F A X A N A D U for the Nintendo Entertainment System Game copyright 1988 Hudson Soft Licensed by Nintendo This guide copyright 2001 Matt Toothman (sakurajin@hotmail.com). This guide may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written consent of the author. It is ONLY to be found at http://www.gamefaqs.com. If you would like to use this guide on your site, just email me, i'll more than likely say yes. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1. Version History 2. Story/Intro 3. Walkthrough. 4. Credits. *************** Version History *************** 9.5.01 First and final release. *********** Story/Intro *********** Faxanadu, in my opinion, is one of the best games for the NES. It has interesting (although nameless) monsters, good level design, and is fairly challenging. Unfortunately, many people haven't played it or even heard of it. Faxanadu follows you, the hero, as you attempt to revive three Elven Wells, then defeat the evil Dwarves and the Evil One. The game is set in the World Tree, a huge tree that houses many towns. Along the way, your hero will gather items, collect gold, gain experience and levels, talk to townspeople, and search for clues. This is a definitive action RPG in the Adventure of Link vein: leveling up and finding items are equally important to the advancement of the quest. A few things to remember about Faxanadu as you play through the game: -When you die, you return to the last Guru that you spoke with. Your experience and gold after dying are determined by your rank, which is your experience level. It's easy to buy expensive things by spending all your gold and then dying. You'll begin again with the items you bought, plus the gold that comes with your rank. -Always always always have a few red potions. There are a few locations in the game where you can get Red Potion for free by killing monsters. These potions will return if you do. Stock up. -If you have enough experience for the next level, but die without seeing the Guru, you will lose that experience. Avoid this by staying near a town when gaining levels. Once you have achieved a rank, nothing can remove it. -There are many spots in the game (especially in the World of Mist onwards) where monsters are placed right on top of doors. When exiting, use your sword immediately and you may avoid being hit. -Almost all enemies, including bosses, have very set patterns of attack and movement. Memorize these, and you can breeze through the game. -ALL weapons, including the Hand Dagger, are capable of hitting twice at close range. It's difficult with the Dagger, but easy with every other weapon. Just get close, so you're almost touching an enemy, and swing away. You should hear the attack hit twice. -Doors DO NOT stay unlocked. Be prepared before you open a door, keys are too expensive to waste. -Learn which enemies give you bread. Bread can save you if you're out of Red Potion. ----------- Walkthrough ----------- ----- Eolis ----- You'll begin outside the town of Eolis. Enter the first door. Your goal right now is to procure some equipment (all you've got now is a shag haircut and some nice boots.) To buy stuff, you need money (obviously). Head left and enter the cathedral-looking building. These buildings always house Gurus, make note of them. Gurus will grant you a new rank, give you a password, and sometimes give you necessary items for your quest. This Guru will give you the Ring of Elf. Head left again, jumping over the spikey enemies, to the king's castle. He'll see your Ring of Elf and tell you about the problems with the World Tree. More importantly, he'll give you 1500 Golds (yeah, Golds.) Spend it as you see fit. I recommend a Hand Dagger, Deluge, and two red potions. Now go next door and buy three Key J's. Don't forget to equip your weapons and armor. You've probably noticed that the Hand Dagger won't kill the short spikey enemies. You'll have to use Deluge for now, until you get a longer sword. It's worthwhile to kill a few spikes to get the bread they carry (delicious...) since you don't start with much life. Anyway, head right and kill the hopping monster. Use your Key J to unlock the door and head into the outer world. ("I've used key!") Heh heh heh. --------- Overworld --------- The monsters here shouldn't give you any trouble...just practice. The hopping enemies have a very consistent pattern that you should notice. Kill the spikes for bread if you're low on life. Head right, fighting enemies, until you reach some ladders. Climb up them. At the top, go right some more. Take note of the door here, it leads to a shop that sells two very powerful items: a Magic Shield (7600g) and Death magic (12500g). You can build up some cash now and buy these, but they aren't necessary and you can get them later for less Golds. Continue