This is a guide for: Ys I & II Eternal (PC) Ys I & II Complete (PC) Ys I & II Chronicles (PSP) Ys I & II Chronicles+ (Steam) By Jeff David, aka "Korzic" Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Basic Gameplay 3. Ys I Walkthrough Port Barbado...........................[PTBRBD] Minea..................................[MNATWN] Zepik Village..........................[ZPKVLG] Shrine.................................[MTNSHR] Abandoned Mine.........................[ABNDMN] Darm Tower.............................[DRMTWR] 4. Ys II Walkthrough Lance Village..........................[LNCVLG] Ruins of Moondoria.....................[RNMNDR] Sanctuary of Toal / Rasteenie Mine.....[STLRMN] Ice Ridge of Noltia....................[ICRDGE] Moat of Burnedbless....................[BRNBLS] Ramia Village..........................[RMAVLG] Shrine of Solomon......................[SHRSLM] 5. Ys I Appendices Equipment..............................[YS1EQP] Inventory..............................[YS1INV] Characters.............................[YS1CHR] Enemies................................[YS1ENM] Steam Achievements.....................[YS1ACH] Time Attack............................[YS1TME] Alen Smithy's Graveyard................[GRVYRD] 6. Ys II Appendices Equipment..............................[YS2EQP] Inventory..............................[YS2INV] Characters.............................[YS2CHR] Enemies................................[YS2ENM] Steam Achievements.....................[YS2ACH] Time Attack............................[YS2TME] Record of Adol's Adventure.............[YS2RCD] Mascots................................[MSCOTS] 7. Frequently Asked Questions Ys I Questions.........................[YS1FAQ] Ys II Questions........................[YS2FAQ] 8. Credits 9. Contact / Disclaimer =============================================================================== 1. Introduction =============================================================================== Hi there! Welcome to my guide for Ys I & II! This guide was created to help you get through the games, as there seems to be a fair deal of misinformation concerning certain trouble spots, although this has gotten better recently. Even if you're an experienced player, I hope you'll find something new or interesting buried somewhere in here. Anyway, allow me to explain just what the differences are between the versions listed above. The "Eternal" versions are remakes of the original Ys I and Ys II (released in 1987 and 1988 respectively), and were released in 1998 and 2000 respectively. In 2001, the Eternal versions received slight touch-ups a couple years later, and were released in 2001 under the name "Complete". For Ys I, most of what was changed was the graphics, although the maps had almost completely identical layouts (a couple of them had minor modifications). Falcom also added text for Ys I when attempting to manually use most items, something the Eternal version of Ys II also did. Speaking of Ys II, there is little difference between the Eternal and Complete versions - mostly, it's just a couple of bug fixes regarding certain bosses. In 2009, the Complete versions were updated again and released to the PSP in Japan under the name "Chronicles", and then localized in the US by XSeed in 2011. This time, a more modern art style and soundtrack were included (as well as an older soundtrack), but the old Complete style art and music could still be selected, if desired. Also, while previous versions of Ys I allowed you to view enemy stats, they were never in an organized place like they were for Ys II, but Chronicles rectified that, also adding a section for the other characters. Lastly, in early 2013, XSeed released a modified version of Chronicles to Steam under the name "Chronicles+", adding features to make them similar to Complete (like the old game screen borders), but also kept the previous PSP content intact. Being a Steam release, the games also included achievements for finding certain easter eggs within the game. There was also another PC version of Chronicles, but it's Japanese-only. From what I hear, it's pretty much a 100% straight port of the PSP version (even moreso than the transition from Complete to Chronicles), so whatever applies to the PSP version throughout this guide likely applies to that version as well, though I cannot confirm this. In all, the versions are very similar to one another, the graphical changes between Ys Eternal and Ys Complete aside (Ys II had no noticeable graphics updates between versions, the Chronicles artwork style aside). So, one might wonder why I'm choosing to ignore the DS version of the game, as well as the lesser known Japanese-only PS2 title. The reason is simple: the games are not official Falcom releases. Not only that, but they contain slightly different gameplay from these versions, adding in features not present in official Falcom releases. For example, the DS version supposedly includes a different method of attacking (from what I hear, the bump system can still be used, but it's less fluid), and even a different set of equipment that, if found, makes a certain section of Ys I easier than what Falcom intended. On the other hand, the PS2 primarily adds certain abilities to all of the various weapons (for instance, the Long Sword in Ys I supposedly can randomly take off 1/4 of most enemies' HP when damaged - even most bosses), and even adding a combo system of sorts. Anyway, the point of all this is, it's much easier to write about 4 very similar versions of the games, much moreso than it would be to write about two or more versions with such drastic differences in gameplay. Besides, I have yet to play either the DS or PS2 versions, so I wouldn't be able to accurately write a guide concerning those. So, one has to wonder what version of the game is preferable to play. My personal favorite is the "Complete" version (followed closely by Eternal), though the Steam or PSP versions are much more accessible to most people. If possible, I would recommend the Steam version, as the PSP is not only small, but it tends to suffer from loading times (certainly not the worst, but definitely not the best). The Steam version in particular offers most of the things that Complete does in addition to the original PSP content, just that it lacks mouse support, as well as a few convenient hotkeys (quicksave/quickload, able to cycle through items, accessories, and magic better). Plus, it's in English, whereas Complete requires applying an English translation patch if you don't understand Japanese, but that's little trouble (however, do not make the mistake of thinking the Complete patches will apply to other versions on the PC - they won't). And of course, there are achievements, though you can still do those things in other versions. =============================================================================== 2. Basic Gameplay =============================================================================== Before we get to the actual walkthrough, let's go over a few basics. By far the most important one is how to attack the various enemies - the bump system the Ys series is famous for. While you can deal damage to them by hitting them head-on, you'll also take a bit of damage yourself, so you should instead try to attack them off-center - that is, a little bit to their sides. You can also attack them directly from the back or sides, but they can turn around to face you at a moment's notice, so I wouldn't recommend that course of action, if it can be helped. What you can sometimes do instead is attack them at a diagonal angle, but this still tends to backfire if your positioning is off (moreso in Ys I). In general, you'll want to try and push them against an obstacle, as your hits will land faster that way. Throughout the course of Ys II, you'll also receive magic, which usually provides a much safer combat alternative, but for Ys I, you're stuck with attacking the enemies off-center (bosses excluded). With regards to items and the like, weapons, armor, and accessories of course need to be equipped first to be effective at all. And while the majority of other items you come across are used automatically at certain scripted spots, several of them must be used manually, meaning you'll need to equip them first, and then press the appropriate button (this is more of an issue in Ys II than it is in Ys I). Finally, here's a list of the default controls and what they do (though the Eternal and Complete versions sometimes have more shortcuts than what's listed here); for Steam, the "LH" is the default type 1 keyboard setting ("leftie"), and "RH" is the default type 2 keyboard setting ("rightie"). Unless you play with a controller, these can't be re-assigned except in the Steam version (though a few of them in Eternal and Complete can be switched around in one of the "Options" menus, but it's just the functions of the keys being swapped, not actually being able to assign other keys). Also, not everything is listed, but it's mostly just the subscreen hotkeys being omitted (which are mostly present only in Eternal/Complete): ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Action | Eternal | Complete | Chronicles (PSP) | Steam ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Movement | Arrow keys | Arrow keys, | Directional pad, | Numpad (LH), | Numpad, | Numpad, | Analog stick | W, S, A, D, | Left mouse | Left mouse | | Q, E, Z, X | button | button | | (RH) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walk | Varies | Varies | "Circle" button | Z (LH), |(change under | (change under | ("X" button for | / (RH) | "Options") | "Options") | Japan version) | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Confirm | Enter | Enter | "X" button | X (LH), | | | ("Circle" button | . (RH) | | | for Japan version)| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cancel | Escape | Escape | "Circle" button | Z (LH), (hold for | | | ("X" button for | / (RH) fast text in | | | Japan version) | Chronicles) | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use item | Enter, | Enter | "Triangle" button | C (LH), | Right mouse | | | _ (RH) | button | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switch | N/A | N/A | "R" shoulder | S (LH) accessory | | | button | [ (RH) (Ys I) | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switch | Q, W | Q, W | "L" shoulder | A (LH) accessory | | | button | ] (RH) (Ys II) | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use magic | Ctrl | Ctrl | "X" button | X (LH) (Ys II) | | | ("Circle" button | . (RH) | | | for Japan version)| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switch magic | 1, 2, 3, | 1, 2, 3, | "R" shoulder | S (LH) (Ys II) | 4, 5, 6 | 4, 5, 6 | button | [ (RH) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Switch | R, T | R, T | N/A | N/A inventory | | | | (Ys II) | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Menu | Escape | Escape | "Start" button | Escape (LH), | | | | RShift (RH) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status | S | S | "Select" button | Tab (LH/RH) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== 3. Ys I Walkthrough =============================================================================== Before I begin, let me make a quick note concerning the layout of this part of the guide. At the beginning of each section, I've made a quick list of the primary objectives - that is, the stuff that absolutely needs to be done in order to advance the story - so that anyone looking for help can find it easily without needing to read too much. Any optional objectives are listed below that, but mostly only stuff pertaining to items and equipment (even then, some stuff is omitted, such as purchasing certain weapons and armor). Steam achievements are for the Steam version only (obviously) and are not listed there, so for a full list of them and their requirements, please refer to the appropriate "Steam Achievements" portions of the guide. With regards to the inventory and equipment sections, I'll list only what is obtainable at the moment (the mandatory items are indicated by a *), and any later stuff will be listed during any future visits under the respective section of the game. For the characters, some of them are important only at certain points, and due to the way the guide is set up, it's hard to clarify in list form when they're important. So, the asterisks next to them don't necessarily mean that they're required immediately during your initial visit, just that they will be important eventually. Also, some characters appear in more than one place, so for those, I'll usually just list them at the point you can first find them. For a more detailed list of their locations, please refer to the "Characters" section of the guide. Also, if this is your first time through Ys I, I strongly recommend against playing on the Hard or Nightmare difficulties. If you're playing the Eternal version, its "Easy" (if your version even has that difficulty, but if not, this can supposedly be fixed with a patch from Falcom) is basically newer versions' "Normal", whereas its "Normal" is basically newer versions' "Hard" (there are some exceptions though, such as normal enemies' HP being the same regardless, which seems to reflect Complete/Chronicles' Hard difficulty). Aside from the earlier enemies having differing HP in Complete/Chronicles (bosses excluded), the only real difference between Hard and Nightmare seems to be how much damage you take, but I don't think this applies to how much damage you deal (it doesn't seem to differ for bosses, at least). Anyway, some of the bosses in this game give newcomers a hard time, even on Normal difficulty. One of the more notorious bosses is faced at about the game's midway point, and believe me, Hard and Nightmare difficulties live up to their names. If you're playing either of the Chronicles versions, you'll also be presented with an artwork choice, which refers to what art style the close-up scenes will use. The Complete option is more old-school and traditional, whereas Chronicles uses a style you might expect to find in most anime. Personally, I prefer the Complete style, as I think it fits the mood better, but pick whichever you want. Do note that in the PSP version of the game, the art choice is irreversible without starting a new file, but you can change it whenever you want in the Steam version of the game. Anyway, let's get started. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Port Barbado [PTBRBD] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Leave town and make your way north to Minea OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Receive a free Short Sword from Slaff INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Barbado) - Short Sword CHARACTERS (Barbado) - Doctor Bludo*, Nurse Ayla*, Slaff, Stephan, Jacob, Drake, Old Man George, Fisherman Betelo, Fran, Arcia, Old Man Pastol, Marco, Torrance, Rebecca, Danny, Cheryl, Mason the Trader, Sylvia, Gerald, Karin, Granny Daria ENEMIES (Minea Plains - South) - Curloid, Oakrot NOTE - Dr. Bludo and Ayla are both "required" in the sense that you can't avoid speaking to them as you first leave the clinic, but beyond that, you don't need to visit them at any point. Due to the intro scenes, Slaff is automatically listed (as well as an enemy a little later on known as a Rheboll), and thus could also be considered required, but as soon as you gain control, you can avoid him entirely, if you wish (same thing with the Rheboll enemy). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the opening scenes, talk to Dr. Bludo and Ayla. The doctor will mention Slaff is in the portside warehouse (the big building in the southwest part of town), so head there if you'd like some more information. All you really need to do to advance the game is just head straight to the next town, Minea. If this is your first time through the game, you should at least see Slaff for some story bits. Anyway, if you want a free Short Sword, talk to all of the villagers, and then to Slaff. Be sure to ask him about each of the four topics, and as you're ready to leave, he'll give you the Short Sword as a gift - don't forget to equip it. He'll also suggest that you head to Minea, to gather more information. After receiving the Short Sword, head back to the clinic. Speak to Bludo again, and he'll make a comment about the sword. It may seem pointless, but it gets the game set up for a sidequest a short time later. Like I said, this is all purely optional, but getting the Short Sword this way does help save a little bit of gold, plus you get the "Sworded Details" achievement if you happen to be playing the Steam version of the game. However, you'll need to do it before purchasing a weapon from Minea (even if it's just the Long Sword), otherwise you've missed your chance and will have to buy one (though the Long Sword is preferable anyway). Plus, if you're playing the PSP or Steam versions, it gives you an excuse to help fill in the "Notes" section. Well, that's all you need to do in Barbado for now, so as per Slaff's advice, head to the north to enter the plains leading to Minea. If you haven't already, you may wish to equip the Short Sword. Without it, you can't damage the Curloids (small blue enemies) yet, just the Oakrots (trees). Alternatively, you can just bypass the enemies here, as they give little EXP, and the gold they drop isn't really worth it. If you do decide and fight, do note that you can stand still for a bit to gradually recover HP, though this only works in outdoor areas (with a couple exceptions). Anyway, the path here is pretty straightforward; just follow it northeast a bit, then loop around to the northwest, then again to the northeast until you see the city walls of Minea. The only way in is from the north side, and you'll have to go around the western side to reach it. Once you reach the northern side head east a little, and you'll see a bridge leading north, which leads to the primary portion of the Minea Plains, but you want to head south of the bridge, to Minea. However, if you try and explore that part of the Plains without first entering the city, a man will come out and chide you briefly, mistaking you for a child. After that, though, you're free to explore the Plains at your leisure, but there isn't much to do there at the moment, so head inside Minea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minea [MNATWN] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Purchase a sword, shield, and body armor - Talk to the fortuneteller Sara, and agree to search for the Books of Ys - Make your way to Zepik Village in the northeast OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Buy and return the Sapphire Ring to the one-eyed man, Donis - Find the Golden Pedestal, and sell it to Pim INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Minea) - Sara's Crystal*, Sapphire Ring, Wing, Mirror, Healing Potion, Short Sword*, Long Sword*, Chain Mail*, Plate Mail*, Reflex*, Small Shield*, Middle Shield*, Large Shield* INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Minea Plains - North) - Golden Vase, Beastiary Potion ENEMIES (Minea Plains - North) - Pikkard, Curloid, Oakrot, Rheboll CHARACTERS (Minea) - Reah*, Prim, Fana, Julius, Archelle, Aurora, Cornell, Johann, Hans, Haystack, Lucca, Boss Bangoa, Orman, Donis, Garreck, Ricardo, Cezar, Miner Doug, Chest, Old Man Franz, Nikki the Dancer, Doctor Klaus, Nurse Lisa, Theodore, Bron, Old Man Mash, Kain, Pim, Charme, Buck, Tabitha, Mayor Marcel, Pamela, Rosetty, Dios, Old Man Betel, Lydia, Freddy, Martha, Old Man Harrison, Charlotte, Ephy, Sara* NOTE - Only one of a sword, body armor, and shield is required. It doesn't matter which ones you get or don't, so I marked them all (the Talwar isn't listed because it isn't available yet). Regarding characters, Doctor Klaus (#43) is potentially missable after a certain point in the story, so if you're aiming for a full "Notes" list, you may wish to head to the clinic in the far northeast corner of town right away to ensure you get his entry (for a more detailed analysis of his AI, please refer to the "Characters" portion of the guide). As for Reah and Old Man Franz, they are unimportant at this time, but they will be later (see the Abandoned Mine section for details). And as mentioned above, Julius is the one that appears outside Minea to scold you if you continue further on the plains without first entering town (even if you miss that cutscene, you can then find him wandering outdoors inside town). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inside Minea, talk to the townsfolk, if you wish. The little girl just south of the entrance comments that a fortuneteller is looking for a swordsman. Hmm, what could that be about? Visiting her is all you really need to do at this point, so skip a couple paragraphs if you just want to move on. Also of interest is Reah, a poet, in the northeast corner of town, who says her Silver Harmonica has been stolen. You won't be able to do anything about this for a while, but keep it in mind for later. Another area of interest is the clinic, located in the northeast corner of town. If you'd like, you can get fully healed for 50 gold, or buy a Heal Potion to use later for only 300 gold (1,000 gold if you happen to be playing the Eternal version). While both of these options are nice, you can get healed relatively quickly for free by standing still outdoors, and Heal Potions can be found inside the dungeons, albeit rarely. The bar (the big building marked by a foaming mug sign, right next to the clinic) is also a good source of information, though most of it you can also hear from other townsfolk. In particular, be sure to talk to the bartender and the two guys near him. The bartender is initially suspicious of you (it seems there's been some robberies lately), so talk to him first, or else the other two patrons won't be particularly helpful. The muscular man tells you about Roda Trees, and how their seeds are supposed to be really tasty. Seems like an odd bit of info, but it'll prove useful later. The one-eyed man tells you that he recently lost a ring somewhere close by, and would like you to keep an eye out for it. Of course, you don't have to if you don't want to, but it gets you a little extra gold, so let's get searching. A little bit to the west is a blonde fellow who will mention he saw Pim pick a ring up off the ground, and now he's apparently trying to sell it as his own. Pim's shop is the one in the northwest corner of town, so let's go check it out. Hmm, it seems as though he really is selling a Sapphire Ring, as well as a couple of other items. He also sells a Wing - an item that will teleport you back to Minea - and a Mirror - an item that temporarily stuns non-boss enemies (or you can use it around the various townsfolk to tease them - doing so gets you the "Some Kind of Sorcerer" achievement). You can also sell items (mostly jewelry), but you don't have anything he wants just yet. While the Wing and Mirror items are useful (and pretty cheap, unless you're playing the Eternal version), go ahead and purchase the Sapphire Ring for now. While you can't really do anything to avoid purchasing it to complete this sidequest, you can bargain with Pim a little bit. After enough refusals to buy (or later, sell) an item, he will eventually give you a 10% discount, or in the case of items sold to him, he'll give you a 10% bonus. To do this, simply refuse to buy or sell an item 9 times, and he'll give you the 10% for that purchase, as well as any subsequent ones. It should be noted that you have to do the procedure once when you buy, but also once when you sell an item; after that, the 10% offer will be available by default. In this case, instead of purchasing the ring for 1,000 gold, you can buy it for 900. Doing this also gets you the achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach". Anyway, after purchasing the ring, return it to the one-eyed man, and he'll give you 1,500 gold as a reward (if you didn't talk to him earlier, you'll need to talk to him twice). You also receive 150 EXP, which should put you close to level 2 if you've been killing enemies. Next, let's go visit that fortuneteller, and see what she wants; she's in the southwest corner of town, the house with a weird symbol above the doorway. Upon speaking to her, she first tells you to arm yourself with a sword, shield, and body armor. Whatever she wants, it sounds dangerous. The weapon and armor dealers are in the southwest corner of town. If you did the Sapphire Ring sidequest already, you should have enough gold to purchase the 1st set of equipment. However, the first boss is coming up pretty soon, and having at least the second sword - the Long Sword - can help out a lot. The Long Sword costs 2,000 gold, and unlike Pim, you can't get the weapon and armor dealers to lower their prices. If you want some quick cash to purchase the Long Sword, read on; otherwise skip the next paragraph, and purchase the remaining first set of equipment and talk to Sara again. Exit Minea, and head straight upwards to the next screen, killing the enemies if you are able to. On the next screen, cross the bridge, and head straight up again, ignoring the bridge off to your right. You may notice a couple of chests on the right hand side of this screen, but you can't access them from this side. On the next screen, go up a few steps, and then head right at the bridge. Keep going right, and immediately after crossing the next bridge, head down. Head down until you see a small body of water off to the right. At the northeastern edge of this pond, if you look hard enough, there's a faint sparkle (where the "L"-shaped indentation is). Investigate it, and you will discover a Golden Vase, which you can sell to Pim for 2,000 gold (2,200 if you barter). Before heading back to Minea, head directly left to the next screen, and you'll find yourself close to one of those chests you couldn't reach before. This one is already slightly open, so go ahead and grab the Beastiary Potion from within. Drinking it (equip it, then use it) will allow you to learn the stats of the various enemies. Please refer to the "Enemies" section for more info on how that works. There are a few other important spots on the Plains, but there's nothing to do there at this time, including getting that other treasure chest, which is locked. So for now, head back to Minea and sell the Golden Pedestal to Pim, and if you did the Sapphire Ring sidequest, you should have enough to purchase the Long Sword, as well as the Chain Mail and Small Shield. Once you've gotten a sword, shield, and body armor (be sure to equip them), head on over to Sara's. She'll ask you whether or not you've heard of the Books of Ys. It doesn't matter how you answer, but she will then ask you to search for them, to which you must answer yes to continue your quest. She will then give you her Crystal to help aid in this task, and suggests you visit her aunt Jeba in Zepik Village. You also receive 100 EXP, and combined with the Sapphire Ring sidequest, you should now be level 2. Before you head off to Zepik, if you have a little extra gold, I recommend buying a Wing from Pim (200 gold, 180 if you barter), which will let you warp out of dungeons back to Minea. Also, if you're interested in a little extra gameplay quirk in the Shrine (in the Steam version, it helps you obtain a Steam achievement), pick up a Mirror as well (500 gold, 450 if you barter). Alternatively, you may wish to buy a Heal Potion from the Clinic (300 gold), but you can occasionally find one inside dungeons, and I generally prefer to go without one early on. In the event you happen to be playing the Eternal version of the game, the prices of all 3 of these items are significantly higher, so you probably won't be able to afford any of them at this point. For reference, the Wing costs 2,000 gold (1,800 if you barter), the Mirror is 1,000 gold (900 if you barter), and the Heal Potion is 1,000 gold (can't barter for it). In any event, once you have Sara's Crystal, exit Minea and make your way towards Zepik Village. Head straight up two screens, and then go right on the next one. From there, go up and to the right, and you'll be at Zepik. If you get lost, there are signs all over the field, so use those as a guide if you need to. Also, assuming you have the Beastiary Potion, now is a good time to get started on learning the enemies' stats. If you're aiming for a complete monster list, be sure you also learn the EXP and Gold values of the enemies, which are only listed on the "Notes" screen in either Chronicles version (otherwise you will not get the Steam achievement). Anyway, there are 4 types of enemies on the Plains, 3 of which you'll likely encounter normally - Oakrot, Curloid, and Rheboll. The one that might elude you is the Pikkard, which can be found on the screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree (they can also be found in Port Barbado, but there's no way to kill them there). We'll actually be visiting that area in a bit, so don't worry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Zepik Village [ZPKVLG] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Receive the Shrine Key from Jeba - Make your way north to the Shrine on the mountain OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find the wandering minstrel, Luta Gemma - Agree to help the Mayor re-obtain the Silver Bell INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT - Shrine Key* CHARACTERS (Zepik) - Jeba*, Mayor Robels, Linda, Mark, Granny Edda, Iris, Clive, Old Man Lahan, Palma, Old Man Cronen, Demi, Old Man Pablo, Granny Lucia, Elbert, Granny Soya, Granny Tohbe, Old Man Corvo CHARACTERS (Barbado) - Luta Gemma CHARACTERS (Mountain Path) - Goban*, Lugan the Thief, Morgan the Thief ENEMIES (Mountain Path) - Unugun NOTE - About Luta Gemma, while he is actually a resident of Zepik, you'll first encounter him in Port Barbado as part of a sidequest, then again on the northern Minea Plains, and after you rescue him there, you can visit him in Zepik anytime afterwards (but this is only if you complete the sidequest; if you decide not to, you'll still run into him later in the game, so no need to worry about missing him). As for Goban, he is not required until a good deal later in the game. You do, however, need to speak to him first before his two lackeys Lugan and Morgan can appear in the "Notes" list (actually, you can get them to talk to you without speaking to Goban first, if you drag Feena there with you during the escort mission). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first thing you should do is make your way to Jeba's. Her house is the easternmost one right next to the lake (there's a box of vegetables outside her door). Go inside and speak to her, and she'll mention a Shrine on the mountain to the north, and will give you the Shrine Key to help explore it. If for some reason you don't have Sara's Crystal yet, Jeba will not hand the key over, so go grab that first. Afterwards, chat up the rest of the townsfolk, if you'd like. Of particular note is the mayor's house in the middle of town, right next to Jeba's (marked by an axe right outside the door). Go inside and agree to hear out his request (this actually isn't required to complete the sidequest), and he'll tell you that the village's treasure, the Silver Bell, has gone missing. He suspects the thieves on the mountain nearby, and would like for you to negotiate it back from them. Also, there's a woman in white wandering around the outside of the southernmost house. She'll mention that her husband has gone missing, and has a bad habit of sleepwalking lately, so she wants you to keep an eye out for him. You don't have to do either of these tasks if you don't want to, but the second one in particular rewards 500 EXP (unless you're playing the Eternal version, in which case it awards nothing except additional scenes and dialogue), so let's get that out of the way right now, as the first boss is fast approaching, and the EXP is very valuable at this point. If you're not interested, your next destination is the Shrine, which can be found on the mountain via the northern exit of Zepik. You'll need to head all the way back in Port Barbado, and inside the clinic talking to Dr. Bludo is a young man. If he's not showing up, you'll need to talk to the doctor yourself after you've obtained a sword, which will prompt a small additional exchange. You'll then need to exit and re-enter town, and head back to the clinic. This step may seem useless, but I suspect it's just a precautionary measure to make sure you can complete this sidequest, as you'll soon see. Anyway, after he leaves, talk to the doctor and nurse (if you want, it's not required), and you'll learn that was Luta from Zepik, and someone found him wandering about in the fields for some reason. Hmm, he's awfully far from home, plus he refused the militia's further assistance, so you'd better try and catch up with him, just to be sure. If you'd like, you can return to Zepik at this point and talk with Luta's wife again to learn that he still hasn't made it back home, but it's not required. Seems he got lost again... You'll find him on the Plains screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree, the one with the Pikkards. Starting from Minea, head straight up one screen, and on the next screen go up until you reach the signpost, at which point head northwest slightly. This next screen is the only one where you'll find Pikkards to kill, so keep that in mind if you're aiming for a full beastiary. More importantly, it is here where you'll now find Luta running around somewhere (you should hear him being attacked), usually in the far northeastern corner near the transition point to the Roda Tree screen. You'll find him being attacked by a Curloid, so go ahead and dispatch it (if you're still at level 1, you absolutely need a weapon equipped to kill it). He'll express his gratitude, and you'll automatically end up back in Zepik, where his wife will thank you as well. You'll also receive 500 EXP (again, there is no reward in the Eternal version, dialogue aside), which should propel you to level 4, unless you haven't been killing much of anything. If you want, you can now speak to Luta inside his home for an interesting tidbit about what compels him to sleepwalk. Afterwards, exit Zepik to the north to reach the mountain. Head up a little ways, and you should see the Shrine. Off to the right is where the Thieves' Den is, as well as Darm Tower. The mayor did say to try and get the Silver Bell back from the thieves, so let's go and pay them a visit (it's actually not necessary, so skip to the next section if you'd like). The two lackeys aren't conversational when you first arrive, so go ahead and speak to the boss. He claims that even they have been victims of stolen silver lately, and insists that they are not responsible for stealing Zepik's Silver Bell, or the other silver, for that matter. Feel free to check the treasure chests if you're skeptical - they're both empty. Hmm, if not them, then who's responsible? After talking to their leader Goban, go ahead and speak to the two lackeys, if you'd like (they won't show up in the "Notes" list if you try and talk to them first). You can also wander into the room beyond, but there's nothing you can do there right now. If you'd like, you can go and relay this encounter to Zepik's mayor, who will mention reports of a man in a black cape. You can try questioning Goban about him, but he'll again insist that they are innocent, and will eventually refuse any further interrogation if you keep persisting (not that it matters). You can also relay this info to the mayor, but either way, there's nothing further you can do about this at the moment. With that, let's finally head inside the Shrine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shrine [MTNSHR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Kill Jenocres, and advance to the lower levels of the Shrine - Free Feena, and escort her to Zepik Village - Speak to Feena after she recovers - Find the Silver Shield - Find the Mask of Eyes, and use it to find a secret passage deep in the Shrine - Kill Nygtilger, and find the Book of Ys OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find the Silver Bell, and return it to Zepik's mayor to receive the Power Ring - Find both the Ruby and Necklace, and sell them to Pim - Find the Shield Ring - Receive a free Talwar from Slaff INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Shrine) - Ruby, Shield Ring, Necklace, Prison Key*, Treasure Box Key*, Silver Bell, Ivory Key*, Marble Key*, Silver Shield*, Heal Potion, Book of Ys (Volume Hadal)* INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Zepik) - Power Ring INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Minea Plains - North) - Piece of Paper INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Barbado) - Talwar CHARACTERS (Zepik) - Feena* ENEMIES (Shrine) - Uhnos, Bulner, Looter, Rescoyd, Lyus, Dinvel, Jenocres*, Nygtilger* NOTE - While Feena is initially encountered inside the Shrine, you don't actually receive her "Notes" entry until you safely escort her to Zepik. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First off, I strongly recommend being at least level 4 before entering the Shrine (unless you're playing the Eternal version, in which case level 3 with the Long Sword will do). If you don't have quite enough EXP, I suggest completing the Sapphire Ring and Luta Gemma sidequests, or if you've already done those (or just don't want to), kill some Unugun out on the mountain. Anyway, once inside, you'll start off in a small room with some statues of a winged woman. Provided you have Sara's Crystal, the rightmost one should be a golden color (if you don't have the Crystal, you'll need to grab it to proceed any further). Go ahead and touch it, and you'll warp to another area of the shrine. There are a couple of chests on this level, but you can only open the one in the top right corner at the moment. It contains a Ruby, which you can sell to Pim for 1,200 gold (1,320 if you barter). If you have enough gold, consider returning to Minea now to sell it, so that you can pick up a 2nd level armor or shield (or the Long Sword, if you didn't get it before). If you choose to buy armor, I recommend getting the Plate Mail, as you'll be coming across a pretty powerful shield fairly soon (unless you decide you want to do the Mine as soon as possible, in which case I recommend getting the Middle Shield, as the Mine contains a pretty powerful body armor). However, do note that any armor you buy (even if it's a 3rd level piece) will not be of any use for the first boss coming up, though it will be helpful for the remainder of the dungeon. At any rate, make your way to the northwest corner of the level (you'll need to loop around the bottom of the screen to get there). That locked door leads to the boss, so use the Shrine Key you should've received from Jeba, and prepare to face the first boss. Do note that boss battles are inescapable once triggered, and you're also not allowed to use any items, consumable or otherwise (Heal Potions included); once you trigger one, it's a fight to the death, so it's strongly recommended that you be at full health beforehand (for this dungeon, you can actually stand still and heal on this topmost floor, if needed), as well as doing a precautionary save in case you're not prepared (which you should be doing fairly often anyway). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JENOCRES - Fenys Tovah's Redemption of Power HP - 100 STR - 90 DEF - 76 EXP - 500 GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 4/5 (3/4 if you're playing the Eternal version) STRATEGY - For a first boss, this guy is quite a doozy. He constantly appears and disappears in the midst of the flames, and naturally, he's only vulnerable when he appears. Unless you're playing the Eternal version, you need to be mindful of your positioning when attacking him, so you don't accidentally bounce into the flames (Eternal doesn't give you knockback upon attacking the bosses). On the bright side, unlike normal enemies, you don't need to worry about attacking the bosses off-center. Anyway, where he pops up is relative to your position, at least until a second or so before he actually appears; generally speaking, he'll try and appear a good deal away from you (though it is possible for him to land on top of or right next to you). To this end, you may find it better to dance around the middle of the flames in order to have a better shot at damaging him. However, avoiding them can be quite the tricky task, even moreso once the battle is halfway through, in which case the time you have to weave between them is even smaller. So, unless you're particularly skilled at evading them, you should wait at the top or bottom of the screen for an opening. The top tends to work better, as the flame columns activate from top to bottom, meaning you have more chances to move between the flames unharmed and score a hit (though you may find it harder to get to the top unscathed, in which case the bottom will have to do). Once you defeat him, you'll receive 500 EXP for your efforts. Unless you're feeling exceptionally bold, you'll need to be level 4 with the Long Sword to do any extra damage (level 3 if you're playing Eternal), otherwise you'll need to be level 5 with the Short Sword (level 4 if you're playing Eternal). Since level 5 takes a while to reach (or even 4, if you're playing Eternal), that's the reason I recommended buying the Long Sword. You can always grind out an extra level if you still find him too difficult - it makes him a ton easier, but naturally, grinding takes a while. NOTE - As mentioned above, in the Eternal version of the game, you can actually reasonably deal with Jenocres one level sooner than in Complete/Chronicles, likely because most of the enemies in Eternal up to this point give less EXP compared to Complete/Chronicles. Also, the 500 EXP reward for rescuing Luta Gemma on the Plains was not yet implemented, so Jenocres likely had lower stats to prevent too much grinding (Adol's stat increments appear unchanged upon leveling up, so that isn't the issue). Boss stats were not revealed until Chronicles, however, so I've no idea what they might be in the Eternal version. Besides, no matter what your defense value is for this battle, you will always take the same amount of damage (how much depends on the difficulty - armor and shields equipped make absolutely no difference here, even if you somehow managed to buy the Large Shield and Reflex this early), so I suspect his strength, at least, is a dummy value. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, the wall to the north will explode, revealing a staircase, so let's see where it leads. Do note that you'll no longer be able to stand still to heal on this floor and below, so be sure to keep a close eye on your HP. Anyway, on this floor, there's a couple of prison cells in the northeast corner, and a locked chest in the southeast corner, but there's nothing you can do about either of these just yet, so head down to the next level, which is in the southwest corner. On this level, you'll want to head immediately down, then right until you see a doorway with two silver statues on either side. Head inside that room, and open the chest to find the Prison Key, but beware the Looters that appear once you grab it. Now, before heading back to the cells on the previous floor, there are a couple other chests you may wish to grab first. From the two silver statues, head right a little and you'll see a doorway with just one statue nearby. Inside, head straight up, and to the right, you'll notice that the path splits 4 different ways. Take the one third one from the left, and at its end, you'll notice a chest that's open slightly (again, beware the Looter). Inside is the Treasure Box Key, and all of those locked chests you may have seen before can now be open. For now, exit this corridor, and take the path directly to your left. You should notice another chest in the southern area of this one, so assuming you have the Treasure Box Key (if you don't, you'll need to grab it first), go ahead and open it to find the Silver Bell. Strange, why is it down here? Perhaps Goban really wasn't to blame for its disappearance. Now, you can continue to explore even further into the Shrine if you wish, however you'll get stuck a little ways in without inspecting the prison cells, so go ahead and return to the previous floor. As mentioned earlier, the prison cells are in the northeast corner of this level. Also, provided you have the Treasure Box Key, the chest in the southeast corner can now be opened, containing a Necklace you can sell to Pim for 500 gold (550 if you barter). Back to the prison cells, the one on the left just contains a Looter, so avoid it if you want. The one on the right is holding a young woman hostage, so unlock the door and speak to her. After some dialogue, you will be presented with the option to free her now, or you can come back later. You need to free her at some point, so you may as well do it now. Doing it now also gets you 500 EXP, something you will not receive if you choose to put it off until after you've collected the Book of Ys in here (even if you initially refuse, you'll get the reward so long as you help her before that point). Be sure to open the chest for the Mask of Eyes, an item that lets you see hidden doorways (in the event you choose to come back later, Feena automatically gives it to you, meaning the chest will be empty). Be careful when you equip this item, because while hidden paths will become visible, enemies won't be, which is obviously very dangerous. Before we get Feena to safety (be sure to save your game first, because if she dies, it's game over for you), you may be interested in a couple easter eggs, some of which give achievements for the Steam version (and if you're not, just skip this paragraph and the next one). First, you can actually level Feena up, provided you bought a Mirror back in Minea (if you didn't, it's too late to go back and get one). First, you'll want to severely weaken an enemy, but not kill it (you may need to un-equip your weapon). Any enemy will do, but I recommend an Uhnos outside the cells, or the Looter in the left cell. While not 100% required for this, Feena is rather weak, so it may take a while otherwise. Next, you'll need to use a Mirror to freeze ("fascinate") the enemy, and then move in such a way so that Feena walks right into it, hopefully killing it off (it may help to push Feena into the enemy). If you don't use a Mirror, Feena will be the one taking damage, and you obviously don't want that. You only need to do this once for the Steam achievement "Forever Level One To Me", however, you can kill three additional enemies for another level (though she'll always be listed as "Level 1", hence the achievement name), but no more than that. If you didn't use a Mirror around any other characters prior to this, then you should also receive the "Some Kind of Sorcerer" achievement. And in case you're wondering whether or not it's possible to use the Mirror to help Luta kill enemies when you find him in the Plains, the answer is no. Next up, in the northwest corner of this level (below the stairs leading back up), there's a really narrow corridor you can enter. Seems useless, right? Well, when you're escorting Feena, you can actually push her in there, and once she's tucked in nice and tight, you'll get some small dialogue, and then her measurements will be listed amongst her other stats (no, I'm not listing them, you pervert). Now, there's two variations to this, however, only one can be seen per playthrough, so you'll likely either need to save before doing this if you want both achievements in one playthrough, or you'll have to do it "right" the first time. The first method is just as mentioned above, nothing special, just push her to the back. The second one is to first equip the Mask of Eyes, and then push her in - this is the one that also gets you the "I Can't See You, But I Can Feel You" achievement, otherwise you just get the "Hey Baby, What's Your Width?" one. Alright, that's all the notable extra stuff there is to do with poor Feena (for the moment), so let's get her out of here. Obviously, you don't want to keep her here in the Shrine (you can attempt to take her lower, but the game won't let you), so head back to the floor where you fought the first boss. Be sure to keep her close to you, otherwise she will no longer follow you, wondering where you went. If that happens, head back to her, and she should follow you again automatically when you're close enough (if not, you may need to give her a quick tap). You also need to keep the enemies away from her, as there's no way for her to defend herself (unless you use a Mirror, but as noted above, she is pretty weak). As you're making your way back to the golden warp statue where you first entered the main part of the Shrine (northern part of the map, in case you forgot), you can now pick up the Shield Ring just to the left of it (assuming you got the Treasure Box Key). As the description says, the Shield Ring reduces all damage you take by half. Do note that this and other rings you may come across will not function during boss battles. In addition, it will never make it so damage is completely nullified, even if you're just taking 1 without it equipped. In any event, take the warp statue (preferably with Feena in tow =p), and exit the Shrine. You'll want to take her to Zepik, however, you can drag her to the Thieves' Den for some amusing dialogue (though it's in no way required). Also, you can attempt to take her to the room inside the hideout, the one with the mysterious door. Curiously, Feena is absolutely terrified to head into that room with you. What in the world is that about? If you'd like, you can also show Goban that you found the Silver Bell (it's not required), but only if Feena's not with you (and assuming you accepted the mayor's request, otherwise he won't comment on it); the same thing can be done with the Mask of Eyes. Anyway, once you're ready, head back to Zepik. Make sure Feena is close behind so you can actually enter (in Eternal, it is possible to enter without her following, but there's little point in that), so if you got her lost somewhere along the way, go back and get her. Shortly upon entering, Feena will collapse, and you'll automatically take her to Jeba's house to recover. Best to let her sleep for now. If you found the Silver Bell already, you can go ahead and take it to the mayor (this is completely optional, though), and he'll give you the Power Ring as a token of his thanks; he'll also give you free healing at any time, should you need it. Regarding the Power Ring, the description says it completely doubles the wearer's strength, but this is actually inaccurate. It doubles your damage when equipped, *not* your strength; if you didn't have the strength before to penetrate an enemy's defenses, equipping this still won't do you any good. And as with the Shield Ring, it makes no difference whether or not it's equipped during a boss battle. Anyway, at this point, you can go back and finish up the Shrine (or you can even get started on the Abandoned Mine if you have the Treasure Box Key, but that is not recommended), however, I suggest heading all the way back to Port Barbado first for a new weapon. Truthfully, so long as you already have the Long Sword, it doesn't really make a big difference, but there is a small story scene, plus an achievement for the Steam version, if you're interested. On your way there, you can stop and pick up that other chest on the Minea Plains (if you have the Treasure Box Key, that is), though there's nothing you can do with its contents at present (and aside from a Steam achievement, it's not required at all, so skip it altogether, if you want). To get there, head left and then down from Zepik (near where you found the Golden Pedestal). From there, continue southeast past the pond. On the next screen head left, and past the giant Roda Tree (there's nothing you can do with it at the moment), you should notice a small path leading upwards. Follow it, and you'll come to a small enclosed area with the chest, which contains a Piece of Paper written in an archaic language. Again, there's nothing you can do with it right now, so continue to Port Barbado. Head down to the militia building, and speak with Slaff. So long as Feena is safe and sound at this point, he will lead you to a small warehouse, where he will give you a new weapon for free, the Talwar. Ordinarily, this weapon isn't available in Minea until after you find the Book of Ys in the Shrine, and even then it costs 5,000 gold, and is outclassed shortly after, so this is quite the bargain (there is yet another place to obtain it for free, but it's a bit further in the game - more on that later). Getting it this way is also the only way to get the Steam achievement "Seriously Sworded Details", so that's even more of an incentive to do it now (as an aside, receiving the Short Sword from Slaff is *not* a prerequisite for obtaining it this way). If you'd like, you can swing by Minea's weapon shop and show it off, but it's in no way required. Again, at this point, you have two different paths you can take: you can go back and finish up the Shrine, or you can go and tackle the Abandoned Mine one screen left of Zepik, provided you have the Treasure Box Key (all of the Mine's chests are locked). The Mine is very dangerous at this point, and besides, chances are you won't be able to kill the normal enemies there just yet (even with the Talwar). I strongly recommend heading back to the Shrine, but if you're feeling gutsy and want to tackle the Mine now, skip to the next section. Before heading back, you may wish to stop in at Minea's armor dealer, and pick up some better armor if you haven't already (I recommend the Plate Mail or Reflex, as we'll shortly come across a really good shield). Additionally, assuming you already saved Feena, you can swing by Sara's for some extra dialogue, but it's by no means required. Anyway, on your way back to the Shrine, be sure and pay Jeba's house a visit, and you'll find that Feena is now awake (all it really requires is a simple exit and re-entry into the village upon initially dropping her off). After the initial dialogue, be sure you manually talk to Feena, as this is part of an extremely important process to advance to a later part of the game, so you may as well do it now. You can also manually speak with Jeba, but aside from the initial conversation upon finding Feena awake, it's not required. There's nothing else to do at the moment, so head back inside the Shrine. Back on the second basement level (where you found the Prison Key), head down, and then enter the doorway with only one statue. At this point, you absolutely need the Treasure Box Key to proceed further, so pick that up if you haven't already (again, it's in the third path from the left). Otherwise, take the path all the way to the right, and it'll lead to more stairs leading down in the southeast corner. On this next floor, in the far northwestern corner, you'll find a chest containing the Ivory Key. You'll need it to help reach the next boss, so be sure to grab it. You may also notice another chest in the far southeast corner of this floor, but there's no way to grab it at the moment. Anyway, from the Ivory Key chest, head southeast a little until you see a small corridor heading down, so pass through that, then head southwest until you see a gold statue at the bottom of the screen (beware of the enemies clogging up these narrow corridors - trying to attack them in such a state will very likely end badly, so lure them out if you must). While you need to take this path eventually, for now, walk right a short ways right until you see another path heading upwards, and follow it to find another golden statue. Like the ones at the beginning of the Shrine, these statues will also warp you to different parts of the Shrine. This particular one will take you to a small isolated area containing a couple enemies, as well as a chest in the northern part containing the Silver Shield. It is very important that you grab this, or else you will not be able to advance later on in the game. Wait, a silver shield? Why would a piece of stolen silver be down here? At any rate, it is more powerful than anything even in Minea's armory, so be sure to equip it. Afterwards, head to the golden statue in the northwest of this area, as you may have noticed you are unable to use the statue that warped you in here. Now you can head back to the left, and to that other warp statue we passed before. It will take you to another small isolated area with some enemies and a chest in the northwest. The chest contains a Heal Potion, so grab it if you need to. Now, it seems like there's nothing else to do in this area, but see that lone silver statue on the southern part of the screen? If you look close enough, to the right of it you can see a faint outline of a doorway on the wall. You need to equip the Mask of Eyes to actually reveal it and pass through, however, so if you haven't spoken with Feena in the prison cell yet, you must do so now. Be very careful when equipping the Mask of Eyes, as one of the Dinvel will very likely be lurking nearby, perhaps as soon as you enter the passage (if that happens, you may need to warp back out of the room and try again, as it can be rather difficult luring it away), and they can hit pretty hard. Once through, immediately un-equip the Mask of Eyes (well, if you want =p), and you'll notice another warp statue to the north. Again, ignore this one for the time being, and follow the path to the right, and you'll eventually come to another warp statue. Take this one, and a little ways up you'll find that chest you couldn't reach before when first entering B3, which contains the Marble Key (again, be very careful of those Dinvel - in the event you need to move around one, and it seems stuck at the end of the corridor when you're trying to exit, chances are that you actually can safely hit it out of the way, even if it doesn't seem like it). Now that you have both the Ivory and Marble Keys, you can finally reach the boss, so take the warp statue out of here (be wary of the Lyus to the south after you warp - either kill it, or if you're not able to, swipe it diagonally to the side and quickly pass it), and then head left back to that other warp statue we ignored before, the one shortly after going through that hidden passage. Seems we've gone pretty far down, as this next level is flooded a little, but it's not a hindrance. Head to the left, and then up to a door. This one requires the Marble Key, and the one right after that requires the Ivory Key, so be sure you have both in your possession. Be sure to save your game, use a Heal Potion if you need to (though honestly, you can probably get away without it), and once you're ready, inspect the strange sculpture on the wall, which is actually the next boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NYGTILGER - Sems Hadal's Redemption of Earth HP - 200 STR - 175 DEF - 149 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 6/7 STRATEGY - Unlike the previous boss, this one is pretty simple. It will chase you around the room in a pretty wide circle, so it may be difficult to hit him at times. You just need to avoid hitting his head; hitting him anywhere else is fine, though you should aim as far away from his head as you can manage. Always keep moving - preferably in a small circular motion - and he'll basically run circles around you (this is even more important in Eternal, as he's likely to overlap himself slightly; plus, he changes directions every now and then, in which case you should do the same). In the event he does catch you, he'll likely multi-hit you, perhaps even outright kill you if you're not careful. I actually like to try and aim pretty close to his head, as the resulting knockback (if you're playing the Eternal version, there is no knockback when damaging the bosses) usually puts you in a position to quickly hit him again. Naturally, this is a bit riskier, but it's still an easy battle. Killing him nets you 5,000 EXP this time around, which will probably level you up (or get you pretty close, at least). You need to be level 7 before doing any extra damage with either the Long Sword or Talwar equipped; in the event you grabbed the Silver Sword a bit early, you can actually do extra damage at level 6 (though if you did do that, you're probably at least a level or 2 higher). To be honest, I actually prefer doing this boss under-leveled, even though he takes a good number of hits that way (as much as 100 on Hard/Nightmare), and you die within a few hits, but it at least presents some semblance of challenge. He's even more fun under-leveled in the Eternal version, since there's no boss knockback, though you really have to be on your guard at all times to survive that. And it was mentioned earlier, but I must stress again that rings are ineffective during boss battles, so even if you have the Shield or Power Ring equipped for this fight, they will make no difference in how much damage you take or dish out. NOTE - A common problem with this boss is that some people say he moves inhumanly fast, making the battle impossible. While I personally have never experienced this problem, it supposedly stems from a problem with V-Sync (vertical synchronization), so make sure you have that turned on in your graphics card settings if this boss seems to be moving way too fast. On an unrelated note, the Eternal version lists Nygtilger as "Gulba Dabbie's Redemption of Light", and the title seen above was listed as Vagullion's. This is likely a mistake, as Complete switched those two titles around, and as it came later, it's the one I chose to go with. It also helps that Nygtilger is guarding the Volume Hadal Book of Ys, and Vagullion protects Volume Dabbie (though in Vagullion's case, I think either the Light or Earth "Redemption" title would've worked). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, you should notice that the wall to the north looks a bit weak. Inspect it, and you will find a small room containing a chest. Open it to find your first Book of Ys, Volume Hadal. Trying to read it is useless, as it's written in a language Adol can't understand, so we better head back to Sara and see if she can decipher it. Before leaving, you must go back and escort Feena to Zepik if you haven't already (it's no longer an option, meaning you'll no longer get 500 EXP for doing so), as the game won't let you leave her behind. Upon dropping her off, be sure to then exit and re-enter the village to see her awake, and then speak to her manually after the initial dialogue. If you have already rescued her, feel free to leave the Shrine, and make your way back to Minea (I recommend using a Wing, provided you bought one from Pim earlier; otherwise, it'll be a long trek back). