Here's what you usually see at the bottom of a battle
screen:
-COMMAND-------------------------
|Attack/Mug --> Limit Break | NAMES HP ACTIVE
|Magic (or any other command) | OF VALUES TIME
|Draw/G.F (or any other command)| PARTY BARS
|Item (or any other command) | MEMBERS
---------------------------------
The Active Time Battle System in ff 8 is based on the recognition that
time does not stop for a party member to enter his or her commands;
the enemy is likely to attack without conveniently waiting for you to
make your decision. The Active Time Bars you see in the lower-right
of the battle screen indicate the period of time left before a member
has a chance to act. A yellowish pyramid mark over a character's head
signals that it is his or her turn to act.
During battles, numbers will pop out of your characters and enemies.
White numbers indicate damage, while green numbers indicate recovered
HP (Health or Hit Points).
The HP values represent a particular character's health; once this
number reaches zero, that party member is considered to be 'disabled'
(or KO'ed) and can no longer take part in battle. This condition can
be remedied by a variety of spells and items.
In ff 8, the enemies increase their levels in tandem with yours. This
applies to both normal opponents and bosses. Thus, when I list down
a boss's statistics later on in the Walkthrough section, it's only a
rough estimate of what to expect.
The first command lets you attack (duh) and when a party member takes a
set amount of damage (having roughly 3/4 of their HPs depleted), they
will have an alternate way of attacking. This is indicated by a tiny
arrow by the side of the 'Attack' command. To access it, hit and hold
right on the d-pad, and following that, their respective Limit Break
will appear. Also, by switching to another character, the Limit Break
icon is lost.
New or improved Limit Breaks are learnt via magazines. These can be
found in pet stores or on book shelves. Not all characters require such
a method though; Squall's finishing blow to his Renzokuken is determined
by the type of Gunblade he's carrying. I've listed the way each
character receives new Limit Breaks below, and how the more tricky ones
work:
Squall: By upgrading his Gunblade. Apart from this, Squall's
desperation move, the Renzokuken, also causes a Limit gauge to appear;
hit R1 when the moving yellowish light fills the 2nd to left bracket
for double damage. His finishing blow appears at RANDOM, so don't worry
too much about it. Squall acquires up to 4 finishing blows in the entire
game. Literally translated, Renzokuken means Sequential Blade.
-LIMIT--------------------------------------------------
| | Press | # Moving # |
| | 'R1' | <--- # yellow # |
| | here | # beacon # |
--------------------------------------------------------
Rinoa: By reading Pet Pals, and walking around. The red bars you
see in her 'Specials' list on the menu screen are filled via this way.
When a bar is full, that particular skill is considered to be mastered.
You can set the type of trick you want her dog, Angelo, to learn.
Angelo can gain up to 8 skills. The type of trick which appears in
battle is totally randomised. Whenever Angelo masters a new trick, a
ring will sound to indicate this.
Zell: By reading Combat King. His Duel has a timer at the bottom-right
corner of the screen, which indicates how much time Zell has left to
input the pad motions for his special moves. Certain strings of
special moves eventually link up to lead to a finishing blow. Zell can
perform a total of 10 special moves.
Quistis: Enemies sometimes give up special items, i.e. Spider Webs
or Laser Cannons. These when used on Quistis allow her to learn new
Blue Magic (a.k.a Enemy Skills). She can acquire a total of 16
different Blue Magics.
Irvine: You can purchase bullets from stores, or use Ifrit's 'Refine
Ammo' (and sometimes Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.') menu ability to
create bullets. Some of the more special bullets can only be obtained
through refinement. R1 comes into play during Irvine's special; press
it to fire his shotgun until the blue time bar in the bottom-right
corner expires. There're a total 7 sets of unique ammunition.
Selphie: Her Limit Break allows her to randomly cast spells multiple
times, free of charge. Selphie's special also gives her access to four
rare spells not found in the duration of the game; can you view them
all?
Seifer, Laguna, Kiros, Ward: These 4 have their own set Limit Break
which cannot be varied.
The magnitude (and sometimes length) of Limit Breaks are also
dependent on factors such as the character's current HP (i.e. Zell
would have more time to input his pad motions if his condition is
critical, and lesser time if you simply cast an 'Aura' spell on a
healthy Zell for him to use his 'Duel') and Luck parameter (i.e.
Squall seems to perform a finishing blow more regularly with a higher
Luck rating).
The R1 button is used to activate double damage for Squall's Gunblade.
The best time to do this is when Squall dashes across to the enemy,
lifts his sword, and you hear the swish of his blade. Press R1
immediately and Squall should connect for 2x damage.
Magic is a simple click-and-use procedure, and the amount of a
particular magic you can cast is limited by the number appearing beside
it. Press left or right on the d-pad to scroll if the character has
additional spells. MP (Magic Points) values are non-existent in ff 8.
The 'Draw' command is available to all junctioned characters. Clicking
on it, then an enemy will produce a sub-window showing the enemy's
magic list. Select the magic you want, and another sub-window appears.
The 1st is 'Stock', whereby the member absorbs that particular spell
from the enemy for later use. The absorbed spell, if any, will then be
usable in the character's magic list. The 2nd option is 'Cast', which
allows you to use the chosen spell on anyone.
The magnitude of the spell, plus the amount you get when you try to
stock a spell is determined by your character's 'Magic' parameter as
well as 'Luck'. Both options may sometimes result in failure; you can
try as many times as you wish, though.
'Guardian Force' is an ability that summons G.Fs under your command.
Surprisingly enough, there is no limit to its usage; just note that
whenever this command is used, the caster's HP will be converted to
that of the summon monster, and any attacks on him or her during this
period will be absorbed by the G.F. When this number falls to zero,
the character loses the ability to summon the G.F. for that particular
fight.
And as any summoner would tell you, G.Fs don't appear immediately when
they're called; the time it takes for them to come is shown by a blue
bar, which replaces the summoner's active time bar. G.Fs regain lost
HP via walking around or using G.F. items. Such items can be purchased
from shops.
Items are pretty basic. Select an item and decide whom to use it on.
(note: Important!)
In addition to the above battle commands, others are made available as
you train up more Guardian Forces. I'll like to highlight 'Mug'
here, which allows you to attack, then steal from the enemy. Enemies
carry and drop (there IS a difference between these 2 terms) different
items at different levels. So, say if I steal from a Wendigo, I might
receive a Steel Pipe, but if I defeat it (without stealing from it
previously!), it might drop a Steel Orb instead. Also note that
once you've successfully stolen something from an enemy, don't expect
it to drop anymore items when you do defeat it, except for cards.
Another thing: what an enemy might drop can also be determined by G.F.
Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability. So if an enemy isn't dropping
what you're looking for, try equipping that ability if you have it.
Likewise, if you've 'Rare Item' equipped but the enemy doesn't give
up the item you want, try de-equipping that ability instead.
If you still have trouble acquiring the items you want, I suggest
using G.F. Quezacotl's 'Card' command ability on the enemy,
followed by 'Card Mod.' menu ability to get the items. However, this
tactic might not work on all enemies.
Escaping is done by holding down R2 and L2. You cannot run away from
boss encounters. The easiest method to escape is to start pressing
down the buttons as soon as the battle begins, since you can often
take advantage of the enemies' unpreparedness.
Just note that you will be penalised for running away; refer to the
SeeD Ranking section below for more details.
In a normal encounter, your party members start off with their Active
Time Bars partially filled. However, there exists 2 special battle
situations in ff 8:
First Strike -- Either the party or your enemies begin the fight with
full time bars.
Back Attack -- Similar to 1st Strike attacks in the sense that either
the party or your enemies begin the fight with full
time bars. In addition, the side caught by surprise
will start with their backs turned.
Both your party members and enemies take twice as much
damage if attacked while their backs are turned.
Your party's combined 'Luck' parameter seems to determine the
frequency of such special battle situations.
The battle ends when all of the members on either side are killed or
petrified, or if the enemy or your party runs away.
You receive EXP (Experience Points), AP (Ability Points) and Items
from defeated opponents. For methods to obtain Gil, the form of
currency in ff 8, refer to the SeeD Ranking section below.
Incidentally, you need only 1,000 EXP to go up a level in ff 8. Unlike
ff 7, characters not in your fighting party gain zero EXP... I'll
advise you practise rotating your squad members to make sure nobody's
too far ahead (or behind) in terms of levels.
[Battle Tips]
A majority of the enemies in ff 8 are weak against status ailments
attacks such as Sleep, Stop or even Death. This becomes all the more
apparent when you get to junction spells to Status Attack, so try
experimenting on enemies with different maladies -- some of them can
even work on bosses!
A lot of people don't seem to realise they can switch between
characters (provided their active time bars are full) using 'Circle'
for the U.S version, and 'Triangle' for the Japanese version. This
comes in handy when you want to use a specific party member either to
heal or to attack.
Using the target window in battle (hit L1) lets you accurately select
which enemy to attack; it's also a great way to check the name of a
particular monster.
A hit in the back results in double damage; this applies to both your
party members and enemies for physical attacks.
In ff 8, you actually gain EXP when you flee from battle, depending on
the amount of damage you did to your opponents. Any character that
finishes off an enemy gets more EXP as well, so be sure to let Squall
give up his easier kills to a weaker member. This situation also
applies to G.Fs.
Incidentally, if you think Squall is too far ahead in his levels, I
suggest petrifying him for a few battles, since characters affected by
petrifaction receive zero EXP and AP ^_^ Make sure to switch Squall's
junctioned G.Fs (if any) over beforehand! They won't receive any EXP
nor AP if Squall's petrified.
Towards the end of the game, you'll come to rely heavily on Squall's
Renzokuken to dish out the heavy damage. I've included a way to
exploit this to your maximum advantage:
1. Junction Ultima x 100 to Attack, and learn Strength +60% character
ability. This should raise Squall's offense to 255. Learn Auto Haste
party ability from G.F. Cerebrus.
2. Obtain Aura magic (drawable from Heaven/Hell Islands and Seifer at
the end), or Aura Stones via G.F Siren's Tools Refinement menu
ability (each Power Wrist gives you 10 Aura Stones; they can be
bought from the Pet Store in Esthar).
Also draw Meltdown (U.S) or Merton (Japanese) magic from high
level Gaylas (white flying creatures with black stripes on the
Trabia continent) and Bombs (in a forest near to Sabotender Desert,
or in the Fire Caverns). You might want to have a few Haste spells
on hand too.
3. During confrontation, cast Haste on Squall (optional, especially if
he has Auto Haste on already). Follow this up with Meltdown (Merton)
on the enemy; this reduces its defense rating to zero. Finally, use
Aura (Stones) on Squall.
4. Repeatedly tap Circle (U.S) or Triangle (Japanese) for Squall's
Limit Break to appear. Each cut, coupled with the R1 Trigger, should
do over 9,000 damage. If Squall finishes with 'End of Heart' (equip
his 'Lionheart' gunblade first), you should be able to do damage
amounting to something like 234,000 in one Renzokuken.
[List of Elements]
Final Fantasy's VIII battle system does somewhat rely on other external
factors (apart from the Strength and Magic ratings of a character,
anyway) to calculate damage. Some enemies carry weaknesses against a
certain type of element; others may be protected from them instead.
Here's a list detailing the 11 types of elements found in ff 8:
TYPE-LESS
Type-less attacks ignore the magical defense values (and sometimes
defense values) of an opponent; they'll be your most common form of
offense in ff 8.
Sources: All non-Elemental Attack junctioned weapon strikes, Flare,
Meteor, Meltdown (Merton), Ultima spells, G.F Siren, G.F.
Tonberi, G.F. Sabotender, G.F. Bahamut, G.F. Eden, Gatling
Gun E. Skill, Ray Bomb E. Skill, Shockwave Pulser E. Skill,
etc.
GRAVITY
Suprisingly, Gravity-typed attacks work well against a notable
percentage of opponents. Just take note that it's still useless on
mechanical monsters.
Sources: Demi (Gravite) spell, G.F. Diablos, Micro Missile E. Skill,
etc.
HEAL
Most players will use heal-typed spells simply to recover their party's
HPs... unless they know undeads are weak against the healing elements
as well.
Sources: Cure spells, heal-typed items, Recover command ability, etc.
FIRE
Fire works best against ice, undeads, aquatic creatures, beasts and
vegetation.
Sources: Fire spells, G.F. Ifrit, G.F Phoenix, Fire Breath E. Skill,
etc.
ICE
Use against fire-based creatures (i.e. Bombs).
Sources: Blizzard spells, G.F. Shiva, etc.
THUNDER
Mechanical and aquatic beasts are susceptible to lightning.
Sources: Thunder spells, G.F. Quezacotl, Electrocute E. Skill, etc.
EARTH
Earth-typed attacks are limited in their effectiveness. Never use them
on flying creatures.
Sources: Quake spell, G.F. Brothers, etc.
POISON
Human opponents are weak against Poison; useless against mechanical
beasts.
Sources: Bio spell, G.F. Ghoulish, etc.
WIND
Flying creatures are at the mercy of wind-typed attacks.
Sources: Aero spell, Tornado spell, G.F. Pandemona (Pandemonium),
etc.
WATER
Only a handful of fire-based enemies have a weakness to Water.
Sources: Water spell, G.F. Leviathan, Aqua Breath E. Skill, etc.
HOLY
Try using Holy-typed attacks on undeads.
Sources: Holy spell, G.F. Alexander, etc.
Enemies assaulted by an element they're weak against take twice as much
damage. On the other hand, if the enemy is resistant to an element, it
means that the damage they take from that element can either be halved,
void or even absorbed instead as HP.
[List of Status Conditions]
Status changes can occur both in and out of battle, and can affect both
your party members and enemies. A few disappear after battle or after a
set period of time, but most carry over their effects to the next fight
unless you remedy them. The various conditions include:
DISABLED (KO'ed)
Effect Character lies on the ground, unable to take any further
part in battle
Remedy Life-typed magic, Phoenix-typed items, Revive command
ability, spending the night at a Hotel
(note: disabled characters at the end of a fight gain zero
EXP and AP)
DOOM
Effect Character dies after red timer above his or her head
expires
Remedy Elixir-typed items, Remedy Plus, Treatment (Chiryou)
command ability
CRITICAL
Effect Character falls to his or her knees, HP value turns yellow
and rate of Specials being made available increases
Remedy Cure-typed magic and items, White Wind E. Skill
POISON
Effect Green bubbles appear over a character; he or she takes a
small amount of damage for every turn in battle
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Antidote, Remedy-typed
items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
PETRIFY
Effect Character becomes cast in stone, unable to take any further
part in battle
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Soft (Gold Needle), Remedy
-typed items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
(note: petrified characters at the end of a fight gain zero
EXP and AP)
PETRIFYING
Effect Character becomes cast in stone after white timer above his
or her head expires
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Soft (Gold Needle), Remedy
-typed items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
DARKNESS
Effect A cloud of smoke covers the character's eyes; Hit parameter
is halved
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Eye Drops, Remedy-typed
items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
SILENCE
Effect A "...." bubble appears over the character's head; Magic,
Draw and G.F. command abilities are sealed off
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Echo Screen, Remedy-typed
items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
BERSERK
Effect Character turns fuming-red; Attack power is raised, but
character automatically attacks for every turn
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Remedy-typed items,
Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
ZOMBIE
Effect Character takes on a greyish-green shade of colour; Attack
power is raised, but character is now susceptible to Heal
-typed spells and items; a single Phoenix Down instantly
kills the affected character. Using Drain magic or an
Absorb command ability on a zombified character results in
damage to the caster instead
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Holy Water, Remedy-typed
items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
SLEEP
Effect A "Zzzz" sign appears over the character's head; unable to
enter any command abilities
Remedy Physical attacks, Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Remedy
-typed items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
CONFUSE
Effect Character spins around in circles; attacks both ally and
enemy randomly
Remedy Physical attacks, Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Remedy
-typed items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
VITALITY ZERO
Effect Character takes on a shade of purple and Vitality parameter
drops to zero; caused only by Meltdown (Merton) spell
Remedy Esuna magic, Remedy Plus, Elixir-typed items, Treatment
command ability
SLOW
Effect Character's Active Time Bar turns blue and fills slower
Remedy Dispell magic, Haste magic, Esuna magic, Elixir-typed items,
Treatment command ability
STOP
Effect Character's Active Time Bar stops filling; unable to act
Remedy Dispell magic, Haste magic, Esuna magic, Elixir-typed items,
Treatment command ability
HASTE
Effect Character's Active Time Bar turns red and fills faster
Remedy Dispell magic
REGEN
Effect Character gradually recovers HP during the course of the
fight
Remedy Dispell magic
FLOAT
Effect Character floats in mid-air; invulnerable to all Earth-typed
attacks
Remedy Dispell magic
PROTECT
Effect A blue shield parries any physical attack on the character,
reducing damage taken by half
Remedy Dispell magic
SHELL
Effect A purple shield parries any magical attack on the character,
reducing damage taken by half
Remedy Dispell magic
REFLECT
Effect A yellowish-green shield reflects most magical spells cast
on the character back to the caster; useless for some of the
more powerful spells such as Meteor, Ultima and G.Fs
Remedy Dispell magic
CURSE
Effect Character falls to his or her knees and takes on a shade of
black; unable to use Limit Breaks
Remedy Esuna magic, White Wind E. Skill, Holy Water, Remedy-typed
items, Elixir-typed items, Treatment command ability
AURA
Effect Character takes on a shade of gold; rate of Limit Breaks
being made available increases
Remedy Dispell magic
DEFEND
Effect Character assumes a defensive stance; invulnerable to all
physical attacks and reduces all magical attacks by half
Remedy Disappears after one active turn
DOUBLE, TRIPLE
Effect Character has the ability to cast 2 or 3 spells of the same
type in a single turn
Remedy Dispell magic
INVINCIBLE
Effect Character becomes translucent; all physical and magical
attacks are useless on him or her
Remedy None
Well, that's all for the battle tutorial.
========================================================================
IV. MENU TUTORIAL
========================================================================
[The Menu Screen]
Pushing the 'Circle' (U.S) or 'Triangle' (Japanese) button out of battle
brings up the menu screen. Twelve commands can be issued from here. In
addition, the menu screen also provides gameplay information such as
your current location (check the bottom-left window) and your playing
time, SeeD rank, plus total amount of Gil (the form of currency in ff 8)
in the bottom-right window.
The window in the upper-right consists of 11 commands. Reading from
top to bottom, they're: Junction, Item, Magic, Status, G.F., Abilities,
Switch, Cards, Configuration, Tutorial and finally Save.
[Junction]
The Junction system combines both the Materia and Job system together,
enabling you to build the kind of character you want. It does this by
allowing spells themselves to double as character-building elements.
I'll give a brief diagram of how the Junction Screen looks like:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|Notice JUNCTION OFF AUTO ABILITIES | JUNCTION |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|Help Window |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Portrait) (Magic/Equipped G.Fs List) (Equipped Commands/G.Fs List)
(Current EXP)
(Required EXP for Next Level)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|HP Attached Spell (CHANGE) S Attack S Def. E Attack E Def. |
|Strength -- Speed -- |
|Vitality -- Evasion -- |
|Magic -- Hit% -- |
|Spirit -- Luck -- |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*S Attack and S Def.: Status Attack and Status Defense
E Attack and E Def.: Elemental Attack and Elemental Defense
(they'll be highlighted if junctioning spells to them is possible)
In a nutshell, here's how the whole thing works (to the best of my
knowledge anyway):
1. Gain G.Fs through drawing from bosses, receiving as gifts or
defeating the G.Fs themselves.
2. Junction a G.F (a character can have multiple G.Fs junctioned) to a
party member by selecting 'Junction', and then 'G.F.'. Press
'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) to equip a G.F. G.Fs already
junctioned will be indicated by a symbol next to their names. Hit
'Triangle' (U.S) or 'X' (Japanese) when you're done equipping.
If you already have a stock of spells in that particular character's
spells list, jump straight to point 4. Otherwise, ignore the
'Auto' window which pops up, equip the 'Draw' command ability
under the 'Abilities' window, then proceed onto point 3.
3. Draw spells for junctioning from enemies or Draw Points. Different
spells have varying effects on the same parameter. You can have
a maximum of 100 for each type of spell. Once you've amassed enough
spells, select the 'Auto' command in the Junction sub-screen.
4. Choose to optimize your character, based either on 'Attack',
'Magic' or 'Defense':
Attack: Places emphasis on 'Strength' parameter
Magic: Places emphasis on 'Magic' parameter
Defense: Places emphasis on 'HP' parameter (not Vitality rating!)
5. Select the abilities you want available to your character.
6. If you're not happy with the junctioned magic spells, choose
'Junction' again, and then 'Magic'. Change the spells if you want,
or remove them with 'Square'.
Alternatively, the 'Off' command works well if you wish to
de-equip all junctioned spells (select 'Magic') or all G.Fs, spells
and abilities (select 'All').
If you character has the ability to junction spells to Elemental
Attack/Defense or Status Attack/Defense, use the d-pad to scroll
the junction screen left. The higher the amount of spells (max. 100)
junctioned to a parameter, the better the effect.
7. From the menu screen, select G.F. Tap 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle'
(Japanese) at a G.F's status window, and select the ability you want
it to learn. Abilities are divided into six different types:
Junction, Command, Character, Party, G.F. and Menu.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Junction: Allows a character to attach spells to his or her |
| parameters, thus increasing their overall fighting |
| capabilities. |
|e.g. 'HP J' lets one junction spells to his or her HP parameter. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|!Command: Gives a character commands which are usable in battle. |
|e.g. 'Magic' allows a party member to cast spells. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Character: Modifies or adds special conditions to a character while in|
| battle. |
|e.g. 'Mug' replaces the 'Attack' command in battle, thus allowing |
| one to plunder items from the enemy. |
|e.g. 'Auto Protect' puts a character in 'Protect' status immediately |
| at the start of each fight. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Party: Adds certain helpful abilities to the entire party, be it in |
| combat or outside of it. |
|e.g. 'Alert' prevents pre-emptive attacks from enemies. |
|e.g. 'Move-Find' reveals hidden Draw and Save Points. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|G.F.: Raises a G.F's capability in battle. |
|e.g. 'Summon Magic +40%' increases the magnitude of a G.F. by 40%. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Menu: Provides the party with handy abilities via the menu screen. |
|e.g. 'Ice Magic Refinement' allows the creation of 'Blizzard' spells |
| from certain special items. |
|e.g. 'Call Shop' lets you access any shop you've come across before at|
| anytime, anyplace. |
| |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
[Item]
This command is primarily used for curing your party, and tinkering
with the abilities of your G.Fs. You have access to a total of 4
choices. Reading from left to right, they're:
Use: Select this to use the items present in your inventory list. Items
which are unusable will be displayed in grey. Press left or right
on the d-pad to scroll through the list of items. There're a
variety of items in ff 8; you can only carry 100 of each type.
Rearrange: Lets you arrange your items in the order you prefer.
Sort: The computer arranges your items for you automatically.
Battle: Arranges the lineup of items when the 'Item' command is used
in battle.
Un-wanted items cannot be discarded; either use them in battle to get
rid of them, or sell them (more practical) to shops.
[Magic]
The Magic command allows you to cure your party (provided you have the
correct type of spells) as well as to arrange and swap spells among
the party members. Reading from left to right, the 4 choices here are:
Use: Lets you cast a particular heal-typed spell. In ff 8, you cannot
target multiple members with a single spell, so you'll have to
cure each character separately. There're a variety of spells in
ff 8; you can only carry 100 of each type in a character's
spells list.
Exchange: Allows you to manually swap spells between party members.
- 'Give All' transfers an entire spell type to the member
in the lower row.
- 'Take All' transfers an entire spell type to the member
in the upper row.
- 'Split' enables you to specify the amount of spells to
be swapped.
All: Swaps an entire set of spells list between party members.
Rearrange: Lets you determine the placement of spells when the 'Magic'
command is used in battle.
There's really no easy way to discard un-wanted spells in the Japanese
version. You can either cast them in battle (summon G.F Cerebrus
beforehand for an easier time), or use menu abilities such as G.F.
Quezacotl's Mid. Order Magic Refinement to get rid of some of the
weaker variations of magics.
In the U.S version, spells can be discarded by placing the cursor over
them and pressing 'Square'.
[Status]
Execute this command to learn about a character's current condition.
Apart from his or her name, current level (a yellowish insignia beside
this indicates that the particular member is in your main party), HP
(Health or Hit Points) values, current Experience and the amount of
Experience Points required to advance to the next level, equipped
abilities and weapon, the Status sub-menu also displays the party
member's status values:
(note: You can switch between characters using R1 or L1)
Strength: Capability to do Speed: Rate at which ATB fills
damage. during battle.
Vitality: Resistance to physical Luck: Deciding factor for speed of
attacks. escaping, items dropped,
no. of spells drawn, etc.
Magic: Determines the Evasion: Ability to avoid attacks
magnitude of spells. completely.
Spirit: Resistance to magical Hit%: Hit rate for current weapon
attacks.
Pressing the 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese) button brings up the
Elemental Attack, Elemental Defense, Status Attack and Status Defense
ratings of that character.
Hitting the button another time brings up the G.F. affiliation chart
for that party member. Refer to the G.F. sub-section below for details
as to what this chart means.
Finally, tapping the same button again displays the Limit Breaks
list of that character. Alternatively, this list can also be displayed
by simply pressing 'Square'.
For Squall and Zell, you can set their Limit Breaks on auto (the
computer takes care of the button pressing), but I advise you ignore
this feature, seeing how the computer misses the timings so often.
Besides, it's more fun to do it by yourself ^_^
[G.F.]
The G.F. screen shows the stats of your acquired summon monsters. Hit
R1 or L1 to scroll between G.Fs. Pressing 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle'
(Japanese) at a G.F's status screen brings up its abilities list.
G.Fs learn abilities by gaining AP (Ability Points) or using items.
They can also raise their HP and power via levelling up or certain
abilities. However, unlike AP, G.Fs in battle SHARE the EXP the
character which they've been junctioned to receives, i.e. if Squall
has both Quezacotl and Shiva junctioned, and receives 300 EXP
plus 8 AP at the end of a fight, each of the 2 G.Fs gain 150 EXP
and 8 AP.
You might want to de-equip the stronger G.Fs for a while if you want
to build up weaker ones. And mind you, new G.Fs often start off
pathetically weak. Every G.F. takes 500 EXP to gain a level, with the
exception of the 16th and final G.F, Eden (1,000 EXP).
G.Fs also have different mindsets towards each character (the red bar
along with the numbers in the G.F. screen indicate how much they like
each member). The higher the value, the lesser the time it takes to
summon them. This value is increased by summoning them, or casting
spells of the same element as the G.F, i.e. Fire spells raise Ifrit's
opinion of the character. Likewise, if you use Blizzard spells, you'll
lower Ifrit's rating towards the member but raise Shiva's affection.
Another ability I'll like to highlight here is the 'Boost' G.F.
ability, or 'Ouen'. As mentioned in the Basic System section, this
comes into play during the summoning sequences (hold Select, then tap
Square at the correct times) for certain G.Fs. Normally, G.Fs use only
75% of their strength; the 'Boost' ability can raise it to 250% if
you're a quick tapper, or have a turbo controller on hand. Try to learn
this first whenever you acquire a new G.F. (it takes only 10 AP anyway).
[Abilities]
Allows usage of learnt menu abilities such as 'Fire Magic Refinement'
or 'Junk Store'. Tap left or right on the d-pad to scroll.
[Switch]
Once your party exceeds three members, you must select 2 characters
to accompany Squall. This command is only available on the Overworld
and on Save Points in the field screens for the Japanese version.
In the U.S version, an additional command, 'Junction Exchange', enables
you to easily transfer a set of equipped G.Fs, abilities and spell
lists between characters. Convenient for those scenes in which you
have to guide two different parties.
Inactive party members gain zero EXP from battles fought by the main
party.
[Card]
Displays the cards that you've acquired so far. Hit left or right on
the d-pad to scroll through the 10 levels of cards. Refer to the Card
Battle section below for more information concerning this mini-game.
[Configuration]
A set of customization controls are available here.
(note: The last two options are for those playing with a Sony Dual
Shock Analog Controller)
Sound: Change between Stereo or Mono.
Controller: Change the controller settings to Normal (Default) or
Customize. Push the 'X' or 'Circle' button at the Customize
option to bring up the controller configuration screen.
Cursor: The Memorize option here lets you store the last position of
the finger cursor even after the window is closed.
ATB: Set the flow of time in battles.
-- For skilled players. Time flows even when commands,
spells and items are being selected.
-- For beginners. Time stops when spells and items are
being selected.
Scan: The detailed analysis of an enemy will only appear the 1st time
you cast 'Scan' (Japanese version: Libra) on an enemy under the
default Initial settings.
Camera Movement: The higher the percentage, the more frequently the
camera angle changes in battle.