on to the town of Apolune. ------- Apolune ------- The shops in Apolune sell the same items as Eolis' shops, but charge more. There is one item here that's new, though: a Small Shield. If you decided not to pick up the Magic Shield earlier, a Small Shield is a good buy at only 800g. Take note of the hospital (building with a cross sign on it). The doctor here will fill your life and magic gauges for only 250g. Anyone else curious why the doctor gets a throne? You should be gaining your first level around now. Go to the Guru with your 1000 experience points. Congratulations, you're an Aspirant. Yeah. After getting healed (recommended), head right a few screens and use your Key J to enter the Tower of Trunk. -------------- Tower of Trunk -------------- This is the first of many towers you'll go through. As you enter, you may want to just kick back to that groovy dungeon music. I know I always do. Head two screens right and climb the ladder. This jump here is probably the first time you'll encounter Faxanadu's weird jumping system. Running starts *DO* make a difference, it'll be important later. After the ladder, head two more screens right, killing the antelope-looking enemies, and climb another ladder. Head two more screens right; get introduced to grasshopper/frog combination enemy. It jumps, but not as quickly as the blue antelopes. Kill the spikes here if you're low on life. You'll encounter your first boss monster here, a winged bat-dragon creature that spits fire and does LOTS of damage if you get hit. Don't. Stay on the platform and Deluge him until he dies (13 hits with Deluge). He leaves you a pile of Gold and a Mattock, which is what you need to break the wall east of Apolune. Grab the Mattock, and exit the tower the same way you came. --------- Overworld --------- You may want to go back to Apolune and heal, or you can continue. Either way, head right from the Tower exit one screen. Use your Mattock (Down + B). The wall will crumble and you can continue. Go up the ladder, right one screen, left one screen, and up again. I wouldn't bother getting the glove (I quote: "The glove increases offensive power.") Not worth it. There are several new enemies in this area: the walking mushroom-heads, the flying ghosts, and the magicians. The first two don't offer anything new, but the magicians will cast deluge at you. Your Small or Magic shield will absorb some of the damage, but it's best to kill magicians as quickly as possible. Jump their Deluge and stab stab stab them. Head right to the town of Forepaw. ------- Forepaw ------- Forepaw offers some decent weapons and armor. I suggest the Long Sword (1600g) and the Studded Mail (2500g). You'll also eventually need a pair of Winged Boots (2800g). Stock up on Red Potion if you need it, talk to the Guru, get healed if you want. This is a good place to build experience and Golds, as the enemies to the right of Forepaw offer decent rewards. Go as far east as you can from Forepaw and fight a magician there. Occasionally, he will leave a Red Potion behind. If you're low on life, the three ghosts one screen outside town will give you tasty bread and the occasional Ointment ("I am free from injury because of the ointment"). It makes you invincible, which can be useful sometimes. --------- Overworld --------- After getting enough Golds to buy some Winged Boots, you can get down to the first real business at hand: reviving the Elven fountains. The first fountain you should attend to is east of Forepaw. Go to the second screen with two jumping enemies (NOT the one with a completely blue background). Use your winged boots and fly up two screens. Avoid the enemies rather than fighting them, your time is limited. Speak with the old man and he'll revive the fountain. The dialogue here is really funny, so I included it: "Ho ho ho. I'll tell you about the water of the spring. ..... ..... Oops! ...Fallen asleep. The water was poisoned. The posion is almost gone so it's all right to wake him up. Watch. ..... ..... Something is wrong..... Oops!" If you talk to him again: "Get the key from the Guri in the Tower of Fortress and search for the undiscovered first fountain." Despite that making no sense whatsoever, that means you revived the first fountain. There are three. You probably don't need healing after that, so we'll continue to fountain number two. Follow the old man's advice and go to the Tower of Fortress. From Forepaw, head up the ladder and left two screens. Use your Key J to open the door. ----------------- Tower of Fortress ----------------- Head all the way right, climb the ladder, head back left. Go up the ladder. There should be a jumping antelope and a mushroom-head. Go up the ladder and left to fight a bat-dragon. Just stand on the platform and let him come to you. About ten hits with