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Abandoned Mine [ABNDMN] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Visit Sara's, and receive a Book of Ys from her friend Franz - Report Sara's murder to Jeba, and ask her to read the Books of Ys - Speak to Feena near the lake - Find and return the Silver Harmonica to Reah - Speak to the awakened southeastern Roda Tree, and receive the Silver Sword - Find the Silver Armor - Kill Vagullion, and find a Book of Ys within the Abandoned Mine - Speak to Feena back inside Jeba's house - Ask Jeba to read all 3 current Books of Ys, and speak to her again afterwards - Speak to Goban in the Thieves' Den, and enter Darm Tower OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find both the Timer Ring and Heal Ring - Speak to the Roda Trees before returning the Silver Harmonica to Reah - Find the Piece of Paper, and give it to Reah INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Minea) - Book of Ys (Volume Tovah)*, Talwar INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Minea Plains - North) - Silver Sword* INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Abandoned Mine) - Silver Armor*, Heal Potion x 2, Heal Ring, Timer Ring, Roda Tree Seed*, Silver Harmonica*, Darm Key*, Book of Ys (Volume Dabbie)* ENEMIES (Abandoned Mine) - Nubbrow, Gryel, Othcross, Dynick, Menon, Karon, Chelasken, Lemendy, Brayzal, Vagullion* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that we've finally found a Book of Ys, let's go and pay Sara a visit (if you'd like, you can show the Book of Ys to Jeba before stopping by Sara's, but it's not required). Technically, you can put this paragraph and the next one off for now and head straight for the Abandoned Mine, but it does need to be done at some point, and doing it later could cause some confusion, so best to get it over with now. Anyway, upon entering her house, you'll notice that Sara isn't there, but her good friend Franz is. Speaking to him reveals that Sara's been murdered. Wow, that's quite a setback for us, however, we do get the Book of Ys, Volume Tovah, that she was guarding (seems she wanted to see if Adol really was the one she was looking for before entrusting it to him), as well as a cryptic clue to head to the abandoned mine of Rastin. If you haven't already received the Talwar from Slaff in Port Barbado, you can go and do that now, or you can now purchase it here in Minea. To buy it from Minea, you must first try to buy it at some point (doesn't matter when), and after you've obtained the Book of Ys from the Shrine, speak to the weapon shop owner, who will now have them in stock for 5,000 gold (and if for some strange reason you want to see it offered here, but already have one, I think you need to talk to him without the Talwar equipped). I strongly recommend against buying it, however, and instead you should get it either from Slaff in Port Barbado, or you can even find it elsewhere for free later on in the game (you can't find it later in the Eternal version, though). Honestly, so long as you at least have the Long Sword and are level 5 or higher (if you completed the Shrine, you should be level 7, or at least very close to it), you can go without it, as you'll get an even stronger weapon a short while later. Aside from a couple bits of interesting dialogue (the little boy near Sara's, and the armor dealer plus a clinic patient if you found the Silver Shield - though in the armor dealer's case, you need to actually have it equipped), there's nothing else to do in Minea at the moment (if you haven't already found Dr. Klaus, now would be a very good time to do so, as you're unlikely to encounter him later), though I do recommend buying a Wing before leaving (maybe also a Mirror, as it might prove helpful in this next dungeon). Before heading to the Abandoned Mine, we should report the news of Sara's death to Jeba, as well as see how Feena's doing (you don't have to do this right now, but it will likely cause confusion if you decide to do this later). So, head to Zepik and speak with Jeba inside her house. After the initial dialogue, speak to her again (you'll get some extra dialogue when you talk to her again, but only if you haven't seen Feena by the lake yet), and ask her to read the two Books of Ys currently in your possession (you don't actually need her to read them just yet, but you *do* need to at least ask her to). Be sure to also speak with Feena out on the lake's pier. It is important to note that if you failed to check up on Feena prior to this point, you'll need to do that first (remember to manually speak to her after you find her awake), and then you'll need to exit and re-enter town before doing the above steps. Also, if you talk to the other villagers at this point, one of the old ladies in the northeast part of town will mention that there is an odd whisper coming from the Minea Plains (if you've advanced the events with Feena and Jeba far enough, upon re-entering the village, Jeba will also make a similar comment - neither of these clues are required, though). What could that be about? That's all there is to do here at the moment, though if you'd like, speaking to Goban at this point will yield some interesting dialogue (it's not required). Seems as though Sara is his cousin, and he suspects that the man in the black cape you've been hearing about (well, if you've paid attention =p) is to blame for her death. At any rate, as Sara cryptically mentioned, your next destination is the Abandoned Mine of Rastin. If you don't know where that is, then from Zepik, head one screen left, and you'll find it on the upper part of the screen (curiously, the Eternal version actually has some additional land-blocks on this screen, so you need to access it from either the upper right or upper left, whereas Complete/Chronicles also lets you enter directly from below). Be sure you're at *least* level 5 with the Long Sword or Talwar before entering (level 6 if you still have just the Short Sword), otherwise you won't be able to damage even the weakest of enemies inside (though honestly, unless you're doing this dungeon early, it won't be an issue). In the event you are doing this place early, you'll need the Treasure Box Key from the Shrine to get anything accomplished, so be sure you have that in your possession. You'll want to kill everything in your path here, as the boss of this dungeon requires max level (level 10 - 51,200 EXP) - in order to do any extra damage (and that's only with the right equipment), and unfortunately, it can take a while to accumulate that much EXP. From the entrance, head left until you see a box, and then down until the path splits, where you'll want to head right. There'll be another path split, so take the right one again, and follow it up as far as you can, and in the top right corner, you'll find a chest containing the Silver Armor (be careful of the Nubbrow nearby), which you'll probably want to equip (as with the Silver Shield, you can show this to Minea's armor dealer, provided you have it equipped; Pim will also comment on it). It is extremely important that you grab this, as it is necessary to access the game's main dungeon (which is not too far off). If you want, there are a couple of other chests on this level. Probably the easiest way to get them is, from the entrance, head as far left as you can (you should see piles of rubble), and then follow the path down and around until you come across a chest containing a Heal Potion, if you need it. From there, head southeast as far as you can, and you should see another chest, this one containing the Timer Ring. Equipping this will reduce the enemies' speed by half, so depending on your difficulty level, that can be a very helpful thing indeed (but as with all equipment rings, it won't work during boss battles). That's all there is here, so let's head to the next level. From where you found the Silver Armor, make your way southeast as far as you can (you should pass through a makeshift doorway), and then follow the path left to a bridge. If you need to, you can use the bridge area to heal for free, just as if you were outdoors. Anyway, cross the bridge, and on the next screen follow the path left, and to the north will be stairs leading down to the next level (be careful of the Othcross lurking around). On the second level, head right slightly, and then go down. Ignore the first fork to the left, but take the second path as far as you can, then head down to find a chest containing the Roda Tree Seed (be very careful of the enemies in this corridor - particularly the Menons (eyeball rock things) - as they can easily kill you if you're not careful). Hmm, didn't someone in Minea talk about wanting to sample this? Anyway, if you need healing, there's another bridge area down and to the right you can use. From the Roda Tree Seed chest, head back up and to the right, and back where the path splits, go down and head left into the second passage to find another chest, this one containing a Silver Harmonica (again, beware the Menon nearby). Hmm, these stolen silver items are turning up in the weirdest of places... If Goban and his crew really were behind all of these silver thefts, then they'd probably at least keep them stashed together, and not in places infested with demons. Well, that's all we need to do here for now, but if you'd like, there's one more item to pick up on this level, near the top right corner. From the Silver Harmonica chest, head right all the way, and then up until you see a stationary Menon. Go ahead and push it out of the way (since it's stationary, you won't take immediate head-on damage), but then either wait for it to move, or re-align yourself quickly to avoid taking damage shortly afterwards. Inside the room it was guarding, you'll find a chest containing the Heal Ring. Not only does equipping this let you heal in places you can't normally, the places you can heal under normal circumstances, you will recover HP at an even faster rate (as with the other equipment rings, this will not work during a boss fight). Now, you can continue deeper into the Mine if you wish, however, you will very likely be unable to kill the boss with your current equipment - even if you're max level with the Talwar (it *is* doable, but it takes a lot of skill and patience - if you're playing on anything other than Easy, just forget about it, and even then, I highly recommend against it). So, for now, let's head back to Minea (if you have a Wing feel free to use it, otherwise you'll need to walk). It's not necessary, but you can show the Roda Tree Seed to the muscular man in the bar, but he'll let you keep it. So, what to do with it then? If you visit Jeba (again, this isn't necessary), she'll tell you that people once conversed with the Roda Trees by eating their seeds (she'll only mention this if you've done the previous events with her and Feena), so go ahead and do so by first equipping it, then using it (in the Eternal version, eating it actually isn't necessary, though you *do* need to have found it). If you want, you can visit the Roda Trees before returning the Silver Harmonica to Reah for some additional scenes (provided you ate the Roda Tree Seed), but to continue, you're going to need them awake. To do that, return the Silver Harmonica to Reah, who will now be on Minea's ramparts (the area can be accessed via the entrance in the northeast part of town). You'll receive 3,000 EXP for doing so, then she'll play a little tune for you, and you'll see a brief scene showing a giant tree (which, if you've been exploring the Plains, you should recognize as one of the Roda Trees). Once you've returned her harmonica, you can also give her the Piece of Paper you may have found on the Minea Plains, though this is not required. To give it to her, simply equip and use it when standing next to her, and when you leave, you'll see her play the harmonica again, and you'll be treated to a short scene (which also gets you the Steam achievement "Poetry In Motion". Before leaving Minea, you may wish to grab another Wing if you used one previously. When you're ready, make your way to the Roda Trees and see what that vision was all about. There's one on the screen left of the Mine (in the upper left corner), and also one two screens south of Zepik (again, in the upper left corner). You only need to visit the southeastern one, but feel free to visit the other one for some additional dialogue, if you want. The southeastern one will grant you the Silver Sword (provided you returned the Silver Harmonica, as well as ate the Roda Tree Seed), which you may remember as being regarded as an Esterian fairy tale to defeat the monsters. Well, that's no fairy tale, so be certain you equip it (if you'd like, you can show it to Minea's weapon dealer, but you need it equipped first). Also, if you still haven't found the Piece of Paper, just follow the small path just northwest of this tree, and you'll find it in a locked chest (though as noted above, returning it to Reah is completely optional). Anyway, once you have the Silver Sword, you can tackle the rest of the Mine. Back on the second level, from the entrance, head left and then straight down as far as you can. A short ways to the right along the upper wall you'll find stairs leading down to the final floor of this dungeon. Follow the path until you reach a fork on the right side of the screen - there's nothing but a couple of enemies leading up, so head left. Keep to the upper wall, and you should eventually come across a passage with a Brayzal (armored monster) guarding it. You can safely bump into it first, but after that, either wait for it to move, or quickly re-align yourself to avoid taking damage (and these guys hit hard, so watch out). Inside the room it was guarding, head right (be careful, as there's another Brayzal moving around in here), and open the chest to find the Darm Key. You need this to access the boss of this dungeon, so be sure to grab it. Exit the passage, and continue to the far left side of the screen. When the path splits, the left one has a chest with another Heal Potion, if you need it. Otherwise, follow the path to the right, and after a few twists and turns (beware those enemies, especially the Brayzal in the bottom left corner), you'll eventually come across a large door with a strange symbol, which you'll need the Darm Key for. Now, before entering, make sure you're at max level (level 10 - 51,200 EXP). If you've been diligent in learning the enemies' stats down here, you should be pretty close, if not already there. If you're not, kill some enemies - instead of the Brayzal near the door, I actually recommend killing the Lemendy a little bit earlier along the path (the last two you encounter). In addition to being easier to kill (you'll need to be at least level 7 with the Silver Sword, whereas the Brayzal require at least level 8), if you're positioned properly, you can head straight up and down, killing them with little trouble (though you may have to chase them down in order for them to respawn at the proper points) - all this for only 30 EXP less per kill than the Brayzal. Once that's out of the way, unlock the door and head inside. Now, before trying to open the chest in this room, heal up (use a Heal Potion, or equip the Heal Ring), equip your Silver equipment (*especially* the Silver Sword), and be sure to save your game. When you're ready, go ahead and try to open it, and you'll be greeted by one of the most difficult bosses of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VAGULLION - Gulba Dabbie's Redemption of Light HP - 255 STR - 230 DEF - 224 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 RECOMMENED LEVEL - 10 STRATEGY - This guy tends to give newcomers a lot of trouble, which is one of the main reasons I suggest your first playthrough of the game be on Normal, not Hard or Nightmare. Anyway, he will appear briefly, and then disperse into a multitude of bats, making it hard to damage him (if you're playing the Complete version, you can score a free hit as soon as he appears, but this is not the case for the Eternal or Chronicles versions). When he disperses, you'll want to try and lure him to one of the four corners of the room. Doing this will make it more likely that he'll reform there as opposed to the center of the room, where he is significantly harder to dodge. The other reason you want to be in one of the corners instead of the center is because you have a better chance of actually getting away from him unharmed (though if you can't make it, you'll just have to push through the bats as fast as possible, as they can and probably will multi-hit you, which can easily wipe you out if you're not careful). Getting him to actually appear (indicated by a red swirl) is quite the tricky task, and I honestly know of no foolproof way to do so. However, one of the more effective ways I've found is to start above or below him (provided it's reasonable to do so, of course), and *then* make your way to the corner farthest away from you. This will often get the bats to clump together and speed towards you, which is the first chance he has of appearing. Unfortunately, this method sometimes causes him to appear near the center of the room, which is exactly where you *don't* want him to reform. If you are able to do so, it might be more effective to keep to one side of the room, and move from the top corner to the bottom one in kind of a rectangular motion to evade him (this can be pretty difficult on Nightmare), as this tends to keep him pretty close to the walls; the downside is, he doesn't seem to clump together as easily this way. Anyway, in the event he fakes you out and doesn't reform, you'll need to repeat the process and try again. The good news is he will not fake appear 3 times in a row, so if he's done it twice already, you'll want to be ready the third time. When he does appear, you need to be pretty quick about damaging him (aim for his feet, not his upper body), although if you're too close, you may find yourself passing right through him anyway. Once you damage him, get out of there quickly, as the bats will disperse again, and you'll need to repeat the process several times to defeat him. For your efforts, you'll receive 5,000 EXP (which is pretty useless now, unless you're crazy enough to try him under-leveled). As noted above, you will definitely want the Silver Sword equipped for this fight, and you'll also want to be level 10. You'll probably also want to equip the Silver Shield and Silver Armor, but they're not technically required for this fight (however, they are required a short while later, so there's no good reason not to have them). While you *can* in fact win with lesser levels/equipment, I highly advise against it, as you'll be in for an even longer and more difficult battle (even on Easy, he takes no less than 64 hits improperly prepared, even if you're level 9 with the Silver Sword equipped). And I've said it before, but your equipment rings will do you no good during boss battles. NOTE - As noted for the Nygtilger fight, the Eternal version lists Vagullion as "Sems Hadal's Redemption of Earth", whereas the title seen above was listed as Nygtilger's. This is likely a mistake, as Complete switched those two titles around, and since it came later, it's the one I chose to go with. It also helps that Nygtilger is guarding the Volume Hadal Book of Ys, and Vagullion protects Volume Dabbie (though in Vagullion's case, I think either the Light or Earth "Redemption" title would've worked). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once he's defeated, the chest from earlier will re-appear, so go ahead and open it to find another Book of Ys, Volume Dabbie (curiously, if this is the first Book of Ys you've found, Sara will actually still be alive, but you're unable to show it to her, as she'll be in the private quarters of her house, which is an area you can't explore until after she's dead). Anyway, there's nothing else you need to do down here, but if you want, you can now explore the top left area of this room, which you may have noticed was sealed off before. You'll find a locked door, as well as two strange pedestals. What could this room possibly be for? Whenever you're ready, go ahead and leave the Mine (I strongly recommend using a Wing, as it's a pretty long walk otherwise), and make your way to Zepik. At this point, you'll need to have found all 3 Books of Ys so far, so go do that if you need to. Once you have them, head to Jeba's, and ask her to read the Book of Ys you just found (as well as any others you may not have done previously). Be sure you also talk to Feena (she must be back inside), and once the above two steps are complete, talk to Jeba again, and she'll send you off to Goban to search for the remaining Books of Ys within Darm Tower. Before you go, if you want, speaking to Feena again gives some extra dialogue, but it's by no means required; same with Slaff in Barbado, but if you still haven't received the free Talwar from him (and are still able to - meaning you didn't purchase one in Minea), then his Darm Tower snippet will be overridden by that event. Anyway, when you're ready, head to the Thieves' Den and speak to Goban; provided you did the above events with Feena and Jeba, and have found all of the Silver equipment, he'll agree to let you in Darm Tower. Now, before speaking to him in the passage, be sure you've done all that you want to do, as talking to him there takes you to the final dungeon, and you won't be able to come back to this part of the game. If you're concerned about missing anything, your inventory should have 3 empty slots on the top row, and two empty slots in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th rows (the bottom row only ever has two items). Your equipment screen should only be missing the far right column (though unless you're playing the Eternal version, it's fine if you don't have the 3rd equipment set - Timer Ring excluded). If you're aiming for a full "Notes" section in either Chronicles version, you should have characters #1 - #86 filled in (though you'll still encounter #86 - Luta Gemma - within Darm Tower), and you should have all enemy stats filled in for #1 - #20, as well as #37 - #39. Any sidequests listed above should also be taken care of now, so go ahead and finish those, if you want. Also, even if you're not aiming for a full playthrough, you may wish to grab the remainder of the 3rd equipment set before speaking to Goban, as it'll prove valuable during a certain point later on. The Talwar you can either obtain from Slaff for free in Barbado (after rescuing Feena), or you can choose to buy it from Minea's weapon dealer for 5,000 gold. To get him to sell it, you have to first try to buy it at some point, and then talk to him anytime after you finish the Shrine (be sure to have the Silver Sword unequipped - or heck, even the Talwar from Slaff, if all you want is to see it offered - otherwise, those texts take priority, and he won't have them in stock). Of course, buying it means Slaff won't give you the free one, so if you're aiming for achievements, be sure you get it from him. As for the Large Shield and Reflex, they can be bought from Minea's armor dealer, for 6,000 and 5,000 gold respectively. Alternatively, you *can* also find these items for free in Darm Tower (only if you didn't get them before, though), but this is unfortunately not the case for the Eternal version. Even there, you can get away without having them, but you may find it a little bit harder to proceed at a certain point if you don't have them (especially the Reflex). If you've been slacking off with the Feena and Jeba events up to this point (or if you decided to tackle the Mine before finishing the Shrine), you may be having some trouble entering Darm Tower, so here is a recap of what exactly needs to be done. It is important to note that if you're doing all this stuff late, you need to exit and re-enter Zepik each time between steps #1 - #3 in order to get Feena and Jeba in their proper positions: 1. After escorting Feena to Zepik, exit and re-enter the village at any time to find her awake. After the initial dialogue, speak to Feena manually. 2. After obtaining the Book of Ys from Sara's friend Franz (anytime after you find the Book of Ys in the Shrine), report Sara's murder to Jeba. After the initial dialogue, speak to Jeba again, and ask her to read the Books of Ys (you don't actually need her to read any just yet, but you *do* need to at least ask her to). You also need to speak to Feena outside on the lake's pier. 3. Once you've collected the first 3 Books of Ys, ask Jeba to read all of them. You also need to make sure Feena's back inside Jeba's house, and speak to her there. Afterwards, speak to Jeba, who will send you off to Goban (if she's still talking about something else, you either didn't ask her to translate all 3 Books, or you didn't do all of the above steps with Feena first). 4. Once you've done the above 3 steps, make sure you've found the Silver Sword, Silver Shield, and Silver Armor, and speak to Goban first inside the Thieves' Den, and again inside the passage leading to Darm Tower. If you don't have all 3 Silver equipments, he'll refuse to help until you do. For reference, the Silver Shield is on B3 of the Shrine, by taking the second warp statue you come across (in the southwestern corner of the map, the one on the right). The Silver Armor is on the first floor of the Abandoned Mine, in the northeastern corner of the map (right below the entrance, though you'll need to loop around to reach it). And the Silver Sword is of course given to you by the southeastern Roda Tree, after you've returned the Silver Harmonica to Reah (and ate the Roda Tree Seed). When you're ready, proceed to the passage within the Thieves' Den, and speak to Goban (he will take your Wing, if you still have one), who will finally let you explore Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darm Tower [DRMTWR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Get caught in the cell trap, and receive the Idol from Dogi upon leaving - Return the Idol to Raba, and use his Blue Necklace to get past the cell trap - Re-obtain the Silver Sword after getting captured - Kill Pictimos, and find a Book of Ys - Find the Hammer, and use it to stop the eerie music in the Devil's Corridor - Kill Khonsclard, and find another Book of Ys - Find the Rod, and use it to traverse the mirror mazes - Use the Blue Necklace to nullify the Evil Ring's curse, and free Reah at the top of Rado's Annex - Use the Monocle to translate the 2 newest Books of Ys - Find the Flame Sword, and kill Yogleks & Omulgun - Receive the Blue Amulet from Luta Gemma, and access the top of the tower - Kill Dark Fact, and obtain from his cloak the final Book of Ys, then translate it OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Re-obtain both the Silver Shield and Silver Armor after getting captured - Find both the Battle Shield and Battle Armor INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT - Evil Ring*, Mirror, Heal Potion x 2, Talwar, Reflex, Large Shield, Idol*, Blue Necklace*, Silver Sword*, Book of Ys (Volume Mesa)*, Hammer*, Silver Shield, Rod*, Book of Ys (Volume Gemma)*, Silver Armor, Monocle*, Battle Shield, Battle Armor, Flame Sword, Blue Amulet*, Book of Ys (Volume Fact)* CHARACTERS - Luta Gemma*, Dogi*, Raba* ENEMIES - Riffligan, Jestona, Accumate, Normous, Genoid, Xomack, Vilvan, Wilewarer, Irebolg, Molfess, Kelmarel, Selnarg, Chryolos, Twarth, Euchreas, Bordisch, Pictimos*, Khonsclard*, Yogleks & Omulgun*, Dark Fact* NOTE - The Talwar, Reflex, and Large Shield can only be found here if you didn't get them prior to entering the Tower, otherwise the chests you find them in will be empty. If you're playing the Eternal version, those chests will be empty no matter what. Also, while re-obtaining the Silver Shield and Silver Armor is in fact optional, it's highly recommended that you get them back; the same goes for finding the Flame Sword. If you don't have these items, you may find certain boss battles to be much tougher, but it *is* possible to win without them. Regarding characters, Luta Gemma can actually be found outside the tower, but it's entirely possible to miss him then, but not so during the course of your climb, so that's why he's listed here as a potentially "new" character (and now required, at that). If this is where you first encounter him, it shouldn't be an issue for obtaining the "Notorious A.C." Steam achievement, but I cannot verify this for certain. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As noted above, this is the point of no return, so once you enter this place, there's no way to get back to previous areas of the game. Also, if you haven't already, I recommend keeping your status displayed on-screen, as this place is huge, and maybe a little confusing for newcomers, so it might help to keep track of what floor you're on (though for the Eternal version, most of the time the floors aren't listed, except when you save). I also recommend you equip the Timer Ring for the majority of this place, as the enemies are pretty fast (especially true for higher difficulties), but the Shield Ring is a good alternative, if you're comfortable with the enemies' speed. Anyway, the area to the left leads to the tower's basement, but there's nothing to do there right now, so instead head down and to the right, then into the second passage in the far northeast corner (just ignore the first passage for the moment) to reach floor 2. You should now be on one of the tower's balconies. You'll be encountering these areas a lot throughout this place, and there are two things you should know about them. First, as they are outdoor areas, you can use them to heal for free if you're low on health (preferably with the Heal Ring equipped, if you have it). The other important detail is that these screens almost always loop (the only exception being floor 6, and that's because a wall divides that balcony into two separate sections), so no matter which direction you take, the next door you come across will lead to do a different part of the tower, and the one after that will be the room you just came from. Anyway, follow the balcony to the next screen, and you'll come across a small section with a room guarded by enemies. Dispatch them, and inside you'll find 4 chests. The most important of these is the bottom right one, which contains the Evil Ring. While it may technically be an equipment ring, do *not* equip it right now, as it will quickly drain your health and kill you, plus you won't be able to remove it as you are now (it's called "evil" for a reason =p). The other chests contain a Mirror, a free Talwar (only if you didn't pick one up earlier, otherwise the chest will be empty - if you're playing the Eternal version, the chest will be empty regardless), and a Heal Potion. Afterwards, take the balcony back to the first floor, and up into the other passage you passed earlier (be careful of the enemy lurking inside), which leads to floor 3. Follow the balcony to the next screen (to avoid needless repetition, I'm just going to omit most of the balcony parts now - I'm sure you can figure out what to do on those screens =p), and at the bottom of this one, you may notice a bunch of statues lining the wall. There's nothing to do here at the moment, but keep it in mind for later. Continue northeast to the 4th floor, and in the center path of the next room, there's a chest containing the Reflex armor (as with the Talwar, it'll only be there if you didn't get it before, and again, not in the Eternal version). Otherwise, continue northeast again to floor 5, and the center path on this floor will lead to the eastern portion of floor 6, which contains the Large Shield in the southeastern corner (again, only if you didn't get it before, and not in the Eternal version). Even if you already have the Large Shield, this room is the only one where you'll find the enemies known as Accumates, so you'll need to go there if you want to completely fill in the beastiary. Back on floor 5, you'll need to take the northwest passage to the get to the western side of floor 6. A short ways down, you'll notice more of those creepy statues outside the doorway, and walking into their vicinity will activate a teleport trap. Unfortunately, you need to get caught in the trap to make any further progress, so go ahead and do so. You'll find yourself in a cell, but it seems like someone swiped your Silver equipment... If you have it, you should probably switch to the 3rd level equipment at this point, or whatever your next best set is (but if you feel comfortable enough, you can do without it, as you can re-obtain a couple of the Silver items shortly). Seems like you have a cellmate, so go ahead and talk to him (Luta Gemma, if you didn't find him before), and he'll reveal that the monsters caught him sleepwalking, and decided to toss him in here. Talking to him again reveals that he saw someone else in here, in that room with a bunch of statues. Interesting, but how the heck do we get out of here? Seems the bars and walls are way too strong, and there doesn't seem to be any sort of ventilation to crawl through either. After a little bit of waiting, you'll be saved by a large muscular man known as Dogi (who you may recall as being one of Goban's men). If he's not showing up, you need to talk to Luta, as well as search for at least one way out (the bars, and the walls in the northeast and southeast of the room). He'll mention the same thing as Luta, that there's someone named Raba hiding in that hallway full of statues, and as you're exiting, he'll give you the Idol to return to him. Equipping this will make you invisible to the monsters, but unfortunately, it does nothing to prevent you from getting captured again. If you talk to Luta again, he just says to proceed ahead without him, as he's not a warrior like you. Anyway, exit the cell, then take the stairs in the northwest, and you'll find yourself back on floor 1 (do be careful of that Riffligan as soon as you enter, as he's often positioned right in your way). Before you go seek out Raba, if you want a Steam achievement, go ahead and activate the teleport trap two more times, and after Dogi busts you out of the third cell, you'll receive "Adol the Wall-Crusher-Enabler" (for some silly dialogue, try equipping the Idol both times while you wait for him to show up). Actually, I think you can probably do this at any point in the tower for this achievement, but it's best to do it now, since if you do it after re-obtaining some of your Silver equipment, it'll just get swiped again. When you're ready, head back to floor 3, the one with all those statues along the bottom of the screen. Hmm, there doesn't seem to be anyone around here, but Dogi did say that someone was hiding. Counting from the left, equip the Mask of Eyes in between the 8th and 9th statues (you may wish to kill the enemies before equipping it), and you'll discover a hidden passage. Enter it, then remove the Mask of Eyes, and you'll find Raba. Speak to him, and after a little history lesson, he'll give you the Blue Necklace as thanks for returning his Idol (if you're playing the Eternal version, you need to speak to him again to receive it). This thing can nullify the teleport trap you encountered, as well as the curse on the Evil Ring (more on that later, though). But first, you'll need to equip the Mask of Eyes to get out of this room (seriously, how did Raba get in here without it?), and then go ahead and equip the Blue Necklace. Make your way back to the teleport trap on floor 6, and you'll now be able to safely pass it (provided you have the Blue Necklace equipped - simply having it in your inventory is not enough). Continue northeast to floor 7, and in the far northwest corner, you'll find Dogi again. Talk to him (if you want), and he'll eventually mention something about a Rod needed to reach the top of this place. Before going to floor 8, head to the southern portion of this floor, and take the first doorway you see. You'll find some Genoids (purple enemies) in the upper part of this section, so carefully bump them aside, and you'll find a chest, which contains your stolen Silver Sword. You absolutely need this in order to finish the game, so be sure you grab it. Do note that if you decide to backtrack and you get caught in the teleport trap again, your Silver items will just get stolen again (even if there's no more cells for Dogi to bust you out of); thankfully, they re-appear in exactly the same spots as before, but better to avoid that scenario entirely. Now, head back to the top of the room, and enter the passage just right of Dogi to continue to floor 8. In the far southwest corner of this room is the path to the western portion of floor 9, where you'll encounter a boss. However, I recommend heading to the eastern portion of floor 9 first (take the northeastern doorway on floor 8 to get there), as it contains your stolen Silver Shield, which you may find useful for the upcoming boss fight (though honestly, you can do without it for now, if you're careful enough). Once there, head down and to the left, and then loop back around to the right, and you'll find a small room guarded by another Genoid. Carefully dispatch of him, and inside you'll find a chest, which contains your Silver Shield. As soon as you open it, however, the statues (Normous) will come to life and attack you, so be wary of that (do note this is the only room where you'll find this enemy, so be sure to visit here if you want a full beastiary). You can continue exploring the tower, but you won't be able to advance very far at the moment, so head back to floor 8, and make your way to the far southwest corner up to floor 9. After passing through the first door, you'll find yourself in a room with a lot of bones strewn about. Be sure to save your game, get fully healed (instead of wasting a Heal Potion, I recommend using one of the balconies to get back to full health), and make sure you have at least the Silver Sword equipped (and probably also the Silver Shield and Reflex, if you have them). When you're ready, touch the door at the top of the room to face the first boss of Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PICTIMOS - Manal Mesa's Redemption of Time HP - 255 STR - 264 DEF - 232 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 10 STRATEGY - This guy isn't very hard, especially when compared to Vagullion, but you still need to play it somewhat safe. When he drops down, he'll immediately hurl 3 sickles at you, which eventually boomerang back to him. You'll want to lure all 3 of them a safe distance away from him (usually by moving to the bottom of the screen, but the sides will sometimes work), and then move in to attack. As soon as the first sickle comes back to him, get out of there quickly, as he'll very likely throw it again immediately (especially true for higher difficulties), and then repeat the process until he's dead. If he doesn't have all 3 sickles out in a timely manner, you're better not attacking until he does, as you'll very likely get hit otherwise. If you're still having trouble finding an opening, something you can do is wait near the walls (preferably near the bottom, but the sides work too, if he's close enough), and when he hurls his sickles, they'll sometimes hit the wall, which delays their return to him slightly. Either way, you'll probably only get in a few hits at a time, but the alternative is bouncing off him (though in Eternal, there is no boss knockback) and hoping he doesn't throw his sickles far enough to reach you, which is extremely risky. Trust me, if one of those things catches you, it's quite painful, though they do reduced damage if they just graze you. You'll receive 5,000 EXP for winning, but again, it's useless at this point (unless you're somehow under-leveled). As noted above, you definitely want the Silver Sword equipped for this battle, otherwise you'll just be doing minimum damage (unless you somehow managed to enter this fight under-leveled, in which case you'll be doing minimum damage regardless of your weapon). While it is entirely feasible to win this way, you absolutely need the Silver Sword later on, so it's not recommended. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, you'll be able to head through the door at the top, and inside you'll find a couple of chests. One of them contains a Book of Ys (Volume Mesa), and the other contains a Hammer; be sure to grab both of them. Head back down to floor 8, and make your way to the eastern portion of floor 9 in the northeast. If you haven't already, it's strongly recommended that you find your Silver Shield again near the southeast corner of this floor (you'll need to loop around from the southwest side). Technically, you can skip re- obtaining it if you want, but it'll prove very helpful for dealing with the final boss. Otherwise, make your way to the southern end of this floor, and you'll find another small room leading to floor 10. Once there, follow the path, and when it splits, head straight south (or just head north to the western part of floor 11, and skip to the next paragraph) through 3 doorways (ignoring the one off to the right in the small room you come across), and then when the path splits again, follow it to the right, which will take you to the eastern side of floor 11. This room has some creepy music, and you'll probably notice the veins in the passage right below you - this is the Devil's Corridor, and you'll find out why shortly. Be sure you have a good chunk of health remaining, and when you're ready, enter the passage with the veins and quickly make your way to the door just to the right; your health will steadily decline while in this part of the room, so don't waste any time. Inside the small room, you'll find Raba again, who will give you a free health refill. Hmm, seems the monsters smashed his Idol, and forced him to retreat in here. Talking to him again reveals that he believes the eerie music is the result of the wind being funneled in via some sort of pipe organ to fuel this twisted trap, so you'll need to find where exactly it's coming from, and put a stop to it to proceed further. Believe me, even with a free heal from Raba and a Heal Potion, you won't make it through the remainder of the Devil's Corridor at present, as your health decreases even quicker the farther right you go. So, exit the room, and head back to floor 10 (be careful there's not a Xomack clogging the stairs - if so, refresh the room and try again), and take the passage in the far northwest corner. Anyway, you should be on the balcony of floor 11. If you've been paying attention, you should notice that the pillars on this balcony look different from the others. These look like pipe organs, and Raba did speculate the wind was being channeled in via something like this. So, equip the Hammer you should've found in Pictimos' lair, and use it to smash the second pillar to your left (starting from the floor 10 doorway). If you want, you can proceed to the other room further along the balcony to find Luta injured and resting in the top left corner - just follow the blood trail. It's not required to visit him at this point, but do keep this spot in mind - we'll need to come back here later. Talking to him reveals that there's a girl being held in the tower's annex, and he asks you to go rescue her. In any case, now that the pillar's been smashed, you can safely pass through the Devil's Corridor on the other part of floor 11 (accessed via the far southeastern corner of floor 10, if you didn't find it yet), so head back there. Enter the veiny passage, and head all the way to the right (Raba's no longer in that small room), then up to floor 12. This floor has nothing of importance, so just head southwest a tad, then loop around the bottom, and proceed to floor 13 in the far northwestern corner. Here, you'll find Raba injured off to the right-hand side (if you want, use a Heal Potion near him, and the effect will be shown on both of you - it doesn't seem to actually heal him, though). If you want, talk to him, and he'll mention that there's a girl being held 3 stories up, but the only people that can get in are those with evil hearts. Well, that certainly complicates things... You may also notice a mirror in the passage to the south, but there's nothing you can do with it at the moment, so take the northwest passage to the western part of floor 14. Follow the path, and pass through the door to find yourself in a room with the floor starting to melt away. Save your game, get healed up (again, I recommend using the balconies instead of a Heal Potion), and make sure you still have the Silver Sword equipped. Touch the door at the top of the room, and prepare to face one of the game's more troublesome bosses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KHONSCLARD - Grack Gemma's Redemption of Wisdom HP - 255 STR - 267 DEF - 230 EXP - 10,000* (5,000 x 2) GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 10 STRATEGY - If you don't know how to properly fight this guy, he can be just about as bad as Vagullion. He'll continually fire rocks at you in a circular pattern, changing their direction every so often. Unfortunately, I find that the projectiles are far too numerous and fast to play a safe game of chicken with this guy, so the only other "safe" alternative is to attack him in a circular motion (attack the rocky part of his body, not the core), in the same direction that the rocks are going; if he's firing clockwise, move clockwise with him, and vice versa. Even if you do this, the rocks seem to catch up to you eventually (unless you're playing the Eternal version; for some reason, he seems to fire at a slower rate there), so you've got to be mindful of how you move. Most of the time when I screw this up, it's from moving in too wide of a circle, usually running into the rocks near the bottom. To counteract this, I generally try and move circularly along the upper section of his body (notice that he's floating, which may screw with your depth perception a little), going only a tad below his core, which tends to be just far enough to stay above those rocks entirely. Admittedly, this takes good rhythm (and a little luck) to pull off with any degree of consistency, and that's a hard thing to do when there are so many projectiles flying around. When one hits you, that's usually just the start of your troubles - if he's hitting you constantly, it's probably best to back off temporarily, and wait for another opening in the rotation. If you do this right, you may find yourself finishing this battle with plenty of HP to spare, but that's easier said than done. If the above strategy is getting you nowhere, you can also try your luck moving straight up and down to do steady damage (or in circles - whichever method you find works better), and just pay no mind to how much damage you're taking. Of course, this method basically amounts to whose health bar depletes first, and that's usually yours, especially on higher difficulties. Anyway, once you win, you actually receive a total of 10,000 EXP (the beastiary says 5,000, but a glitch actually awards the EXP at two separate points - once right as he dies, and once when your health is restored, which is when boss EXP is normally awarded); too bad it's useless, unless you're somehow facing this guy under- leveled (yes, it's very feasible to beat this guy that way if you have good rhythm, even on Nightmare difficulty). In the event you happen to be playing the Eternal version of the game, this guy is actually a piece of cake, provided you remember one very basic function - walking. Most players probably never use this function intentionally over running, but so long as you immediately get ahead of the rocks, walking in Eternal makes it quite easy to stay ahead of them, provided you're moving circularly in the direction they're being fired, and that you remember to switch directions with him. Doing so, it is much easier to come out of this battle with very minimal health loss (if any), even if you're improperly prepared. Unfortunately, this tactic does not seem to be effective in the Complete and Chronicles versions, as it seems the rate at which he fires is a bit faster there (even on the Easy difficulty). NOTE - While the Silver Sword is very much recommended for this fight (but again, if you're under-leveled, you'll be doing minimum damage regardless if you have it or not), whatever armor and shield you may have equipped makes absolutely no difference here. Much like Jenocres, this guy does fixed damage to you (how much depends on the difficulty), even if you have the Silver Shield and Reflex armor equipped (the best you can do up to this point), meaning that his STR stat is probably just a placeholder. And no, the Shield Ring still won't help you during boss battles (or other equipment rings, for that matter). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the fight, head into the room above, and open the two chests. One of them contains the Rod, which will allow you to use that mirror you might have seen on the previous floor (if you feel like it, Dogi back on floor 7 will have some small additional dialogue once you find it). You'll also find another Book of Ys, Volume Gemma. Hmm, this is the second Book of Ys we've found here, but how are we supposed to read them without the aid of Jeba? Anyway, when you're ready, return to floor 13, and in the room just below Raba, you'll find a mirror against the wall. Now that you have the Rod, touching one will warp you to a different section of this floor. And as you might have guessed, this floor is a maze of these things. Your stolen Silver Armor can be found within this maze, so let's grab that first before moving on ahead (but if you want to skip it, jump to the next paragraph - I strongly recommend that you get it back, though). After touching the first one, head south as far as you can (for now, ignoring the mirror in the middle), and take the mirror at the very bottom (those Vilvan like to clog the passages, so be wary of that). Once you warp, take the mirror in the small room to the south, and you'll be in a room with some Wilewarers (heavily armored enemies). These guys are quite dangerous, so if you have it, I recommend equipping the Timer Ring, especially on higher difficulties. Anyway, make your way to the room on the right, and taking that mirror will lead you to a small room with a chest guarded by a Wilewarer. Now, if you're playing the Eternal version, you can only open chests from the front, so you'll have to take care of it first. However, if you're playing the Complete or Chronicles versions, you are also able to open chests from the back or side, which will let you avoid this enemy altogether. Either way, open it to retrieve your Silver Armor, and then take the mirror back to the start of this floor. Take the starting mirror, then head south and take the middle mirror we passed earlier. You should now be in a small room with two mirrors on either side - take the one on the right. Immediately after warping, take the mirror directly above you (the other one further north just leads back to the small room you just came from). Head right, then follow this passage north to reach floor 15, being careful of the Wilewarer wandering around in that small section (which is actually considered another part of floor 14, strangely enough). Head south a little, and off to the left, you should notice a small passage of stairs leading to floor 16 (I'm sure you've noticed by now, but the way the floors are separated can be a little confusing at times). For now, you may wish to ignore that and instead head southwest as far as you can, and you'll come across a chest containing the Battle Shield. This causes some armored enemies (Irebolg) to warp in, so you may want to hurry up and equip it. Dispatch of them, and then make your way back north to the passage we ignored earlier. After climbing the stairs, follow the passage until the path splits. The path to the north leads to floor 17, and further up the tower, but trust me, unless you want to do a ton of backtracking later, just ignore it for now and head south. Follow the path (watch out for those Irebolg), and in the far southwestern corner, you should notice a passage leading left (you should see light on the ground). You'll be on a bridge with an Irebolg, so go ahead and dispatch it; you can also use this screen to heal if you need to, as it's an outdoor area. Anyway, follow the bridge left, and you'll be inside Rado's Annex. Inside, head south between the cells, then follow the path to the left (the enemies here are pretty tough, so be on your guard - again, the Timer Ring is advised). At the bottom, you should notice the light of a doorway along the left hand wall, so enter the passage. Climb the stairs within, and at the top, you'll find an evil-looking door. Remember what Raba said about only those with an evil heart can open the door to this cell? You'll need to equip the Evil Ring to get inside (if you don't have it, it's all the way back on floor 2, via taking the northeast passage on floor 1), but you've probably noticed that doing so kills you shortly afterwards. So, how can we safely enter this place? First, equip the Blue Necklace that Raba gave you, followed by the Evil Ring - make sure you equip the Blue Necklace *first*, as otherwise you'll still die if you try and do it after equipping the Evil Ring (well, technically, that's only true if you completely exit the subscreens). Doing so will nullify the ring's deadly effect (but it still obscures your vision occasionally =p), so go ahead and touch the door once you've done so. Once it's open, un-equip the Evil Ring (be sure to do it *before* removing the Blue Necklace, otherwise you'll be dead soon after - the Blue Necklace merely nullifies traps, but it doesn't destroy them). Anyway, head inside, and you'll find that Reah is the one being held hostage, the troubadour from Minea. Strange, what's she doing here? Talk to her, and she'll give you the Monocle to translate the Books of Ys. If you'd like, talk to her again, and she'll mention that the man in the black cape - Dark Fact - can only be defeated by using equipment made of the same material as his cape, something called Cleria. Now that we have the Monocle, go ahead and equip it (but if you haven't done so already, un-equip the Evil Ring first, otherwise you'll be killed), and then use it. Select the two Books of Ys found within the tower (the yellow one and the green one), and be sure you read them both. As an aside, if you didn't return the Piece of Paper to Reah before entering the tower, you cannot do so here (not that it really matters, story bits and the Steam achievement aside). Anyway, when you're ready, exit the annex, and return to floor 16. Now, before you climb the tower any further, it's strongly recommended that you backtrack to Luta Gemma at this point. Technically, you're not supposed to do this until later, but believe me, doing it now saves you from even more backtracking later. If you don't remember where he is (or you simply didn't find him again before), he's back on the western portion of floor 11. It's a little further back from the Devil's Corridor - specifically, the room further along the balcony where you used the Hammer to smash the pillar to get through that place (accessed via the northwestern passage on floor 10). As it should be fairly straightforward getting back to that point, I'll only give directions to get back through the mirror maze. Starting from the balcony entrance of floor 15, head south (if the Wilewarer's blocking the passage, refresh the screen and try again), and take the mirror at the bottom. Instead of taking the mirror right in front of you, take the one a little farther north, and you'll be back in the small room with two mirrors. Take the one on the left this time, then go south through a couple doors until the path splits, at which point head left as far as you can, and then take the mirror in the room to the south, which will bring you to the other side of this floor, near Raba (if you want, you can tell him about saving Reah; also, no, there's nothing you can do about his request about the Books of Ys =p). Anyway, once you've found Luta Gemma (just follow the blood trail inside the western floor 11 room), be sure that you've used the Monocle to read both of the Books of Ys you've found within the tower so far, and then talk to him. He'll recognize Volume Gemma amongst the Books, and will give you the Blue Amulet passed down in his family (if you're playing the Eternal version, you need to speak to him again to receive it). You need to have translated both Volumes Mesa *and* Gemma at this point, otherwise he won't hand it over (even though he only mentions the Book of Gemma, this is likely a precautionary measure to ensure that you actually have all 6 Books when finishing the game, otherwise it might be possible to skip Volume Mesa =p). Curiously, as with Raba, if you use a Heal Potion near him (this will work even if you're at full health), it will show the animation on both of you. Unlike Raba, however, if you talk to him afterwards, he makes a comment about his leg feeling better (he only makes the comment after he gives you the Blue Amulet), but he still says he better stay off it for a while. OK, *now* you can continue climbing the tower, so take that passage to floor 17 we passed earlier, in the far northwestern corner of floor 16 (no, I'm not repeating the way back there =p). Once there, you'll need to take the southeast passage, but it's packed full of Kelmarel (scorpion enemies). If you still have a Mirror on hand, I strongly recommend using that to freeze them, as you can then push through them unharmed. If you don't have that, you'll need to lure the enemies out of the passage to the top of the room, and try to make sure they stay there (don't kill them, as they'll just respawn further inside the passage). There are 5 of these guys, but you may be able to get away with only luring 3 or 4 out, and tanking the rest. The other option is to equip the Power or Shield Rings if you have them (doesn't really matter which, as you'll take about the same damage with either one equipped), and power through, using a Heal Potion when your health inevitably gets low. This method doesn't work so well on Nightmare difficulty, but on the other end of this room, in the middle passage there's a chest containing a Heal Potion if you decide to go through this way. Personally, I recommend using the Mirror, but do whatever you want. In any event, once you're through, take the far northwestern passage to floor 18. If you want the Battle Armor to better prepare for the next boss fight, then when the path splits, head right, and take the northeast passage to the eastern part of floor 19 (if not, just make your way to floor 20 via the far northwestern passage). It's worth noting that this section is the only one that contains the Chryolos enemies, so if you want a full beastiary, be sure to take this path. Anyway, follow the path until you see a room with two statues outside. Inside, there's a chest, but attempting to open it teleports you just outside the room (hey, at least it's not all the way back to the B1 cells =p). As with the teleport trap we encountered earlier, equip the Blue Necklace (*not* the Blue Amulet) to nullify it, and you will receive the Battle Armor. Go ahead and equip it, then make your way back to floor 18. Head south as far as you can, then take the far northwestern passage to reach floor 20 (you'll pass through a small isolated section of floor 19 along the way). Follow the path until you see some armored enemies (Twarths) bust down a wall Dogi style. These guys are extremely dangerous, especially on higher difficulties (you need the Timer Ring equipped just to outrun them there), so carefully wait until they move out of the hole they just made (trust me, even if you're going for a full beastiary, you'll have a hard time killing them right now), and then enter it. Inside, you'll find two Twarths guarding a chest. As with the Silver Armor chest, you'll need to dispatch of these guys first (or at least damage them to get them to move) if you're playing the Eternal version. If you're playing the Complete or Chronicles versions, you can again safely grab this chest from the back or sides (so long as you don't move below them first), but beware, as these guys will chase you as soon as you open it. Either way, it contains the Flame Sword, so be sure to equip it right away. Now you should be able to deal with the Twarths a bit more effectively, but they're still quite tough to take down, so be careful. Exit the room (do be careful those Twarths outside don't ambush you as soon as you exit), and continue to the northeast passage to floor 21. You'll find yourself in another mirror maze, though I find this one to be a tad simpler to navigate than the previous one. There are two types of enemies here, both of which are quite fast on harder difficulties, so in addition to the Flame Sword, you might want to equip the Timer Ring, if you have it. The first enemy type is the Euchreas (sworded enemies), and due to the way they were designed, they won't ever be directly against the left or right side of a wall like other normal enemies; this also means they can't pass through those narrow doorways, so be wary of that. The Bordisch (orange ogres) behave like most other enemies, just that they are quite fast, and are likely to be clogging up the paths. Anyway, make your way around to the first mirror off to the right, but watch out for the Euchreas as you pass through the second southern doorway. After you warp, take the southeastern passage, and follow it to another mirror. You should be in a small room with two mirrors, as well as a Bordisch - take the mirror on the left. As soon as you warp, there will very likely be another Bordisch coming through the doorway directly below you, so move off to the side and dispatch it before heading through. Follow the passage around to the closed door, and inside you'll find another mirror just inside. Before entering this one, save your game, heal up (it should be safe to use a Heal Potion now, though you can always heal on the balcony and try getting through this floor unharmed, if you prefer), and make sure you have at least the Flame Sword equipped (and preferably also the Battle Shield and Battle Armor, if you have them). When you're ready, touch the mirror to face the next boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- YOGLEKS & OMULGUN - Amuda Fact and Fad Fact's Redemption of Mind HP - 255 STR - 270 DEF - 238 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 10 STRATEGY - Upon entering, you'll notice that there are two enemies to deal with this time around; if you're on Hard or Nightmare difficulty, they'll move towards you immediately, so get out of there quickly. Anyway, both heads share the same health bar, but you can only deal damage to the yellowish one (it's orange in the Eternal version), the one with the ice crystals circling it. You need to time it so you safely move in between the crystals, and aim for the head itself. It's easier to do if you try and move in the same direction the crystals are (if it matters, I find it easier to approach it from the bottom, and move up as it's headed downward). For example, if they're moving clockwise, move in between them to attack, and keep your movement clockwise as you exit, and vice versa. When you score a hit, the heads will swap positions. Not only that, but the rotation of their projectiles changes as well, so keep that in mind when trying to attack the ice crystal head again. After a certain number of hits, the heads lose a projectile, making it a little easier to find an opening, but the rotation speed is increased slightly to compensate for this. With 3 crystals, you just have to circle around and make it to the opening, and then pull back. When there are 2 crystals left, you again want to try and keep with their rotation when attacking, then slip out the side (still keeping with their rotation). The last pattern is simple enough, but the crystal moves even faster, so watch out for that. If you're still having trouble with this boss, you can try catching the heads as they cross paths, and then move back and forth as they swap to try and score a few quick hits. Of course, this exposes you to both heads' projectiles, so it's extremely risky to do this, but it can work out favorably, if you're lucky enough to come out relatively unharmed (on Nightmare, I only recommend this if you have trouble dealing with the 4 crystals pattern, and then try to play it safe the rest of the fight). When he's dead, you'll again receive a useless (most likely =p) reward of 5,000 EXP. As noted above, you definitely want the Flame Sword equipped to do more than minimum damage to this boss (unless, of course, you're under-leveled, in which case you'll be doing minimum damage even if you have it). It's not technically required, as you *can* in fact skip it entirely, but it's significantly harder, especially since you're already on the defensive for most of this fight, and naturally, being improperly prepared only makes that aspect worse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the fight, the big mirror at the top of the room will shatter, revealing a passage. Take the stairs up to floor 25 (it appears Falcom got lazy, and didn't bother making floors 22-24 significant in any way =p), and you'll encounter another door at the top. If you didn't