Battle Speed: Adjust the speed of time flow during battles.
Battle Message: Adjust the message speed in battles.
Field Message: Adjust the message speed in the field screens.
Analog Input: Change the sensitivity of the analog sticks.
Vibration Function: Turn rumble feature ON/OFF.
[Tutorial]
Lets you learn more about ff 8's systems and world. The SeeD Tests
are also accessed via this command. If my guide hasn't been too precise
in explaining the various systems Final Fantasy VIII has to offer, this
is where you should refer to ^_^
[Save]
Final Fantasy VIII takes up one block of space on a Memory Card. The
Save command can only be used to record a position on the Overworld
and on Save Points in field screens.
[Order]
Push left on the d-pad in the main menu screen, and a cursor will
appear, allowing you to re-shuffle your main party's lineup in battle.
There's no real reason for you to do this though. Btw, there're no
more 'front' or 'back' rows in ff 8.
And that's all for the Menu Tutorial.
========================================================================
V. CARD BATTLE
========================================================================
[Card Battle System]
When walking around town, you can engage other NPCs (Non-Playable
Characters) in card battles via the 'Square' button. Cards are obtained
through victories, special events or enemies, and some are very
difficult to find. Either way, here's the entire playing procedure:
1. Win a card, or turn an enemy into one via Quezacotl's 'Card'
command ability. Look for a card player, and talk to him or her
using 'Square'.
2. Select 5 cards from your deck (not applicable for Random rule).
3. The computer will randomly decide who gets to start first.
4. The game is played on a 3 by 3 tiled board, with the blue cards
belonging to you; the pink ones, your opponent.
----------------
| | | |
| | | |
----------------
PINK | | | | BLUE
DECK | | | | DECK
----------------
| | | |
| | | |
----------------
5. You'll notice 4 sets of numbers on each card, the center row having
2 numbers side by side. The maximum value for each side is A
(equals 10).
6. When 2 opposing cards are placed adjacent to each other, 'Card
Battle' commences.
7. The computer will compare these 4 sets of values, and victory is
allotted to the card with the higher value. Here's an example,
assuming the pink card is the attacking card.
--------- ---------
| 8 | | 2 |
|9 2| |3 1|
| 7 | | 4 |
--------- ---------
(Blue) (Pink)
The values represent the attack power of the card on each of the 4
sides. In the above diagram, the blue card (which has been placed on
the left of the pink one) seems to have the upper hand, but the
value on its right (2) is lower than the value on the left of the
pink card (3). Thus, the winner here is the pink card (3>2), and
the losing blue card is flipped to show a pink one.
8. Press 'Triangle' to view the Rules if you've forgotten what they
were.
9. When all 9 tiles are filled, the player with the majority of the
cards in their respective colour wins.
[Rules Details]
Rules vary from region to region, although you can abolish some of the
more troublesome ones via winning a game in that territory or paying
the Card Queen at Balamb City's train station 30,000 Gil. Special
rules include:
(Important: In all cases assume the blue card is the attacking card!)
SAME: When a card is placed adjacent to 2 or more cards, and the values
on the sides of that particular card facing the rest are equal,
the attacking card wins.
--------- ---------
| 5 | | 8 |
|1 3| |3 4|
| 7 | | 9 |
--------- ---------
(Blue) (Pink)
---------
| 7 |
|6 A|
| A |
---------
(Pink)
Look at the right and bottom values of the blue card, which are
identical to the values of the pink cards directly facing them
(3 & 3, 7 & 7). In this case both the pink cards are flipped.
PLUS: When a card is placed adjacent to 2 or more cards, and the values
on 2 or more of the sides in contact add up to the same figure,
the attacking card wins.
--------- ---------
| 5 | | 2 |
|1 4| |5 A|
| 1 | | 4 |
--------- ---------
(Blue) (Pink)
---------
| 8 |
|9 3|
| 7 |
---------
(Pink)
Take note of the right and bottom values of the blue one. When
you add the values of the pink cards directly facing them, the
numbers calculated are the same, i.e. 4+5=9 and 1+8=9. In this
case both the pink cards are flipped.
SAME WALL: The vertical and horizontal sides of the playing field are
taken as having a value of 'A'. The Same Wall is extremely
rare, and usually occurs in conjunction with the Same rule.
| ---------
| | 7 |
A| |1 6|
| | 1 |
| ---------
| (Pink)
|
| ---------
| | 1 |
A| |A 3|
| | 5 |
| ---------
| (Blue)
|
| ---------
| | 5 |
A| |7 4|
| | 7 |
| ---------
| (Pink)
Look at the left, upper and bottom values of the blue card.
Under the 'Same Wall and 'Same' rule, the value of the
playing field directly facing the blue card, bottom value
of the pink card above the blue card and upper value of
the pink card below the blue card are identical (A & A,
1 & 1, 5 & 5 respectively). Both pink cards are thus
flipped.
COMBO: When a card changes colour under the Same, Plus or Same Wall
rules, its values now affect the cards with the opposing
colour. Thus, one can actually set a card, flip the opponent's,
and the flipped card will also act against those around it,
flipping them as well within a single turn. You can set up
multiple chains in this way.
--------- ---------
| 8 | | 2 |
|9 3| |3 1|
| 7 | | 4 |
--------- ---------
(Blue) (Pink)
--------- ---------
| 7 | | 2 |
|1 4| |5 A|
| A | | 4 |
--------- ---------
(Pink) (Pink)
---------
| 8 |
|9 3|
| 7 |
---------
(Pink)
Under the Same rule, the blue card in the upper-left should flip
both the pink cards to the right and bottom of it.
Now look at the bottom value of the card to the right of the
blue card. Having been flipped, the now blue card should act upon
the pink card directly beneath it, flipping it in the process
(4>2).
The same also applies to the (now blue) card to the bottom of
the initial attacking blue card, thus the pink card in the
lower-left is flipped (A>8). Chains are set up in this way, and
can often turn near-defeats into victories in Card Battles.
ELEMENTAL: Some cards such as Ifrit's have an elemental to them (in
this case Fire). When placed on a tile with the 'Fire'
element symbol on it, the values of the card increase by 1
on all 4 sides.
Other than that, if the element symbol on the tile does not
correspond to the card's elemental, the values of the card
on all 4 sides will decrease by 1 instead.
However, the Same, Plus and Same Wall rules ignore the
added or decreased (if any) values of a card; keep that in
mind the next time you want to activate such rules.
Open: All cards can be seen.
Random: All cards are randomly picked.
Sudden Death: The game goes on in the event of a Draw. Players retain
only the cards in their respective colour from the end
of the previous Card Battle.
Trade Rules: These range from being able to pick and keep zero to all
cards from the loser.
Cards are useful via Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu ability; many of them
grant the items required to upgrade your weapons, characters or G.Fs.
There's a total of 110 different cards to collect, btw.
If you've completed your collection of cards, a star will appear next
to the Card command in the menu screen. And even if you destroy one of
your cards using 'Card Mod.', the star will still remain there.
========================================================================
VI. SeeD RANKING
========================================================================
In ff 8, your party receives payment from SeeD on a timely basis. This
sum is determined by your SeeD ranking, which is assigned to you right
after the events at Dollet in Disc One. Also, the SeeD Tests become
available in the Tutorial on the menu screen. The actual number of
papers Squall can sit for depends on his level, i.e. a lv. 15 Squall
has access to only 15 out of the 30 tests. Below are the answers:
(Yes=Y / No=N)
Test 1 : Y N Y Y Y N N Y N N
Test 2 : Y N Y Y Y N Y Y N N
Test 3 : N N Y N Y Y Y N Y N
Test 4 : N Y Y Y N N Y Y N N
Test 5 : N N N Y Y N N Y Y Y
Test 6 : Y N Y Y N N Y Y N Y
Test 7 : Y Y Y Y Y Y N Y Y N
Test 8 : N Y N N Y Y N N Y N
Test 9 : N Y N N N N N N Y Y
Test 10: Y N N N N N N N Y N
Test 11: Y Y N Y Y N Y N N Y
Test 12: N Y N N Y N Y N Y N
Test 13: Y N N N Y N N N N N
Test 14: Y Y Y Y N Y Y N Y N
Test 15: Y Y N N N N N Y N Y
Test 16: Y N N Y N Y N N Y N
Test 17: Y N N N Y N N Y N N
Test 18: Y N N N Y N N N N N
Test 19: Y N N Y N N N N N Y
Test 20: Y Y N Y N Y Y Y N N
Test 21: Y Y Y Y N N Y Y Y N
Test 22: N N N Y N N N Y Y N
Test 23: Y N N N N Y Y Y Y Y
Test 24: Y Y N N Y Y N N N Y
Test 25: Y N Y Y Y N N Y N N
Test 26: Y Y N Y N Y N Y N N
Test 27: N Y N N N N Y N Y N
Test 28: Y N N Y Y Y N Y N N
Test 29: N N N Y Y N N N Y N
Test 30: N Y N N N N Y N N N
If Squall scores a perfect 100 marks in a test paper, his SeeD ranking
is raised by one. The highest rank Squall can attain is A (otherwise
known as rank 31), which pays 30,000 Gil. Each payment occurs after
Squall takes about 24,300 steps or so.
Increasing your rank can also involve other methods, such as success
at certain game events, or living dangerously in battle. By that I mean
combating enemies with your characters at critical status (you could
always blow your opponents away with Limit Breaks).
To make your rank stay constant, just fight battles normally, using
physical, magical or G.F. attacks. Decreasing your rank is done by
escaping from battles too often and not engaging enemies in combat
frequently enough.
I think the above section needs some(more) confirmation though. E-mail
me if I'm wrong.
========================================================================
VII. FULL WALKTHROUGH
========================================================================
[Gameplay Tips]
Before you delve into the walkthrough below, why not stop to pick up a
few tips on ff 8? I'm sure the below hints will prove helpful,
especially if this is your first time through the game.
Seeing how the levelling up system has been all but replaced by the
Junction System (which is why you need only 1,000 EXP to gain a level
in ff 8), there's really no need for you to specifically go level up
your characters. Just fight whatever battles that may come your way,
making sure you stop to draw a few spells for junctioning later. This
brings me to my next point, which is...
You don't really need to have every single spell in your magic list.
Try sticking to the more common (and useful) spells such as Cure, and
ignore the lame ones such as Drain. Each character can only carry 32
out of the 50 spells ff 8 has to offer. Also, whenever possible, I
suggest making use of menu abilities to refine items to spells instead;
it's much more convenient that way.
Since both the armour and accessories systems have been removed, the
only stuff you'll spend money on are items and weapon remodeling. Do
feel free to blow your cash on items. Still, I'll like to caution that
in the early stages of the game, the party gets around on a train a
lot, so make sure you always have enough money left to afford a 3,000
Gil ticket.
[How to use this guide]
You will be presented with choices at certain points in the game; I've
taken the liberty of indicating the best option with an asterisk (*).
Also, the 'Side Events' and portions that occasionally pop
up really are optional, meaning you don't have to do them to advance
the storyline; they're usually an opportunity for you to obtain a
special artefact or two, plus to give guidelines on weapon upgrading.
Happy travels!
+++++++++
1. SeeD
+++++++++
[Balamb Garden]
Final Fantasy VIII opens with a nice FMV of Squall and Seifer squaring
off against each other in a training match. However, Squall is scarred
in this battle, having taken a direct hit in his face.
Squall awakens from his coma in the infirmary, where the medic there,
Dr. Kadowaki, asks Squall if he feels alright:
- (Ok, I guess.) *
- (My forehead hurts.)
Give Squall a name; I'll stick with the default name throughout this
walkthrough for convenience's sake.
Dr. Kadowaki then leaves to inform Quistis of Squall's recovery. After
a FMV showing her arrival, both student and mentor will walk to the
classroom, with the latter commenting that the entrance examination
for SeeD is today.
After class is over, Quistis reminds Squall that he has yet to visit
the Fire Caverns. Before going off, you might want to check out the
Study Panel at Squall's seat. There you'll find the following options:
1. Tutorial (New!)
2. The Basics
3. About Garden
4. A message from Garden
5. Garden Square
6. The School Festival Committee (not available yet)
You'd best be advised to read through all of them. In addition, Squall
will receive 2 G.Fs, Shiva and Quezacotl, upon selecting the Tutorial.
G.F. Quezacotl offers 2 unique abilities: the 'Card' command ability
and 'Card Mod.' menu ability. Make sure you learn them. A note about
the 'Card' command: it has a much higher chance of working on a
weakened enemy.
Quezacotl also has 'Mid. Magic Refinement' menu ability, which enables
you to gain access to the middle range spells such as Cura and Blizzara
(i.e. refine 5 Cure spells to obtain a single Cura) relatively early on
in the game.
If you can afford to live with a weak G.F Quezacotl, I suggest you
learn 'Boost' 1st, followed by 'Card', and then 'Card Mod.' These
abilities will come in VERY handy in the game if you're looking to
collect everything of value.
Once done, leave the classroom. Along the way, Squall'll bump into
Selphie, the newly transferred student from Trabia Garden:
- Are you okay? *
- ......
Squall confirms that she just missed her class, upon which Selphie asks
Squall for a little tour around Balamb Garden:
- Sure. *
- Don't have the time.
Head on over to the elevator, but before you do that, talk to the guy
hanging around the lift; he'll grant Squall his first set of cards,
and tell him to use 'Square' to initiate 'Card Battle'. Bring Selphie
to the Garden Directory, which is the huge board right to the south
of the 1st floor. Here's a rough lay-out of Balamb Garden's 1st floor:
Students' Dormitory
Cafeteria | Parking Lots
\ | /
/---------------------------\
Quad | | Training Center
\--| |--/
| Elevators |
/--| | |--\
Infirmary | | | Library
\-------------+-------------/
|
|
Front Gates
Feel free to explore the place: you can rest and save at the Dorms,
meet Seifer and company (Raijin, Fuujin) at the Cafeteria, and watch
Zell miss the hot dogs ^_^ Also, try chatting with the Cafeteria Lady
for a bit of info on her son.
Dr. Kadowaki will play cards with you, and the Library offers an 'Esuna'
draw point, plus the 1st volume of Occult Fans. Search the 2nd bookshelf
from left in the background (don't change the camera view); sometimes a
student may be blocking the way, so try re-entering the Library. Avoid
the Training Center for now.
To the Front Gates once you're done. Quistis joins you here; she starts
off at lv. 8 with zero spells in her magic list; expect the latter to
be a constant feature in all new allies.
[Balamb Region] (note: Junction G.Fs, and NEVER escape from battles
for now)
Quistis will bring Squall to the Fire Caverns, which is east of Garden
behind the forest. Press 'Triangle' to skip through her tutorials if
you so wish (for the U.S version).
The Garden Faculty awaiting at the cave entrance questions Squall if
he's prepared:
- Yes...
- Still need to prepare.
I'll leave this up to you.
Squall is asked how long he would take to defeat the boss within and
come back out (10, 20, 30 or 40 minutes). Take 30 minutes if you're
playing the Japanese version, and 20 minutes for the U.S version.
Make sure you have a decent stock of 'Blizzard' spells before you
enter; these can be drawn from the Glacial Eyes (blue flying jellyfish
-like creatures) near the northern cliffs on the Overworld or the
Fastitocalons (orange fishes) on the shores of Balamb. Btw, a single
Fastitocalon gives you 3 A.P; they're excellent enemies to battle
if you want to build up your G.Fs' abilities at this point in the
game.
[Fire Caverns] (note: Keep Squall's level within 8 for this dungeon)
The Fire Caverns aren't particularly hard, but since random enemy
encounters count towards the timer, you'd better finish them quickly,
and keep heading straight into the inner regions of the cave (you can
always re-visit the place to earn EXP, draw spells and gain Cards
later, without the silly timer).
There'll only be 2 times when the route splits; take the 1st one
right for a 'Fire' Draw Point, and right again the 2nd time. You'll
meet Ifrit at the end.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Ifrit HP: 1,068 Weak: Ice Strong vs.: Fire
Draw List: Fire(Fira), Cure, Scan
Being a fire-based creature, you'll naturally want to avoid using any
fire spells on him. Simply cast Shiva and Blizzard spells repeatedly to
make short work of him. He has a decent attack rating too, so don't
forget to heal your characters when needed.
(note: A ( ) around a spell denotes that it's only available for higher
level opponents. In this case, you can only draw Fira from a level 20
or higher Ifrit.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll receive Ifrit as a G.F, and have to make your way back out again.
Side events: Defeating Bombs sometimes nets you Bomb Fragments or Cards.
Get one of these; you'll want one later on for weapon upgrading.
Once you're done, return to Balamb Garden. On a side note, you cannot
encounter enemies on the paved roads in ff 8; keep that in mind.
[Balamb Garden]
Squall is invited to try for a place in SeeD upon his return. You can
wander around Garden if you wish, and whenever you feel you're ready,
head back to Squall's room to change into his school uniform. Make your
way back to the Lobby with the Garden directory board. There, Squall'll
be assigned to his party, comprising of Seifer and Zell. Head for the
Parking Lots.
[Balamb City] (note: You cannot encounter enemies in a car)
Go for a spin or 2 in the car before moving on to Balamb City in the
south-west (and hear Seifer's unflattering remarks about Zell). There
isn't much you can do right now, so go on and board the ship (if you've
got cash to spare, you can run off to the south, explore Balamb City
and purchase a few healing items).
[Naval Ship]
Xu briefs the group on their mission objective, saying they are to
liberate the city of Dollet that's under siege by Galbadia. Squad B
(that's you) is to secure the area right up to the central square.
Seifer then orders Squall to check the situation outside:
- ... Okay. *
- No.
[Dollet] (note: Don't converse with Squad A or C members, except for
Selphie)
After the ships crash onto the shore, the loading doors open and Seifer
leads Squall's party out. Quistis reminds you to equip your G.Fs before
proceeding; divide your G.Fs among the 3 before following Seifer. Both
Seifer and Zell join you here; they start off at lv. 9 and 8
respectively.
Seifer then points out 2 oncoming guards and the party encounters
their 1st battle. Have the members attack normally (you may wish to
stock up on 'Cure' spells at this point) and make full use of the
Gunblade's critical hit feature. Note that Seifer's Hyperion also has
this feature, only that his timing is a bit faster.
As the party goes deeper into the town, Seifer will stop and ask
Squall whether he's having fun, before another duo of Galbadian troops
jump down to ambush the party.
At the central square, Seifer orders the party to eliminate any
remaining guards; proceed to the upper-right alley and do so. Following
that, the characters wait it out as the rest of their troops hold off
the remaining Galbadians.
Finally, Seifer loses his patience (no thanks to the dog) and decides
to check things out ahead. Zell questions this act as he thinks it's
out of the mission parameter, but is dismissed by Seifer and Squall.
The latter especially, seems quite eager to prove himself. Follow
Seifer.
After the party crosses the bridge, they chance upon the injured Dollet
troops. Seifer spots another injured soldier, who is promptly dragged
away by a serpent monster before Squall can reach him. A battle occurs.
Seifer remarks that things are starting to get fun now... btw, the
Anacondaur (Hedge Viper) is weak against Ice, so cast Shiva on it.
Follow the path to the comms tower, defeating enemies along the way.
Seifer will run off on his own (probably too eager already) and Selphie
arrives to convey a message, conveniently replacing Seifer in the
process.
Jump off the cliff:
- That's what I'm gonna do. (don't ever take this shortcut)
- I'm not planning on doing that. *
Take the longer path to your right to meet up with Selphie, who
complains about Squall not taking the shortcut. Zell remarks that
nobody would leap off from that kind of height:
- Yeah, I guess.
- Really? *
Selphie joins you here; she starts off at lv. 8. Proceed to the
communication tower once you've junctioned her properly.
Side event: Geezards (Haurizaados) here (strange greyish creatures with
a pink under-belly) give you Screws. These are useful in upgrading your
weapons.
Once inside, run around a bit to encounter enemy troops, and make use
of this opportunity to heal your characters as well as to stock up on
curative items and spells. Take note of the 'Blind' Draw Point to the
left. Once you're ready, step onto the elevator and take it to the top
(1st option). Be sure to have saved first!
The scene switches to Wedge (the blue guy) and Biggs (the guy in red).
Biggs is trying to repair the satellite when Wedge comments about a
monster in the vicinity. The former pays no attention, much to the
chagrin of Wedge, who decides to look around first.
Before long, Squall arrives, and in the commotion, Biggs starts the
satellite up. He is elated, but not after the party engages him in
battle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-BOSSES: Biggs & Wedge HPs: Variable Weak: Poison
Draw List (Biggs): Fire, Thunder, Blizzard,
Esuna
(Wedge): Fire, Thunder, Blizzard,
Cure
Have the party use G.Fs if you wish, but it'll be better to keep drawing
magic out of these 2 guys first, especially Esuna. After defeating them,
Elvoret will make his appearence; save your items and spells for him.
BOSS: Elvoret HP: 2,872 Weak: Wind Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Thunder(Thundara), Cure(Cura), Double, Siren
Unleash everything (well, maybe not EVERYTHING; save a few Thunder
spells and items) you've got on this creature. If your G.Fs are at a
decent level, he should go down easily. Just make sure to pop in the
occasional heal spells, and use any limit breaks when they're made
available. He also has Siren, a G.F. among his list of magics, so be
sure to draw it from him. Watch out for his Storm Breath too, which
takes off 70 plus damage from everyone. You'll receive the March issue
of Weapon Monthly from him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Siren, although not your best G.F. in terms of attacking power, has a
wide array of menu abilities waiting to be learnt. She also has the
Treatment (Chiryou) command ability, which cures ANY status ailment.
Selphie relays new information to Squad B: they are to assemble at
the shore at 1900 hours. Seifer notes the 30 minute deadline given
before he leaves. Zell then curses, seemingly irritated by Seifer's
selfishness.
When you regain control, quickly board the lift and descend. The
scene then cuts to Biggs, who activates a last ditch defense mechanism
before gloating and falling over. Save before you leave the comms
tower; 30 minutes is more than enough time to make your escape.
Outside, the X-ATM092 makes its untimely appearence, and the party
has to fend it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-BOSS: X-ATM092 HP: 5,872 Weak: Thunder Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Fire, Blizzard, Cure, Protect
Hit it with your Thunder spells, then attack normally. If you pull it
off fast enough, the spider should collapse before getting a chance to
use its 'Raybomb'. Escape using R2 and L2. And while using Quezacotl may
seem like a good idea, it eats up the timer, so don't summon it. You'll
just have to do about 1,500 points of damage to make it go down.
You can defeat it, but only in the 2nd time you face it. The X-ATM092
is invincible the 1st time you encounter it outside the comms. tower.
You'll need to have Squall and Zell at critical status (easier usage of
limit breaks) and Selphie having maximum affiliation with Quezacotl.
Keep hitting the X-ATM092 with specials and Quezacotl (use a Turbo
controller coupled with the 'Boost' G.F. Ability). After it collapses
a few times, it should blow up.
The X-ATM092 gives up random items upon its demise, but they're usually
excellent ones. It's not recommended you take it down though, especially
if this is your first time through the game.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retrace your steps through the city, and during this period, you have to
avoid the X-ATM092 another 3 times. The 1st is when you cross the cliff
where you met Selphie; keep the d-pad pressed all the way to the left.
On the next screen, WALK slowly by coupling 'Triangle' (U.S) or 'X'
(Japanese) with the d-pad or you'll have to do battle again. Don't worry,
the X-ATM092 won't be able to get to you if you do this scene right.
Upon reaching the bridge, run to the 4th lamp post; the X-ATM092
should leap over you at this point. Move to the lamp post to your
left, and this should cause the Black Widow to leap over you again.
Head right all the way from here.
At the next screen, dash towards the dog and tap 'X' (U.S) or 'Circle'
(Japanese) repeatedly to make it run away. In the event that you have to
fight again, use the same strategy, and try to keep your HPs above 90 as
the Raybomb tends to hit for around 80 plus.
After the last alleyway, the game switches to a CG movie, showing
Squall's breathtaking escape from the X-ATM092. Strangely enough, if
you choose, you can enter the cafe Squad C came out from; the X-ATM092
should miss you completely, and you're free to run at your own pace and
save on the way. The downside? You'll miss the cool FMV and lower your
SeeD ranking.
[Balamb City]
You're free to explore Balamb City now and take in the sights of this
scenic port town. Gain a few levels, then proceed back to Balamb
Garden.
Side events: Caterchipillars (caterpillars in Balamb's forests) give
you Spider Webs. It's an essential item in weapon upgrading; Spider
Webs also net you Quistis' Blue Magic, Ultra Waves.
You'll also come across you first edition of 'Timber Maniacs' at
the Balamb Hotel. These detail the adventures of Laguna Loire, a man
you'll certainly be hearing more about in times to come. You can view
all the issues of Timber Maniacs you've collected by accessing the
homepage of the 'School Festival Committee' via Squall's study panel
on the 2nd floor classroom of Balamb Garden. However, this option
won't appear until the later parts of Disc Two.
[Balamb Garden]
Cid will ask how the battle went:
- Felt good. *
- Scared to death.
- ... Whatever.
Head on over to the right, where Seifer is reprimanded for ignoring
orders. The intercom relays a message, saying that all the
participants are to gather at the 2nd floor. Talk to everyone there,
and when Squall tries to leave, the results are announced.
Squall, Zell, Selphie and another person (Nida) are proclaimed
official members of SeeD. Be sure to talk to Cid again before you
leave; he'll grant you your 'Battle Report', which shows the number
of steps taken, fights you fought, and times you escaped).
SeeD Ranking System:
Movement: Fight the X-ATM092 once, and reach the shore within 5 minutes.
Do not enter the cafe Squad C came out of.
Judgement: Complete the Fire Caverns using 20 minutes with Squall at
level 7 to 9 for the U.S. version.
Complete the Fire Caverns using 30 minutes with Squall at
level 7 to 9 for the Japanese version.
Offense: Fight 60 battles in total.
Character: Never escape (except for the FIRST Black Widow fight) from
battles.
Attitude: Don't converse with Squad A or C, no short-cut at the ravine,
reach the communication tower within 18 minutes, and save
the dog at the central square from the X-ATM092.
(note: Defeating the X-ATM092 nets you a perfect score of lv. 10; the
ranking system will then ignore the time you took getting to the
shoreline. In addition, a 'Bonus' segment will be added to the
ranking criteria.)
You should get a decent score of rank 8 if you followed my guide. Rank
10 is attained by defeating the X-ATM092. The SeeD Tests should also
be made available to you now in the menu screen; Squall has to be at
least lv. 30 to open up all 30 papers. Attaining full marks in a test
increases your SeeD ranking by 1. You can refer to the SeeD Ranking
section in the earlier parts of this document for the test answers.
Change into your slick military garb after the inauguration ceremony,
and prepare yourself for the inauguration party.
At the dinner and dance party that night, Squall will meet Rinoa for
the 1st time. But not before Selphie asks Squall to join the School
Festival Committee:
- I'll think about it. *
- ......
Btw, this event with Selphie only occurs in the Japanese version.
Either that or I'm absent-minded ^_^
After the dance scene, Quistis asks of Squall to meet her at the
training center; Squall wonders what she's up to. Change into your
normal attire, and save your game. Head for the Training Center.
[Balamb Garden: Training Center]
The Training Center is a relatively short dungeon, but contains some
of the more powerful enemies you've met so far. While the mutated
plants are easy enough to dispose of, you'd better run when a T-Rexaur
appears. Defeating it nets you 'Dino Bones' (Quake magic is refinable
from it), but such items are useless at this point in the game. Btw,
which route you take at the start doesn't matter.
Anyway, save when you reach a Save Point, then head on towards the
nearby door.
Side events: The T-Rexaur is defeatable, but you'll need the 'Blind'
spell you picked up at a Draw Point in Dollet. Cast it on the
dinosaur, followed by Blizzard spells or Shiva. Dino Bones are
required for weapon upgrading much, much later. The plant-like Grats
here offer a plethora of status ailments spells, which are useful
for junctioning spells to status defense or attack.
*very minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Quistis will pour out her feelings, and confesses she was dismissed
due to a lack of leadership qualities. Squall however, takes no interest
and leaves her alone.
Once done, save, then retrace your steps to the exit. The two will
chance upon a mysterious girl being attacked by a flying creature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Granaldo HP: 1,538 Weak: Wind Draw List: Sleep, Shell, Blind
BOSSES: Raldo x3 HP: 223 Draw List: Fire, Thunder, Protect
This critter is accompanied by 3 flunkies, so just use a G.F. to take
them out first right at the start of the fight. After that, draw
'Shell' magic from Granaldo before offing it at your own leisure. It's
pathetically weak once you get rid of its flunkies.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Balamb Garden]
Go back to the dormitory, where Zell informs Squall that he's been
given a private room. Rest up, and when Selphie tells Squall to meet
at the Main Entrance in the morning, pick up the April issue of Weapon
Monthly from Squall's desk in his room.