the Long Sword will do it. Go left one screen, watch out for the bees. Enter the door to find...a Guru! He'll give you a Key JO and tell you to use it 'below' (just outside Forepaw, you've probably tried to open it.) From here, you can either backtrack right (short, but you have to fight the bat-dragon on the ground, which is pretty hard.) The longer but easier way is to go down the ladder on the screen where the Guru is. This is the beginning again. Don't pick up the bottle, it's poison. Retrace your steps until you reach the jumping antelope and the mushroom-head again. Head right and climb the first ladder you see. Follow the path around, up and left, until you reach a screen with bees and a ghost-worm enemy. Stand on the ledge and stab until it dies. It'll walk into your sword. Head right, but be careful: the next screen features a rock-dropping enemy whose rocks do major damage. Run past him quickly and grab the Elixir that appears on the next screen. If you want, you can kill the rock-dropper from the right and take his Winged Boots (you'll need them later.) If you don't want to fight him, you can always just buy them in Forepaw. Head back left, fighting the ghost worm again or jumping over him as you please. Go down the ladder and head back right and down. Go right three screens and climb the ladder there. Go up again, left, up the ladder where the bees are, and right. Give the old man your Elixir and he will revive the second spring. You're done here, so head out. The fastest way is to jump down to the left of the old man. There's an Ointment here that will speed your exit. >From here, just go left and down until you reach the exit. -------------- Third Fountain -------------- You're going to fight a bat monster on the ground here, so be prepared with full health, magic, and a lot of Red Potion. From Forepaw, head down and right to the door. Use your Key JO to enter. The bat-dragon will drop down right when you enter. Jump over the fireballs and stab him. You can run under him when he flies up if you don't want to fight him (you'll meet him again on the way out, regardless). Activate the third spring. Make SURE to talk to the old man twice. The second time, he will give you the Ring of Ruby. Very important. If you exit without talking to him twice, you have to go and get ANOTHER Key JO, which means you need another Key J. You don't want that. After getting the Ring of Ruby, run under/fight the bat. Exit, heal at Forepaw. Buy three Key Q's (500g each). If you don't have Wing Boots, buy some. You should have close to 10000 experience by now, and about that much gold. Go back to the Tower of Fortress entrance. Don't enter the door, instead use your Ring of Ruby to push the stone off the fountain. The water will flow again, and your first major quest is complete. Go up the left ladder and use a Key Q to open the door. ------------- World of Mist ------------- Upon entering, you'll notice that it's really hard to see in here. Pay attention to the ground as you walk, this section of the World Tree has many hidden pits. You'll need to jump to the next screen in lots of places, as the ground isn't solid. Go one screen left from the World of Mist entrance and up both ladders. Head all the way right and down the bottom ladder. Continue right into the town of Mascon. ------ Mascon ------ New items for sale here: Large Shield (3500g), and Thunder magic (1200g). I recommend both, as you should have more than enough gold for them. There isn't a Guru in this town, so our next goal will be to find one. Make sure to purchase a Key Q in Mascon if you don't have one. You also should have a pair of Wing Boots from the Tower of Fortress. You'll need them. ***side note*** There is a shop northeast of Mascon that sells Death magic for 9800g, which is cheaper than the shop way back near Apolune. To get to it, exit Mascon to the right and fall through the right-most hole in the ground. Jump carefully from block to block. On the fourth screen to the right of Mascon, climb up the ladder. This shopkeeper also has Hour Glasses for sale, but don't waste your money. ------------- World of Mist ------------- Leave town to the right. Climb down the ladder. Go four screens right, there should be a door with two small trolls (the kind with swords). Go up the ladder here. Then two screens right, jump across the blocks and go up the ladder on the left. Go one more screen right to the building with three doors. The middle door houses a Guru who will (probably) increase your rank and give you a Mantra. Upon exiting, swing your sword immediately to avoid that @#$% troll. Our next objective: The Tower of Suffer, which houses the Pendant. From the Guru's place, climb up the ladder on the right and head left across the blocks. You'll have to jump to the next screen. Climb