receive the Blue Amulet from Luta Gemma, you'll just get thrown back, so make sure you have that, or else you won't be getting inside (if you already have it, skip the next two paragraphs). In the event you don't have the Blue Amulet yet, I'm not giving you full instructions on how to get back to Luta (he's now on the western part of floor 11, in the room further along the balcony where you smashed the pillar to pass through the Devil's Corridor), but I'll at least give you directions for getting through the mirror mazes in reverse - the rest is straightforward enough, and has already been covered. From the room where you fought Yogleks & Omulgun (the twin heads), take the normal mirror in the top right of the room to get back to the maze. After you warp, take the mirror in the top right of the room above you (if you want, take the mirror you're initially standing in front of for a small shortcut), and you'll be back at the other end of this floor. Before backtracking through the other mirror maze, you'll also need to have received the Monocle from Reah in Rado's Annex by this point, so be sure to go see her if you still haven't done so. Anyway, starting from the balcony entrance of floor 15, head south (if the Wilewarer's blocking the passage, refresh the screen and try again), and take the mirror at the bottom. Instead of taking the mirror right in front of you, take the one a little farther north, and you'll be back in the small room with two mirrors. Take the one on the left this time, then go south through a couple doors until the path splits, at which point head left as far as you can, and then take the mirror in the room to the south, which will bring you to the other side of this floor, near Raba. If you want, talking to him at this point reveals the clue about Luta's amulet (but that's only if you failed to open the door on floor 25). Anyway, once you've found Luta Gemma (just follow the blood trail inside the western floor 11 room), be sure that you've used the Monocle to read both of the Books of Ys you've found within the tower so far, and then talk to him. He'll recognize Volume Gemma amongst the Books, and will give you the Blue Amulet passed down in his family (if you're playing the Eternal version, you need to speak to him again to receive it). You need to have translated both Volumes Mesa *and* Gemma at this point, otherwise he won't hand it over (even though he only mentions the Book of Gemma, this is likely a precautionary measure to ensure that you actually have all 6 Books when finishing the game, otherwise it might be possible to skip Volume Mesa =p). Once you have the Blue Amulet, return to floor 25, and you'll now be able to pass through that door (if you want, show the amulet to Raba, but again, there's only new dialogue if you failed to open the door first). Enter the door, and you'll finally find yourself at the top of the tower. Up on the platform is the man in the black cape Reah warned you about. Remember what she said about needing equipment of the same material as his cape to be on even footing with him? She mentioned "Cleria", but what might that be? Think back to what has been stolen all throughout the game. Even as you progressed through the tower, someone was desperately trying to make sure you didn't have any Silver equipment, and it should now be clear as to why. Before stepping on that symbol below the platform, be sure to save your game, make sure you're fully healed (this should only be an issue if you had to backtrack), and be absolutely certain you have at *least* the Silver Sword equipped, as well as preferably the Silver Shield and Silver Armor (it will be better defensively than the Battle Shield and Battle Armor for this fight). When you're ready, step on the symbol, and prepare to face the final boss of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DARK FACT - Ruined Ys Priest HP - 255 STR - 290 DEF - 255 EXP - 5,000 / 0* GOLD - 0 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 10 STRATEGY - Even for a final boss, this guy sure puts up one heck of a battle. So much so, this is the other primary reason I strongly advise your first playthrough not be on the Nightmare difficulty. This guy tends to give even Normal difficulty players a bit of trouble their first time through, so you'll likely need a lot of patience to get through this, especially on higher difficulties. That said, there is a fair degree of skill involved, but that's not to say luck doesn't enter the equation. Anyway, he'll bounce all over the screen, using the edges to change angles like a pinball. In this manner, you should easily be able to predict his path. Every time you hit him, a piece of the platform will disappear shortly after, so you always want to be on the move - if you don't move out of the way when the holes form, it's an instant death. Even worse, he's constantly throwing fireballs at you, which split into the 8 cardinal directions when they land, making them rather troublesome to dodge (I find constantly moving in diagonals helps with this, so long as you're not running directly into them). However, unless you're an expert at evading them (few people are, it seems), it's generally recommended to tank the damage as best you can, and just focus on damaging him. You'll want to try and hit him at the edges of the screen as best you can, because if you hit him a lot near the center of the platform, you'll very likely run out of room to move, where he can dispose of you at his leisure. As he moves in the same way every time, you should be able to predict his movements, and plan your hits accordingly. If you do it right, this strategy gives you the highest chance of success, because you should have enough room to evade the majority of the fireballs. Still, the fireballs are quite numerous, and if you take too long, chances are you won't make it (especially true for the Nightmare difficulty). If the above strategy is getting you nowhere, a riskier strategy is to do your best to keep up with him, and hit him at a diagonal angle for as long as you are able (the easiest example being as soon as the battle starts, move to the bottom right, and attack him as he moves northwest). You'll want to be slightly below him when doing this (remember, he's floating above you, which may mess with your depth perception), and you'll also want to start from the edge of the platform at the angle he's at, when possible. If you do it right, you'll score several consecutive hits on him in a short period of time, which can be a huge help to you. Of course, the downside to this strategy is that it tends to severely limit your movement options, making it much more likely that you'll be put in an unwinnable situation. This strategy is my personal preference, but on Nightmare, it's still nowhere near foolproof. In that case, I find the above strategy tends to work better, though sometimes I like to throw in the diagonal attack at the beginning, and then switch to attacking him at the edges (but that usually only works if I can still reach all 4 corners of the platform after the diagonal attack). Anyway, once you win, you get 5,000 EXP points, which is even more useless at this point, seeing as how there's no further need to level (but if you're playing the Eternal or Complete versions, you don't get any EXP, which makes sense - and yes, I realize this was likely changed to be consistent with other bosses, but come on). As was noted above, you absolutely need the Silver Sword to have any hope of winning this fight. It is actually possible to have advanced all the way through Darm Tower up to this point without having re-obtained it, but this is the one fight where you absolutely *must* have it equipped. Sure, you can technically damage him with the Flame Sword (or any other weapon, really), but even if you could evade the fireballs for that long, you'll run out of places to stand long before he's dead (even on the Easy difficulty). As far as equipping the Silver Shield and Silver Armor, the fight is in fact winnable without having re-obtained them, but I highly recommend against that course of action, as they reduce the damage here more than even the Battle Shield and Battle Armor. For Nightmare difficulty especially, having them equipped is practically essential to victory. Also, I must yet again point out that equipment rings are in fact useless during boss battles, so using the Shield Ring here (or any others) does *not* increase your chances of success. NOTE - In the event you made it all the way to this fight under-leveled (which is no small feat, even on Easy difficulty), you can actually take this guy down at level 9 with little extra trouble (in fact, I'd venture to say even lower than that would be doable, if there were a way to get here lower than that, but that currently doesn't seem possible). Due to the previous Darm Tower bosses, you might think level 10 would also be required to reasonably damage him, but it isn't, and that's likely due to the programming shenanigans with needing the Silver Sword to effectively hurt him (notice how his defense is higher than what your max strength is with the Silver Sword - it's probably another dummy stat). Unfortunately, your defense does in fact take a hit, as does your HP (obviously), but the battle is still quite winnable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, you should notice Dark Fact's cape still on the platform. Check the right-hand portion of it, and you'll find the final Book of Ys, Volume Fact, tucked inside. Equip the Monocle and translate it, and once you do, you'll be treated to the game's ending sequence. Congratulations on finishing Ys I! Onward to Ys II! =============================================================================== 4. Ys II Walkthrough =============================================================================== Unlike Ys I, Nightmare difficulty isn't quite so unfair in Ys II, so if you're feeling bold enough, feel free to select it, even if it is your first time through the game. It is still somewhat difficult, but this game lets you use magic at a certain point, which makes combat somewhat trivial at times. Speaking of enemies, in addition to dealing collision damage, nearly all of them have a "wind-up" attack; this is indicated by them glowing briefly, then usually charging you (a couple of them shoot projectiles instead, though). That aside, difficulty mostly seems to affect how aggressive the enemies are, but the bosses are the ones most affected, as their attacks tend to take up more of the screen, plus they're faster in general. Other notable things pertaining to difficulty is that, on Easy, collision damage only happens when an enemy hits you with a "wind-up" or projectile attack. This means that, unlike Ys I, hitting an enemy head-on is perfectly acceptable on that difficulty, but others do require you to be aligned properly. And if you happen to be playing on Hard, you just might find regular combat to be tougher than on Nightmare. The reason? Projectile-shooting enemies actually fire 3 projectiles at a time, whereas on other difficulties (even Nightmare) they only fire 1. I'm guessing this is probably a bug (in regards to it not being present on Nightmare difficulty, at least), but regardless, it can make those enemies a lot more troublesome. Also, if you find yourself having trouble with the bosses, do note that you won't reach the level cap mid-game like in Ys I (in fact, you may not reach it at all, as the EXP you receive from normal enemies is scaled based on your level), so if a boss is giving you a lot of trouble, you can usually just grind a couple extra levels to make things easier (even on Hard or Nightmare). Anyway, pick whichever difficulty and close-up artwork style you like, and let's get started. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lance Village [LNCVLG] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Receive Banoa's Letter, and head to the Rall Family Wellness clinic - Agree to rescue Dr. Flair from the Rasteenie Mine - Get permission from Elder Cornell to enter the Rasteenie Mine - Make your way to the Ruins of Moondoria north of Lance Village OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find 500 gold hidden in a baby duckling's mouth - Receive the Smoked Meat from Theo, as well as the Meat Pie from Lucy - Speak to Lilia near the elder's house, and again in the field outside Lance INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Lance) - Banoa's Letter*, 300 Gold*, Herb, Wing, Apple, Marle Flower, Elixir, Smoked Meat, Meat Pie, 500 Gold, Short Sword, Long Sword, Talwar, Wood Shield, Small Shield, Large Shield, Chain Mail INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Moondoria Field) - Apple x 4, Marle Flower x 3 CHARACTERS (Lance) - Lilia*, Banoa*, Leonor Rall*, Nurse Sarina, Elder Cornell*, Natasha, Guido, Jade, Gila*, Lazlo, Tess, Tran, Larsen, Bohtz, Sheila, Kris, Ceres, Brody, Marina, Beth, Caesaria, Andy, Oseam, Kate, Lucille, Masontorch, Colt, Tita, Esca, Lucy, Theo, Polo, Saffron ENEMIES - None NOTE - Lilia is not required at this time (even though she's automatically listed due to the intro scenes), but she will be later; the same goes for Gila. As for Nurse Sarina, while she does speak to you during a required cutscene, you need to initiate the close-up scene with her to receive her character entry. Regarding Kris and Ceres (the twin girls), they need to be spoken to separately for their respective entries, even though the same conversation is initiated in both cases. As for Bohtz, he will disappear from Lance at a certain point in the story (along with Lilia), but you'll find him elsewhere as part of the plot, so don't worry if you miss him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the opening scenes, talk to Banoa (for a couple more discussion topics, ask her about Ys, then Moondoria). As you exit the conversation, she'll give you a letter to take to Dr. Flair. He apparently hasn't returned to the village just yet, but she suggests you stop by the clinic anyway, just in case; it's the building in the far northeastern corner of town, just above Lilia's house (speaking of Lilia's house, you can examine one of the trees just outside it to find height markings Lilia made when she was younger - a really nice touch). Enter the clinic, and you'll be greeted by Nurse Sarina and a panicked Leonor, who asks you to rescue Dr. Flair, who's apparently trapped in the Rasteenie Mine. Well, that's no good. Agree to help, and you'll receive 300 gold to buy some equipment. You'll also learn that someone named Astal is guarding the entrance to the Mine, so you'll need to stop by the elder's house to receive permission to enter. Before visiting the elder, there are a couple points of interest in Lance (or just skip a few paragraphs to continue with the main game). In the clinic, if you talk to Nurse Sarina, you can get healed for 20 gold, though as she says, it's better if you stand still outside and heal, or you can ask Banoa to rest at her place for free. You can also purchase Herbs for 30 gold each (up to a maximum of three), which heal 50 HP, but there are a few places in the game where you can find them for free, so I recommend saving your money, at least for the time being. If you're interested in a Steam achievement, see those apples on the counter flap? Well, open the flap (just push up against it) to scatter them, and you'll receive the "Keep the Doctor Away" achievement. If you want, you can also climb the crates in the bottom right corner of the clinic to see the pigeon loft where Leonor came crashing out of, but there's not much to do up there. Directly west of the clinic you'll find Jade's Oddities, an item shop. You can buy Apples and Marle Flowers here for 10 gold each (up to a maximum of three each), which restore 15 HP and MP respectively (don't worry, you're not supposed to have MP just yet); as with the Herbs, I recommend saving your money. Additionally, he sells Wings for 100 gold (though you can only carry one at a time), which can warp you to a few different locations this time around, though obviously, it's limited to just Lance Village for the time being. I recommend purchasing one to save you some backtracking later, but it's by no means required. There's also a one-time only Elixir on display for 60,000 gold, which can revive you from death once, but obviously, it'll be quite some time before you can purchase that. Right next door from Jade is Guido's Armory, where you can purchase some weapons and armor (you need to walk through the counter flap to speak to him). If you want, you can use the remaining 200 gold to purchase a Short Sword from him, but you can actually receive one for free a short time later, so I recommend saving your money. He also sells some other cheap armor, but the only one you can currently afford is the Wooden Shield, so feel free to purchase that, if you want. That's all you can do here at the moment, but the billboard to the left of the elder's house mentions that he's looking to buy some Iron Ore, so if you come across any later, he'll buy it from you for a good price. If you want a little extra spending money, there's a character named Brody a couple houses west of Lilia's, but you'll need to butter him up with a few gifts before he'll reveal its location. What are gifts? They are the consumable items you find/buy during the course of your adventure, such as Wings, Herbs, Apples, Marle Flowers, and a few others. By equipping these, you can give them to any non-enemy character you come across (after your initial conversation), which will produce additional dialogue, in addition to unlocking character mascots if you gift someone enough (just a little sprite you can position to customize the game screen a tad). If you want, you can even use certain items to feed most of the animals (the pikkards and pigeons are excluded from this, it seems); for example, the ducklings will eat Apples, and later, Cruberries. The easiest gifts to obtain are Apples and Marle Flowers, and while you can buy them from Jade for pretty cheap, there is a location where you can find a few for free outside Lance Village (though if you talk to Lilia near the elder's house, she gives you one Apple for free). Anyway, I recommend waiting a little bit, but if you don't want to, then buy some combination of 5 gifts from Jade or Sarina (remember, you can get a free Apple from Lilia). To give them to a character, equip the respective item, then you'll get an option to give it to them, or talk to them normally. Give 5 gifts to Brody (perhaps up to 2 more, if you shot him with fireballs later in the game), and he'll reveal that the ducklings in the village will eat anything, including gold, apparently. It is crucial that he tells you this, otherwise you will *not* find the hidden gold stash, which as Brody mentioned, is in the bill of one of the ducklings, specifically one of the babies (they can be found wandering around above the clinic). In addition to 500 gold, if you're playing the Steam version, you will also receive the "Bill the Duck" achievement. I recommend using the gold to buy the remaining first level armor from Guido, but alternatively, you can save up to purchase the Long Sword a short while later (though personally, I prefer to skip the Long Sword altogether, and purchase the Talwar later on). In addition to Brody, you can gift the characters Theo and Lucy a few times to receive some special items. These can also serve as gifts, but they're better used as healing items, and if you're playing the Steam version, receiving and eating these is part of the "No Reservations" achievement, though you can only get 2 of the 4 items right now. If you gift Theo (a brown-haired fellow who is usually found just below the elder's house, the far northwestern building) 4 times, he'll give you the Smoked Meat (for fun, try gifting it back to him =p). If you'd like, this item can actually be used to feed the cats in the village, but it's purely optional; you may want to keep it in mind as part of a later Steam achievement, however. Anyway, Lucy is the little girl supervising the pikkards in the far southwestern corner of the village, and after gifting her 3 times, she'll give you the Meat Pie (in addition to trying to re-gift it to her, try giving it to Theo, who is her brother). Once you use these (whether to heal, or as gifts), you can gift the respective characters again to receive the item again (though for Lucy's item, I think you need to fireball her to lower her affection level, and then re-gift her). Well, that's all the important stuff you can currently do with gifting characters, but feel free to give others gifts as well, if you're feeling generous (or you just want all the character mascots =p). Anyway, once you're through shopping, do as Sarina advised, and speak to Elder Cornell to receive permission to enter the Mine; you'll find him sitting outside his house, the one in the far northwest corner of town (if he's not there, you need to head to the clinic and agree to help rescue Dr. Flair, or else he won't show up). He'll notice the Books of Ys you're carrying, and suggests that you return them to the Priest statues found within the Sanctuary of Toal, an area you'll find while exploring the Rasteenie Mine. The entrance to the Mine is within the Ruins of Moondoria to the north, so let's head there now. Before leaving, if you haven't done so already, you can speak to Lilia underneath the tree to the left of the elder's house. She'll give you a free Apple, saying it's good for your health, or as mentioned above, you can gift it to one of the villagers. More importantly, talking to her here will set up an optional scene with her in the field just outside the village, so if you want to see that, be sure to speak with her here first. As an added bonus, speaking to her manually (it doesn't matter when, just so long as you do it; however, there's a rather long period where she's temporarily unable to be found, but you can always do it later in the game) allows you to mess around in her bed back in her house, which is one of the requirements for the "Juuuuust Right" Steam achievement. Her bed is the one you start the game in (the pink checkered one in her house), and to enter, you simply press against one of the sides for a few seconds (the same goes for leaving). Head northwest of the elder's house to reach the village exit, which leads to the Moondoria Field. Head straight up until you see some stone pillars, at which point you can head west for some optional things, or if you just want to head to the Ruins of Moondoria, it's a little bit to the northeast. Head all the way left past the steps for a nice view of Esteria, where the events of Ys I took place (if you press against the edge (you won't fall =p), you can even see some dirt falling to the surface). Anyway, head back right a little, and head up the first set of steps, then follow the path left past another set of steps to find a few Apples growing on trees, as well as a Marle Flower. Go ahead and grab them, if you want; do note that the Apples take 5 minutes before they'll grow back, but the Marle Flowers around here grow back simply by refreshing the screen. Anyway, head right, and climb the second set of steps; if you want, you can follow this section all the way right to find another Marle Flower. Head back left, and climb the final set of steps, then head northeast a tad to the next screen, where you can find yet another Marle Flower to pick. More importantly, if you talked with Lilia underneath the tree back in Lance Village, heading all the way up on this screen will initiate a small cutscene with her. This is completely optional, but if you want to do it, you need to do it before exploring the Rasteenie Mine at all (technically, it's after you use either transition point on the first Mine screen, so you could still use a Wing to escape, and then fulfill the requirements for this scene), as Lilia then switches locations in Lance Village, and the event no longer triggers (even if you spoke to her under the tree by the elder's house earlier, the cliff scene still won't activate after setting foot in the Mine). Afterwards, you can find her here picking Marle Flowers, at least until you set foot in the Mine; at that point, she can then be found by the well just south of the weapon and item shops back in Lance. Head back down to where you saw those stone pillars in the field earlier, and northeast a little ways is the entrance to the Ruins of Moondoria. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruins of Moondoria [RNMNDR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Obtain enough strength to kill the rock golems guarding the Rod of Divinity - Use the Rod at the Goddess Statue to receive the ability to use magic - Find a Roda Fruit to help make Lilia's Medicine - Speak to Astal to enter the Sanctuary of Toal / Rasteenie Mine OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find the Ancient Tablet - Receive a free Short Sword from Leggs INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT - Ancient Tablet, Rod of Divinity*, Roda Fruit*, Short Sword CHARACTERS - Astal*, Leggs ENEMIES - Chrace, Cauction, Godaago* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you didn't buy a weapon back in Lance, you can get a Short Sword here for free. If you already have one, equip it, and start killing some enemies in the northwest section of the ruins. If you don't have one, then from the entrance, move northeast a tad, and then go right, taking the second small opening between the walls (the one near the lake). Head straight up, and right above the alcove the rock golems (Godaago) are guarding, you'll come across another opening in the walls. Enter the opening, then head right and talk to the old man, Leggs. If you don't have a weapon yet, he'll give you a Short Sword for free, but this is just for a limited time, which also awards you the "Revenge of Sworded Details" achievement if you're playing the Steam version. However, do note that the moment you open the chest the rock golems are guarding, you can no longer receive this (and in the event you bought a weapon before this - even if it's just the Long Sword - he won't give it to you regardless). Speaking to Leggs again reveals that he has a favor to ask of you, but he won't actually tell you what it is until you reach level 6. He wants you to retrieve the contents of the treasure chest you passed on the way here, guarded by the rock golems. Unlike most normal enemies, they are completely immune to attacks at lower levels, so you need a high enough STR stat in order to damage them. With the Short Sword equipped, you can do this as early as level 6, but if you buy the Long Sword early, you can do this as early as level 4. Purchasing the Long Sword requires backtracking to Lance at some point (as you won't have enough gold right away, even with the hidden stash from the duckling), so I prefer leveling to 6 with the Short Sword. Sure, having the Long Sword also makes the first boss reasonably doable a couple levels earlier, but at the same time, you'll need those extra levels later, and besides, I recommend using the Talwar over the Long Sword after the Mine. Anyway, head back to the bottom of the screen, and then left along the wall until you see some pillars (just ignore that other opening in the wall for the time being; it leads to the Rasteenie Mine, but you won't be strong enough to do much damage to the enemies there just yet). Walk through the opening above them, then head northeast at the fork, and follow the path into a small area with a couple enemies. On the ground near the upper left tree, you'll find a Roda Fruit. As you'll learn later, this is an essential ingredient for making Lilia's Medicine, but you can also use it as another potential gift for someone, or using it on yourself will fully restore your MP (when you have it, at least). You can only carry one at a time, so if you do decide to use it for something else, simply refresh the screen, and you can grab another then. Head back to where the path forked above the pillars, and head left until you see another opening in the wall (there should be a zombie-like enemy nearby, a Chrace). You might notice a small wooden chest in the area below this opening, but there's no way to get it just yet. So, head up, and follow the path right until you see a Cauction (red goblin-like enemies) near a larger opening. Before heading into that area, if you look along the wall in the bottom right corner (close to where the Cauction was), you should see the Ancient Tablet, so pick it up, if you want to (it's not required). You can read it by equipping and using it, which reveals there's a door that will only open after returning the Books of Ys to their rightful owners. Well, the elder requested you do that anyway, but now you actually have a good reason to do so. If you'd like, you can also show this to Masontorch back in Lance, but it's purely optional. When you're ready, head back to the opening to the left, and kill some enemies until you reach level 4 - it shouldn't take you very long. In addition, you should've received about 200 gold from killing them, so if you didn't spend any money earlier, you should now have enough to buy the Long Sword from Guido back in Lance Village (if you didn't find the hidden 500 gold, remember to gift Brody 5 times, and *then* search the baby duckling). If you buy and equip that, you should then be able to kill the rock golems guarding that chest, provided you're at least level 4 (200 EXP). As noted above, I prefer skipping the Long Sword, but that means you'll need to be level 6. However, as you may have noticed, the enemies in this game give reduced EXP the more you level, so the enemies out here are hardly worth the effort anymore. So, upon hitting level 4, it's preferable to grind on the enemies within the Sanctuary of Toal in order to hit level 6 (400 EXP). Head back to the opening with the pillars, and follow the wall down and to the right, and go into the first opening you see. You'll find a man named Astal guarding the door, and assuming you talked to Elder Cornell back in Lance, he'll let you inside (if you haven't talked to the elder yet, you'll need to do so before proceeding). Enter the door, and you'll be in the Sanctuary of Toal. So long as you're at least level 4 with the Short Sword equipped, you should be able to make quick work of the enemies here, so use the enemies in this first room to grind to level 6 (it should only take about 4 complete trips through the room). Once you have at least 29-30 STR, head back to the rock golems, and you'll now be able to kill them. Open the chest they were guarding, and you'll find the Rod of Divinity inside. Show it to Leggs (if you want to), and he'll say that touching the Rod to the Goddess Statue inside the nearby alcove will allow you the ability to use magic. Go ahead and do as he says, and you'll now have some MP to use. If you speak to Leggs again (as before, it's not required), he reveals that there are 6 forms of magic to be found, but unfortunately, we don't have any just yet (don't worry, we'll find some pretty shortly). When you're ready, head back to the door Astal's guarding, speak to him if you haven't done so already (remember, you need to have spoken with Elder Cornell back in Lance first), and enter the Sanctuary of Toal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanctuary of Toal / Rasteenie Mine [STLRMN] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Return the Books of Ys to the Priest statues within the Sanctuary of Toal - Find a Mattock, use it to free Dr. Flair, and give him Banoa's Letter - Find the Fire Magic within the Rasteenie Mine, and use it to kill Velagunder - Find a Celceta Flower deep within the Mine to help make Lilia's Medicine - Find the Light Magic deep within the Mine, and use it to find the Evil Bell - Give the Roda Fruit and Celceta Flower to Dr. Flair to make Lilia's Medicine - Give Lilia's Medicine to Banoa, and receive the Warp Magic afterwards - Agree to investigate Gila's Basement, and ring the Evil Bell downstairs - Receive the Scroll of Guidance from Priest Fact, and make your way to the Ice Ridge of Noltia OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find the Cleria Ring - Find some Iron Ore, and sell it to Guido - Clear Gila's Basement and the Sanctuary beyond of all enemies INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Rasteenie Mine) - Mattock*, Fire Magic*, Herb, Celceta Flower*, Light Magic*, Evil Bell*, Iron Ore x 2 INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Sanctuary of Toal) - Cleria Ring, Scroll of Guidance* INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Lance) - Lilia's Medicine*, Warp Magic*, Breast Plate, Plate Mail CHARACTERS (Sanctuary of Toal) - Priest Tovah*, Priest Dabbie*, Priest Hadal*, Priest Mesa*, Priest Gemma*, Priest Fact* CHARACTERS (Rasteenie Mine) - Flair Rall* ENEMIES (Sanctuary of Toal) - Warrizor, Gnometh, Zolgell ENEMIES (Rasteenie Mine) - Ripplet, Tolpi, Puroid, K'nocks, Carly, Orihalcus, Velagunder* NOTE - The Breast Plate and Plate Mail are only available from Guido if you sell him the Iron Ore. Even then, they're not available immediately, at least not without entering and exiting a few buildings within Lance's walls. Regarding Dr. Flair, even though rescuing him and making Lilia's Medicine are both required events, in order to get his character entry, you need to speak to him manually, whether it's in the Mine, or back in the clinic in Lance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow the path through the Sanctuary of Toal, and along the bottom of the screen, you'll come across a sealed door. This is the one the Ancient Tablet mentioned (if you found and read it), and it will only open once you return all the Books of Ys to their respective owners. So, continue following the path, and you'll soon come across a larger door along the top of the screen. This one will open for you, so step inside and investigate the statue to speak to Priest Hadal, who informs you that the source of the evil resides within Solomon Shrine. He'll also fully heal you, both your HP and MP (and as you're indoors, you can't stand still to gradually heal your HP). Anyway, exit the chamber, then head right until you see stairs leading downward, which is the entrance to the Rasteenie Mine. Follow the tunnels until you arrive in a room with some small plant-like enemies (Ripplets). The stairs on the left-hand side of this room lead to another section of the Sanctuary of Toal, so go ahead and enter. Follow the path, and in the southeastern corner, you'll find another large door, this one leading to Priest Tovah, who tells you that you'll need all 6 forms of the Priests' magic to defeat the evil plaguing Ys (actually, you only need to find 4 of the magics to beat the game =p). Exit the chamber, and back in the Mine, take the tunnel on the far right. Follow it until you reach a room with 3 tunnels to choose from; you'll want to take the one in the bottom right corner, followed by the middle one in the next room. You should now be in a room with a Puroid (horned pink demon). More importantly, this room contains the only usable Mattock throughout the Mine, and you'll need it to free Dr. Flair, so be sure to pick it up (there's a few broken mattocks scattered about, as well as some unusable shovels, but those are obviously no good). Before heading off to rescue Dr. Flair, if you want, that other chest in the Ruins of Moondoria can now be obtained, and it contains the Beastiary Potion. If you don't know where it is, it's in a sealed-off area just above the field entrance; you'll need to use the Mattock (equip and use it) on the heavily cracked wall just northeast of the entrance. Be sure to drink it (equip and use it), and you can now learn the stats of the various enemies you come across. Please refer to the Ys II "Enemies" section for more info on how that works. Anyway, continuing from the room where the usable Mattock was found, exit it and head back to the tunnel on the far left (there's nothing of interest in the other one), then take the far left tunnel in the next room as well. In the next room, take the tunnel on the far right, and you should be in a narrow room with a Puroid. Carefully dispatch the enemy, and after heading through the next tunnel, you'll find yourself in a room with a caved-in passage in the top right corner. Approach it to speak briefly with Dr. Flair, who says you'll need a Mattock to get through. So, assuming you found it earlier, equip and use it to clear away the rubble, which awards you 100 EXP. Now, you don't actually need to speak to Dr. Flair at this point if you don't want to (as soon as you completely leave the Mine/Sanctuary, he'll automatically return to the clinic regardless), but let's do so anyway. After giving him Banoa's Letter, he'll tell you that both a Roda Fruit and Celceta Flower are needed to make Lilia's Medicine. You should've already found a Roda Fruit, but if not, he mentions that they can be found in the Ruins of Moondoria (in the northern center area, next to a tree). As for the Celceta Flower, he says it only grows in dark areas, close to water. Hmm, we haven't seen anything like that yet, so hopefully there's some deeper in the Mine. Also, you may notice another caved-in passage off to the right, but there's nothing you can do to clear it. Anyway, as mentioned above, Dr. Flair will return to the clinic automatically upon completely exiting the Mine/Sanctuary, but if you're feeling generous, you can actually gift him a Wing so he doesn't have to walk (but then, why can't you slip him the Wing through the hole in the rubble instead of using the Mattock to break through? =p). Of course, doing this means you'll have to walk back to Lance, so do whatever you want. In any event, he won't take the Roda Fruit (or the Celceta Flower, if you're rescuing him a little later) just yet, so let's continue exploring. Head back to the last room with 3 tunnels, and this time take the one on the far left. You'll be in a room with stairs leading to another portion of the Sanctuary of Toal, and another tunnel at the bottom - take the stairs. On the left-hand side, you'll find a large door leading to Priest Dabbie, who tells you that so long as magic exists, so too will the demons. Well, that's certainly troubling... Exit the chamber, but before heading back to the Mine, there's a chest in the northeastern corner of this part of the Sanctuary, which contains the Cleria Ring. This is one of a few optional equipment accessories you can find throughout the game, and equipping this one will sometimes nullify the damage you'd otherwise take from an enemy. It usually doesn't happen very often, but you may find it useful, so pick it up, if you want. Head back to the Mine, and take the tunnel in the bottom right corner (be careful of the Ripplet). In the next room, take the bottom right tunnel again, and the bottom left one in the room following that (beware the Puroid). Carefully dispatch of the Tolpi (a larger plant like enemy), and take the tunnel to the next room. Here, you'll find a chest containing the Fire Magic, but the Puroid guarding it is kinda tricky to get around; you'll either need to get lucky with its positioning, or lure it to a wider part of the passage to safely dispatch it (either the part where the passage turns near the bottom, or near the room entrance). This magic is essential to be able to kill the boss down here, so assuming you found and used the Rod of Divinity in the Ruins earlier, you should be able to equip and use this right away (if you haven't already, you first need to find and touch the Rod to the Goddess Statue in the Ruins to acquire MP to use magic, otherwise finding this will do you no good). Obviously, its main use is to kill enemies, but you can also use it to shoot the various townsfolk for various reactions (shooting 50 townsfolk - or maybe even the same person 50 times, I think - gets you the Steam achievement "What the Legends Don't Tell You"), though if you're going for character mascots, you'll need to give them 1 or 2 extra gifts to make up for your abuse. Anyway, in the Eternal/Complete versions, the "Ctrl" button is the default for using magic, but in Chronicles, it's the "confirm" button. For the Fire Magic, you can hold down the button to charge it up; the longer you charge, the more damage you do (until you begin to glow, that is). However, it does drain your MP at a slightly faster rate than using normal fireballs, so be wary of that. To restore your MP, in addition to resting somewhere (no, standing outside doesn't work for MP, just HP), you can use certain consumable items, such as Marle Flowers, a Roda Fruit, and a couple others. Also note that this magic is an extension of your STR stat, so leveling up affects its damage as well (it's not an exact damage conversion, but close enough, I guess), though there are certain enemies that it just won't work for, like the Godaago in the Ruins, for example. Back in the last room with 3 tunnels (no, there's nothing of interest in those other tunnels), take the one on the far left this time. You'll be in a small room with a body of water, but there's no Celceta Flowers here. There is, however, an Herb, so pick that up if you need it (this one has a 5 minute recharge time before growing back). Ignore the tunnel on the far right (nothing of interest there, either), and take the middle one. You'll be in a room with another Puroid, with tunnels along the bottom, and stairs in the northeastern corner. Take the tunnel on the far left, and in the next room, take the stairs inside to another section of the Sanctuary (be careful of the Tolpi). In the southwestern corner of the Sanctuary, you'll find a large door leading to Priest Mesa, who tells you that to reach Solomon Shrine, you need to scale a mountain of ice, and then pass through a moat of lava. Well, nobody said this would be an easy journey. =p Exit the chamber, and head to the northeastern part of the Sanctuary to find another large door leading to Priest Gemma. Speaking to him reveals that if you could talk to the demons, it might prove helpful. Perhaps so, but how do we go about doing that? Exit the chamber, and head back to the last room with the Puroid in it. Now, you should have been killing everything in sight during your trek through here, so you should be level 10 or 11 by now. If you have the Long Sword, level 9 or 10 (preferably 10) will be enough for the upcoming boss, but if you only have the Short Sword, then level 11 or 12 (preferably 12) is required to deal additional damage. So if you need to, use the Puroid here to level up some (you'll need to refresh the room each time upon killing it). When you're ready, take the stairs in the northeastern corner, and follow the path southwest to another tunnel. Pass through the doorway in the next room, and you'll find yourself at another large door. This one leads to a boss, so make sure to save your game, get fully healed (use an Herb or some Apples, or re-visit one of the Priests), as well as have a decent amount of MP (at least 15-20 should be good - use a Marle Flower, or re-visit one of the Priests, if needed). Unlike Ys I, you're actually able to use consumable items during boss battles, so long as you have them equipped beforehand (if you're on the Easy difficulty, you can switch items and equipment mid-battle, but not on Normal and above); I recommend equipping either Herbs or Apples. In addition, make sure the Fire Magic is equipped, and when you're ready, head inside the door, and move forward a bit to awaken the first boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VELAGUNDER HP - 160 LVL - 11 STR - 100 DEF - 40 EXP - 400 GOLD - 600 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 12 STRATEGY - For a first boss, this guy is pretty easy, especially when compared to Jenocres (the first boss of Ys I). That said, he can still be a little troublesome on higher difficulties. The first thing to note is that physical attacks are completely ineffective here, and trying it will likely get you a quick game over. So, in order to damage him, you absolutely need the Fire Magic; that said, having a weapon equipped is still beneficial here, as the Fire Magic's damage is closely linked to your STR stat. Anyway, he'll open up his arms every so often, and shoot a couple waves of projectiles at you (if you're having trouble getting his arms to open, it generally helps to not be directly below him, at least not at first). This is your opportunity to attack, so let loose some fireballs (preferably fully charged ones) between his arms, and then dodge the projectiles as best you can. His arms will serve as shields against the fireballs (you can destroy them, but it's not really worth it, especially on higher difficulties), so you'll want to aim for the center part of his body. If you're on Easy or Normal, this is pretty easy, though on Normal, sometimes the projectiles will clump together if you don't move around very much. On Hard and Nightmare, there will be even more to dodge, so in that case, I recommend shooting a charged fireball, then quickly moving off to the side (you can attempt to slip between them, but it's generally harder to do consistently, especially since they now tend to slant a bit). In either case, you'll want to stick to the bottom of the screen as best you can (but be careful you don't accidentally exit the boss fight, if you have that option turned on in previous versions; for the Steam version, it seems to be enabled by default). Repeat the process a few times until he's dead (for his arms to open, it generally helps to not be directly below him, at least not at first). For your efforts, you'll receive 400 EXP, as well as 600 gold. If you're having trouble finding an opening to deal damage, as mentioned above, you can destroy his arms. Generally, I advise against doing this, as it not only drains your MP further (the damage they take is tracked separately from the rest of his body), but the arms can take quite a beating, especially on higher difficulties. If you do decide to destroy them, it's probably best to shoot at them diagonally, as the projectiles may otherwise end up pinning you against a wall if attempting to shoot them straight from the side, so this method allows you to damage them while keeping a safe distance away. Even so, you still need to damage him from the front, but destroying them at least allows you to angle your shots, instead of being directly below him. Do note that in order to deal additional damage, you'll need to be at least level 11 with the Short Sword equipped, though of course, level 12 (or above) is preferred. With the Long Sword, this fight is doable as early as level 9, preferably 10 (or above), but as noted earlier, it effectively puts you behind a couple levels later on; besides, the Talwar can be purchased soon, making the Long Sword quickly outclassed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, the door at the top of the room can now be opened, so let's see where it leads. Follow the passage southwest, and once you see the third Carly (pink enemy that kind of looks like a foot), head north, and when that path splits, take the center path. You should come across a small body of water with flowers growing nearby - these are the Celceta Flowers we're looking for. Go ahead and grab one, and as there are 3 to pick, you can use one to fully restore both your HP and MP. Like the Roda Fruit, you can only carry one at a time, but these have a 5 minute recharge time to grow back, so don't use them carelessly. Anyway, head back to the fork where the third Carly was, and head all the way south. Pass through the small passage to the right, and then follow the path northeast until you see another doorway. Head through this one as well, but in addition to the Orihalcus (headless armored enemies) lurking inside, it's also a bit darker than before, making this section pretty dangerous. Once inside, make your way as far northwest as you can, and then follow the path to the northeast. In the far northeastern corner, you'll find a chest containing the Light Magic. It's probably a good idea to equip this right away, as it'll help you see a bit better down here (but it slowly drains your MP, so be wary of that). Equipping this will also reveal some hidden passages down here, indicated by ripples along the wall once you're within range (though you don't actually need it equipped to enter the passages). The first hidden passage is just outside this darkened area with the Orihalcus, just to the southeast of the doorway you passed through to enter that area (if you're having trouble finding it, there's a little indentation along the bottom of the wall). Inside, follow the path to the right, and you'll find a chest guarded by a K'nocks (green serpent-like enemy), which contains the Evil Bell. Equipping and using this item will attract the attention of nearby demons and summon them to you. It may seem pointless, but it's necessary to reach Priest Fact's tomb, which is still yet to be found. There's one other hidden passage down here (actually, there's another one a little earlier in the Mine, but it's useless), so exit this room. Head back southeast, and through the small tunnel to the other side of the room. A short ways to the northwest, the Light Magic will reveal another ripple along the bottom of a wall (again, there's a little indentation to help find it). Inside, investigate the box up top, and you'll find a piece of Iron Ore inside. Actually, there are in fact two pieces to be found in this box, but you can't get the second one until you sell the first piece (unfortunately, you can only carry one at a time), so if you want some extra spending money, keep this room in mind. Well, that's all there is to do here, so assuming you returned all the Books of Ys except for Volume Fact, rescued Dr. Flair, and found both the Celceta Flower and Evil Bell, you can go ahead and return to Lance (if you still have it, now's a good time to use the Wing). Upon arrival, check the billboard if you want (it's just south of the entrance), and assuming you returned the first 5 Books of Ys, there will be a request from Gila regarding demons in his basement. Strange, why would they be down there? You can also talk to the elder about the location of Priest Fact's tomb, who says that Lance was once a part of Moondoria, so it should be somewhere nearby. Hmm, it'd definitely be a good idea to check out Gila's request. Before doing that, let's go see Dr. Flair about Lilia's Medicine, so head to the clinic and speak with him. On your way there, you might be tempted to stop by Guido's and sell him the Iron ore immediately for 3,000 gold, but if you do this a short while later, you can actually get him to up his offer to 6,000 gold. Do note that the increased price only applies to the first piece you sell him, so be sure to take advantage of it (if you sell it too soon, he'll always offer 3,000 gold; plus, even if you got the 6,000 offer for the first piece, the second one you sell will always be for 3,000 gold). If you don't care about that, selling it to him should still bump your gold up enough to purchase the Talwar, or fairly close to it, at least (again, I recommend against purchasing the Long Sword, but it's a decent alternative, for the time being). Getting back to Dr. Flair, upon giving him both the Roda Fruit and Celceta Flower, he'll give you Lilia's Medicine, which he instructs you to give to Banoa (remember, Lilia supposedly doesn't know that she's ill). Head to Banoa's house, and speak with her inside to give her Lilia's Medicine. Go ahead and leave, and after the cutscenes, Banoa will give you the Return Magic (it works just like the Wing, at the cost of 20 MP), plus you'll also receive 300 EXP for saving Lilia. Alright, let's go see Gila about his request now. His house is in the southwest part of town, right above the pikkard pen. Inside, you'll find him standing in front of a locked door (if he's not, then you need to return the first 5 Books of Ys to the Priests), so talk to him, and agree to search his basement for demons. Head downstairs, and examining the exposed brick wall reveals there is indeed an evil presence down here. Ring the Evil Bell (equip and use it), and demons will come crashing through the wall. If you're playing the Complete version of this game, after ringing the Evil Bell, it is important that you do *not* head back upstairs until the demons break down the wall; for some reason, movement was still allowed between the period the Evil Bell is rung and the wall being destroyed, and walking back upstairs during this period results in an unwinnable game (the game basically assumes the wall is broken the moment the Evil Bell is first rung down here - even if you don't see it happen - and so the event will never re-activate). In any case, carefully make your way to the tunnel in the north end of this passage (if the enemies are clogging up the passage, ringing the Evil Bell may help lure a few towards you, which should then make it easier to get around them), which actually connects to another part of the Sanctuary of Toal. This is right next to where we found Dr. Flair earlier (as indicated by the caved-in passage off to the left, which is unclearable). In the northeast corner, there's a large door leading to Priest Fact. Speak to him, and he'll give you the Scroll of Guidance to use at the various Goddess Statues, as well as open the sealed door seen in the first Sanctuary area (before speaking to him, you need to have cured Lilia and received the Return Magic from Banoa, otherwise the sealed door won't be open). If you're feeling up to it, you can actually clear Gila's Basement and this Sanctuary room of the demons, but it will take a good deal of kills before that happens. In addition to the regular EXP you get for killing the enemies, an additional 400 EXP is awarded for clearing out both areas, as well as the Steam achievement "Gila's Monsters", so it's definitely worth it. If you do decide to do this, it's recommended that you have either the Long Sword or Talwar equipped, so you might consider putting it off shortly (you can clear it at any point in the game). For the first room, it's recommended that you don't activate screen transitions until it's completely clear, otherwise the demons could spawn endlessly, regardless of how much you kill (aside from the final wave, they all don't need to be killed during the same visit). Once the first area is clear (about 60 kills, or so), you'll get a message saying there's still an evil presence in the area beyond, which then enables the Sanctuary area to be cleared, which only consists of a couple of Zolgells (slime enemies). After killing both of them, you'll get a message saying the area is completely clear, plus you'll receive an extra 400 EXP for your efforts. In any event, head back to the Ruins of Moondoria. You may have noticed that the Scroll of Guidance is blank right now, so if you want to, go ahead and touch the Goddess Statue here (it's not required). This one will tell you what you already know, that you need to journey to Solomon Shrine, and also to speak to the other Goddess Statues for hints. Even though it's not particularly helpful this time, the latest hint you receive from them will be recorded to the Scroll of Guidance, which you can then read again at any time by equipping and using it. Anyway, head back inside the Sanctuary near Astal (if you want, you can pick up another Roda Fruit in the Ruins), and inside you'll find that the small door along the bottom will now be opened. Once you step through the ice-covered doorway at the end of this rather long passage, you'll see a small cutscene involving the two mysterious entities from the game's opening movie. Watching this scene is the trigger for Guido to buy the first piece of Iron Ore from you for 6,000 gold, so you may wish to do that before continuing; you can then get the second piece from the Mine (same spot as before; while you're down there, you can pick another Celceta Flower for personal use), but he'll only buy this one for 3,000 gold, regardless of what you do. At the very least, I recommend buying the Talwar, as well as a 3rd level armor or shield, if you have enough cash for it. In order to buy the 2nd and 3rd level body armors from here, you first need to activate a screen transition anytime after selling the first piece of Iron Ore (anything aside from Guido's shop will work). This gets Lazlo started on the new armor, and at that point, you simply need to enter and exit any 3 buildings within Lance (Guido's shop will work this time, but places like Gila's Basement and the clinic's pigeon loft won't; oddly, the village entrance will work), and then enter Guido's shop again. Inside, Lazlo should be standing off to the side, next to some new armor on the stands (even if he's not there, you should at least see the new armor displays), which you can then purchase from Guido. If you haven't done so yet, now is a good time to go ahead and clear out Gila's Basement. Otherwise, that's all there is to do here for the moment (though Lilia has some interesting dialogue if you speak to her after the Ice Ridge cutscene), so let's explore the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ice Ridge of Noltia [ICRDGE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Find the Blizzard Bulb, and use it to form a path to the other side of a cave - Find the Alter Magic, and use it to speak with the demons - Find the Stone Shoes, and use them to climb up the icy slopes - Find the Anti-Illusion Mirror, and use it to reveal the true door to Tyalmath's lair - Kill Tyalmath, and pass through to the Moat of Burnedbless OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find both the Spirit Cape and the Hawk Idol - Find the hidden 1,000 gold stash in Tyalmath's lair INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT - Blizzard Bulb*, Spirit Cape, Hawk Idol, Alter Magic*, Marle Flower, Herb x 2, Stone Shoes*, Anti-Illusion Mirror*, 1,000 Gold CHARACTERS - None ENEMIES - Neeli, Gercard, Eggnid, Galgata, Gworter, Swoff, Tyalmath* NOTE - While there are no new characters to encounter at this point, both Lilia and Bohtz will go missing from Lance at a certain point (namely, as soon as you enter the screen where you can find the Hawk Idol, as well as a Goddess Statue), and it'll be some time before you encounter them again. Thankfully, no character in Ys II is permanently missable, so don't worry if you haven't spoken to them yet (in Lilia's case, this is only important for entering her bed). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout this whole area, you'll probably notice some icy slopes; for the time being, you can only slide down these, as they're too slippery to climb up with your current equipment. It's also worth noting that, while this is an outdoor area, you can't stand still here to gradually heal - at least, not without finding a certain equipment accessory in the area. It should also go without saying that Fire Magic is pretty effective for the majority of the enemies here, but of course, you still need the appropriate strength for it to be of much use. Anyway, head straight up the first 3 sets of steps, then take the steps to your left, ignoring the icy slope. From there, take the steps just to the northwest, and follow the path all the way left, where you should encounter a Gercard (horned demons with a sword and shield). Follow a few sets of steps downward until you see some icy monsters (Neeli), and then take the steps to the southwest, where you should see another Gercard. From the tree it's next to, head left a little ways, then take a couple sets of steps downwards, where you'll find the Blizzard Bulb hovering above an icy stand, so go ahead and grab it. Just northwest of here, you may have noticed an area with some more icy slopes; unfortunately, there's no alternative path to go where they lead, so you'll need to re-visit this area once you have the proper tools, so keep it in mind for later. Make your way back up to where the first Gercard was (just take the steps all the way back up, or if you prefer, you can loop around the bottom of the screen, but that's slightly slower). Head right a little ways, and after going down the first set of steps, follow this path all the way right to reach some more steps (you should encounter another Neeli along the way). Climb them, and follow the path until you reach a cave. Inside, ignore the eastern section (there's nothing over there, except a passage that leads to a dead end), and head to the southwestern corner. You should notice an icy draft coming from the ground near a chasm, similar to how you found the Blizzard Bulb. In order to cross, you'll need to stand where the draft is, and use the Blizzard Bulb (equip and use it) there to form an ice bridge leading to the other side of the cavern. Upon exiting the cavern, take the steps downward, and you should notice a Gercard at their base, so go ahead and dispatch it. If you want another equipment accessory, then look closely at where it was standing, and you should notice a set of footprints, so follow them left to enter a hidden cave (if you're having trouble finding it, it's the area just to the right of the base of the steps). Inside, you'll find a chest containing another optional equipment accessory, this one being the Spirit Cape. Much like the Heal Ring from Ys I, equipping this will allow you to stand still and recover HP, even in areas (like this one) where you can't normally do so; using it in an area where you can already heal gradually will help speed up the process a little. Anyway, exit the cave, and take the next set of steps downward. Follow the path all the way left, and take the second set of steps you see (the other set just leads to a dead end; you may also notice a treasure chest along the bottom of this path, but you can't get to it yet). Follow the steps upward until you see some Eggnids (green winged demons) near a cave. The other paths here lead to more dead ends, so go ahead and enter it. There's nothing of note inside, so just follow it outside to the left. On the next screen, take the first set of steps downward, and just to the northwest, you'll notice another icy slope near a Galgata (spiky shelled turtle-like enemy). There's a Goddess Statue at the top of this one, but as with the other slopes, there's no way to climb up it yet, so keep it in mind for later (well, if you want to - you don't need to visit this one, either). For now, take the steps to the southeast of the icy slope (the path further left just leads to another dead end) until you see another Galgata, this one near a tree. The path splits here, and while both lead to the next area, the one off to the left leads to another equipment accessory, so let's head that way. Eventually, you'll come across a group of Gworters (cyclops), as well as another Galgata, so go ahead and dispatch them. You should notice an icy slope leading downwards, so go ahead and slide down. Before sliding down the second one, grab the chest off to the left, which contains the Hawk Idol. This is another equipment accessory, and equipping this allows your fireballs to automatically home in on any nearby enemies (though it will still sometimes miss if the fireball has to arc too tightly). I recommend having this accessory equipped when you don't need to use the Spirit Cape to heal, as it allows you to kill enemies safely from afar fairly easily - the downside is that your fireballs won't automatically arc around environmental obstacles (trees, stalactites, etc.), so you still have to be careful to not waste your shots. Anyway, slide down the other icy slope, and take the steps to the southwest, where you'll find another cave. As noted above, the path below just loops around to a different section of this screen, but there's nothing of note that way, so go ahead and enter the cave. Inside, you'll find a bunch of ice clumps, and the only way through is to destroy them with fireballs (which, oddly enough, give 1 or 2 EXP each, depending on your level - as if them giving EXP isn't awkward enough, it's actually scaled, just like normal enemies =p). In order to minimize MP loss here, I recommend carving a path along the top - this makes it so you only need to destroy a minimum of 5-6 ice clumps, if you're careful. Upon exiting this cave, head right to find a chest containing the Alter Magic. Equipping this will turn you into a cute little Roo, which most characters - even most enemies - mistake for a demon. So, you can use this to speak with the various enemies (it doesn't work on the bosses, unfortunately), who will sometimes give you hints, or you can use it to mess with the various characters you encounter (either way, using it is completely optional at this time, but it's necessary for later events). However, as with the Light Magic, this one will slowly drain your MP simply by equipping it, so try not to use it recklessly. Anyway, head back to the left, and take the steps downward. There's a Swoff here, but before killing it off, use the Alter Magic to speak with it, if you want (it's not required). Doing so reveals that it witnessed a pretty female human being carried off by a flying demon. That doesn't sound good... Anyway, you can then turn back to normal and dispatch it, if you want (how heartless of you =p), or you can continue chatting with the other monsters in the area (again, keep an eye on your MP if you do this). Take the steps on the left, and follow them until you reach another icy slope above you. Again, you can't climb this, but you should be able to see a door up there, so keep it in mind for later. Instead, head off to the right, but before climbing the steps above you, there's a Marle Flower further to the right, so go ahead and grab it, and use it to restore a little MP, if you need to (this has a 5 minute recharge time before growing back). Head up the steps, and when the path splits, take the steps to the northwest to reach another cave (the other paths are just dead ends again). Inside, you'll find an Herb growing along the wall, just to the northeast of the entrance, so grab that if you want (as with the Marle Flower, this also has a 5 minute recharge time). There's nothing else to do here, so follow it outside to the right. Off to the right, you'll find a Gworter, so go ahead and dispatch it, and inside the chest it was guarding, you'll find the Stone Shoes. Equipping these will allow you to walk up those icy slopes you've likely encountered all throughout this area. For now, you need to head all the way back to the first screen, and explore the area to the northwest of where the Blizzard Bulb was found. As it's a few screens back, instead of walking, I recommend using the Return Magic (or a Wing) to warp to Lance, if you can spare the MP. If you do warp to Lance, talking to the villagers reveals that both Lilia and Bohtz have gone missing, even though they probably should have returned by now. Hmm, that one demon did say it saw a pretty, young female being carried off... Either way, there's nothing you can do about this now, so let's move on. Before leaving, if you're particularly low on MP, you might consider getting healed at the clinic, or resting at Banoa's; you may also wish to purchase some new equipment, preferably either the Large Shield or Plate Mail, if you can afford one (you probably won't be able to afford both yet - at least not without a fair deal of grinding - but the next boss should be easily doable without them). Before heading back to the Ice Ridge, now that you have the Alter Magic, you can use it to speak to a certain demon within the Rasteenie Mine to get the Steam achievement "Where's Aldow?". The demon in question is the K'nocks in the top left corner of the room where the Evil Bell was found deep within the Mine. Unless you missed the second piece of Iron Ore from before (same spot where the first piece was found), there's nothing left to do down there, so make your way back to where you first entered the Ice Ridge. The area just northwest of where you found the Blizzard Bulb is where you want to go (if you're coming from the Sanctuary, it's faster to loop around the bottom of the screen), as you can now equip the Stone Shoes to climb up those icy slopes. Go ahead and do so, but be careful of the Eggnids as you're climbing up. Just to the northeast, take the steps leading to that chest you may have seen earlier, which contains the Anti-Illusion Mirror. This allows you to reach the boss of this area, so be sure to pick it up. Anyway, back on the screen where the Hawk Idol is found, if you want, you can now climb the icy slope just southwest of the northeastern cave to reach the Goddess Statue, which reveals that the door seen earlier is a fake, so you need to find a way to dispel the illusion and reveal the real door. Assuming that you have the Anti-Illusion Mirror in your possession, head back to the screen where the Alter Magic was found, and west of the Marle Flower on that screen (if it's grown back by now, feel free to pick and use it again), there's another icy slope. Climb up this one, and you'll find a door up top. Trying to open it just results in your body passing right on through, so equip the Anti-Illusion Mirror, and use it in front of the door. The real door will appear off to the left, so go ahead and step inside. Be sure to save your game, get fully healed (use the Spirit Cape, or just use an Herb from the cave that led to the Stone Shoes), and make sure you have a decent amount of MP (the 15 MP from the Marle Flower should be enough, or if you have one, you can use a Roda Fruit to completely replenish it), and make sure the Fire Magic is equipped; also, if you have it, I recommend equipping the Hawk Idol, but it is by no means necessary. When you're ready, head to the very top of the screen, and prepare to face the next boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TYALMATH HP - 280 LVL - 20 STR - 121 DEF - 74 EXP - 600 GOLD - 1,200 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 18/19 STRATEGY - This boss is one of the easier ones, though he may still be a little troublesome on higher difficulties. Immediately upon initiating the fight, this guy will attempt to pounce on you, so as soon as you see him leap, move out of the way (he'll track your position temporarily, so even if you immediately move to the bottom of the screen or something, he can still land on you if you're not careful). Shortly after he lands, he'll send waves of ice along the ground in multiple directions, so you'll need to keep a constant eye out to effectively move between them; naturally, being further away from him gives you a better chance to read their direction, and dodge accordingly. On higher difficulties, this attack is harder to dodge, as not only will he send out more waves, he tends to clump a few of them together, meaning you'll likely have to move completely out of the way instead of trying to find an opening to move between them. He'll then either send out more ice waves, or leap in the air and try to land on you again (if he happens to catch you with that attack, it hurts quite a lot, and is likely to outright kill you, even with full HP and good armor). The best time to attack him is as soon as he lands (as with Velagunder, physical attacks are completely ineffective, so you need to use Fire Magic), as trying to shoot between the waves of ice is tricky, since they can easily block your shots. Having the Hawk Idol equipped makes hitting him a fair deal easier, perhaps even arcing your shots between the ice waves, if you're lucky (of course, that's easier said than done). After taking off a certain amount of his HP, he starts to leave ice clumps behind (at what HP threshold he does this, and how frequently, is dependent on the difficulty level, I believe), making him a tad trickier to deal with. If you have the Hawk Idol equipped (which I recommend), then your fireballs tend to be directed towards these, instead of the boss. In order to counteract this, I recommend either firing at him point blank (which obviously tends to be more risky), or destroying the ice clumps as best you can before aiming for the boss again (on higher difficulties, he tends to leave a lot of these behind, so destroying them all may be tricky to do - it's probably better just to take out only the most problematic ones, or avoid them entirely). Anyway, once you win, you receive 600 EXP and 1,200 gold for your efforts. For this fight, being at least level 17 with the Talwar equipped is required to do additional damage here, but level 18 or 19 is preferable (perhaps even 1 or 2 levels higher, if he's proving to be too difficult). Even without clearing Gila's Basement for extra EXP, so long as you clear everything in your path through the Ice Ridge, you'll probably reach level 17 or 18 naturally. If you still have the Long Sword, you won't do much damage to him until level 20 or 21 (technically, level 18 or 19 with the Long Sword is when you start doing additional damage, but that's still quite a slow battle). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before heading through the door at the top of the room, you may have noticed a treasure chest where Tyalmath initially leapt down from. So, how to get to it? In the top left corner of the room, there's a secret passage looping around to it (the entrance is just a little below the top of the room), and it contains 1,000 gold; it's worth noting that this passage is only open after the battle with Tyalmath, not before. Anyway, head through the northern door, and you'll be in another cavern, one that seems significantly warmer. Head straight up, and if you need it, there's another Herb growing behind the cluster of rocks (this one also has a 5 minute recharge time). From there, head northwest a little, and you'll find a cave leading to the lava-filled Moat of Burnedbless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moat of Burnedbless [BRNBLS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Find the Colony of Lava, and use the Alter Magic to get Ruba to reveal Tarf's kidnapping - Offer to rescue Tarf from the demons, and receive the Whisper Earrings - Use the Evil Bell to find the hidden Roos' Nest, and use the Roda Leaf within to traverse the poisonous passage - Find the Black Pearl, and using the Whisper Earrings, give it to Keith to free both him and Tarf - Escort Tarf back to the Colony of Lava, and cross the bridge to the other side of the Moat of Burnedbless - Kill Gelaldy, and make your way to Ramia Village OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find another piece of Iron Ore, and sell it to Guido - Receive the Raw Meat from Nash INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Moat of Burnedbless) - Iron Ore, Black Pearl*, Herb, 2,000 Gold INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Colony of Lava) - Whisper Earrings*, Raw Meat INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Roos' Nest) - Roda Leaf*, Roda Fruit CHARACTERS (Colony of Lava) - Ruba*, Tarf*, Fred, Natalie, Noit, Rafa, Rex, Chelnie, Favre, Elle, Meryl, Carson, Ischt, Kasim, Flonne, Darie, Nash CHARACTERS (Roos' Nest) - Roodle, Brooce, Tallyroo, Touroose, Prooto, Roo-kie, Rooroo, Droozy ENEMIES (Moat of Burnedbless) - Preliguard, Onuman, Scollun, Xelbenoth, Gene, Dirga, Topus, Magnute, Gelaldy* NOTE - Tarf's character entry can be obtained outside the Colony of Lava by manually speaking to him at any time in the prison area during the escort mission, but as it's possible to miss this opportunity, he can be spoken to manually back inside the village, or at a mandatory point later in the game. Also, Noit disappears at a certain point later in the story, so he's temporarily missable, but he's also found as part of the plot later on, so don't worry if you miss him. As for the Roos, you need to have Alter Magic equipped to receive their entries. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At this point in the game, if you haven't been grinding a whole lot, the enemies in this area may be a bit troublesome to deal with at first, even with the Talwar equipped. Even though the Ice Ridge boss can be dealt with reasonably a level or two earlier, I recommend starting this area at least at level 20, as it enables you to deal with both the lizard warriors and ape-like enemies right away (the Preliguard and Onuman respectively - at level 19, you can only do reasonable damage to the Preliguards). Of course, later enemies in the area require even more STR to deal with effectively, so starting off higher than that certainly doesn't hurt. Anyway, head northwest a little bit, and you'll get a message saying you feel like someone's watching you, but there doesn't seem to be anyone around. That's definitely odd, but let's keep moving northwest for now (or if you want, you can actually discover what's watching you right away - if so, skip a couple paragraphs for the solution). If you'd like, you can also check out the Goddess Statue here (as with the previous ones, this isn't required), which reveals that there are creatures nearby who may be of help to you. In addition to some magical items, it's also suggested that there's another magic to be found in this area, but that's not exactly true - the only new magic is the one you should've already obtained from the Ice Ridge (Alter Magic), which will be needed shortly. At any rate, on the next screen head north past the Preliguards (lizard warriors - be careful around them, as they tend to turn nearly invisible, but you can then use Light Magic to see them better, if you want), and you should see a passage along the eastern wall (it's near the first Onuman, an ape-like enemy). The passage in the northwest will eventually lead to a poisonous corridor, and there's no point in going that way at the moment (even if you already found the needed item to safely pass through, you won't be able to proceed much further at present), so take the eastern passage. Inside, follow the path, and take the passage in the northeastern corner. On this next screen, the enemies have some interesting things to say, so equip the Alter Magic and chat with them, if you'd like. In any event, you'll need to loop around the right side of the lava in this room, and take the passage in the northwestern corner. You should now be on a screen with some Scolluns (scorpion-like enemies), so if you want to (again, it's not required), speaking to them also yields some interesting dialogue about checking up on a bridge guard, Ruba. What could that be about? In any event, head two screens west, and on the next screen, loop around and enter the northeastern passage (if you noticed, there's also a blocked path in the southwest corner, but there's currently no way through). Along the way, if you want, speak to one of the Dirgas (shelled enemies), and it'll ask you to check up on Ruba - do keep his request in mind. Anyway, carefully dispatch the Scolluns on the next screen, and follow the path east. Head northeast a tad, and you'll come across the Colony of Lava. Step inside the village, and if you'd like, you can stand still to heal for free (but not for the rest of this area, as you probably noticed). Now, most of the villagers here will instantly clam up at the sight of Adol's red hair (and consequently, you can't give gifts to most of them at this time, but their character entries are still obtainable), but a few of them will still be conversational, mostly the ones outside along the bottom. Speaking to the fellow just left of the entrance reveals that he too feels watched near the Goddess Statue, and says there must be a way to lure whatever it is out of hiding. The guy right next to him says that there used to be sacred animals known as Roos somewhere around here, but they were cursed by the demons, and went into hiding. In any event, your real destination here is the far northern part of the village, where you'll find a blue-haired man guarding another bridge. This is Ruba, and if you first attempt to speak to him normally, he'll claim that the bridge was damaged by the demons, and can't be repaired or lowered at the moment. Instead, you'll need to use the Alter Magic, and speak to him as a Roo, who he believes to be a slave of the demons, sent to keep tabs on him. Doing so reveals that he's not letting you cross in order to have his son, Tarf, returned to him unharmed. After learning of this, change back to normal, and speak to him again; after he explains himself, offer to rescue Tarf, and he'll give you the Whisper Earrings to aid in the task. After doing so, the two villagers near him can now also become a little more friendly, meaning they can now be gifted, but there's little point in that (unless you want their character mascots right away). Return to the screen with the Goddess Statue, and if you wear the Whisper Earrings here (it's not required to use them here), you can hear the footsteps of non-humans nearby. So, go ahead and ring the Evil Bell, and you should see a furry little creature come out from the northeastern corner to briefly investigate the noise. It is essential that you do this, otherwise you will not be able to enter the area he emerges from (if he's not showing up, you need to ring the Evil Bell in the northeastern part of the screen - however, doing it to close to where it appears causes it to head straight back inside, though you can still enter the passage afterwards). Go ahead and follow the creature back inside, and you'll be at the Roos' Nest. In order to speak with the creatures (Roos) inside, you'll need to use the Alter Magic, otherwise you won't be able to understand them (as well as receive their "Notes" entries, if you're collecting those; also, note that you are unable to give them gifts). Of particular note, the one in the southern end mentions he saw demons taking a human boy through the poisonous corridor. Interesting... Also, if you're low on MP, you can speak to the stationary Roo near the tree in the northern end, and he'll let you rest to fully recover both your HP and MP. And speaking of the tree, you can grab both a Roda Fruit and Roda Leaf from it. The Roda Fruit isn't needed at this point (but if you do grab it, note that this location has a 5 minute recharge time, unlike the one from the Ruins of Moondoria), but the Roda Leaf is; speaking to the Roos after grabbing it reveals that it allows safe passage through the poisonous corridor. Exit the Roos' Nest, and head back to the northwestern passage. On the next screen, take the passage in the northwestern corner this time, and you'll be in a small room with no enemies; there is, however, another piece of Iron Ore lying about in the northwest corner, so pick it up and sell it to Guido, if you'd like. Anyway, take the passage in the southwest, and follow the path west (be careful of those Dirgas). Follow the path to the northwestern passage, but before you do, the reptilian enemies in the area (Topus) are a good spot to grind for a bit, if you need to - I recommend at least getting to level 24 before proceeding. On this next screen, if you don't have the Roda Leaf equipped, you'll get a message saying it's too dangerous to proceed, so make sure you're wearing it before continuing west (as one of the Roos mentioned, just having it with you isn't enough). As an aside, it is actually possible to make it through here without the Roda Leaf, but you do need some healing items to make it through alive (3 Herbs will just barely work at level 24 or so), but as this place acts similar to the Devil's Corridor in Ys I (in that it delivers more damage the farther you proceed), the timing for when to heal can be tricky, so I don't recommend doing it. After passing through the poisonous corridor, the path splits, so take the passage directly to the west. The Magnutes (magma creatures) on this screen can shoot projectiles, so it's probably a good idea to finish them off quickly, but you'll need physical attacks to do so, as they are invulnerable to your fireballs. There's an Herb growing behind the big rock in the northwestern corner (if you can't find it, choosing to make Adol visible behind walls should reveal it), so grab that if you need it. More importantly, there's a statue at the top of this screen, and examining it reveals a Black Pearl in its forehead, so go ahead and grab it. Upon doing so, a bunch of Magnutes will appear below you, so carefully make your way past them (it may be easier to slip by them with the Alter Magic). Head back to the previous room, and this time take the passage in the northeastern corner, and go northeast again on the next screen. Along the northern wall of the next room, there's a crack, but as it's too dark to see inside, equip the Whisper Earrings and examine it (if you're still using it, you'll need to un-equip the Alter Magic first). This is where Tarf is imprisoned, and at the request of his friendly demon inmate Keith, he asks you to find an object known as the Black Pearl. Assuming you found it before, you'll automatically hand it over, and Keith will use it to bust down the wall Dogi style, but before you can speak with him, he shies away via another makeshift exit. After all the dialogue, agree to escort Tarf back to the Colony of Lava, as he can't make it back on his own (whether you initially accept or decline, you can warp back to the Colony of Lava and speak with Ruba for some amusing dialogue - his reaction varies depending on whether or not you agreed to help =p). If you'd like, there's a message from Keith carved along the wall just left of the prison bars. Also, if you look at his stats, you may notice that, aside from the Black Pearl, he has another random item equipped (such as a Cactus, a Red Bell Pepper, or a couple other possibilities), but I'm not sure what determines what item he has - not that it matters in any way (or so I assume =p). Anyway, you'll want to take the passage in the northeast corner, as trying to go back the other way means passing through the poisonous corridor again, and Tarf won't be able to survive that. Before heading through the passage (make sure Tarf follows you through), it is strongly recommended that you save your game, as the enemies can kill him rather easily, which means game over for you if that happens. At this point, you can take Tarf back to the village immediately (unfortunately, warping there won't bring him with you, so you have to walk; if you do warp here during the middle of the escort mission, talk to Ruba for some amusing dialogue =p), but there are a couple optional things you can do with regards to him (if you don't care, then just skip a couple paragraphs to move on). First, if you have at least 7 gifts on you, you can go ahead and give them to him (after speaking to him manually at least once, and assuming you agreed to escort him), which will bring his level to 2 (also, depending on what you give him, he may use it in the event he gets hurt). Unlike Ys I, you can actually warp somewhere else during the escort mission, so if you need to grab some gifts, you can go ahead and do so; however, Tarf doesn't warp with you, and will remain where you left him, so be sure not to carelessly leave him in the midst of enemies. Anyway, gifting him a total of 7 times enables him to fight alongside you (via throwing pebbles at the enemies), but for the moment, he's pretty weak. While you can continue to level him up by giving him gifts for 1 EXP each, that is an extremely slow process, so you'll want him to deliver the finishing blow to an enemy instead. Instead of letting Tarf do all the work (aside from being weak, his aim isn't very good, at least not at first), the easiest way to do this is to whittle an enemy's health down until it has a sliver left, and then to transform into a Roo, and speak to it (alternatively, you can transform into a Roo and not speak to the enemies, but still act as a shield - however, this consumes MP, where the previous method doesn't, at least not as quickly). This forces the enemy to stay in place temporarily, meaning Tarf can score a free hit before it moves again, but it's best to clear out the other enemies nearby, as they'll very likely head straight for him (trust me, Tarf very likely won't outrun them). For killing an enemy, he seems to receive 5 times its listed EXP value (while you can only ever get double - what a cheater =p), but he doesn't require nearly as much EXP as you, so he'll hit level 4 on his first kill (level 5 if you go back and let him kill a Magnute). You can repeat this process to get him to level 25 (his maximum), at which point you'll also receive the Steam achievement "Personal Trainer". Next, much like Feena, you can actually learn Tarf's measurements (if I didn't list Feena's, I'm definitely not listing these). Why Falcom included this in the first place, I have no clue, but doing this also awards a Steam achievement if playing that version of the game. Anyway, to do this, you need to escort Tarf all the way to where you found the Iron Ore here in the Moat of Burnedbless. It may not seem too far, except that you have to circle all the way around, as you can't go back through the poisonous passage with Tarf in tow (just ignore his comments about going the wrong direction, even if they are true =p). On your way there, you can also swing by the Roos' Nest, where he'll temporarily mistake the Roos for demons, chucking pebbles at them as well. You can also take him outside on the Ice Ridge, but he quickly heads back inside. Anyway, getting back to measuring Tarf, you need to push him against the back of that narrow corridor where the Iron Ore was found. This can be a rather tricky process, and I think it's necessary to use fireballs to force him around some of the bends. Upon doing this, you'll receive the Steam achievement "Police Are On Their Way" - I hope it was worth it. =p Well, that's all the optional stuff there is to do with Tarf, so let's get him back to the Colony of Lava. Unless Tarf is fully leveled (he's actually fairly strong then - he even has 1 more STR than your base at that level =p), it's best that you kill the enemies to make a safe path for him, as they will otherwise target him, and believe me, he moves rather slow (plus he tends to get caught on the terrain rather easily). Anyway, if you didn't realize it yet, the northeastern passage out of the prison cell area was actually pretty close to his home. So, make sure Tarf's following you, and from there, take the passage in the northeast again, and follow the next screen back to the Colony of Lava. As soon as you step foot inside the village, Tarf will be re-united with his father, which gets you 900 EXP. Ruba decides to raise the northern bridge against the demons' wishes, so head to the northern part of the village, and speak to Ruba to have it lowered (that, or just approach the bridge directly to initiate the conversation). It's worth noting that the remainder of the villagers become friendlier at this point, meaning they'll start taking your gifts now. Of particular note is Nash, a young man just outside Ruba and Tarf's house (just southwest of the northern bridge), who upon giving him 5 gifts (unless you fireballed him, in which case it'll take 1-2 additional gifts), he'll give you some Raw Meat (unlike Lucy and Theo, he doesn't react differently if you try and re-gift it to him), which is another one of the items needed to obtain the "No Reservations" Steam achievement. When you're ready, cross the northern bridge, and take the passage in the northeastern corner. As soon as you enter this passage, if you return to the Colony of Lava, you can talk to Tarf (and later, Ruba) inside his house to fully heal both your HP and MP for free. Anyway, on the screen northeast of the village, head straight down past the first couple Xelbenoths (minotaur-like enemies), and along the second path to your right, there's a small chest containing 2,000 gold, so pick that up if you want. Back near the start of the room, follow the path to the right, and loop around to the passage in the southwest corner. Go ahead and enter, and follow it west, being cautious of the Gene (fire elemental) inside; as you might it expect, it is immune to fireballs, so you'll need to use physical attacks to kill it. This next room is good for a little grinding, so if you need to, I recommend using the Genes here to reach at least level 26 or 27, if you're not already there. At the very least, you should have bought the Talwar from Lance by now, and probably both the Large Shield and Plate Mail as well. Anyway, along the northern wall of this room, you'll find a large door, so save your game, make sure you're fully healed and that you have a decent supply of MP (the Roda Fruit from the Roos' Nest is good for this purpose, or as noted earlier, you can fully recover both your HP and MP for free by speaking to Tarf in his house), and open the door. Inside, advance to the main part of the platform, and you'll see a giant severed head occupying it, which is the next boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GELALDY HP - 360 LVL - 27 STR - 163 DEF - 99 EXP - 1,000 GOLD - 2,000 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 26/27 STRATEGY - This guy will immediately start chasing you around the room, and for the moment, there's nothing to do but evade him. You've probably noticed that your fireballs are ineffective against him in this state, so you need to wait for him to open his mouth, at which point he'll release a strange "worm" of sorts to chase you around the room. Be careful it doesn't trap you, as it will likely kill you quickly (although, if you have an Herb or other consumable item equipped, you can use it for a brief invulnerability period, and walk right through it safely - this does not work for the head, however). Anyway, your goal during this period is to try and lead the worm as far away from the head as best you can, as he'll eventually re-absorb it, and will repeat the cycle again shortly. As he's re-absorbing the worm, that's your chance to strike, by shooting fireballs into his exposed mouth (be careful the worm doesn't block your fireballs as you're doing this). Maximizing the distance between the two of them beforehand allows you more time to attack here, as it takes him longer to re-absorb it. In order to do this, you should try luring the worm to one corner of the platform, and the head to the opposite side (preferably with the head being in one of the top corners). On Easy and Normal (not Hard and Nightmare, it seems), shooting charged fireballs at the head is a good way to keep the head away, as they can push it back slightly (though if you fire from a bad angle, it sometimes won't work), but the ends of the worm will block your shots (the rest of it won't, though), so be wary of that. If you have good aim, you can also sneak in a few fireballs at the corners of his mouth when he's releasing the worm, but this requires pinpoint accuracy. In order to accomplish this, I recommend having the Hawk Idol equipped, and using it to arc your shots to that point (it's not strictly necessary for this purpose, but it makes things a lot easier). This is quite tricky to do, because even if you do manage to hit him like this, you still need to be at a good angle for your shots to do full damage. Once you damage him enough, he'll release a Gene every so often when opening his mouth (if you're playing on the Easy difficulty, you can even use Alter Magic to chat with it, but not the boss itself, unfortunately). As with Tyalmath, I believe difficulty plays a part as to when he does this, as well as how frequently. On Easy, I think he only ever does this once, but he seems to have an infinite supply of them on higher difficulties, although there can only be a certain amount on-screen at once (I think the number varies depending on the difficulty level). Anyway, as you should know, Genes are immune to Fire Magic, so you'll probably want to dispatch of them as soon as possible (with both Gelaldy and the worm on-screen, this can be a bit difficult to accomplish), as they will also block your fireballs (especially if you have the Hawk Idol equipped, as your shots may re-direct to them). Anyway, once you win, you'll receive 1,000 EXP and 2,000 gold for your efforts. For this boss, level 25 is when you start to do minimum damage (with the Talwar equipped, which you should definitely have bought from Lance by this point). However, the additional damage isn't very much, so I recommend being at least level 26 or 27. While the damage output is still on the low end at level 26, this battle is primarily one of patience, so hopefully it won't be too much of an issue, though of course, being a level or two higher certainly doesn't hurt. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, head through the door up north, and take the passage in the southeast. Follow the path east, and in the northeastern corner of the next screen, you'll finally see some sunlight again, so exit the cave to reach Ramia Village. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ramia Village [RMAVLG] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Speak to Gorto, and agree to see Hadat about exploring the Shrine of Solomon - Receive the Lila Shell from Hadat, and speak to Gorto again to enter the Shrine of Solomon OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Receive the Cruberry Pie from Zalem INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT - Lila Shell*, Cruberry x 3, Marle Flower, Cruberry Pie, Long Sword, Talwar, Hyper Cutter, Wooden Shield, Small Shield, Large Shield, Breast Plate, Plate Mail, Reflex CHARACTERS - Gorto*, Lloyd, Hadat*, Karen, Regg*, Zalem, Frau, Frith, Blitz, Paulie, Tanya, Neal, Faye, Muto, Jill, Reise, Rimera ENEMIES - None NOTE - Regarding characters, Regg will become important a short while later, but not at the moment. But as he can be spoken to here in Ramia right away, this is where I chose to list him, instead of the next section when he's actually needed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OK, so your main objective here is to get Gorto to let you inside the Shrine of Solomon. Before we go and speak to him, there are a few optional things to do here, if you're interested (if you're not, just skip a few paragraphs). First, just a tad southwest of where you entered from, there are 3 goats. If you want, you can feed them either Herbs or Cruberries, and doing so 3 times for each of these is part of the requirement for the Steam achievement "The Hand That Feeds Them" (though Sara points out that after feeding an animal, you can reload the file to keep your gifts, and the achievement counter will still consider them as fed). If you don't know where to find Cruberries, a couple can be found growing along the fences in the village (one just below the goats, and one just south of Hadat's house, the building furthest southwest), or the little girl Rimera (outside, to the northeast of Hadat's house) can be gifted 5-7 times to receive one; however, getting one from her isn't worth it, as a simple screen refresh gets the ones on the fence to grow back immediately. By the way, if you eat them, Cruberries restore 40 MP each, which is decent. Anyway, the other requirement for the above achievement is feeding the cat in Gorto's house (the building in the south, just east of Hadat's), which will eat either Smoked Meat or Raw Meat; once you've fed all the animals here, you should receive the achievement (if not, try feeding them more than once). Next, let's visit the equipment store just to the west of the Moat of Burnedbless entrance. Inside, talking to Zalem at least once lets you enter her bed in the bottom right corner, which is the second requirement for the "Juuuuust Right" Steam achievement. You can also gift Zalem 5 times to receive the Cruberry Pie (again, it'll be 1-2 extra if you fireball her; you can also try re-gifting the pie to her a couple of times for fun =p). This is the last food item you can receive, and eating it along with the Smoked Meat, Raw Meat, and Meat Pie will get you the Steam achievement "No Reservations" (don't worry, each of these items can be re-obtained by gifting the respective characters, though in Lucy's case, you may need to fireball her to get another). That stuff aside, it's a very good idea to purchase the Hyper Cutter from her at some point, although if you don't have enough money yet, the Talwar should suffice for a little while. You'll probably also want the Reflex at some point, but that will more than likely have to be bought later. If you decide to talk to the townsfolk, many of them will mention the demons raiding the village and abducting people from time to time, and one of their latest victims seems to be a girl named Maria. You can speak to her mother, Karen, in the house directly below Zalem's for a small scene. There's also an empty house on the far western side, apparently victims of one of the earlier demon raids. There's nothing to do inside the house, but there is a Marle Flower growing outside it just to the left (like the Cruberries, this one grows back upon refreshing the screen). You can also visit the graveyard just below the empty house, and read the headstones, but there's little else to do there. Finally, Regg's house in the northern end (just east of the entrance to the Shrine of Solomon) contains a healing well in his basement, which you can use for free to fully recover both your HP and MP. Even if you don't need healing now, do keep Regg in mind, as he will become important later. Anyway, climb the two sets of stairs in the northeastern part of the village, and guarding a huge door at the top, you'll find Gorto. Speaking to him reveals that he's hesitant to let you inside the Shrine of Solomon, so he requests that you first speak with Hadat for some assistance. Hadat's house is the wooden one at the base of the first set of stairs, so head back down, and speak to him inside. Assuming you spoke with Gorto first, he'll ask you to look for his son, Sada, inside the Shrine. Agree to his request, and he'll give you the Lila Shell, which you can use to speak with him from afar for guidance. If you'd like, you can then speak to Hadat again and ask him about a few discussion topics, but it's not required. There's also a locked chest inside his house, but there's nothing you can do about that now. At any rate, once you have the Lila Shell, go ahead and speak to Gorto again, who will then unlock the first gate to the Shrine of Solomon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shrine of Solomon [SHRSLM] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: - Use the Alter Magic to get the gate guards to let you inside the Shrine - Obtain a Pass from the eastern sector, and use it to advance to the northeastern part of the Shrine - Using the Whisper Earrings and Alter Magic, learn the password to explore the western section of the Shrine - Find the entrance to the Subterranean Canal, and get turned into a demon - Use the Light Magic to find the Sacred Cup in the western sector, and show it to Regg to undo your demonic curse - Find the Runaways' Hideout, and receive the Shrine Key from Lilia - Explore the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal, and obtain the Silver Pendant - Kill Druegar, and use the Silver Pendant at the Goddess Statue to warp to the central part of the Shrine - Find and explore the central section of the Subterranean Canal, and receive the Floodgate Key from Keith - Drain the canal waters, and make your way through the central canal section to reach the Campanile of Lane - Kill Zava, and attempt to save Maria from being sacrificed - Obtain the Dreaming Idol, and show it to the Goddesses in the Goddesses' Palace - Speak to Tarf in Ramia about the Black Pearl, and after finding it in the meeting room inside the Shrine, take it to the Goddesses' Palace - Use the powered-up Dreaming Idol at the top of the Campanile of Lane - Speak to all 5 runaways, and receive the Gold Pendant - Speak to Sada in the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal, and receive the Cleria Sword - Use the Gold Pendant to reach the heart of the Shrine - Kill Dalles, and make your way to the Core of Ancient Ys - Find Lilia within, and use the Goddess Ring she gives you to dispel the nearby barrier - Use the Silver Harmonica from Goban to free the Goddesses, and speak to both of them - Kill Darm OPTIONAL OBJECTIVES: - Find both the Ring of Ease and the Falcon Idol - Find the Iron Shield - Find the Battle Sword, Battle Shield, and Battle Armor - Find both the Time Magic and Shield Magic - Receive the Cleria Armor from Hadat after speaking with Sada - Receive the Cleria Shield from Luta Gemma INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Shrine of Solomon) - 2,000 Gold, Pass*, Ring of Ease, 3,000 Gold, Roda Fruit, Sacred Cup*, Shrine Key*, Iron Shield, Time Magic, Silver Pendant*, Celceta Flower, Battle Shield, Floodgate Key*, Battle Armor, Battle Sword, Falcon Idol, Dreaming Idol*, Black Pearl*, Gold Pendant*, Cleria Sword*, Shield Magic, Goddess Ring*, Silver Harmonica*, Cleria Shield INVENTORY / EQUIPMENT (Ramia) - Cleria Armor CHARACTERS (Shrine of Solomon) - Feena*, Reah*, Goban*, Luta Gemma, Lilia*, Bohtz*, Noit*, Keith*, Sada*, Maria*, Kyle*, Boris*, Ed* CHARACTERS (Ramia) - Tarf* ENEMIES (Shrine of Solomon) - Zearot*, Ashveil, Baocar, Nashzar*, Malochius, Allomod, Trover, Godrup*, El Endes, Nustarl, Bearot, Delpus, Dyphthelloid, Ceabith, Rewillvan, Forkless, Gearot, Charront, Valkyria, Zavanite*, Druegar*, Zava*, Dalles*, Darm* NOTE - Regarding characters, while Bohtz and Noit can be found earlier in the game, it's possible to miss their "Notes" entries then, plus they're actually required now. As for Tarf, he's listed here because he'll make his way to Ramia at a certain point (namely, after you exit a certain building in the central section of the Shrine), where he'll play an important role a short while later (plus, it's actually possible to miss his character entry from earlier, but not in Ramia). And even Luta Gemma shows up for a mandatory story scene, he doesn't speak to you unless you manually talk to him (at which point he'll give you the Cleria Shield, which isn't actually needed), so that's why he's not listed as required. As for the enemies, the Zearot, Nashzar, Godrup, and Zavanite are marked as "required" only because they need to be spoken to in order to proceed at different points in the Shrine, not because you need to kill them (of course, you can do that as well =p). Speaking of Zavanites, I don't think killing the ones during the Zava battle counts towards revealing their character entries (probably due to them being linked to Zava's HP), so if you want that entry, you'll have to repeatedly kill one of the normal ones (excluding the one that gives you the Pass, as it's in an unkillable position). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As you should've gathered from Gorto and Hadat, this place is pretty big, and quite easy to get lost in. If you haven't been doing so already, it might be a good idea to keep your status displayed on-screen, as this place is divided into various sectors named after the Priests (they did use to rule here along with the Goddesses, after all); I'll do my best to keep things simple, though. Also, for the outside portions of this place (which is most of it), you can stand still to heal for free if you don't feel like retreating elsewhere or using healing items. Anyway, as Gorto told you before, there's another gate before actually entering the Shrine, and this one is guarded by some demons (Zearots). You can't kill them with your current equipment, and besides, it appears this gate is locked as well, so how do we get in? If you were paying attention during your first encounter with Gorto, he sarcastically mentioned turning into a demon to gain entrance, which is exactly what you need to do. Equip the Alter Magic, and as you approach the guards, they'll briefly interrogate you (if they noticed you in human form, you'll need to refresh the screen and try again), but it appears Adol already had an alibi in mind. =p They agree to let you in, but tell you to report to Zava, who's supposedly in the eastern sector (Mesa's) of the Shrine. Once inside, you're free to un-equip the Alter Magic for the time being, and kill the various enemies. The Baocars (mages) shoot projectiles at you every now and then, but everything else right now is pretty standard. Anyway, do as the guards told you and head to Mesa's sector, as the path to the northwest requires a password to explore further (none of the current password options will work), and there's nothing of interest in any of the rooms around here (do keep the center building in mind for later, though). To get there, head east from the entrance (which is considered Hadal's sector, by the way) and climb the stairs, and then the ones just to the northeast. On this balcony, head left and all the way up, then follow the path east. It's worth noting that the western section of this next screen is considered Mesa's sector, but the eastern part is considered Gemma's. At any rate, follow along the balcony, and descend the stairs at its end (the start of Gemma's sector). For now, ignore the stairs to your right (or you can take them right now and skip to the next paragraph, as this next stuff is optional), and instead head northwest under the balcony you just descended. You don't have to just yet, but speaking to the Nashzar (purple armored demon) at the gate reveals that there's a meeting going on ahead, but you need a pass to get in. Hmm, sounds like something important is happening, so we better try to find out what. Anyway, these next little tidbits are also optional, but it does put you close to some nearby gold. From the Nashzar at the gate, head straight left as far as you can (passing under the balcony along the way - you should be back in Mesa's sector), and then climb the stairs just to the southwest. Near the entrance here, there's another Nashzar, and if you speak to him, he tells you that this is Zava's room, so head inside. Speaking to the woman (a Zavanite) inside reveals that Zava is attending a meeting at the moment. If you'd like, you can then kill off the Zavanite (hopefully it won't be an issue, but you'll need to be at least level 30 with the Hyper Cutter to even damage them); if you do so, be aware that they are shielded from your fireballs, so you'll need to use physical attacks. It may take a while, but as they give good EXP, repeatedly killing this one may be worth your while (though I prefer to use the Dyphthelloids in the western canal area a little later on; they may give less EXP, but they're easier to kill), plus it's a good excuse to learn its stats. Back outside, descend the stairs and head south a little, and off to the left, there are two entrances to the other part of this building, so go ahead and enter one (it doesn't matter which). Inside, there are stairs leading down in the northern part of this room (there's nothing in that northeastern section with the different colored walls), so go ahead and take them. On the next screen, exit the building to the south, but take the other entrance off to the right. Follow the path inside, and you'll come across a small chest containing 2,000 gold, so grab that if you need a little cash. Head back to the beginning of Gemma's sector, back where you descended the first balcony on the screen east of the Shrine's entrance. There are stairs off to the right leading to another balcony, so go ahead and follow that path to the northeast. There's a building up top, but there's nothing inside, so ignore it and follow the path to the southeast, where there should be a Baocar near the balcony stairs. Go ahead and descend, and follow the path to a doorway in the northwest corner. Go ahead and pass through, and once you're back outside, ignore the passage to your right (you can take it if you want to, but it's basically a more roundabout way of getting to the same place), and descend the stairs instead. Head southwest (you can pass underneath the balcony here - look for an archway), and follow along the bottom of this building to the west, where there's another doorway. Head inside, and at the desk, there's another Zavanite (an unkillable one, at that), so equip the Alter Magic and speak to it to receive the Pass. With this, you're now able to enter the northeastern section of the Shrine. That's all there is to do over here, so head back between the two balconies at the beginning of Gemma's sector (where we first started this area), and move northwest between them. Equip the Alter Magic, and assuming you received the Pass, speak to the Nashzar, who will open the gate and let you through. Head north, and on the next screen (which is considered Fact's sector), take whichever path you like (it doesn't matter which). Do be careful of the enemies here, the statues (Nustarl) especially, as they'll also try to hit you with projectiles. Anyway, from the fountain in the center, descend the stairs just to the right, and enter the building along the bottom guarded by the golden-armored Bearots (it's best to either just kill them, or use Alter Magic to get by). Approach the door inside, and you'll get a message saying there's a lot of commotion inside. This is where the meeting's being held, but to find out what's going on, you'll need to equip both the Whisper Earrings and the Alter Magic, otherwise you won't be able to understand what's being said. You'll learn that some human prisoners have escaped, managing to swipe the Shrine Key along the way. More importantly, the password to the western sector is revealed, which you'll need to overhear to proceed. Before heading to the western sector (where the password is used), there's another equipment accessory to be found in this area. From the fountain outside, head to the building up north (you can't do much in the northeast building now, but keep it in mind for later), and take either entrance. At the bottom of the middle left part of this room (the passage with a different colored wall), you'll find a chest containing the Ring of Ease. Equipping this will reduce the amount of MP your magic uses by half, which can be very useful (especially when using the Return Magic). Anyway, back at the Shrine entrance (Hadal's sector), climb the stairs to the west this time, followed by the ones just to the northwest. On this balcony, head right and all the way up, and then follow the path west. This screen is also split up into two sections, with the eastern part being considered Tovah's sector, and the western part is Dabbie's. This screen is full of some pretty sturdy enemies, but they're not too bad (unless you still have the Talwar equipped); however, do be careful of the enemies that kind of look like robots (Malochius), as they'll also try and pelt you with projectiles. Anyway, descend the balcony here, and use Alter Magic to talk to the Godrup (red armored demon) guarding the gate below. It'll ask you for the password, which you need to have overheard from the meeting in the northeastern section (Fact's sector), otherwise the correct option will never appear. Now, depending on what version of the game you're playing, the password may vary a little. If you're playing Eternal, Complete, or the Japanese version of Chronicles, then the correct password will be "tierra", but if you're playing one of the English localized versions of Chronicles, the password will instead be "miikka". Upon stating the correct password, you'll learn that the human prisoners have escaped, and seems to be hiding out somewhere in the Subterranean Canal. The entrance to the canal is the building just down the stairs to the southwest, but before entering, there are some treasures to pick up in the area. This first one you're not technically supposed to know about just yet, but it will be needed a short while from now, so let's go and grab it now to save a little backtracking later. It's in Dabbie's sector to the west, in the northernmost building. Instead of descending the stairs to the canal building, pass them, and climb the stairs just to the west. Follow the path (be careful of the Allomods, the centaur-like enemies), and once it splits, head north, then descend the stairs just to the west. Head north through one of the arches, but ignore the doorways just ahead; while there is a useful treasure inside, it's behind a locked door, and we don't have the key for it yet. Anyway, head east, and climb the stairs to another balcony. Follow the path west past the Godrups, and enter the doorway. Upon entering, you should receive a message about the atmosphere here being solemn. Notice the altar in this room? As this is Dabbie's sector, and we seem to be in a rather sacred area, go ahead and equip the Light Magic, and suddenly a cup will appear on the altar, so go ahead and grab it (the Light Magic is needed to get this, so if you somehow missed that magic from the Rasteenie Mine, you'll need to go back and get it first). Now, these next two treasures are minor and completely optional, so skip to the next paragraph, if you want. Back outside, head back to the balcony with all those Allomods. Climb the stairs, and this time, head west at the fork (ignore that doorway just south of the fork, as there's nothing inside). Circle around to a doorway with two Trovers (green halberd-wielding enemies) out front, and inside, head downstairs. To the east, there's another locked door you'll want to keep in mind for later, but for now, head south. Instead of heading outside here, take the stairs leading down in the southwest corner, and follow that path outside. Head straight west to another doorway, and upon passing through this building (just ignore that room in the northwest, there's nothing inside), you should be back outside near another small chest. This one contains a Roda Fruit, so go ahead and grab it if you need to. Head back through the buildings, and back upstairs to the room with the locked door, and go outside there. Climb the stairs to the east to a higher balcony, and follow it to the northeast (ignore those two doorways along the bottom; the one on the right with the locked door has some useful info a short while later, but nothing else). Upon descending the stairs (be careful of those Malochius), head east to reach a small building. Inside, there's another small chest, and this one contains 3,000 gold. If you haven't done so already, it's highly recommended that you use this to help purchase the Hyper Cutter from Zalem (or if you already have that, you might want to purchase the Reflex armor from her). At any rate, make your way to the canal building, which is in the building northwest of where the 3,000 gold stash is found (it's in the lower area just southwest of where the password was used, if that makes things easier). Upon entering, you'll be greeted by the mysterious robed figure (Dalles) that's been spying on you throughout your journey (if you enter with Alter Magic equipped, his text will be different, but he'll see right through it). Ignore his request to leave, and move into the corridor above him (be careful not to bump into him without Alter Magic, as he'll deal quite a lot of damage - and no, you can't harm him in any way right now). Seeing that you won't keep your nose out of things, he decides to transform you into a demon before warping away. Unlike the Alter Magic, you can't simply change back into a human (if you look on the equipment screen, you'll see that the Alter Magic is cursed), and you also can't speak to enemies like this, only attack them (with the exception of the Zearots); the upside is, you won't waste MP by being in this form, plus you can still use your other magics. Anyway, if you use the Lila Shell to consult Hadat for help, he won't understand you, and suggests you go see Regg. Before doing so, let's explore the Shrine a little further, as there's a warp checkpoint nearby. Continue through the corridor where Dalles transformed you, and take the stairs down to reach the Subterranean Canal. Inside, head down through the doorway, and after crossing the second bridge to the right (crossing the third bridge leads to a strange door, but it can't be opened yet), follow the path south (watch out for that Delpus). At the fork, take the bridge to the right, and follow the path until it forks again (again, be careful of those Delpus), at which point head south. At the next fork, head south and across the bridge to the west, and west at the final fork. At the end of this path you'll encounter a human down here, Bohtz from Lance Village, who was one of the people reported missing earlier. As you approach him, however, he gets scared by your demonic look, and slams the door shut. There's nothing else to do down here right now, so make your way back to Ramia (I recommend using Return Magic, if you're able; before leaving, you might want to make sure "Runaways' Hideout" is now in your warp list, otherwise you'll need to walk back here later). As Hadat said, you'll need to talk to Regg about getting rid of this curse - his house is the one directly east of Gorto. Speak with him inside, and he'll say you need the Sacred Cup to help make holy water to undo the curse, so if you haven't already, you'll need to grab that from Dabbie's sector within the Shrine (the screen west of the Shrine entrance, in the far northwestern building - use the Light Magic inside). Once you have it, go ahead and speak to Regg, and after the cutscene, you'll be back to normal (as well as an automatic HP and MP refill). There's nothing else to do in Ramia at the moment (except to purchase the Hyper Cutter and Reflex armor, if you still haven't done so yet), so head back to the Runaways' Hideout in the far southwestern corner of the Subterranean Canal (I recommend warping there, if you have it listed already). Approach the door (as a human, not a Roo =p), and Bohtz will open the door for you, saying Lilia's here along with a few others. Noit from the Colony of Lava is here as well (if you visited there anytime after gaining entrance to the Shrine, various people comment on his disappearance), and speaking to him reveals that the central part of the Shrine can be reached by wearing something belonging to the Goddesses when touching a certain Goddess Statue. Anyway, Lilia's downstairs, and she'll talk to you as soon as you move, so if you want to speak to the two people below her right now (don't worry, you'll be required to speak with them later), you'll need to bypass her with Alter Magic; the one on the left, Boris, makes an interesting comment regarding a helpful green demon... In any event, talk to Lilia (in human form =p), and she'll hand over the Shrine Key to open the locked doors throughout the Shrine, at which point Dalles will warp in, and turn the runaways to stone (if you want, there's a close-up portrait of petrified Lilia). That's not good, but at least he spared you this time... If you use the Lila Shell, Hadat says the holy water won't work this time, as the person needs to be able to consume it, which the runaways obviously can't do in their current state. Also, if you head back to Lance at this point and speak to Banoa, Adol can't bring himself to tell her of Lilia's fate just yet. After Dalles turns the runaways to stone, a very minor side event can now be done in the Ruins of Moondoria. Just east of where the Rod of Divinity was found earlier, in the water near the wall is a swarm of mosquitoes. If you stand right next to them, they'll attempt to swarm you. Let them do so (it's easiest to just stand still and let them fly around you for a few seconds), and lead them to a screen transition, and if done right, you'll get a one-time message saying the mosquitoes are no longer following you; if you're playing the Steam version, seeing that message will get you "Mosquitoes!!" achievement. The screen transition can be something obvious like back inside the Sanctuary of Toal, or back to the Moondoria Field, but I actually find warping to be the best way (though the act of warping itself doesn't count as a screen transition, you'll get it on the *next* screen you enter, if done right). Either way, it's highly recommended that you save before activating the screen transition, as the mosquitoes move slowly, and you probably don't want to lead them along again if you didn't receive the message (in that case, you probably didn't let them swarm you long enough). In addition to the above, if you happen to be playing the Eternal version of the game, you can lead the mosquitoes to both Astal and Leggs, which will trigger a few small additional dialogues from them (I don't understand Japanese, but from what I'm told, they're just surprised and annoyed by them). In any event, now that you have the Shrine Key, you can open most of those locked doors you may have seen earlier (all except the one in the western canal area, which requires a different key). This means that the huge door in the center building of the Shrine's entrance area can now be opened, but before doing that, you should check behind the other locked doors first. Let's start with the ones back above ground in the western section of the Shrine (the ones there are purely optional, though, so skip ahead to the next paragraph, if you want). First, let's take one of the doorways below the building where the Sacred Cup was found (it doesn't matter which one you enter. Make your way to the northwestern corner of this room, and beyond the locked door is a chest containing the Time Magic. For 6 MP per use (or 3 MP with the Ring of Ease equipped), enemies are frozen in place for a few seconds, meaning you can freely attack them for a short time, even if you're off-center. Next up, head to the doorway on the balcony above where the Roda Fruit is found in this sector (in the southwestern section, with one Trover nearby). Inside, head straight up, and beyond the locked door here is the Iron Shield, which may be useful for the next boss, which is coming up pretty shortly. This last door in the area doesn't contain any treasure, but you can learn a very important hint (it's entirely optional, though); it's below the building where all those Malochius are in Tovah's sector, the one on the right (the building west of where the 3,000 gold stash was found, if that helps). Unlock the door inside, and you'll find an empty chest, as well as another Zavanite, and speaking to her reveals that a Goddesses' Pendant has been transferred to the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal (I know she says the western canal section, but trust me, she's talking about the eastern portion - the western part is the one where the runaways are, and there's nothing else to do there right now). Hmm, Noit did mention needing to wear something belonging to a Goddess at a Goddess Statue to reach the central part of the Shrine, so let's search for it. To reach the eastern canal section, you'll need to head back to Fact's sector (the northeastern screen), the area where the meeting is being held (which is still going on, but we'll be back there later). For now, head to the building in the far northeastern corner of this sector, and step inside. Head downstairs, and unlock the door here, then head northwest, and take the stairs down again to reach another part of the Subterranean Canal. This section contains fire-breathing enemies (Dyphthelloids), which can be dangerous, but are a good source of EXP; I recommend using them to get to at least level 36. Anyway, from the entrance, take the passage to the southwest, and cross the bridge to the right. It doesn't really matter which path you take, but the top one is a little shorter, so follow that all the way west (ignore the fork to the north), and take the first fork south. Cross the bridge, and follow the path northeast, and open the chest to find the Silver Pendant, which you'll need shortly. That's all you need to do in this area at the moment, but there is a Celceta Flower hidden down here, as well as another petrified person who will become important later (or, you can just skip to the next paragraph). From the entrance to this canal section, take the southeastern passage again, but this time, follow the path to the southwest. Along the way, you'll come across another bridge to your right, but just ignore it, and when you come to another fork, step through the passage to the north. Immediately head west, and keeping along the bottom of the wall near the water, there's a hidden passage leading to a small chest containing a Celceta Flower. If you want, you can visit the other petrified person now, but as with the