Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 10:48:23 -0700 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Princess Crown FAQ v2.0 by Castellan (Doug Erickson) Princess Crown, "Gradriel," and all characters herein associated with Princess Crown Copyright 1997 Sega Enterprises and Atlus Ltd This FAQ may not be reproduced or distributed without the express permission of Douglas Erickson. ------------------------------------------------------------------- - Princess Crown - An Action/RPG (c) 1997 by: Sega Enterprises and Atlus I. The Background Story II. The Controls and Combat III. Items, Equipment, and Miscellanea IV. The Bestiary V. The Walkthrough VI. Extras VII. Special Thanks and Credits ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I. - The Background Story - "A LONG LONG AGO... PRINCESS GRADRIEL WAS TO RECEIVE THE GOLD CROWN "I WANT TO BECOME A BRAVE QUEEN IN ORDER TO STOP THE DEMONS" GRADRIEL SET OUT ON HER JOURNEY THE DRAGON THAT ATTACKED GRADRIEL WAS DEFEATED BY A SINGLE BLOW FROM THE DRAGON SLAYER EDWARD BY THE MAGIC OF THE WITCH PROSPERPINA THE KIDS WERE TURNED INTO ANIMALS PROSPERPINA RUN A WAY AT TOP SPEED THESE PEOPLE ARE USING MY NAME PARSONS HAPPENED TO BE REAL PORTGUS KNOWING THAT SIDRAEL WAS TAKEN BY THE DEMONS BUT THIS CAUSED THE GATE TO UNDERWORLD GRADRIEL WENT TO FACE THE GREATERDEMONS GOLGOTHA THE EXGENERAL, ARRIVED" - from the introductory animation (Poesy or simply weird? You be the judge.) In Princess Crown, you control the actions of Princess Gradriel, a young woman determined to crush the demonic forces threatening her land, using the might of her sword and the magic of the gems. By undertaking this quest, she hopes to prove herself a legendary queen, much as her ancestors were (apparently, Valendia Land is traditionally matriarchal). Princess Crown is an Action RPG in the vein of classics such as Sword of Vermilion and Ys Book 3, with a healty dose of Capcom's AD&D arcade offerings thrown in to spice the whole affair up. Everything takes place from a side-scrolling perspective, including combat, town navigation, travelling, and dungeon exploration. Sounds pretty plain, eh? Well, you haven't seen how it LOOKS. This game is a brilliant testament to the 2D prowess of the Saturn, featuring amazing animation, brilliant color, and some of the best hand-drawn video game artwork this side of a Capcom fighting title. Toss in a great leading character, an incredible attention to detail, a unique fighting engine for combat, and large world to explore, and you have one of the best arcade-oriented RPGs available on ANY platform. The game itself has a fair amount of Japanese, which occurs mostly as character dialog. Many of the options and virtually all of the text graphics are in English, including the splash screens and end-of-battle tallies. The game is very playable despite the Japanese dialog; if you don't mind missing out on what appears to be a pretty humorous story, you probably won't have any difficulty with this game. Just in case, though, I've included a walkthrough if you're having difficulty finding the next task to accomplish or dungeon to visit. The game itself centers its challenge around its combat engine, as opposed to dexterity tests or puzzle solving, of which there are few to none. As a result, this game plays like the conjugation of Capcom's AD&D arcade titles with your average side-scrolling RPG, such as Popful Mail. Unlike the AD&D titles, though, there are many towns to visit with people aplenty to talk with and a more extensive item management system. Unlike the generic side-scrolling RPG, there are no jumping puzzles nor platforming elements present. What this game does retain is some fairly detailed hand-to-hand fighting, a traversable map to explore (each 2D town/dungeon/area is linked by one of several 2D paths, along which random encounters occur) in a relatively non-linear sequence, a number of cinematic segues, and a whole lot of combat-driven madcap fun. Here is a brief synopsis of the story behind Princess Crown: (some spoilers included) 13-year old Gradriel is the youngest daughter of the now-legendary Queen Elfrenne, who, 25 years previous, had slain the demonic forces which threatened the peaceful kingdom of Valendia. Despite having two older twin sisters, Eriel and Sidrael, (Eriel is in blue, and Sidrael is in green), she is the heir to the throne, Elfrenne having died recently. Gradriel is told by visiting emissaries that all is not well in Valendia, and that the evil creatures, which, after the defeat of the demons, had gone into hibernation, were once again haranguing the land with their misanthropic behaviors. Gradriel's chief councillor and head wizard Jaistnai advises against her venturing out to correct these problems, but impetuous Gradriel has other ideas. Slipping out of the castle, she visits the many landmarks and villages of Valendia Land. Meanwhile, an ancient grimoire of evil, Larva, long since sealed up in Valenadine Castle, awakens after a long slumber, calling to the forces of the archdemon Vogrod. Possessing Eriel, it subverts her into an evil sorceress who begins to wage magical mayhem on Valendia. Eventually, Gradriel will face and defeat Evil Eriel, but the Grimoire Larva will find a new host, and Eriel's twin, Sidrael, will find herself in the clutches of Larva itself... II. Combat and Controls The primary play element of Princess Crown, other than the 2D exploration and dialog-driven story advancement, is the combat engine. As you progress through the game, you will be confronted with a number of encounters, both preset and random. When this occurs, your friendly pet fairy will drop Gradriel her broadsword, your enemy will leap onto the screen, and combat will occur. Get ready! The D-pad is used in Street Fighter style, with the following presses eliciting these effects: - Push foward/away: Gradiel walks forward/backward. - Pushing away during an enemy attack: Gradriel Guard's against the foe's attack, reducing damage significantly. Guarding will fail if Gradriel is out of POWER, so, if you think the enemy might counter, don't blow your energy aiming for that big combo, 'kay? - Double tap forward/away to dash in that direction. - Pushing up or up+diagonal will make Gradriel jump accordingly. - Pushing down on the D-pad will make Gradriel crouch. If there is an item beneath her, she will pick it up. There are three primary buttons used in battle - the A, the B, and the C button, as labelled on your pad. The A button, when depressed, calls up the Item Wheel, where all of your current USE items are kept (the rest are stored in your backpack(s) - more on this in a bit). Use the D-pad to rotate the wheel, so that the item you wish to use is in Gradriel's outstretched hand. When you have the item you to use in her hand, hit the C button. The B button is used to cancel any selection, and to enable the Option Select. Press B when a foe is attacking you to call up the Evasion Menu, which will allow you to select one of two maneuvers: either the Side Step or the Dash Back. The Side Step will make Gradriel dash *through* the enemy, allowing her to attack them from the back for a possible critical hit. Dash Back enables Gradriel to take a flying leap back, which is a good idea when the foe in question is about to unleash a massive Critical special. The B button's press MUST be timed to correspond with the foe's attack, so watch the baddie's animation! When they start to wind up, pound the B button! One warning, though: you need available POWER to successfully Option Select, so don't commit to an attack sequence unless you have a bit left for an evasion! The C button is the "Attack" button, which, when used with the proper D-Pad motion or timing, produces a variety of sword slashes and attacks: - Pressing the C button once: A single, vertical slash. - Pressing C button while jumping: A powerful aerial slash! - Pressing the C button while crouching: A dashing through slash - a very safe maneuver. - Pressing the C button after a successful hit with the POWER bar charged will add a second hit in quick succession. As long as the POWER bar remains charged, hits can be added on for up to N times, although, as the combo increases, the chance of a counter increases. If your POWER bar runs out, the combo cannot be continued. - Pressing and holding C will execute a VERY powerful Rising Slash which will hit multiple