CRYSTALIS FAQ Version 2.0 6-25-02 Written By: Superboc (Superboc@hotmail.com) Copyright 2002, Dave Thomas. You may use any part of this FAQ you want to, but I ask that you give me credit, and that you don't change anything. I also ask that you don't try to profit from it, and all that other great stuff that I'm not bothering to mention, but which applies to the law. ----------------------------------------------------------- Version History- Version 1.0- first version of the FAQ. Will cover all of the beginning up to and through the first boss, as well as the swords on the Stuff list and the character stats for the first 3 levels. Version 1.1- first addition to the FAQ. This adds quite a bit, covering up to Mt. Sabre and a little into it. Version 1.2- when I send this to CJayC, it'll have everything covered through Portoa. Version 1.3- this will have information on The Angry Sea and Mt. Hydra. It's been a little while between updates, huh? Version 2.0- first version to have a complete walkthrough. I'll add/change a little more later, but for now, let me gloat. (Oops...did I say there were 14 levels? No, I couldn't have. Of course, there's 16. ^_^;) Oh yeah, on that subject, this version also has a complete, (rather) thorough listing of weapons, shields, and armor, as well as character levels. I might also throw in items later. ----------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Walkthrough a. Leaf Village & Vampire Cave b. Brinmaer Village & Oak Village c. Mt. Sabre d. Portoa Area e. The Angry Sea f. Mt. Hydra g. Goa h. Death Desert i. The Tower III. Stuff List a. Swords b. Armor and Shields c. Items IV. Character Stats V. Thanks ----------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Before I start to write this walkthrough, I should warn the reader, this is my first FAQ. I should also warn you that it's very difficult to describe where a person has to go because a lot of the scenery in this game stays the same all the way around. This is going to sound rude, and I'm sorry, but I refuse to answer any questions that I know are easily found in the FAQ. Just look for them. Anyway, this is a great RPG for the NES, one of the greatest RPG's on the system. The only problem it has is that it's a little unbalanced; you might have to kill upwards of 100 enemies at a time just to level up your character, unless you're way behind. ----------------------------------------------------------- II. Walkthrough Leaf Village & Vampire Cave The game begins when you step out of a machine. I guess it's a freezing chamber you wake from; not sure, though. Doesn't matter. You step out, and in the next scene, you see a man run from you in fear. Follow him and you'll immediately enter Leaf Village. LEAF VILLAGE Stores: Items shop, Armor Shop, Inn Important Stuff: Talk to village elder for Sword of Wind, talk to man in northeast hut for money When you enter the village, you will see several people. Talk to them if you want; it's not that important. Visit every house that doesn't have a sign above it right away. In the northeasternmost hut a man sits who will give you $100, saying it's a gift from the wise man Zebu. Nice guy, huh? In the hut to the northwest (it seems to have an orange addition to it on the side) you will find the village elder, who will tell you that you are the world's last hope as he gives you your first sword, the Sword of Wind. Talk to the girl who's walking around in the same hut, and you discover that there's a broken down windmill nearby. Now visit the armor shop, the building to the southwest, which has an image of a shield above it. Buy the carapace shield for $80 and equip it when you leave. Now leave town and get ready to fight. OUTSIDE LEAF You're in an open field. Walk around. You'll encounter tigers and blue blobs. They aren't that tough to beat; just charge up your sword (hold the "B" button) and fire repeatedly until they die. Always pick up the money they leave behind. You can find three landmarks here: a cave to the west, a bridge that leads north to another cave, and the windmill mentioned earlier. Visit the western cave to talk to Zebu. He'll tell you to activate the windmill and that if you do, he'll give you some magic. Hang out in the field, fighting monsters and collecting money, until you've earned $150. This works out nicely because you're likely to level up at least once; maybe twice, depending on how many blue blobs you kill. Head back south to Leaf and buy the Tanned Hide you didn't buy earlier, as well as an alarm flute in the item shop. Now head north to the bridge, cross it, and enter the cave. Inside, follow it until you reach a fork, which leads either to the left or up. Go up. You'll see a sleeping man. Use the alarm flute to awaken him. He'll give you the windmill key, and mention a strange ball that can break