Cid and a Garden Faculty will brief you on your 1st SeeD mission,
saying an organization has sought the assistance of SeeD. Squall and
co. are to leave immediately for Timber where they should meet up with
the organization. Cid gives Squall a 'Lantern' as well (talk to him
again for this).
You're supposed to head on over to Balamb City, but since you've got
the Lantern already, I suggest you save 1st, then use the item to
collect another G.F.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENEMY G.F: Diablos HP: Variable Weak: Wind Draw List: Cure, Demi
If you aren't careful, he'll mess up your party pretty bad, so be sure
to have stock-piled curative items and spells. Once the battle begins,
have everyone draw and stock Demi from Diablos (note that you'll need a
decent Magic parameter for your party members in order to do so). 4 or
5 stocked Demi spells should be adequate.
Now draw and cast Demi on Diablos, it should hit him pretty hard
initially. Keep at this until you can do only 1 or 2 digit damage to
Diablos with a Demi spell, then finish him off with your most powerful
G.F.
Diablos can either attack you with a lunge or a single Demi spell;
heal these with Cure spells. However, if he casts Gravija, don't bother
about using any Cure spells; rather, cast your stocked Demi spells
on Diablos, and he'll actually retaliate by healing your party with
Curaga. Btw, he's easier to defeat at lower levels.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you've received Diablos as a G.F, I suggest learning these 3
abilities first: Mug, Encounter Half and Encounter None. They will
come in handy as the game progresses. Especially Mug, although that
character ability will take quite a while to learn (200 A.Ps).
And while Diablos seems awfully weak at this point, note that his
attack is Gravity-based. At lower levels, he's only capable of
lopping off about one tenth of an enemy's HP.
[Balamb City]
After buying a ticket for 3,000 Gil at the train station, board the
train. Bypass the ticket machine, then follow Zell into the room.
He'll find Issue One of 'Pet Pals', and ask Squall if he knows about
Timber's current situation:
- I don't care.
- Not too much. *
Zell informs Squall a little more on Timber, a small country invaded
and captured by Galbadia 18 years ago.
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part One: Eastern Forest]
These 3 (Ward, Kiros and Laguna) inherit the status of whoever fainted,
so bear this in mind. Well, the run through the jungle is fairly
straight-forward. Use the fallen tree to walk over the small stream
when you reach it, and then mount the vehicle at the end.
[Galbadia: Deling City]
Just as Laguna parks the vehicle, 2 more appear, conveniently blocking
your way to the other parts of Deling City. Ignore them for now, and
run to the lower-right (the upper right street leads to an arch, which
is of no value right now).
Transverse the city streets until you reach Galbadia Hotel. Save, then
head off to the right staircase. Converse with the waitress, who'll
ask you to take a seat:
- (I'm walk around a bit first.)
- (Alright, I'm there!) *
- (Huh? Excuse me?)
The 2nd option lets you hear a nice little piano piece by Julia, an
aspiring pianist and singer. Laguna himself gets all nervous when she
asks of him to meet her in her room upstairs. Return upstairs to the
reception counter:
- Which is Julia's room? *
- Ahh... nothing.
(note: the darker bracketed speech bubbles you see in Laguna's
scenarios are the reactions of Squall's party)
*minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
The 2 will share a conversation, in which they confide in each other
of their dreams. However, they are interrupted halfway through when
Laguna is ordered to assemble in front of the Presidential Residence
for a new mission... Laguna promises Julia that they'll meet again.
[Timber]
Squall, Selphie and Zell wake up at this point, and are surprised to
find they all shared the same dream. Squall makes a note to report
this to Principal Cid as they disembark from the train. Speak to the
man waiting on the steps:
- But the moogles are still here.
- But the chocobos are still here.
- But the Owls are still around. *
The 3rd option is the password. Taking either the 1st or 2nd option
results in a rather amusing scene where Watts almost gets knocked down
by a train ^_^
[Resistance Train]
Once on board the train, Zone and Watts will formally introduce
themselves as the leaders of the 'Forest Owls', and ask of Squall to
wake their 'princess' up. Squall complies, but not without a few
threatening remarks first.
Side event: Watts holds Angelo's card, a rare card. You can win it
from him if you so wish, or wait until later in the game.
Head into the other sections of the train (take note of the Save Point
in one of the cabins), into the nice flowery pink room. Rinoa will
recall meeting Squall at the dance party, and requests him to proceed
to the briefing room. Her dog, Angelo, will also make an appearance
here. You will be asked to name both of them; again, this walkthrough
will use the default name settings.
It seems that President Deling of Galbadia will be passing through
Timber on a train. The trio hatch a plan to capture him, and just for
your reference, I've included a little diagram to show the entire
procedure.
=========================[Dummy Car]-[Resistance Base]================
==[Locomotive]-[1st Escort]-[Prez's Car]-[2nd Escort]=================
Basically, you'll have to leap from the Base onto the 2nd Escort,
run to detach the 1st Escort from the Prez's Car, thus allowing the
Dummy Car and the Base to slip in between the 1st Escort and the
Prez's Car, then uncouple the 2nd Escort, causing the Base to break
away along with the Prez's Car, leaving the Dummy Car in place of the
latter.
(relax, you don't have to memorize the procedure).
Rinoa will let Squall have a practice session at entering passwords;
press L1 to exit when you're through. Did you understand the briefing?
- Yes.
- Explain it again.
I'll leave this up to you.
Save, then talk to Watts. He'll ask Squall if he's ready:
- Not yet.
- Yeah. *
[Kidnap Operation: Timber Railway Line]
Your 1st action is to leap across to the 2nd Escort. Do this by
hitting the 'Jump' button (X for the U.S. version, Circle for the
Japanese version) when the 2 carriages are relatively close together.
You'll be working against a 5 minute timer, so make it quick.
Next, Squall will have to work his way across the car. Occasionally,
guards will open up blinds to monitor the situation outside; if you
happen to be directly above when the blinds are open, here's how you
should react:
Blue guards (sound sensors): Halt.
Red guards (temperature sensors): Don't stop, and keep moving.
Time your movements accordingly.
3rd involves detachment of 1st Escort. Zell and Selphie will watch
out for the guards, so whenever they call out, just rappel up. Here's
the sequence:
1. Rappel down with 'down' (duh.)
2. Rinoa will give you a random password.
For the U.S. version:
L1=Scroll screen to the left
For the Japanese version:
L1=Scroll screen to the left
So if it's 1 4 2 3 in the U.S. version, you would enter O, T, X, S
(in the space of 5 seconds, mind you).
3. Basically, you should attempt to enter 2 passwords, then rappel up.
Wait for the guards to pass by and return before going down again.
4. You'll have to enter 3 passwords for this one.
The 4th step is the detachment of the 2nd Escort. You'll need to
enter 5 passwords now instead of 3; this time you'll have to look out
for guards yourself with R1. Step 3 above still works though, so the
guards shouldn't be a problem. Do this right the 1st time and your
SeeD ranking will be raised. The whole operation should take you less
than 3 minutes.
Well, after all that talk, save, then do yourselves a favour by
returning to Rinoa's room to pick up the 2nd issue of 'Pet Pals'.
Converse with Rinoa again when you're ready to go:
- Not yet.
- Yeah. *
Rinoa and company will finally meet up with Deling, but he turns out to
be a fake one.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Fake President HP: 532 Draw List: Cure
Easy enough. You can stock up on 'Cure' spells if you wish.
BOSS: Gerogero HP: 2,750 Weak: Holy, Fire, Earth, Heal
Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Esuna, Double, Berserk, Zombie
This guy likes to cast various status ailment spells on you, so come
equipped with various curative items, or simply the ability to draw
Esuna from him. Attack Gerogero with Fire-junctioned Elemental Attacks
and G.F. Ifrit.
This tactic applies only to the Japanese version: one Phoenix Down is
all it takes to kill Utoku. Now that you know that, you might still
want to spend some time drawing Esuna and Double from him though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
After the fight, the party'll discuss the next course of action.
Supposedly, Deling is scheduled to make a speech at Timber TV Station
soon, so your next plan would then be to snoop around for info into
getting to the broadcast station.
Make a party of 3. I suggest you bring a weaker character as the 3rd
party member; there're some opportunities to gain a few EXP here.
Talk to Watts to leave.
[Timber] (note: Rinoa joins you here; she starts off at lv. 11)
While Timber's topography isn't exactly the most confusing ever in
ff 8, I guess I'll do no harm by providing you guys with a map, right?
Here you go:
Timber TV Station
| (Desert)
| |
--------------------------------\ |
Pub-+------
| |
Shop |
Timber Maniacs Forest Foxes |
Building HQ |
| | |
---------------------------------------
| Owl's| |
| | | Tears| |
| Local |(Resist.| |---|
(Balamb)| Goods-| Train) | | |
| | | | Junk Store Hotel |
--------+-----------------+--------+---------\ (Dollet)
| |
Pet Store-| |
|
Main Gates
*the bracketed locations mean that they're train platforms, and where
each train is bound. After the events in Timber, the (Resistance
Train) station becomes (Deling City).
There'll be Galbadian guards around, so take time off to draw a few
spells from them. You might want to purchase Pet Pals Issue 3 and 4
from the Pet Store near the station which runs towards Balamb. All
trains are non-operational at this time.
There'll be a few instances when you need to combat the Galbadian
soldiers, and resting is accomplished by heading to 'Owl's Tears',
which is right at the outskirts of town. It's this little cabin with 3
persons living inside. Tell the old man that you like beverages
(2nd option), and examine the tap to the left to heal up. However, if
you plunder the 500 Gil from the cupboard beneath the television (just
examine the cupboard repeatedly), you lose this service.
You might also want to check out Timber Maniacs, which Laguna worked as
a journalist for. There's a copy of an adult magazine (Girl Next Door)
and Timber Maniacs to be picked up here among the stacks of books.
Btw, there's a guy clad in a grayish-green jacket outside Timber
Maniacs; be sure to encourage him to receive a mediocre item from him
later on in Disc Two.
The house next door has a lady who will speak of an alleyway behind the
Pub which leads to the TV Station. Once you're done, head on over to
the Pub, by taking the stairs at the juncture in the next screen.
2 conversing Galbadian soldiers will mention about having obtained a
'Card'; kick their butts to receive a lame monster card. There's an
item shop to the left, so go ahead and purchase any goods before
entering the Pub.
There's a drunk blocking the exit to the backlane inside:
- Observe.
- Talk to him. *
Squall will have to respond to his demands for a drink:
- Buy him a drink.
- Tell him about the Card. *
- Nothing.
He'll move out of the way when you select the 2nd option. Outside,
save, and follow the path to the TV Station. Rinoa, upon seeing the
tight security around the place, decides to switch to a less subtle
way of getting into the TV Station... much to the displeasure of
Squall, who's annoyed by the way she changes her mind so quickly.
Rinoa asks him to voice his opinions:
- Yeah, I'll tell you. *
- Forget it.
It seems that Squall will still tell Rinoa off no matter which you
choose though. You'll have the option of continuing or stopping:
- ... Guess I'll follow up.
- Well, just leave it at that. *
Hurt, Rinoa runs off on her own, just as the programme starts.
Vinzer Deling, President of Galbadia, will commence his speech. He
starts to introduce his ambassador, a sorceress, but before he
announces her name, his broadcast session is disrupted. Head for the
TV Station immediately.
Zell, in the midst of the commotion, unknowingly lets slip Garden has
dispatched them to deal with the situation in Timber. Follow Quistis.
The party has to get out of Timber after things have gotten ugly. Upon
leaving the 'Foxes of the Forest' (the house next to Timber Maniacs),
Watts, disguised as a Galbadian soldier, tells them that a train is
bound for Dollet at the station, and to take care of Rinoa:
- Ok (I have my orders).
- Ok (You be careful, too).
I'll leave this up to you.
Retrace your steps, meet up with Zone (dressed as an old man), who'll
pass you your tickets. Proceed right from here for the (Dollet)-bound
train.
Board the train?
- Get on. *
- Not yet.
You'll have the option of talking to Zell in the train carriage:
- (Leave him alone.) *
- (Stay put.)
Take the 1st option to advance the storyline.
Actually, while the story requires you to drop off at the East Academy
Station, I suggest you give that a miss and alight further on at Dollet.
[Dollet]
While pretty much a scenic port town, Dollet has a number of
interesting events and items. First off, check out the hotel rooms for
an issue of 'Timber Maniacs'.
Further down the streets, at the bar, a man on the 2nd floor (he's the
one to the left) will play cards with Squall. If you manage to defeat
him (the 'Random' rule in Dollet makes it kinda hard...), he'll lead you
to his private room. Check out the magazines on the floor (make sure
you look at them from every angle, sometimes you'll find different stuff
for each of the 4 sides of each stack) for 'Occult Fans Volume II'.
And if you're really eager to complete your card collection, Siren's
card is winnable from the same guy, who's also known as the Master
Card Player.
One of the houses has a painting hanging in the center... Squall has to
look for a mutt around Dollet (each painting has a bone which gives the
location of the dog outside the house). There's a total of 3 locations;
you can get a free Potion, Phoenix Down and Soft (Gold Needle) for your
efforts.
The Dollet trooper to the left of Hotel Dollet denies Squall access to
the comms. tower; talk to him twice to bust through. I've no idea
what this is for, but you get a pretty amusing sequence at the end of
the path with the bumbling Galbadian troops.
Side events -- Dollet and Timber: Look for a copy of Timber Maniacs on
the 2nd floor of Dollet Bar. You can also find 1 more issue at the
now-open Timber Hotel.
There'll be a guy standing on the bridge near Timber Hotel; talk to
him with a female companion in your party to receive a free Potion.
He appears randomly, and you can do this as many times as you wish to
stock up on Potions.
[Timber Region: Lake Obel and Roshfall Forest]
Lake Obel on the world map has a strange shadow in the water who'll
chat with you about its missing monkey when you hum (2nd option)...
I'll detail this event later on in the walkthrough.
And as for Roshfall Forest, it's on the opposite bank of where the
water-dweller lives, that huge patch of forest. The bottom left window
in your Menu screen tells you the name of your current location. Both
Lake Obel and Roshfall Forest are to the north of Timber.
Wendigo (a headless freak which resembles a wild gorilla) roams in
this forest, and gives up 'Steel Orbs' upon its defeat. Get at least 2
of these. When mugged, the Wendigo provides you with 'Steel Pipes',
but it's highly unlikely you've learnt the 'Mug' character ability
from Diablos at this point. Just keep this point in mind for now.
The Steel Orbs will be required later on for weapon remodeling; if
you're having trouble defeating the Wedingo, put it to sleep first
with a 'Sleep' spell, then use your G.Fs.
Also, Cockatrices (birds with yellow chests and a green belly) are
present in the forests. You can receive Coral Fragments (lets Quistis
learn another Blue Magic, Electrocute).
[East Academy Station and Eastern Forest]
The eastern forest lies between 2 cliffs, west of the East Academy
station. Before you enter, make sure both Quistis and Selphie are
properly junctioned.
Rinoa will come to comment on the way Squall treats his comrades so
coldly.
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part Two: Centra Excavation Site]
In typical Laguna fashion, he realises that he had brought the wrong
map for this patrol. Still, he has a bad feeling about this:
- Nah, just my imagination. *
- Yeah, a bad feeling...
The run through the mines can be very straight-forward, depending on
how you tackle it. However, I'll give you the full set of events here.
Proceed forward to battle 2 sets of Esthar soldiers. There'll be a
fork in the road afterwards; take the right one.
Follow the path into the mines until it splits again. There's an
invisible 'Old Key' near the semi-circle structures, but Laguna loses
it the minute he picks it up ^_^ Anyway, head to the left of the
screen.
You'll eventually come to 3 steel hatches set in the floor. Have
Laguna examine the switch on the center one (it's on the upper-right
of the hatch):
- Tamper with it. *
- Leave it alone.
And laugh as the Esthar soldiers fall for Laguna's (crude) trap. Now try
to do the same for the hatch on the right. However, Laguna won't be able
to open it, so just ignore it for now. It'll open by itself after the
events below.
Retrace your steps back to where you initially fought the 2 sets of
Esthar soldiers. Take the left route now, and follow it until you
reach a ladder. Descend.
In the next screen, there's yet another 'Old Key' hidden among the
debris to the left of the screen. I think they're totally useless
though, so you can simply ignore them.
The path will lead to the same 3 steel hatches. Examine the left hatch,
but Laguna decides not to tamper with it after all.
Now return to where you located that 1st 'Old Key', and head upwards.
The route should split here again; take the northern path to find a
bomb detonator on the ground.
Examine it:
- Press the blue switch.
- Press the red switch. *
- Forget it.
Choose to hit the red switch first, followed by the blue one to
exterminate 2 batches of Esthar soldiers. Proceed onwards from here,
but keep a lookout for another boulder to the left, in an area 2
screens up from where you discovered the bomb detonator. Push it using
'X' (U.S) or 'Circle' (Japanese).
Making your way upwards, you'll find a save point. Save before heading
north.
Now the trio have to combat a whole slew of miners (5 sets of battles
if you didn't trigger all of the traps here, or just 1 if you did); the
last one's 'Soul Crush' will drain Kiros and Ward's HP completely, so
remember to cure your injured members when you regain control of Squall.
Laguna makes a valiant attempt to save his friends' lives...
Btw, while the tampering of hatches may seem totally irrelevant at
this point in time, it'll enable Quistis to pick up a nifty little
Blue Magic spell much, much later on in the game, when Squall's party
returns to this dungeon...
Side events: Gespers (over-sized blue headed creatures) and Elastoids
(flying brown stools) make their appearences here, but they're extremely
rare. If you're lucky enough to encounter them, the former will net you
a Black Hole (lets Quistis learn 'Degenerator') and the latter's card,
when modified gives you a Steel Pipe. The Elastoid is known as the
Invincible in the Japanese version.
++++++++++++++++++
2. Assassination
++++++++++++++++++
[Eastern Forest]
Squall decides to press on... no point thinking about the events that
just transpired. Galbadia Garden is right ahead.
[Galbadia Garden Region: Monterosa Plateau]
While in this area, you might want to encounter Belhelmels, spiky
masked creatures dangling in mid-air. Use Diablos' 'Mug' command
ability to steal Saw Blades from them, which are one of the items
required to upgrade Rinoa's weapon to a 'Rising Sun'. Couple one of
these blades with 8 screws. Btw, Belhelmels also drop Saw Blades.
[Galbadia Garden] (note: Irvine joins you here; he starts off at lv. 13)
Upon your arrival, Quistis makes a move first to contact the Headmaster
of this Garden. The PA system soon announces the party's next
destination: the Reception Room, which is accessed by hitting the
north-western exit in the Main Lobby, then climbing the stairs.
Before you do that, I suggest you explore around a bit first, and
familiarize yourself with the surroundings; you'll be back here later.
The glowing center of the Main Lobby hides a 'Haste' draw point; as does
the changing rooms of the skating rink (north-eastern exit from Lobby),
which holds a 'Life' D.P. The Grand Lecture Hall on the 2nd floor also
offers a 'Double' D.P. Apart from those, you'll find an assortment of
nice (but not rare) cards from the Galbadian Garden students. Make
your way to the Reception Room afterwards.
*minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
The party finds out that Seifer is sentenced to die for an attempt on
the President's (Deling) life... Rinoa speaks of her former relationship
with Seifer, and our Squall goes batty when he starts wondering about
his own death.
Head on over to the Main Lobby, where the ever lovable duo of Raijin and
Fuujin show up; they've come to deliver a message, and to find Seifer.
At the main entrance, Martine, Headmaster of Galbadia Garden, briefs the
party on their new orders: both Balamb Garden and Galbadia Garden will
work together on a plan to assassinate the sorceress Edea, as requested
by a certain general of the Galbadian army. Martine's known as Dodonna
in the Japanese version.
Irvine is the assigned sniper for the mission. And of course, he isn't
gonna miss his opportunity to get close to the females:
- Yeah, whatever. (you can also take this for an amusing scene with
the girls)
- ... That's no good. *
I suggest you take Irvine into your main party, especially if he's way
too low in levels compared to yours. And if you've got a Steel Pipe, a
Bomb Fragment (impossible to obtain now... use Menu Ability 'Card
Mod.' to get it) and 2 Screws, you can upgrade Irvine's shotgun.
Either way, head on over to the Far East Train Station in the west (?),
making sure you've got at least 3,000 gil to spare, and board the
Deling City-bound train.
[Galbadia: Deling City]
Wait for a bus at the very first station you see, board it, then drop
off by hitting 'X' at the next stop, which would be Caraway's Residence.
Talk to the guard on the extreme right: Squall and co. will have to
prove themselves first by obtaining a password from a nearby dungeon:
- Ready to answer.
- Buy a hint for 3,000 gil. (MIGHT lower SeeD ranking)
- Buy a location displayer for 5,000 gil. *
- Talk.
- Have him escort us out of town.
Well, you really need that displayer, so go on and pay him 5,000 gil.
Once you're done with that, it's time to explore Deling City.
Presidential Residence
/-------------------------+----BUS >------------------\
| < BUS | BUS\/ |
| | |
| | |
BUS /\| BUS /\ | BUS /\|BUS \/
General| \/BUS | Shopping|
Caraway+-------------------------| Arcade|
Mansion| Arch of Triumph |
| | |
| BUS /\ | |BUS \/
| | BUS \/ BUS /\|
| | |
| | |-Hotel
| BUS /\ | BUS > |
\-------------------------+---------------------------/
| < BUS Deling Train Station
|
Car Rental|
|
Overworld
*the arrow sign next to the 'BUS' icon tells the direction of travel.
3 types of buses service the streets: one circles around the perimeter
clockwise, and 2 anti-clockwise in the interior.
Pick up a partially hidden copy of Timber Maniacs on the 2nd Floor of
Galbadia Hotel.
[Galbadia Region]
Draw a few 'Float' (Levitate) spells from Thrustaevis (flying blue
eagle-like creatures) before heading over to the Tomb of the Unknown
King, which is located to the north-east of Deling. Look for a forest
with a rock opening.
[Tomb of the Unknown King]
Holding 'Select' here brings up the map or closes it, and pressing
'Triangle' (U.S) or 'X' (Japanese) warps you out of here. The latter
will bring your SeeD ranking down though.
Northern Water Gate
|
---------+---------
| | |
| | |
-----+-----------------+-----
| | | |
| | ========= | |
Western ------ | Tomb | ------ Eastern
Chamber---| | ========= | |---Chamber
| | # | |
-----+--------+--------+-----
| | |
| | |
---------+---------
|
Entrance
*the '#' refers to the location of a bridge which appears in the course
of the events below.
Anyway, head up, and look for a light blue Gunblade on the floor.
Examine it and record down the (random) password. You can leave now
if you want to.
Side events: You'll want to get G.F. 'Brothers' here. From where you
found that Gunblade, follow the map to get to the Eastern Chamber:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Sacred HP: 2,660 Weak: Poison, Wind Strong vs.: Earth
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Life
Junction 'Aero' or 'Tornado' to Elemental Attack, then pummel away at
him. You can also junction 'Quake' to Elemental Defense. Heal when
needed. Make sure to cast 'Float' on Sacred; this cancels his 'Regen'
status. Hit him with your G.Fs if you don't have any wind-based spells
yet.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moving on, head to the Northern Water Gate, and dis-engage the dam to
allow the water to flow through via a chain to the upper-right. Make
your way to the Western Chamber; examine the water-wheel to change its
direction of revolution.
You might want to get out and save after this. Once you're ready,
approach the center of the Tomb from a South to North direction; a
bridge would've been laid out, granting you access to the bosses.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Sacred HP: 2,660 Weak: Poison, Wind Strong vs.: Earth
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Life
BOSS G.F: Minotaur HP: 3,630 Weak: Poison, Wind Strong vs.: Earth
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Berserk, Double
Cast Float on your party as well as the bosses -- this cancels out
their Regen status and their combination attack (aptly called 'Mad Cow
Special'). As always, junction 'Aero' to Elemental Attack if you can,
and off the big guy first (Sacred), followed by Minotaur. They're
capable of dealing out moderate sums of damage, but shouldn't pose too
much of a threat. Summon your G.Fs too, and heal frequently.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The spirit departs for the nether world, and you'll get G.F. Brothers
plus 2 pretty good cards. Don't lose them... they'll come in handy
later on.
A rare enemy here which only appears in parts where the path curves
is the Forbidden (skeleton with 2 swords). He's capable of casting
Death, but you might want to turn him into a card, upon which 'Card
Mod.' nets you a 'Betrayal Blade'. Keep one of these. The Forbidden
also drops Betrayal Blades when defeated.
Another enemy, the shelled Armadodo (Esansuushi), offers Turtle Shells
which you'll have to steal (you should have just about learnt 'Mug'
at this point; if you haven't, you aren't combating enough enemies!
Try fighting the Fastitocalons along the coasts of Deling City for
some A.P). Get 2 of these Turtle Shells.
[Galbadia Region]
On a side note, if you missed getting the Steel Pipes earlier on,
Wedingoes wander the barren (brownish) areas near Deling City. Mug them,
then combine 1 Steel Pipe, 1 Bomb Fragment and 2 Screws for Irvine's
Ulysses if you haven't already done so.
You'll want to obtain Squall's 'Flame Saber' now: it requires a
'Betrayal Blade', a 'Turtle Shell' and 4 Screws. Geezards (Haurizaados)
in the same barren regions as the Wedingoes drop Screws. The extra
Turtle Shell I told you to get will be for later.
[Galbadia: Deling City]
Tell the guard the password, then enter General Caraway's Mansion.
Rinoa gets impatient while waiting and leaves to look for the him,
telling Squall not to follow her:
- ... An order?
- ... What do you mean? *
The decision point does not appear in the U.S version.
The party meets up with General Caraway (Rinoa's dad) eventually. He'll
request Squall to keep Rinoa out of this mission before he starts the
briefing. Basically, you have to divide yourselves into 2 groups:
Sniper Team: Squall & Irvine
Gateway Team: Quistis, Zell & Selphie
Caraway then outlines the mission steps:
1. Sniper Team to wait outside Presidential Residence before the
parade.
2. Gateway Team to wait inside Arch of Triumph.
3. Parade commences, Edea leaves; Sniper Team to sneak into Presidential
Residence, and lie in ambush from atop.
4. Edea's float passes underneath Arch; Gateway Team to activate gates,
cutting parade movement off.
5. Commence assassination. Hand-to-hand combat if assassination fails.
You can hang around Deling City if you like, before proceeding to
Caraway's Mansion.
On a side note, you should have 4 decent cards at hand now: Ifrit's,
Diablos' and the Brothers'. Try playing some of the locals to win Grendel
(lv. 2 cards depicting a beaked yellow monster with a blue back) and
lv. 2 Mesmerize (pink horned horse-like creatures) cards. They can be
changed via Quezacotl's 'Card Mod.' menu ability to obtain a 'Dragon
Fin' and a 'Mesmerize Blade' respectively.
If you can't seem to find a Grendel card, you'll get your Dragon Fins
later on in Disc Two. However, you should be able to win a few
lv. 2 Buel (ugly faces with spinning webs around them) cards. You've
encountered them before, in the Fire Caverns and Tomb of the Unknown
King. Modify 2 of these cards into 2 'Magic Stones'.
Match a 'Dragon Fin' with a 'Spider Web' to upgrade Zell's weapon.
You can also link up a 'Mesmerize Blade' with 8 screws for Squall's
'Cutting Trigger', a weaker version of his 'Flame Saber'. Head for
Caraway's Mansion when you're ready.
And no, even though the name suggests it, I doubt the 'Flame Saber'
does Fire-Elemental damage to enemies.
[Caraway's Mansion]
Rinoa suggests using a magical artefact which can supposedly curb Edea's
powers; Quistis dismisses the idea furiously, saying that 'it's not a
game'. The party then leaves, sans Rinoa. Follow Caraway.
[Arch of Triumph]
Quistis wonders whether she was too harsh with Rinoa, and decides to
apologise to the latter. Return to Caraway's Mansion. (you don't have
to junction your G.Fs yet).
[Presidential Residence] (note: You might want to junction Rinoa for a
while)
Save as Rinoa, then look for a manhole to the right. Descend into
the sewers using it, then head left to pick up the May issue of Weapon
Monthly. Return to the previous save point afterwards. Climb the
various crates to get to the top. Follow the path (there's a ladder to
the left) to the roof-top.
[Caraway's Mansion]
After that little twist, have Quistis examine the painting beside
Selphie, then pick up a glass cup from the shelves on the left. Head
into the leftmost background, and set the cup on the statue.
Descend into the sewers, ride the waterwheel on the left of the
screen, and keep heading upwards.