times and consume most of your POWER bar. Tack it on after a 1 or 2 hit combo for BIG damage! If this move is used as the finishing blow, a Street Fighter-esque sunburst will occur - too cool! - When knocked down, hold up + C to execute a Reversal Slash for big damage! This will also leave Gradriel out of breath, just as the Rising Slash did. After you have beaten Evil Gradriel in the last portion of the game, you'll be able to turn into her during subsequent battles by pressing the L and the R keys simultaneously. After a rather lurid transformation sequence, Gradriel can now cast spells simply by pressing the C button. The spell cast depends on the which gem is currently in front of her, as they rotate about her sparingly-clad frame. Each spell costs you 50 HP to cast, though, so be careful. If you press L + R again, or are hit, you'll transform back into plain ol' nice-girl Gradriel. Guarding while using a special shield will cause that special shield to inflict damage on the opponent. Certain items, such as daggers, axes, holy water, and bombs, may be thrown in combat, and magic gems and scrolls may also be used, much to your opponent's dismay. Be careful, though; some opponents may decide to use one of these items on you! Other items, when equipped, will enhance your jumping ability and strength. During non-combat scenes, the buttons have the following effect: On the D-Pad: - Left/Right: Move Gradriel left/right on the screen. - Down: Crouch to pick an item up. Or just crouch and giggle at her pimpin' look. You decide. - Up: Enter a building/hallway/room. - Double tap Left/Right: Run in the appropriate direction. A - Open the Item Wheel. B - Cancel the current selection. C - Action Button - use this to confirm a selection, to talk, or to use an item selected from the Item Wheel. L (shoulder) - Call up your backpack and transfer items into and from the USE area, or ogle your special items and game stats. R (shoulder) - Call up a map of the world/dungeon. If you don't know any Japanese, check this frequently to see if any new paths have opened up. If you are good enough to complete the game, you will be able to play as not only Edward (who has his own mini-adventure to complete), but as Portgus, Prosperpina, and a yet unknown 5th character. All of them have a mini-adventure to complete, which become available as extra books in the initial game load area, where you direct a young girl to bring a book to her grandmother. After completing the Story of Gradriel, the Story of Edward will appear as a second book to be picked up. Complete it, and future books, containing Portgus, Prosperpina, and a yet unknown character will become available. Each of these ancillary characters' quests are significantly shorter than that of Gradriel (obviously), but each has a full range of combat maneuvers which look incredibly cool. Check out Portgus, especially - his Rapier technique looks like that of Samurai Shodown's Charlotte, with incredible animation. Talk about replay value! Controls for Edward - forthcoming. Controls for Portgus - forthcoming. Controls for Prosperpina - forthcoming. Controls for ??? - forthcoming. III. Items, Equipment, and Miscellanea - EQUIPMENT - (all of the items listed under EQUIPMENT can have their stats improved by using an "E+1" scroll on them) Grey Glove - Attack power up 10%. Green Glove - Attack power up 20%. Silver Gauntlet - Attack power up 30%. Golden Gauntlet - This is a cool one - it increases the chance of Gradriel's Rising Slash (hold C during a combo) doing increased damage! You'll notice that, on occasions, when executing her Rising Slash, a word balloon with text will appear over Gradriel's head before she executes the Slash. Equipping the Golden Gauntlet increases the chance of this happening. E+1 scrolls increase the chance of this even more, so feel free to use 'em liberally. Addendum: It also increases the chance of a critical hit in general - what a kick ass item, eh? Blue Pendant - Improved defensive ability - Gradriel takes less damage overall from physical attacks. Use several E+1 scrolls on this item to toughen it up. Purple Pendant - Improved defensive ability, up to 50%! Pile on the E+1 scrolls to keep this bad boy from getting broken. Leaf (Elf) Boots - allows automated Option Select for enhanced evasive tactics during battle. One of the best pieces of EQ in the game. Blink Boots - Movement speed increase. Angel Boots - Enhanced jumping ability in battle - very nice! Emerald Ring - Every blow to an opponent causes gold pieces to fall from them. Amethyst Ring - Double-jumping is enabled. Very convenient. Ruby Ring - Enhanced damage with Fire Magic. Again, using a few E+1 scrolls on this item make it more formidable. Gradriel also becomes more resistant to fire attacks when using this item. Sapphire Ring - Enhanced damage with Ice Magic. As ever, E+1 it to make your Ice Magic incredibly brutal and effective. Gradriel also becomes more resistant to ice attacks when using this item. Spiked Shield - Foe takes damage when his attack is Guarded by Gradriel. Frozen Eye Shield - Foe is turned to ice when his attack is Guarded by Gradriel. Dragon Shield - Foe gets zorched with flame when his attack is Guarded by Gradriel. Thief Bracelet - Items are picked up automatically when Gradriel passes over them. Warrior Bracelet - Limited Auto-Guarding is enabled. Using E+1 scrolls on this improve its ability and make it more durable. - GEMS - (When charged by a gold and purple potion, these can cast spells up to 3 times. Single use gems can be found on Barbarians and other foes) Opal (Gorgon) - Shoots a limited strafing ray which, when it strikes a foe, turns them to stone and does damage. Ruby (Vulcan) - Hurls a large fireball at a 45 degree angle towards the ground, which explodes on contact. Very powerful against undead. Amethyst (Thor) - Makes lightning roar from the sky and hit the opponent multiple times. Sapphire (Sindra) - Hurls icicles at the opponent, freezing them. Emerald (Star) - A rain of meteors drops from the sky, mangling your foe. Diamond (Holy) - Heals Gradriel significantly, as well as does damage to undead. Gold and Purple Potion - use on an unenchanted gem to imbue them with magical properties. - RODS - (can be used 3 times in battle) Skull Rod - turns weaker foes into hamsters! :) Ruby Rod - creates 3 daggers for your usage. Sapphire Rod - the enemy can neither block nor Option Select. Sweeeeeeet! Wind Rod - Blows the enemy away from Gradriel, giving her a little breathing space. Goblin Rod - Summons a goblin, who flies across the screen, smiting the enemy and dropping a random item. - Throwing Weapons - (can be thrown a limited number of times. A thrown weapon with multiple uses must still be picked up after each throw.) Brass Dagger - Crappy damage and goes in a straight line. Silver Dagger - Better damage and goes in a straight line. Knocks an item off of the foe for subsequent thievery. Throwing Axe - Good damage, but arcs. Good against flying or frequently jumping foes. Bomb - KABOOM! Great damage (especially versus ghouls), but has a delayed detonation after hitting the ground. Holy Water - Sends a rippling streak of holy flame across the ground when it strikes. Good damage. - Scrolls - (single use items of attack or enchantment. I will refer to them by the letters/symbols on their graphic) GOM - If this scroll is used when a fight starts, your equipment cannot be damaged during the round. Yay! M8 - Earthquake! Drops a big-ass rock on the foe for good damage. FiRE - Imbues Gradriel's sword with fire, enabling extra damage to most foes save those with innate fire resistance (such as, say, Dragons). BoLT - Imbues Gradriel's sword with lightning energy, enabling extra damage to most foes save those with lightning resistance. GOLD - It's the Midas Touch! Turn your foe to solid gold and chop gold coins off of him. MiR - Create a mirror image of Gradriel, ala Morrigan's EX Specials in Nightwarriors. Double damage, twice the fun! EXiT - Teleports Gradriel out of a dungeon. ReT - Returns Gradriel to the last Inn visited (and saved at). NOTE: This also resets the LAST MAJOR EVENT COMPLETED. This is NOT a glitch. If you have completed a major story element/dungeon, and use ReT, Gradriel will be sent back in time to her LAST SAVE. As a result, if there was a major story event, dungeon, or battle between the time you visited that Inn, it will have