rock walls. Now go back to the fork and follow the left path. You'll come out right next to the windmill. Go inside, then walk up to the key hole and put the key in. Now leave, and you'll see a new cave opening up. Just head for the new cave. Just as you reach it, Zebu's voice will tell you that he will teach you Refresh, the first magic spell. Go inside the cave and follow the path. The enemies here are slightly stronger than in the first area, but they're still not bad. Also, they're worth 2 EXP, not 1, so you'll level up faster from here on. After a while, you come to a fork where the path up leads to a gray dead end. Obviously, you have to head to the right. This leads to two doorways. Take the top one first to face an easy, optional battle against a rock-dude (technical term) for some warp boots, as well as a ton of EXP and money. It's worth it. On the second path, you come to a four way intersection. Explore down first, and you'll get a medical herb, which can heal you. Then explore right, heading down first. You'll find the Ball of Wind. This is a very important item in this cave. Remember what the sleepy guy said? This is what he was talking about. You have to equip it to use it, but it allows you to charge your sword to level 2, which makes an even more powerful blast, strong enough to take out rock walls! Head up immediately afterward, and break the rock wall. Behind it you'll find an antidote. This'll be useful if you're hit by one of the red blobs here, because they cause poison, which is relieved by an antidote. Head back to the first rock wall you saw, and break it. Behind it is a two way intersection. The left path leads to an easy-to-get Medical Herb, the right leads to the boss, a vampire-type dude. BOSS: Vampire This guy's not the hardest boss in the game by far, but he's no pushover either. He makes two bats which both try to fly at you. He also vanishes into thin air, then reappears in a different place. You can fight the bats all day, but it won't do anything. Instead, try to charge up your sword to level 2 and hit the vampire himself. The more he's been hit, the less time he sits around before vanishing again. About 6-8 hits should do it, depending on your level. After you beat him, you can pick up the rabbit boots from the chest he leaves behind. Leave out the top of the screen, follow the path, and break the rock wall to open up the path to the exit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brinmaer Village and Oak Village BRINMAER VILLAGE Stores: Items Shop, Armor Shop, Pawn Shop, Inn, Bar Important Stuff: Talk to Akahana Head south from the cave until you see the opening to the west. This is Brinmaer Village, the second city in the game. Once inside, the first thing you'll see is a man standing right in front of the entrance. Talk to him and he'll introduce himself as Akahana. He lost his statue, and he wants you to find it. Don't go yet, though. First, look around town. If you need to, stop at the inn for $20. If you have $140 lying around, you can buy Leather Armor from the Armor shop. You can also buy a Bronze shield for $220. You can also sell your current equipment for half of what you paid for it. You should have enough money to buy the Leather armor after you sell off the Tanned Hide. You'll never wear the Tanned hide again anyway, since the Leather armor is better. Now talk to all the people in the village, and they'll foreshadow later events in the game for you. OUTSIDE BRINMAER You'll need to find Akahana's statue to move on. Head north along the river and cross the bridge, but watch out for the brown stuff. Once you've crossed the bridge, head west and walk around in the tall grass until you find the Statue of Onyx. BE WARNED! The enemies in this area are MUCH, MUCH HARDER than in the last. They take 3 shots to kill at level 4, and throw axes at you. Cross the bridge again, and go back to Brinmaer. Give the statue to Akahana and he'll reward you with a gas mask. Some gift, huh? Well it comes in handy later. Leave Brinmaer if there's nothing new you want to buy. I advise that you try to level up until you're at level 5 right now, for safety's sake. Go back across the bridge, but head east this time. See that brown spot that you can't seem to get around? Put on the rabbit boots and press A to jump. You can jump over the pit and take minimal damage! Avoid the blue mushroom-thingys in the next area; you can't hurt them yet, but they can hurt you. If you head north from here, you'll jump over another pit, only to be told at the far north that you "can't climb this yet!" Instead, head east. Before you exit this screen, though, equip your gas mask. OAK FOREST AND OAK VILLAGE Stores: Item Shop, Inn Important Stuff: get the Sword of Fire here This has got to be one of the most frustrating parts of the game early on. Oak