[Presidential Residence]
You'll take control of Squall from here. Follow Irvine (junction your
G.Fs afterwards), save, then climb the crates in the same way you did
with Rinoa. If you didn't get the May issue of Weapon Monthly using
Rinoa, you can do it now too. Head straight for Edea's Room to find
Rinoa.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSSES: Iguion x2 HP: 1,151 Weak: Earth, Holy
Strong vs.: Fire, Poison
Draw List: Esuna, Cure, (Break), Carbuncle,
Draw G.F. Carbuncle from these guys first (last option in draw menu),
then quickly dispatch one of them as they can hit you with Resonance, a
combination attack. Other offensive moves include Magma Breath (easily
countered by drawing Esuna from them) which slowly petrifies your
members. Use G.F. Brothers against them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Rinoa confesses how frightened she was, fighting alone... Squall tells
her to stay close to him.
Retrace your steps to the corridor, and open the hatch in the floor to
the right. Go down and collect the rifle left of you.
*minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Squall informs Rinoa of the possibility of a confrontation with Seifer,
perhaps even killing him. Rinoa acknowledges this, but it's all up to
Irvine now.
[Deling Sewers] (note: Junction G.Fs)
The sewers may seem long and intimidating, but what you really have
to do here is to simply follow the path (there's always only 1 or 2
routes open to you at each point) until you loop around to get back
to your original starting point, which is the ladder you climbed
down from previously.
Push the ladders down on the way, and use only waterwheels that spin
clockwise to make your way through. Some gates you'll have to open
with the 'Circle' button. I'll give you the quickest way through:
1. Follow the 1 way trail until you reach a ladder which you can
collapse. You can cross it to reach a 'Esuna' Draw Point, but you'll
have to retrace your steps back to the collapsed ladder.
2. Moving on, the party will pass an unusable waterwheel, followed by a
ridable one. Head left first before riding it if you so wish for a
'Zombie' DP. There's also a 'Bio' DP south of the waterwheel.
3. The previous waterwheel will carry you over to the other side, to yet
another wheel. Jump onto this one. Follow the path south and cross
the upcoming 2 waterwheels.
4. Collapse the next ladder you see... and you're back where you started
from. Head right from where you felled that ladder to another wheel.
5. Ride it, follow the trail and loop around at the end to save. Climb
the nearby ladder to reach the upper levels of the Arch of Triumph.
Side events: Creeps (black shadows with 2 red eyes) offer 2 treasures:
some drop Curse Spikes (at higher levels) which net you Quistis'
'Level ? Death' and weaker ones drop Coral Fragments, which earns you
'Electrocute', yet another Blue Magic.
Those who find themselves missing the Coral Fragments can obtain it
via 'Card Mod.' Menu Ability, from Creeps' cards.
Another creature lurks only in the stairway leading to the sewers:
Grand Mantis, a huge scorpion-like monster. You can steal Sharp Spikes
from it, opening access to weapon upgrades for Quistis (the Slaying
Tail; 2 Magic Stones and 2 Sharp Spikes) and Selphie (the Morning Star;
2 Steel Orbs from the Wedingo or by modifying its card and 1 Sharp
Spike). You can't get to a Junk Store for now, but hold on to those
items. Btw, save an extra Sharp Spike for later, too.
[The Galbadia Parade]
When Zell tells you to, control Quistis and hit the control panel to
the left to drop the gates. However, Irvine shows his weak side at this
crucial point, and finally Squall coaxes him into firing the decisive
shot. Junction G.Fs to your characters now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Seifer HP: 870 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Fire, Cure, Life
Steal Hero's Medicine or Holy War Medicine (at higher levels) from him.
Other than that, you may want to junction Fire to elemental defense for
Squall before taking on Seifer. The latter also has Life magic, which
I suggest you draw and stock. Other than that, hit him with G.Fs or the
Gunblade for a quick kill.
Hero's Medicine is simply known as 'Hero' in the U.S version. Same
thing for Holy War Medicine (Holy War).
BOSS: Edea HP: 6,700 Draw List: Cura, Dispell, Life, Double
Edea's arsenal consists of various level 3 elemental spells, so minimise
damage with Shell magic. You can also cast Carbuncle G.F, thus resulting
in Edea using Dispell to break your 'Reflect' status. Take this
opportunity to attack her, or to draw Double magic from her. A bit on
the difficult side, but she has friendly drawable spells such as Cura
and Life, which you can exploit to your own advantage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
END OF DISC ONE
========================================================================
+++++++++++++++++++++++
3. Edea the Sorceress
+++++++++++++++++++++++
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part Three: Winhill]
Ellone comes to inform Laguna that a visitor is waiting for him at
Raine's pub. Head on over there, where Kiros will make an appearence:
- (What's Ward up to?)
- (Tell me about Julia.)
- (...Where am I?)
- (Let's talk later...)
*minor spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Laguna learns that Ward has quit the army and found a new cleaning job
at D-District Prison, and of Julia marrying a certain Caraway after
Laguna failed to return.
Soon, Laguna has to leave for his daily patrols -- Kiros decides to
join him. Junction your party before setting off.
Make your way to the southern-most edge of the village, and along the
way Kiros finds out Laguna's doing this to repay the residents who
helped him when he was brought in seriously injured. Kiros suggests an
alternate job at Timber Maniacs, which Laguna shows some interest in.
Retrace your steps back to the pub when you're done, where you'll hear
a bit about Raine's feelings towards Laguna. Return to Laguna's
residence thereafter.
Side events: The Caterchipillars here should net you Spider Webs if you
missed them the first time around. Same thing with the Bite Bugs and
their Magic Stones.
[D-District Prison]
Zell awakens in the same cell as Quistis, Selphie and Rinoa. Talk to
everyone. And as for Squall, the wound has strangely disappeared, but
in comes Seifer to mess things up.
The scene will then alternate between Zell's party and Squall.
[D-District Prison: Cell]
The scene shifts to Zell and company again - should they help the
Moomba?
- I'll stop him! *
- There's no use...
[D-District Prison: Torture Chamber]
Seifer questions Squall as to the real intention behind SeeD. Befuddled,
Squall can only repeat in his mind what he knows: SeeD is a military
group comprising of elite Garden graduates. Squall'll have to make a
decision:
- ... Just let me die. *
- ... I'll lie... I must... live...
[D-District Prison]
Zell decides to try his luck at breaking out. Starting from the 7th
floor (remember to junction your G.Fs!), head up one level to encounter
2 guards. You know what to do with them, don't you?
Another battle awaits with 2 old friends as well after you recover
your weapons, and head back to the prison cell.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-BOSSES: Biggs & Wedge HPs: Variable Weak: Poison
Draw List (Biggs): Cura, Haste, Slow,
Regen
(Wedge): Fira, Shell, Protect,
Reflect
Spend some time drawing Regen and Reflect from them (the former works
well junctioned with HP; the latter junctioned to Spirit) before
sending them to their doom with your G.Fs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, you're left with 2 options after the fight: to go up or down.
Going down results in a dead-end, but you'll find 'Combat King
001' way down at level one, plus a few other goodies on the way. It's
impossible to return here later, so you'll have to make the trip now.
Floor 7: Here's where you start.
Floor 6: Just a save point here.
Floor 5: A man will play cards with you here.
Floor 4: Check the cells for a Tent.
Floor 3: There's also treasure here (a Pet House).
Floor 2: And here as well (a Pet Name Tag and a Str Up).
Floor 1: Save point, plus Combat King 001.
Now make your way up again.
Floor 8: A man will sell you items here.
Floor 9: A Draw Point for Berserk can be found here.
Floor 10: You can save and do Card Battle with a man here.
(refer to Side events section)
Floor 11: A Thundaga D.P plus a chance to play cards.
Floor 12: Nothing here.
Floor 13: Head on over to the Torture Room to meet up with Squall.
Side events: Mug the yellow GIM47N for Steel Orbs, whereas the blue
GIM52A nets you Missiles. These can be used to grant Quistis her 'Micro
Missiles' Blue Magic, which is deadly when used against enemies
with high HPs.
Winning at Card Battle against the player on the 10th floor lets you
upgrade your 'Battle Report' system in the Tutorial screen. Basically,
this opens up a 'Character Report' section. You can only get it
upgraded here.
[D-District Prison: 13th Floor]
Zell will assist in controlling the movement of the Arm; ride it to
the bottom (hit the red switch when Zell tells you to). Well, it
appears to be a dead-end, so return to the Arm. The scene will shift
over to Zell.
You'll have to escape from the guards using Zell alone. Keep him well
-junctioned with G.Fs prior to this, and run in a clockwise direction.
The 6 are reunited; Rinoa however, is annoyed Irvine took his time
deciding to come. Either way, you'll have to divide yourselves into 2
groups.
Squall's party will simply have to keep heading upwards; do the
opposite for Irvine's. When you finally reach the 14th floor as Squall,
use Siren's 'Move-Find' party ability to find a secret save point.
Remember to keep everyone well-junctioned!
Oh, and be sure to talk to any Moombas you find on your way up. They'll
give Squall some items. Head all the way to the lower-right on the
15th floor as Squall.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Elite Soldier HP: 415 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Scan
BOSSES: GIM52A x2 HP: 2,426 Weak: Thunder, Earth, Water
Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Haste, Slow, Dispell
You might want to junction Thunder to Elemental Attack, and off the
Elite Soldier first. Use Quezacotl against the GIM52As and attack them
with thunder-based damage. Watch out for their Micro Missiles, which
drains half a character's current HP. You can break their 'Aura' or
'Protect' status at the start via drawing and using Dispell on them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now return to the previous screen to examine the controls panel in the
upper-right. Irvine will instruct Squall here.
Go back downstairs to save, then head upstairs again to the bridge
in the lower-right. Cross it.
The D-District Prison begins to sink; quickly maneuver Squall to his
right when he gets cut off from the others. Once out of danger's harm,
the party leaves via stolen buggies.
[Galbadian Desert]
The first batch of missiles have been fired at Trabia Garden, with
Balamb Garden being targeted next for destruction. Again, you'll have
to split up: Squall heads the team to return to Balamb Garden to warn
of the impending attack; Selphie's party is to infiltrate the Missile
Base to try prevent the second batch of missiles from being launched.
I suggest you take your weaker characters with Squall, which in my
case were Rinoa and Irvine. His scenario is the harder of the 2, but
provides a greater opportunity to gain some levels.
[Squall's Scenario Part One: Galbadia Desert Train Station]
Sneak off onto the train to your left at the station. Rinoa apologises
to the Galbadian soldier as he attempts a futile chase after them.
[Selphie's Scenario: Galbadia Desert]
Return to Deling City first to restock your supplies and remodel your
weapons.
[Missile Base] (note: It's to the north-west of D-District Prison)
Drive the car into the base, alight, then head on over to the structure
to the left. Save and proceed to examine the terminal between the 2
doors... the left door should open. Enter.
Selphie and company will come across a guard outside the Circuit
room -- choose the 2nd option to walk. After the short scare sequence,
proceed further to reach another save point. Head to the lower left
(there's a passage to the left of the stairs) of the screen.
Talk to the 2 soldiers you find to the right, then return to the
previous save point. There'll be a door marked Launcher Lift to the
right; enter it and talk to the guards within. Tell them that they
have to leave for the Circuit room themselves (1st option).
Retrace your steps back to the original 2 soldiers mentioned above, but
they'll be unable to carry out the assigned task as well. Selphie will
be asked to go in their place.
You can now enter the Circuit room. Selphie will screw around with
the controls a bit (select the 1st option, followed by the 2nd, then
then bash away using 'Square'), cutting off power to the base.
Leave -- you'll have to respond to the guards outside:
- (What the heck! Let's FIGHT!)
- (... Try to talk my way out.) *
Selphie wonders what to say:
- (We just got here.)
- (We were just about to go call on you.) *
Follow the guards into the Circuit room for a pummeling session,
courtesy of Selphie and company.
Head back to the Launcher Lift door, and attempt to enter it. A guard
should stop you; choose the 1st option both times at the guard to gain
access.
Position Selphie in between the 2 soldiers pushing against the load,
then mash away at the 'Square' button to move the launcher unit in place.
Now you get to toy around with the control panels outside; they're
located underneath the red light, to the right of the Launcher Lift
door.
Verify the Equipment (it should be BAG0003A cruise missiles) and Set
Target. Next shift the Error Ratio to the maximum, before Uploading the
Data to the main terminal. Run a Simulation test, then exit the system
and save before proceeding to the Controls room, south-east of the
control panels. Talk to the guard to get past him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUB-BOSSES: Base Soldier x2 HP: 781 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Blizzard, Silence, Confuse
SUB-BOSS: Base Leader HP: 1,005 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Thunder, Confuse, Slow, Reflect
They're capable of casting status ailment spells on your characters,
but just draw Reflect to protect yourselves. Not too tough.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check the panels to the right, middle and left to stop the launch. Go
through the door in the right background, then examine the terminal to
the upper left. Activate the self-destruct sequence and set time to 20
minutes. The door to the lower-right of the screen should become usable,
allowing for a short-cut (this only happens when you select 20 minutes
or below). Leave.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: BGH251F2 HP: 8,200 Weak: Thunder, Earth, Water
Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Stop
Junction Thunder, Quake or Aqua to elemental attack to 2 offensive
orientated characters, and have the remaining one cast Quezacotl.
Once you destroy some of the pillar-like structures on it, the BGH251F2
will retaliate with Beam Cannon, so watch your HPs. Draw Protect and
Shell if you so wish to cut down on damage taken.
Once the BGH251F2 is effectively put out of action, you'll have to
combat 2 Galbadian Soldiers and an Elite Soldier, so save some time to
spare on them. The whole fight should take you no more than 10 minutes.
Basically, if the G.F. summoning character has a high Magic rating and
affiliation with Quezacotl, this battle shouldn't give you too much
problems. The 'Boost' G.F. ability, coupled with a turbo controller
works fine too.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll get your June issue of Weapon Monthly after this fight, and if
you successfully bluffed your way through in the Base, your SeeD Ranking
will also be raised by 2.
[Squall's Scenario Part Two: Balamb Garden]
Talk to the Garden Faculty, who'll question Squall's allegiance. Select
the 2nd option, which results in a pretty easy fight. Proceeding
further into Balamb Garden, the party'll chance upon Raijin and Fujin,
who explain that the Master Party is attempting a takeover of Balamb
Garden.
Squall has to look for Cid, so start your search in a clockwise
direction. Remember to rest up and save when you reach Squall's room.
The enemies you encounter here can be difficult. In clockwise order:
Infirmary: 1 Granaldo.
Quad: 1 Glacial Eye and 1 Bomb.
Cafeteria: 1 Bomb. This one holds the 'Meltdown' spell; draw a few
of them before killing it.
Dormitory: 1 Caterchipillar. Rest up and save here.
Parking Lots: 1 Grendel. Mug it to get Dragon Fins; now you can
remodel Zell's weapon (1 Dragon Fin, 1 Spider Web).
Training Center: 1 T-Rexaur. Cast Blind, followed by Shiva's Doom
command ability or G.F Shiva.
Library: 1 Grat.
Some of the students here will give away items as gratitude, so be
sure to talk to them. You should reply with the 1st option prior to
all the fights. Incidentally, all the battles in the 7 facilities on
the 1st floor of Balamb Garden have to be triggered before the
following event occurs:
Returning back to the Main Lobby, Squall spots Xu entering the lift.
Tail her to the 2nd floor corridor, where Squall will inform her of
the ensuing missile attack. She suggests taking this matter to Cid
on the 3rd floor, so off you go.
Cid recalls a device in the M.D Level of Balamb Garden which might
protect it from the missiles. Squall promptly takes up the idea, and
Cid gives him the key to the basement. Take the elevators.
[Balamb Garden M.D Level]
Check out the control panels after the lift hangs, then the floor
plate in the upper left to escape. The path ahead is pretty much
one-way... you'll eventually enter a door to find a mounted wheel.
Squall has to turn it within 10 seconds (mash away at the 'Square'
button), but you'll probably need 2 persons to actually succeed.
Exit back to the previous screen and climb down the newly uncovered
ladder.
You should come across a huge pillar structure (and an Full-life draw
point). Head left, where Squall has 3 choices as to who'll scout
out the place:
- (We have no choice, let's go.)
- (I'll go check it out.) *
- (Someone else go check it out.)
Ascend the ladder, then activate the green controls panel to the right
when you reach the Switch room. Use the same ladder (1st option) to exit.
Irvine will comment that that was a close shave:
- (Yeah.)
- (Kind of.)
- (No.)
I'll leave this up to you. Next, examine the green light near the
railings to open a path downwards. Descend and save, then throw the
nearby switch to open the gate in the background. Proceed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSSES: Oilboyle x2 HP: 4,035 Weak: Fire Strong vs.: Water
Draw List: Esuna, Blind, Cura, Confuse
Summon Ifrit to make short work of them. If you do receive any maladies
from them, draw and use Esuna to cure. They're pretty fast, so you might
want to cast 'Slow' on them if your character has a poor affiliation
with Ifrit. Watch your HPs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go through the door, down the ladder, and then move left. Examine the
middle panel and you're done.
Side events: The rare Tri-Faces here (3-headed purple nasties) have
Curse Spikes which can be obtained via mugging. These give you Quistis'
'Level ? Death'. All enemies in the M.D are weak against Fire, so you
might want to set fire spells to Elemental Attack.
[Balamb Garden]
Make your way to the end of the corridor on the 2nd floor to reach the
2F Deck, then head to the 3F Command Bridge when Xu tells you to.
If you have Rinoa in your party, you'll get an additional FMV scene
earlier on, plus a small event afterwards which I'll outline below:
Rinoa enters Squall's room to take a peek at the latter sleeping. When
he awakens, she requests for a tour around Balamb Garden, which Squall
obliges.
Of course, Squall's robotic-like style of explaining the various
facilities leaves Rinoa quite amused... Dr. Kadowaki at the infirmary
will teasingly question Squall if he's taking a stroll with his
girlfriend:
- Yes.
- No, just showing her around. *
I think you'd better be honest here ^_^ Head to the Main Lobby when
you're done. A Garden Faculty will instruct Squall to head to the
Master Room for an audience with the Master (duh), so take the
elevators to the basement.
[Balamb Garden Basement: Master Room] (note: You can save, if you want
to, before tackling this event.)
*major spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
The Master is furious that Squall has failed in his assasination
attempt, and blames the party for the earlier missile attack, which
was undoubtedly Edea's idea of taking revenge. Norg plans to appease
Edea by killing off SeeD, its members, and her husband, Headmaster Cid
of Balamb Garden...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: NORG Pod (Centre) HP: 2,000
Strong vs.: Thunder, Poison
Draw List: Cura
BOSS: Right Orb HP: 2,701 Strong vs.: All Elements
Draw List: Dispell, Confuse, Slow
BOSS: Left Orb HP: 2,701 Strong vs.: All Elements
Draw List: Thundara, Life, Bio
BOSS: NORG HP: 11,900 Weak: Wind Strong vs.: Poison, Thunder
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Esuna, Leviathan
Initially, Norg will not be directly in the fray of the battle. Rather,
have 2 members attack the 2 orbs to keep them from turning red (they're
capable of some pretty nasty spells if they're that colour), leaving
Squall to destroy the NORG Pod of the machine. I'll suggest you
'Mug' the 2 eyes, as they offer items which can boost your Magic and
Spirit rating.
Either way, once the NORG Pod is nullified, Norg will reveal himself;
draw G.F. Leviathan from him first, then follow up with a multitude of
wind-based spells, Demi magic or G.Fs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
G.F. Leviathan has the 'Recover' command ability, which heals a
single character in battle back to maximum HP for free.
[Balamb Garden]
Cid's not in his room; you can find him at the infirmary, where Squall
can ask him more about the events which had just transpired:
- (I want to make a report.)
- (The real meaning of SeeD.)
- (About sorceress Edea.)
- (About Master Norg.)
- (About what to do next.)
*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Cid reveals that both Garden and SeeD were Edea's ideas before she
became a sorceress, and are sponsored by Norg, a rich Shumi. SeeD's
actual purpose is to defeat the sorceress of each era, and now it has
come down to this... Cid plans to restore order back to Balamb Garden
before anything else.
Return to the Main Lobby's Directory Board to meet up with Xu; Squall
decides to check things out when a mysterious ship is sighted
approaching Balamb Garden. Head to the 2nd Floor Deck.
The SeeD members on board the ship asks of Squall to locate Ellone --
she can be found at the Library. When Squall asks about the dreams of
Laguna, Ellone can only offer one hint: that was in the past.
The next day, Rinoa arrives to offer some comfort to Squall. Take the
1st option to stroll with her. You'll have to head to the 3rd floor
after the collision; Cid dispatches Squall to survey the streets of
Fishermans Horizon, as well as to apologize to the Mayor. Make your
way to the 2F Deck.
[Fishermans Horizon (F.H)]
Here's a map of Fishermans Horizon:
(dead end)
|
|-Repair Shop
Mayor's Train----|
House Station |
| |
| |
| /
| /
| Hotel--/
| /----Junk Store
|------------------------------------/ (Docks)
Crane
|
|
\
|
|
/<----Ladder
| |
| |
| |
Balamb Fishing (Master Fisherman)
Garden Perch
Along the path, you should spot a ladder (it's kinda hard to see,
actually) leading downwards. Descend from there and follow the trail to
an elderly gentleman, who's a bit annoyed with the crash. Choose to
apologize to him (1st option) for the 3rd Volume of Occult Fans.
Converse with the Master Fisherman again; he'll ask of a favour from
Squall.
Return to the original path and take the crane. The Mayor's house lies
right in the center of the solar dish, but I suggest you take a right
1st to explore the streets.
Pick up an issue of 'Timber Maniacs' at the Repair Shop, which is the
shack at the side of the route leading to the fenced-off highway, and
yet another issue on the 2nd floor of the F.H Hotel.
And head for the Docks for an amusing scene with the Fisherkid and
the owner of the Junk Store.
Save before meeting up with Station Master Dobe, but he'll greet
Squall with a cold reception before bundling them out of the house.
Be sure to draw 'Ultima' from a hidden draw point found here.
F.H will be under siege by the Galbadian army just as Squall leaves.
Retrace your steps back to the Mayor's house to obtain more information.
Save your game, and run around to encounter a few SAM08Gs. Mug
Running Fires (Fang Machine Guns) from them. These give you Quistis'
'Gatling Gun' Blue Magic. You can also refine a single 'Running Fire'
to 40 Demolition Ammo using Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability.
Head on over to the Plaza in front of the Train Station:
- (Go help.) *
- (Listen a little longer.)
Squall will have to contend with a few Galbadian soldiers, but they
offer little resistance. Their demise heralds the arrival of a very
familiar boss...
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: BGH251F2 HP: 6,900 Weak: Thunder, Earth, Water
Strong vs.: Poison
Draw List: Shell, Protect, Stop
Use Quezacotl on it and any Thunder based spells. Steal Adamantine
from it as well. This should be a snap. There's a chance of halting
most of its attacks if you manage to successfully cast 'Blind' on it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The gang is reunited here... and Squall lets slip his relief at seeing
the trio from the Missile Base safe. Rinoa comments that that was very
nice of Squall (even though unusual!):
- (It's because I felt responsible.)
- (I was really glad to see them.) *
- (It didn't mean anything.)
You might want to share a few words with Station Master Dobe as well --
it's the 1st, then the 2nd choice to keep the conversation going.
Talk to Grease Monkey at the Repair Shop, then head for the Docks
for yet another scene with the Fisherkid. Save your game, and ride
the Crane back up. You can go back to Balamb Garden if you so wish.
Side events: After meeting up with Irvine, go speak with the Master
Fisherman (the one who gave you Volume III of Occult Fans) who's still
at his fishing; he'll ask of Squall to meet him at the Hotel.
Return to F.H, but head for the Plaza in front of the Train Station.
If you previously conversed with the Cafeteria Lady at Balamb Garden
up to the point when she mentions her son, talk to the man in a white
shirt and blue trousers here thrice:
- (Isn't he Dr. Kadowaki's son?)
- (Isn't he the cafeteria lady's son?) *
- (Isn't he Xu's son?)
Go to the Repair Shop for a scene with a Galbadian Officer. Leave the
Shop and re-enter, then talk to Grease Monkey for a 'Mega Phoenix'.
Make your way to the 2nd Floor of F.H. Hotel. You'll view a very
interesting holographic display involving Dobe and Fishermans Horizon
there. Choose to accompany the Master Fisherman a bit longer (2nd
option).
Head for the Docks for a small event, and agree with the Master
Fisherman's opinions (1st option) during the course of the scene. Talk
to him afterwards and pick the 2nd option for a Megalixir.
[Balamb Garden]
Locate Selphie at the Quad:
- (Cheer her up.) *
- (Let Irvine handle it.)
Meet up with Cid now, where he'll confer the status of 'Commander'
to Squall, much to the latter's exasperation.
[Fishermans Horizon]
Squall's friends decide to hold a small concert for him, and you have
3 tunes (and 8 instruments!) to choose from:
- Guitar
- Saxophone
- Electric Guitar
- Piano
- Violin
- Flute
- Bass Guitar
- Tap Dance
Tune A: Guitar, Violin, Flute, Tap Dance *
Tune B: Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Saxophone, Piano
Tune C: Any jumble of the 8 instruments other than the 2 above
Using Irvine, pick Tune A as your performance piece.
[Balamb Garden]
Rinoa invites Squall to the concert:
- (... I'm not in the mood.)
- (... I don't know.) *
Make your way to F.H.
[Fishermans Horizon]
You can hit 'Square' to change the view at the stage, or simply
proceed right to move the plot. Whichever tune you chose determines
the outcome of the conversation between Rinoa and Squall.
Tune A (folk song): A smooth ride, no misunderstandings.
Tune B (ballad): A bit uneasy, but still okay.
Tune C (jumble): Both Squall and Rinoa feel uncomfortable.
*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Rinoa tries to convince Squall that the people around him genuinely
want to help him, but Squall still feels that he doesn't need to depend
on others, fearing that the blow will be too great to take if he loses
them. Rinoa tells him then to cherish every moment when his friends are
around... and not too worry too much about what's to come. This
seemingly softens Squall a bit; Rinoa assures him this is really how
they feel about him right now.
[Balamb Garden]
You'll have to make another trip to the 3rd floor Bridge, upon which
the next destination will be decided: Balamb City. Talk to Nida to get
things moving.
I suggest you check out a few previously unreachable areas prior to
Balamb City.
While not exactly the best air-ship you've ever encountered before in
the Final Fantasy series (it's way too sluggish, takes up too much
space and has atrocious climbing abilities -- read: none at all),
Balamb Garden will be your main mode of transport until you reach the
later parts of Disc Three. The controls are:
For the U.S version:
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Changes direction ship is facing
Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
X: Dismount from the ship
Triangle: Reverses ship
Square: Accelerates ship
Circle: Return to 3F Command Center of Balamb Garden
R1: Rotates the camera clockwise
L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise
R2: Switches between view points
For the Japanese version:
D-pad/Left Analog-Stick: Changes direction ship is facing
Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
Circle: Dismount from the ship
X: Reverses ship
Square: Accelerates ship
Triangle: Return to 3F Command Center of Balamb Garden
R1: Rotates the camera clockwise
L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise
R2: Switches between view points
[Timber]
You'll find 2 children playing at the bridge, above the railway track
which runs towards the East Academy Station and Dollet. Sometimes
you'll find the girl on the track; when Squall approaches her, the
sound of a train heralds impending doom for the girl... until Squall
saves her. You'll be back at the Hotel after the rescue, but get
nothing for your efforts. Well, except maybe for the warm, fuzzy
feeling that you've made a difference in someone else's life...
You can also plunder a measly 500 Gil from 'Owl's Tears' now. Have
Squall repeatedly examine the cupboard underneath the television.
Also, pick up 'Girl Next Door' from the Timber Maniacs Building if
you haven't done so already.
The chap outside the Timber Maniacs Building has something to give you
if you encouraged him to go for his dreams of becoming a journalist
previously: a Pet Nametag.
[Winhill]
This quiet rustic town is located to the south of the Galbadian
continent, not far from D-District Prison and Timber. Winhill offers
only one optional event: The Fragments of the Vase. Initiate this event
by talking to the owner of the mansion north of the town. He can be
found on the stairs.
1st piece: Repeatedly examine the suit of armour in the mansion, which
is to the left of the huge flower pot. The small chocobo
within should give up the 1st piece. You must re-enter
this mansion with Irvine in your party to trigger this
event.
2nd piece: Follow the old lady into her flower shop, and reply 'yes'
(1st option) when she asks Squall whether he likes flowers.
Locate the 2nd piece among the flowers in the foreground.
3rd piece: At the Chocobo Crossing sign mid-way through the town, you
can bully the small chocobo by hitting the 'X' (U.S) button
or 'Circle' (Japanese) button when it's at your feet. It'll
throw up a variety of items each time you do that; one of them
should be a vase piece.