up the ladder here and use your Key Q to open the door. --------------- Tower of Suffer --------------- Several new enemies here, depending on how much of the Mist World you've explored. The giant octopi-robots give you lots of money and are easy to kill. Stock up on Golds here if you feel like it. Also, the blue wolf-looking things that jump quickly at you. Be careful of these, they can do a lot of damage and knock you off ledges easily. The first room has ladders on the left and right. Either way will get you there, but I prefer the left path (it has enemies that give you bread). Climb the left ladder and defeat the blue wolf and the spike. Go left one screen, kill the octopus-robot and the spike. Climb the ladders to the left and go up. Kill the magician here and the octopus robot, go up another screen. Kill the two trolls here, and go right one screen (IMPORTANT! stay on top of the blocks here!) The next screen has two ghosts with bread that can replenish your life. Fill up if you need it, then head right one screen. Kill the spikes here for bread, and jump down the right pit (or left, they both go to the same place.) After landing, go up the short ladder to the right and go right one screen. Swing your sword immediately here to avoid being hit and knocked back a screen. Go up the ladder above you. There is a bat-dragon here. Note that he shoots five fireballs in a row instead of the usual four. I recommend simply avoiding him. Your Large Shield should allow you to run under/past him without taking too much damage. Proceed right to find...another bat-dragon. This one is a boss, though, and you should kill it. By now, you should be an expert at the run-jump-stab strategy, so use it. Collect the Pendant, whose somewhat dubious claim is that it raises your offensive power. You'll have to fight the bat-dragon again on the way out, so hopefully you have some Red Potion, or mad swordplay skillz... From the first (non-boss) bat, head down, left, defeat the magician, and go down the left ladder. Follow the S-curve of ladders down and you should end up at the exit. ------------- World of Mist ------------- The yellow snake gives some really tasty bread, one loaf will fill you up almost halfway. Go down the ladder and left one screen. DON'T fall through the blocks here, make sure to clear them by jumping. Use your Wing Boots to fly up to the ladder on the left. Go right as far as you can to a screen with a horizontal path of ladders. Go up one screen and right to enter the town of Victim. ------ Victim ------ Not much to see here, but there is a Guru. Get a mantra and a promotion. Also, I suggest buying a Full Plate (5200g) in the Armor Shop. You'll also need three Key K's. Our next stop: the Tower of Mist. The enemies in the next area provide lots of bread, but bring at least a Red Potion or two just in case. ------------- World of Mist ------------- Head right from Victim. Drop down and head right as far as you can (two screens. Climb up the ladder, and go right. The next screen has two ladders: ignore them. They lead to a Key K door with *nothing* behind it. At 1500g a pop you can't afford to waste any keys. Continue right as far as you can go. Enter the door to find a magician (the good kind.) He offers to teach you Fire magic for 3000g. Fire magic isn't great, but 3000g isn't that much either. If you do buy it, he offers some Star Wars-esque advice: "It can be magic of justice or a magic of destruction. It all depends on who uses it." Profound. Really. Anyway, head left two screens to a ladder (the one I told you to ignore earlier.) Climb up it and go right one screen to a ladder. Defeat the squirmy eyeball and continue up the ladder. Go two screens left (the door you see below you is the one with nothing behind it). Watch out for the blue drummer enemies: they can deal damage from anywhere on the screen. Kill them quickly. The right door here is needs an Ace key, which you'll get later. The left door is home to a man. He tells you to go find a dwarf in the Tower of Mist and return with the dwarves' Meteorite. Okay. We'll do that. Head left one screen (the bottle that sometimes appears here is Poison.) Defeat the blue drummer and climb up the ladder. Head left four screens. Climb up the ladders here. On the next screen, climb up the ladders and go left. After two screens you'll find the entrance to the Tower of Mist. Use your Key K and enter. ------------- Tower of Mist ------------- You'll immediately be attacked by two yellow warriors with spiked clubs. The best way to defeat them is to jump straight up and stab repeatedly. The next screen introduces small, fast, running enemies that look like pine cones. Stab them too. Head right until you reach a vertical ladder and a bat-dragon. The top path has an Elixir, but you have to