been reset and need to be re-completed. (Thanks to Yasu for this important piece of info!) E+1 - Add 1 point of enhancement to any piece of equipment. All equipment this is used on is made more durable, and, for some items, it also improves their effects. If you think your favorite piece of EQ is about to break, use this on it. A maximum enhancement of +9 (9 scrolls required) is possible. EYE - Identifies an item as cursed or otherwise. DiS - Removes the curse from any piece of ill-affected equipment. NEW - When used on an item that has multiple uses, it restores it to full. Example: Using this scroll on a gem with 1 use will bring it back up to 3 uses, or, using it on a half-eaten piece of meat will restore it to an uneaten condition. Unfortunately, it won'r fix damaged equipment. REF - Immunity to stoning attacks - obtained in the Goblin Village during the Basilisk quest. Sage Crest - GIGA-damage to any undead foe. - Food Items - Certain food items, such as corn, meat, and dodo eggs, must be brought to a pub owner for preparation. If you have one of these items (and you can't eat it), take it to a pub owner and select the first option from the three. He will, for about 30 Gold, cook the food and return it to you, giving you an excellent healing item! Conversely, you can buy a previously prepared food item for about 40 to 60 Gold, by choosing the second option. Every food item has 3 uses before it is completely consumed. Heart Fruit - about 10 to 25 points healed. Weak. Mango - Average healing, but, if the pit is used during battle, you can grow two more mangoes! Talk about a green thumb! Mushroom - 50% Power restored. Milk - Power increase, plus small healing. Cooked Fish - A yummy seafood treat with good healing properties. Leaves a fish skeleton behind to take up an inventory slot after it has been fully consumed. Toss it ASAP to free up the slot. Cooked Meat - A beefy surprise guaranteed to restore HP. Very strong, but leaves a bone for you to throw out in your inventory after it has been eaten. You can use a NEW scroll on the bone (and the fish skeleton) to completely restore it, if you decide to keep it. Egg on Toast - A surprisingly powerful healing item. Fruit Cake - A healing item of only middling effect. Hamburger - Another item of middling restorative ability. Cooked Corn - A healing item with reasonably good effect. Golden Grape - The best healing item, hands down. Both health and power are fully restored. You can also prepare food yourself, assuming you have a pan and the necessary ingredients. - Potions - Each potion is described by the symbol that appears on the label of the jar the potion comes in. Potions, when used, last about 15 seconds. Potions may have multiple uses. AT Potion - Ups Gradriel's damage potential. DF Potion - Lessens damage taken by Gradriel in battle. Dot-inna-Circle (Sun) Potion - Temporary Invincibility! Eeeeeee-yes! Skull Potion - Poison! Bleagh! However, your Power maxes out after using this potion, although a goodly HP loss is incurred. Spiral Potion - Balance potion. If you get hit in the air, you will not be knocked down. It also makes it more difficult for enemies to knock you down, period. Stomach Potion - you can eat/drink faster in battle. Nice. - Special Items - (viewed by hitting L, then R. These items are found in the first row of items on this screen.) Candy - Powers up your fairy friend. There are up to 8 pieces available. Listed below are the effects each piece has: 1st Piece - Your fairy friend will periodically fly in and hit the opponent for weak damage. 2nd Piece - Improved fairy attack damage. 3rd Piece - Your fairy friend will drop a random potion. 4th Piece - Your fairy friend offers a little healing. Gee, thanks. 5th Piece - Your fairy friend calls her friends in to whack on your for awhile. Hee hee hee. 6th Piece - Your fairy friend will drop a random item. 7th Piece - Your fairy friend will warn you as to what enemy types will be appearing on the path you are taking. 8th Piece - A Goblin appears and removes any cursed EQ you might have put on. Thanks, little feller. - Quest Items - (viewed by hitting L, then R. These items are found in the second row of items on this screen.) Musical Note Scroll #1 - Give this to the Bard on the very left side of Valenadine Town. Green Gem - Give this to the Gold Dragon north of Dwalf Land. Time Gem - use this to teleport forward in time to save Edward from Bloody. Magic Key - use the to open the Sealed Cave. Musical Note Scroll #2 - ? Musical Note Scroll #3 - ? IV. The Bestiary In this section, I will list each monster, and the best fighting tactics for beating it. Boss monsters will have a [BOSS] tag after their name. SOLDIER [Practice] - an armor-clad soldier encountered at the beginning of the game. He's just there to familiarize you with the fighting system. Whack him but good. Practice comboing into a Rising Slash, if you get the opportunity. Remember, tap C, C, C, and then hold C. Whack-whack-whack-SWOOSH! and he's outta there! OCHRE JELLY - A cute little blob of goo. High-level variants have a VERY damaging Critical Attack, though, so don't underestimate these twerps. When they float towards you after a bounce, hit B when they're almost on your face (yech!) to Option Select and follow up with a Side Step and a combo. MYCONID - A very cute little animated mushroom, with some strange spirits living under his spotted cap. These cute fellers, despite their diminuative stature, can be a real pain in the plate mail, even when they are low-level. When they summon the female spirit, back off and Guard, or risk big damage. If they summon the male spirit with the muscles, do a jumping attack and put 'em down, old school. Dash Attacks work great on these sneaky buggers. DODOH - An angry flightless bird. Its attacks are short-range and do very little damage. Just beat the living crud out of it. Alternate a B press during your combos (flutter rapidly between B and C presses) to easily Option Select its Counters. Hee hee. Higher level Dodohs are another matter entirely, since they have a pair of damaging Criticals - one is a Counter (OS through it, when you see COUNTER! flash on-screen), and a Buddy Summon where a flock of Dodohs will tumble from off-screen to flatten poor Gradriel. Whack the Dodoh to shut him up before he finishes his call to arms. BARBARIAN - A large, fur-wearing warrior. This guy will use gem magic and throwing axes during battle, as well as munch on healing items, depending on his level. Use regular jumping attacks, and, when he gears up from a butt crush or a thrust attack, whack him with a combo, followed with a Rising Slash. GHOUL - Tough. Very tough. Avoid jumping attacks except when his pukes acid, or risk getting hit in his Claws O' Fury combo. If you see the words "Critical" flash onscreen, GUARD. Otherwise, you can face up to 100+ points of damage from his Thorny Tomb critical. Using B to Option Select out of his multihitters is a great idea - you'll save yourself a lot of grief. Conversely, if you have an Ankh Scroll, USE it, and avoid this nasty fight altogether. GHOST - Flying nasty. He zooms all over the screen, periodically lunging at you with his Tail Spike attack. After decimating half of his life bar, he loses his pumpkin mask and gets some nastier attacks, such as the Grim Reaper special and the Spectral Mourner. You can take out the lantern shots he fires in his pumpkinhead form by swiping at them with your sword - the same can be done to take out the tragic Spectral Mourner. When he turns into the Grim Reaper, Guard. Trying to dodge it is almost impossible, since he'll remain invincible and follow you until he can swing at you. GOBLINS - A flying threesome who enjoy taunting you. Ignore their cute antics and floor them with jumping slashes. They'll occasionally tag out, but don't worry - just treat all three like a single entity and whack away. Be sure to Guard when you see them raise their mallets for 2-hit comboes, and lay into them when they start taunting you. Later levels have them knocking your items from you, and whistling to summon their compatriots. Just OS through the latter when you hear the whistle. CENTAUR - Half horse, half cherub with a penchant for archery. Not too tough, although, when you see him fire an arrow upward, dash out of the way or be conked on the head by the fowl he gunned out of the air (this is really hilarious to watch, BTW). Just