forest is a dark place where there are vicious monsters. You have to travel through this place to reach Oak village, though, so it's a necessary evil. From the entrance, follow this path: right, up, right, up. This will take you through the maze to Oak village. Watch for any enemies along the way; they're really bad here. Once inside Oak village, walk around. You'll notice that all the people in the village tell you the same exact thing: "Go in peace." They aren't friendly in Oak village. That's okay. Head back out, all the way back to Brinmaer village, and stay at the inn if you need to. From Brinmaer, go north until you've found an opening in the mountains. Follow it and you'll find a house. There are two men inside the house. One introduces himself as Tornel, the other as his trainee, Stom. They test your skill, as you fight Stom. If you hit the B button rapidly enough and if you're at a high enough level (I gained experience until I had 250 experience on level 5), he's not hard to beat, and when you do beat him, Tornel teaches you the telepathy spell. Now it's time to head back to Oak. When you get there, go into the house to the southwest. The person there says their child has been missing since he went into the forest. You have to find him. The other people in the village also say different things, now, but they're not very nice. The kid is hiding in a corner of Oak forest and isn't easy to find, unless you cover the entire area. From Oak, go down as far as possible, then right, then down again. You'll find the kid, who you must then lead back to Oak. When you enter Oak, the kid returns to his house. Follow him and talk to his parent. (S)he'll give you the insect flute, which you'll need soon enough. Now go to the village elder for the real reward. He'll ask you to kill a giant monster, which can't attack their village because of a certain item they have. Then he gives you the item: The Sword of Fire, the second sword in the game. You'll notice this sword's power almost immediately if you fight enemies. Now, let's go get the Ball of Fire so we can get its level 2 attack. Remember that monster? Well, now you have to find it and fight it. From Oak, go down, take the first path to the right, and follow it all the way, until your screen is half blue, half black. Use the insect flute. You'll summon the boss. BOSS: Giant Insect Another vicious creature you really don't want to mess with. This thing shoots poison out of its mouth. It also has one of those annoying bugs you see in the forest helping it. The bug can't be killed, so don't bother. Equip the Sword of Fire if you already haven't. You have to shoot the monster's mouth when it isn't shooting its poison at you. This takes good timing. By the seventh shot, he should be dead. After he dies, he'll give you the Ball of Fire. Head back to Oak, where everyone has totally changed their opinion of you. Rest if you need to, and head back to Brinmaer. You're about to climb a mountain. PLEASE NOTE: The Inn in Oak village costs twice as much as the one in Brinmaer. If you think you can possibly make it back to Brinmaer w/o dying, do so, as you'll save $20 in the process! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mt. Sabre OUTSIDE MT. SABRE You might want to level up, but it's not important yet. The enemies you'll face on the mountain aren't incredibly difficult, but you'll probably switch swords quite a bit. In fact, I'll get this out of the way right now. Whenever you're outside, have the Sword of Fire equipped. Whenever you're inside, have the Sword of Wind equipped, unless you need to break an ice wall. ON MT. SABRE You should start you trip up the mountain by going to the southwest corner of the Brinmaer-Oak area. Follow the path until you see the ground in front of you moving slightly. This is a zombie from the mountain. They're good for experience and they don't fight back (much), so they're great targets, but they take a couple shots to kill. Anyway, this zombie is in the middle of a fork in the road. Take the right fork and enter the cave. You can fight the monsters here if you want, or you can just avoid them. Go up the staircase- type-thingy. Recognize the music? It's the same song that played when you talked to Zebu in the cave outside of Leaf. Remember the ice wall behind Zebu? Now you can break it with your Sword of Fire. Do so and talk to Zebu. He tells you to return to Leaf. When you get there, you'll notice that everyone is missing except for a dog in the addition to the wise man's house (the one where you got the Sword of Wind). He'll inform you that evil people attacked and took everyone away. It's your job to get them back. Head back the way you came, all the way out to the fork in the road where you went right, but go left this time. Follow the path, and be careful to avoid the ice