4th piece: Go back to Raine's apartment. Squall should talk to the new
owner on the 2nd floor twice before returning to the bar on
the 1st floor. Search the cups on the tables, and Raine's
spirit should appear. Examine the cat afterwards for the
final fragment.
You'll get a rather lame gift for this event: 1 Holy Stone from the
mansion owner.
Side events: The Vysage (Baiseeji Hands) are rare enemies which
sometimes can be found on the outskirts of Winhill. They're capable of
casting high level spells such as Meteor, Tornado and Quake, but G.F.
Siren's 'Silent Voice' should render them helpless.
Steal Life Rings from the left hand (Lefty, to be exact). Under Siren's
'Life Magic Refinement' menu ability, each one of them gives you 20 Life
spells. Try junctioning this to Status Defense or HP.
[Balamb City] (note: You should probably take Zell along for this one)
The Galbadian sentry lets Squall through on account that the latter has
information regarding Ellone. Check out the houses here (especially
Zell's) before proceeding to Balamb Hotel.
It seems that you'll need to find the Captain 1st. Head to the docks
and converse with all the soldiers. Squall discovers that the Captain
has just left after fishing from here. You'll also find a Tabloid
Guy hidden in the lower-right corner at the docks. You can buy
information from him, but it'll lower your SeeD ranking.
Back to Zell's house (you can rest up and save here). The Captain
has just used the kitchen, and upon exiting make your way to the
docks again. The dog there will lead Squall to the Captain, who's
currently at the train station. Meet up with Raijin, and pursue him
back to the Hotel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Raijin HP: 9,200 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Thunder
Draw List: Thunder, Thundara, Shell, Protect
Get rid of his 2 flunkies by summoning a G.F, then concentrate your
attacks on him. Raijin has a high offensive capability, but that's
easily countered by casting 'Protect' on yourselves or using a 'Blind'
spell on him. You can mug 'Str Up' from him.
BOSS: Raijin HP: 10,800 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Thunder
Draw List: Thunder, Thundara, Shell, Protect
BOSS: Fujin HP: 8,100 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Wind
Draw List: Aero, Cura, Life, Pandemona
Start off by drawing G.F. Pandemona from Fujin and casting 'Blind'
on Raijin. Concentrate on removing Raijin first. Fujin boasts of a
deadly skill, 'Shatter', which reduces your HPs to 1, so be wary.
Junction 'Bio' to Elemental Attack if you so wish. Also, both bosses
offer 2 items which you can steal: a Str Up from Raijin and a Megalixir
from Fujin. You'll receive 'Combat King 002' after this fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both Raijin and Fujin re-assert their stand by saying they're doing
this for Seifer. Upon leaving, Squall acknowledges that some things
cannot be prevented; anyone could be your ally or enemy. Then again,
what of this feeling of loneliness they all feel right now...?
Side events: To get out of town during the siege, talk to the girl
in the house next to Zell's, followed by the Big Bad Rascal in Zell's
house twice. Return to the neighbouring house, converse with all the
people inside, then leave.
Talk to the guard near the Car Rental shop, but DON'T close the message
screen. Let the people outside finish their motions, and eventually the
Big Bad Rascal should teach you a method to get out (just talk to him
basically) when you exit the screen.
#######################################################################
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is where the U.S update is up to for now. The
following portions of the walkthrough have yet to be
altered.
#######################################################################
[Syumi Tribe Village]
This is located on the northern-most continent of the world... it
should be highlighted on your map if you spoke to the owner of the
Factory at F.H. Enter the spider-like structure.
3 Syumis will be guarding a Draw Point, and you'll have to cough up
5,000 gil just to use it. I think it's worthwhile though -- you'll
get Ultima, possibly the best spell in the game. Be sure to return
here every now and then to stock up on this one. Proceed further on
to the elevator when you're done.
The 1st structure you come across in the village should be the Inn.
This one holds an issue of 'Timber Maniacs' plus a save point. The 2nd
building is out-of-bounds, and the 3rd houses the Chief. You won't be
seeing him now though.
Instead, head to the left-most Factory, where a statue of Laguna is
being constructed. The Syumi there asks of Squall to pay a visit to
the Chief, so do as he says, and return back here (the Factory) after
your 1st meeting with the village head. The worker here requires a few
materials to complete the statue (5 special stones to be exact), and
Squall has to play treasure-hunter (again).
Blue Stone: Among the granite-looking rocks behind the Laguna statue,
to the left.
Aero Stone: Among the boulders to the left of the Inn.
Life Stone: In a huge tree right of the Chief's house. You'll need to
do a bit of climbing to get it.
Shade Stone: Take the elevator up, and explore the circular stone ring
directly opposite to the 'Ultima' draw point. You should
find it in the top right corner.
Aqua Stone: In the sink of a resident's house, the one closest to the
Syumi Factory.
You can also find an Aqua Stone at the pond near the above
-mentioned resident's house, but it's a fake one.
Give these 5 stones to the worker and the Chief will present a
'Phoenix Feather' to Squall. This summons the G.F. Phoenix once when
used in battle, which revives any fallen comrades as well as giving
moderate fire-typed damage to all opponents.
[Sentra Ruins] (note: The southern islands on the map)
On the upper half of the Sentra region, if you ignore the island with
the 3 narrow cliffs sticking out into the open sea, the rest of the
islands to the east should form a ring around a patch of water.
Look for a yellowish-brown diamond shaped structure on the
south-eastern island of that ring. It might take a while to find the
ruins; use your map.
You have exactly 20 minutes to seek out Odin and defeat him here, so
I'll advise you come prepared with Diablos' 'Encounter Zero' party
ability. Try to have a few Aura stones (or spells) at hand, or simply
have Squall at critical status with the ability to perform his
'Renzokuken' before coming here. A high offensive rating for him
wouldn't hurt as well. You'll have to rush here, so I'll adapt a
point format:
1. Starting place. Head into the background.
2. Stairs ahead. Ascend using them.
3. Circular statue. Go clockwise around it, climb the stairs behind.
Take the right path after ascending the previous steps.
4. Go all the way into the door in the background.
5. Ascend the steps to get to the platform, which acts as a lift.
6. Take the left ladder to the top, and enter the opening. Activate
the switch.
7. Climb down again and take the opened right path (not ladder!) this
time.
8. Follow the spiraling steps until you reach a circular platform.
There's a short ladder nearby -- climb it, head to the right and
pluck out the red jewel from the eye of the statue.
9. Descend, follow path leading upwards to the right.
10. Climb onto the green dome to reach another statue. Put the jewel
in to obtain a random 5 number password. Take out both red jewels
afterwards.
11. Return to previous statue in point 8. Put both jewels in and enter
the password you received in point 10.
12. A door should open below. Enter to face Odin.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Odin HP: 18,400 Draw List: Stop, Death, Double, Triple
Just have Squall unleash his desperation move and you'll take him down
easily. Besides, he won't attack you until the timer finishes. You
might want to stock up on a few 'Triple' spells here if you've got
time to spare.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlike your regular G.Fs such as Ifrit or Carbunkle, Odin cannot be
junctioned; rather, he appears at random at the start of a normal enemy
encounter. When he does, he'll instantly dispatch every single opponent
with a success rate of 100%. Very convenient.
Side events: Try to engage a few Tonberis in combat here! They're
always found around the circular statue mentioned in point 3 above.
Save before you do so, and use Squall's Renzokuken to defeat them
quickly. You should get Kitchen Knives from them. Quistis' 'Micro
Missile' works well on them too.
I'll cover the usage of Kitchen Knives later on in Disc Three, when
you have to return here to pick up another G.F.
[Sabotender Desert]
You should find a huge patch of land known as the Sabotender Desert to
the east of the Sentra Ruins. Sabotenders appear here, and each 1 when
downed nets you 20 A.P. You'll need a high Speed and Accuracy rating
before you try to defeat them, but they're worth it. Remember to
return here occasionally to build up your G.Fs' abilities! Incidentally,
the 'Sabotender Thorns' you receive from them can be refined under
Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability, to produce 40 Destruction Bullets
for Irvine's desperation.
[Trabia Garden] (note: Check your map; it's towards the north)
Just follow Selphie, and when she meets up with her ex-classmate at the
gargoyle statue, Squall is thanked for looking after Selphie:
- It's nothing. *
- Let's just play along with the situation.
Squall leaves Selphie alone for now; you can meet up with the rest at
the basketball court. Do so by taking a left from the statue, another
left at the makeshift dorms, and following the one-way path. Or you
could stray off and explore the other areas of Trabia Garden,
converse with the survivors and get information. I suggest you do
the latter first.
In the flashback scene at the basketball court, you'll be controlling
Squall at one time. Proceed upwards to head for the beach. In another
scene, talk to all the children before heading for the beach again.
*spoiler ahead... skip this paragraph if you wish*
The party questions the necessity for bloodshed... but they know that
conflict is inevitable. Irvine recalls his childhood, spent at an
orphanage. This triggers off more memories for the other members, which
reveals a startling fact long forgotten -- Edea was their nanny at the
orphanage.
Side events: The cemetery at Trabia Garden hides an issue of Timber
Maniacs. Apart from that, there's also the August issue of Weapon
Magazine.
You'll have to talk to a student to the right of the dorms, who'll hint
at the existence of a hidden treasure... starting from the gargoyle
statue, take exactly 5 steps south and search the ground. You should get
your copy. If you have trouble finding it, simply tap 'Circle'
repeatedly around the area south of the statue... the game isn't too
particular about where you examine.
The girl (Selphie's friend) by the statue also has Selphie's card.
Apart from the above, a destroyed stage in Trabia Garden has an 'Aura'
draw point.
[Trabia Region]
The new enemies around the Trabia region you'll encounter include
Mesmerizes (pink horses with a blade on their heads) and Geiras (black
striped flying creatures). The former offers Mesmerize Blades up for
grabs, the latter the spell 'Merton' at higher levels. Also, the Geiras
drop Mysterious Liquids -- these allow Quistis to learn 'Melting
Liquid'. Mesmerize Blades can be refined under Carbuncle's 'Recovery
Item Refinement' menu ability to produce Mega Potions. These heal
everyone in your party for 1,000 HP.
[Miscellaneous Stuff]
The next dungeon is quite combat intensive; I'll provide you with a
weapon upgrades check-list here, plus any other items you may want to
get in preparation for future battles ahead.
Squall: His 'Crime and Penalty' should be obtainable now. You'll need
a Kitchen Knife (defeat a Tonberi at the Sentra Ruins), 2 Star
Fragments (get 4 Iron Giant - blue armoured monsters with a huge blade
- lv. 5 cards), a Turtle Shell (steal from Esansuushis in the Tomb of
the Nameless King) and 8 screws (Haurizaados in the Timber or Galbadia
regions).
Alternatively, his weaker 'Lance of Slit' requires 1 Dinosaur Bone
(T-rex in Balamb Training Center), 1 Red Fang (change 3 Meruto Dragons
lv. 4 cards - black dragons with a blue under-belly) and 12 screws.
Zell: His Gauntlet requires a Dragon Skin (defeat - not steal from -
high level Hedge Vipers in Roswall Forest, north of Timber) and a
Fighting Spirit Fragment (stealable from high level Esansuushis, or
use 'Card Change' ability to change 4 Dragon Izorude - green scaly
dragons with a yellowish underside - lv. 4 cards).
Irvine: A Bismark requires an Iron Pipe (steal from Wendingos in the
Galbadian deserts and Roswall Forest or change a lv. 5 Invincible's
card), 4 Dynamo Rocks (refine 4 Purittsu lv. 4 cards - metal warriors
armed with a hammer or steal from high level Creeps in the sewers of
Deling City) and 8 screws.
Quistis: 2 Ochuu Tentacles (gigantic green and pink plants in Roswall
Forest - low encounter rate) and 2 Dragon Skins for her Red Scorpion.
Rinoa: She needs a Cocatrice Feather (steal from high level Cocatrices
in the forests of Timber), a Mesmerize Blade (Mesmerizes in Trabia
region) and a Sharp Nail (scorpion-like monster Grandiaro, lurking in
the stairway leading to the sewers in Colonel Carlway's Estate in
Galbadia) for her Cardinal.
Selphie: You can't really get her Crescent Wish now, but you'll do
yourself a favour by stealing a Life Ring from the right hand of the
Baiseeji Hands (the Goomani) that roams the Winhill area, and 4 Sharp
Nails from the Grandiaro first.
Quistis' Enemy Skills: You can learn her 'Aqua Breath' by defeating
high level Fokaroru (orange fish-like creatures on the shores of
Balamb) or Chimeras in the Sabotender Desert (low encounter rate) to
receive Ice Crystals.
If you haven't already done so, change Gesupaa (gigantic blue-headed
monsters) lv. 1 cards to receive Quistis' Detonator.
Cards: These are totally optional.
- Get G.F. card 'Pandemonium' from a man standing outside Balamb Hotel.
He appears at random.
- Get Quistis' card from either one of 2 female students in the 2F
classroom of Balamb Garden.
- Win Zell's card from his mother at Balamb City.
- Lose G.F. Ifrit's card to Colonel Carlway at Galbadia. He'll play
Rinoa's card in the next round. You can get back Ifrit's card from
Dodonna, who's sitting outside the Station Master's house in
Fisherman's Horizon.
- The Station Master Dorp at F.H has G.F. 'Quetzalcoatl' card.
- A kid circling the 1F of Balamb Garden has a 'Moogle' card.
- The Master on the 2F Dollet Bar has G.F. 'Siren' card.
[Sentra Region] (note: It's down south)
Pilot Balamb Garden towards the Orphanage (use your map) to trigger
off a confrontation with Edea's Garden.
[Balamb Garden] (note: You'll have to swap your G.Fs around quite a few
times here, or simply use Diablos' 'Encounter Zero'
party ability)
Squall is informed of Galbadia Garden's presence in the vicinity. You
have to give a set of orders to the students, before Squall is ordered
downstairs. Here're the available commands:
- That's all!
- My safety.
- Garden's strategy.
- Offensive preparations.
- Defensive preparations.
- My companions' safety.
- The buns in the kitchen.
- The younger cadets' safety.
Give out your commands in this order: Garden's strategy, Offensive
preparations, Defensive preparations, My companions' safety, The
younger cadets' safety and That's all!.
Meet up with your companions, and after the FMV head to the Campus
Garden. Zell'll be assembling the troops, and Squall tells Rinoa to be
careful. Return to the 3rd floor, where both Gardens will mount a
massive attack on each other.
You'll be controlling Zell's party now. Head back to the western wing
of the Campus Garden, where a collision will throw Rinoa off the
platform. Leave her for now, and make your way to the Main Gates to
meet up with the rest.
You'll have to form a party of 3:
- Selphie, Quistis
- Quistis, Irvine
- Irvine, Selphie
Squall is a compulsory character here, whereas Zell is assigned to
rescue Rinoa. When you're done, head back to the Garden and take a
left to reach a save point. Junction your members before moving to the
2F classrooms via the elevator. You'll have to combat 4 green
Galbadian troopers here.
They're pretty quick (and nasty) on the offensive, and have 'Gravite'
magic available for casting. You should be able to take them out with
a G.F, but if you get low on health, using your desperations is a good
idea. Talk to everyone in the classroom before leaving.
Needa requires Squall's presence on the 3rd floor command center.
Squall predicts that Balamb Garden will not be able to hold off the
enemy for long; he decides to carry out a last-ditch attack on Edea's
army. Proceed to the 2nd floor when you're done.
Squall is asked to look for a missing child -- you can find him towards
the end of the corridor on the 2F, but in the resulting melee Squall
gets knocked down by a trooper. He'll pin Squall against the wall. Hit
'Circle' to reveal 3 choices, and take the 3rd one for Squall to notice
the emergency hatchet. Press 'Circle' again, then select the 2nd option
to unlock the door. You'll get involved in a mini-game.
Controls:
Circle: Punch
X: Kick
Square: Guard
Triangle: Special (appears later)
Squall'll start off at a disadvantage with lesser health (check the red
bar at the lower-left corner for his HP), and the 1st time you
experience this mini-game it'll prove to be a little tricky to win.
Basically, there're 2 methods to get past this.
Method 1: Mash away at the 'Punch' button straight from the start. If
you're fast enough, Squall should cut off every single attempt to
retaliate from the trooper. If the opponent starts to block repeatedly,
kick him.
Method 2: Hold 'Guard' until the 'Special' command appears. Press
'Triangle' to knock off two-thirds of the trooper's health.
[Galbadia Garden]
Once Rinoa is rescued, you should begin by heading left. Both Squall
and Rinoa share a moment outside the Garden's compound, and the latter
thanks Squall for saving her life, with a slight hint of her feelings
towards her saviour ^_^ Name your ring (Grieva), then select the 2nd
option to enter Galbadia Garden together with Rinoa.
Inside, save and re-organize your party (junction everyone accordingly).
Take a right, then another right in the next screen to reach the stairs.
Going upstairs, you'll come across Raijin and Fuujin, who'll choose to
leave Seifer in the hands of Squall. Go left from there and enter a
door on the right to get your 1st Key Card (talk to the male student).
Return to the save point, then take a left, and enter the left door.
Run across the ice hockey pitch and exit through the door on the right
(the left door holds a 'Raise' draw point). The next area has an
entrance opposite to where Squall is. Enter and converse with the
student inside to get your Lv. 2 Key Card. Retrace your steps back to
the save point.
Side events: Purittsus populate this area; they drop Dynamo Rocks and
Ally Dispatch Blades at different levels. These are useful for weapon
upgrading.
Proceed right to the stairs (where you met Raijin and Fuujin), and
climb it to the rooftop (3F). Leap down onto the tennis court, and head
left. The next region should be familiar to you -- just keeping moving
down (ignore the stairs on your way) until you reach the Main Lobby of
Galbadia Garden. A G.F. boss will be waiting for you in the center.
There's a save point to the west side of the Lobby, btw.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Cerebrus HP: 10,000 Strong vs.: Wind, Lightning
Draw List: Quake, Double, Triple
This puppy likes to cast 'Triple' on itself (undo this by using
'Despell' on it) and 'Quake' on your members (junction Quake to
Elemental Defense or cast Levitate). Beat it around with a few
'Gravite' spells and anything else non-wind nor lightning elemental
related. Draw a few 'Triple' spells from it if you can; they act as
pretty good spells for junctioning to any parameter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Once you've received Cerebrus as a G.F, make your way to the south-west
exit. Take a left in the next screen and converse with a female student
to get a Lv. 3 Key Card. Retrace your steps back to the stairs you
passed earlier on, and ascend from there to the 2nd Floor. Move left
from there to reach an elevator. Use it to get to a save point... and
your awaiting adversaries.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Seifer HP: 10,000 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Fire(2), Bolt(2), Despell, Haste
He's a bit tougher this time around. You'll want to counter his high
attack power by casting 'Protect' on your allies (Seifer seems to
concentrate all his attacks on Squall, btw), but generally, his magical
prowess can be ignored. Once Seifer gets down to half of his total HP
he'll start using his 'Phantom Slash', which deals out a pretty hefty
sum of damage to a single member. Keep two (or one) allies as healers,
and attack Seifer using Squall, or whoever has the highest offensive
rating. I generally take Squall since his Gunblade offers critical hits.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Return to the 2F, then head right from the stairs. Proceed anti
-clockwise to find an invisible save point (use Siren's 'Uncover Hidden
Points' party ability to see it) a bit further down. Enter the Grand
Lecture Hall to your right.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Seifer HP: 7,400 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Fire(2), Bolt(2), Despell, Haste
He's weakened in this confrontation, but take time to steal from him
before finishing him off. You'll have to fight him and Edea
consecutively, so don't dally too much.
BOSS: Edea HP: 15,000 Draw List: Ice 2, Gravite, Esuna, Alexander
Draw G.F. Alexander from her before anything else, and follow up with
Shell on your members. Edea's capable of a few pretty nasty spells
(mostly causing status maladies), and has 'Death' at her disposal.
Attack her with Diablos, and be sure to leave a character on standby
to revive those hit by Edea's 'Death' spell. Defeat her quickly, or
you'll run yourselves into trouble.
Also, take note that summoning G.F. Carbunkle doesn't work anymore;
Edea will simply endow herself with a 'Reflect' status as well and
bounce spells off herself. Break that with 'Despell'.
Cheap Alternative: You should have picked up a few 'Merton' spells
from the Geiras in the Trabia region, and 'Aura' spells from a draw
point in Trabia Garden. Cast Merton on Edea and Aura on Squall -- one
Renzokuken should be all that's needed to down the sorceress.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
G.F. Alexander holds 'Upper Class Magic Refinement' menu ability; you
can refine 5 middle class spells to a single upper class spell, i.e.
five Cure 2 spells to one Cure 3.
END OF DISC TWO
========================================================================
+++++++++++
4. Esthar
+++++++++++
[Balamb Garden]
Squall is contemplating his next move at the infirmary when Quistis
asks of him to head to the 3F Command Center. Oblige her, form your
party of 3 (sans Rinoa) and pilot Balamb Garden south towards the
Orphanage. Check your map.
Side events: Pick up the July issue of Weapon Magazine from Balamb
Garden's Training Center.
Another one involves Zell. You should take him on a tour around Balamb
Garden 1st, then visit Balamb City. A random event might transpire --
Zell has a guest, and she's waiting for him at the Hotel. Spend the
night there, and you should receive a copy of 'Battling Champion 003'
in the morning.
[Edea's Orphanage]
*small spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Edea apologises for all the trouble, and explains that she was under
the control of Artemisia, a witch from the future. Artemisia requires
Eluone's powers in order to achieve her ultimate goal of ruling the
world in different time periods; Edea's body is but a tool for her.
She warns of the danger of Artemisia awaking Adel, the original witch,
as well. Squall then asks about Rinoa's condition, but Edea says that
it is beyond her powers to help.
Squall has no interest in continuing the conversation with Edea and Cid;
he decides to return to Balamb Garden to inform the rest of the current
situation.
Side events: The Orphanage has a copy of Timber Maniacs lying on the
ground. You can also win Edea's and Seifer's card from Edea and Cid
respectively.
The forests outside are also home to a variety of interesting
creatures, which include Grandiaros (steal Sharp Nails), Purittsus
(they drop Ally Dispatch Blades or Dynamo Rocks) and Haurizaados
(screws). Rubulm Dragons can also be found, but they're extremely rare.
[Balamb Garden]
Having reported to the rest, Squall returns to the infirmary.
[Laguna Dream Sequence Part Four: Trabia Ravine]
Laguna, having exhausted almost all finances during his travels, has
taken up a job as an actor. He plays a knight, and in this scene he
has to protect a maiden in distress from a dragon, which is played by
Kyros and Ward. However, the dragon seems rather authentic in this
take...
Controls:
Square: Defend!
X: Attack!
There's only one method to get past this mini-game. Tap 'X' once to
have Laguna attack, then immediately assume a defensive stance to
block the dragon's swipe. After Laguna parries the blow, have him
attack again. Just keep on repeating this pattern of attacking and
defending and Laguna should emerge victorious.
When Laguna is re-united with his companions, take the 2nd option to
retreat left to a save point. Junction your party and save before
returning to confront the dragon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Rubulm Dragon HP: 19,218 Weak: Ice, Holy
Strong vs.: Fire, Wind
Draw List: Aero, Fire 3, Gravite
Just summon Shiva or Alexander, and have the remaining one character
attack (have him junction 'Ice' to Elemental Attack if you want) or
heal. This creature isn't too hard to take down. Remember to plunder a
'Red Fang' or 'Fire Dragon Fang' from it! The latter allows Quistis to
learn her 'Fire Breath' Enemy Skill or acts as one of the raw materials
for Selphie's 3rd weapon, the Crescent Wish. The items you receive
differs accordingly to the Rubulm Dragon's levels.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Side events: You can encounter Mesmerizes (steal their Mesmerize Blades)
and Ochuus (gigantic green plants with flailing tentacles -- get their
Ochuu tentacles) here if you haven't already encountered them. The
Ochuu has a tendency to rob you of your magic spells, so be careful.
[Edea's Orphanage]
Laguna comes to the orphanage looking for Eluone, but resigns himself
to the fact that she's been taken away by the Estharians.
[Balamb Garden]
Squall ponders the possibility of going back in time to rescue Rinoa
when he wakes up... Edea might know something, so off you go.
[Edea's Orphanage]
Edea locates Eluone's ship, the 'White SeeD', and presents Squall with
a letter introducing him and his intentions.
Below is an optional event, but I *think* you won't be able to tackle
this after you locate and board the White SeeD... well, until after
the events at Esthar, anyway. So I advise you do this now.
[Syumi Tribe Village] (note: It's located to the north if you can't
remember)
A visit to the Factory here reveals that more manpower is required to
complete the statue. Converse with Tsukurite by the sink in the house
next to the Factory and the village head; it appears that the former
will need a little bit of coaxing to lend a hand.
[Fisherman's Horizon]
A quick trip to the Factory near the train station here yields a small
scene with the owner, and Squall receives a tiny Mumba.
[Syumi Tribe Village]
Talk to the Chief, then the lone Syumi in his house. He should agree
to help now. Converse with the village head one more time before
leaving.
[Finding the White SeeD: Sentra Region]
North of the orphanage will be a group of islands. If you ignore the
one to the west (the continent with 3 cliffs sticking out into the
open sea) you'll find that the remaining islands form a broken ring
around a patch of water.
The 'White SeeD' is located somewhere near the south-western
shoreline cliffs which encircle this patch of water. You need to do
a bit of camera work to actually spot the ship, though.
[White SeeD]
Squall explains his intentions, and the crew grants him an audience
with the captain of the ship. Along the way, you'll find Watts
(remember him from Rinoa's 'Forest Owls'?). He holds Angelo's card
and some extra bits of information for the inquisitive gamer.
If you follow Zaun up to the ship's bridge, you can pick up Shiva's
card by exchanging an adult magazine (Tonari no Kanojo from Timber
Maniacs building) with Zaun (1st option). There's also a copy of
Timber Maniacs to be found here. You should have collected all of them
by this time. Here's a recap of their locations:
1. At Balamb Hotel 7. At the Factory in F.H
2. At Timber Maniacs Building 8. At F.H Hotel 2F
3. At Timber Hotel 2F 9. At the Inn of the Shumi Tribe
4. At Hotel Dollet 2F 10. At Trabia Garden's cemetery
5. At Dollet Bar 11. At Edea's Orphanage
6. At Galbadia Hotel 2F 12. On the White SeeD
They're viewable at the Study Panel on the 2F classroom of Balamb
Garden.
The captain tells Squall that when they were caught in a conflict
between the Galbadian army and the Estharian troops, Eluone took the
liberty of leaving on an Esthar rescue boat. She's now somewhere within
the Esthar territory, which is only accessible via the highway at
Fisherman's Horizon.
Proceeding on into Esthar means you won't be able to visit the other
places on the map for quite a while. I've outlined a few *optional*
events below which you might want to tackle before moving the story
any further.
[Sentra Ruins] (note: It's to the north-east of Edea's Orphanage)
This should be where you fought Odin. Take both Squall and Quistis
along, and have them both at critical status with the ability to use
their desperations. Head to the 3rd screen (the one with the Tonberi
statue in the center of a circular platform), where you'll have to
combat Tonberis.
Quistis should have a high Speed parameter -- have her unleash her
'Micro Missile' Enemy Skill on the Tonberi a few times before Squall
(with a high Attack rating) steps in to finish off the Tonberi with
his Renzokuken.
You'll gain 0 EXP (and Kitchen Knives) for your efforts, but after the
20th Tonberi you kill, there's a chance of meeting a Tonberi King when
you defeat another one of those adorable green little creatures.
However, this guy seems to appear randomly, so you might have to rack
up quite a few dead Tonberis before actually meeting him. You don't
really have to take down 20 of them in one shot; there's always time
to head outside to save before continuing. You can use Ifrit's 'Refine
Ammo' menu ability to receive 20 Armour Piercing Bullets for Irvine's
desperation, from a single Kitchen Knife.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Tonberi King HP: 70,000+ Draw List: Death, Cure 3, Araise
Draw a few 'Araise' spells, cast a Merton spell on him and unleash
Squall's Renzokuken. He should be dead by then. Just watch out for
his magics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll get your Tonberi G.F. -- you should learn its 'Familiar Faces'
Menu ability on top of anything else. Its 'Level Up' and 'Level Down'
command abilities are also useful for tweaking the enemies' levels --
some of them drop different items at different levels, remember? Keep
this in mind the next time you want to collect raw materials for your
weapon upgrading events.
And if in future battles, should you find your opponents too difficult
for you, just use 'Level Down' on them to halve their levels. Take
note that this doesn't work on bosses.
Also, have Alexander learn its 'Medicinal Knowledge' character ability,
followed by 'Medicine Level Up' menu ability. It helps if you're
combating Sabotenders at (where else?) the Sabotender Desert, to the
east of the Sentra Ruins.