Guard his arrow attacks and whack him with combos, or conversely, leap over his smaller arrow spreads and hit him with a jumping slash. When he charges, guard in the OPPOSING director or be bowled over. FROGGER - Cute little frog with a few karate skills. He'll counter frequently, but he isn't particularly tough, thanks to having almost ZERO Hit Points. Just dash as he leaps over you and pound him with ground attacks. To avoid the counters, keep your combos short, and never start from the air. BANDITS - A duo of scruffy rogues who attack one at a time. They'll use throwing knives and quaff wine to heal themselves during the round, but their low individual HP makes them pretty nonthreatening foes. Guard when they slash, and counter with a combo culminating in a Rising Slash. They'll back off and allow Gradriel to get her breath back after she finishes the combo. PIRATES - Same as the Bandits, but have a powerful Cannon Special where the currently inactive Pirate runs of the screen, hauls in a big cannon, and rains explosive shells on you. This move has a big wind-up time, so start Guarding early. DOPPELGANGER [BOSS] - A grinning shadowdemon with artistic aspirations - he paints himself to look (and fight) like you! Fortunately, he fights like a really wussy form of you by the time you encounter him, so he's pretty much meat ripe for the slaughter. Amuse yourself by practicing the techniques his AI can't do on him. DRAGON [BOSS] - A pain in the behind at ANY level. Although the Dragon is the second boss you'll fight, these scaly baddies crop up every now and then as conventional enemies (and as boss encounters) throughout the game. Don't be bewitched by their amazing animation - these guys are TOUGH. Use jumping attacks whenever possible, especially when they are winding up to flame you. If you suspect they're going to do a bite attack, Guard, and retaliate with a Rising Slash combo. Having Leaf Boots or a Ruby Ring pays off in spades for this fight. Using Ice or Lightning Magic is also an excellent idea. ICE DRAGON - Like the DRAGON, only it uses ice-based attacks and is weak against fire. This fellow isn't seen until later in the game. PROSPERPINA [BOSS] - Irritating, but not too tough. When she mounts her broom, jumping slash her out of the air. Having Angel Boots or an Amethyst (Double Jump) Ring makes her even easier. On the ground, dash attack her when she is at range, and Guard her rushing attacks and Flame Hex attack. Follow up with a combo. TARANTULA - Wussy boss. A well-timed jumping slash will wax him when it takes to the trees. As ever, Option Select or back dash when he tries to web you. Otherwise, charge your power bar and combo, combo, combo! Later encounters have this guy showing up at higher levels, where he uses his Web Critical more frequently. When you see the words "Critical" flash on-screen, either do a quick double-tap back or Guard. BASILISK [BOSS] - Urk. This is one bad chicken-thing. Make sure you have a LOT of healing items, as he likes to use his Critical Hit Stoning Gaze (and you thought Cyclop's Super in XvsSF was impressive) often for up to 100 points of damage and stoning! Jumping attacks are often countered with a regular Stoning Ray attack, which leaves you vulnerable until you can shake out of it. Your best bet is to dash in immediately after he does a tail attack or reappears from his Ground Tunnel Counter, and try for a combo. Keep your combos short, though, or face a deadly counter or a Stoning Ray! If you are getting beat up pretty bad, dash away and use a healing item. If you have any charged Sapphires, Bombs, or Holy Water, use that, too! Addendum: If you are having difficulty beating him, there is an optional quest you can undertake to ensure victory. After talking to the statue immediately before encountering the Basilisk, an area to the north on the Map will open up, showing a path to the Goblin Village. To be brief, what you need to do is go through the Goblin Village, to the hut at the end of the path, and buy a Goblin Rod. Take it to the owner of the Shop in the Goblin Village, and select the last (third) option when talking to him. He'll disappear into the back of the Shop and not emerge. Leave the shop, and you'll be attacked by his friends. Kill them, and claim the ReF scroll, which will confer immunity to the Basilisk's stoning attacks! EVIL SEED [BOSS] - A nasty puppet with a circular saw for a hand. When he starts bouncing around, use a jumping slash to hammer him down. Using bombs, Fire Magic, and a FiRE scroll will put this guy to rest, permanently. SLAVE WOOD - the non-boss form of the EVIL SEED. POLTERGEIST + EVIL SEED [BOSS] - Eyaaaaugh! This boss first appears as a giant ghost who summons and manipulates a variety of items, including a doll, a set of plates, a chair, and more, which he spins in an expanding and contracting wheel about him. If these items hit you, they can do some serious hurt, so dash in and out with short combos. When he attacks using his body, jump straight up and slash. After you deplete his HP, he'll summon a EVIL SEED body and animate it - handle it just like you did the previous EVIL SEED boss from the Yggdrasil area. POLTERGEIST - A fat ghost similar to the boss one, only lacking the ability to animate an EVIL SEED body after initial defeat. He has a nasty Counter where he spews poisonous ether at you if your combo is poorly timed, so keep the combos short and peck at him with jumping attacks and single slashes. GEIST ARMOR - Headless armor packing a large sword. Not too tough, but beware his Critical! When you see the words "Critical" flash on-screen, get back! His sword will become a size roughly equivalent to 3/4 of the screen in length, and he'll swing it at you for MEGA-damage. However, when he isn't executing this attack, he's a pushover - just peck away with jumping slashes, dashing slashes, and the occasional combo. If you've mastered the option select (or have Leaf Boots), he's utterly negligible. CHAOTIC EYE - A Beholder-type floating eye that uses magic for attacks. These guys are a PAIN - thank Gawd they're a rare encounter. They like to use Ice and Lightning Magic, and the occasional Stoning Ray. What makes them really tough is the fact that they are hard to combo - most slashes result in them falling to the ground, and leaving an explosive skin behind. Be sure to whack the newly-shedded skin before continuing your attack, or you may find yourself bumping into it at the wrong time - ouch! Keep Guarding when not hitting them with jumping attacks. Use Lightning Magic or throwing weapons whenever possible. Heal frequently. Option Select with the B button when this feller winds up for a fireball, or suffer the big hurt. CAPTAIN BIGHOOK [BOSS] - A large, ill-tempered pirate with a giant hook for a hand and a pogo spring for a pegleg. Guard his rolling attack or suffer big damage. When he starts bouncing around, a well-timed jumping slash will keep him earthbound. If he goes Critical, Guard. He's not too tough if you keep your Guard up or have Leaf Boots equipped to Option Select his rolling crush. EVIL ERIEL [BOSS] - Eriel, Gradriel's sister, turned into a rather well- -endowed succubus by the Grimoire Larva. Challenging, but easily doable if you keep your Guard up and time your jumping attacks appropriately. The best time to strike is after the Larva Chomp attack - dash in and combo her. When she uses the Flaming Runes attack or summons the scorpions, Guard until the attack has completely left the screen - both of them have residual effects. Hit her with Meteor Magic frequently, and use the Leaf Boots to Option Select through the Scorpion attacks. If you have the Leaf Boots equipped, Side Stepping through the Scorpions to combo her works brutally well. Conversely, if you've mastered the timing for an Option Select (tricky as the Scorpions have no evident wind-up), you can avoid using the Leaf Boots and use the slot for, say, a Purple Pendant. EVIL GOLGOTHA [BOSS] - General Golgotha, only bad. He fights like a Geist Armor, only without the Giant Sword Critical. Unlike a Geist Armor, he does quite a bit more damage, and has an Exploding Meteor Critical, as well as being able to launch over three Ground Spike specials from the air in immediate succession. While not tough, don't underestimate him. Free him from the Grimoire Larva's power by getting in close and comboing away - do NOT, I repeat, do