defeat a bat, a boulder-dropper, and the same bigheaded boss that guards the Black Onyx. It's very difficult, but possible. Take the ladder down. You can stand on the ledge and defeat the bat. Head right, defeating enemies. Stay on the top path (climb the first ladder you see) and you'll reach a room with a large boss monster. He's mostly a big head with arms. He jumps when you come near. To defeat him, just jump straight up when he approaches and stab him. He'll jump into your sword. After he dies, you'll get the Black Onyx. Grab it and get out, we're done here. You'll have to defeat the bat monster again- jump and stab IMMEDIATELY when you enter his screen. After killing him again, head left to the exit. ------------- World of Mist ------------- Exit right from the Tower of Mist. Go right two screens and drop down. Head right three screens. The screen with a magician and a squid has some hard jumps. If you can make it, good. Continue right to the screen with two doors. If you did fall in the hole, don't worry. You should be right outside Victim, so heal and buy supplies if necessary. You're probably around Myrmidon level now, or at least Soldier. In either case, talk to the man who mentioned the meteorite earlier. He's in the left door. He'll see your Black Onyx (the meteorite) and give you a Key A. You can use it on the right door to open the door to the branches of the World Tree. Before you do, though, make sure to have 3 Key K's. ------------------ Overworld/Branches ------------------ Finally, no more Mist. Also, more groovy music instead of that depressing Mist music. Head right as far as you can from the 'A' door. Go up the ladder, and back to the left. Climb that ladder. Go right and don't climb any ladders to reach the branch town of Conflate. -------- Conflate -------- Conflate is a happenin' place. They have Giant Blades (8500g) and Magic Shields (9800g). No key shop, though, which is why you should have 3 Key K's from Victim. As usual, heal, get a mantra/promotion and upgrade your weaponry if you can afford it. You probably won't be able to afford both the Giant Blade and Magic Shield, so fight around Conflate until you can, or pull the buy items/die trick. Either way. ------------------ Overworld/Branches ------------------ After you get the Magic Shield and Giant Blade, exit left from Conflate (you can't exit to the right...) Keep going left without using any ladders until you reach a locked door. Use your Key K to unlock it. Go two screens left, and defeat the big-headed boss again. It's easiest if you trap him between you on the left and the edge of the screen on the right. Like this: + ** @@@ + <------- You Boss Edge of screen Good art When he lands, jump and stab. You should get two hits with every attack. Collect the Battle Helmet after he dies. This is the first piece of the legendary equipment that you'll need against the bosses you'll face soon. Head back to Conflate. Heal. Assuming you have at least 2 Key Ks, exit left from Conflate and climb the ladder on the second screen, where the squid is. Here you'll find another door that requires a King key. Unlock it. Go right (you can get an Ointment sometimes by defeating the two birds on the second screen) until you reach a door. Go through it. Continue right, avoiding any ladders or pits, as far as you can. You will come to a screen with ladders on the top and bottom; take the top ladder. Head right two screens, up another ladder, and right two more screens to reach the branch town of Daybreak. -------- Daybreak -------- Daybreak (the first woman you meet says 'Daydreak'...ack) doesn't have a doctor, but it does have a dried meat guy, which is just as good. The weapon shop sells Tilte magic (15000g). It's pricey, but very powerful. I prefer Death magic (it goes through walls) to Tilte, but Tilte comes in handy sometimes with its diagonal attacking motion. The key shop here stocks K and Q keys, so you don't have to worry about wasting keys anymore. The next piece of legendary equipment is located south and west of Daybreak. You passed it on your way to town. *** NOTE NOTE NOTE *** This next part is very frustrating and time-consuming. Make sure you have Red Potions and a lot of patience. Also make sure to write down your mantra before you leave Daybreak. ------------------ Overworld/Branches ------------------ Exit Daybreak to the left and go down the first ladder (on the second screen.) From here, go two screens left and down the ladder. See that ladder below you with the blue warrior stabbing madly? Drop down there. Go one screen to the right, and climb the ladder. The Magical Wand is here, so take it. Climb back down, go right, and defeat the jumping boss monster there. Grab the Battle Suit that appears. Now your task (yes, it is a TASK) is to get back to