One more thing: learn Pandemonium's 'Saigeke' character ability, which
allows a character to always start a battle with a full time bar.
[Chocobo Forests]
Chocobo Forests are dome-shaped forests you'll find on the Trabia and
Sentra continents. Another one is located among the forests in the
north-eastern cliffs on the Overworld -- you'll have to ride a chocobo
from the Trabia region, and across the shallow waters to get to this
one (the Chocobo Holy Shrine). It's pretty well camouflaged.
Side events: The forests in which the Chocobo Holy Shrine is hidden in
houses 2 powerful enemies: the Molbor and the Meruto Dragon. You don't
need to trouble yourselves with them now, so run when you see them.
Fortunately, they appear rarely.
You'll need to get a 'Chocobo Sonar' and 'Chocobo Net' from the kid
within the forest. Use the sonar via the 'X' button at specified spots.
If it responds (watch the red bar), tap the 'Square' button to get a
menu to appear:
1. Equip Chocobo Sonar.
2. Equip Chocobo Net.
3. Ask the kid to summon a big chocobo instead.
4. Nothing.
Equip the Chocobo Net, and press 'X' for a small chocobo to fall down.
Tap 'X' again for it to return. You'll have to do this until there's
only a single small chocobo on the screen (there may be multiple small
chocobos in each forest). Talk to it to get a big Chocobo to appear.
If you happen to activate the Chocobo Net where the sonar shows no
response, you'll get your equipment snitched by a small chocobo. Buy it
back from the kid.
Alternatively, you can ask the kid to summon a big Chocobo for you for
1,200 gil. Also, note that everytime you get the big Chocobo to appear
by *yourself*, you'll receive a 'Pledge of Affection' (usually just a
bunch of items).
Collect all 6 of them (one from each forest) and present these to the
kid in the Chocobo Holy Shrine (the one located in the north-eastern
cliffs mentioned above) for a 'Kochocobo' card.
Below are the locations of the 6 chocobo forests:
1. West of Trabia Garden
2. North-east of Trabia Garden (here's where you should ride a chocobo
to get to the Chocobo Holy Shrine)
3. North-west of the Syumi Tribe Village
4. North-east of the Sentra Ruins
5. East of Edea's Orphanage
6. South of Sabotender Desert
D-pad/Left Analog Stick: Gets the chocobo moving. Btw, all chocobos
have the ability to cross shallow waters.
Such areas are identified as having a lighter
shade of blue compared to the deeper dark
-blue regions of the oceans
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
Circle: Dismount from the Chocobo. When you do that, the chocobo will
scoot off on its own; you'll need to re-capture it again at
a Chocobo Forest if you want to ride one later
These adorable creatures are pretty fast on their feet. Also, you can't
encounter enemies while riding on a chocobo. Incidentally, the Gisaal
Vegetables you can purchase from the chocobo kid allow you to summon
a chocobo in battle. They're kinda useless though, seeing how their
'Choco Fire' damages a single opponent for only a measly 500+.
The chocobo can power up its attacks in battle, but you'll need a
Pocket Station peripheral, which is sold separately. Unfortunately,
I don't own the latter ^_^
[CC Group]
After Squall collects a certain number of cards, the Card Quest becomes
available. By this I mean you can do Card Battle with the various
members of the CC Group in Balamb Garden. Here're their locations:
(note: Some of them appear randomly. If they're not where I said they
should be, try leaving and re-entering the same area again.)
Jack: He can be spotted wandering around the Garden Directory Board on
the 1F.
Club: He wanders the northern regions of the 1F.
Diamond: 2 girls will be walking up to the Garden Directory Board on
the 1F; challenge them only when they both stop to chat at
the Directory Board.
Spade: A man near the lift on the 2F. He doesn't appear too often.
Heart: Sue on the 3F Command Center.
King: Talk to Dr. Kadowaki at the infirmary, then rest up in Squall's
room. If you fail to win 'him', you can have a rematch on the 3F
command center with 'him'. Take note that Squall needs to be
alone for 'him' to appear the 1st time round. Simply ask your
companions to leave you for a while when you're in Squall's room.
Joker: In the Training Center (appears at random). He'll also sell you
items. Plus, if you manage to beat him, he'll upgrade your
'Battle Report' to include a 'G.F Report'.
The CC Group members hold excellent (and rare) cards among themselves.
Below are the 3 G.F. cards you should be able to pick up from them:
Heart: Carbunkle
King: Gilgamesh
Joker: Leviathan
[Miscellaneous Stuff Part Two]
Before you go into Esthar, you'll want to have the following -- 6 Iron
Pipes (refine the lv. 5 Invincible's card or steal from Wendingoes -
use Tonberi's 'Level Down' ability on them if their levels are too high
- in Roswall Forest) and 60 Remedies. Use G.F. Alexander's 'Medicine
Level Up' Menu Ability to refine these 60 Remedies into 6 Remedy Pluses.
The above items are essential for acquiring a G.F. later on.
You might also want to learn Tonberi's 'Call Shop' Menu Ability. It'll
come in handy on your future journeys.
[Fisherman's Horizon]
Pilot Balamb Garden over to F.H and the scene will switch to Squall.
Pick up Rinoa from the infirmary.
[Continental Highway]
*mini-spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Squall carries Rinoa on his back as he journeys towards Esthar. Along
the way, he questions his actions -- wasn't Squall supposed to be a
cold, emotionless person? Squall simply wants to keep things this
way...
You'll meet up with the rest of your party at the end of the highway.
Quistis teases Squall about Rinoa, before Edea tells Squall to meet
up with Professor Odain in Esthar. Zell remarks that Squall should
have a rough idea of who he is:
- Yeah, I remember.
- No idea... tell me. *
- It's not important.
Head off into the background.
[Esthar Region]
Edea will be playable, and starts off at lv. 31. Don't bother to raise
her levels as she'll only be with you temporarily. Edea has a rather
good affiliation with your G.Fs however, so make her your primary
summoner if you wish. Head towards the lake (remember to junction
Edea if you're gonna use her; she has zero spells available when she
joins you).
[Great Salt Lake]
Set your party and proceed one screen upwards. While not immediately
obvious in the next area, there's actually a fork here. Have Squall run
up the head of the fossil, and follow the path to a cliff (you'll pass
a 'Meteo' and 'Bolt 3' Draw Point on the way). Hit 'Circle' at the edge
of the cliff to leap off it, and follow the snow path to the north.
Side events: Baiseeji Hands roam this area. Summon Siren to silence
their efforts (and laugh sadistically when they attempt to cast
Esuna), and steal a 'Life Ring' from the right hand (Goomani) if you
haven't done so already.
Take a right in the next screen for a save point. At 2 more screens
left from the previous save point, you'll meet up with another
fossil... only this time it's very much alive.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Avadon HP: 17,010 Weak: Fire, Holy, Heal
Draw List: Cure 2, Esuna, Despell
Have 2 characters summon Ifrit and Alexander while the remaining one
attacks (junction Fire to Elemental Attack) or heals. If you've learnt
Leviathan's 'Recovery' command ability, use it to inflict 9,999 worth
of damage on Avadon.
Sometimes Avadon will assume a standing posture (as opposed to its
earlier hunched posture) in the duration of the fight. In this mode
both physical and magical attacks are practically useless against it;
cast Cure spells or the 'Recovery' command on Avadon at this time to
actually damage it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Head to the north-east when you're done. Have Squall examine the
strange looking background to uncover an opening in mid-air. Climb up
to it.
[Esthar]
Proceed to the right (it's a one-way path actually), screw around
with the panel on the left if you want, then enter the door to the
north-east. While on the elevator, the party wonders what the
inevitable outcome will be... Squall says that it's impossible to
turn back now.
Step through the door in front of you after the elevator stops for a
nice FMV sequence introducing the capital city of Esthar.
[Final Laguna Dream Sequence: Lunatic Pandora Research Centre]
Laguna complains of the lack of meals to the soldiers; talk to both
Esthar soldiers to get things moving. They tell Laguna to help with
some work upstairs.
Alternate your conversations between the Mumba and another man here
to trigger a fight with the Esthar soldiers; be careful, the darker
Estharian has the ability to reduce Laguna's HP to critical status.
Kyros and Ward will arrive now -- junction them first (1st option)
before engaging more enemies in combat. You'll combat a Gesupaa and 2
Esthar soldiers. Get rid of the Gesupaa first; it has the annoying
ability to remove a character from the battle fray via its 'Detonator'.
Enter the right elevator to reach the ground floor. You can eavesdrop
on Prof. Odain's conversation with his assistants if you want, or just
head right to exit. Save outside, and Laguna will be informed that Prof.
Odain knows Eluone's whereabouts. Return to the Research Centre.
Pick up the final (or first, deciding how you look at it) issue of
Weapon Magazine on the floor upon entering the complex. Head back to
the basements to find Prof. Odain. You'll have to combat his cronies
before chasing after him -- be sure to plunder a 'Laser Cannon' from
the Invincible! This allows Quistis to learn her 'Homing Laser'.
Laguna manages to squeeze some information out of him -- Eluone is
located at Odain's Laboratory.
[Professor Odain's Laboratory]
More enemies await you here, but Laguna easily dispatches them. Check
the circular object in the center; it's actually an elevator. Enter the
door in front when you reach the 2nd floor.
Obliterate those pesky Estharians and look through the blue glass in
the background. Examine the control panel to the right, then descend
back to the 1st floor. Step through the door in the background (it
should be openable now) to rescue Eluone. Laguna apologizes for
coming late.
[Esthar]
Board the car to meet up with Odain at the Presidential House. He
agrees to help, but on condition that Rinoa be left behind to be kept
under observation. Professor Odain holds Ward's card, btw. You can exit
the House by heading down and taking a right to reach an elevator pod.
Esthar is probably the largest city you'll ever come across in the
whole of ff 8; below is a map I've constructed for your own reference:
(actually, I think the topography is *still* baffling...)
Presidential House
|
/-----------------------------------------------------------\
| | | |
| | E | |
| |------------------------|------------------|
| | X| |
| | | (dead end)|
|------------------------------------ | \-|
| Y| | | |
| | -----| |
| | | Esthar|
| | | Shopping|
Air | | | Mall|
Station-| | | |
| | | |
| |(Left Side) (Right Side)| |
\---------------+------------------------+------------------/
| |
Odain's Laboratory Car Rental
|
Overworld
*at point X the straight path goes over the horizontal path; at point Y
the horizontal path goes over the straight path. You'll find a save
-cum-heal point south-east from the Air Station. The point E has no
meaning now, but take note of its position; you'll be needing it later.
Some of the shops are open for business at this time, but those like
'Cheryl's Store' stay closed permanently. However, repeated visits to
the same shop can sometimes throw up special gifts for the party; I
managed to get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn Ability x4 junction
ability) from Cheryl's Store. Also, make sure you've learnt Tonberi's
'Familiar Faces' Menu Ability; that should allow you to purchase all
the remaining issues of Pet Post and Battling Champion for Rinoa and
Zell respectively. Purchase a 'Force Bracelet' from the shopping mall
as well. You'll need one of these for Rinoa's final weapon.
Another store which seems to be closed (but isn't) is Johnny's. You
might have to visit it repeatedly to get it to open; he sells rare
recovery items such as X-Potions, Mega Phoenixes and Elixirs. Leave
Esthar when you're done shopping.
[Esthar Region]
Run around on the Esthar continent (not on the Estharian highways,
mind you) to encounter Mesmerizes and Molbors (low encounter rate).
The latter has a 'Bad Breath' skill which causes every kind of status
malady to all members, but you're gonna have to fight it. Here's how:
Have one character equipped with a 'Capture' command ability and
junction both 'Confuse' and 'Berserk' (or more if your G.F. allows it)
to Status Defense for the entire fighting party.
When you do encounter a Molbor (ugly green plants with a black mouth),
the only malady from its 'Bad Breath' preventing the party from acting
will be 'Sleep', so wait until the Molbor smacks you with a physical
attack. Your primary goal will be to wake the character equipped with
'Capture' up, so if the Molbor attacks someone else, have that someone
else target your stealer, and have him/her steal from the Molbor before
you escape. You'll need 9 Molbor Tentacles in total. Use one of them
on Quistis for her to learn 'Bad Breath'.
Alternatively, you can utilize Pandemonium's 'Sakigeke' character
ability. This allows the particular character to always start a battle
with a full time bar; have your stealer equipped with this, plunder
quickly from the Molbor and escape. Remember to cure your characters
after the fight!
You should have access to a total of 4 places (the Esthar Capital,
Lunatic Pandora Research Centre, Lunar Gate and Tear's Point) on the
Estharian continent. Check your map, and head to Tear's Point in the
south-east. You can rent a car if you want to.
[Tear's Point]
Ominous-looking, isn't it? You'll need to proceed into the interior of
this place; right under the giant statue in the core of Tear's Point
will be a sparkling object - Solomon's Ring.
You'll need to have 6 Molbor Tentacles, 6 Iron Pipes and 6 Remedy
Pluses (I did tell you to get them earlier on, right?) before you use
Solomon's Ring in the Item screen -- say hello to a new G.F, Ghoulish
(Grasharaboras): ff 8's equivalent of ff 7's Hades.
[Lunar Gate] (note: Check your map; it's to the east)
Enter the complex, then talk to the girl standing at one of the gates.
Angelo will make her appearence; Squall assures her that they will
save Rinoa.
Follow the Estharian to the blasting capsule, where he'll brief you on
your space journey. He cautions Squall by saying that it'll be a bit
dangerous:
- ... I'll think about it first.
- ... who cares, I'll go anywhere. *
You'll have to form a party consisting of Squall, Rinoa and another
one of your companions other than Zell and Edea. You won't be doing
much fighting up in space, so take a 3rd character who's relatively
high in terms of levels.
Zell volunteers to take care of things down here:
- I'm a bit uneasy.
- I'll leave it to you then. *
The blast-off sequence commences shortly. Save outside, and return to
Esthar as Zell.
[Esthar]
Stock up on items here and make a trip to the Presidential House. An
Estharian in there will give Zell Volume IV of Occult Fans. Head for
Odain's Laboratory afterwards.
Inside, ride the elevator to meet up with Prof. Odain. He informs Zell
that Galbadia has succeeded in recovering the Lunatic Pandora; Zell
decides to sneak aboard to take a look. According to Odain, the Pandora
should stop over at 3 points in Esthar within a period of 20 minutes:
15:00~12:00 -- Center of Esthar. You have 5 to 8 minutes to make it
there.
10:00~5:00 -- Juncture 'X' marked on the map above. It'll take about
10 to 15 minutes for the Pandora to reach there.
3:00~0:00 -- North of the Shopping Mall, where a dead end is marked.
You have 17 minutes to station yourselves there.
Boarding the Pandora as early as possible allows Zell to explore more
of it. You can use the 'Square' button to view the locations of the
stop-overs. I'll guide you to the 1st one:
1. Exit Odain's Laboratory.
2. Move 2 screens right when you reach the highway. You'll pass by 2
signs marked 'Left Side' and 'Right Side'.
3. Head up at the juncture.
4. Climb the stairs to your left.
5. You've reached the city center. The Presidential House should be
visible in the background. Wait for the Pandora. You have to defeat
a few Galbadian troopers before actually getting into the Pandora.
[Lunatic Pandora]
Right from the start you'll find a 'Meteo' Draw Point (which recovers
quite fast). Head up the stairs, pick up the copy of 'Battling
Champion 005' on the floor, then take the blue 02 elevator. Follow
the path, and when it splits, take the left route.
Proceed (it's a one-way path anyway) until you reach a red 03
elevator. To the bottom-right of the screen should be a couple of
stairs. Run down from there to reach a ladder; descend to find a
'Confuse' DP. Go right to get a 'Love Love G.F' before returning back
to the red 03 elevator you passed just now.
The red elevator should take you back to the lobby. Make your way left
and board the green 01 elevator. You'll find a 'Holy' DP here, plus a
save point when you move north. Directly above the save point will be
a fork in the route; choose the northern one for the party to be
rather unceremoniously kicked out of the Pandora. All other routes
in the Pandora lead to dead-ends.
+++++++++++
5. Lovers
+++++++++++
[Lunar Side Base]
Squall will wake up at the Arrival Deck. Run over to pick up Rinoa,
then follow Piett into the infirmary. Place Rinoa in the chamber, save
and exit.
Outside the infirmary, keep moving up to reach the Controls Room.
Examine the panels to the right for a short sequence before talking to
Piett. Choose the 2nd option to ask about Eluone's whereabouts.
Incidentally, Piett holds G.F. Alexander's card, but it'll take a while
to win it due to the 'Random' rule here. Leave the Controls Room.
Squall will see a flight of stairs to the left of the screen. Ascend
and go through the door. You can talk to the girl standing in the
tunnel (take note of the Changing Room to the right) for a sequence
introducing Adel. Proceed down the corridor.
Eluone will be waiting for you behind the door to the south, but before
you talk to her, have Squall initiate Card Battle. She holds Laguna's
card, which when refined gives you 100 of those Hero's Medicine. These
items will make your quest ridiculously easy. However, expect the
'Random' rule to cause a lot of resetting and replaying on your part.
Squall will ask of Eluone to take a look at Rinoa, but an accident
prevents them from getting any further. Head to the infirmary. Squall
will be powerless to stop Rinoa (he'll be bounced away each time you
try to get near), so just retrace your steps back to the Controls Room.
Check the panel after Rinoa has made her presence felt.
Next, tail Rinoa to the 2F Changing Room... you'll witness a 'Moon
Tear', the same catastrophe which destroyed the Sentra continent 80
years ago. Enter the Changing Room now, and examine the lockers for
Squall's astronaut outfit. Head to the air lock on the left. It'll be
a futile pursuit for Rinoa; make your way into the foreground after the
air lock shuts, and return to the Controls Room.
Converse with everyone here, followed by Eluone. Head right to reach an
elevator; take the opportunity to talk to Eluone again. Save when you
reach the bottom, then proceed right. Enter the un-occupied escape pod.
[Escape Pod]
Squall pleads with Eluone to transfer him into Rinoa's memories; Eluone
lets him witness 3 separate incidents: one involves Rinoa forcing
Irvine to turn back to Sand Prison to rescue the rest; another has
Rinoa asking Zell if he could help her get a replica of Squall's ring.
*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
The final one will be a scene after defeating Edea in Galbadia Garden.
Squall watches as Artemisia transfers herself from Edea into Rinoa's
body... she wakes Seifer up, and orders him to salvage the Pandora.
Squall decides to risk his life to try save Rinoa. Upon climbing out
of the escape pod, you have to play a mini-game:
Use the d-pad and mash away at the 'X' button to adjust Squall's
point of view until you see Rinoa in the center of the screen. Keep
her positioned in the center, and when the timer hits zero you'll be
reunited. A bit of a no-brainer, actually. Enjoy the FMV sequence!
[Ragnarok]
Check the panel to the left to close the air lock, then proceed upwards.
Rinoa will playfully ask Squall for a hug ^_^ Anyway, head up one more
screen when she's done.
You'll find that you have company... aliens. They have the ability to
regenerate themselves when you kill them; the only solution is to
defeat them in pairs.
By that I mean out of the 8 aliens you find on board the Ragnarok,
there'll be a pair of yellow, red, green and purple aliens. You must
kill 2 of the same kind *consecutively*. However, these guys attack
the moment they spot you, so you have to be quick to dodge them.
Start your alien hunt (remember to junction your party) by heading to
the right and descending the steps. You'll find a purple one at the
bottom of the stairs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Propagator HP: 5,000+ Draw List: Bolt 3, Esuna, Raise, Cure 3
These guys share the same statistics. Well, they're quick on the
offensive and like to cast both 'Bolt' and 'Silence', so you might want
to be well-protected from these 2 spells. Actually, what I usually do
with them is to have Squall and Rinoa junction 'Sleepel' to Status
Attack -- they're pretty weak against that. Make sure your 2 members
have a high Attack rating for a quick and effortless victory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There'll be 2 doors in front of you; take the left one. Behind this door
lurks a red alien -- you don't want to face him now, so make a beeline
for the door to the left upon entering this area to dodge his charge.
The next room holds a purple alien. Toast him.
Back-track to the previous room now, and defeat the red one. Go
through the door to the south, back to where you fought your 1st
purple alien. Climb the stairs to the right to find yet another red
alien for the kill.
Descend back down to the 1F. This time, enter the door in the
upper-right corner (it's a bit hard to see it) to pay a visit to a
green alien.
Save here when you're done with him. Now go to where you 1st met a
red alien, then move 2 screens left to find a green one. He'll be
number six to go down.
Look for a door to the left; step through to face a yellow alien in
the Meeting Room. The panel behind it tells Squall what you already
know: defeat the eight aliens in pairs of the same colour.
Finally, proceed back to where you first entered the Ragnarok; you'll
find your last yellow alien along the way. You know what to do with
him, don't you? Save afterwards.
Make your way back to where you found your 2nd green alien, and
ascend the elevator it guarded. Enjoy the romantic little scene with
Squall and Rinoa.
*spoiler here... skip this section if you wish*
As Rinoa snuggles up to Squall, the latter asks why she wants to be
so close to him. Rinoa responds by saying, "Isn't this what Squall
wants?" ^_^ but Squall says he's a bit un-accustomed.
Upon further questioning, Squall admits that he dislikes being tied
down by emotions... because he's afraid of losing his loved ones.
Later on, when Rinoa is identified as the witch who freed Adel, Squall
comforts her, believing she has led him down the right path... and that
he'll never let go of her.
*end spoiler*
"Eyes on Me"
Composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Sung by Faye Wong
Whenever sang my songs
On the stage, on my own
Whenever said my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Oh, did you ever know?
That I had mine on you
Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
So let me come to you
Close as I wanna be
Close enough for me
To feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
Did you ever know
That I had mine on you
Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you're not dreaming
Note: Lyrics courtesy of 'Musical World of Final Fantasy'. Refer to
the Credits section for more details.
[Ragnarok]
After Rinoa's departure, head back into the Meeting Room of the
Ragnarok. Squall will be reprimanded by Quistis for not stopping
Rinoa... he decides to reclaim his love from the Estharians. Proceed
to the cockpit of the Ragnarok to launch the ship.
Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards
respectively
Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing
Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward
Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and
pauses the game
Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off
Circle: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type
of terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous
areas/Press to mount the ship
X: Reverses ship
Square: Accelerates ship
Triangle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit
R1: Rotates the camera clockwise
L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise
R2: Switches between view points
Btw, the Ragnarok has an auto-pilot feature. Hit 'Select' until you
get to view the full world map, move the cursor to your destination
and push the 'Circle' button to confirm. Press 'X' while the Ragnarok
is on auto-pilot mode to cancel. Some of you may wonder how to get
back into Fisherman's Horizon or Balamb Garden; simply fly Ragnarok
over F.H, and hit 'Circle' to land.
[Memorial Hall of the Witches]
It's located on the Estharian continent, south of Lunatic Pandora
Research Centre. Check your map.
Just run into the Hall, where the Esthar guards will let Squall
through to see Rinoa one last time. Of course, Squall has other ideas.
Head to the upper-left opening to rescue Rinoa when the party makes
their intentions clear to the workers there. You can leave now.
[Ragnarok]
Back in the cockpit of the Ragnarok, Rinoa apologises for the trouble
she had caused. She suggests heading to Edea's Orphanage for a quieter
and less crowded environment.
But before you do that, a wide array of optional events have been
opened up with the acquisition of the Ragnarok... I suggest you do
them first before proceeding to Edea's Orphanage.
[Sabotender Desert]
To the east of the Sabotender Desert on the Sentra continent will be
a small island. You will be able to spot a Sabotender appearing and
disappearing at random on this island, so land your Ragnarok and run
over to confront it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Sabotender HP: 100,000 Weak: Water
Draw List: Gravite, Tornado
This guy has a few pretty nasty attacks; it'll slam itself down on your
party, causing moderate sums of damage to everyone, or cast '10,000
Needles' which damages a character for 10,000 HP, so stock up on those
Phoenix Downs and Raise spells. G.F. Alexander's 'Revive' command
ability's useful too.
What you'll want to do here is to junction 'Aqua' to Elemental Attack
and have Leviathan at the ready. Cast 'Merton' if you have it. If
Squall gets hit by '10,000 Needles', revive him with a Phoenix Down,
but don't heal him -- his Renzokuken works well on the Sabotender.
You'll acquire a new G.F. for your troubles. Btw, *only* Sabotenders
appear on this island, so head here the next time you want some A.P.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
G.F. Sabotender offers a wide variety of level up bonuses such as
'HP Bonus' and 'Defense Bonus' character ability. Junction it to a
party member who's about to gain a level to make full use of them.
[Warship Island Part One]
It's not on the map, but it's located out in the open seas in the
south-west corner of the world. Land your ship on it, and make your
way into the interior of the building.
Inside will be a spinning blue light which goes on and off at random.
Walk only when the light is turned off, and keep inching your way
towards the blue core. You'll be forced into combat should you move
with the lights on.
Upon reaching the center, examine it and select the 1st option.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENEMY: Rubulm Dragon HP: Variable Weak: Ice, Holy
Strong vs.: Fire, Wind
Draw List: Fire 3, Reflect, Flare, Meteo
It's much tougher this time around, and its 'Breath' attack can take
away quite a substantial amount of damage. The previous tactics you
used against it don't work quite as well as they used to, so just
cast 'Merton' on it and have Squall unleash his Renzokuken. If they
drop a 'Fire Dragon Fang', use it on Quistis for her to learn 'Fire
Breath'. Junction 'Fire 3' to Elemental Defense beforehand for these
battles. Or you could simply use G.F. Tonberi's 'Level Down' command
ability on the Rubulm Dragon (hey, it's only an enemy, not a boss).
(note: You can obtain 10 Aura Stones by refining a Power Wrist through
Siren's 'Item Refinement' Menu Ability. Power Wrists are purchasable
from the Pet store in Esthar's Shopping Mall.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re-examine the core and take the 2nd option for another fight with a
Rubulm Dragon. You begin this one with your backs turned, so be
careful! If you're lucky enough, Odin will step in both times to help
you finish off the dragons.
Search the panel one last time and pick the invisible 3rd option.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS G.F: Bahamut HP: 65,200 Strong vs.: Poison, Lightning, Wind
Draw List: Flare, Cure 3, Araise, Despell
Bahamut has a pretty high offensive rating, and if you take too long
to defeat him, his Mega Flare will take away roughly 4,000 HPs of
damage from everyone. Simply use the same tactic outlined for the
Rubulm Dragons above and you should do just fine. Bahamut will give
up his card when you defeat him; change this using Quetzalcoatl's 'Card
Change' menu ability for a whopping 100 Mega Elixirs!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bahamut will be one of your best G.Fs; be sure to learn his 'Rare Item'
party ability. Leave Warship Island for now. Talk to everyone
(especially Zell) once you're back on the Ragnarok. Head to the nearest
town (Winhill), stock up on curative spells, items, re-organize your
party and save.
[Warship Island Part Two] (note: You'll need to have Zell in your
party)
Actually, I have no idea what triggers off this upcoming event; if it
doesn't work the same way for you, try returning here after the events
at Edea's Orphanage.
There should be a thick vine where the hole previously was; descend
into the depths of the island using that. Due to the relative
inactivity of the place, you have to make use of the island's remaining
power to reach the bottom.
You'll need 4 out of 20 power units to open the 1st gate, according to
the computer you come across upon descending from the vine. Go through
the now opened hatch in the floor.
Examine the computer on the next floor, and use 2 units of power to
open the hatch. Proceed down.
The next screen will have 2 doors, controlled by 2 computers. If Zell
is in your party, you can ignore the door to the left (which
incidentally, is also controlled by the computer to the left) and
examine the right computer. Have it use 1 unit of power to open the
hatch in the floor. Head down.
For the upcoming floors, just use 1 unit of power to open the hatches.
When you do reach the bottom via an elevator, Zell will repair the
machinery you see to open the gate to the left. Step through this gate
to find a save point a bit further down.
Follow the one-way path until you reach the very bottom of this island.
You should locate a save point and a red computer panel. Go for the
former first (use Siren's 'Uncover Hidden Points' party ability to see
it), then examine the computer panel.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Ultima Weapon HP: 100,000
Draw List: Regen, Despell, Ultima, Eden
Draw G.F. Eden from it right from the start. Apart from having a
ridiculously high offensive rating, the Ultima Weapon's 'Ultima Beam'
attack can take away 9,999 worth of HP damage from a single member.
Keep those Phoenix Downs at the ready!
Cast Merton on the Ultima Weapon, followed by Aura on Squall. Have him
(with a high Attack and Speed rating) unleash his Renzokuken. Your
remaining members should just heal, and if you can spare a few turns,
draw 'Ultima' spells from the Weapon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll get 100 Ultima Stones and Eden's card for your efforts. Save and
exit. Eden should be your last and only G.F. that's capable of doing 5
digit damage.