NOT try to fight him at range, or you'll be sucking down Criticals and Ground Spikes. DEMON - A cthonic nasty with a skull mask and a prehensile tongue, as well as nasty claws. Unlike the Boss Demons, these guys don't use Gem Magic, at least those below Level 20. BLUE DEMON - Same as a regular ol' Demon, only uses Ice-based attacks and is usually encountered at Levels above 20. It uses Gem Magic infrequently. Also unlike the standard Demon, it has a Heart Flare Critical, which can do BIG damage. Hit B to OS as soon as you see the words "CRITICAL" appear, and Dash Back, or suffer! Dragon Shields and Vulcan (Red) Gems are great for supplementary damage and defense. SKULG [BOSS] - A powerful demon, and one of the most difficult fights in the game. He uses magic quickly and frequently, has high-damage attacks, is tough to combo, and, worst of all, he heals himself halfway through the fight! He hates Meteor Magic, so have several Emeralds charged before the fight starts. Use the Frozen Eye Shield to return some of his damage - just make sure you use a GOM scroll to keep the Shield from breaking during the battle. Be sure you're over level 30 and have at least 4 Item Use slots equipped with healing items before tackling him, though. Option Select through his Demon Claw or his Flame Pentacle with a Side Step and whack him before he can use the cover the attack provides to use a Gem. You cannot interrupt his Life Recovery, so don't even bother. Oh, and if you have a Purple Pendant, USE IT. OR ELSE. BLOODY [BOSS] - A demon lieutenant with red skin and tusks so big they obscure his vision. Like SKULG, he regenerates himself halfway through the battle, effectively giving him an extra 50 or so percent extra HP besides what his bar says. Bloody hates ice-based attacks, so use the Sapphire or have a Frozen Eye shield equipped. However, unlike Skulg, he has the multi-hit Heart Flare Critical of the Blue Demons, and Counters like crazy. GRIFFON - A decidedly female bird-lion combination, with tons of wind-based and scratching attacks. This creature is a MAJOR pain-in-the-feathered-arse, since it combos you for BIG damage and loves to play keep away. It'll frequently Option Select through your combos, making it hard to execute any major beat down. If you use a Sapphire Rod, the Griffon won't be able to OS or block, making the fight a little easier. VOGROD [BOSS] - Supremely vicious. Standard sword attacks do little damage, but magic attacks of the holy variety (holy water, ankh, charged diamond gem) hurt him badly. He can easily corner trap you and pound you to death, so make sure you've mastered the timing for the Option Select so you can Side Step through his mega-damaging punching attacks and whack him. Man, this fellow has INCREDIBLE animation. Be sure you have 3 or so Ankh Scrolls ready to wound him with before you enter his room, or at least have a TON of high-powered healing items. NECRO-SAMANSA [BOSS] - A ridiculously busty undead female assassin. She looks rather like the results of a coupling between Jedah and Morrigan from Darkstalkers, after breast-augmentation surgery and estrogen mainlining. She's only of middling difficulty to fight - she's weak against OS Sidestepping and Jumping Slashes. She'll counter long combos, though, and walking into her attacks is completely foolhardy. Watch out for her Ghost Critical or her jump-in Kick Combo, both of which can leech 80 or more HP from a Level 62 Gradriel. Her second Critical, where a nasty Dracolich bursts out of her belly, can be easily OS'd into a Dash Back. SIRENE [BOSS] - Tough. Her Sirene Song attack has to be THE most annoying attack in the game, since it dizzies Gradriel for 5 or so seconds (an eternity during the fast-paced PC battles). You can't block it or OS through/away from it, either. Argh. Most of the time, she'll use the Song or her Gale attack to push you away, keeping you from getting close to hurt her. When she does attack, it'll be as a Dash attack (or as her Ocean Call Critical, where a friend appears to assist her), so hammer her as she passes by. You'll just have to chip, chip, chip away at her - hope you brought plenty of healing items! EVIL GRADRIEL [BOSS] - At this point, you should be about Level 60 or so, and have enough HP to weather the worst of magical attacks any foe can dish out long enough to heal. Be sure you have plenty of Holy Gems going into this fight, because Evil Gradriel attacks exclusively with magical attacks. Her Serpent Magic is the most common, which is best blocked instead of OSing, since the Side Step can get you nailed with the Serpents' tails and Dash Back doesn't do any good since the Serpents go full screen. Just block the Serpent attacks (and thwack the Fire Dragons she'll occasionally summon). Keep your combos short (she'll counter on the third hit, so two should be tops) and rely on Jumping Slashes to win. Eventually, you'll peck away her health and she'll fall, enabling you to transform into her by pressing L+R during subsequent battles! (See Controls and Walkthrough for more info) EVIL LEON [BOSS] - Yuck. Next to Vogrod, this guy is one of the worst fights in the game. Like Gradriel, all of his attacks are magical in nature, meaning he can hurt you no matter WHERE you are on the screen. His Thorn Beauty (ecchi!) and Thorn Counter attacks are plain annoying, and can, should all hits connect, do over 108 points of damage! OS Side Step towards him when you see the Thorn Beauty start up (it's rather obvious ^_^), and go for BIG (6 hit+) combo into a Rising Slash. 7 or so of those and he should fall - unfortunately, in the interim, you'll have to deal with frequent ice and stoning attacks. Use a ReF scroll if you have one to help out a bit. Dash at him (double tap forward) when he teleports away to sneak a couple hits in. Jumping Slashes are begging for a Thorn Counter, so use them sparingly. LARVA [BOSS] - Great Mother of Jesus, is this guy HUGE! Like Apocalypse in X-Men vs Street Fighter, he fights from the background, taking up almost two whole screens. He has 4 arms in all corners of the screen, which cumulatively have 800 HP. Whack 200 HP off of the Arms' total and one will die, starting from the upper left. The Head, which isn't always attackable, has 500 HP. Destroy it and Larva will die. Easier said than done, though, as the Arms (starting from the upper left and moving clockwise) have the powers (and then some) of each Elemental Spell in the game - Earth, Wind, Fire, and Ice. The Head does an occasional lightning attack and spits an explosive fireball which knocks Gradriel down. The basic strategy for this battle is to Jumping Slash his head whener possible, and, when he recedes into the background to blast magic shots at you, BLOCK. As for the rest of the time, crouch or block when he charges his Lightning attack. OS through the attacks of the fire and ice arms so that you are standing in formt of the arm and behind the hand, and combo. This is a long, difficult fight which is manageable if you had plenty of healing items left over after defeating Leon. V. Walkthrough (brief) You begin the game in Valenadine Castle, listening to the petitions of your subjects. After a flurry of dialogue culminating in your wizardly pal taking you out to the training field and showing you how to fight, you are left to your devices in your bedroom, and the game begins. Start off by paying a visit to Eriel, your sister (dressed in the blue dress) down the hall. She'll give you a Red Pendant and a flag allowing you to leave the castle will be set. Meander your way downstairs to the castle exit and try to leave. The guards will stop you, but, upon re-entry, a friendly fairy will aid you in escaping the castle. Head down the path and into Valenadine Town. A note at this point: after talking to key characters, check your map! New areas may have opened up as a result of the dialogue, so constant map examination (press R) will help non-Japanese speakers determine if they have made any headway. Once in Valenadine Town, talk to the Bard at the far left before exitting. He'll give you some sob story about having lost his music - keep this in mind for a later excursion. Head west to Nutsbill. Once there, talk to the townsfolk to learn about how a pair of delightful naivelings were turned into animals by the witch Prosperpina. Talking to the mayor will result in a eastbound path to fairies' demesne becoming