Daybreak. When you climb the ladder back up towards Daybreak, the blue warrior will immediately stab you off, knocking you back a screen. This horribly-designed section cannot be avoided. You have to get the Battle Suit, so you have to go down here... The only way I know to kill the blue warrior is to tap back and forth quickly while on the ladder. If he stabs you just right, and you're lucky, you will end up standing on the ladder. The warrior won't move, and you can stab him. Be patient, though, sometimes it takes a while :( Once you make it past the warrior, make sure you have at least two Key Ks (Daybreak sells them) and go back to Conflate. Speak with the Guru to receive the Ring of Dworf. No typo there, it's Dworf. You need this ring to open the way to the last town: Dartmoor. To reach Dartmoor, head right from Daybreak until you reach a door. Your Ring of Dworf will let you open it. --------- Overworld --------- Many doors in this area contain only monsters. Head left from the door. Fall down the pit and go right to enter the town of Dartmoor. -------- Dartmoor -------- There isn't much here. Buy as many Red Potions as you can, you'll face a hard enemy soon. Red Potions are 2000g, but you should be able to afford it on your Superhero or Myrmidon salary. If you've really been building levels, you could even be a Paladin by now. There are hardly any people in this town, but the man in the pub tells you to look for a Guru in the castle. That's important, so remember it. Next stop: Castle Fraternal. --------- Overworld --------- From Dartmoor, exit left and go down the ladder. Go one screen left and fall down the pit. Go right here, staying on top of the blocks. Notice the door here won't open without a key... Climb the ladder above the door and go right. Climb the ladder up to the next screen. Follow the path here up, right, and down until you reach a door situated on a single block. DON'T miss the jump, or you'll have to walk all the way around again. ---------------- Castle Fraternal ---------------- ***Proceed carefully through these rooms. Almost every room can be gotten through without taking a hit. You need all the life you can get.*** From the entrance, go right one screen and down the ladder. Go right and climb the ladder where the two blue antelopes are. Go right, staying on the top level. Go one screen right (there should be a ghost-worm on the lower level.) Climb the ladder here and enter the door in the bottom right corner. Here, you'll fight King Grieve, the Dwarf King. He's been mutated by the meteorite and the Evil One into a giant flying dragon. He swoops down and spits fire similar to the bat-dragons, but this time you can't jump his flames. You're going to take a lot of hits in this battle. Jump and stab when he swoops down and when he retreats. Try to get him against the right wall so you can get double hits with your sword. Also try jumping and casting magic (Death works well) from far away to get in an extra hit or two. He isn't that hard, but he takes a lot of hits. Expect to use 3-4 Red Potions. After he's dead, grab the Dragon Slayer. Remember the Guru that guy mentioned? He's in this castle, and you should talk to him. From the door where the Dwarf King was, head left, down (this should look familiar) and down. Enter the door here and speak with the Guru. He'll give you the Ring of Demon, which opens the door to the Evil One's fortress. You're done here, so head out. Up, left, up (you can sometimes get an Hour Glass here), left, left. -------- Dartmoor -------- Fill up on Red Potions. Spare no expense, this is the end. ---------------------- Palace of the Evil One ---------------------- This palace is behind the door that you passed earlier on the way to Castle Fraternal. You should have a bunch of Red Potions and the Dragon Slayer, Battle Helmet, and Battle Suit equipped. This palace is easy to navigate once you realize that the screen repeats endlessly in any one direction. From the entrance, go down, left, left, up, left, and up. Run under the jumping boss and enter the door. The Evil One is easier than the Dwarf King. You're better equipped now than you were, and you can hit him anytime. Ignore his fireballs. You'll get hit, but keep jumping and stabbing. Try for double hits as often as you can. Red Potion when you need it...this one shouldn't be too hard. Hour Glasses don’t work, by the way. After he goes down, sit back and relax. The World Tree is restored, congratulations! ******* CREDITS ******* Nintendo, for producing some of the most innovative, fun, and influential games out there. Hudson Soft. It's their game. This document is legal and intellectual property of Matt Toothman. September 05 2001 Contact me at sakurajin@hotmail.com with any additions or changes you’d like to see in this guide. fin.