runaways, there's nothing you can do to help right now. Anyway, head back outside this passage, and follow the path directly to the south, then cross the bridge to your left. Examine the statue at the end of the path, and you'll note that it's a swordsman. Hmm, didn't Hadat say his family's sword went missing along with Sada? If you use the Lila Shell (or talking to him in person, if you prefer), he confirms that this likely is Sada, so that's just one more reason to undo the petrification spell. As noted above, you can't help him now, but you'll definitely want to keep him in mind for later. At any rate, return to the Shrine's entrance (Hadal's sector), and enter the building in the center of the screen (or you can use one of the other doorways, if you prefer). Inside, unlock the huge door in the center, as well as the one beyond that. Step inside, save your game, and get your HP and MP fully healed (a quick trip to the well in Regg's basement is advised, if you need it). You may also want to equip a healing item (I recommend Herbs, or one of the Meat items), as the boss ahead can be a bit tough. It may also be a good idea to select the option to make boss fights inescapable, as this fight is one of the easier ones to unintentionally exit (if you're playing either of the Chronicles versions, you unfortunately do not have this option). Approach the upper part of this room, and a giant spider-like demon will emerge from the wall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRUEGAR HP - 420 LVL - 36 STR - 192 DEF - 144 EXP - 1,500 GOLD - 2,200 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 35/36 STRATEGY - As soon as the boss lands (unless you moved further up, it should avoid landing on you), it will head straight for you, trying to pin you against one of the walls. Obviously, you don't want to get pinned (especially near the door, as you're likely to accidentally exit, if you're able to), as it's very hard to escape under normal circumstances (in a pinch, you can use a healing item for a brief invulnerability period, and use it to walk right through his center). Occasionally, it'll also fire a ring of pseudo-homing projectiles at you (kind of like how the Hawk Idol curves your fireballs, except this seems to have a much wider arc); more than likely, these will head off-screen and not be any further nuisance, but they can sometimes continuously circle around the room if your positioning is bad. The easiest way to avoid them is by being near a wall as they approach, preferably one away from the boss. In addition, it will also lay eggs after a while, which shoot projectiles in various directions when hatched (depending on the difficulty level, both the number of eggs and projectiles varies). You'll probably want to dispose of these as quickly as possible (physical attacks or fireballs - preferably charged - will work, though I find physical attacks are more effective) to reduce the number of projectiles. On higher difficulties, you may not be able to destroy all of them in time with physical attacks alone, so I recommend using a combination of physical attacks and charged fireballs (that, or hope for the best in dodging the projectiles; as with the other ones, you'll want to try and have some distance between them). Anyway, this guy's weak point is the front of his head, in between the two antennae (I have no clue what purpose they serve, except as a deterrent for fireballs - especially homing ones). As with the previous bosses, trying to attack him physically leads only to an early grave, so Fire Magic is needed. However, do note that you can't damage him as soon as the battle begins; you need to wait until he starts moving around before any damage will register. Anyway, as the boss never turns its head, you'll need to constantly try and lure him away from the bottom of the screen, and shoot fireballs from underneath him; it helps to try and keep him all the way near the top of the screen, if you're able. Of course, this is easier said than done, as he'll likely lay eggs around the same time he's firing the ring of projectiles, which makes for a lot of things to dodge. So, unless you feel comfortable with the amount of incoming projectiles, you should make destroying the eggs a priority, and then move around to attack. Once you win, you'll receive 1,500 EXP and 2,200 gold for your efforts. Regarding equipment accessories, you may find that using the Hawk Idol hurts more than it helps. However, if you're good at arcing your shots, it may make things easier, as you don't have to be directly below him to deal damage. The downside to using it is your shots are likely to be re-directed to either his antennae or the eggs, which of course lessens the damage you do (fortunately, the antennae go down fairly easily). If you don't use the Hawk Idol, then the Cleria Ring is probably your next best choice. It's also worth noting that using the Time Magic on this boss will actually stall him temporarily, meaning you can then switch to Fire Magic to score some free hits. However, you need to be on the Easy difficulty for this to be of any use, as other difficulties do not allow you to change your magic around in the middle of a boss fight (or any items or equipment, for that matter). As noted above, level 35 or 36 (preferably 36, maybe even higher) is needed to deal extra damage here (technically it's level 34, but the damage output still isn't very good then), but that's only with the Hyper Cutter equipped, which you really should have by now. It's also recommended that you bought the Reflex armor from Zalem, as well as found the Iron Shield in Dabbie's sector. If you feel that level 36 isn't high enough, the Dyphthelloids in the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal (where the Silver Pendant is found) give double EXP up to level 38; and if *that* isn't high enough, the Zavanites (in either Mesa's sector, or in Tovah's) give double EXP up to level 42. While the Zavanites technically give more EXP, I prefer to use the Dyphthelloids, as they can be damaged both with physical attacks and fireballs, whereas the Zavanites only take physical damage, making it ultimately a slower process. NOTE - If you're playing the Eternal version of the game (this will not work in the Complete and Chronicles versions), using Time Magic immediately at the start of the fight will actually allow you to skip this boss, if you can touch the door up top in time. However, for this to work, you need to exit and re- enter the fight first (probably because there's a brief period before the game loads up the fight, hence Druegar's invulnerability at the start). In order to permanently skip him, you'll need to do this at least twice throughout the course of the game. But since bosses give fixed EXP no matter your level, killing him could be useful for an easy level later in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, open the door to the north, and approach the Goddess Statue inside. You'll learn that this statue can take you to the central part of the Shrine, by wearing a pendant around your neck. It also mentions two different paths, but as we only have one pendant right now, we can only explore one of them. So, equip the Silver Pendant and approach the statue again to warp to another part of the Shrine (even if you had the Silver Pendant equipped before, the statue still needs to be approached twice). After warping, exit the room, and head south through the next passage. Instead of taking either of the exits leading outside (they contain nothing of interest), head up the stairs in the northwestern corner of the room. On the next screen, again avoid taking the southern passage outside (it's another dead end), and instead take the passage leading north (if you have the status displayed, you should now be in the East Wing), and follow this one outside. As soon as you step outside here, you'll get a message from Hadat, saying that a little boy came to Ramia looking for you... Unless you feel like doing some backtracking, I suggest holding off on returning to Ramia for a little while. Anyway, follow the path to the east (beware the Forkless - red lizard-like enemies - as they can also shoot projectiles), and head inside the building. As you make your way outside again, you'll hear a couple demons conversing. Equip the Alter Magic (if you want to, it's not required here), and step outside to chat with the two golden-armored Gearots (not to be confused with the Bearots or Zearots). They'll mention Keith is hiding nearby, likely having swiped the key to the Water Control Room along the way. Just what is he up to? Anyway, head down the stairs to the west, and inside the left doorway is another locked door. Behind it is a chest containing the Battle Shield, so be sure to grab that, if you want (it'll definitely help for the next boss battle or two). Back outside, head back up the stairs, and continue to the building in the west (ignore the other set of stairs leading up). Speaking to the Gearot inside reveals that Keith is somewhere below. Head downstairs, and you'll be in another section of the Subterranean Canal (the central section). Much like the Preliguards in the Moat of Burnedbless, the Ceabiths (lizard-like warriors) have a tendency to turn invisible, so be wary of that (as with the Preliguards, they can be detected via Light Magic, if desired). Anyway, it doesn't matter which direction you take, but for simplicity's sake, let's take the southern path (though again, watch out for those Ceabiths). When it splits, follow it southwest over two bridges, and then head straight up as far as you can. There's another bridge just a couple steps to the left, so cross that, and then the one on your right. Follow this path all the way around to the far northeastern corner of the map, and you'll come across a green demon. If you didn't manage to catch a glimpse of him before, this is Keith, the one who helped you rescue Tarf from the Moat of Burnedbless. Talk to him (in human form), and he'll give you the Floodgate Key to drain the canal waters so you can reach the Goddesses' Palace. That's all there is to do here right now, so head back to the western section of the Subterranean Canal (I recommend warping to the Runaways' Hideout, if you're able). In the northern corner of this map, there's a strange door you may have come across earlier, which you can now open (coming from the aboveground entrance, simply head straight east over three bridges). Inside, there's a lever on the top wall, so approach that, and pull it to drain the canal; you'll also receive 1,500 EXP for doing so. Now that the canal is drained, all three sections of it are now interconnected, which can get a bit confusing. Your destination now is back in the central section of the canal, but don't bother using the Silver Pendant to get back there, as that's a pretty big and pointless detour. Instead, exit the floodgate room, and go west back across two bridges, at which point head south. Follow the path around, and descend the steps to the canal floor. At the split, head north, then east at the next one (just below the floodgate room). Follow that path, and at the split, climb up the steps to the north to find a chest containing the Battle Armor, which you'll very likely want for the next boss. Descend the steps, and just a little to the right, follow the path north, and climb those steps. Take the path to the right, and descend the next set of steps you see. On the canal floor, follow the path to the north through the arch, which should put you back in the central canal section. Follow the path southeast as far as you can, and you should see a chest above off to the right. We'll come to that shortly, but for now, head west as far as you can, and take the second fork to the south (for now, ignore the first path to the south). Climb the steps at the end, and at the end of the path, you should see an indentation in the southwestern corner of the wall. Step inside to find a hidden room with a chest containing the Battle Sword, which you should equip right away (you can also show this to Zalem for some amusing dialogue =p). While it's not required to find this, it's highly recommended that you do, otherwise you'll need to be a few levels higher to do any decent damage to the next boss (even with the Hyper Cutter). In any event, exit the room, and head back to the other path south we ignored earlier. Climb the stairs at the end, and follow the path all the way east to the chest we ignored earlier, which contains the Falcon Idol. This is basically an upgraded version of the Hawk Idol, because not only does it home your fireballs, but upon impact, a charged one will then split into a few smaller fireballs for added damage. In any event, follow the path to the south, and head upstairs. You'll find Keith up here, and chatting with him (if you want, it's not required) reveals that Maria (Sada's lover) is about to be sacrificed inside the bell tower (aka the Campanile of Lane), but Zava is standing guard. Not good... This next screen contains some pretty dangerous enemies, but they're one of the best sources of EXP at this point in the game. And believe me, you will very likely need to grind some to have a decent shot at the next boss. The Charronts (mages) shoot projectiles at you, and can only be damaged by physical attacks. The Valkyria (knights) you have to be especially careful around, but at least you can use both fireballs and physical attacks against them. If you have it, you might consider using Time Magic to make things easier, preferably in conjunction with the Ring of Ease to conserve MP. In any event, I strongly recommend using this screen to grind to at least level 44 or 45, perhaps even 1 or 2 levels higher (if you need to, I suggest using the Ceabiths in the central canal to reach level 42 first, and *then* use the Charronts and Valkyria). Outside the room where Keith is now, climb up the balcony to your left, and though you don't need to visit there just yet, let's follow the path to the southwest to reach the Goddesses' Palace. Head inside, and approach the big circle in the center to speak to the Goddesses' spirits, who tell you that the other pendant is in possession of one of the petrified people, and that you'll need the Dreaming Idol from the Campanile of Lane to help undo the curse. They will also fully heal your HP and MP, if you need it (though this will be unavailable at a certain point in the game). There are also steps on either side of the room, but they just lead to the balcony of this place, which is nice for an additional view of Esteria, but is otherwise pointless. Anyway, as the Goddesses' Palace is one of the six warp locations, now might be a good idea to see Adol's visitor in Ramia (though you don't need to do this just yet). Inside Hadat's house is Tarf, who apparently made his way here from the Colony of Lava, spying on Dalles. In any event, back on the screen with the Charronts and Valkyria, make your way all the north, and enter the large doorway to the Campanile of Lane. Before proceeding through the door within, save your game, and make sure you're fully healed (I recommend heading back to the Goddesses' Palace again, if needed). You'll probably also want to equip healing items (again, I recommend Herbs or one of the Meat items). When you're ready, head inside the door to face one of the game's more difficult bosses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZAVA HP - 480 LVL - 44 STR - 225 DEF - 191 EXP - 2,500 GOLD - 2,400 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 44/45 STRATEGY - For the first phase of this battle Zava will sit back and let her minions take care of you; trying to attack her directly will do you no good right now. Unlike normal Zavanites, their bat forms are immune to physical attacks, and can only be harmed via Fire Magic, so be sure you have that equipped. They'll fly all over the place, trying to shoot projectiles at you (how much depends on the difficulty, I think) in addition to dealing collision damage (for fun, try running into them with the Alter Magic equipped =p). The best way to deal with them is to have the Falcon Idol equipped, as otherwise you may find it hard to connect your shots (the Hawk Idol works too, but the Falcon Idol's multiple homing ability makes it better for crowd control); the one downside is that sometimes your shots will get harmlessly re-directed to Zava, but it's usually not too much of an issue. As they are capable of shooting a lot of projectiles at once, it's best to not get trapped in a corner; in fact, that's what you should be trying to do to them. After several charged shots, they should go down (if they don't, you're either under-leveled, or you didn't pick up the Battle Sword), taking off a chunk of Zava's health for each one you kill. Once both are dead, Zava will send out 3 more, followed by a wave of 4. These two waves in particular can be quite hectic, but do your best to keep them in a corner (or at least clustered together), as that way your fireballs have a better shot of damaging the others (using the Falcon Idol, of course). Once the wave of 4 bats is disposed of, Zava herself will move to the center of the room and constantly shoot small fireballs all over the place (again, how much depends on the difficulty, I think). She'll also send out one final bat, but feel free to ignore this one, as Zava herself can now be damaged (if you want, killing this Zavanite will still take off some of her health, but it's no longer necessary). Weave between the fireballs as best you can, and just pelt her with fireballs of your own until she goes down; if you've made it this far, this part shouldn't be very difficult (unless you're low on health from dealing with the Zavanites, then it might be troublesome). Once you win, you'll receive 2,500 EXP and 2,400 gold for your efforts. It's worth noting that Time Magic is effective during this battle, especially if you have trouble dodging all the projectiles. However, as with Druegar, you need to be on the Easy difficulty for it to be of any use, as otherwise you can't alternate between magics. Due to the presence of Zavanites in this battle, one might think that being able to take care of their normal forms would be enough to dispose of them quickly here. However, this is not the case, likely because these particular ones are linked to Zava's health, meaning that you need enough STR to deal with Zava herself for them to go down relatively quickly. In this case, level 43 with the Battle Sword is technically the minimum for dealing extra damage, but disposing of the bats is still a little inefficient, so I'd recommend at least level 44 or 45 to speed things up. If you feel that's not enough, you can gain a couple more levels using the Charronts and Valkyria without too much trouble. With the Hyper Cutter equipped, I believe it's level 49 or 50 before you start dealing any extra damage; while you can grind that high with a little patience, it is strongly recommended that you instead grab the Battle Sword (if you don't know, it's in a hidden room in the southwestern part of the canal section you just came from). In fact, if you want to reach max level (55 - 65,000 EXP) before the final boss without too much trouble, accumulating around 54,000 EXP (just a little bit over level 50) before killing Zava is highly recommended. The remaining EXP will come almost completely in fixed amounts (including this boss, that's a total of 10,700 EXP, which leaves you 300 short of max level - however, that 300 EXP can easily be made up via the few normal enemies you'll encounter during the final phases of exploring the Shrine), and trust me, it's a far less tedious option than using just regular enemy kills for the remaining levels. However, do note that the remaining bosses are actually pretty easy, so use your best judgment. NOTE - In the Eternal version of the game, using Time Magic right away will freeze Zava in her normal (non-boss) form temporarily, and you are actually able to kill it off via physical attacks (just like her minions' normal forms, this form is shielded from fireballs). However, as it is her normal form that you are attacking, the boss fight does not end upon killing it, and she has to be dealt with as normal to continue with the game. If you drank the Beastiary Potion, this is why you see her portrait on the display screen during the fight, but nothing like this for the other bosses. Even more intriguing is that her normal form has different stats than her boss counterpart (please refer to the "Enemies" section for Ys II if you want to know them), and they can be learned by repeatedly killing it, just like a normal enemy (with the exception of the STR stat, as that is learned by taking a random number of hits from said enemy in this version). And since this form functions like a normal enemy, it means you get scaled EXP for killing it, meaning that if you're under-leveled, she can give up to 4,000 EXP (this form gives 2,000 EXP normally). Do note that while killing this form of Zava is impossible in the Complete and Chronicles versions (she can still be frozen temporarily, but physical attacks no longer work), evidence of its existence can still be found there. In Complete, you are still able to learn that form's STR stat, but nothing else. However, Chronicles changed learning an enemy's STR to be the same as learning its other stats (meaning you can't learn any of them now), but her portrait still appears on-screen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, enter the room up top, and upon passing through the giant archway, you'll hear the bell start to ring. A little further up, you'll find Maria chained up, but as she says, there's no way to free her. Well, Keith did say the bell is rung 5 times before the ritual is complete, so maybe there's still time. If you want, using the Time Magic in her presence displays a curious message (in the Japanese versions, it says "Timestop understanding", but the English localized versions changed it to "Maria is not amused!"; if you're confused about its meaning, it should become clear upon finishing the game); if you're playing the Steam version, doing this will also get you the "Timestop Understanding" achievement. Anyway, continue up the stairs in the northeastern corner, and inside the next room, head southwest through the archway, and follow it around to the northwestern corner. Head straight east on the next screen, and enter the passage along the bottom of the wall (marked by a small indentation), then head up the stairs in the northwestern corner of the next room. Again, head southwest through the archway, and follow the path to the northeastern corner. Head straight west on the next screen (you should hear the bell ring again), and enter the passage along the bottom of the wall (again, there's a small indentation). On this next screen, you'll probably notice a chest in the middle of this room, but there's a barrier preventing you from grabbing it just yet. So, follow the path around to the northeastern corner, and head upstairs again. Head southwest through the archway, and upon stepping outside, go straight west until you reach another building (the bell should ring again out here). Back inside, follow the path around to the far northeastern corner, and you should be back outside again near the top of this building (where the bell will ring yet again). Head southwest a tad, and climb up the steps to confront Dalles again. Unfortunately, he's still no match for you, and after a quick chat, he rings the bell one final time before warping away. There's nothing more to do up here, so head back downstairs, and back to the top of the first building. Head downstairs, and in the middle of this room, the barrier around the chest is now gone, and inside you'll find the Dreaming Idol, which the Goddesses said to bring to them to help undo Dalles' petrification spell. If you prefer, you can warp straight to the Goddesses' Palace (provided you went there earlier, of course), but if you decide to walk back, a quick check of the platform where Maria was held indicates that she didn't make it after all... Assuming you have the Dreaming Idol, head back to the Goddesses' Palace (if you don't know, it's in the far southwestern corner of the screen outside the Campanile of Lane), and approaching the big circle in the center to speak to the Goddesses' spirits. You'll learn that the Black Pearl is also needed to undo the petrification, so you'll need to find that and bring it to them. Let's see, we last gave the Black Pearl to Tarf to enable Keith to bust them out of the prison in the Moat of Burnedbless, so let's go find him. If you didn't realize it earlier, Tarf is the visitor Hadat told you about some time ago as you were exploring the Shrine, so warp back to Ramia, and you'll now find him inside Hadat's house. Speaking to Tarf reveals that he seems to have lost the Black Pearl somewhere, but he at least remembers having it when entering Ramia (you *must* hear this from him; if he's only mentioning the bit about Dalles, then you didn't visit the Goddesses' Palace after finding the Dreaming Idol, which is also necessary). Speaking to Gorto (you can actually skip this step, if you want) reveals that he saw someone in a black cloak pick up something off the ground. Great... In any event, head back inside the Shrine, and if you return via the front gate, the guards will mention that the meeting's finally over, thanks to something Dalles found (as with Gorto, you don't actually need to hear this from them, should you decide to warp back in or something - not that I'd recommend it in this case, as this is faster). So, head back to the meeting room (if you forgot, it's the center building in the northeastern section of the Shrine - Fact's sector). You should now be able to unlock this door (if you get a message saying the meeting's still going on, then you missed one of the above steps), and inside on the stand, you'll find the Black Pearl again. Head back to the Goddesses' Palace (preferably via warping, especially since you'll be fully healed again anyway) and speak to the Goddesses again to merge the Black Pearl with the Dreaming Idol. They tell you to use it at the top of the Campanile of Lane, so make your way back there. Along the way, if you investigate the platform where Maria was earlier, you'll notice that her body is now gone. Strange, Dalles did complete the sacrificial ritual earlier, didn't he...? Anyway, at the top, go ahead and use the powered-up Dreaming Idol (equip and use it) inside the crest where Dalles was standing when you encountered him here earlier. Doing so will release everyone from Dalles' petrification spell, and you'll also get 2,700 EXP for doing so. At this point, return to the Runaways' Hideout (again, it's easiest to just warp there if you can spare the MP), and speak to everyone there (as Boris says, Lilia went wandering off on her own). Upon doing so, Keith will arrive with a Wing to get everyone home safely (unlike Dr. Flair, they won't use any Wings you might've gifted them earlier =p), and before taking off, Bohtz will give you the Gold Pendant. Before visiting the Goddess Statue again, Ed mentioned that someone else was turned to stone somewhere in the Shrine, so we should make sure they're back to normal as well. You'll want to head back to the eastern canal area, the one where you found the Silver Pendant earlier - the person in question is in the far southwestern corner. While you can use the Runaways' Hideout as a starting point, I find the fastest way to be to warp back to the Goddesses' Palace, and start from the central canal entrance next to where the Falcon Idol can be found. Starting from the chest, head west, and descend to the canal floor. At the path split, take the path just to the northwest, and follow it all the way up. Head northwest at that fork, and at the end of the path, there's an arch leading to the eastern section of the canal. On the next screen, head straight south a little ways, and you should eventually see steps on your right, so climb those. Follow the path to the right, then go straight north as far as you can (those Dyphthelloids still do a fair deal of damage, so be careful around them). Head northwest across the bridge, and then take the path to the southwest; you'll eventually come to a bridge on your right, but ignore that, and go south at the next split. Cross the bridge to your left, and at the end of this path, you'll find Sada, who you may have found before as a statue. Speak to him, and after learning of Maria's apparent death, he'll entrust you with the Cleria Sword. Be sure you equip this, as it is absolutely necessary to defeat the remaining bosses. Sada also tells you that there's a powerful suit of armor back in his home, so if you want, head back to Ramia, and tell Hadat the good news. Upon doing so, he'll give you the Cleria Armor, so be sure to equip that as well (actually, this item can be skipped altogether, but it sure does help). He also makes mention of the Cleria Shield, but it's unfortunately not in his possession. If you haven't done so already, now is also good time to purchase the Elixir from Jade's shop in Lance Village, if you're able to (if you're playing the Steam version, you might consider getting the max money achievement "Spendthrift" before purchasing this). This is a one-time item, and equipping it will revive you upon death, so use it wisely. Anyway, head back into the Shrine, and now that you have the Cleria Sword, you are finally able to damage the Zearots (guards) at the entrance (even then, you have to be level at least level 47 to do any damage, which probably won't be an issue if you made it this far). Killing ten of them (for them to respawn, you simply need to refresh the screen, or get as close to the Ramia transition point as possible) will get you the Steam achievement "And Your Children's Children" (as you kill them, they'll get numbers next to their name if you speak to them via Alter Magic). As these guys are very dangerous, I recommend using Time Magic to help take them out (or you can use the last magic to make quick work of them, which will be available shortly - however, using this method doesn't award any EXP). Also note that even if you kill them, the only way through the door they guard is by speaking to them via Alter Magic, so a screen refresh will likely be necessary. Anyway, head back inside the center building of the first screen (Hadal's sector), and make your way back to the Goddess Statue again. Make sure you have the Gold Pendant equipped, and touch the statue again. Upon warping, head downstairs on the next screen, and you'll find yourself back in the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal, in a part that you may have noticed earlier, but were unable to access. Follow the path around to the bottom portion, and climb the other set of steps leading up. Head downstairs to the Shrine's underpass, and in the southwestern corner, there's a large door. Before opening it, save your game, make sure your HP is fully restored (don't worry if you're low on MP - you won't be needing it this time), and equip a healing item (either the normal 3 Herbs or one of the Meats will do - I'd advise against using the Elixir here). Also, make absolutely certain that you have the Cleria Sword equipped, as otherwise the upcoming boss is flat-out impossible. It's also a good idea to have the Cleria Armor from Hadat's house, preferably coupled with the Battle Shield. For equipment accessories, the Cleria Ring is probably the best choice here, as anything magic-related will be useless. Anyway, step inside the door, and you'll encounter Dalles once again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DALLES HP - 510 LVL - 49 STR - 238 DEF - 219 EXP - 3,500 GOLD - 2,500 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 47/48 STRATEGY - For all the trouble he's caused throughout the game, Dalles is actually pretty easy. He'll generally stick to one area of the room, shooting a bunch of small projectiles in all directions (as usual, the amount depends on the difficulty), so you'll want to weave in between them as best you can. If you wait too long, he'll do another attack, this time firing two strings of laser-like projectiles, followed by a string of normal ones (on higher difficulties, not only are there more projectiles, but four strings of the laser-like ones). This attack can be quite difficult to avoid consistently on higher difficulties, as while the laser-like ones can be avoided fairly easily (by moving around or between the strings, though one has to take into account their slight angle due to Dalles' movements), the string of normal ones can be problematic. The best way to avoid those is to be outside the laser-like strings altogether (before the attack, try to be above or below him, and move to the opposite end of the room when you see the magic symbols around him - the sign of this attack), or to be near the middle of the attack (while still maintaining your distance, of course), which provides the next most maneuvering room. Anyway, he'll do both sets of attacks twice before warping away and hurling the meteors circling him towards you, but they're pretty easy to avoid (in this instance, at least). As he tells you himself, magic is completely useless against him; trying to use your sealed Fire Magic, you can still hit him at close range, but it won't actually hurt him (and if you try to use Time Magic, he'll make it so *you're* the one moving slow, and then summon a bunch of projectiles that zoom in on your position before spreading all over the place - it is possible to squeeze between these, but it is pretty hard to do, so it's obviously not recommended). So, you'll need to use physical attacks to do any damage, but as noted above, you *must* have the Cleria Sword equipped to actually hurt him - anything else will be completely ineffective (if you're so inclined, you could actually do this with Alter Magic equipped; after all, you can't actually talk to boss enemies, only attack them). While you can try to attack him as soon as he appears (do note that he has brief invulnerability at the start of the fight), the projectiles will generally get in your way, so I usually find it best to wait out his first set of projectiles, and move in quickly before he starts his next attack (if done properly, he won't ever use the second attack, as he does the patterns in the same order every appearance, given enough time). So, after weaving between the projectiles, quickly make your way straight to him (if you're not quick, he's likely to get his next pattern off), being careful of those meteors around him, as they change directions every so often. Upon damaging him, he'll send the meteors after you, but you should usually be able to land at least two hits before he warps somewhere else (if you're lucky, perhaps even 3 hits - and if you're *really* lucky, it's possible to get 4 hits per appearance, but this pretty much requires using the meteors to push you back towards him really quickly). The meteors tend to move a bit more randomly upon damaging him, so do your best to avoid them. He'll re-appear shortly, and you'll need to repeat the process several times before he goes down (it helps to be near the center of the room so you can get to him quicker, though of course this has the drawback of less reaction time to dodge the projectiles). Once he's dead, you'll receive 3,500 EXP and 2,500 gold for your efforts. NOTE - Despite the recommended levels listed above (you'll probably be at level 47 naturally), you can actually reasonably defeat this boss several levels earlier, as you start doing extra damage as early as level 40 (of course, this means you have to go through the rest of the game under-leveled, and that's no easy task). Even so, if you find that level 47 or 48 isn't enough, I recommend grinding on the enemies outside the Campanile of Lane. While the Zearots at the Shrine entrance give more EXP per kill, it's a slower process, especially as it's a bit tedious to respawn them; going back and forth outside the Campanile of Lane can accumulate EXP quicker, as there are a fair amount of enemies, plus just enough distance to make respawning them relatively painless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the battle, touch the golden orb at the top of the room, and you'll be warped even further inside the Shrine. Immediately after warping, there's a chest to your left, so open it to obtain the Shield Magic. This magic shields you from all attacks, and if an enemy successfully deals collision damage to you with this equipped, the enemy will be the one to take the damage, at precisely a third of its total health (however, killing an enemy this way does not award you any EXP, presumably because it pretty much kills itself). The drawback is that using this drains your MP pretty quickly (even moreso should an attack hit you when using it), and even equipping the Ring of Ease doesn't help reduce the cost. At any rate, pass through the archway and step onto the platform, which will take you down to the core of Ys. Head to the next screen, where you'll encounter Tarf; if you talk to him (you don't have to), he just says everyone's waiting for him further inside. Hmm... At any rate, head inside the passage just to Tarf's right, on the next screen, follow the path around to the northeastern corner, where you'll encounter Maria. Talking to her (again, you don't have to), she reveals that she survived the sacrificial ritual due to her bracelet absorbing the damage instead (if you gift Frau of Ramia Village, she mentions that Maria's bracelet used to belong to one of the six priests). Talking to her here (speaking to her in the Campanile of Lane does *not* work) is the trigger for getting into her bed back at her place (the one on the right), if you're interested in that (for the Steam version, it's the last requirement for the "Juuuuust Right" achievement). Of course, it requires backtracking to Ramia (if you want to warp back, you'll need to head back to the room with the elevator platform for it to work - otherwise, simply touch the golden orb near where the Shield Magic was and backtrack), but you can also report the good news to Sada (who's now in Ramia's graveyard, provided you talked to Maria in the Core of Ys), Karen, and Hadat (as well as a few others). Back in the Core of Ys, take the passage just to the right of Maria, and on the next screen, you'll need to follow the path all the way to the far northwestern corner (or pretty close to it, at least). After doing so, backtrack to the middle, and Keith will create a passage for you Dogi style. Go ahead and enter, and if you speak to Keith (again, it's optional), he'll tell you the Goddesses are a bit farther in, as well as Gorto (if you didn't notice, there's a different gate guard in Ramia Village). Anyway, follow the path to the northeastern corner, and enter the passage. Head up a little ways, and you'll encounter Gorto near a barrier. Chatting with him (also not required), he speculates that the Goddesses are likely past this barrier, but there doesn't seem to be any way through (at present, it just pushes you back). He did seem to notice a movement off to the right, so we better check it out. Follow the path to the northeastern corner (along the way, you'll get a couple messages saying someone is around), and you'll find Lilia. Speak to her, and after some brief dialogue, she'll give you the Goddess Ring, courtesy of two mysterious girls she encountered earlier. Head back to the barrier, and provided you have the Goddess Ring (which you can show to Gorto, if you'd like), touching it this time will now dispel it. Follow the path to the far northwestern corner, and step inside the warp symbol (by the way, those rotating crystals don't do anything of note, but you can shoot fireballs at them for a neat ripple effect). Upon warping, you'll find yourself back in the room where Vagullion was fought in Ys I. Strange, why are we back here all of a sudden? As you can't open the door off to the east, take the passage to the northwest. You'll notice the Goddesses being held in place on either side of the door here. Touch the door between them, and you'll promptly get pushed back by the other mysterious entity from the intro video, but Goban and Luta Gemma come to your rescue with the Silver Harmonica. As there is nothing else you can do (not even Shield Magic will protect you should you try attacking this guy as he is now), so go ahead and play the Silver Harmonica (equip and use it) to break the curse on the Goddesses. Afterwards, go ahead and speak to both of them, who reveal themselves to be Feena and Reah (in case you didn't pick up on it earlier =p). After speaking to both of them, they'll imbue your sword with power; you'll also receive 2,000 EXP, which will likely level you up (or very close to it, at least). Finally, the door to the final boss will be open, but before stepping inside, speak to Luta Gemma first, as he will give you the Cleria Shield to help with the upcoming battle (you can skip grabbing this, but it's obviously not recommended. Before stepping through the door, Goban did mention that Ys has returned to the surface, and most of the characters will now have something new to say, should you decide to visit them at this point (I mean, it's not like the world's in imminent danger or anything =p). Of particular note, the view has changed a little on the far western portion of the Moondoria Field (just outside Lance, the part of the island where Lilia found you in the intro scenes), as well as the view on the balcony of the Goddesses' Palace (for obvious reasons, the Goddesses' spirits are no longer there to heal you). Anyway, getting back to the Core of Ys, stepping through that door next to the Goddesses is the point of no return, so in case you want to do something else, be sure to save before entering it. Speaking of which, like other characters you encounter, Feena and Reah can also be gifted (Goban and Luta Gemma as well, but they're less significant in this regard). Giving 3 gifts to Feena will have her fully heal you if needed, so you'll want to use cheap gifts like Apples or Marle Flowers to do so. Gifting Reah at least twice will cause her to wink at you during a certain point of the post-game scenes, but that's about it. At any rate, save your game, get fully healed (this should be a non-issue, but if you need it, either gift Feena 3 times for a full heal, or use anything aside from preferably the Celceta Flower), and step inside the door. Head straight up, and Adol will automatically run across the collapsing platforms to another warp symbol. Before stepping inside the warp symbol, make absolutely certain the Cleria Sword is equipped, because as with Dalles, the final boss is impossible without it. Having the Cleria Armor and Cleria Shield equipped would also be a good idea, though it's technically not required. In addition, you'll want to equip the Goddess Ring if you haven't already, though this also isn't necessary. For items, I recommend having either the Elixir or a Celceta Flower equipped, as they both can fully heal both your HP and MP. You can also equip the Shield Magic, as it makes this guy pretty easy (however, if you want a decent challenge, I honestly advise against using it - that, or being no higher than level 50). When you're ready, step inside the warp symbol to confront the final boss. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DARM HP - 510 LVL - 51 STR - 278 DEF - 240 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 2,550 RECOMMENDED LEVEL - 51/52 STRATEGY - Just like Dalles, most magic is ineffective here (as before, using Time Magic here backfires on you, but Darm doesn't do anything special during this time, aside from pelt you with various projectiles). So, as noted above, to even damage this guy, you absolutely *must* have the Cleria Sword equipped (though again, feel free to attack him using Alter Magic to completely humiliate him =p). It's worth noting that he seems to have slightly increased DEF (and of course, STR), but this is actually true of all bosses, just that it's more evident in this fight in particular, as he seems to take a bit more punishment. Anyway, it's also preferable to be wearing the Goddess Ring, as it'll briefly freeze him in place periodically throughout the fight; if that isn't enough incentive, it also gives you a +2 increase in both STR and DEF, and every little bit helps. While you don't need to do this, it's the best opportunity to land hits on him, otherwise he'll be moving all over the place, making him hard to catch - even moreso on higher difficulties. Almost immediately upon starting the fight, he'll send out a bunch of small projectiles in all directions, so you may want to hold off on attacking him right away (besides, in Eternal and Complete, he has brief invulnerability if you decide to bump into him as soon as possible). All the while, six bomb-like projectiles will periodically appear in the center of the platform, and be automatically thrown at you shortly afterwards. These are rather easy to avoid, but you do need to remember to keep an eye on them. Anyway, after he does the burst of projectiles, weave between them as best you can, and try to land a few hits on him before backing off, as he'll send more projectiles out shortly after (he alternates between a big burst and a small burst of these). After dodging the projectiles a few times, the Goddess Ring should activate, which is the ideal time to strike. Do note that if he's in the middle of shooting out projectiles, the attack may be cut short, but the bombs in the center will keep on coming, so keep a constant eye out for those, and back off if you need to. Aside from dodging all of those projectiles, the biggest issue with this phase is keeping up with Darm, as he loves to move away from you. When attacking him, try not to push him outside the platform, because if the Goddess Ring activates while he's there, chances are you'll be unable to reach him, which is a wasted opportunity. Once you take off a little over half his health, he'll hover to the center (he's invulnerable during this period), and you'll then have to deal with the Black Pearl itself. During this phase, he'll shoot out a few curving lines of yellow projectiles over half the screen, followed by a small burst of normal blue ones to mix things up. To avoid this attack, you either need to get lucky and be on the other side of him when this happens, or to keep in between the flow of the lines as best you can, and hope no stray blue projectiles get in your way. His other attack during this phase is a huge energy beam that he fires, briefly indicated by a small sparkling line before he lets loose. While he can move pretty much anywhere during this attack, his downside is that whatever angle he chooses to fire at, he can't change it until the attack ends, so to avoid this, get behind him if at all possible. If this hits you, it'll eat away at your Shield Magic pretty quickly, so be sure to avoid it at all costs. Also note that while the projectile attacks can be cut short by the Goddess Ring, he can still fire his energy beam in that state, though of course it's stationary. In addition, the bombs are still present throughout this phase, but as the projectiles leave you more space to work with, they're a lot easier to dodge this time around. At any rate, this form is more annoying to hit, as not only is his movement more erratic, he's much more prone to flee to the center or outside areas as the Goddess Ring activates, so do your best to push him away from there, if you're able to. Otherwise, this form is all about patience, and once you win, the game decides to award you 5,000 EXP and 2,550 gold, even though the ending sequence starts immediately afterwards. Thanks Falcom, that's real helpful... For a final boss, this guy is honestly a bit disappointing (even on Nightmare), mostly because of how over-powered the Shield Magic is. If you want an easy fight, just equip that, as well the Elixir or Celceta Flower to completely heal you (which is pretty much the equivalent of having 4 health bars - of course, the Celceta Flower requires you to be paying attention to your health, but the Elixir will activate automatically upon depleting your HP). Of course, this isn't a foolproof method, as there are a lot of things to dodge this fight, and getting hit by them using Shield Magic drains your MP quicker (higher difficulties take more MP off when you're hit, I believe), so you still have to use caution. NOTE - This boss can actually be reasonably dealt with as low as level 49, but the damage you deal per hit is reduced a tad, which starts to add up with the amount of HP this guy has, so you better be good at dodging his attacks if you take him on that low. To be honest, level 51 or 52 isn't that much of an increase in terms of your damage output, but I think what really helps is the increased DEF, especially on higher difficulties. If you feel more grinding is needed, I again recommend the enemies outside the Campanile of Lane, as the gate guards just take too long to be worth slightly more EXP per kill. However, using enemies for gaining levels beyond level 51 or so can be quite the chore, which is why I previously recommended using all that fixed EXP from Zava onwards or so to get those last levels. Also, if you want to have a full beastiary, this guy's stats are only listed upon beating the game. For the Eternal and Complete versions, this means one could load up a previous save, and the stats would show immediately, as enemy stats are tracked throughout all playthroughs. The Chronicles versions, however, track them only for your current playthrough, but as there's no other way to get Darm's entry, it's given to you automatically at the start of your second playthrough onwards. Of course, the downside is having to get all the previous enemies' stats again if you want to see a complete beastiary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once you win, the Black Pearl shatters and depletes your MP, and then you'll be treated to the game's ending sequence. Congratulations on beating Ys II! =============================================================================== 5. Ys I Appendices =============================================================================== This section contains lists of many of the things you can do throughout the course of Ys I, as well as a couple of notable extras. As there are quite a lot of easter eggs and extra things to see and do, most won't be listed here except in relation to the lists, but many of them are already touched upon briefly throughout the actual walkthrough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment [YS1EQP] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the equipment items in Ys I, as well as their usage and where they can be found. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. If you need more detailed directions on where to find this stuff, please refer to the walkthrough portion of this guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Sword - Given to you by Slaff in Port Barbado as a reward for talking to all of the townsfolk there - Buy from Rosetty's Weaponry in Minea for 500 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 5. NOTE - You can only receive this from Slaff by first talking to everyone in Port Barbado, and then speaking to Slaff about all 4 dialogue options in the close-up scene; he'll give it to you as you exit the conversation. Doing this gets you the Steam achievement "Sworded Details", but if you buy a weapon in Minea (even if it's just the Long Sword), you can no longer obtain it this way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long Sword - Buy from Rosetty's Weaponry in Minea for 2,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talwar (Talwarl) - Given to you by Slaff in Port Barbado after rescuing Feena from the Shrine - Buy from Rosetty's Weaponry in Minea for 5,000 gold - Found in a chest on 2F of Darm Tower (Complete/Chronicles versions only) USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 25. NOTE - It's best to get this weapon for free from Slaff after saving Feena, as it's the earliest point you can obtain it, plus it gives you the "Seriously Sworded Details" achievement in the Steam version of the game. If you want to buy it from the weapons dealer in Minea, you first need to attempt to buy it at any point, and then afterwards, speak to him anytime after finding the Book of Ys in the Shrine. Otherwise, you can find it in a chest on floor 2 of Darm Tower, but only if you didn't get it before. If you obtained it earlier, the chest will be empty, but if you're playing the Eternal version, the chest will be empty regardless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Sword - Given to you by the southeastern Roda Tree on the northern Minea Plains - Found again in a chest on 7F of Darm Tower USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 40. NOTE - In order to initially obtain this weapon, you must find and eat the Roda Tree Seed (equip and use it), as well as have returned the Silver Harmonica to Reah - both are found on the second floor of the Abandoned Mine. This item is essential before being allowed inside Darm Tower, as the final boss is impossible to defeat without it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flame Sword - Found in a chest on 20F of Darm Tower (where the enemies bust down the wall) USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 55. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Small Shield - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 700 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Middle Shield - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 2,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Shield - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 6,000 gold - Found in a chest on 6F of Darm Tower (Complete/Chronicles versions only) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 25. NOTE - If you didn't buy this back in Minea, you can find it on the eastern portion of floor 6 of Darm Tower (take the middle path on floor 5), but only if you didn't get it before. If you obtained it earlier, the chest will be empty, but if you're playing the Eternal version, the chest will be empty regardless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Shield - Found in a chest on B3 of the Shrine - Found again in a chest on 9F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, not the room where Pictimos is fought) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 35. NOTE - This item is essential before being allowed inside Darm Tower, but you don't actually need to re-obtain it after you get captured (however, it's highly recommended that you do). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Shield - Found in a chest on 15F of Darm Tower USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 50. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chain Mail - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 400 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plate Mail - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 2,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 15. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reflex - Buy from Dios' Armory in Minea for 5,000 gold - Found in a chest on 4F of Darm Tower (Complete/Chronicles versions only) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 25. NOTE - If you didn't buy this back in Minea, you can find it on floor 4 of Darm Tower (in the center portion of the room), but only if you didn't get it before. If you obtained it earlier, the chest will be empty, but if you're playing the Eternal version, the chest will be empty regardless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Armor - Found in a chest on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine - Found again in a chest on 13F of Darm Tower USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 35. NOTE - This item is essential before being allowed inside Darm Tower, but you don't actually need to re-obtain it after you get captured (however, it's highly recommended that you do). As for this item's initial location, in the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first floor of the Mine is referred to as "1F", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 1", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Armor - Found in a chest on 19F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, accessed via the far northeastern corner of floor 18) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 50. NOTE - You must have the Blue Necklace (*not* the Blue Amulet) equipped in order to open this chest without being teleported. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Power Ring - Given to you by Mayor Robels in Zepik Village (after finding the Silver Bell) USAGE - Equip to double your damage output (varies by difficulty). This will *not* work during a boss battle, just for normal enemies. NOTE - This ring doubles your damage output, *not* your STR stat; if you didn't have the STR to damage an enemy before, wearing this ring will do nothing to change that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shield Ring (Ring Mail) - Found in a chest on the top floor of the Shrine USAGE - Equip to halve the damage you take (varies by difficulty). This will *not* work during a boss battle, just for normal enemies. NOTE - Much like the Power Ring, this one merely halves the damage enemies do to you; it doesn't double your actual DEF value (believe me, there's a difference). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timer Ring - Found in a chest on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine USAGE - Equip to reduce enemy speed by half (varies by difficulty). This will *not* work during a boss battle, just for normal enemies. NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first floor of the Mine is referred to as "1F", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 2", so be sure you're on the correct floor ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heal Ring - Found in a chest on B2 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine. USAGE - Equip to gradually restore HP in dungeons. This will *not* work during a boss battle, or in instances where your health is automatically being drained. NOTE - In addition to being able to gradually recover HP in dungeons, if you're already in a spot where you can heal normally, your HP will be restored at an even faster rate when you have this ring equipped. As for this item's location, in the English localized versions of Chronicles, the second floor of the Mine is referred to as "B1", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 1", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evil Ring - Found in a chest on 2F of Darm Tower USAGE - Wear with the Blue Necklace to open the door at the top of Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado). Be sure to equip the Blue Necklace first, *then* the Evil Ring (and vice versa when taking the ring off), or else you'll die. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inventory [YS1INV] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the inventory items in Ys I, as well as their usage and where they can be found. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. If you need more detailed directions on where to find this stuff, please refer to the walkthrough portion of this guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Hadal - Found in a chest on B3 of the Shrine (after defeating Nygtilger) USAGE - After learning of Sara's murder, ask Jeba to translate this for you. It is part of an essential process of getting into Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Tovah - Given to you by Franz in Sara's Fortunes in Minea (after finding the Book of Ys in the Shrine) USAGE - After learning of Sara's murder, ask Jeba to translate this for you. It is part of an essential process of getting into Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Dabbie (Dabby) - Found in a chest in the Depths (Mystic Chamber) of the Abandoned Mine (after defeating Vagullion) USAGE - After learning of Sara's murder, ask Jeba to translate this for you. It is part of an essential process of getting into Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Mesa (Messa) - Found in a chest on 9F of Darm Tower (western portion, after defeating Pictimos) USAGE - Use the Monocle given to you by Reah in Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) to translate this, as well as Volume Gemma. After translating both of them, speak to Luta Gemma on floor 11 of Darm Tower (the western portion of floor 11, along the balcony where the Hammer is used to get through the Devil's Corridor) to receive the Blue Amulet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Gemma - Found in a chest on 14F of Darm Tower (western portion, after defeating Khonsclard) USAGE - Use the Monocle given to you by Reah in Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) to translate this, as well as Volume Mesa. After translating both of them, speak to Luta Gemma on floor 11 of Darm Tower (the western portion of floor 11, along the balcony where the Hammer is used to get through the Devil's Corridor) to receive the Blue Amulet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Fact (Fukt) - Found in the folds of Dark Fact's cape on 25F of Darm Tower (after defeating him) USAGE - Use the Monocle given to you by Reah in Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) to translate this, and you'll be treated to the game's ending sequence. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Treasure Box Key - Found in a chest on B2 of the Shrine USAGE - This key is needed to open most treasure chests. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prison Key - Found in a chest on B2 of the Shrine USAGE - This key is needed to open the prison cells on B1 of the Shrine, allowing you to rescue Feena. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shrine Key - Given to you by Jeba in Zepik Village (after receiving Sara's Crystal) USAGE - This key is needed to unlock the door on the top floor of the Shrine, leading further inside. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ivory Key - Found in a chest on B3 of the Shrine USAGE - This key is needed to unlock one of two doors on B3 deep within the Shrine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marble Key - Found in a chest on B3 of the Shrine USAGE - This key is needed to unlock one of two doors on B3 deep within the Shrine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darm Key (Dahm Key) - Found in a chest on B2 (Level 3) of the Abandoned Mine USAGE - This key is needed to unlock the door leading to the Depths (Mystic Chamber) of the Abandoned Mine on B2 (Level 3). NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the third floor of the Mine is referred to as "B2", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 3", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sara's Crystal (Sarah's Crystal) - Given to you by Sara in Minea (after purchasing a sword, shield, and body armor) USAGE - This item is needed to use the warp statues within the Shrine. NOTE - It doesn't matter what equipment pieces you buy or don't, just so long as you have one of a sword, shield, and body armor when talking to her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roda Tree Seed (Seed of Roda) - Found in a chest on B1 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine USAGE - Eat this (equip and use it) to communicate with the two Roda Trees on the northern Minea Plains. This is part of a necessary process for first obtaining the Silver Sword (received from the southeastern Roda Tree). NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the second floor of the Mine is referred to as "B1", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 2", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Bell - Found in a chest on B2 of the Shrine USAGE - Return to Mayor Robels in Zepik Village to receive the Power Ring. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Harmonica - Found in a chest on B1 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine USAGE - Return to Reah on Minea's ramparts to awaken the sleeping Roda Trees on the northern Minea Plains. This is part of a necessary process for first obtaining the Silver Sword (received from the southeastern Roda Tree). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Idol - Given to you by Dogi in one of the prison cells on B1 of Darm Tower USAGE - Equip this to make yourself invisible to enemies (and allies - try getting caught in the teleport trap a couple extra times, and use it then =p). Return it to Raba, hidden in a small passage on floor 3 of Darm Tower (use the Mask of Eyes between the 8th and 9th statues) to receive the Blue Necklace. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rod - Found in a chest on 14F of Darm Tower (western portion, after defeating Khonsclard) USAGE - This item is needed to traverse the mirror mazes on floors 13 and 21 of Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monocle (Glasses) - Given to you by Reah at the top of Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) USAGE - Equip this to translate the Books of Ys, particularly the ones found in Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Amulet - Given to you by Luta Gemma on 11F of Darm Tower (western portion, along the balcony where the Hammer is used to get through the Devil's Corridor) USAGE - This item is needed to pass through the door on floor 25 of Darm Tower. NOTE - You need to use the Monocle to translate both Volumes Mesa *and* Gemma before Luta will give you this item, otherwise he won't hand it over (in the Eternal version of the game, you'll need to speak to him twice to receive it). Sure, he only mentions the Book of Gemma, but this is likely a precautionary measure to ensure that you actually have all 6 Books when finishing the game, otherwise it might be possible to skip Volume Mesa. =p ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruby - Found in a chest on the top floor of the Shrine USAGE - Sell to Pim in Minea for 1,200 gold; 1,320 if you barter. NOTE - If you want to receive a 10% bonus when selling this to Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the bonus. Once you do this for the first item you sell, all future offers will already have the 10% bonus applied (but if you're buying items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% discount). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sapphire Ring - Buy from Pim's Pawn in Minea for 1,000 gold; 900 if you barter USAGE - Return to Donis in Orman's Spirits in Minea for a reward of 1,500 gold (if you haven't already, talk to the bartender first, then to the one-eyed man, Donis). NOTE - If you want to receive a 10% discount when buying this from Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the discount. Once you do this for the first item you buy, all future offers will already have the 10% discount applied (but if you're selling items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% bonus). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Necklace - Found in a chest on B1 of the Shrine USAGE - Sell to Pim in Minea for 500 gold; 550 if you barter. NOTE - If you want to receive a 10% bonus when selling this to Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the bonus. Once you do this for the first item you sell, all future offers will already have the 10% bonus applied (but if you're buying items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% discount). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Golden Vase (Golden Pedestal) - Found at the edge of a small pond on the northern Minea Plains (the screen south of Zepik, in the northeast corner of the pond) USAGE - Sell to Pim in Minea for 2,000 gold; 2,200 if you barter. NOTE - If you want to receive a 10% bonus when selling this to Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the bonus. Once you do this for the first item you sell, all future offers will already have the 10% bonus applied (but if you're buying items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% discount). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heal Potion - Buy from Klaus' Clinic in Minea for 300 gold (in the Eternal version, it's 1,000 gold) - Found in a chest on B3 of the Shrine - Found in a chest on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine - Found in a chest on B2 (Level 3) of the Abandoned Mine - Found in a chest on 2F of Darm Tower - Found in a chest on 17F of Darm Tower USAGE - Instantly restores all of your health. You cannot use this during a boss battle. One use only. NOTE - If you're playing the Eternal version of the game, buying this item from Klaus' Clinic costs 1,000 gold, but it was reduced to 300 gold in Complete/Chronicles. Also note that, in the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first and third floors of the Mine are referred to as "1F" and "B2" respectively, but for the Japanese versions of the game, they're simply called "Level 1" and "Level 3", so be sure you're on the correct floors. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wing - Buy from Pim's Pawn in Minea for 200 gold; 180 if you barter (in the Eternal version, it's 2,000 gold; 1,800 if you barter) USAGE - Warps you to Minea. You cannot use this during a boss battle. One use only. NOTE - If you're playing the Eternal version of the game, this item costs 2,000 gold (1,800 if you barter), but it was reduced to 200 gold (180 if you barter) in Complete/Chronicles. If you want to receive a 10% discount when buying this from Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the discount. Once you do this for the first item you buy, all future offers will already have the 10% discount applied (but if you're selling items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% bonus). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). Also, if you still have one in your inventory, Goban takes it away from you before entering Darm Tower, claiming that using it inside will instantly kill you (which is probably Falcom's way of saying it glitches out the game =p). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hammer - Found in a chest on 9F of Darm Tower (western portion, after defeating Pictimos) USAGE - This item is needed to smash the balcony pillar (equip and use it) on floor 11 to safely pass through the Devil's Corridor (starting from the way back to floor 10, it's the second pillar on the left). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mirror - Buy from Pim's Pawn in Minea for 500 gold; 450 if you barter (in the Eternal version, it's 1,000 gold; 900 if you barter) - Found in a chest on 2F of Darm Tower USAGE - Temporarily freezes enemies, as well as allows you to safely attack them off-center. Use it around townsfolk to receive varied reactions, as well as the Steam achievement "Some Kind of Sorcerer". You can also use it during the Feena escort mission to allow Feena to kill an enemy, the first of which gets you the Steam achievement "Forever Level One To Me". You cannot use this during a boss battle. Three to five uses (randomly decided when you obtain one). NOTE - While using this item will in fact allow you to safely attack enemies off-center while they're "fascinated", I find that sometimes they can still damage you, though I'm not quite sure what causes this behavior (maybe it has to do with you/them being at a bad angle). If you want to receive a 10% discount when buying this from Pim, you first need to refuse his initial offer a total of 9 times, and then he'll offer the discount. Once you do this for the first item you buy, all future offers will already have the 10% discount applied (but if you're selling items from him, you need to repeat the process before receiving a 10% bonus). If you're playing the Steam version, doing this the first time also gets you the Steam achievement "The Pim's-Lower Approach" (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mask of Eyes - Found in a chest with Feena on B1 of the Shrine (alternatively, if you wait to rescue her, she gives it to you automatically) USAGE - Equip to reveal hidden passages, but makes enemies and other characters invisible. This is needed to find a hidden passage on B3 of the Shrine (shortly after the first warp statue), as well as a room on floor 3 of Darm Tower where Raba's hiding (between the 8th and 9th statues). You can also equip it, and then push Feena into the really narrow passage on B1 of the Shrine (slightly southwest of the stairs leading to the top floor), for the Steam achievement "I Can't See You, But I Can Feel You". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Necklace - Given to you by Raba in a hidden room on 3F of Darm Tower (after returning the Idol) USAGE - Equip this to nullify certain traps. It's needed to bypass the teleport trap on floor 6 of Darm Tower, as well as nullify the Evil Ring's curse to get to the top of Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) to receive the Monocle from Reah (equip the Blue Necklace first, *then* the Evil Ring, and vice versa when taking it off). You can also use it to safely open the chest containing the Battle Armor on floor 19 of Darm Tower (the eastern portion, accessed via the far northeastern corner of floor 18). NOTE - If you're playing the Eternal version of the game, you'll need to speak to Raba again after returning the Idol to receive this from him. Also, this item only nullifies traps - it doesn't actually destroy them, so even if you've already avoided them once, if you attempt to re-activate them without this equipped, they will still function as normal (the Battle Armor chest trap doesn't re-activate, for obvious reasons). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beastiary Potion - Found in a chest on the northern Minea Plains USAGE - Allows you to see and learn enemy stats (varies by difficulty) after killing them a certain number of times. NOTE - For the Eternal and Complete versions, the number needed to learn a stat is random (at least 5, it seems like, often more), so it may take a while before you learn anything about them, but the bright side is that there's no "official" listing, just what you see if you pull up your status (for those versions, the "S" key), and it doesn't list the EXP or Gold stats, so it could potentially take less kills than in Chronicles (usually not, though). For the Chronicles versions, it seems to be exactly 1 kill for their name, followed by 5 kills to randomly learn one of their other stats, meaning it's a total of 26 kills to completely fill in their entries. Do note that the EXP and Gold stats are only listed in the "Notes" section, but not on the main screen, so be wary of that if you're trying to completely fill in those sections (especially for the Steam version, which awards the achievement "Monster Masher" for unlocking all non-boss stats). Bosses are automatically filled in upon beating them (so long as you drank the Beastiary Potion, that is), but there's no way to know their stats in the Eternal or Complete versions, as they weren't revealed until the Chronicles versions. Also note that their stats vary by difficulty, but only the HP value visibly changes (boss HP stays the same). Their STR and DEF are also affected, but it's not listed as changed, likely as the result of some formula that uses the listed values as a base (for reference, these values seem to correspond to the "Hard" difficulty, which is pretty much Eternal's "Normal" - when they were first revealed, bosses excluded). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Piece of Paper - Found in a chest on the northern Minea Plains USAGE - After returning the Silver Harmonica to Reah on Minea's ramparts, you can give this to Reah (equip and use it near her) for a small scene once you leave. If you're playing the Steam version, you'll also receive the "Poetry in Motion" achievement. NOTE - While you do encounter Reah again later in the game, you are unable to return this to her then, so at the very latest, do it before entering Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Characters [YS1CHR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the characters encountered in Ys I, as well as where to find them. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. Most of them stay in one location throughout the game, but some of them change spots at certain points. Also, if you're playing the Eternal or Complete versions, there is no option to view them in list form, as that option wasn't available for Ys I until the Chronicles versions. Thankfully, there's really only one time you might want a list in those versions, and that's if you missed talking to a character in Barbado, in order to get a free Short Sword from Slaff early on (which is completely optional). Otherwise, if you're playing the Steam version, you may want to find all of them to receive the "Hello, My Name Is Adol" achievement. Anyway, on to the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #1 - Doctor Bludo (Buldo) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in Dr. Bludo's Clinic in Port Barbado (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 - Nurse Ayla (Ira) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in Dr. Bludo's Clinic in Port Barbado (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 - Slaff (Slaghf) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Militia HQ of Port Barbado (far southwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 - Stephan (Stephen) - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just west of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #5 - Jacob - Encountered on the roof of the Militia HQ in Port Barbado (far southwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #6 - Drake - Encountered in the Militia HQ of Port Barbado (far southwestern building) - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - For the second location, you need to have spoken to this character in Barbado at least once beforehand, as well as have escorted Feena to Zepik. If both conditions are met, you'll find him in Orman's Spirits in Minea for the rest of the game, otherwise he'll still be in Barbado's Militia HQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #7 - Old Man George - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just outside Dr. Bludo's clinic, the far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #8 - Fisherman Betelo (Petero) - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just outside the Militia HQ, near the ocean) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #9 - Fran - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just south of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #10 - Arcia (Arsia) - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just south of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #11 - Old Man Pastol (Pastor) - Encountered near the pikkard pen in Port Barbado (just southeast of the exit) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #12 - Marco - Encountered outside in Port Barbado (generally just outside Daria's house, the far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #13 - Torrance (Trance) - Encountered in Torrance's house in Port Barbado (far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #14 - Rebecca - Encountered in Torrance's house in Port Barbado (far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #15 - Danny - Encountered in Torrance's house in Port Barbado (far southeastern building) - Encountered with Cheryl outside in Port Barbado walking around Gerald's Pub (middle southwestern building, slightly northeast of the Militia HQ) NOTE - For the first location, you'll only find this character here before you step foot inside Minea. If you return to Barbado anytime after that point, you'll find him outside with Cheryl, walking around Gerald's Pub in circles (briefly stopping in front of the Armory, the far western building) for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #16 - Cheryl (Sheryl) - Encountered in Mason's house in Port Barbado (middle southern building, slightly northwest of Torrance's house) - Encountered with Danny outside in Port Barbado walking around Gerald's Pub (middle southwestern building, slightly northeast of the Militia HQ) NOTE - For the first location, you'll only find this character here before you step foot inside Minea. If you return to Barbado anytime after that point, you'll find her outside with Danny, walking around Gerald's Pub in circles (briefly passing in front of the Armory, the far western building) for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #17 - Mason the Trader (Mayson) - Encountered in Mason's house in Port Barbado (middle southern building, slightly northwest of Torrance's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #18 - Sylvia (Silvia) - Encountered in Mason's house in Port Barbado (middle southern building, slightly northwest of Torrance's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #19 - Gerald - Encountered in Gerald's Pub in Port Barbado (middle southwestern building, slightly northeast of the Militia HQ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 - Karin (Karrin) - Encountered in Gerald's Pub in Port Barbado (middle southwestern building, slightly northeast of the Militia HQ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #21 - Granny Daria - Encountered in Daria's house in Port Barbado (far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #22 - Reah - Encountered outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (far northeastern corner of town) - Encountered on Minea's ramparts after finding the Silver Harmonica - Encountered at the top of Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) within Darm Tower (area branching from the far southwestern corner of floor 16) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #23 - Prim - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just south of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #24 - Fana - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just east of the entrance) - Encountered with Reah outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (seems random) NOTE - For the second location, in addition to not having found the Silver Harmonica yet, I believe you need to have spoken with Reah at least once beforehand before this character has a chance at appearing with her (as far as I can tell, at least). If she's not with Reah, then she'll be in her first location. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #25 - Julius (Jurius) - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains, just north of the entrance to Minea - Encountered outside in Minea (generally near Orman's Spirits, the big building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - For the first location, this character only appears there if you try and cross the bridge leading to the northern Minea Plains without first entering Minea, meaning it's a one-shot opportunity to encounter him there. Otherwise, you can find him in his usual location in Minea, walking around outside near Orman's Spirits (or somewhere close by, usually). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #26 - Archelle (Urschell) - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Klaus' Clinic, the far northeastern building) - Encountered with Reah outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (seems random) NOTE - For the second location, in addition to not having found the Silver Harmonica yet, I believe you need to have spoken with Reah at least once beforehand before this character has a chance at appearing with her (as far as I can tell, at least). If he's not with Reah, then he'll be in his first location. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #27 - Aurora - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Dios' Armory, the right entrance of the far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #28 - Cornell - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Charme's house, the building just west of the entrance to Orman's Spirits) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #29 - Johann (Johan) - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Pim's Pawn, the far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #30 - Hans - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Buck's house, the building just southwest of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #31 - Haystack - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Rosetty's Weaponry, the left entrance of the far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #32 - Lucca - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Sara's Fortunes, the far southwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #33 - Boss Bangoa (Bangor) - Encountered outside in Minea (generally just outside Charme's house, the building just west of the entrance to Orman's Spirits) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #34 - Orman (Ohman) - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - To get this entry, you need to talk to this character in the close-up scene in Orman's Spirits; he's the bartender. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #35 - Donis - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - To get this entry, you need to talk to this character in the close-up scene in Orman's Spirits; he's the one-eyed man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #36 - Garreck (Gareck) - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - To get this entry, you need to talk to this character in the close-up scene in Orman's Spirits; he's the muscular man. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #37 - Ricardo - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #38 - Cezar (Cesar) - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #39 - Miner Doug - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #40 - Chest - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #41 - Old Man Franz - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) - Encountered in Sara's Fortunes in Minea (after obtaining the Book of Ys from the Shrine) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #42 - Nikki the Dancer (Nico) - Encountered in Orman's Spirits in Minea (big building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #43 - Doctor Klaus (Clause) - Encountered coming out of Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) - Encountered in or near Betel's house in Minea (building in the southwestern area, just east of Sara's Fortunes) - Encountered running around outside in Minea near Freddy's house (far western building, below Pim's Pawn) or Sara's Fortunes NOTE - This character is the only one that's permanently missable (barring the point of no return, of course), and on top of that, his AI can be a bit confusing (I still don't fully understand it), so to avoid needless headaches, just head straight to Klaus' Clinic during your first visit to Minea, and you should bump into him as you enter (or just hang around the clinic entrance for a few seconds). Anyway, as far as I can tell, while there are multiple locations you can catch him in, I've found that after his initial appearance from the clinic, the other scenarios are interchangeable; that is, it doesn't seem possible to find him in all the scenarios in one playthrough, just two, or so it seems. Also, these are one-shot scenarios that you can't re-do if you do happen to see him but fail to talk to him, so make them count (in each one, he makes his way outside town, though you'll never see him outside Minea, I think). The first opportunity is when he comes out of the clinic when you first arrive in Minea (though this only seems to happen if you're within a certain range of the clinic's entrance, so it's technically possible to still have this encounter occur late in the game - though I doubt most players will avoid this place entirely). The second chance occurs after having seen him/been in range of the first one (even if you didn't catch him); if you return to Minea anytime after visiting Zepik, you can find him wandering to and from Betel's house, stopping inside briefly (do note that this opportunity actually seems missable if you stayed out of range of the clinic's entrance entirely so far, and have already finished the Shrine - even if you then activate the clinic entrance one, it seems one of the next scenarios is your last chance instead). The last chance seems to be a either/or situation (seems random as to which), and it happens after receiving the Book of Ys from Sara's friend Franz, at which point he'll randomly be coming from either Freddy's or Sara's houses (but you can't actually find him inside them), and then he'll promptly make his way to the town entrance, so it's best just to wait for him there in these scenarios (if he's not showing up at the entrance after a while, it might mean he's stuck somewhere due to trying to avoid one of the townsfolk - I sometimes find him stuck outside Harrison's house, the far eastern building just south of Klaus' Clinic XD). Anyway, this is the last known time he appears, and I don't think it matters if you saw/heard him this time or not (if you haven't figured it out yet, the doors opening/closing you might have heard is actually him moving around), so if you missed it and the others, then you've likely missed him for good. Additionally, I don't actually know for sure what triggers these last locations, but I've only ever seen it if I first saw him coming out of the clinic after finishing the Shrine (which means delaying his initial appearance, essentially), and then re-entering town after receiving Sara's Book of Ys. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #44 - Nurse Lisa - Encountered in Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #45 - Theodore - Encountered in Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #46 - Bron - Encountered in Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #47 - Old Man Mash - Encountered in Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #48 - Kain (Cane) - Encountered in Klaus' Clinic in Minea (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #49 - Pim - Encountered in Pim's Pawn in Minea (far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #50 - Charme (Charm) - Encountered in Charme's house in Minea (building just west of the entrance to Orman's Spirits) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #51 - Buck - Encountered in Buck's house in Minea (building just southwest of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #52 - Tabitha - Encountered in Buck's house in Minea (building just southwest of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #53 - Mayor Marcel - Encountered in the Mayor's residence in Minea (building in the southeastern area, just west of Rosetty's Weaponry/Dios' Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #54 - Pamela - Encountered in the Mayor's residence in Minea (building in the southeastern area, just west of Rosetty's Weaponry/Dios' Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #55 - Rosetty (Rosetti) - Encountered in Rosetty's Weaponry in Minea (left entrance of the far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #56 - Dios - Encountered in Dios' Armory in Minea (right entrance of the far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #57 - Old Man Betel (Bethel) - Encountered in Betel's house in Minea (building in the southwestern area, just east of Sara's Fortunes) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #58 - Lydia - Encountered in Betel's house in Minea (building in the southwestern area, just east of Sara's Fortunes) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #59 - Freddy - Encountered in Freddy's house in Minea (far western building, below Pim's Pawn) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #60 - Martha - Encountered in Freddy's house in Minea (far western building, below Pim's Pawn) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #61 - Old Man Harrison - Encountered in Harrison's house in Minea (far eastern building, below Klaus' Clinic) - Encountered with Reah outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (after your first visit to Zepik) NOTE - For the second location, in addition to needing to visit Zepik, this character only appears with Reah near the ramparts if you haven't finished the Shrine yet, and the Silver Harmonica isn't found yet (after all, it's possible to find it before finishing the Shrine). Also, this seems to only apply for the first visit to Minea after visiting Zepik (even if you entered Zepik before Minea); afterwards, he'll be in his usual location (Harrison's house). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #62 - Charlotte - Encountered in Harrison's house in Minea (far eastern building, below Klaus' Clinic) - Encountered with Reah outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (after your first visit to Zepik) NOTE - For the second location, in addition to needing to visit Zepik, this character only appears with Reah near the ramparts if you haven't finished the Shrine yet, and the Silver Harmonica isn't found yet (after all, it's possible to find it before finishing the Shrine). Also, this seems to only apply for the first visit to Minea after visiting Zepik (even if you entered Zepik before Minea); afterwards, she'll be in her usual location (Harrison's house). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #63 - Ephy (Epi) - Encountered in Harrison's house in Minea (far eastern building, below Klaus' Clinic) - Encountered with Reah outside in Minea near the entrance to the ramparts (after your first visit to Zepik) NOTE - For the second location, in addition to needing to visit Zepik, this character only appears with Reah near the ramparts if you haven't finished the Shrine yet, and the Silver Harmonica isn't found yet (after all, it's possible to find it before finishing the Shrine). Also, this seems to only apply for the first visit to Minea after visiting Zepik (even if you entered Zepik before Minea); afterwards, she'll be in her usual location (Harrison's house). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #64 - Sara (Sarah) - Encountered in Sara's Fortunes in Minea (far southwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #65 - Jeba (Jevah) - Encountered in Jeba's house in Zepik Village (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #66 - Mayor Robels (Roberth) - Encountered in the Mayor's residence in Zepik Village (middle building, slightly southwest of Jeba's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #67 - Linda - Encountered in Edda's house in Zepik Village (far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #68 - Mark - Encountered in Edda's house in Zepik Village (far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #69 - Granny Edda - Encountered in Edda's house in Zepik Village (far northwestern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #70 - Iris - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Luta's house, the far southwestern building) - Encountered in Luta's house in Zepik Village (only if you finish the Luta Gemma sidequest) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #71 - Clive - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Luta's house, near the lake) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #72 - Old Man Lahan (Rohan) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just east of the Minea Plains entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #73 - Palma (Parma) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Luta's house, near the lake) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #74 - Old Man Cronen (Kronen) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Jeba's house, the far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #75 - Demi - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside the Mayor's residence, the middle building slightly southwest of Jeba's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #76 - Old Man Pablo - Encountered outside in Zepik Village on the lake's pier (southeast of Jeba's house) NOTE - If you've progressed the game to where Feena's out on the lake's pier, this character seems to be temporarily unavailable. He'll be back in this location when Feena's back inside Jeba's house, so don't worry about missing him. As an aside, if you want some actual dialogue from him (well, sort of =p), speak to him after Jeba sends you off to see Goban. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #77 - Granny Lucia - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Edda's house, southwest of the Mountain Path entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #78 - Elbert - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just outside Edda's house, southwest of the Mountain Path entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #79 - Granny Soya - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just southeast of the Mountain Path entrance, in the patch of trees above Jeba's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #80 - Granny Tohbe (Tove) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just southeast of the Minea Plains entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #81 - Old Man Corvo (Corbo) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village (generally just south of the Mountain Path entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #82 - Goban - Encountered in the Thieves' Den (Bandits' Stronghold) - Encountered in the Passage within the Thieves' Den (when entering Darm Tower) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #83 - Lugan the Thief (Rugang) - Encountered in the Thieves' Den (Bandits' Stronghold) NOTE - To get this entry to show up, you ordinarily need to speak with Goban, and then to this character. Alternatively, you can bring Feena here during the escort mission, and talk to him then without needing to speak to Goban first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #84 - Morgan the Thief - Encountered in the Thieves' Den (Bandits' Stronghold) NOTE - To get this entry to show up, you ordinarily need to speak with Goban, and then to this character. Alternatively, you can bring Feena here during the escort mission, and talk to him then without needing to speak to Goban first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #85 - Feena - Encountered in the rightmost prison cell on B1 of the Shrine - Encountered in Jeba's house in Zepik Village (far northeastern building) - Encountered outside in Zepik Village on the lake's pier (southeast of Jeba's house) NOTE - While you originally find Feena within the Shrine, you do not get this character entry until you escort her to Zepik Village. At this point, she'll be in the second location, inside Jeba's house. To find her awake at this spot, you simply need to exit and re-enter Zepik anytime after rescuing her. For the third location, you must have manually talked to her inside Jeba's house, as well as have received the Book of Ys from Sara's friend Franz in Minea (happens anytime after finding the Book of Ys from the Shrine). After talking to her out on the lake, as well as reporting Sara's murder to Jeba and asking her to read the Books of Ys, you will find her back in Jeba's house, where she'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #86 - Luta Gemma (Luther) - Encountered in Dr. Bludo's Clinic in Port Barbado (far northeastern building) - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains (the screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree) - Encountered in Luta's house in Zepik Village (only if you finish the sidequest involving him) - Encountered in the rightmost prison cell on B1 of Darm Tower - Encountered on the 11F of Darm Tower (western portion, along the balcony where the Hammer is used to get through the Devil's Corridor) NOTE - You can only find Luta Gemma in the first three locations as part of a sidequest. First, you can find him in Dr. Bludo's Clinic if you've already spoken to his wife Iris in Zepik Village at least once beforehand, and you've talked to Dr. Bludo after receiving a weapon (if Dr. Bludo hasn't made the sword comment yet, then you need to do that, and then exit and re-enter town before Luta will show up). After that encounter, you'll find him being attacked by a Curloid on the northern Minea Plains, the only screen with the Pikkard enemies south of the northwestern Roda Tree (usually, you'll find him in the far northeastern corner, near the transition point to the Roda Tree screen). After killing the Curloid, you'll automatically be back in Zepik, and until you enter Darm Tower, you can find him inside his house (the far southwestern building). Even if you don't do that sidequest, he must be found and spoken to a couple times in Darm Tower. The first is when you get caught in the tower's cell trap, he'll be in there with you (if you get caught more than once, he won't be in the other cells with you). Later during your tower climb, you'll encounter him injured on the western portion of floor 11, where he'll stay for the rest of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #87 - Dogi - Encountered in the prison cells on B1 of Darm Tower - Encountered on 7F of Darm Tower (in the far northwestern corner) NOTE - For the first time you get caught in the teleport trap, in order for Dogi to show up, you must talk to Luta Gemma in the cell with you at least once, as well as search for at least one way out (the bars, and the walls in the northeast and southeast of the room); after that, it's just a matter of time before he arrives. Afterwards, you can find him in the far northwestern corner of floor 7, but you don't need to speak to him there (and even if you somehow get captured again at this point, don't worry, he'll still come and bust you out). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #88 - Raba (Rauba) - Encountered in a hidden room on 3F of Darm Tower (use the Mask of Eyes between the 8th and 9th statues) - Encountered in a small room along the Devil's Corridor in Darm Tower (eastern portion of floor 11) - Encountered on 13F of Darm Tower (the first mirror maze) NOTE - For the first location, you need to equip the Mask of Eyes in order to enter the hidden room, and then un-equip it once inside so you can see and talk to Raba. As for the second location, you'll only encounter him locked up in that small room in the Devil's Corridor before smashing the balcony pillar to get through, so it is possible you may not see him there. After clearing the Devil's Corridor, you'll find him injured on floor 13, where he'll stay for the rest of the game (though you don't actually need to speak to him there either). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies [YS1ENM] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the enemies encountered in Ys I, as well as where to find them. Their stats are also listed, which you can view for yourself in-game by finding and drinking the Beastiary Potion (located in a chest on the northern Minea Plains - equip and use it), then killing them a certain amount of times. For the Eternal and Complete versions, this number is random (at least 5, it seems like, often more), and may take a while before you learn anything about them, but the bright side is that there's no "official" listing, just what you see if you pull up your status (for those versions, the "S" key), and it doesn't list the EXP or Gold stats, so it could potentially take less kills than in Chronicles (usually not, though). For the Chronicles versions, it seems to be exactly 1 kill for their name, followed by 5 kills to randomly learn one of their other stats, meaning it's a total of 26 kills to completely fill in their entries. Do note that the EXP and Gold stats are only listed in the "Notes" section, not on the main screen, so be wary of that if you're trying to completely fill in those sections (especially for the Steam version, which awards the achievement "Monster Masher" for unlocking all of the non-boss enemy stats). Bosses are automatically filled in upon beating them (so long as you drank the Beastiary Potion, that is), but there's no way to know their stats in the Eternal or Complete versions, as they weren't revealed until the Chronicles versions. For the stat listings, names are listed first by their English localized name in either Chronicles version, followed by the Romanized Japanese name in parentheses (if it's different). As for HP, it varies by difficulty (early enemies especially - bosses are completely excluded from this, however), so I'll list them in order, starting with Easy difficulty (the max value is 255, so some enemies on Hard and Nightmare will have the same amount). The STR and DEF values aren't shown to be recorded differently between difficulties, but the damage taken/received does increase/decrease (I suspect there's separate formulas for that, probably using the Hard difficulty (Eternal's Normal) as a base). The EXP and Gold stats also don't change at all, although some of the early enemies do have slightly altered values between Eternal and the other versions; when this happens, the Complete/Chronicles stats will be listed first, followed by Eternal (as Eternal is likely the least played version). Speaking of Eternal, I believe the HP values coincide with Complete/Chronicles' Hard difficulty (in Eternal, the only difference between Easy and Normal seems to be the damage taken/received). Anyway, on to the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #1 - Pikkard (Picard) HP - 4 / 5 / 8 / 12 STR - 13 DEF - 8 EXP - 1 GOLD - 1 - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains (on the screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree) NOTE - Technically, this enemy can also be found in the pikkard pen in Port Barbado, though you can't actually get inside and kill them (if you could reach them, I suspect they would be killable, as the Mirror still freezes them in place like a normal enemy). Also, the northern Minea Plains refers to the primary section (north of Minea), not the portion in between Port Barbado and Minea. Speaking of these critters in Port Barbado, there appears to be 3-5 of them to start out with (randomly determined when entering the village). For each level you gain, an additional one will be added to the pen. So, at level 2 there will be anywhere from 4-6 pikkards at a time. There appears to be a maximum of 13, even though level 10 should theoretically have a maximum of 14 (though I believe the minimum is then raised to 12, whereas level 9's minimum is 11 - maybe there's some kind of sprite limit, or something). Anyway, this can be done at any point in the game, even in the very beginning, if so desired. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 - Curloid (Curloyd) HP - 12 / 17 / 25 / 37 STR - 19 DEF - 11 EXP - 4 / 2* GOLD - 10 - Encountered on the southern Minea Plains - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains NOTE - This enemy gives 2 EXP in Eternal, but 4 in the Complete/Chronicles versions. Also, the southern Minea Plains refers to the area between Port Barbado and Minea. The northern Minea Plains refers to the primary section north of Minea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 - Oakrot (Oacrot) HP - 12 / 17 / 25 / 37 STR - 16 DEF - 9 EXP - 2 GOLD - 6 - Encountered on the southern Minea Plains - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains NOTE - The southern Minea Plains refers to the area between Port Barbado and Minea. The northern Minea Plains refers to the primary section north of Minea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 - Rheboll HP - 15 / 21 / 30 / 45 STR - 23 DEF - 12 EXP - 6 / 2* GOLD - 14 - Encountered on the northern Minea Plains NOTE - This enemy gives 2 EXP in Eternal, but 6 in the Complete/Chronicles versions. Also, the northern Minea Plains refers to the primary section (north of Minea), not the portion in between Port Barbado and Minea. Also, in the Chronicles version of the game, you can learn this enemy's name by asking Slaff about the Militia, but it still takes 26 kills to completely learn its stats. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #5 - Unugun HP - 25 / 35 / 50 / 75 STR - 34 DEF - 10 EXP - 8 / 4* GOLD - 25 / 14* - Encountered on the Mountain Path NOTE - This enemy gives 4 EXP in Eternal, but 8 in the Complete/Chronicles versions. The Gold stat was also changed for some reason, giving 14 in Eternal, but 25 in Complete/Chronicles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #6 - Uhnos HP - 25 / 35 / 50 / 75 STR - 93 DEF - 60 EXP - 40 GOLD - 50 - Encountered on B1 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #7 - Bulner (Bolner) HP - 25 / 35 / 50 / 75 STR - 97 DEF - 70 EXP - 50 GOLD - 60 - Encountered on B1 of the Shrine - Encountered on B2 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #8 - Looter HP - 25 / 35 / 50 / 75 STR - 110 DEF - 100 EXP - 60 GOLD - 70 - Encountered on B1 of the Shrine (in the left prison cell) - Encountered on B2 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #9 - Rescoyd HP - 50 / 70 / 100 / 150 STR - 140 DEF - 105 EXP - 70 GOLD - 100 - Encountered on B3 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #10 - Lyus HP - 50 / 70 / 100 / 150 STR - 155 DEF - 120 EXP - 80 GOLD - 120 - Encountered on B3 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #11 - Dinvel HP - 50 / 70 / 100 / 150 STR - 167 DEF - 132 EXP - 90 GOLD - 140 - Encountered on B3 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #12 - Nubbrow (Nubrrow) HP - 90 / 126 / 180 / 255 STR - 185 DEF - 110 EXP - 200 GOLD - 200 - Encountered on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first floor of the Mine is referred to as "1F", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 1", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #13 - Gryel HP - 90 / 126 / 180 / 255 STR - 200 DEF - 120 EXP - 240 GOLD - 240 - Encountered on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first floor of the Mine is referred to as "1F", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 1", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #14 - Othcross (Othclos) HP - 90 / 126 / 180 / 255 STR - 220 DEF - 130 EXP - 240 GOLD - 240 - Encountered on 1F (Level 1) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the first floor of the Mine is referred to as "1F", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 1", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #15 - Dynick HP - 100 / 140 / 200 / 255 STR - 200 DEF - 120 EXP - 320 GOLD - 200 - Encountered on B1 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the second floor of the Mine is referred to as "B1", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 2", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #16 - Menon HP - 100 / 140 / 200 / 255 STR - 235 DEF - 160 EXP - 400 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on B1 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the second floor of the Mine is referred to as "B1", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 2", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #17 - Karon HP - 100 / 140 / 200 / 255 STR - 225 DEF - 150 EXP - 360 GOLD - 240 - Encountered on B1 (Level 2) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the second floor of the Mine is referred to as "B1", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 2", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #18 - Chelasken HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 210 DEF - 160 EXP - 440 GOLD - 200 - Encountered on B2 (Level 3) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the third floor of the Mine is referred to as "B2", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 3", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #19 - Lemendy (Limendy) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 225 DEF - 175 EXP - 480 GOLD - 240 - Encountered on B2 (Level 3) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the third floor of the Mine is referred to as "B2", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 3", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 - Brayzal HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 235 DEF - 185 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on B2 (Level 3) of the Abandoned Mine NOTE - In the English localized versions of Chronicles, the third floor of the Mine is referred to as "B2", but for the Japanese versions of the game, it's simply called "Level 3", so be sure you're on the correct floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #21 - Riffligan (Refrygun) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 236 DEF - 100 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 1F of Darm Tower - Encountered on 2F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #22 - Jestona HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 236 DEF - 120 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 3F of Darm Tower - Encountered on 4F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #23 - Accumate (Acumate) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 250 DEF - 120 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 6F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, the section where the Large Shield can be found, if you didn't buy it beforehand) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #24 - Normous (Normass) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 250 DEF - 170 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 9F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, after opening the chest where the Silver Shield can be re-obtained) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #25 - Genoid (Zinoyd) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 250 DEF - 120 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 7F of Darm Tower - Encountered on 9F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, the same floor where the Silver Shield can be re-obtained) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #26 - Xomack HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 244 DEF - 120 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 10F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #27 - Vilvan HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 244 DEF - 120 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 13F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #28 - Wilewarer HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 248 DEF - 146 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 13F of Darm Tower - Encountered on 14F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, a small section of the mirror maze you pass through on the way to floor 15) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #29 - Irebolg (Irebowg) 127 HP (178 N, 255 H/NM), 256 STR, 144 DEF, 510 EXP, 280 GOLD - Encountered on 15F of Darm Tower - Encountered on 16F of Darm Tower - Encountered on the Sky Bridge in Darm Tower (the bridge leading to Rado's Annex, accessed via the far southwestern corner of floor 16) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #30 - Molfess (Molfes) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 256 DEF - 190 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 1F of Rado's Annex (Tower of Lado) in Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #31 - Kelmarel HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 260 DEF - 200 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 17F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #32 - Selnarg (Selnurge) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 256 DEF - 140 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 18F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #33 - Chryolos HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 256 DEF - 140 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 19F of Darm Tower (eastern portion, the same floor where the Battle Armor can be found) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #34 - Twarth (Towars) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 290 DEF - 234 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 20F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #35 - Euchreas HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 270 DEF - 160 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 21F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #36 - Bordisch (Bordish) HP - 127 / 178 / 255 STR - 274 DEF - 170 EXP - 510 GOLD - 280 - Encountered on 21F of Darm Tower ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #37 - Jenocres HP - 100 STR - 90 DEF - 76 EXP - 500 GOLD - 0 - Encountered on the top floor of the Shrine NOTE - This boss does fixed damage to you (varies by difficulty), regardless of your DEF, so his STR stat is likely just a placeholder. Also, this boss can reasonably be fought one level lower in Eternal compared to Complete/Chronicles, plus he deals slightly less damage (though it's still a fixed amount). This leads me to believe that his Eternal version actually has lower STR and DEF compared to Complete/Chronicles, but since boss stats were not revealed in Eternal or Complete, I cannot verify this for certain (the other stats appear to be the same, HP included). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #38 - Nygtilger HP - 200 STR - 175 DEF - 149 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 - Encountered on B3 of the Shrine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #39 - Vagullion HP - 255 STR - 230 DEF - 224 EXP - 5,000 EXP GOLD - 0 - Encountered in the Depths (Mystic Chamber) of the Abandoned Mine (accessed via the door in the far southwest corner of B2 (Level 3)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #40 - Pictimos HP - 255 STR - 264 DEF - 232 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 - Encountered on 9F of Darm Tower (western portion, not the area with the Silver Shield) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #41 - Khonsclard HP - 255 STR - 267 DEF - 230 EXP - 10,000 EXP (5,000 x 2)* GOLD - 0 - Encountered on floor 14 of Darm Tower (western portion, not the mirror maze section) NOTE - This boss does fixed damage to you (varies by difficulty), regardless of your DEF (you could go without armor, and it wouldn't make a difference here), so his STR stat is likely just a placeholder. Also, this boss actually awards a total of 10,000 EXP, even though his entry only indicates 5,000. This is because the game mistakenly awards the EXP at two separate points - once immediately after killing him, and once after your HP is refilled (this is when you normally receive boss EXP). Too bad it's likely useless to you at this point, unless you somehow managed to get here under-leveled. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #42 - Yogleks & Omulgun (Yogleks & Omrgan) HP - 255 STR - 270 DEF - 238 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 0 - Encountered on 21F of Darm Tower (after passing through the mirror behind the door in the mirror maze) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #43 - Dark Fact (Dalk Fukt) HP - 255 STR - 290 DEF - 255 EXP - 5,000 / 0* GOLD - 0 - Encountered on 25F of Darm Tower NOTE - Even if you manage to get here at level 9 (the current lowest known level to finish the game), you actually do the same amount of damage to this boss (when properly equipped, of course), so his DEF stat is likely another placeholder value (unfortunately, the same cannot be said of his STR stat). Also, in the Eternal and Complete versions of the game, he awards no EXP whatsoever, but he gives 5,000 EXP in Chronicles, likely to keep consistent with most other bosses (plus, Ys II's final boss always awarded EXP in Eternal/Complete). Of course, being the last enemy you face, it's a pretty useless reward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steam Achievements [YS1ACH] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Steam version of Chronicles has achievements for doing certain things throughout the game, almost all of them being purely optional. Most of them have to be done at certain points in the game, so it's easy to miss some. Here's how to unlock them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, My Name Is Adol - Speak to every character in the game at least once TIME LIMIT - None, though at least characters #1 - #85 need to be spoken to before entering Darm Tower, possibly #86 as well. NOTE - A couple of characters only show up in the "Notes" section (which is how this achievement is tracked) under certain circumstances, even if you've already spoken to them, so be sure they're actually listed (examples would be Feena before taking her to Zepik, and speaking to Goban's cohorts without speaking to him first). Also, note that #43 - Doctor Klaus - is missable, so it's best to catch him as soon as you enter Minea (coming out of the clinic). By the time you enter Darm Tower, you should have #1 - #86 filled in, though #86 - Luta Gemma - can be found earlier in the game as well. Please refer to the "Characters" section for Ys I if you need help finding someone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monster Masher - Unlock all stats for every non-boss enemy TIME LIMIT - None, though enemies #1 - #20 need to be killed before entering Darm Tower. NOTE - You need to find and drink the Beastiary Potion (equip and use it) before the stats will start to be revealed. Be sure you're also learning their EXP and Gold values, as those are only listed on the "Notes" screen, not on the main one. In the Chronicles versions, you need to kill an enemy a total of 26 times to reveal all of their stats (1 for their name, and 5 for their other stats, revealed in a random order). Please refer to the "Enemies" section for Ys I if you need help finding an enemy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- De-Fact-o - Beat the game on any difficulty TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - I believe you can obtain this and the "Into the Sky" achievement at the same time, if your first playthrough is on the Nightmare difficulty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Into the Sky - Beat the game on the Nightmare difficulty TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - I believe you can obtain this and the "De-Fact-o" achievement at the same time, if your first playthrough is on the Nightmare difficulty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bump Master - Beat Time Attack TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - Time Attack is unlocked upon beating the game once (I think you actually need to sit through the credits before the option is selectable from the main menu, so don't quit prematurely). Anyway, its difficulty is automatically set to Normal, and your equipment and level is already set as well; basically, you face them with the setup you're expected to have at that point in the game (perhaps a tad lower for the first two if you grinded extra). Anyway, you have to complete it all in one go, so good luck; if you've finished the game on Hard or Nightmare, this shouldn't be much trouble. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sworded Details - Speak to everyone in Port Barbado at least once, then to Slaff about all 4 discussion topics to receive a free Short Sword TIME LIMIT - Before purchasing a weapon in Minea. NOTE - As noted above, this achievement is unavailable the moment you buy a weapon in Minea, even if it is just the Long Sword. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seriously Sworded Details - Speak to Slaff after saving Feena to receive a free Talwar TIME LIMIT - After saving Feena, but before entering Darm Tower. NOTE - If you buy a Talwar in Minea (first available after finishing the Shrine), you can't get this achievement. Also, there's a free Talwar in a chest in Darm Tower (if you didn't get it from either of the above locations), but the Steam description specifically mentions getting one *before* entering the tower, so that won't work either (or so I assume, as I can't actually verify this). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Pim's-Lower Approach - Refuse an offer from Pim 9 times (doesn't matter if you're buying or selling) TIME LIMIT - Before entering Darm Tower. NOTE - As noted above, I believe you can get this when you're first buying or selling an item at Pim's (it shouldn't matter which), but it does need to be during one visit, and the 9 refusals need to come from the same transaction (for instance, you can't refuse to buy the Sapphire Ring 5 times, then a Wing 4 times, and expect to get the discount). Also note that while it doesn't matter if you're buying or selling to get this achievement, if you want both the buying and selling bonuses, you need to do the refusals once when buying, and once when selling; after you do it once, the 10% bonus is automatically applied to all future offers of that kind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some Kind of Sorcerer - Use the Mirror around a non-enemy character TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - I'm not 100% certain on the time limit, but it *should* apply to the characters within Darm Tower, as they also give reactions to you using the Mirror. However, it's probably best that you pair this with the "Forever Level One To Me" achievement, as that requires using the Mirror when Feena's around (the character's importance doesn't seem to matter, so long as they're listed in the characters' "Notes" section). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forever Level One To Me - Use the Mirror to enable Feena to kill an enemy TIME LIMIT - During the Feena escort mission, before entering Zepik. NOTE - Under normal circumstances, you can't return to Minea for a Mirror during the escort mission, so you need to have one in your possession before the escort mission starts. Anyway, probably the easiest enemy to use for this is the Unugun, the enemies on the Mountain Path; another easy one is the Looter in the prison cell left of Feena's. After using the Mirror, you need to manipulate Feena in such a way so that she walks into the enemy, but as she's rather weak, it may be better to use an enemy against a wall (like that Looter in the prison cell), and push Feena into it. If done right, this eliminates her knockback, meaning she can deal damage quicker. You only need to level her up once, but you can level her up again if you kill 3 additional enemies, though this is kind of tricky to do if your Mirror only has 3 uses (it randomly breaks after 3-5 uses, determined when you get it), but it's still possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey Baby, What's Your Width? - Push Feena into a narrow corridor on B1 of the Shrine to learn her measurements TIME LIMIT - During the Feena escort mission, before entering Zepik. NOTE - The corridor in question is just southwest of the stairs leading back to the top floor of the Shrine. Make Feena enter it first, and push her as far back as possible. I believe you can pair this with the "I Can't See You, But I Can Feel You" achievement, provided you do this while wearing the Mask of Eyes equipped. Either way, it's recommended that you save your game before doing this, as you can only do this once per playthrough (plus, her dialogue is slightly different both times). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I Can't See You, But I Can Feel You - Push Feena into a narrow corridor on B1 of the Shrine with the Mask of Eyes equipped to learn her measurements TIME LIMIT - During the Feena escort mission, before entering Zepik. NOTE - As noted above, the corridor in question is just southwest of the stairs leading back to the top floor of the Shrine. Make sure you have the Mask of Eyes equipped, then make Feena enter the corridor first, and push her as far back as possible. I believe you can pair this with the "Hey Baby, What's Your Width?" achievement if you do this with the Mask of Eyes equipped. Either way, it's recommended that you save your game before doing this, as you can only do this once per playthrough (plus, her dialogue is slightly different both times). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That Wacky Minstrel - Speak to Iris in Zepik, encounter Luta Gemma in Barbado's clinic afterwards, then save him from a Curloid on the northern Minea Plains TIME LIMIT - Before entering Darm Tower. NOTE - As noted above, you need to talk to Iris at least once to get this sidequest started. After that, head to the clinic in Barbado, and provided you spoke to the doctor after receiving a weapon, Luta should be there chatting with Bludo and Ayla. If he's not there, you need to speak to Bludo/Ayla after getting a weapon, then exit and re-enter Barbado for him to show up (this is likely to ensure you can finish this quest, as it would otherwise be possible to do it weaponless at level 1, which is no good). After witnessing the clinic scene, head to the northern Minea Plains, specifically the screen with the Pikkards one screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree. You should hear Luta being attacked somewhere on this screen (generally in the far northeastern corner, near the transition point to the Roda Tree screen), so kill the Curloid attacking him to complete this sidequest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poetry In Motion - Return the Piece of Paper to Reah after returning the Silver Harmonica TIME LIMIT - Before entering Darm Tower. NOTE - As noted above, you can only give this to Reah after returning the Silver Harmonica, so do that first. To actually give it to her, equip and use it when standing near her. Also note that you *cannot* do this sidequest when encountering her later in Rado's Annex, so be sure you do it before entering Darm Tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adol the Wall-Crusher-Enabler - Get caught in the teleport trap in Darm Tower two additional times TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - Even if you've already encountered Dogi further up the tower, he'll still come and bust you out, so this achievement *should* be obtainable right up to the end of the game, but I cannot confirm this for certain. Do note that if you've re-obtained any of your Silver equipment, it'll just get swiped again upon getting captured, so it's best to do this achievement as soon as possible (if you still have it, try using the Idol both times for some amusing dialogue). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Is the New Silver - Max out your gold TIME LIMIT - None. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Esteria, We Hardly Knew Ye - Unlock all other achievements TIME LIMIT - None. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time Attack [YS1TME] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First off, do note that this was a feature not present in the Eternal version, only in Complete on upwards. Anyway, upon beating the game once and watching the credits all the way through, Time Attack is then selectable from the main menu. It's just going through the bosses in sequential order, with your levels and equipment being pre-set for each one. The difficulty of this cannot be altered, but it appears to be set to Normal (unlike Ys II, which is set to Easy difficulty), so it shouldn't be too much trouble. However, if you die at any point throughout this, you'll have to restart this mode from scratch, regardless of which boss you died on. Completing this in the Steam version awards you the "Bump Master" achievement, but otherwise it's just a typical time attack - see how low of a time you can get (my best is 3:19:87 at the time of this writing, done on the Complete version). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alen Smithy's Graveyard [GRVYRD] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First off, a huge thanks to Nunuu for a lot of this information, as I very likely wouldn't have known about this otherwise. Do note that this reward is exclusive to the Eternal version, and completely inaccessible in the Complete and Chronicles versions. Nunuu mentions that Adol "kind of" has dialogue at certain points during this, so the blue boxes you see are probably his, but I don't understand Japanese, so I've absolutely no idea what's going on. =p Anyway, you can get to Alen Smithy's Graveyard (don't ask me who that is =p) by beating the game and watching the credits all the way through, and then starting a new game (loading up an old file will not work). During this new game, make your way to the Minea Plains screen that has the pikkards (the screen south of the northwestern Roda Tree), and let them kill you. Now, instead of just loading up a file, press "Y", "S", and "Enter" together, and you will find yourself in a strange area, with all of your equipment and items taken away. Follow the creature (it's probably a Roo from Ys II) to the right, and you may see it enter a computer monitor in the top right, but no matter what you do, you won't be fast enough to catch it. You should see another weird looking creature here, so talk to it and it will ask you a question. Choose the top answer, and it'll lead you to the developers' room. If you choose the bottom answer, a mob of Roos and humans (Falcom staff's, maybe? XD) will charge you, and the creature will give you another chance (get it wrong this time, and you'll be instantly killed, kind of like if you had the Evil Ring equipped without protection - do not do the "Y", "S", and "Enter" combo if you die like this). Regarding the creature, Nunuu says it's Gau, a creature from Popful Mail, another Falcom game (which is apparently what the question is about). Anyway, inside the developers' room, there are several interesting things you can do. Talk to the guy that looks like he's working out a couple times, and he'll return to his seat. After he sits down, talk to him again, and choose the top option to see a couple pictures of Elena from Ys III (use either the "Escape" or right mouse button to exit them). After seeing both of them, talk to the guy on the other side of the room, in the top right. He'll eventually say something about Ys III (I think), and then the guy that showed you the Elena pictures will subject you to a quiz (you need to get 8 right to exit it, otherwise it seems to go on forever - good luck =p). Also of note, the guy above the exercising one will eventually show you a picture of Feena, provided you've seen both Elena pictures. The guy above him also changes dialogue eventually after seeing the Elena pictures (but again, I've no clue at all what's going on here). Finally, if you talk to the sleeping guy on the ground 9 times, he'll get really pissed as you try to walk away, and do this really cool-looking combo that completely obliterates poor Adol. You can talk to the other staff members if you like, but that's the most notable stuff you can do here, to my knowledge. Aside from getting killed by the guy sleeping on the ground, the only other way to leave is to load up a previous file. If you wish to come back, you can now do so any time you receive a game over, though it's not recommended to do so when getting killed by the Evil Ring's curse (Nunuu notes that you can, however, fall into the void during the Dark Fact battle, and doing the "Y", "S", and "Enter" combo there will show a "ghostly" Adol in the graveyard XD - it's only a visual effect, however). =============================================================================== 6. Ys II Appendices [YS2APD] =============================================================================== This section contains lists of many of the things you can do throughout the course of Ys II, as well as a couple of notable extras. As there are quite a lot of easter eggs and extra things to see and do, most won't be listed here except in relation to the lists, but many of them are already touched upon briefly throughout the actual walkthrough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment [YS2EQP] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the equipment items in Ys II, as well as their usage and where they can be found. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. If you need more detailed directions on where to find this stuff, please refer to the walkthrough portion of this guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short Sword - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 200 gold - Given to you by Leggs in the Ruins of Moondoria if you didn't purchase a weapon earlier USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 5. NOTE - In order to receive a Short Sword from Leggs, you not only can't buy a weapon from Guido (even if you save up for just the Long Sword or Talwar), you can only get one from him if you do this before retrieving the Rod of Divinity from the Ruins. If you try to get it from him afterwards, even if you're still weaponless, he'll just say his normal text regarding the Rod and magic, so be sure to speak to him as soon as possible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long Sword - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 1,000 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 1,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 10. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Talwar (Talwarl) - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 5,000 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 5,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 20. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hyper Cutter - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 10,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 40. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Sword - Found in a chest in a hidden room of the Subterranean Canal (central section, after the canal is drained, in the far southwestern corner) USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 60. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleria Sword (Clelia Sword) - Given to you by Sada in the Subterranean Canal after undoing the petrification curse (eastern section, in the far southwestern corner) USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR by 83. NOTE - This item is essential to beating the last two bosses, otherwise you have no hope of winning. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wooden Shield (Wood Shield) - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 100 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 100 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Small Shield - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 1,500 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 1,500 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 7. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large Shield - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 6,000 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 6,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 12. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iron Shield - Found in a chest inside the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 18. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Shield - Found in a chest in the central part of Solomon Shrine (where you warp to after using the Silver Pendant, in the East Wing) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 26. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleria Shield (Clelia Shield) - Given to you by Luta Gemma in the Core of Ancient Ys USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 38. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chain Mail - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 500 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 4. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Breast Plate - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 2,000 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 2,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 9. NOTE - If you want to purchase this from Guido, you first have to sell him the Iron Ore. After that, you need to then activate a screen transition anytime after selling the first piece of Iron Ore (anything aside from Guido's shop will work). This gets Lazlo started on the new armor, and at that point, you simply need to enter and exit any 3 buildings within Lance (Guido's shop will work this time, but places like Gila's Basement and the clinic's pigeon loft won't; oddly, the village entrance will work), and then enter Guido's shop again. Inside, Lazlo should be standing off to the side, next to some new armor on the stands (even if he's not there, you should at least see the new armor displays), which you can then purchase from Guido. Otherwise, this can be bought immediately from Zalem, regardless of prior events with Guido. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Plate Mail - Buy from Guido's Armory in Lance Village for 8,000 gold - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 8,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 15. NOTE - If you want to purchase this from Guido, you first have to sell him the Iron Ore. After that, you need to then activate a screen transition anytime after selling the first piece of Iron Ore (anything aside from Guido's shop will work). This gets Lazlo started on the new armor, and at that point, you simply need to enter and exit any 3 buildings within Lance (Guido's shop will work this time, but places like Gila's Basement and the clinic's pigeon loft won't; oddly, the village entrance will work), and then enter Guido's shop again. Inside, Lazlo should be standing off to the side, next to some new armor on the stands (even if he's not there, you should at least see the new armor displays), which you can then purchase from Guido. Otherwise, this can be bought immediately from Zalem, regardless of prior events with Guido. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reflex - Buy from Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village for 16,000 gold USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 22. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Battle Armor - Found in a chest in the Subterranean Canal (western section, after the canal is drained, just southeast of the floodgate room) USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 32. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleria Armor (Clelia Armor) - Given to you by Hadat in Ramia Village after receiving the Cleria Sword from Sada USAGE - Equip to increase your base DEF by 45. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fire Magic - Found in a chest inside the Rasteenie Mine USAGE - Equip to receive the ability to shoot fireballs. Small fireballs normally drain your MP by 1 for every 5 shots (10 with the Ring of Ease equipped), whereas charged fireballs take 2-3 shots (5 with the Ring of Ease equipped) per MP, but deal more damage (how long you charge effects the damage, and perhaps the MP cost). This magic is essential to defeating most bosses. NOTE - This magic's attack power is derived from your STR stat in some way (I'm not exactly sure how), so even if you use this as your primary attack method, be sure to keep your strongest weapon equipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light Magic - Found in a chest deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder) USAGE - Equip to reveal hidden secrets. Drains MP by 1 gradually over the course of 3 seconds or so (6 or so with the Ring of Ease equipped). This magic is needed to obtain the Sacred Cup in the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector), but it's not necessary until that point, as the Mine's hidden rooms can be entered without it, though using it does create a ripple effect to enable you to see those entrances). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return Magic - Given to you by Banoa in Lance Village (after curing Lilia's illness) USAGE - Equip to receive the ability to warp to safe places previously visited during your journey. Drains 20 MP per use (10 with the Ring of Ease equipped). NOTE - While you technically never need to use this magic, it needs to be obtained in order to receive the Scroll of Guidance from Priest Fact, at which point you can enter the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alter Magic (Telepathy Magic) - Found in a chest on the Ice Ridge of Noltia USAGE - Equip to turn into a Roo, and vice versa to change back to a human. This grants you the ability to speak with enemies (though it doesn't work on bosses), effectively being able to avoid combat. Drains MP by 1 gradually over the course of 3 seconds or so (5 or so with the Ring of Ease equipped). This magic is needed to gain Ruba's trust in the Colony of Lava so he'll tell you about the imprisonment of his son, Tarf. It is also needed to speak with the guards to get inside the Shrine of Solomon, as well as to get past certain checkpoints within (at one point, it needs to be coupled with the Whisper Earrings to overhear a crucial piece of information). NOTE - When Dalles transforms you into a demon, you are unable to un-equip this magic and turn back into a human, though it doesn't drain MP in this state (you are still able to use other magic like this, however). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time Magic (Time Stop Magic) - Found in a chest inside the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector) USAGE - Equip to receive the ability to freeze time momentarily (about 3 seconds or so). Drains 6 MP per use (3 with the Ring of Ease equipped). This even works against Druegar and Zava, but using it against Dalles and Darm will cause it to backfire, making you the one that's frozen temporarily. NOTE - The Eternal version has a bug where using this upon re-entering Druegar's room (after activating the boss fight at some point prior), you can touch the door and skip the fight altogether if it's activated quickly enough. In addition, it can be used at the beginning of the Zava boss fight to freeze Zava in her human form, which can then be finished off via physical attacks. However, to win the fight, you still have to deal with her as normal), but if you kill off her physical form enough times (via exiting and re-entering the fight), you can learn its stats (as this is the Eternal version, her STR stat needs to be learned by letting her deal damage to you), which are actually different from her boss form. Do note that both of these bugs were fixed in Complete on upwards, even though evidence of the Zava one still remains in later versions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shield Magic - Found in a chest in the Core of Ancient Ys USAGE - Equip to be invulnerable to all enemy attacks, as well as reflect collision damage (this does not include "wind-up" or projectile attacks) back to the enemy for precisely one third of its total health. This drains your MP rapidly (about 2 per second or so; the Ring of Ease doesn't seem to slow its MP consumption in any way), but decreases even faster when you're hit while using this (how much depends on the difficulty, I believe). NOTE - If this is equipped during a boss fight (under normal circumstances, Darm is the only one this applies to), it cannot be un-equipped without first completely depleting your MP. However, doing this requires you to be on the Easy difficulty, as higher difficulties do not allow you to change your equipment in the middle of a boss fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spirit Cape (Cape of Holy Spirit) - Found in a chest in a hidden cave on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (the screen after where the Misty Ice Drops were used, underneath the first set of steps) USAGE - Equip to gradually restore HP in dungeons. This will *not* work during a boss battle, or in instances where your health is automatically being drained. NOTE - In addition to being able to gradually recover HP in dungeons, if you're already in a spot where you can heal normally, your HP will be restored at an even faster rate when you have this accessory equipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hawk Idol - Found in a chest on the Ice Ridge of Noltia USAGE - Equip to be able to home your fireballs to nearby enemies. NOTE - Equipping this has a tendency to curve your shots unfavorably if you use it too close to an enemy at an odd angle (for instance, standing above an enemy, but facing off to the side). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Falcon Idol - Found in a chest in the Subterranean Canal (central section, after the canal is drained) USAGE - Equip to be able to home your fireballs to nearby enemies. If a charged shot is used, it splits into multiple homing small ones upon impact at no extra MP cost. NOTE - As with the Hawk Idol, equipping this has a tendency to curve your shots unfavorably if you use it too close to an enemy at an odd angle (for instance, standing above an enemy, but facing off to the side). The upside is, if it hits something (your shots can dissipate if they float around too long without impact), the resulting small fireballs can potentially still make a missed shot worthwhile, though of course not as much had the charged fireball connected first. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleria Ring (Clelia Ring) - Found in a chest inside the Sanctuary of Toal (the section containing Priest Dabbie's tomb) USAGE - Equip for a chance to nullify enemy damage when taking a hit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ring of Ease - Found in a chest inside the Shrine of Solomon (Fact's sector) USAGE - Equip to cut the cost of magic in half (does not seem to apply to Shield Magic). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goddess Ring (Goddess' Ring) - Given to you by Lilia in the Core of Ancient Ys USAGE - Equip to increase your base STR and DEF by 2. If worn during the boss battle with Darm, it'll hold him in place periodically throughout the battle, enabling you to hit him much easier. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Inventory [YS2INV] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the inventory items in Ys II, as well as their usage and where they can be found. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. If you need more detailed directions on where to find this stuff, please refer to the walkthrough portion of this guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Hadal - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Hadal in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections. This must be returned before you can investigate Gila's Basement to find Priest Fact to help reach the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Tovah - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Tovah in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections. This must be returned before you can investigate Gila's Basement to find Priest Fact to help reach the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Dabbie (Dabby) - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Dabbie in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections. This must be returned before you can investigate Gila's Basement to find Priest Fact to help reach the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Mesa (Messa) - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Mesa in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections. This must be returned before you can investigate Gila's Basement to find Priest Fact to help reach the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Gemma - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Tovah in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections. This must be returned before you can investigate Gila's Basement to find Priest Fact to help reach the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Book of Ys, Volume Fact (Fukt) - You start the game with this item USAGE - Return to Priest Fact in the Sanctuary of Toal section near Gila's Basement. To even reach this place, you need to have returned the first 5 Books of Ys. Only then can you accept Gila's request to investigate his basement, where you then ring the Evil Bell to make your way to Priest Fact's tomb. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ancient Tablet (Ancient Slate) - Found along one of the walls in the Ruins of Moondoria (the dead end with the Cauction, directly south of where the Roda Fruit is found) USAGE - Read this (equip and use it) to receive a hint on how to open the sealed door within the Sanctuary of Toal. It can also be shown to Masontorch of Lance Village once obtained, but otherwise, the item is completely useless, and serves no practical purpose. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rod of Divinity (Staff of Divinity) - Found in a chest in the Ruins of Moondoria (the one guarded by the rock golems (Godaago)) USAGE - To reach this item, you have to be able to kill the Godaagos guarding it, which requires a minimum of 29-30 STR (level 4 with the Long Sword, level 6 with the Short Sword). Once you obtain it, touch the Goddess Statue near Leggs, and you'll be granted MP to use magic. Even though you can find the Fire Magic before this point, you will be unable to use it without doing the above step, as magic consumes MP, which you won't otherwise have. This must be done before facing the boss in the Rasteenie Mine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iron Ore - Found in a hidden room deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder - there are two pieces to obtain here) - Found in a small corridor in the Moat of Burnedbless USAGE - Sell to Guido for 3,000/6,000 gold. Guido will initially offer you 3,000 gold, but if you decide to wait until after seeing the small scene with Dalles and Darm when entering the Ice Ridge of Noltia, he'll up his offer to 6,000 gold. However, this only applies to the first piece you sell him, and then he'll change his price back to 3,000 for any other pieces you might find. If you sold the first piece too early, there's no way to get the 6,000 gold offer in that file. Anyway, upon selling the first piece of Iron Ore, Lazlo will get to work on some new body armors (after a screen transition anywhere inside Lance's walls, except for back inside Guido's), which will be available for purchase upon entering and exiting a few buildings within Lance's walls (once Lazlo's in the shop, entering and exiting Guido's will work). NOTE - As noted above, there are in fact two pieces of Iron Ore in the other hidden room deep inside the Rasteenie Mine. Both pieces are in the exact same spot, but to get the other one, you have to sell the first piece to Guido, and then come back for the second piece, as you unfortunately can't carry more than one of these at a time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blizzard Bulb (Bulb of Blizzard) - Found hovering above an icy stand on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (near the southwest corner of the first screen) USAGE - This item is needed to continue exploring the Ice Ridge of Noltia. It is used inside the first cave there to form a frozen path across the chasm in the southwestern corner (equip and use it where the icy draft is). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shrine Key (Palace Key) - Given to you by Lilia in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout (located in the western section of the Subterranean Canal, in the southwestern corner) USAGE - Use this to unlock most of the locked doors located throughout the Shrine of Solomon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Floodgate Key (Canal Key) - Given to you by Keith in the Subterranean Canal (central section, in the far northeastern corner) USAGE - Use this to access the floodgate room in the western section of the Subterranean Canal. Pull the level within to drain the canal waters, which will allow you to reach the Goddesses' Palace and Campanile of Lane (the Bell Tower). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Whisper Earrings (Earring of Whisper) - Given to you by Ruba in the Colony of Lava (after offering to rescue Tarf) USAGE - Equip this to hear faint sounds. You need to wear this item to speak with Tarf through a cracked wall in the Moat of Burnedbless. You also need to use them to overhear the password to the western portion of the Shrine of Solomon from the meeting room (in Fact's sector, to the northeast). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lila Shell (Shell of Lila) - Given to you by Hadat in Ramia Village (after agreeing to look for Sada) USAGE - This item lets you speak with Hadat from anywhere on Ys (equip and use it), who gives you hints throughout your infiltration of Solomon Shrine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pass - Given to you by a Zavanite inside the Shrine of Solomon (Gemma's sector, sitting at the desk) USAGE - This item is needed to access Fact's sector of the Shrine. You need to use Alter Magic to speak with the Zavanite in Gemma's sector (the right part of the eastern portion of the Shrine) to receive the Pass, and then show it to the Nashzar guarding the gate to Fact's sector. This is an essential step to learn the password to the western portion of the Shrine, and later, exploring the eastern section of the Subterranean Canal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Pendant - Found in a chest in the Subterranean Canal (eastern section) USAGE - Equip this when touching the Goddess Statue in the Shrine of Solomon to reach the central portion of the Shrine. NOTE - Even if you found this earlier, you still need to touch the Goddess Statue at least twice, as the Scroll of Guidance text takes priority the first time, even if you're already wearing the Silver Pendant. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gold Pendant (Golden Pendant) - Given to you Bohtz in the Runaways' Hideout (after speaking to the five remaining runaways after undoing the petrification curse) USAGE - Equip this when touching the Goddess Statue in the Shrine of Solomon to help reach the Core of Ancient Ys. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silver Harmonica - Given to you by Goban in the Core of Ancient Ys USAGE - Play this (equip and use it) in the presence of the Goddesses to break Darm's hold on them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Evil Bell - Found in a hidden room deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder) USAGE - Ring this (equip and use it) to alert nearby enemies to your presence. This is needed to find the demons in Gila's Basement, which allows you to access the Sanctuary of Toal section containing Priest Fact's tomb. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scroll of Guidance - Given to you by Priest Fact in the Sanctuary of Toal (after receiving the Return Magic from Banoa) USAGE - Approach a Goddess Statue with this to receive their wisdom, which will then be recorded to the Scroll of Guidance for you to see again at any point (equip and use it), should you forget. While this item is essential to being able to explore the Ice Ridge of Noltia (the sealed door leading there opens as soon as you obtain this), you don't need to use it at any Goddess Statues until the Shrine of Solomon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anti-Illusion Mirror (Mirror of Anti-Illusion) - Found in a chest on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (the Stone Shoes are needed to reach this) USAGE - Dispels illusions. This is used to reveal the true door to Tyalmath's lair in the Ice Ridge of Noltia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Black Pearl - Found embedded in a stone statue in the Moat of Burnedbless - Found on a stand in the meeting room inside the Shrine of Solomon (located in Fact's sector) USAGE - This is first used to help Tarf and Keith escape the prison in the Moat of Burnedbless (you need to use the Whisper Earrings to speak with Tarf through a crack in the wall after finding this). Later on, this is found again inside the meeting room of Solomon Shrine in Fact's sector (the northeastern section), which is used to power up the Dreaming Idol to undo the petrification curse. To get inside the meeting room, you first must have obtained the Dreaming Idol from the Campanile of Lane, and showed it to the Goddesses' spirits in the Goddesses' Palace. After that, you must speak to Tarf in Ramia Village (inside Hadat's house), and upon doing so, you are then able to enter the meeting room. The above steps must be done first, or else the meeting will still be going on, and you won't be able to enter the room (even with the Shrine Key in your possession). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sacred Cup - Found hidden upon an altar inside the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector, the room with a different wall pattern - requires using the Light Magic to grab it) USAGE - This is used to help undo the demonic curse Dalles places on you while exploring the Shrine of Solomon. After finding it (even if you know where it is, the Light Magic is still necessary to obtain it), head back to Ramia Village, and speak to Regg to undo the demonic curse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dreaming Idol (Dreaming Statue) - Found in a chest inside the Campanile of Lane (after confronting Dalles at the top) USAGE - This is used in conjunction with the Black Pearl to undo the petrification curse. As noted above, you first need to confront Dalles at the top of the Campanile of Lane, as a barrier will be blocking the chest until that point. Upon finding it, show it to the Goddesses' spirits in the Goddesses' Palace. After finding the Black Pearl inside the Shrine of Solomon, take it to the Goddesses' Palace again to get it powered up, and then use it at the top of the Campanile of Lane to return the runaways (and Sada) to normal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mattock - Found along a wall inside the Rasteenie Mine USAGE - Use this to clear away the rubble trapping Dr. Flair inside the Rasteenie Mine. It can also be used on a heavily cracked wall in the Ruins of Moondoria to obtain the Beastiary Potion. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Banoa's Letter (Letter from Banoa) - Given to you by Banoa in Lance Village (after the intro scenes) USAGE - Give this to Dr. Flair so he can find a way to cure Lilia's illness. NOTE - Curing Lilia is part of an essential process to moving on to the Ice Ridge of Noltia, as the sealed door in the Sanctuary of Toal will remain closed until you receive the Scroll of Guidance from Priest Fact (requires having the Return Magic, which Banoa gives you after Lilia is cured). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lilia's Medicine (Potion for Lilia) - Given to you by Dr. Flair in Lance Village (after giving him a Roda Fruit and Celceta Flower in his clinic) USAGE - Give this to Banoa, who will give it to Lilia after a small cutscene when you exit their house. NOTE - Curing Lilia is part of an essential process to moving on to the Ice Ridge of Noltia, as the sealed door in the Sanctuary of Toal will remain closed until you receive the Scroll of Guidance from Priest Fact (requires having the Return Magic, which Banoa gives you after Lilia is cured). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stone Shoes - Found in a chest on the Ice Ridge of Noltia USAGE - Equip these to be able to climb up the icy slopes in the Ice Ridge of Noltia. Climbing those slopes is essential to reaching the chest containing the Anti-Illusion Mirror, as well as reaching Tyalmath's lair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roda Leaf (Roda Tree Leaf) - Found growing on a tree in the Roos' Nest USAGE - Equip this to safely traverse the poisonous corridor in the Moat of Burnedbless, which is needed to reach the prison where Tarf and Keith are being held. This item will do you no good unless equipped; simply having it in your possession will not be enough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elixir - Buy from Jade's Oddities in Lance Village for 60,000 gold USAGE - Equip this to be revived and back to full HP and MP upon death. One use only. Cannot be re-purchased. This item will do you no good unless equipped; simply having it in your possession will not be enough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wing - Buy from Jade's Oddities in Lance Village for 100 gold USAGE - Warp to safe places previously visited during your journey. Unlike the Return Magic, this does not cost MP, but you can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game (of particular note, try gifting this to Dr. Flair in the Rasteenie Mine). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Herb - Buy from Ralle Family Wellness in Lance Village for 30 gold - Found next to a body of water inside the Rasteenie Mine (pretty close to the Sanctuary of Toal section containing Mesa's and Gemma's tombs) - Found inside a cave on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (the one leading to the Stone Shoes) - Found behind a rock cluster between the Ice Ridge of Noltia and the Moat of Burnedbless (the screen after Tyalmath's lair) - Found hidden behind a rock cluster in the Moat of Burnedbless (the screen where the Black Pearl is found, off to the west) USAGE - Use to restore 50 HP. Can carry up to three at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - With the exception of Lance's clinic, all locations where this item can be found require you to wait 5 minutes before they grow back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apple - Buy from Jade's Oddities in Lance Village for 10 gold - Given to you by Lilia underneath a tree in Lance Village (to the left of the elder's house) - Found growing on trees in the Moondoria Field (4 spots they can be picked, all of them up the first set of steps and to the west) USAGE - Use to restore 15 HP. Can carry up to three at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - The Apples on the trees in the Moondoria Field require you to wait 5 minutes before they grow back. Also, note that the Apple from Lilia is only available until you enter the Rasteenie Mine (technically, after you make a screen transition within the Mine - using a Wing doesn't count), as her location then changes to the well in Lance Village, and the opportunity is lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roda Fruit (Roda Tree Nut) - Found on the ground in the Ruins of Moondoria (northern part of the screen, near a tree) - Found growing on a tree in the Roos' Nest - Found in a small chest inside the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector) USAGE - Give to Dr. Flair to help make Lilia's Medicine, which is part of an essential process to getting to the Ice Ridge of Noltia. It can also be used to completely restore your MP. Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - The Roda Fruit in the Ruins of Moondoria grows back immediately upon refreshing the screen, whereas the one in the Roos' Nest takes 5 minutes before growing back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Marle Flower (Mearl Flower) - Buy from Jade's Oddities in Lance Village for 10 gold - Found growing on the ledges in the Moondoria Field (3 spots they can be picked - one near the apple trees, one up the second set of steps off to the east, and one on the screen with the view of the Shrine of Solomon) - Found growing on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (to the east of Tyalmath's lair) - Found growing outside the abandoned house in Ramia Village USAGE - Use to restore 15 MP. Can carry up to three at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - The Marle Flowers in the Moondoria Field and Ramia Village grow back immediately upon refreshing the screen, but the one on the Ice Ridge of Noltia takes 5 minutes before growing back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celceta Flower - Found growing next to a body of water deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (3 spots they can be picked, after defeating Velagunder) - Found in a small chest in the Subterranean Canal (eastern section) USAGE - Give to Dr. Flair to help make Lilia's Medicine, which is part of an essential process to getting to the Ice Ridge of Noltia. It can also be used to completely restore both your HP and MP. Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - The Celceta Flowers in the Rasteenie Mine take 5 minutes before growing back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cruberry - Found growing on the fences in Ramia Village (2 spots they can be picked - one near the goats east of Maria's house, and one just below Hadat's house) Smoked Meat - Given to you by Rimera in Ramia Village upon giving her 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot her with Fire Magic) USAGE - Use to restore 40 MP. Can carry up to three at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - The Cruberries on the fences grow back immediately upon refreshing the screen. The one from Rimera can be gotten again simply by re-gifting her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Smoked Meat (Smoked Meat of Quality) - Given to you by Theo in Lance Village upon giving him 4 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic) USAGE - Use to completely restore your HP. Receiving and eating this is part of the requirements to receive the Steam achievement "No Reservations". Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game (for fun, try gifting it back to him =p). NOTE - Upon using this item, you can get another simply by gifting Theo again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Raw Meat (Meat of Quality) - Given to you by Nash in the Colony of Lava upon giving him 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic) USAGE - Use to restore 150 HP. Receiving and eating this is part of the requirements to receive the Steam achievement "No Reservations". Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - Receiving and eating this is part of the requirements to receive the Steam achievement "No Reservations". Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game. NOTE - Upon using this item, you can get another simply by gifting Nash again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meat Pie (Meat Loaf) - Given to you by Lucy in Lance Village upon giving her 3 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot her with Fire Magic) USAGE - Use to restore 100 HP. Receiving and eating this is part of the requirements to receive the Steam achievement "No Reservations". Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game (for fun, try gifting it back to her, or giving it to her brother, Theo =p). NOTE - Upon using this item, you can only get another by fireballing Lucy 1-2 times (depends on if you gave her any additional gifts), and gifting her again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cruberry Pie - Given to you by Zalem in Ramia Village upon giving her 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot her with Fire Magic) USAGE - Use to restore 100 MP. Receiving and eating this is part of the requirements to receive the Steam achievement "No Reservations". Can only carry one at a time. This can also be used as a gift when speaking to the various non-enemy characters throughout the game (for fun, try gifting it back to her =p). NOTE - Upon using this item, you can get another simply by gifting Zalem again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beastiary Potion - Found in a small chest in the Ruins of Moondoria (need to use the Mattock to reach it) USAGE - Allows you to see and learn enemy stats after killing them a certain number of times. NOTE - For the Eternal and Complete versions, the number needed to learn a stat is random (at least 5, it seems like, often more), so it may take a while before you learn anything about them, but the bright side is that there's no "official" listing, just what you see if you pull up your status (for those versions, the "S" key), and it doesn't list the EXP or Gold stats, so it could potentially take less kills than in Chronicles (usually not, though). For the Chronicles versions, it seems to be exactly 1 kill for their name, followed by 5 kills to randomly learn one of their other stats, meaning it's a total of 26 kills to completely fill in their entries. Do note that the EXP and Gold stats are only listed in the "Notes" section, but not on the main screen, so be wary of that if you're trying to completely fill in those sections (especially for the Steam version, which awards the achievement "Monster Masher" for unlocking all non-boss stats). Bosses are automatically filled in upon beating them (so long as you drank the Beastiary Potion, that is), but there's no way to know their stats in the Eternal or Complete versions, as they weren't revealed until the Chronicles versions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Characters [YS2CHR] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the characters encountered in Ys II, as well as where to find them. The English localized name from the Chronicles versions is listed first, followed by the Romanized Japanese name, if it's different. Most of them stay in one location throughout the game, but some of them change spots at certain points (mostly as part of the plot), meaning some are temporarily unable to be found, but none of them are permanently missable. If you're playing the Steam version, you may want to find all of them to receive the "Notorious A.C." achievement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #1 - Feena - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Goddesses' Palace - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 - Reah - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Goddesses' Palace - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 - Goban - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 - Luta Gemma (Luther) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #5 - Jeba Tovah (Jebah) - You start the game with this entry NOTE - This character is not present at all throughout the course of Ys II. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #6 - Sara (Sarah) - You start the game with this entry NOTE - This character is not present at all throughout the course of Ys II (she was murdered in Ys I, after all). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #7 - Dogi - You start the game with this entry NOTE - Aside from one of the ending scenes, this character is not present at all throughout the course of Ys II. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #8 - Dark Fact (Dalk Fukt) - You start the game with this entry NOTE - This character is not present at all throughout the course of Ys II (you killed him in Ys I, after all =p). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #9 - Priest Tovah - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #10 - Priest Dabbie (Dabby) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #11 - Priest Hadal - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #12 - Priest Mesa (Messa) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #13 - Priest Gemma - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #14 - Priest Fact (Fukt) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in one of the Sanctuary of Toal sections when exploring the Rasteenie Mine (the one near Gila's Basement) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #15 - Lilia - You start the game with this entry - Encountered underneath a tree in Lance Village (just west of the Elder's residence) - Encountered in the Moondoria Field (the screen with the view of the Shrine of Solomon, after speaking to her under the tree in Lance Village) - Encountered next to the well in Lance Village (just northwest of Lilia's house, after stepping foot inside the Rasteenie Mine) - Encountered in Lilia's house in Lance Village (after curing her illness) - Encountered in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys NOTE - For Lilia to show up in the Moondoria Field, you must have spoken to her underneath the tree in Lance Village beforehand, and then afterwards you head to the top of the Moondoria Field screen with the view of Solomon Shrine for a small cutscene. However, you have a fairly small time frame to do this, because as soon as you step foot inside the Rasteenie Mine (technically, after using one of the Mine's transition points), her location changes to the well in Lance Village, meaning she will no longer show up in the Moondoria Field (even if you met the requirement to activate the cutscene, but failed to do so for some reason). Also, even though you start the game with this entry, you must talk to her manually at least once (cutscene conversations do not count; beyond that, I don't think it matters where you speak to her, just so long as you do) before you can mess around in her bed back inside her house (push against the side of it for a few seconds). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #16 - Banoa - Encountered in Lilia's house in Lance Village (far southeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #17 - Astal - Encountered in the Ruins of Moondoria (guarding the door to the Sanctuary of Toal / Rasteenie Mine near the center) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #18 - Leonor Rall (Lenore Ral) - You start the game with this entry - Encountered in the Rall Family Wellness clinic in Lance Village (far northeastern building) - Encountered just outside the Rall Family Wellness clinic in Lance Village (after rescuing Dr. Flair from the Mine) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #19 - Flair Rall (Fleah Ral) - Encountered behind a caved-in section of the Rasteenie Mine (fairly close to the Sanctuary of Toal section containing Dabbie's tomb) - Encountered in the Rall Family Wellness clinic in Lance Village (after rescuing him from the Mine) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 - Nurse Sarina - Encountered in the Rall Family Wellness clinic in Lance Village (far northeastern building) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #21 - Elder Cornell (Kernel) - Encountered outside the Elder's residence in Lance Village (after agreeing to help rescue Dr. Flair) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #22 - Natasha (Natasia) - Encountered in the Elder's residence in Lance Village (building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #23 - Guido - Encountered in Guido's Armory in Lance Village (building in the northern area, just west of Jade's Oddities) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #24 - Jade (Jeid) - Encountered in Jade's Oddities in Lance Village (building in the northeastern area, just a tad northwest of the Rall Family Wellness clinic) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #25 - Gila (Zirah) - Encountered in Gila's house in Lance Village (western building, right above the pikkard pen) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #26 - Leggs (Legth) - Encountered in the Ruins of Moondoria (in the northeastern corner, near the Goddess Statue) - Encountered in Astal's house in Lance Village (building in the southeastern area, just a tad southwest of Lilia's house) NOTE - Upon receiving the Gold Pendant from the runaways, this character will switch to his Lance Village location, where he'll stay until the end of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #27 - Lazlo (Roodle) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Guido's Armory, the building just west of Jade's Oddities) - Encountered in Guido's Armory in Lance Village (after selling the first piece of Iron Ore) - Encountered in Lazlo's house in Lance Village (building in the northwestern area, just west of Guido's Armory) NOTE - For the second location, as noted above, this character will appear in Guido's Armory after selling the first Iron Ore, but only after entering and exiting any other building within Lance (Guido's will not work, for some reason). After entering and exiting 3 buildings within Lance's walls, Lazlo will be finished with some new armor. At that point, he can still be found inside Guido's shop briefly, but once you exit and re-enter Lance, he can then be found in his last location, inside his house. If you never sell any Iron Ore (not recommended, but entirely possible), then the only location you'll see him in is the first one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #28 - Tess - Encountered in Lazlo's house in Lance Village (building in the northwestern area, just west of Guido's Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #29 - Tran - Encountered in Lazlo's house in Lance Village (building in the northwestern area, just west of Guido's Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #30 - Larsen (Rasen) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (near the entrance, northwest of the Elder's residence) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #31 - Bohtz (Boats) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Bohtz's house, the building east of the pikkard pen) - Encountered in Bohtz's house in Lance Village (after rescuing Dr. Flair from the Mine) - Encountered in the Runaways' Hideout NOTE - This character disappears from Lance at a certain point (namely, as soon as you enter the screen on the Ice Ridge of Noltia where you can find the Hawk Idol, as well as a Goddess Statue). However, the next time you encounter him will be in his second location, which is required to help advance the plot, so don't worry if you miss him initially. After lifting the petrification curse and speaking to him and the other runaways, he'll be back in his second location in Lance (inside his house), where he'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #32 - Sheila (Seela) - Encountered in Bohtz's house in Lance Village (building east of the pikkard pen) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #33 - Kris (Chris) - Encountered in Bohtz's house in Lance Village (building east of the pikkard pen) NOTE - Even though this character technically speaks to you alongside her sister (#34 - Ceres), you need to initiate the dialogue with Kris to receive this entry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #34 - Ceres (Ceras) - Encountered in Bohtz's house in Lance Village (building east of the pikkard pen) NOTE - Even though this character technically speaks to you alongside her sister (#33 - Kris), you need to initiate the dialogue with Ceres to receive this entry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #35 - Brody - Encountered in Brody's house in Lance Village (building in the southern area, just east of Bohtz's house) NOTE - Give this character 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic) to get him to reveal the location of some hidden gold within Lance. This must be done in order to find this stash, otherwise it'll never show up; it's hidden inside the mouth of one of the baby ducklings found wandering above the Rall Family Wellness Clinic). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #36 - Marina - Encountered in Brody's house in Lance Village (building in the southern area, just east of Bohtz's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #37 - Beth - Encountered in Brody's house in Lance Village (building in the southern area, just east of Bohtz's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #38 - Caesaria (Cezaria) - Encountered in Astal's house in Lance Village (building in the southeastern area, just a tad southwest of Lilia's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #39 - Andy - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just south of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #40 - Oseam (Ohzam) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside the Elder's residence, the building just southeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #41 - Kate - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Guido's Armory, the building just west of Jade's Oddities) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #42 - Lucille (Lucir) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Gila's house, the southwestern building right above the pikkard pen) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #43 - Masontorch (Mecentreti) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Lazlo's house, the building just west of Guido's Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #44 - Colt - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Jade's Oddities, the building just northwest of the Rall Family Wellness clinic) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #45 - Tita - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Jade's Oddities, the building just northwest of the Rall Family Wellness clinic) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #46 - Esca - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Brody's house, the building just east of Bohtz's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #47 - Lucy - Encountered outside in Lance Village (near the pikkard pen, just below Gila's House in the southwestern area) NOTE - Give this character 3 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot her with Fire Magic) to receive the Meat Pie from her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #48 - Theo - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside the Elder's residence, the building just southeast of the entrance) NOTE - Give this character 4 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic) to receive the Smoked Meat from him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #49 - Polo (Poro) - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside the Elder's residence, below the cart) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #50 - Saffron - Encountered outside in Lance Village (generally just outside Lazlo's house, the building just west of Guido's Armory) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #51 - Ruba (Ruvah) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (guarding the northern bridge) - Encountered in Tarf's house in the Colony of Lava (building just southwest of the northern bridge) NOTE - Upon entering Ramia Village for the first time, Ruba will switch to his location inside his home for the remainder the game, where you can speak to him to rest up and get fully healed for free (just like Banoa in Lance). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #52 - Tarf (Talf) - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless prison area - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (near the northern bridge) - Encountered in Tarf's house in the Colony of Lava (building just southwest of the northern bridge) - Encountered in Hadat's house in Ramia Village (southwestern building, just northeast of the graveyard) - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys NOTE - For his first location, you can actually receive his entry by speaking to him manually anytime after freeing him and Keith from the prison, even during the escort mission. After escorting him to the Colony of Lava, he'll be outside with Ruba temporarily, but as soon as you cross the northern bridge and enter the first passage there, he'll be inside his home, where he'll offer to let you rest up and get fully healed for free. Upon entering Ramia, he moves back to his second location for a little while (meaning Ruba's now the one offering to let you rest in the Colony of Lava). Once Hadat contacts you via the Lila Shell (as you're exploring the central part of the Shrine - the area where the Silver Pendant warps you), he then makes his way to Hadat's house in Ramia (all the way to when you find him in the Core of Ys, of course). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #53 - Fred - Encountered in Fred's house in the Colony of Lava (building just south of the northern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #54 - Natalie (Natarie) - Encountered in Fred's house in the Colony of Lava (building just south of the northern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #55 - Noit (Noight) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Noit's house, the building just north of the southern bridge) - Encountered in the Runaways' Hideout NOTE - This character disappears from the Colony of Lava at a certain point (namely, as soon as you step foot inside the main part of the Shrine of Solomon after fooling the guards). However, the next time you encounter him will be in his second location, which is required to help advance the plot, so don't worry if you miss him initially. After lifting the petrification curse and speaking to him and the other runaways, he'll be back to his initial location in the Colony of Lava, where he'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #56 - Rafa - Encountered in Noit's house in the Colony of Lava (building just north of the southern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #57 - Rex - Encountered in Rex's house in the Colony of Lava (building just northeast of the southern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #58 - Chelnie - Encountered in Rex's house in the Colony of Lava (building just northeast of the southern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #59 - Favre (Fabre / Fable) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Fred's house, the building just south of the northern bridge) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (guarding the northern bridge) NOTE - Once Hadat contacts you via the Lila Shell (as you're exploring the central part of the Shrine - the area where the Silver Pendant warps you), this character will switch to his second location, where he'll remain until the end of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #60 - Elle (El) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Fred's house, the building just south of the northern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #61 - Meryl (Melil / Malil) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally near the northern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #62 - Carson - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (guarding the southern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #63 - Ischt (Ishto) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Ruba's house, near the well and billboard) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #64 - Kasim - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally near the northern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #65 - Flonne (Flone) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally near the pikkard pen, just west of Tarf's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #66 - Darie (Darier) - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Rex's house, the building just northeast of the southern bridge) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #67 - Nash - Encountered outside in the Colony of Lava (generally just outside Tarf's house, the building just southwest of the northern bridge) NOTE - Give this character 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic) to receive the Raw Meat from him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #68 - Roodle (Baeloo) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (near the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #69 - Brooce (Bruce) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (generally just below the tree) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #70 - Tallyroo (Tareloo) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (generally just east of the tree) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #71 - Touroose (Tuloo) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (right next to the tree) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #72 - Prooto (Plute) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (generally just southeast of the tree) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #73 - Roo-kie (Luke) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (generally in the far southern area) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #74 - Rooroo (Luloo) - Encountered in the Roos' Nest (generally in the far southwestern area, near a body of water) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #75 - Droozy (Neloo) - Encountered sleeping in the Roos' Nest (just west of the tree) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #76 - Keith - Encountered in the Subterranean Canal (central section, in the far northeastern corner) - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, near the central canal entrance used to reach the Campanile of Lane and the Goddesses' Palace) - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #77 - Gorto (Goat) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the northeastern area, guarding the gate to the Shrine of Solomon) - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #78 - Lloyd - Encountered in Gorto's house in Ramia Village (building just a tad southeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #79 - Hadat - Encountered in Hadat's house in Ramia Village (southwestern building, just northeast of the graveyard) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #80 - Sada (Sadah) - Encountered in the Subterranean Canal (eastern section, after undoing the petrification curse, in the far southwestern corner) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the graveyard, after speaking to Maria in the Core of Ys) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #81 - Maria - Encountered in the Campanile of Lane (after defeating Zava) - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys NOTE - Even though you receive this entry automatically in the Campanile of Lane, you must talk to her manually in the Core of Ys at least once before you can mess around in her bed back inside her house (push against the side of it for a few seconds). Talking to her manually in the Campanile of Lane is *not* sufficient for this purpose. In addition to the above, by talking to her 4 times in the Core of Ys (she'll change her dialogue slightly) you can receive the "Imprisoned Maria" mascot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #82 - Karen - Encountered in Maria's house in Ramia Village (building just southwest of the Moat of Burnedbless entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #83 - Regg (Rheg) - Encountered in Regg's house in Ramia Village (building just east of the Shrine of Solomon entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #84 - Zalem - Encountered in Zalem's Battle Best in Ramia Village (building just west of the Moat of Burnedbless entrance) NOTE - Give this character 5 gifts (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot her with Fire Magic) to receive the Raw Meat from her. In order to sleep in her bed, it simply requires you to talk with her at least once (just activating the close-up scene is enough for this purpose). Also, by speaking to her on 4 separate occasions (meaning you need to at least exit and re-enter her shop between each visit), you can receive the "I Heart Zalem" mascot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #85 - Frau - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just southeast of the Shrine of Solomon entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #86 - Frith (Fris) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally near the goats, just southwest of the Moat of Burnedbless entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #87 - Blitz (Britz) - Encountered in Blitz's house in Ramia Village (building just northeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #88 - Paulie (Poley) - Encountered in Blitz's house in Ramia Village (building just northeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #89 - Tanya (Tania) - Encountered in Blitz's house in Ramia Village (building just northeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #90 - Neal (Niel) - Encountered in the guardhouse in Ramia Village (building just southwest of the Shrine of Solomon entrance) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the northeastern area, guarding the gate to the Shrine of Solomon) NOTE - For much of the game, this character is found in Ramia's guardhouse, but once Tarf sees you in the Core of Ys, Neal switches to his post guarding the gate to Solomon Shrine (as that's also the time Gorto disappears from Ramia). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #91 - Faye (Fye) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just outside the guardhouse, the building just southwest of the Shrine of Solomon entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #92 - Muto - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the graveyard, just southwest of Hadat's house) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the northeastern area, near the Shrine of Solomon entrance) NOTE - Upon speaking to Maria in the Core of Ys, this character moves to his second location, as that's when Sada is occupying the graveyard (presumably, Sada wants some alone time due to Maria's perceived death). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #93 - Jill (Jil) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just outside Maria's house, near the billboard) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #94 - Reise (Lese) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just outside Blitz's house, the building just northeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #95 - Rimera (Rimr) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just outside Blitz's house, the building just northeast of Hadat's house) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #96 - Kyle - Encountered in the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered with Rimera outside in Ramia Village (just outside Blitz's house, the building just northeast of Hadat's house) NOTE - After lifting the petrification curse and speaking to him and the other runaways, this character will be in his second location, where he'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #97 - Boris - Encountered in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered in the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (in the northeastern area, near the Shrine of Solomon entrance) - Encountered outside in Ramia Village (generally just outside Hadat's house, the building northeast of the graveyard) NOTE - If you want to speak to this character in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout, you'll need to immediately equip Alter Magic to bypass Lilia, or else she'll initiate the conversation where she gives you the Shrine Key, and Dalles will appear right after that to turn the runaways to stone (meaning you'll have to wait to talk to Boris). Anyway, after lifting the petrification curse and speaking to him and the other runaways, this character will be in his third location in Ramia, right near the gate to Solomon Shrine. However, upon speaking to Maria in the Core of Ys, his location changes to just outside Hadat's house (presumably because that's when Muto's position changes, due to Sada mourning over Maria in the graveyard), where he'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #98 - Ed - Encountered in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered in the Runaways' Hideout - Encountered with Jill outside in Ramia Village (just outside Maria's house, near the billboard) NOTE - If you want to speak to this character in the basement of the Runaways' Hideout, you'll need to immediately equip Alter Magic to bypass Lilia, or else she'll initiate the conversation where she gives you the Shrine Key, and Dalles will appear right after that to turn the runaways to stone (meaning you'll have to wait to talk with Ed). Anyway, after lifting the petrification curse and speaking to him and the other runaways, this character will be in his second location, where he'll stay for the remainder of the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemies [YS2ENM] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comprehensive list of the enemies encountered in Ys II, as well as where to find them. Their stats are also listed, which you can view for yourself in-game by finding and drinking the Beastiary Potion (located in a chest in the Ruins of Moondoria behind a heavily cracked wall that you need the Mattock to break down), then killing them a certain amount of times. For the Eternal and Complete versions, this number is random, usually not taking more than 10 kills or so (but it can also be as early as the first kill before). Hoever, the STR stat in those versions is only learned by them hitting *you* a random number of times. For the Chronicles versions, it seems to be exactly 6 kills for the first stat (probably 1 extra for the name, even though it's listed automatically), followed by 5 kills to randomly learn one of their other stats, meaning it's a total of 31 kills to completely fill in their entries. Bosses are automatically filled in upon beating them (so long as you drank the Beastiary Potion, that is). Anyway, for the Eternal and Complete versions, this item is a one-time only deal, as the enemy stats you learn carry over across all playthroughs (making it useless to drink again, meaning you can only find it in one playthrough). For the Chronicles versions, however, only the final boss entry carries over between playthroughs (as there's no way to view it in your first playthrough after killing him), but everything else doesn't, so you'll need to re-learn all other enemy stats every playthrough of the game (well, if you're interested). Luckily, the Steam achievement "Demon Duster" only keeps track of non-boss entries, but if you want the satisfaction of seeing a full beastiary, it'll need to be done as early as your second playthrough (and thankfully, your second playthrough contains a few extra cutscenes, so you have some incentive to play the game again). For the stat listings, names are listed first by their English localized name in either Chronicles version, followed by the Romanized Japanese name in parentheses (if it's different). Enemy stats seem to be exactly the same across all difficulties (except the bosses seem to get *very* slight STR and DEF boosts, though their listed stats don't change), but they do get more aggressive on higher difficulties. For the EXP values, do note that you'll get double an enemy's listed value if you happen to be below their listed level (this only applies to normal enemies, as EXP from a boss fight is fixed). Speaking of their listed value, you'll only ever get that when you're the same level as the enemy, or one above it. For any levels you gain after that, you'll receive half the listed EXP, then next level you'll get a third, then a fourth, fifth, etc. The enemies keep giving continually reduced EXP (usually rounded down, if needed) each level until it's 1 just per kill, or until you reach max level, whichever comes first. For example, a Ripplet (#7) will give 16 EXP at levels 1-7, 8 EXP at level 8-9, 4 EXP at level 10, 2 EXP at levels 11-12, and 1 EXP at levels 13-55. This is likely done so the player can make up levels fairly easily (if needed), but also to discourage power-leveling early on in the game. Regarding the enemy order, the Eternal and Complete versions list the enemies by area, with the bosses at the end of said area. This throws off the numbering for many of the entries, as the Chronicles versions group all of the bosses together at the end of the list. So, to make things easier, I'll list them first by their Chronicles number, and when applicable, their number in Eternal/Complete will be listed in parentheses. Anyway, on to the list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #1 - Chrace (Crase) HP - 20 LVL - 2 STR - 20 DEF - 6 EXP - 5 GOLD - 8 - Encountered in the Ruins of Moondoria ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 - Cauction (Curksharn) HP - 30 LVL - 4 STR - 32 DEF - 10 EXP - 5 GOLD - 10 - Encountered in the Ruins of Moondoria ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #3 - Godaago (Godargo) HP - 50 LVL - 8 STR - 56 DEF - 28 EXP - 6 GOLD - 12 - Encountered in the Ruins of Moondoria NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used. However, you'll still need the appropriate STR before you'll be able to even scratch them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #4 - Warrizor (Wolizoul) HP - 40 LVL - 6 STR - 36 DEF - 20 EXP - 7 GOLD - 12 - Encountered in the Sanctuary of Toal (the sections containing Hadal's, Tovah's, and Gemma's tombs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #5 - Gnometh (Nomess) HP - 50 LVL - 6 STR - 44 DEF - 20 EXP - 7 GOLD - 12 - Encountered in the Sanctuary of Toal (all sections except the one containing Fact's tomb) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #6 - Zolgell (Zolgel) HP - 72 LVL - 8 STR - 80 DEF - 22 EXP - 8 GOLD - 14 - Encountered in the Sanctuary of Toal (the sections containing Tovah's, Dabbie's, and Fact's tombs) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #7 - Ripplet (Lyplate) HP - 70 LVL - 8 STR - 50 DEF - 24 EXP - 8 GOLD - 16 - Encountered inside the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #8 - Tolpi (Tolpy) HP - 70 LVL - 10 STR - 70 DEF - 25 EXP - 9 GOLD - 16 - Encountered inside the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #9 - Puroid (Puloyd) HP - 84 LVL - 12 STR - 90 DEF - 26 EXP - 10 GOLD - 16 - Encountered inside the Rasteenie Mine ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #10 - K'nocks (Cnocks) HP - 80 LVL - 12 STR - 84 DEF - 32 EXP - 12 GOLD - 20 - Encountered deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder) - Encountered in Gila's Basement (after ringing the Evil Bell) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #11 - Carly (Cully) HP - 80 LVL - 12 STR - 96 DEF - 40 EXP - 13 GOLD - 20 - Encountered deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder) - Encountered in Gila's Basement (after ringing the Evil Bell) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #12 - Orihalcus (Olharos) HP - 108 LVL - 14 STR - 108 DEF - 50 EXP - 15 GOLD - 25 - Encountered deep inside the Rasteenie Mine (after defeating Velagunder) - Encountered in Gila's Basement (after ringing the Evil Bell) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #13 (#14) - Neeli (Nieli) HP - 100 LVL - 18 STR - 112 DEF - 52 EXP - 15 GOLD - 30 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #14 (#15) - Gercard (Gelkald) HP - 100 LVL - 18 STR - 120 DEF - 54 EXP - 16 GOLD - 35 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #15 (#16) - Eggnid (Egnyd) HP - 120 LVL - 20 STR - 136 DEF - 56 EXP - 17 GOLD - 48 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #16 (#17) - Galgata (Gulgata) HP - 110 LVL - 20 STR - 116 DEF - 64 EXP - 18 GOLD - 50 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #17 (#18) - Gworter (Gworder) HP - 120 LVL - 22 STR - 128 DEF - 58 EXP - 18 GOLD - 60 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #18 (#19) - Swoff (Svoff) HP - 132 LVL - 22 STR - 148 DEF - 70 EXP - 20 GOLD - 65 - Encountered on the Ice Ridge of Noltia ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #19 (#21) - Preliguard HP - 120 LVL - 24 STR - 150 DEF - 80 EXP - 22 GOLD - 70 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (before reaching the Colony of Lava) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 (#22) - Onuman HP - 120 LVL - 24 STR - 160 DEF - 84 EXP - 24 GOLD - 75 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (before reaching the Colony of Lava) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #21 (#23) - Scollun (Scorlun) HP - 144 LVL - 24 STR - 172 DEF - 86 EXP - 26 GOLD - 72 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (both before and after the Colony of Lava) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #22 (#24) - Xelbenoth (Zelvenorce) HP - 150 LVL - 26 STR - 184 DEF - 90 EXP - 32 GOLD - 88 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (area northeast of the Colony of Lava) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #23 (#25) - Gene (Jyn) HP - 180 LVL - 28 STR - 200 DEF - 96 EXP - 34 GOLD - 100 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (area northeast of the Colony of Lava) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #24 (#26) - Dirga (Dilga) HP - 130 LVL - 24 STR - 152 DEF - 94 EXP - 28 GOLD - 78 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (before reaching the Colony of Lava) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #25 (#27) - Topus (Tops) HP - 130 LVL - 24 STR - 168 DEF - 88 EXP - 30 GOLD - 82 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (areas outside the poisonous passage) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #26 (#28) - Magnute (Magnuto) HP - 156 LVL - 26 STR - 188 DEF - 92 EXP - 34 GOLD - 90 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (near where the Black Pearl is found) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #27 (#30) - Zearot (Xaerot) HP - 250 LVL - 46 STR - 370 DEF - 230 EXP - 130 GOLD - 270 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (guarding the entrance) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used, but even then you must have the Cleria Sword equipped (plus, you need to be at least level 47, or else you still won't do any damage). Do note that killing them via Shield Magic also works, but it doesn't award you any EXP (probably because it's technically killing itself); however, you can still use this method to learn its stats. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #28 (#31) - Ashveil (Ashverl) HP - 180 LVL - 30 STR - 192 DEF - 84 EXP - 35 GOLD - 110 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Hadal's, Mesa's, and Gemma's sectors - just inside the entrance, and the screen to the east) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #29 (#32) - Baocar (Baochar) HP - 185 LVL - 30 STR - 196 DEF - 80 EXP - 38 GOLD - 100 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Hadal's, Mesa's, and Gemma's sectors - just inside the entrance, and the screen to the east) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #30 (#33) - Nashzar (Nashzal) HP - 190 LVL - 30 STR - 196 DEF - 96 EXP - 44 GOLD - 115 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Hadal's, Mesa's, and Gemma's sectors - just inside the entrance, and the screen to the east) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #31 (#34) - Malochius (Maloquios) HP - 200 LVL - 34 STR - 204 DEF - 106 EXP - 65 GOLD - 160 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Tovah's sector, the screen to the west of the entrance (right half of that area)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #32 (#35) - Allomod HP - 205 LVL - 34 STR - 212 DEF - 108 EXP - 72 GOLD - 180 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector, the screen to the west of the entrance (left half of that area)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #33 (#36) - Trover (Torober) HP - 205 LVL - 34 STR - 220 DEF - 112 EXP - 78 GOLD - 200 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Dabbie's sector, the screen to the west of the entrance (left half of that area)) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #34 (#37) - Godrup (Godoleb) HP - 210 LVL - 36 STR - 224 DEF - 125 EXP - 88 GOLD - 220 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Tovah's and Dabbie's sectors, the screen to the west of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #35 (#38) - El Endes (Elendeath) HP - 190 LVL - 32 STR - 200 DEF - 90 EXP - 52 GOLD - 120 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Fact's sector, the screen to the northeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #36 (#39) - Nustarl HP - 195 LVL - 32 STR - 196 DEF - 96 EXP - 56 GOLD - 130 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Fact's sector, the screen to the northeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #37 (#40) - Bearot HP - 198 LVL - 32 STR - 204 DEF - 100 EXP - 62 GOLD - 150 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (Fact's sector, the screen to the northeast of the entrance) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #38 (#41) - Delpus (Delpass) HP - 208 LVL - 36 STR - 236 DEF - 114 EXP - 82 GOLD - 200 - Encountered in the Subterranean Canal (western section, the one where the Runaways' Hideout is found) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #39 (#42) - Dyphthelloid (Diphtheloyd) HP - 205 LVL - 38 STR - 240 DEF - 116 EXP - 96 GOLD - 210 - Encountered in the Subterranean Canal (eastern section, the one where the Silver Pendant is found) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #40 (#43) - Ceabith (Carebiss) HP - 240 LVL - 42 STR - 272 DEF - 140 EXP - 116 GOLD - 255 - Encountered in the Subterranean Canal (central section, the one where Keith gives you the Floodgate Key) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #41 (#44) - Rewillvan HP - 220 LVL - 40 STR - 252 DEF - 126 EXP - 108 GOLD - 240 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, the area after using the Silver Pendant) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #42 (#45) - Forkless (Forcless) HP - 220 LVL - 40 STR - 244 DEF - 122 EXP - 104 GOLD - 240 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, the area after using the Silver Pendant) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #43 (#46) - Gearot HP - 230 LVL - 42 STR - 260 DEF - 135 EXP - 112 GOLD - 250 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, the area after using the Silver Pendant) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #44 (#47) - Charront (Charlont) HP - 240 LVL - 44 STR - 280 DEF - 150 EXP - 122 GOLD - 260 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, outside the Campanile of Lane) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #45 (#48) - Valkyria (Balkilea) HP - 245 LVL - 44 STR - 300 DEF - 170 EXP - 126 GOLD - 260 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (central portion, outside the Campanile of Lane) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #46 (#49) - Zavanite (Zavaaz) HP - 250 LVL - 42 STR - 280 DEF - 134 EXP - 110 GOLD - 270 - Encountered inside a couple of buildings in the Shrine of Solomon (Mesa's and Tovah's sectors - the screen east of the entrance (left half of that area), and west of the Shrine entrance (right half of that area)) NOTE - Technically, this enemy also appears inside one of the buildings in Gemma's sector (the one that gives you the Pass), but as you're unable to kill that one, it's not listed here. In addition, Zava technically summons several of these enemies throughout the boss fight with her, but as they are linked to Zava's health and stats (meaning you need the STR to deal with Zava, not this enemy - this also means you cannot repeatedly kill those particular ones to reveal this entry's stats), that location wasn't listed either. Also, this enemy is completely immune to Fire Magic, so physical attacks must be used (for the ones during the Zava fight, it's the other way around). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #47 (#13) - Velagunder (Belagunder) HP - 160 LVL - 11 STR - 100 DEF - 40 EXP - 400 GOLD - 600 - Encountered deep inside the Rasteenie Mine NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to physical attacks, so Fire Magic must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #48 (#20) - Tyalmath HP - 280 LVL - 20 STR - 121 DEF - 74 EXP - 600 GOLD - 1,200 - Encountered in a cave on the Ice Ridge of Noltia (the one after using the Anti-Illusion Mirror) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to physical attacks, so Fire Magic must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #49 (#29) - Gelaldy HP - 360 LVL - 27 STR - 163 DEF - 99 EXP - 1,000 GOLD - 2,000 - Encountered in the Moat of Burnedbless (area northeast of the Colony of Lava) NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to physical attacks, so Fire Magic must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #50 - Druegar HP - 420 LVL - 36 STR - 192 DEF - 144 EXP - 1,500 GOLD - 2,200 - Encountered in one of the buildings inside the Shrine of Solomon (center building of Hadal's sector) NOTE - In the Eternal version of the game, this boss can actually be skipped altogether, though this was fixed in Complete and Chronicles. To do so, you must first activate the fight as normal, and then exit (make sure you have the option to escape boss battles turned on). Upon re-entry, use the Time Magic immediately, and quickly touch the door at the top of the room, which should now open. I believe what's happening is that the use of Time Magic delays the boss fight from immediately starting, and that's why the door can be opened prematurely. As noted, you need to do this upon re-entering the battle, probably because Druegar's sprite is already loaded (though you can walk through it briefly), so Time Magic doesn't get cancelled like it would when he initially jumps down. In any event, you must do this at least twice throughout the course of the game if you wish to skip this boss completely. Also, this enemy is completely immune to physical attacks, so Fire Magic must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #51 - Zava (Zaba) HP - 480 LVL - 44 STR - 225 DEF - 191 EXP - 2,500 GOLD - 2,400 - Encountered at the bottom of the Campanile of Lane NOTE - This enemy is completely immune to physical attacks, so Fire Magic must be used. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #?? - Zava HP - 480 LVL - 42 STR - 218 DEF - 174 EXP - 2,000 GOLD - 2,000 - Encountered at the bottom of the Campanile of Lane NOTE - This entry is Zava's "normal" form, which is not encountered under normal circumstances, and thus isn't officially listed alongside the other enemies in-game (you can only view this entry on the game screen when fighting her). As you can see above, however, these stats are separate from Zava's boss form, so Falcom probably had a different plan for her initially, but forgot to remove the remnants of it from the game. Anyway, due to a bug in the Eternal version, you are able to fully learn its stats, but this was fixed in Complete and Chronicles, though its existence is still present (in Complete, you can learn its STR stat, but that's it; in Chronicles, you are unable to learn any of them, but you can still see her blank entry on the game screen - something that does not happen for bosses). To learn her stats, you must use Time Magic immediately at the beginning of the boss fight with her. This will freeze her in her normal form temporarily (presumably, she isn't quite finished transforming), so if you rush straight to Zava, she can then be damaged briefly via physical attacks (like normal Zavanites, this form is immune to Fire Magic). Make sure you have the option to escape boss fights turned on, and repeat the process to fully learn her stats (for the STR one, you'll have to get damaged while she's in this state, which can be kind of tricky to set up). As this form is technically considered a normal enemy (the boss fight won't end upon killing it, so you still must deal with her normally), you could potentially receive a whopping 4,000 EXP upon killing it, if you're under-leveled (of course, the EXP is scaled downwards at later levels, but it's still an excellent source of EXP, at least for a little while). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #52 - Dalles (Duless) HP - 510 LVL - 49 STR - 238 DEF - 219 EXP - 3,500 GOLD - 2,500 - Encountered in the Shrine of Solomon (the underpass, the area after using the Gold Pendant) NOTE - In order to damage this boss, you *must* have the Cleria Sword from Sada equipped, as he is invulnerable to all other forms of attack, including Fire Magic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #53 - Darm (Dahm) HP - 510 LVL - 51 STR - 278 DEF - 240 EXP - 5,000 GOLD - 2,550 - Encountered in the Core of Ancient Ys NOTE - In order to damage this boss, you *must* have the Cleria Sword from Sada equipped, as he is invulnerable to all other forms of attack, including Fire Magic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steam Achievements [YS2ACH] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Steam version of Chronicles has achievements for doing certain things throughout the game, almost all of them being purely optional. Unlike Ys I, most of them can be done even at the very end of the game, provided you don't step through the door leading to Darm in the Core of Ys. However, a few of them are missable before that point, but not many. Here's how to unlock them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notorious A.C. - Speak to every character in the game at least once TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - While no character is permanently missable, some of them are unavailable at certain points in the game. Please refer to the "Characters" section for Ys II if you need help finding someone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Demon Duster - Unlock all stats for every non-boss enemy TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - You need to find and drink the Beastiary Potion (equip and use it) before the stats will start to be revealed. In the Chronicles versions, you need to kill an enemy a total of 31 times to reveal all of their stats (6 for the first stat (the name is revealed automatically upon hitting an enemy), and 5 for the others stats, all revealed in a random order). Please refer to the "Enemies" section for Ys II if you need help finding an enemy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darm It! - Beat the game on any difficulty TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - I believe you can obtain this and the "A Legend Is Born" achievement at the same time, if your first playthrough is on the Nightmare difficulty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Legend Is Born - Beat the game on the Nightmare difficulty TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - I believe you can obtain this and the "Darm It!" achievement at the same time, if your first playthrough is on the Nightmare difficulty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fireball Wizard - Beat Time Attack TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - Time Attack is unlocked upon beating the game once (I think you actually need to sit through the credits before the option is selectable from the main menu, so don't quit prematurely). Anyway, its difficulty is automatically set to Easy, and your equipment and level is already set as well; basically, you face them with the setup you're expected to have at that point in the game (though for Ys II, they tend to over-level you, as well as give you some equipment that would take some grinding to get at that point - for instance, having the complete 3rd set by Tyalmath). Anyway, you have to complete it all in one go, but it's pretty easy in comparison to Ys I's Time Attack (it helps that here it's on Easy difficulty, but Ys I's is on Normal, strangely enough). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep the Doctor Away - Scatter the apples in the Rall Family Wellness clinic in Lance Village by lifting the counter flap TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill the Duck - Give 5 gifts to Brody of Lance Village, then search one of the baby ducklings above the Rall Family Wellness Clinic to find a stash of 500 gold TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - For the gold stash to appear in the duckling's mouth, you *must* hear it from Brody after gifting him 5 times (requires 1-2 extra if you shoot him with Fire Magic), otherwise you won't be able to find it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revenge of Sworded Details - Receive a free Short Sword from Leggs in the Ruins of Moondoria TIME LIMIT - Before purchasing a weapon, or before obtaining the Rod of Divinity. NOTE - As noted above, if you purchase a weapon (even if it's just the Long Sword), you will be unable to receive the Short Sword from Leggs. However, even if you go weaponless, you still need to receive it from him before grabbing the Rod of Divinity, because that's when his dialogue will change, and the opportunity will be lost. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What the Legends Don't Tell You - Shoot the various characters 50 times with Fire Magic TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - While the Steam description would have you believe you need to shoot 50 different people, you can theoretically fireball just one person 50 times. However, if you plan to gift people, it's probably a good idea to save before doing this, and reload once you receive the achievement, otherwise the people you shoot will require extra gifts (though it's no more than 2, no matter how much you shoot someone). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gila's Monsters - Kill all the monsters in Gila's Basement, as well as the ones in the nearby Sanctuary of Toal area TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - Before the ones in the Sanctuary of Toal can be completely cleared out, you'll need to kill the ones in Gila's Basement first. When clearing the ones in the basement, it's recommended that you don't make any screen transitions until they're all dead, because otherwise they could potentially respawn endlessly. Anyway, after about 60 or so kills, you'll get a message saying the current area is clear, but more are still around somewhere. At that point, head to the nearby Sanctuary of Toal section (where Fact's tomb is), and dispose of the two Zolgell nearby. Doing this will trigger a message saying there's no more enemies around, and you'll receive a fixed 400 EXP as a reward. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hand That Feeds Them - Feed all the animals in Ramia Village at least 3 times TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - There are 4 different animals you need to feed for this achievement. First, you have the 3 goats near Frith, just southwest of the Moat of Burnedbless entrance - they will eat either Herbs or Cruberries. The other animal is the cat in Gorto's house (the building just southeast of Hadat's house) - it will eat either Smoked Meat or Raw Meat. As noted above, you need to feed each animal on 3 separate occasions, so if you prefer not to re-obtain these items (especially the Meats), you can save before feeding them, and reload your game afterwards to still meet the requirements for this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No Reservations - Receive and eat the Smoked Meat, Raw Meat, Meat Pie, and Cruberry Pie TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - To receive the items in question, you have to gift 4 separate characters a certain number of times. For the Smoked Meat, you need to gift Theo of Lance Village at least 4 times. For the Raw Meat, you need to gift Nash of the Colony of Lava at least 5 times. For the Meat Pie, you need to gift Lucy of Lance Village at least 3 times. And for the Cruberry Pie, you need to gift Zalem of Ramia Village at least 5 times. If you happen to fireball any of these characters, it will require 1-2 extra gifts, depending on how much you shot them. Upon eating these items, if you want another one, you can reload a previous save, or you can simply re-gift the respective characters again (except in Lucy's case, you'll first need to fireball her 1-2 times (depends on if you gave her any extra gifts afterwards), and *then* re-gift her). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Timestop Understanding - Use Time Magic in the presence of Maria TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - I'm not 100% certain, but if you miss this opportunity during your initial climb of the Campanile of Lane, you should still be able to do this upon finding her in the Core of Ys (at the very least, the "Maria is not amused!" message will still show up there). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Police Are On Their Way - Push Tarf into the narrow corridor where the Iron Ore can be found in the Moat of Burnedbless to learn his measurements TIME LIMIT - During the Tarf escort mission, before entering the Colony of Lava. NOTE - To reach this corridor with Tarf in tow, you'll have to take the long way around, as you cannot safely take him with you back through the poisonous passage. Once you reach the corridor, I think you need to use Fire Magic to get him all the way back there (you need to push him as far back as possible), but it can still be quite tricky to do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Personal Trainer - Give Tarf 7 gifts to enable him to fight alongside you, and then let him kill several enemies to reach level 25 TIME LIMIT - During the Tarf escort mission, before entering the Colony of Lava. NOTE - As noted above, you first want to give Tarf a total of 7 gifts during the escort mission, at which point he'll level up and fight alongside you, by throwing pebbles at the enemies (he will not do this at level 1). The gifts actually give him 1 EXP each, so theoretically you could do that a ton, and level him up that way, but it is *far* easier to whittle down an enemy so it has just a sliver of health left, and let Tarf finish it off. It's easiest if you talk to the enemy you're trying to kill (though make sure to keep an eye on others in the area, or just kill them off beforehand), or you can just stand between it and Tarf so it can't reach him (well, hopefully). Tarf gets 5 times the amount of EXP you'll ever get from said enemies (you can only ever get twice as much...), and as he doesn't require nearly as much EXP as you, this should be a relatively short process, though it's highly recommended that you save while doing this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Juuuuust Right - Manually talk to Lilia, Zalem, and Maria to be able to sleep in their beds TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - As noted above, you must manually talk to these three characters (as a human, not a Roo =p) before being allowed to sleep in their respective beds (push against the side of them for a few seconds). For Lilia, I don't think it matters when you speak to her, as even doing so manually for the first time in the Core of Ys still works. However, if you do happen to first speak to her when she's in her house upon curing her illness, you need to approach Lilia (not Banoa) to activate the close-up, and then exit and re-enter her house before the game will let you inside her bed (the one on the right back in her house). For Zalem, simply activating the close-up scene in her shop for the first time will be enough to sleep in her bed (as she does technically talk to you then, and her shop can theoretically be skipped altogether), which is in the bottom right corner of her shop. For Maria, talking to her manually when she's being held hostage in the Campanile of Lane will *not* work, so you instead need to speak to her in the Core of Ys (I'm not sure, but I suspect it has to do with actually touching their sprites during a non-required scene); her bed is the one on the right back in her house in Ramia Village. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mosquitoes!! - After Dalles turns the runaways to stone, let the mosquitoes in the Ruins of Moondoria swarm you, and activate a screen transition TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - The mosquitoes are located near the water next to where the Rod of Divinity was found earlier in the game (they may be hard to see), but as noted above, they do not appear there until after Dalles turns the runaways to stone. Anyway, stand near the water where they're flying around at, and they should slowly make their way towards you. Let them swarm above your head for a few seconds, and once they do, you can then choose to slowly lead them to one of the normal screen transitions here (to the Sanctuary of Toal, or to the Moondoria Field), and upon switching screens, you'll get a message saying that they're no longer following you (if you didn't get the message, then you didn't let them swarm you for long enough). However, instead of slowly leading them to one of those transition points, I actually prefer to instead activate a warp after they swarm me; if done correctly, the message should appear after the *next* screen transition (apparently, warping itself doesn't count). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And Your Children's Children - Kill 10 Zearots TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - In order to kill this enemy, you either need to equip the Cleria Sword from Sada, or the Shield Magic will also work (though you don't receive EXP when using the Shield Magic). As noted above, you need to kill ten Zearots, the enemies guarding the main entrance to the Shrine of Solomon. If you want, you can keep track of how many you've killed by speaking to them via Alter Magic, and there will be a number next to their name (though it is possible to kill 9, even if one of the guards' names says 10 - this is because the first set of guards isn't actually numbered, but even if you just kill one of those initial two, its replacement will say 3). In any case, if you're aiming for a full beastiary, you should get this achievement naturally. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where's Aldow? - Find Aldow deep inside the Rasteenie Mine in the room where the Evil Bell was found, and speak to him with the Alter Magic equipped TIME LIMIT - Before stepping through the door leading to Darm. NOTE - Just in case it isn't obvious, Aldow is one of the K'nocks enemies in the room where the Evil Bell was found - specifically, the one in the upper left corner of the room. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spendthrift - Max out your gold TIME LIMIT - None. NOTE - If you have any intention of purchasing the Elixir from Jade's shop in Lance (it costs 60,000 gold), it is recommended that you get this achievement first, and *then* purchase it, as otherwise it might be a while before you can accumulate maximum gold. Also, while this can probably be received after the Darm battle (or so I'd assume - Darm does award gold, after all), it would require a bit of planning, so I'd recommend getting this before stepping through the door leading to him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Set Sail For New Adventure - Unlock all other achievements TIME LIMIT - None. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time Attack [YS2TME] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First off, do note that this was a feature not present in the Eternal version, only in Complete on upwards. Anyway, upon beating the game once and watching the credits all the way through, Time Attack is then selectable from the main menu. It's just going through the bosses in sequential order, with your levels and equipment being pre-set for each one. The difficulty of this cannot be altered, but it appears to be set to Easy (unlike Ys I, which is set to Normal difficulty), so it shouldn't be too much trouble. However, if you die at any point throughout this, you'll have to restart this mode from scratch, regardless of which boss you died on. Completing this in the Steam version awards you the "Bump Master" achievement, but otherwise it's just a typical time attack - see how low of a time you can get (my best is 3:09:97 at the time of this writing, done on the Complete version). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Record of Adol's Adventure [YS2RCD] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the course of the Eternal and Complete versions of Ys II, you can refer to the "Record" section in-game (selectable via the "Diary" option) to get a summary of the events that have happened so far. There are 51 known entries for this section, but some appear to be missable, and some can appear out of order if done later in the game, so be wary of that. I can't confirm what any of the entries say (I don't understand Japanese, and it's currently inconvenient for me to install Complete's English translation patches), but you can at least refer to this site for a complete listing of what triggers them (you might need a webpage translator): http://teilv.ojaru.jp/themeplay_of/ys2/ys2_adols_log.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mascots [MSCOTS] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Throughout the course of Ys II, you can receive character mascots for doing certain things (but you do start the game with several of them, mostly just a few characters from Ys I). Most mascots are just the various character and enemy sprites facing towards you, but there are a couple of special ones to be obtained throughout the course of the game. Do note that it's impossible to get all mascots in one playthrough, so your current list automatically carries over to later playthroughs as well (however, for the mascots that require repeated actions, I think they must all be done during the course of one playthrough). As the normal character and enemy sprites are too numerous to detail in list form (I think everyone except Jeba is accounted for in some manner or another), I will write the basics for those here. For the characters, you simply have to gift them a certain amount of times, until they reach maximum affection, I believe (in some cases, this doesn't necessarily mean hearing their last gift dialogue, but I'd recommend doing so anyway, just to be on the safe side). For the enemies (not including bosses, unless you count Dark Fact from Ys I), you simply have to kill them enough times so their stats are completely unlocked (in the Chronicles versions, I don't think drinking the Beastiary Potion is necessarily required for these mascots, but it certainly serves as a good indicator). Altogether, there are a total of 157 mascots, though 1 of them (Chun-Lilia) is only obtainable in the Steam version (and for those wondering, Sara informs me that the broom, duck, and cat sprites seen on that one spreadsheet aren't "real" mascots, and were never meant to be obtainable, unlike Chun-Lilia). To view these, you select the "Mascot" option from the display menu, and then you can configure where you want it to be displayed on the game screen (if anywhere). Anyway, here's a list of the special mascots (in the order they show up in the in-game list), as well as how to obtain them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Imprisoned Maria - Speak to Maria 4 consecutive times in the Core of Ys NOTE - You'll know this is unlocked when her dialogue changes slightly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photogenic Lilia - Defeat any boss without taking a single hit NOTE - I'm not 100% certain, but this should also apply to the Darm battle, even with the Shield Magic equipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gussied-Up Lilia - Beat the game on the Easy difficulty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maid Lilia - Beat the game on the Hard difficulty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Priestess Lilia - Beat the game on the Normal difficulty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chun-Lilia - Shoot Lilia with Fire Magic 300 times NOTE - This mascot is only legitimately obtainable in the Steam version of Chronicles; in all other versions of the game (PSP Chronicles included), it is unable to be obtained through normal methods. Sara informs me that having it in any version aside from the Steam one will often result in your save data getting wiped or corrupted, so if you decide to obtain it via hacking or whatever, be wary of the risks. Anyway, with regards to the requirement listed above, I do not know if Lilia's location makes any difference, but I suspect it doesn't (I did it when she was in the Core of Ys). It's also currently unknown if you have to shoot her all 300 times in one sitting, or if you can safely activate a screen transition or something midway through (or perhaps even have her change locations). At the least, I'd guess it would all have to be done during the course of one playthrough. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tailed Tarf - Give Tarf 7 gifts to enable him to reach level 2, where he'll then fight alongside you NOTE - This needs to be done during the Tarf escort mission, before taking him back to the Colony of Lava. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I Heart Zalem - Speak to Zalem at least 4 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering her shop between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exploding Pumpkin - Destroy 20 pumpkins in the Colony of Lava via charged Fire Magic ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Swooned Feena - Beat the game on the Nightmare difficulty ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roo - Speak to all of the Roos at least once NOTE - You must speak to the Roos using Alter Magic to get this mascot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Situ Tarf - Give Tarf 7 gifts to enable him to fight alongside you, and then let him kill several enemies to reach level 25 NOTE - This needs to be done during the Tarf escort mission, before taking him back to the Colony of Lava. Please refer to the Steam achievement "Personal Trainer" for more information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Safety Charm - Speak to Priest Hadal at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luck Charm - Speak to Priest Tovah at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Success Charm - Speak to Priest Dabbie at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health Charm - Speak to Priest Mesa at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Study Charm - Speak to Priest Gemma at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prosperity Charm - Speak to Priest Fact at least 5 separate times (10 in Eternal) NOTE - This requires exiting and re-entering his tomb between each visit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== 7. Frequently Asked Questions =============================================================================== For those that don't feel like reading a whole bunch, I've made this section to address some of the more common trouble spots in the games, as well as a couple other minor things. To keep things simple, I'll limit this section mostly to actual gameplay, not technical issues or anything of the sort (I'm not really good with that stuff, so please don't ask =p). It should go without saying, this section contains spoilers, so read it at your own risk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ys I Questions [YS1FAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the list of commonly asked questions for Ys I. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I beat Vagullion? A: First, make sure you're at level 10 (51,200 EXP). Next, make sure you've received the Silver Sword from the southeastern Roda Tree on the Minea Plains; without this, you have little hope of winning. To get it, you must've found the Silver Harmonica and returned it to Reah, as well as found and ate the Roda Tree Seed. You also should've found both the Silver Shield and the Silver Armor, as that's the best armor you can have at this point (while not technically required for this fight, you'll need them shortly anyway). I'm not going to go into an in-depth strategy here on how to beat him (that's what the walkthrough is for =p), but if you meet all of those requirements (*especially* the Silver Sword one, though it requires level 10 to be of much use here), you have a decent shot. This battle takes a lot of patience, and frustrates many newcomers, but it is very winnable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I get into Darm Tower? A: Depending on how much you've kept up with Feena and Jeba throughout the game, this could be quite the complicated issue, so I'll just copy and paste this answer from the walkthrough. If you're doing the Feena/Jeba stuff all at once, be sure to exit and re-enter Zepik between steps 1-3: 1. After escorting Feena to Zepik, exit and re-enter the village at any time to find her awake. After the initial dialogue, speak to Feena manually. 2. After obtaining the Book of Ys from Sara's friend Franz (anytime after you find the Book of Ys in the Shrine), report Sara's murder to Jeba. After the initial dialogue, speak to Jeba again, and ask her to read the Books of Ys (you don't actually need her to read any just yet, but you *do* need to at least ask her to). You also need to speak to Feena outside on the lake's pier. 3. Once you've collected the first 3 Books of Ys, ask Jeba to read all of them. You also need to make sure Feena's back inside Jeba's house, and speak to her there. Afterwards, speak to Jeba, who will send you off to Goban (if she's still talking about something else, you either didn't ask her to translate all 3 Books, or you didn't do all of the above steps with Feena first). 4. Once you've done the above 3 steps, make sure you've found the Silver Sword, Silver Shield, and Silver Armor, and speak to Goban first inside the Thieves' Den, and again inside the passage leading to Darm Tower. If you don't have all 3 Silver equipments, he'll refuse to help until you do. For reference, the Silver Shield is on B3 of the Shrine, by taking the second warp statue you come across (in the southwestern corner of the map, the one on the right). The Silver Armor is on the first floor of the Abandoned Mine, in the northeastern corner of the map (right below the entrance, though you'll need to loop around to reach it). And the Silver Sword is of course given to you by the southeastern Roda Tree, after you've returned the Silver Harmonica to Reah (and ate the Roda Tree Seed). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I open the door at the top of Darm Tower? A: You need the Blue Amulet from Luta Gemma, who's all the way back on floor 11, near the balcony where you smashed the pillar to get through the Devil's Corridor. Before paying him a visit, be sure you've spoken with Reah in Rado's Annex, as well as have both Volumes Mesa and Gemma of the Books of Ys in your possession. Before speaking to him, use the Monocle from Reah to translate both Volumes Mesa *and* Gemma. Once you read both of them, speak to him to receive the Blue Amulet (yes, I know he mentions just Volume Gemma, but trust me, Volume Mesa is required as well). If you're playing the Eternal version of the game, you'll have to talk to him twice after reading the Books to receive this from him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I beat Dark Fact? A: Again, I won't go into an in-depth strategy here, but make sure you have at *least* the Silver Sword equipped, otherwise you simply cannot win. You'll also want to have the Silver Shield and Silver Armor equipped to reduce damage (though technically, they're not required). Unless you're particularly skilled at evading his fireballs, your best bet is probably to try and tank him, and kill him as soon as possible (though this can easily backfire, and leave you trapped later in the battle). Also, speaking of damage reduction, the Shield Ring will *not* provide any additonal DEF here, nor will any of the other rings function; this is true of all boss battles in Ys I, not just this one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Are there any rewards for beating the game? A: In Complete on upwards, you get access to Time Attack, but unfortunately that's all there is. However, in Ys Eternal, you can change the text box design in one of the option menus, but more importantly, you are able to visit the developers' room (something that was removed from Complete on upwards). Please refer to the section "Alen Smithy's Graveyard" for more details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What's with those boss titles? WARNING! SPOILERS FOR YS ORIGIN AHEAD! A: That is something Falcom added to the Eternal version of the game, though nobody seems to know why. Whatever the case, they were removed when Chronicles was released, likely because Ys Origin was already released at that point, and whatever backstories they had planned were likely changed. The "Redemption" titles are also accompanied by names of what I'd assume to be descendants of the six Priests, so my theory is that, much like some members of the Fact family had demonic power bestowed upon them in Ys Origin, it's entirely possible that Falcom had planned to give these demons a human backstory in much the same vein. After all, we know that Cain messed with his sons in Ys Origin, so the argument could easily be made that he manipulated other members of the Priests' families to accept demonic powers as well. Of course, Ys Origin doesn't give any kind of indication to these demons' backstories (if there even is any beyond them being faithful servants or whatnot =p), so this is all speculation. With regards to Dark Fact, it says he's a "ruined Ys Priest", but do not mistake this as meaning he was meant to be the *original* Priest Fact. Toal's story in Ys Origin indicates that the Fact lineage was split into two - Hugo in Esteria, and Toal in Ys up above. It's implied that Dark was just a normal descendant of Hugo, until he witnessed the death of his parents at the hands of greedy people who wanted to mine "silver" (cleria), something that his parents opposed. So, it's far more likely that he is a "Priest" as a result of abusing the powers that awakened upon witnessing his parents' death, rather than being the true heir to Hugo's lineage (but I guess that's still possible). Besides, if you've played Ys Origin, you should know that Cain is the original Priest Fact, and that Toal later replaced him. If Dark was really meant to be one of the original six Priests, then logically, he should've recognized you when visiting his tomb in the Sanctuary of Toal in Ys II, but that obviously isn't the case. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ys II Questions [YS2FAQ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is the list of commonly asked questions for Ys II. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Why can't I use Fire Magic? A: Magic requires MP to use, so you need to obtain the Rod of Divinity from the Ruins of Moondoria (behind the rock golems), and then afterwards touch it to the Goddess Statue near Leggs. Once you do so, you will be granted MP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I beat the first boss? A: He's invulnerable to physical attacks, so you need to have found the Fire Magic, as well as be able to use it (detailed above). Even though physical attacks don't work, the Fire Magic is still closely linked to your STR stat, so be sure to keep grinding (level 12 or so for this boss), as well as always have your strongest weapon equipped. For a more in-depth answer, please refer to the walkthrough portion of the guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Where do I find the Black Pearl to undo the petrification curse? A: First, you need to have obtained the Dreaming Idol from the Campanile of Lane, as well as have showed it to the Goddesses in the Goddesses' Palace. Once that's done, speak to Tarf, who is currently occupying Hadat's house in Ramia Village. He'll mention that he lost it, which you can then find on a stand inside the meeting room in Solomon Shrine (if you forgot, that's the center building in Fact's sector, the screen northeast of the Shrine entrance). You *must* do all of the above steps before you can re-obtain this, since trying to enter the meeting room prior to that will result in a message saying the meeting's still going on, so the game won't let you in yet. After that, take the Black Pearl to the Goddesses, and they'll tell you what to do from there. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I beat Dalles? A: Aside from the runaways, there is one other person in the Shrine that was freed from the petrification curse. In the eastern portion of the Subterranean Canal (where the Silver Pendant was found), you'll find Sada in the far southwestern corner (you may have found him as a statue earlier). Speaking to him will get you the Cleria Sword, so be sure to equip that when facing Dalles, and he should go down without too much trouble. If you need more assistance, please refer to the walkthrough portion of the guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Are there any rewards for beating the game? A: Like Ys I, you get access to Time Attack in Complete on upwards, but there is more. In addition to receiving Darm's boss entry (for the Chronicles versions, this will have to be done in a separate playthrough), there are 3 new scenes to view throughout the course of a new game (it has to be a game started after clearing it once - loading a previous file without these settings will not work). First, there is an extra intro scene with the Goddesses. Second, there is a small scene with Lilia and the Goddesses right after receiving the Gold Pendant from the runaways. Finally, after entering the door leading to Darm, there is a scene of the Priests' descendants trying to stop the demons from aiding Darm. Aside from that, you also receive a character mascot depending on which difficulty you beat the game on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== 8. Credits =============================================================================== A big thank you to these people for contributing to the making of this guide in some way: http://seldane.proboards.com (Ancient Land of Ys) - A nice, friendly community of Ys fans. It's where I pulled the V-Sync suggestion for people having trouble with Nygtilger. Various other info was collected from many different people there, but at this point, I can't remember what was collected, or from who. http://teilv.gozaru.jp - A Japanese Ys site with a lot of useful info. In particular, this is where I learned of the bug to get more EXP when rescuing Feena in Ys I, the bugs concerning Druegar and Zava in Ys II, as well as the additional purpose of the mosquitoes in Ys II Eternal. http://www.ysutopia.net/projects/yscomplete/bonus - A nice site with info concerning lots of optional things (unfortunately, some of the info isn't entirely accurate). I believe this is where I first learned about many extra things, particularly for Ys II. Nightwolve and Deuce - They're responsible for creating the English patches for the Complete version of the games, and probably for getting me into the Ys series as much as I am today. Deuce also used to have a website about some stuff in Ys I & II, which is where I initially learned of the bonus food items. Sara - The programmer XSeed hired to help localize the games. She shared with me the unlock conditions for the character mascot "Chun-Lilia", as well as helped clarify the conditions for the Steam achievement "The Hand That Feeds Them" in Ys II. She's been much more helpful than that concerning these games, but I couldn't work much of it into the guide. Johnathan 'Zy' Sawyer - Seeing him work on his guide recently provided some much needed motivation for me to continue work on my own, which had been collecting dust for a couple of years prior - who knows how long this would've taken otherwise. He also helped clarify the conditions for the Ys II Steam achievement "The Hand That Feeds Them". Nunuu - Her guide for Ys Eternal was a big help to me when first going through Ys I (though it unfortunately contains a little bit of misinformation). It's where I learned how to barter with Pim in Ys I, as well as the suggestion to use the Mirror in that narrow enemy-filled hallway of Darm Tower. She also provided some clues about how to unlock a few of the Ys II character mascots. Franzise_D, Wyrdwad, Mehsophilis, SolDaeDra, AR788, MP83, Informed_User - For various contributions concerning how to unlock some of the mascots. XSeed - For localizing these and other Ys games on the PSP and Steam. Falcom - For creating the games in the first place. =p =============================================================================== 9. Contact / Disclaimer =============================================================================== If you wish to contact me concerning this guide, please send me an e-mail at "zarimus@yahoo.com". Comments and criticism are welcome, as are corrections, especially ones concerning gameplay (please double-check these yourself first). Please don't contact me with regards to technical issues trying to run the games, because aside from the couple of things already listed in the guide, chances are I won't be of much help. If you wish to host this on your site, please contact me before doing so. More than likely I'll say yes, so long as you agree to the following: - Don't sell this guide for financial reasons of any kind. - Don't claim this guide as your own work, or otherwise alter it in any way. - Ask for permission before hosting or using this in a public manner. I hope you enjoyed the guide!