available - go there and talk to them, since the folk of Nutsbill hold them responsible.Talk to all three fairies and the path to Prosperpina's hut will open up - head there ASAP. Confont Prosperpina and beat her, and the kids will be changed back. Head back to town and converse with the mayor again to make a westbound path open up. Take the opportunity to talk to the fairies down south, as well. Westward ho! In Dorangora to the west, you'll hear rumors of an evil dragon terrorizing the hapless community. Talking to certain key citizens will make another westward path open up to the Dragon's Den. Head there for an encounter with key character Edward, and then head back to town, where an evil Dragon is waiting to smack you but good. Kill it, then talk to the townsfolk again to open up new areas. Take this opportunity to level up a a bit by fighting a few Ghouls or Ghosts on the way to Cemeteryth. Along this path (assuming you talked to the correct townsfolk), there will be a branching path to a dark mountain. If you feel cocky or sure of yourself, take it and enter the dungeon therein. It's an easy dungeon, but you'll have to fight a level 18 Dragon at the end, so make suree you've stocked up on healing items. Kill him and claim the Musical Note Scroll, which can then be returned to the Bard in Valenadine Town. Having made the bard happy, I'm almost certain that at this point you can visit the Yggdrasil Tree. Head to the fairy area south of Nutsbill and chat with fairies, and then head south to the Yggdrasil Tree. It seems an Evil Seed has taken up residence in it - clearing this bugger out will net you your first piece of fairy candy and an extra backpack! Traverse to Cemeteryth to the town of Lowgrove, a rustic farming community. Be sure to talk to the orange-clad mage in one of the houses - he once owned a shop in Cemeteryth, but was driven out by an evil and mighty Poltergeist. Talk to the rest of the townsfolk and open up a path to the Unicorn Vale. Let's make a segue to the Unicorn Vale, at this time. Visiting there will net you an encounter with Evil Eriel as she busily hassles the poor unicorns living there. You'll challenge her to a fight, but she'll decline, letting a large Tarantula fight for her instead. Kill it and talk to the greatful Unicorns. Return to town, visit with the villagers, aand head off to Akberstep. Akberstep is a town in a bit of a bind. Literally - they've all been turned to stone by a rampaging Basilisk, courtesy of (you guessed it) Evil Eriel. Talk to the little girl in the Inn, and then take a revealed entrance by the stables (you'll see the Enter message flashing by it as you walk by) to see Ol' Mr. Basilisk. Talk to the statue in this area, first; it'll tell you about a Magic Scroll kept by the Goblins which will aid you in defeating the Basilisk. Of course, if you're ballsy or simply high-level, you can beat the Basilisk, although it will be quite difficult. On the other hand, a route to the Goblin Village between Dorangora and Nutsbill will have opened up - my suggestion is to go there, instead. Passing through Cemeteryth, you will encounter a nasty Poltergeist boss IF you have previously spoken to the orange-clad mage in ???. Kill him, and, the next time you visit Cemeteryth, you'll be able to shop in the building to the farthest right, which sells Sage Crest scrolls. Yes! Hokay. Having cleared Cemeteryth, lets continue on up to the Goblin Village. Talk to the nasty little beasties in the town, and then truck your plate-mailed butt on up to the shop at the end of the northernmost route out of the village. Buy a Goblin Staff (the one with the grinning head on it), and head back down to the village. Take the staff to the shopkeeper in town, and select the third (last) option from the menu. He'll leave out the back of the shop, promising to bring you the ReF scroll. No such luck, though - he doesn't come back. Exit the shop and head out the southernmost (right) exit of the village. You should then be confronted by some high-level Goblins who really want that staff - whoop their knobby butts but good and claim the ReF scroll. Now you're ready to tackle the Basilisk. At the beginning of the fight, use the ReF scroll, and slam that bad boy down. When you've completed talking to all the recently unstoned people in town, head off east toward the triple village of Cadho Badho. Now, this is a bit tricky. There are three villages in the triangle of towns that comprise Cadho Badho: the Garrison (bottom left), the Magi (bottom right), and the Shops (top). Go to the Shops town and converse with everyone, or at least until a route from the Magi to the Sirene's Cave appears. Visit the Sirene's Cave and chat with both Edward and the Sirene. Return to the Magi area, and then back to the Garrison - watch out for an angry Prosperpina, though! Now, trek to each of the towns in this order - Garrison, Magi, Shops, and back to the Garrison. Along the routes in between, you should encounter gossiping villagers, and a pair of bandits at least once (although it might be twice - there's some debate). Once back in the Garrison, visit the Tavern and talk to the people there. After that, exit and talk to the girl standing outside the Tavern - if everything was done correctly (you saw the gossiping people and the bandits on the routes), Gradriel will have asuspicious thought balloon appear during this dialogue. off in hot pursuit, and find out from "her" that Evil Eriel is back in business, and has set up shop in a cave along the western route between Akberstep and Cadho Badho. Check your map, and you should see it. So, off to the cave we trek. Explore, and eventually you will find Evil Eriel, who will summon a high-level Barbarian to put an end to you. The fight is easy, so don't worry - lay the smack down, old school, and Evil Eriel will flee. Head back to the Sirene's Cave to visit Edward and the Sirene. After a brief interlude, you will be placed outside the Sirene's area. Instead of heading off for Cadho Badho, pay the Sirene one last visit. She will tell you of a nasty Tarantula King hassling the glade she lives in, and a route to its lair just off the route between her cave and Cadho Badho will appear. This is an optional quest, and will net you another piece of fairy candy. At this time, you can head north to the seaside village of ???. Talk to everyone in the town, especially Portgus, and then head out to the docks by using the entrance to them in the middle of town that will have opened up. There, Gradriel and Portgus will be kidnapped by some nasty pirates, and taken to Pirates Isle. On Pirates Isle, you'll need to rescue the two pairs of people from the dungeon before exitting. When you've done that, head back outside for a boss battle with the crazy Captain Bighook. Thwack him upside the noggin, talk to Portgus, and head for home. Now, head west of the seaside town on the route that has opened up leading back to Valenadine Castle. You should be able to get inside at this point, where you will be greeted with relief by your supplicants. Be sure to visit the dungeons near the practice fields - you can get quite a few good items and a fairy candy if you beat up the boss, a high-level Evil Seed. Converse with everyone in the castle, and then head out for the tower route you saw branching off between Valenadine Castle and the seaside town. Talk to the green mage and venture inside. Head up the tower (watch out for Optic Eyes!) to confront Evil Eriel. Having freed Eriel from the Grimoire Larva, you suddenly hear that the Castle is under siege! Rushing back to the Castle (be sure you have equipped plenty of healing items and spell gems after the fight with Eriel), you find that Vogrod's lieutenant, the demon Skulg has attacked the castle with a host of undead and tarantulae! Angrily, you confront him in a duel to the death. This is a TOUGH battle, and Skulg will heal himself halfway through, so be prepared! You manage to defeat Skulg, but he flees before you can strike the deathblow, taking Sidrael with him. Head back to the tower where you faced Evil Eriel, and slay the Blue Demon at the top. He's pretty easy, unlike to everyone, especially the old wizard and the councillors, as well as Eriel. After that, head off for Leeland. While there, talk to Portgus and everyone else. An entry point in the rightmost space between houses should open up (it looks like the space for the entry