Side events: You'll face a plethora of powerful enemies here. These
include Iron Giants, Dragon Izorudes, Rubulm Dragons and Behemoths.
Should you choose to fight them, Tonberi's 'Level Down' command will be
helpful. Otherwise, just equip Diablos' 'Encounter Zero' party ability.
[Syumi Tribe Village]
Laguna's statue should be completed by now. Converse with the Syumis
and the guests from F.H, followed by the village head before you leave.
Btw, the 'Ultima' Draw Point should be your main source of Ultima
spells, so be sure to return here occasionally! You won't be able to
re-enter the Syumi Tribe Village on Disc Four (or any other town for
that matter).
[UFO Sightings]
Sometimes in a battle, you'll notice that Squall appears to be facing
an invisible adversary... only for an UFO to appear and disappear.
Here're the 4 locations where you should encounter this:
1. Along the eastern shores of the Timber continent (the beach nearest
to Roswall Forest).
2. Around the Winhill region.
3. The island east of Trabia Garden.
4. In the larger Sabotender Desert.
Once you've sighted it 4 times, proceed to the cliffs north of the
Chocobo Holy Shrine, and land your Ragnarok there. Run around a bit to
encounter the UFO; defeat it.
Now having at least 5 Elixirs at hand (purchasable from Johnny's Shop
in Esthar's Shopping Mall, or use Alexander's 'Medicine Level Up' menu
ability to further refine 10 Remedy Pluses), head to the Balamb region
for another meeting with the UFO. Use the 5 Elixirs on Koyo Koyo to
receive its card.
You can change this to a 'Pot of Devil's Appetite', then further refine
this via Siren's 'Item Refinement' menu ability to obtain a 'Sage's
Stone'. Finally, use Eden's 'Refine G.F. Ability Items' menu ability to
get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn 'Ability x4' junction ability).
[Islands of Heaven & Hell]
The Heaven Island is located near the Chocobo Holy Shrine and is
north-east of Esthar. The Hell Island is located to the south-west of
Deling City (use your menu screen to get the name of your current
location). Both islands hold numerous draw points on them, some of
which include Flare, Holy, Meteo, Aura, Araise, Triple and Ultima.
These points recover quite fast, and will be your source of high class
spells in ff 8. However, the enemies you'll find here will *always* be
at lv. 100. They include Molbors, Dragon Izorudes, Rubulm Dragons,
Meruto Dragons, T-Rexes and Grandels. Equip Diablos' 'Encounter Zero'
party ability for an easier time picking up spells.
[Timber Region: Lake Obeil]
When you examine the lake north of Timber, Squall will be presented
with 2 options:
- Throw a rock.
- Whistle.
Whistle to have a shadow in the lake talk to you; it'll ask of Squall
to locate a monkey. Head on over to the forest west of Dollet; run
around a bit in there until a message pops up to say the animal was
sighted. You may need to keep pressing the 'Circle' button for that to
happen.
Report back to the shadow and it'll hint at the existence of 4 stone
plaques in the world. To get clues for the locations of all 4 plaques,
have Squall throw a rock until it bounces six times before whistling
again for the shadow. The 4 locations are:
1. Along the shores of Balamb.
2. The island to the east of Timber.
3. The cliffs south of Galbadia Garden (or what used to be the Garden).
You have to land the Ragnarok on the cliff above the waterfall
nearby.
4. The forest west of Dollet.
When rearranged, you'll get a message from the 4 plaques of a hidden
treasure in the plains north of Esthar. Pilot your Ragnarok over there,
and search using 'Circle'. You can't trigger the hidden treasure event
unless you locate all 4 plaques first.
There'll be tons of talking stones (Moais?) here; try to locate a red
one, and go the opposite direction it tells you to. Keep searching and
you'll eventually find a '3 Stance' item (press 'Circle' again when
a red stone tells you that there's nothing here), which grants a G.F.
'Triple Consumption' (use 3 spells for the cost of only 1) character
ability.
If you need a hint, I'll say it's located in the south-east of the
plains, but not too far away from the center of it. Happy searching!
It took me quite a while too. Btw, this is on the Moldreld Plains.
[Edea's Orphanage] (note: Take Rinoa along)
Follow Angelo to a garden. It's to the left of where you enter the
orphanage.
*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Rinoa confides in Squall of her worries, that one day Artemisia will
awaken the witch within her. Squall says that there can always be a
kind-hearted witch, but is unable to answer when Rinoa tells of her
fear that the world will turn against her. However, Squall promises
Rinoa that he'll defeat Artemisia for her sake... and in turn makes
her promise that she'll never leave his side (this is actually a
throwback to the strange opening of ff 8, because both Squall and
Rinoa say the same words as those appearing in the opening).
Go into the Orphanage to meet up with Edea. According to her, there's
a special person who can despell a witch's fears -- a witch's knight.
Edea advises Rinoa to leave her safety in the hands of such a
person... upon which Rinoa responds to by looking at Squall -- she's
already found her knight ^_^ You can leave now for Esthar.
Side events: If you haven't done so already, Edea and Cid hold Edea's
and Seifer's card respectively, so you might want to take time off to
get them.
[Esthar]
It'll be populated by monsters as a result of the Moon Tear; head to
the Presidential House as soon as possible. Follow the path all the
way left when Squall gets off the elevator pod.
You'll finally meet up with the President of Esthar. When Squall talks
to him, you'll have 4 topics to ask him about:
- The way to defeat Artemisia.
- About Eluone.
- About Raine.
- About why he's here. (follow this one with the 1st choice to make
him continue his story)
You can choose the first option to move the plot quickly, but I suggest
you take time off to see what he has been up to for the past few years.
*spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish*
Basically, Laguna journeys off to Esthar to rescue Eluone, who was one
of the many taken as a possible successor to Adel's rule during her
time. However, Adel recognizes Eluone's hidden talents and decides to
take her power... only to be betrayed by her own lust as Laguna tricks
her into entering the sealing capsule, which a holographic image of
Eluone had been beamed onto. They use the Ragnarok to station the
sealed up Adel in space, but with the sudden loss of a President,
Esthar falls into confusion; thus under the name of a 'hero', Laguna
was elected as the new President.
Taking the first option results in an elaborate explanation by
Professor Odain. It's rather confusing too. When he's done, the
President will volunteer to continue the briefing aboard the Ragnarok
(which incidentally, was named after him):
- Fine with me.
- I want to know something else.
I'll leave this up to you.
*spoiler here... skip this section if you wish*
Next, I'll *attempt* to summarize Odain's plan:
Truth be told, Artemisia exists in Squall's time only in her mental
state; her physical self is stationed in the future. However, being a
sorceress herself, Artemisia can only possess the witches of each era.
This technique of transferring one's mind between time is only used by
Eluone in Squall's era, but apparently in the future, anyone has the
ability to do this, thanks to an invention by Professor Odain. To
defeat Artemisia, the party will have to travel to the future to
confront her physical being.
Artemisia's goal is to cause total time compression, which is the
reason why she has come to this time seeking Eluone's powers. To make
her task easier, she has to possess the most powerful witch of this
era, which will be Adel. Thus, after rescuing Eluone from the
Pandora, Squall will have to seek out the un-awakened Adel and defeat
her, forcing Artemisia to possess Rinoa instead.
This is when Eluone steps in. To bait Artemisia (whose aim is to travel
even further back in time), she'll transport both Rinoa and Artemisia
into the past minds of the sorceresses before this time. Artemisia
will then initiate time compression, upon which Eluone will immediately
cut both of them off from the past.
With time compressed now, Squall and company will have to head for the
future, where the final confrontation with Artemisia awaits.
*end spoiler*
Side events: The President of Esthar holds Squall's card, quite
possibly the best in the game. Be sure to win it from him.
Also, in Esthar itself will be a creature known as the Elniole, a
black and yellow winged demon which resembles the Elviole you fought
way back in Dollet in Disc One.
You can encounter them randomly (low encounter rate) or look for a
black creature standing on one of the highways in Esthar (point E on
the map I've drawn up above). It'll simply laugh when Squall talks
to it, but you have to fight it. Exit and re-enter this screen for it
to reappear again.
You can steal Moon Stones from the Elniole, or defeat it to make it
drop Energy Crystals. Both are essential items for weapon upgrading;
get a Moon Stone and 8 Energy Crystals from it. Also, you can refine
Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability to get Hadou
bullets. These are Irvine's best ammunition for his desperation. Btw,
I don't think there's a need to equip G.F. Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party
ability here; the Elniole drops Energy Crystals at a pretty
consistent rate.
[Ragnarok]
The Esthar President will summarize what Odain has said, but I think it
only serves to confuse one even more ^_^
Anyway, your next destination will be Lunatic Pandora (it's floating
right over Tear's Point) in the south-east of the Esthar Region, but
going there means proceeding onto Disc Four. I suggest you do a bit of
running around before that to upgrade your weapons one last time, and
pick up any items you may have missed.
[Miscellaneous Stuff Part Three]
Let's start with the weapons first.
Head to Long Horn Island, which is the narrow stretch of land
consisting mostly of beaches north-west of Dollet. You can encounter
Adamandanti (turtle-like creatures) here. First, plunder a 'Wind
Whisper' from it, then defeat one of them for it to drop Adamantium.
Get at least 3 of those. Incidentally, Adamantium lets a G.F. learn
'Defense +60%' character ability, so get more of those if you can. Use
Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability to assist you.
Pilot Ragnarok over to the Esthar Region and encounter enemies. You
should find Kuaarus (long-whiskered leopards), Behemoths (enormous
purple beasts -- low encounter rate) and Iron Giants (blue giants
carrying swords). Plunder from all of them to receive Revive Rings
(get 1 of these), Barrier Systems (1 will do) and Star Fragments
(get 5 of these) respectively.
You may need Tonberi's 'Level Up' command ability to raise their
levels for them to carry such items. On a side note, a single Revive
Ring can be refined using Siren's 'Life Magic Refinement' menu ability
to 20 'Araise' spells -- these are excellent junctioned to HP.
Squall's Lionheart: One Adamatium, 4 Dragon Fangs (steal from Dragon
Izorudes or Meruto Dragons on the Hell Island near Galbadia) and 12
Hadou Bullets (refine 2 Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu
ability. Or you could refine Laser Cannons dropped by Belhelmelhels in
the region near Galbadia Garden). The Lionheart's finishing move,
'End of Heart' should be your most powerful attack in the entire game.
Rinoa's Shooting Star: 2 Windmills (steal from Surasuto Eibisus - blue
flying creatures - in the Timber region), 1 Revive Ring, 1 Force Ring
(it's purchasable from a Pet Store in Esthar) and 2 Energy Crystals.
Zell's Ehrgeiz: One Adamatium, 4 Dragon Skins (high level Hedge Vipers
in the forest west of Dollet drop these) and one Fighting Spirit
Fragment (Esansuushis - green shelled creatures - in the Tomb of the
Nameless King carry these. Or you could fight Dragon Izorudes on Hell
Island - kill them effortlessly with a 'Death' spell).
Quistis' Save the Queen: 2 Molbor Tentacles (Molbors are found on the
Heaven Island north-east of Esthar), 4 Sharp Nails (from Grandiaros in
the forests on the Sentra continent) and 4 Energy Crystals.
Selphie's Dream Kettle: One Adamatium, 3 Star Fragments and 2 Cursed
Claws (Creeps in the sewers of Deling City have them).
Irvine's Exactor: 2 Dinosaur Bones (T-Rexes in Balamb Garden's Training
Center and Hell Island drop these), 1 Moon Stone, 2 Star Fragments and
18 screws (from Haurizaados near the cliffs of Galbadia and Dollet).
Next up, Quistis' remaining Enemy Skills. Use the Barrier System you
stole from the Behemoth on her for her 'Mighty Guard' and the Wind
Whisper (from the Adamandati) for her 'White Wind'.
Also, high level Purittsus in the Sentra forests (rarely) drop High
Output Occurrence Devices (don't equip Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party
ability), which grant Quistis her 'Raybomb'.
Finally, collect 100 Cursed Claws from Creeps in the Deling sewers
or Raifuuobidons (skeletons armed with 2 swords) from the Sentra Ruins,
then use Siren's 'Refine Item' menu ability to receive Dark Matter
and thus her final Enemy Skill, the Shockwave Pulser, one of only
three sources in the whole of ff 8 which can do 5 digit damage (the
other 2 attacks being G.F. Eden's 'Eternal Flare' and Choco Buckle).
I've heard rumours suggesting that 'Dark Matter' can only be obtained
when G.F. Siren's at level 100.
(note: The Choco Buckle can only be gotten if you have a Pocket
Station peripheral, which is sold separately. I won't detail
the procedure here. Well, until I can get my hands on a Pocket
Station ^_^)
Another 2 Enemy Skills which you may have forgotten would be her Fire
Breath and Homing Laser. Get the items from Rubulm Dragons on the Hell
Island (they carry Fire Dragon Fangs at lower levels -- use Tonberi's
'Level Down' command ability on them) and high-level Belhelmelhels
(they have Laser Cannons) in the ex-Galbadia Garden region respectively.
Once you've met all the CC Group members in Balamb Garden, you can
challenge the Card Queen outside Balamb City's train station. This
sparks off a Card Quest which lets you complete your collection of
rare cards in ff 8, but I won't detail it here. Refer to Eugene See's
'Rare Card' FAQ for more details. It's at www.gamefaqs.com, under
Final Fantasy VIII.
I'll give you a method for completing your collection in Disc Four
later. Incidentally, if you forgot to get Ward's and Squall's card,
they're still winnable from Prof. Odain at his Laboratory in Esthar
and the President of Esthar in the Meeting Room of the Ragnarok
respectively.
Also, G.F. Alexander's card can still be won from Piett; he's located
at one of the southern tips of the Esthar continent. You can't see him
on the Overworld directly; you'll need to actually run into the
specific area to enter a field screen.
You're almost up to the end dungeon here, which requires you to have
all 6 of your characters junctioned *at all times* with G.Fs. You'll
want to do a bit of tweaking here to make sure your G.Fs are evenly
spread out, and that your characters are finely balanced in terms of
capability. Purchase a few 'Forget Grass' from a Pet Store, and below
are a few tips I've put together to get you started.
1. You'll want everyone to at least have spells junctioned to the 5
basic parameters: HP, Attack, Defense, Magic and Magic Defense.
Buy these G.F. items from the Pet Store (Rin Rin's Shop) in Esthar.
Below are my recommendations for the type of spell to junction to
each parameter:
HP: Araise
Attack: Ultima, Meteo or Aura
Defense: Merton
Magic: Ultima, Triple or Pain
Magic Defense: Reflect
Where you choose to put 'Ultima' is entirely up to the type of
character you want to build: an attacker or a magic user. Of the 8
spells mentioned above, 3 of them won't be found on the Heaven and
Hell Islands. Here's how to get them:
Merton: Draw from high level Geiras in the Trabia region.
Pain: Defeated Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop Cursed
Claws; use Diablos' 'Status Magic Refinement' menu ability to
get 'Pain' spells.
Reflect: Draw from high level Purinuras (blue blobs) in the Tomb of
the Nameless King, or use Leviathan's 'Assist Magic
Refinement' to refine a Dragon Skin (dropped by high level
Hedge Vipers in Roswall Forest) for 20 'Reflect' spells.
Use Tonberi's 'Level Up' command to assist you.
2. Different G.Fs offer varying degrees of protection from Elemental
and Status spells, so try to divide these equally among your party.
Cards like Selphie's and Ghoulish's, when changed give you items
which allow you to add to the G.Fs' Elemental and Status Defense
properties, so make use of them.
3. Following that should be character abilities and G.F abilities such
as 'Attack +60%' or 'G.F HP +40%'. Let's start with G.Fs first.
Items such as Energy Crystals and Samasa's Soul (change Quistis'
card) give pretty decent 'Summon Magic +?' bonuses (30% and 40%
respectively). Note that all G.F. abilities are cumulative in the
sense that, say if a G.F. has both 'Summon Magic +10%' and 'Summon
Magic +20%', its damage capability is actually 30%.
However, items which give decent 'G.F HP+?' bonuses are rare. I can
only recommend changing Seifer's card to get 3 Diamond Armours (G.F
HP+40%).
Character abilities are another matter altogether. The stores in
Esthar sell such items, i.e. Giant Rings (HP+40%) and Power Wrists
(Attack+40%). Refining 10 of each via Eden's 'G.F Ability Item
Refinement' gives you an upgraded version, i.e. 10 Giant Rings grant
you one Gaia's Ring (HP+80%). However, it might prove to be too
costly to actually buy them, so there's always cards to fall back
on. You can change Ward's, Edea's, Zell's and Rinoa's for such
pricey items. Adamantium (Defense+60%) can be gotten rather easily
however; defeat the Adamandanti on Long Horn Island's coasts
(north-west of Dollet) for them to drop the items.
4. Items which increase your other parameters such as Speed or Luck
are quite rare; I believe you won't pick up more than 5 of them
on your journeys. Still, Irvine's card is one of the rare ones
which grant you 'Speed +40%'.
5. Rosetta Stones give you 'Ability x4' junction abilities. Again,
these are very very rare.
G.Fs which offer 'Ability x3' or 'Ability x4' include Diablos,
Carbunkle, Cerebrus, Alexander and Bahamut, so you'll have to
modify one other G.F's list of abilities to include 'Ability x4'
for the sixth party member.
6. There're a variety of ways to actually get the rarer bonus ability
items, but such methods are usually very time-consuming and pricey,
i.e. 50 Barrier Systems for an item which lets you junction spells
to your Evasion parameter. Nonetheless, there're always a few
exceptions -- a changed Kyros card gives you 3 Speed Boosters,
which in turn grants you 3 'Auto Haste' character abilities.
7. Try toying around with the refinement system. You may come across
more excellent deals which I didn't cover.
Of course, do take note the above is just for the end dungeon. You
won't be needing that for your next destination, the Pandora, but
since both places are linked, I suggest you do the fine-tunings now to
save yourself the hassle later.
Other final preparations include stocking up on items (refine as many
Power Wrists to Aura Stones as possible) and spells (Heaven and Hell
Islands), and learning the more useful G.F. abilities such as Tonberi's
'Call Shop' and Diablos' 'Encounter Zero'.
Also, take note that in Disc Four ALL towns are in-accessible, so you
might want to make a separate save file just in case you missed
anything. And mind you, Disc Four is closer than you think; right after
the Pandora, in fact. In any case, pilot the Ragnarok over to Tear's
Point in the south-east of Esthar when you feel you're ready. Note
that you have to actually bash into the Pandora using your air-ship
to trigger the upcoming set of events.
[Lunatic Pandora]
You can talk to Selphie (or whoever's at the controls) to leave the
Pandora after the FMV. If you're ready, take the elevator at the back
and get out of the Ragnarok.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Raijin HP: 22,200 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Lightning
Draw List: Bolt 2, Bolt 3, Shell, Protect
BOSS: Fuujin HP: 17,900 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Wind
Draw List: Aero, Cure 3, Araise, Tornado
Cast 'Blind' on Raijin to halt his physical attacks, then dispose of
him using Squall's Renzokuken. Fuujin likes to use assist magic such
as 'Haste' on herself, so break it using 'Despell'. Watch out too for
her 'Shatter', which reduces a single member's HP to 1. You can off her
with Squall's desperation rather easily however. Eden works fine too.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow the 2 into the interior of the Pandora. In the next screen, head
up before taking a left. You'll come across two old friends -- Biggs
and Wedge, but they won't attack you. Save at the point nearby.
The next area of the Pandora should be very familiar to you; you were
here when you hopped aboard the Pandora in Esthar. The valuable draw
points such as 'Meteo' and 'Holy' are still there, so take time off to
pick them up before you head to the green 01 elevator.
Side events: In the screen with the 'Holy' Draw Point (right after the
using the green 01 elevator), there should be this huge chunk of wall
(I don't know how else to describe it) in the center. Try going behind
it and search to find a G.F. Ability Item (Writings of Speed) which
lets you junction spells to your 'Speed' parameter.
You should find a save point after a short walk from the lift. Make
your preparations here and save before heading north. The Pandora
offers nothing else; you should have picked up everything the last
time you were here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Mobile Weapon Type 8 BIS HP: 46,400 Weak: Lightning
Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3, Flare
BOSS: Assist Weapon Type L HP: 9,100 Weak: Lightning
Draw List: Cure 3, Gravite
BOSS: Assist Weapon Type R HP: 9,100 Weak: Lightning
Draw List: Cure 3, Esuna
When it switches to 'Counter Attack Mode', it'll retaliate against all
physical attacks, so keep to using Bolt spells, Quetzalcoatl and Eden
during this period to damage it. After it changes to 'Assist Mode'
it'll launch 'Fallen Shine' which decreases everyone's HP to one, so
have a member cast 'Cerebrus' at the start to put the party in 'Triple'
status; this enables a single person to heal everyone with Cure 3. Or
you could use a Mega Elixir (change Bahamut's card).
You can also damage it with the tried-and-tested combo of Merton-Aura
-Renzokuken to take the bugger down easily. Junction 'Bolt 3' to
Elemental Attack for best results.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can head back a screen to save first before proceeding any further
to meet up with Seifer. He'll dismiss both Raijin and Fuujin when they
try to talk some sense into him, and attack Squall.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Seifer HP: 34,500 Weak: Poison
Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3, Aura
Start off by drawing a few 'Aura' spells from Seifer. If his physical
prowess is giving you trouble, cast 'Protect' on yourselves. Seifer
will begin to use his 'Blood Ceremony' when his HPs get low, which hits
for a pretty significant amount of damage, so watch out for it. You
can dispatch him too easily with a single Merton-Aura-Renzokuken
combination though.
If you have Odin, this battle will be the last you see of him. He'll
be replaced by a much more versatile Gilgamesh at the end of the fight.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just a bit of information on Gilgamesh... he can appear anytime in a
battle (unlike Odin who appears only at the start of a confrontation).
When he does he'll unleash one of four possible attacks:
Iron Cutting Blade: Similar to Odin's attack.
Masamune: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage.
Excalibur: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage.
Excalipur: A sword swipe to all enemies for 1 HP of damage ^_^
Seifer will take Rinoa away after the battle, but you'll still want to
keep Rinoa's HP, Defense and Magic Defense parameters high. You'll see
why later. In any case, junction Quistis (who replaces Rinoa)
thereafter. Leave the room.
END OF DISC THREE
========================================================================
(note: Most of the section below was referred from Part I of Scott Ong's
Final Fantasy VIII FAQ. Refer to the Credits section for more
details.)
+++++++++++++++++++++
6. Time Compression
+++++++++++++++++++++
[Lunatic Pandora]
If you observe carefully, you'll notice a structure to the right,
which leads to the upper regions of the Pandora in the next screen.
Ascend the first ladder, followed by a second one to reach a Draw
Point. Or just head left after the 1st ladder to run up the tilting
white pole.
Take a right when you reach the top, then proceed into the opening in
the next screen.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Adel HP: 65,000+ Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3, Flare
ALLY: Rinoa HP: Variable Draw List: Esuna, Despell, Regen
You'll have two targets to choose from here, and you MUST NOT let Rinoa
die in this battle. Adel has quite a formidable arsenal of magical
attacks, and occasionally she'll drain Rinoa's HPs. Counter this by
junctioning spells to Rinoa's HP parameter prior to this, and casting
Regen on her at the start of the fight.
You can't use spells such as Ultima, Squall's Renzokuken or any G.Fs
here as they'll also damage Rinoa, so stick to physical attacks on
Adel. A 'Merton' spell on her before that should make your task easier.
Heal Rinoa when needed.
Side note: Actually, I had no idea about the Renzokuken damaging Rinoa,
and sorta used it on Adel. Strangely enough, even though the finishing
blow (Blasting Zone) did 9,999 damage to both Adel and Rinoa, I didn't
get a Game Over. I took Adel down with this move though. Apparently, as
long as Adel is defeated, the game doesn't bother to check if Rinoa's
still alive. This method's a bit risky, though.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Beginning Room]
Eluone will initiate time compression here... after a nice FMV you'll
find yourselves in the Beginning Room. Save, then trudge your way
through the numerous save points that appear. Head for the door in the
background.
Squall and company will have to combat the witch of each era, and
every fight takes place on a different battlefield, cumulating in a
show-down with the Final Sorceress.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSSES: Sorceress A x6 HP: 3,000+ Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3
BOSSES: Sorceress B x5 HP: 5,000+ Draw List: Haste, Double
The battles are continuous here, but fortunately these witches are
quite easy to take down. Both physical attacks and spells which affect
all targets (i.e. Ultima, Meteo) should allow you to breeze through
them.
BOSS: Final Sorceress HP: 100,000+ Draw List: Flare, Holy
She can hit you pretty hard in a single attack, which takes away
roughly 1,000 HPs from one character. Also, when she finishes her
count-down, she'll unleash 'Ultima' on your party, something which
you won't want. In any case, hit her with a Merton-Aura-Renzokuken
combo, and have the remaining cast heal or summon powerful G.Fs such
as Bahamut and Eden.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Edea's Orphanage]
Head up, take a right, then proceed up again for a cool FMV introducing
Artemisia's Castle. Make your way north still, and along the way you
should come across a thick metal chain. There should be a total of 3
doors to the left; press 'Circle' near them to leap towards them. Just
head for the one to the upper-left to get out first. Here's where they
lead to:
Upper-left portal: Region near the Chocobo Holy Shrine
Middle-left portal: Region near the Sentra Ruins
Lower-left portal: Region near Deling City
[Overworld] (note: Although optional, I highly recommend you at least
recover the Ragnarok)
You'll emerge at the shoreline near the Chocobo Holy Shrine (the
forested cliffs north-east of Esthar). Head inland and locate the
camouflaged dome-like Shrine.
Once you've got that free chocobo, ride it south across the shallow
waters towards Sabotender Desert. There's a beach south-east of the
desert; get your Chocobo onto the continent via the shore, and head
towards the center of the desert to find the Ragnarok.
You'll notice that with the exception of dungeons and chocobo forests,
all other areas are blocked off. There's not much you can do about the
strange barriers surrounding each town, so don't bother about them too
much.
Still, I suggest you take a trip down to the Heaven and Hell Islands to
stock up on spells first. Once you've done that, try taking a look
inside the Ragnarok.
[Ragnarok]
Here's where you can complete your collection of rare cards, as well as
purchase supplies.
Just press 'Triangle' and hold 'X' when piloting the Ragnarok (method
courtesy of Scott Ong's Final Fantasy VIII FAQ). You should meet up
with Sue at the haul of the ship. And as for the rest of the CC Group,
they're scattered all over the Ragnarok, but shouldn't pose a problem
in locating them. Note that the Joker near the elevator sells you
items, in addition to providing weapon upgrading services.
The CC Group holds virtually all the rare cards you've yet to collect,
so take time off to win them. However, they won't be your only source
of cards in Disc Four, as the Card Queen can still be found on the
Overworld itself.
She's located at one of the southern tips of the Esthar continent.
You can't see her on the Overworld directly; you'll need to actually
run into the specific area to enter a field screen. Btw, this is the
same field screen where you re-discovered Piett in Disc Three.
[Returning to Artemisia's Castle]
When you're ready, fly over to Sabotender Desert and look for a portal
in the north-west. This opens up yet another door to the right of the
metal chain leading to Artemisia's Castle. Run up from there to reach
the final dungeon of ff 8. Save before you enter.
[Artemisia's Castle]
Upon your entrance, Squall will have 8 commands sealed off: Item, Magic,
G.F, Draw, Command Abilities, Desperations, Revive fallen companions
and Save. This handicap is temporary; you can either leave the castle
to get back your abilities, or defeat the 8 bosses hidden within the
dungeon to reclaim them.
In addition, you have to work in 2 parties here. Here're my
recommendations:
Main Party: Squall, Rinoa, Zell
Secondary Party: Quistis, Selphie, Irvine
Here's where you have to divide and junction G.Fs evenly among your
party members. For me, I used Diablos' 'Encounter Zero' party ability
most of the time here, so you may have to exchange Diablos each time
you switch parties.
Throughout the castle you'll find spinning green Switch Spots. Stepping
onto them produces 3 options:
- Switch between parties.
- Swap characters between parties (both parties must be standing at the
same Switch Spot).
- Ignore.
Now that you have a rough idea of what's going on, it's time to start:
(walkthrough of Artemisia's Castle and all bosses stats - with the
exception of Artemisia's - courtesy of Scott Ong's Final Fantasy VIII
FAQ Part I)
Main Party: You should start in the Main Hall. Head north and climb the
stairs to face Andro.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Andro HP: 16,000+ Draw List: ????
Since you'll only have the 'Attack' command available here, make sure
your party is properly junctioned when it comes to their HP and Attack
parameter. Just beat on Andro using physical attacks (Squall's R1
Gunblade trigger comes into play here), and ignore the monsters he
summons.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choose to unlock 'Magic' after the fight. Remember to add this command
to your command list immediately in the menu screen! Magic lets you
heal your characters, plus you now have access to (hopefully) various
powerful spells that you've stocked up.