to the docks, but farther to the right) - enter there and go into the Ancient Museum. Pass through this short dungeon (watch out for the Geist Armor!) and face the Doppleganger. He's pretty easy, so don't be too worried. After slaying him, talk to Portgus, and head for the docks. Once in the dock area of Leeland, talk to the guy at the end. He'll jabber at you awhile, and then conversation will stop. Talk to him again, and select the first option to go to Earth on Truse Isle. Ahoy! Time to cross the bounding main! Be sure to check out the line scrolls (and the map) as you head to the far north. As the voyage progresses for a couple minutes, you'll be attacked by Chaotic Eyes, Pirates, and your old pal Captain Bighook. Apparently, Captain Bighook has been impersonating Portgus (wha..?) - give him what for and send him packing. Eventually, you'll arrive at Earth on Truse Isle. Enter the dungeon and progress to the bottom-most level. There's a save if you take the west exit from the 5th level up to the 3rd, though, since there isn't a real boss fight or many encounters, it's not worth it. When you reach the exit in the rightmost part of the bottom level, you'll see Edward get his armorclad butt stomped by a huge red archdemon. After killing him, the demon Bloody starts in on you! Fortunately, your unicorn pal teleports in and saves you, sending you to the town north of Dwalf Land. If you check the map, you'll note that a cave has opened up from the west exit of this town. Therein lies the Gold Dragon, who holds the key to saving Edward. Talk to the Gold Dragon, who will tell you that about the Tower of Time and the Green Gem. Apparently, your old pal the Dwalf King has the Green Gem, which the Dragon needs, or he won't tell you about the Tower of Time. Head off to Dwalf Land to fetch the Green Gem. Upon arriving in Dwalf Land, immediately go see the King. There are other things you can do in Dwalf Land, such as the Truck Races, which can be used to make extra cash (more on this later), but we're more concerned with the quest. The Dwala King will tell you that, yes, he has the Gem, but he also has a nasty tarantula infestation which needs clearing out. Go kill the King Tarantula in the first cave (the cave other than the Truck Race one). This completed, return to the Dwalf King's castle and get your reward. Return to the Gold Dragon and give him the Gem. A path east of Dwalf Land will open up to the Tower of Time. Go to the Tower of Time by exitting right out of Dwalf Land. Be sure you've stocked up on healing items, as the Tower of Time is long and difficult, and there's a nasty Blue Demon waiting at the top! After defeating the boss, you'll be teleported back in time to the Valenadine of your mother's era. An brief segue will occur, showing Captain Golgotha turned into Evil Golgotha by the Grimoire Larva. Now in Old Valenadine, you'll notice something is amiss: the place has been trashed by demons! Talk to all the villagers and try to leave town to the left or right. Returning to the exit to the castle, a man will come running up and tell you that the Castle is under attack. You'll now be able to exit to the Castle area. Be sure you have stocked up on healing items and magic, 'cuz there's gonna be two brutal back-to-back fights when you get there. Arriving at the castle, you witness your mother beat the crap out of a Blue Demon, only to be attacked and wounded by Evil Golgotha. Ever the filial vanguard, you rush in and confront Golgotha yourself. He feights like a fast, powerful Geist Armor, with a Meteor Critical, and a triple Ground Spike jumping attack (see Bestiary for strategies). Wax him, and he'll return to his true self. Unfortunately, defeating the Grimoire Larva causes Bloody to appear, quite enraged by the turn of events. He attacks, and MAN is he a naughty fellow! He fights like Skulg (he, too, has a mid-battle regeneration), only he does MUCH more damage and he has the Blue Demon Heart Star Critical! Back OFF when he goes Critical, or suffer up to 250 points of damage! Chip away at him until he falls. Once defeated, he'll drop the Time Gem he and the other demons had been using to teleport across the timescape, which Gradriel uses to heal Golgotha. Bloody tries to escape, but Golgotha leaps at him, and they both are teleported away, into the future (which explains why Golgotha hasn't aged a bit in Gradriel's time). Your ma congratulates on you on a job well done, and you are now free to explore the castle of the past. Once you're finished, head up to your room on the 4th floor, and use the Time Gem (talk to the Queen's Wizard on the fourth floor first- he explains how to use the Time Gem) and you'll be teleported forward in time again, to kill Bloody once and for all. Just in time! Edward gets ready to engage Bloody, but our girl Graddy jumps in - once again, you gotta fight Bloody. Hope you stocked up before teleporting forward in time! Kicking his butt sends him running for the dungeon exit, but Edward jumps in and slays him with a secret technique. Edward is now officially saved, thank to Gradriel messing around with the time-space continuum. Having defeated Vogrod's lieutenant, Edward and Gradriel open the sealed Gate to Bindfaire. After a brief segue where Edward confronts Skulg, Gradriel will head off for Vogrod's Tower. Get ready for a BIG dungeon, with some convoluted paths and frequent encounters of the Chaotic Eye variety. At the top, you will meet Vogrod, who is one VERY bad monkey. Be sure you've netted yourself some ankh scrolls and charged white gems on the way up, or you'll be hurting - only holy magic does him any significant damage. Vogrod has no problem dishing out 100+ point damage punching combos, so you'd better have mastered the timing for the Option Select by now! This is by far and away the toughest fight up to this point in the game. Having forced Vogrod to retreat and rescued Sidrael, you'll return to the Castle. Unfortunately, there's nowhere to save and an angry level 60 Griffon is attacking the castle - hope you saved a healing item or two! Defeating the griffon will allow you to save again, and it is recommended that you do so. Having finished that, take a trek to Frogger Pond in the southwest area of the map. Unfortunately, Leon is missing. Guess where he is? That's right - you need to head back to Earth on Truse Isle and enter the dungeon there AGAIN. Go to the bottom, and pass through the EXIT portal. You'll be back in Bindfaire, the Demon Realm. Yuck. Guess what's next? That's right. You have to do Vogrod's Tower AGAIN. Go ALL the merry way up to the top AGAIN, where Leon, recently possessed by Larva, will be waiting for you. He summons a ridiculously over-developed undead assassin, Necro-Samansa, to deal with you. Get used to her, 'cuz she's gonna be haranguing you quite a bit. Beat the heck out of her, and you'll be transported back to Valenadine Castle. Now, a few side quests are available, if you so choose. Quest #1: It seems the ol' Froggers have been having trouble with a nasty Myconid. Talk to the rightmost Frogger in the area, and select the first option of two from his list. Now, look at the map - you'll see an area immediately south of Frogger Pond has opened up - head there and slay the foul Myconid. Returning to the Frogger who sent you forth Myconid hunting will score you a Magic Key which will unlock the Sealed Cave south of Cemeteryth. Head there and confront the Geist Armor at the bottom, from whose corpse you will obtain Musical Note Scroll #2. After that, go to Knelt, and visit the room to the left of the Inn. Inside that room will be a Frogger with a dilemma: he needs a special root to turn him back into a human. Ah, the antics of careless magi! After he's done talking a route between Knelt and Dwalfland should open up - visit it and grok yourself one of the roots at the end of it. Mmmm, tuber. Take the root back to him, and he will transform into a mage after eating it. Your reward is Musical Note Scroll #3. Take both Scrolls back to the Bard in Valenadine (the town), who will play a tune for you and give you Candy #4. Quest #2: Prosperpina's being a twit again, and this time, the object of her tyranny are the ever-lovable Dwalfs. Talk to the Dwalf King, who tells you that ol' Prossy is stirring up trouble at the races. Go into the Truck Race area of Dwalf Land, and you'll meet up with Her Twinkishness, who's itching to fight with you again. Despite being Level 60, she's still not much of a challenge especially if you've mastered the timing for the Option Select. Whack her, then go talk to the Dwalf King again for a sword power-up. (thanks to Yasu for telling me about these following quests) Quest #3: Off to Cadho-Badho! Talk to the folks in the Magic School in the Magic section of Cadho-Badho (the lower-eastern third), and then hop over to the Garrison area via the west exit. In one of the houses you'll find a parrot - talk to it. Teleport to Knelt via the Magic Circle in the Magic area of Cadho-Badho, and go to the pub. Converse with the people, who will tell you about a secret bandit hideout between the pub and the shop. Fight with the Barbarian there and kill him to get his ring. Take said ring to the Magic School and Cadho-Badho, where one of the people will give you Candy #5. Quest #4: Charge up a ruby to max charges (3), and take it to the Gold Dragon (his name is Hindel, BTW). Select the first choice from the options he presents to you, and a path will open up between Lowgrove and Unicorn Forest. Go there and recover Candy #6. Quest #5: In the Garrison section (the westmost third), you'll find a sword statue where the town's Master usually stands (in the center). Talk to the 2nd soldier to the immediate right of this statue, and a path under the statue to a dungeon will open up (press Up in front of the statue to enter). Rescure the poor Master and leave. Now, head over the Magic section (the eastmost third) and discover that the Mage Master has disappeared from his position in front of the wand statue. Yikes! Talk to the mage to the immediate right to open up a path to a dungeon beneath the wand statue. Venture forth and rescue him, as well. He'll reward you with Candy #7. Now, back to the final stages of the Quest Proper. Go talk to the sailor on the docks at Leeland. Unfortunately, he doesn't want to let you on the boat because of Sirene troubles. Be persistent. Talk to him again, and select the first option from the list. You'll try to ride the boat to Sagon, but the Sirenes will stymie departure. After you exit the ship, head left on the docks until Portgus appears. Talk to him, and then talk to the sailor again to board the ship. This time, the Sirene will choose to fight you! Teach that fishy wench a few manners via broadsword to the noggin. Spankin'! Eventually, you'll make it to Sagon, where you get off the ship. Visit the pub and go to sleep. In the morning, you'll step outside only to run into your new pal Necro-Samansa. Perky (heh) as ever, she summons a level 66 Chaotic Eye as an early-morning wake-up call. Thanks, Sammy. Kill it, and you'll automatically head west to Volga Castle. Beware of Griffons! You'll fight quite a few between Sagon and the mountain caves before Castle Volga. Make sure you've stocked up on magic Gems and healing items, or suffer the consequences. Once inside the mountain caves, descend to the bottom and fight Necro-Samansa for the final time. Deliver her trampy self unto the abyss once and for all, and then head off for Castle Volga. In Castle Volga, Gradriel is in for quite a surprise: her evil self, Evil Gradriel (a rather, er, scantily-clad and mature version, BTW), is wreaking havoc, culminating in the petrification of poor King Volga. Gradriel's evil self taunts her, and Gradriel passes out. After waking, head for the throne room, where Evil Gradriel is waiting for you. Evil Graddy will beckon Gradriel to come to the Dark Side (where minimalist Lycra clothing and exaggerated feminine assets await), but Graddy's mother's spirit will intervene in the best Ben Kenobi fashion, and a fight begins! Evil Gradriel packs a wallop with her spell-based attacks (she doesn't fight hand-to-hand), so come stocked with healing potions! Defeat Evil Gradriel, and you gain the ability to become her by pressing the L and R buttons simultaneously during a battle sequence. Press the C button after your rather, er, stereotypical female anime transformation sequence, and you can cast spells based on the gem that's currently in front of her. Each spell costs 50 HP, though, so only use this to soften up the enemy. Press L+R again (or get hit) to transform back into Sensibly Clothed Gradriel. When Gradriel recovers from her internal battle, head south to Volga Town. Assuming you have bought and eaten the specialty foods from every town in the game (choose the 2nd option at each pub and eat the food given you), including the Goblin Juice from the Goblin Market, you can, according to the inestimable Yasu, you should go into the leftmost house in Volga Town and talk to the guy there (BTW, this bit isn't vital to completing the game). After talking to him, go back to the mountain pass, fight the Chaotic Eye that will challenge you, and win a broken sword. Take said sword to the guy you just talked to back in Volga Town, and the "Last Pub" will become open for visitation on the left side of town. Purchase and consume their specialty food (again, its the second option the barkeep offers), then talk to the barkeep to get Candy #8, the last Candy in the game. Now, it's the final stretch! Head back to Sagon and talk to your old buddy Portgus. Head back to Leeland, and make off for Valenadine Castle, where Evil Leon is waiting for you. Beat him, and the portal reamins on the throne room floor, awaiting you entry and the final confrontation with Larva. Be sure you stocked up on healing items before fighting Leon, because your fairy pal won't let you leave the throne room. Push up when you enter the portal and confront Larva. Win this difficult battle, and Gradriel will emerge triumphant as a queen of legendary stature. Lose, and, well, life is gonna suck for the poor girl. It's up to you (with a little help from Vogrod) ! VI. Extras. FALL DOWN FROM THE BOOKWORLD So you've won. Whoop-te-do. Now, it's time to play as your peeps Portgus, Prosperpina, and Edward in a collection of mini-quests, now available as "books" from the main screen (where the girl picks up the book). VII. Credits. Mega-thanks go out to: KS (Yasu) (yana@concentric.net) for encouraging me to give up my Tactics Ogre fixation and finish the bloody thing already, as well as contributing a mass of corrections and extra quest information :) Andrew Waller (ANDREW.S.WALLER@solutia.com) for a superlative manual translation Scott Dilley (sdilley@uswest.com) Brad Johnson (nightwlf@wizard.com) Lawrence Wu (bematoco@msll.hinet.net) for contributing everything from gameplay advice to corrections to item identification to plot element translations. Thank you, thank you! Apeendix A: Version History: 1.0: My first attempt. A brief review, story information, and some items use explained. Controls incorrectly explicated. 1.1: Bestiary fleshed out. Controls correctly identified, and most items identified correctly. Walkthrough begun. 1.2: Manual translation added, courtesy of Mr. Waller. Walkthrough added to. All items usage correctly identified. Battle strategies rewritten and correct item names given. Information about playing as Edward, Portgus, Prosperpina added. 1.3: Added to walkthrough. 1.4: Added to walkthrough. 2.0: Walkthrough completed. 3.0: (forthcoming) Moves and walkthrough for Portgus', Prosperpina's and Edward's quests. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you have anything to contribute, including manual translations, item usages or effects, strategies, special moves, or secrets, please mail me at: douglas@mailhost.ecn.ou.edu and let me know! Complete credit will be given. If you are a gaming magazine or site looking to use the information contained herein, you must let me know and give credit to myself and the others who have assisted me in the development of this FAQ. Any attempt to use the material contained herein without my express permission is a discourtesy and will not be tolerated. If you wish to use this FAQ on your site or in your publication, please contact me so I can ensure proper credit will be given. The same goes for game retailers (*cough* Game Cave *cough*). --- --- Douglas L. Erickson - ECN Computer Publications and Training Specialist mail to: douglas@mailhost.ecn.ou.edu --- http://www.ecn.ou.edu/~douglas --- ECN does not, in any way, sponsor or endorse my rabid opinions. --- -- "No-one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence -- -- of the American public." - H. L. Mencken --