Main Party: Head up the stairs. Ignore the door in front of you and
make your way right instead. Go through the door in the
south-east.
In the Eastern Wing of the castle, run to your right and
descend the stairs. You should see a string attached to a
bell at the foot of the stairs. Ringing it with the
'Circle' button produces a timer in the top-left corner of
the screen, but you won't be needing that now. Just keep
the location of this bell in mind. Proceed through the
door in the background, past the green Switch Spot.
You should be in the Painting Gallery now. First, take a
look at each of the 4 paintings on the 1st floor of the
Gallery (ignore the largest one to the left), then climb
the steps to the right. View the other 8 paintings on the
2nd Floor (there's a 'Shell' Draw Point here, btw).
Now return to the large painting to the left on the 1st
floor, the one which I told you to ignore previously.
Examine it and enter 'Vividarium', 'Intervigilium' and
'Viator' in this order. I won't bother with explaining how
this puzzle is solved ^_^ Either way, Dolmen should appear
now.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Dolmen HP: 28,809 Weak: Wind Draw List: Flare
BOSS: Mini-Dolmen HP: 2,518 Weak: Wind Draw List: Esuna, Despell
Cast 'Merton' on Dolmen, then bash away at him using physical attacks.
You can also use 'Tornado' coupled with 'Triple' to do damage, but I
advise you ignore the Mini-Dolmens he summons; they come in unlimited
numbers. Junction 'Tornado' to Elemental Attack if you can.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choose to unlock 'Desperations' here. You're pretty much a powerhouse
now with Squall's Renzokuken usable. Proceed into the background and
step through the door. Further up ahead you'll find a Switch Spot. Now
take over your secondary party.
Secondary Party: Equip Diablos over to the party members here for his
'Encounter Zero' ability if you wish to. Head up the
stairs and into the door in the north. Run onto the
chandelier; it should fall, and you'll wind up in the
Banquet Room. Examine the nearby hatch in the floor to
descend into the Wine Cellar. Triedge will be waiting
for you here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Triedge HP: 22,000 Weak: Fire Strong vs.: Lightning
Draw List: Haste, Tornado, Bio
Triedge counters with a very damaging Bolt Strike each time you attack
it (takes off about 3,000 HP from everyone), so make sure you junction
'Bolt 3' to Elemental Defense before the fight. Then just hit it with
'Fire 3' or physical attacks (cast 'Merton' and junction 'Fire 3' to
Elemental Attack) for an easy victory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Release the seal on 'G.F' or 'Save' here. Climb back up to the Banquet
Room, and head through the door in the background to reach a Switch Spot
in the Fountain Garden. Back to your main party.
Main Party: If you chose to unlock 'Save' after defeating Triedge, you
can climb the stairs to the left and head through the left
opening to reach a save point at the end of the corridor.
Otherwise, just go through the door in front of the Switch
Spot to reach the Basement (remember to swap Diablos over).
Go for the door to the left in the basement. It should shut
behind you. Take the key from the skeleton's hand.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Ulframiter HP: 30,000 Strong vs.: Physical attacks
Draw List: Gravite
This guy has a ridiculously high defense, but that's easily countered
by casting 'Merton' on him and whacking him with a Renzokuken. Also,
summoning both Diablos and Sabotender work well in addition to casting
'Gravite'. Other than the above 4 methods, there's no other way you
can hurt him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Choose to unlock either 'G.F' or 'Save' here, depending on which you
have yet to release. Return back to the Switch Spot leading to the
basement (you can save if you want to beforehand at the save point
mentioned above). Change your party.
Secondary Party: You should be at the Fountain Garden. Head for the
door in the background (ignore the path leading to the
right).
The Church offers a playable organ in the upper-left
corner. You can bang on it all you want first, but
remember its position. Climb the staircase to the
right of the screen. Eventually you'll reach a wooden
bridge. Notice a sparkling object on it? RUN towards
it to get it to fall off. Now return to the Switch
Spot in the Fountain Garden.
Main Party: Go back to the Basement again. Examine the canal to the
right of the screen to pick up the Armoury Key. Use it on
the door to the right and enter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Galganture (Head) HP: 10,626 Weak: Holy
Draw List: Esuna, Haste, Bio
BOSS: Galganture (Left Hand) HP: 6,884 Weak: Holy
Draw List: Shell, Protect
BOSS: Galganture (Right Hand) HP: 6,884 Weak: Holy
Draw List: Bio, Gravite, Quake, Regen
Summon 'Siren' to halt their magical spells, then follow up with
'Alexander' to take them out. You can cast 'Holy' on them if you want.
The full version of Galganture will appear after you defeat the 3
parts.
BOSS: Galganture (Whole) HP: 15,000
Draw List: Flare, Bio, Quake, Libra
He likes to cast various status maladies, so make sure your party
members are properly junctioned for Status Defense. Take him out with
a Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combination, and remember to heal when needed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remove the seal on 'Items' or 'Revive fallen companions'. Now return to
the Switch Spot outside the basement (save if you want to first).
Important: For the upcoming section to play out correctly, your main
party has to consist of more males than females, and vice
versa for your secondary party. It's okay if you followed
my recommendations for both parties straight from the start.
Secondary Party: From the Fountain Garden, head back one screen, move
left, transverse down the corridor and through the
door at the end of it to get back to the Main Hall.
Climb the stairs again, but this time head left
towards another door.
Descend the stairs to the left, head past the Switch
Spot into the door, and keep moving into the
background in the next screen. Take the left Switch
Spot at the elevators.
Main Party: Climb the stairs to the left, into the left opening and
past the save point. Step onto the elevator and switch over
to the other party.
Secondary Party: You'll be elevated to the 2nd floor. Proceed left into
a room. Check around to find a 'Water Gate' key.
Return back to the elevator and switch.
Main Party: Head all the way back to the Basement. There should be a
switch next to the door on the left. Have Squall examine it
to drain the water. Now head for the Fountain Garden and
look for a sparkling object in the fountain. Pick up the
'Store Room' key. Go back into the Banquet Room and step
onto the Switch Spot to the right. This prevents the
chandelier above from falling temporarily.
Side events: Before you return to the Banquet Room, try heading into
(Main Party) the Church. At the organ, press all 8 keys simultaneously.
Now back-track to the Fountain Garden and take the right
path. A new route (previously blocked by a steel gate)
should've been opened up; follow the one-way trail. At
the end you'll find a Rosetta Stone, plus open up a
shortcut to the Basement.
Secondary Party: Head back a screen to the dark corridor. Look for a
door to the left (it's partially hidden). It's
somewhere down the middle stretch.
Inside the Store Room will be 4 coffins. Just open
all of them up to get Katoblepas to appear.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Katoblepas HP: 31,500 Weak: Earth, Water Strong vs.: Lightning
Draw List: Meteo
Summon G.F. Brothers or Leviathan to do damage (or junction either
'Quake' or 'Aqua' to Elemental Attack). The Merton-Aura-Shoot (Irvine's
desperation) combination works nicely too. His attacks consist of
mainly single-target spells, so don't worry too much about it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unlock either 'Item' or 'Revive fallen companions' (depends on your
previous selection after downing the Galganture). Now head back to the
Main Hall, climb the stairs again, through the door to the north, over
the now stable chandelier and into the door over at the other end.
Kokytos awaits at the Balcony.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Kokytos HP: 12,000 Strong vs.: Ice Draw List: Holy
Kokytos has a few pretty nasty moves, and has the ability to counter
every attack you throw at it. Just use a (you guessed it) Merton-Aura
-Shoot combo to take care of it. Kokytos will cast 'Ultima' as a last
resort after you finish it off, so take note.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
You'll have only 'Draw' and 'Command Ability' left unlocked. I suggest
taking the latter. You won't be needing the 'Draw' command much here
anyway. Besides, commands such as 'Level Down' and 'Recovery' will
come in useful. Return to the Switch Spot in the Main Hall.
Main Party: Proceed into the Church, and head up the right staircase.
Cross the wooden bridge and enter the door to the left. The
ladder to the right leads to a dead-end, btw.
On the very 1st floor of the Clock Tower should be an
invisible save point (use Siren's 'Uncover Hidden Points'
ability to see it). Climb up the extensive winding path
until you reach a swinging bell.
Position yourselves at the edge opposite to the lone ledge
the bell swings to, and press 'Circle' to jump onto the
bell. Enter the opening on the ledge to reach the exterior
parts of the Clock Tower... and your most powerful
adversary thus far in Artemisia's Castle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Tiamat HP: 89,800 Strong vs.: Fire, Lightning, Wind
Draw List: Flare
Tiamat has an above average magic defense parameter, and his 'Dark
Flare' does a pretty hefty amount of damage (about 4,000+ if you're
properly junctioned) to everyone. Try to minimise this by casting
'Shell' at the start of the fight, then quickly attack him using a
Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combination. You probably need to have Squall
unleash his desperation twice to actually take Tiamat down. Likewise,
if you do it fast enough, Tiamat won't get a chance to pull his
'Dark Flare' off, so you might want to have Squall equipped with a
high offensive and speed rating. Cerebrus' 'Auto Haste' character
ability works well here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unseal your final command here, and you're left with only the last boss
to face. Head back into the Clock Tower, leap onto the bell, then travel
up the remaining winding path to the top. When the path splits, go up
for a 'Stop' Draw Point, then head south.
Main Party (still): Run across the hands of the clock face, climb down
the ladder and move right to reach another ladder,
which you'll have to descend using. The bridge
thereafter leads to Artemisia's Room. Save at the
save point outside, recover all 6 of your
characters, stock up on supplies (Tonberi's 'Call
Shop' ability comes into play here) and do a final
check on your junctioning and spells. Enter
Artemisia's Room when you're ready.
Side events: Artemisia's Castle holds virtually all the enemies you've
ever encountered. Try fighting in different regions of the castle to
face all of them, and pick up any rare items you may have missed.
Another special side event I'll like to highlight here is finding and
taking down the Omega Weapon. Unlike its cousin, the Ultima Weapon,
this guy has the ability to kick your butt so hard, it'll be sore for
months to come. So unless you really want to test your skills, I
suggest you leave him for now, and come back later when you're
properly prepared.
For those who feel confident enough, here's what you'll need: 20 Hero's
Medicine (change Laguna's card), 'Death' junctioned to Status Defense
if anyone in your main party has a level which is a multiple of 5
(i.e. lv. 65, 70 or 100), a 'Merton' spell, 10 Aura Stones (or 'Aura'
spells), and a high offensive-cum-HP rating (255 and 9,999
respectively) for Squall. That's for the cheap way to defeat him
though ^_^ I'll detail the other traditional method below. Saving
before the fight helps too!
First off, take your main party and position them at the Switch Spot in
the Fountain Garden, outside the Church. Have the secondary party make
their way to the Eastern Wing of the castle, outside the Painting
Gallery where the bell is. Ring it once, then quickly step into the
nearby Switch Spot. Proceed into the Church as your main party, where
you'll find Omega Weapon waiting for you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL BOSS: Omega Weapon HP: 750,000+ Strong vs.: Holy
Draw List: Flare, Holy, Meteo, Ultima
The Omega Weapon has several kick-ass attacks at its disposal, some of
which include the Torture Flare (9,998 damage to everyone), the Omega
Beam (9,999 damage to a single character) and the all-powerful Megido
Blast, which hits everyone for approximately 12,000 HP worth of damage.
Fortunately, the Hero's Medicine should render all these attacks
useless, as it puts a single party member into 'Invincible' status.
You'll get a 'Decoration of Omega' in your Tutorial screen after
defeating it.
Cheap method: Omega will use 'Level 5 Death' at the start, so make sure
everyone is protected from that. Have the party use Hero's Medicine on
Rinoa and Zell, with Squall casting a 'Merton' spell on Omega. Your
opponent will hit you with the 'Meteo' spell now, so recover Squall's
HPs back to 9,999 (Leviathan's 'Recovery' command works fine here)
using a character. You can let the other cast 'Haste' on Squall if you
want, but leave Squall with a full time bar.
Omega Weapon should launch its Torture Flare now, reducing Squall's HP
to only 1. Have him unleash his Renzokuken, while another party member
uses a Hero's Medicine on him. Now your main task will be to keep
everyone in 'Invincible' status, as Squall repeatedly launches a
flurry of desperation attacks to take Omega Weapon down. You don't
have to bother with the rest of Omega's moves. Should Squall fall in
this battle later on, I suggest using Aura (Stones) on him instead
of waiting for his HP to be reduced back to critical status (after
reviving him 1st, that is).
The 'Other' method: This is for those who find themselves lacking the
Hero's Medicine. You'll need (as many as you can get) G.Fs with a high
HP rating (i.e. Eden), everyone in your main party with maximum HPs
(9,999) plus a ton of recovery spells and items. I suggest changing
Bahamut's card to obtain 100 Mega Elixirs.
Omega always begins a fight with 'Level 5 Death', so ensure full
protection against that in your party. Summon Cerebrus now to put
everyone in 'Triple' status, then follow this up with a Merton-Aura
-Renzokuken combo. Recover everyone's HPs back to 9,999 after Omega's
'Meteo' spell. The Torture Flare should reduce that back to only 1,
but don't heal just yet. Unleash your desperations until he casts
'Gravite', then quickly repair the damage done.
Next, summon G.Fs with high HPs, and let them absorb some of the
damage when Omega uses his Megido Blast (12,000+ damage to everyone).
Unleash your desperations if possible; Omega will cast 'Gravite'
again, followed by his Omega Beam which WILL take a member now. Use
an 'Araise' spell to get him or her back, followed by a flurry of
recovery items (a single Mega Elixir works nicely here) to restore
everyone's HP back to maximum. Omega will settle into a random
pattern of attacks from here on; your tasks will be to hit him hard
with desperations while predicting what he'll try to do next, and
curing with a Mega Elixir when needed. Good luck!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now back to the main quest... Artemisia will express her fury at SeeD
for interfering with her plans of time compression, before she engages
you in combat.
The participants are picked randomly here (and that includes Squall
as well), so make sure your G.Fs are evenly spread out. Artemisia will
remove fallen companions in battle with her 'Angel' move, but if you're
quick enough you can beat her to it with a well-timed 'Araise' spell.
She comes in 5 (well, 4 and a half to be more accurate) forms, which
you'll need to fight consecutively. You can use Hero's Medicine for a
way too easy victory if you want to (it's the final battle, anyway).
Here's a list detailing the specific attack method for each character:
Squall: Have him unleash his Renzokuken (duh).
Rinoa: Her 'Combine' desperation works okay, but keep her primarily as
a healer of sorts. You can try using 'Varly', but seeing how
you'll lose control of Rinoa, I advise against it.
Zell: His 'Duel' should be his main offense.
Quistis: Support the party with her 'Mighty Guard' and 'White Wind'
enemy skills. For offense, use 'Shockwave Pulser' if you
have it. Otherwise, stick to 'Ray Bomb' or 'Gatling Gun'.
Irvine: Go trigger-happy with his 'Shoot' desperation. His 'Armour
Piercing Bullets', 'Destruction Bullets' and 'Hadou Bullets'
work fine. If you're a quick tapper, and have a full stock of
'Rapid Fire Bullets', try using them against Artemisia's
final form.
Selphie: Her 'Slot' desperation won't help much here, and it isn't
worth it cycling through the list to try to get the rarer
spells... make Selphie a healer instead.
It's pretty obvious you need a chunk of Aura (Stones) for this last
battle. However, should Squall be chosen as one of the participants
(this occurs quite frequently, actually), I suggest letting him do all
the attacking instead. The rest should simply support him by casting
'Merton' to destroy the enemy's defense, and healing Squall when
needed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BOSS: Artemisia HP: 43,000 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Holy
Draw List: Haste, Slow, Reflect, Gravite
The 1st form of Artemisia can be taken down effortlessly with a single
Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combination. However, I suggest you make use of
this one to prepare for the upcoming battles; put everyone in 'Triple',
'Protect', 'Shell', 'Haste' and 'Regen' (Quistis' 'Mighty Guard' Enemy
Skill comes in handy here), followed by 'Aura' status if possible.
Artemisia will attempt to spoil the party with 'Quake' and her 'Meiru
Shutoroomu' (causes status maladies and heavy HP damage to all), but
counter that with a Mega Elixir (change Bahamut's card).
BOSS G.F: Grieva HP: 120,000+ Strong vs.: Earth, Poison
Draw List: Bio, Quake, Tornado
Grieva has a status ailment attack, tends to cast 'Gravite' and 'Death
Sentence', and has an annoying habit of drawing spells from your party.
Counter 'Death Sentence' with either a Remedy Plus or a Mega Elixir,
and hit him repeatedly with Renzokukens (remember to reduce his
defense to zero with 'Merton' 1st). Casting 'Ultima' coupled with
'Triple' works decently too, but I suggest you learn Eden's 'Triple
Consumption' character ability first.
Also note that from Grieva onwards, the bosses have the ability to
kill off any of your G.Fs in a single blow, so don't bother with
summoning them. Grieva will use his Shockwave Pulser at the end (or
earlier if you aren't quick enough in taking him out), which takes
off about 3,000 HP from everyone (that's if you have a decent Magic
Defense rating -- try junctioning 'Reflect' to it and having 'Magic
Defense +60%' equipped), or 1,500 if you're under a 'Shell' condition.
BOSS: Artemisia-Grieva HP: 180,000+ Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3
SUB-BOSS: Herikkusu HP: 25,000+ Draw List: Esuna, Despell
Artemisia will junction with Grieva for a truly nasty package. This
3rd form likes to cast 'Tornado' and 'Meteo', plus she'll occasionally
remove an entire set of spells (i.e. a 100 Araise spells) from your
magic list, thus forcing you to lose that junction (i.e. if you've
junctioned Araise to HP, it'll fall back to its original value). She's
also capable of casting the Shockwave Pulser at anytime now, too.
Other than that, tiny cronies will appear to help in the duration of
the fight. If you stall for too long until 2 Herikkusus appear,
watch out for Artemisia's 'Great Atorakutaa', a (visually stunning)
physical attack which does 4,000+ damage to the entire party.
Stick to your tried-and-proven Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combination to
take her down. If she de-attaches a part of herself, it means she's
close to defeat -- keep it going!
FINAL BOSS: True Artemisia HP: 250,000+ Draw List: Holy, Flare
BOSS: Artemisia (Lower half) HP: 16,000+ Draw List: Apocalypse
Artemisia, in all her final form glory, now has more offensive moves
at her disposal; her Hell Judgement can bring everyone down to 1 HP
(easier desperation moves though; in fact, you can just use a Hero's
Medicine on Squall, and have him launch his Renzokuken repeatedly).
She'll also cast 'Ultima' and 'Flare' on you, and when her lower body
appears in the course of the fight, she'll draw 'Apocalypse' from it,
which hits the entire party for roughly 3,500+ worth of damage. Take
note that you can do the same to her, by beating her to drawing
'Apocalypse'. Artemisia will retain the annoying ability to remove an
entire set of spells from you, too.
Simply keep the Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combinations (I think you've
gotten tired of that already ^_^) going, and heal immediately when she
hits you with a Hell Judgement -- she might cast 'Ultima' as her next
move. Try to dispose of her lower body first when it does appear.
When Artemisia is near defeat, she'll start uttering lines in battle.
During this period, you have to pound on her until she finishes
what she has to say; each attack usually results in her speaking
another line. Only when you've seen all she has to say then can you
strike the finishing blow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Enjoy the ending!
*major spoiler here... skip this section if you want to see the ending
for yourself*
As an added bonus, I'll translate the following dialogue in the ending
sequence. It's kinda amateurish, so I hope you'll bear with it:
Irvine: Has it ended?
Let's go back to our time then!
Zell: Quiet! We'll have to recall the route back.
Selphie: Don't get mixed up~!
Quistis: Try not to get caught in the rifts between time itself.
Rinoa: (Time... Places... Wanting to be with someone...)
(Let's go there! Where I promised Squall we'll meet.)
Rinoa: Squall!
Squall! Let's go together! Where are you?
Squall: (Where...?) (turns to see young Squall, and Edea)
Edea: Squall! Where are you going?
Young Squall: I'm gonna look for big sister! (runs off)
Edea: Squall!
Squall: (... Mama Sensei) (nanny in Japanese)
Edea: I'm sorry -- did you see a young boy run past here?
Squall: Don't worry. He can't go too far.
Edea: That's what I thought. I can't really do much to help him.
(Artemisia appears)
Squall: .... still alive? (draws his Gunblade)
Edea: ... she's a sorceress, isn't she?
Squall: Yes, Mama Sensei.
We should've defeated her already...
Mama Sensei, please step back.
Edea: There's no need to fight.
She's merely looking for someone to inherit her powers.
A sorceress cannot die unless she passes on her skills... I know
that because I'm one of them.
Let me inherit hers -- I do not want the children to get hurt.
Artemisia: I.... won't... die... yet. (Edea goes over to her)
Squall: Mama Sensei!
Edea: Is it... over?
Squall: ... maybe.
Edea: You called me Mama Sensei. Just who... are you?
Squall: SeeD. Balamb Garden's SeeD.
Edea: SeeD? Garden?
Squall: Both Garden and SeeD were Mama Sensei's ideas.
Garden cultivates SeeD members, and the latter are responsible
for defeating the witches.
Edea: What are you talking about?
Are you... a child from the future?
Squall: ... Mama Sensei.
Edea: Alright, that's enough. Go back to your own time now. You don't
belong here.
Young Squall: ... I couldn't find big sister.
... Am I, all alone? (notices the older Squall)
Who's that?
Edea: It doesn't matter Squall, you don't need to know.
There's only one Squall here. (turns to the older Squall)
You do know how to go back, right?
Will you be alright by yourself?
Squall: (... I'll be fine.)
(I'm not alone.) (the screen fades)
(... I'm not alone at all.)
(... I have my companions waiting for me.)
Squall: Where's everyone?
Rinoa! Are you there?
Zell! Selphie! Quistis! Irvine!
Rinoa!
(... Am I the only one left?)
(Rinoa? Please answer me.)
(Where should I go?)
(I can't... go back by myself.)
Squall: Rinoa?
(Am I... alone again?)
(Where is this place?)
*end spoiler*
You should see the ending FMV now... and don't turn the power off until
the words 'The End' appear on your screen.
Thanks for reading my walkthrough.
========================================================================
VIII. MISCELLANEOUS
========================================================================
Basically, the Miscellaneous section is a quick reference guide for all
the locations of the G.Fs, magazines, rare cards, Blue Magic and weapon
remodeling lists. It's still under construction though, so don't expect
anything major.
Quezacotl: Study Panel at Balamb Garden 2F Classroom
Shiva: Study Panel at Balamb Garden 2F Classroom
Ifrit: Defeat Ifrit at Fire Caverns (Disc One)
Siren: Draw from Elvoret in Dollet (Disc One)
Brothers: Defeat Brothers at Tomb of Unknown King
Diablos: Summon using 'Lantern' given by Cid, and defeat Diablos
('Lantern' item --> Disc One)
Carbuncle: Draw from Iguion in Deling City, Presidential Residence
(Disc One)
Leviathan: Draw from NORG in Basement of Balamb Garden (Disc Two)
Pandemona: Draw from Fujin at Balamb Hotel (Disc Two)
Odin: Locate and defeat Odin at Centra Ruins
Cerebrus: Defeat Cerebrus at Galbadia Garden (Disc Two)
Alexander: Draw from Edea at Galbadia Garden (Disc Two)
Ghoulish / Doomtrain: Have 6 Steel Pipes, 6 Molbor Tentacles, 6
Remedy Pluses, find and use Solomon's Ring at
Tear's Point
Bahamut: Defeat Bahamut at Warship Island (Disc Three onwards)
Sabotender / Cactuar: Defeat giant Cactuar (Sabotender) at Cactuar
Island in Centra region
Tonberry: Defeat 20 plus Tonberries at Centra Ruins, then take down
subsequent Tonberry King
Eden: Draw from Ultima Weapon at bottom of Warship Island (Disc Three
onwards)
Once you miss a drawable G.F, you've lost it forever.
1. At Balamb Hotel 7. At the Factory in F.H
2. At Timber Maniacs Building 8. At F.H Hotel 2F
3. At Timber Hotel 2F 9. At the Inn of the Shumi Tribe
4. At Hotel Dollet 2F 10. At Trabia Garden's cemetery
5. At Dollet Bar 11. At Edea's Orphanage
6. At Galbadia Hotel 2F 12. On the White SeeD
View these magazines on the Study Panel of the 2F Classroom at
Balamb Garden.
March: Defeat the Elvoret at Dollet (Disc One)
April: On Squall's table in his single room dormitory at Balamb Garden
May: In the Deling Sewers
June: Defeat BGH251F2 at the Missile Base (Disc Two)
July: At Balamb Garden's Training Center (Disc Three)
August: 5 steps south of gargoyle statue at Trabia Garden
Debut: Lunatic Pandora Research Center (Final Laguna Scenario)
These are also purchasable from the Esthar Shopping Mall using G.F
Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability.
Issue 1: On train en route to Timber (Disc One)
Issue 2: On Resistance Base during Timber Kidnap Operation (Disc One)
Issue 3: Timber Pet Store
Issue 4: Timber Pet Store
Issue 5: Esthar Pet Store
Issue 6: Esthar Pet Store
These are also purchasable from the Esthar Shopping Mall using G.F
Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability.
001: D-District Prison, Floor One (Disc Two)
002: Defeat Raijin and Fujin at Balamb City (Disc Two)
003: Random event triggered by resting at Balamb Hotel
004: Esthar soldier during Lunatic Pandora invasion event? (Disc Three)
005: Lobby of Lunatic Pandora
These are also purchasable from the Esthar Shopping Mall using G.F
Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability.
Volume I: In Library bookshelf at Balamb Garden
Volume II: In private room of Master Card Player at 2F Dollet Bar
Volume III: Apologise to Master Fisherman at F.H. after Balamb Garden
collision (Disc Two)
Volume IV: In Presidential House at Esthar; talk to Estharian
within after event at Lunar Gate (Disc Three)
These are also purchasable from the Esthar Shopping Mall using G.F
Tonberry's 'Familiar' menu ability.
========================================================================
IX. CREDITS
========================================================================
This walkthrough wouldn't have been possible without these great people;
I'll like to thank them here:
CJayC (gamefaqs@gamefaqs.com) for hosting this FAQ on his website.
Scott Ong (kangning@mbox5.singnet.com.sg) for his permission to use
Disc Four of his Final Fantasy VIII FAQ Part I. It's at
www.gamefaqs.com, under Final Fantasy VIII. Also check out his website
at http://members.xoom.com/scottong (The Round Island).
Heero Yuy (kanketsu@usa.net) for his permission to use his Final
Fantasy VIII Walkthrough. It's at www.gamefaqs.com, under Final
Fantasy VIII. Most of the decision points you see were referred from
his guide.
Steven Bruck (stevenbruck@bigfoot.com) for his permission to use his
Guardian Force FAQ. It's at www.gamefaqs.com, under Final Fantasy VIII.
The majority of translated abilities were taken from his guide.
The Webmaster (tomo1657@aol.com) of http://ffmusic.vovoid.com (Musical
World of Final Fantasy) for the lyrics to "Eyes on Me".
"Eyes on Me" is composed by Nobuo Uematsu and sung by Faye Wong.
John (kiros@ff8.org) for his translation guide. It's located at
http://oro.simplenet.com/ff8 (The Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII
Translation Homepage).
Kao Megura (kmegura@yahoo.com), whose ff 7 FAQ prompted me to
re-organize the format of this FAQ somewhat.
GamePlayers Magazine from which most of the material in this guide was
referred from. Buy this if you can read Chinese; they offer some of the
most comprehensive guides, reviews and previews for games.
The trio of Jon Chang, Hodaka Tsyuchida and Mark Gilson for letting me
use their translation guide for reference purposes - thanks people!
Btw, if you're looking to find it, it's at www.gamefaqs.com, under
Final Fantasy VIII Demo.
Final Author's Notes:
Comments, criticism, additions or corrections? E-mail me at
cephiroth@yahoo.com. Anyway, I'll appreciate whatever feedback you guys
have to give, but try to keep gameplay questions to a minimum -- I
think most of them would've been covered somewhere in the guide already.
Disclaimer:
This FAQ is intended for private and personal use, and can only be re
-produced electronically if you contact me via e-mail and receive my
permission to do so. This FAQ cannot be used for profitable purposes.
All copyrights and trademarks that are not specifically mentioned in
this FAQ are acknowledged. No parts of this FAQ may be altered in any
way; please give credit where it is due.
"Final Fantasy VIII" (c) 1999 Squaresoft
"PlayStation" is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc.
"An Unofficial Final Fantasy VIII Walkthrough" (c) 1998-1999 Cephiroth