slopes when they're on both sides. You can't climb these. You can, however, climb the one immediately after them if you're wearing rabbit boots. Do so and follow the path along the bridge into the cave. When you're inside, break the ice wall, go around the circle (it's a squared circle, both directions of the fork lead the same place), and break the second ice wall. Behind this wall, you get the Tornado Bracelet, which allows you to charge the Sword of Wind up to level 3, but costs MP to use. Head back outside. Once outside, cross the bridge, slide down the hill, and go left. This path eventually leads to another cave. Inside the cave, you come to a fork rather early. Go left first. Use the Sword of Fire in this part of the cave; you'll only face a few enemies that're invulnerable to it anyway, and you have to break the ice walls. At the end of the path, you'll find Warp Boots. Travel back and take the other path. At the end, you'll reach a staircase. Take it and at the first branch, the left path is short and offers a Medical Herb. When you take the right path, after breaking the ice wall, go right again to reach a staircase. Take it, then go up at the first fork. After a few segments, you'll meet Tornel again outside. He'll teach you Teleport this time, which allows you to travel between areas very quickly at the cost of MP. You'll also get a Magic Ring outside. Head back to the vertical fork and go down this time. It leads outside, to an area similar to the one you were in when you first started climbing Mt. Sabre. As you look around, you'll notice the ice sheet, which you'll have to slide down. Remember that bridge? Yep, you guessed it. You're back in the beginning. You've made a full circuit, which means you can leave now. Get out of there and head back to Brinmaer to rest if you need to. I recommend it; Mt. Sabre isn't done yet, and the enemies are no laughing matter in the next part. MT. SABRE NORTH First, let me say this: level up to level 6 if you haven't already. The enemies in this area can't be hurt unless you're at level 6 or higher, so level up before coming here. Remember when you went to the far northern part of the map near Oak? That voice said you wouldn't make it? Well, apparently, you will now. Go there and follow the path up Mt. Sabre. Visit the inn and talk to everyone. One person mentions someone from Brinmaer climbing the mountain. Remember that; it becomes important in a minute. Now go outside and head left. Just a bit outside the inn, you'll meet the man you talked to in the bar in Brinmaer. He's hurt, and mentions that some people captured him and put him to work, as well as people from Leaf. Then he dies. Continue going left and you'll eventually meet two guards standing in front of a doorway. They talk about how they're forcing the Leaf villagers to work, and they even say "Long live the Draygonia Empire!" Walk up to them and try to talk; they'll attack you. Don't bother trying to beat them, just slip inside while they go berserk. Go up the long hallway, then go through the stairway. After this, you can go left and get an Antidote or down to continue. From here, it doesn't matter how you go; you'll end up in a hallway that has two staircases, one right above and off to the left of the other. Go to the top one. The guards in this part aren't easy. I suggest you avoid them, but if you really want to fight them, it pays well - they're worth 25 EXP each. When you're outside again, just head right and go in the first cave you see. Break each ice wall in this hallway. You'll be in a "holding pen" for Leaf residents. Pass by the first pen and go to the second one instead. Each pen has its own ice wall in the back, which has an area behind it. The second one is important, as it has the Key to the Prison hidden behind it. Behind the first one is a hallway that leads outside. Once outside, go up the staircase. Be prepared; the boss is ahead. BOSS: General Kelbesque This guy isn't easy at all. He claims to be one of Draygonia's "finest four". Whatever. Here's the problem: YOU CAN'T EVEN HURT HIM UNLESS YOU'RE AT LEVEL 7! Not even a bit, not even from your very strongest attack. He doesn't get hurt unless you're at level 7 or higher. How do you beat him then? Just load up your Sword of Wind, prepare a few shots of level 3 tornadoes, and let him have it. He'll come back by stamping the ground, which sends stuff flying at you. Just avoid it, and avoid running into him, as he can easily come very close to you. AT ALL COSTS avoid getting cornered, as he loves to trap you. If you run out of MP, you can also hurt him with a level 1 or 2 shot, but it's not as easy to aim. After you beat Kelbesque, he flees and leaves the Flame Bracelet behind. That's not all, though. Use the Prison Key to open up the locked door at the top of the screen. Inside is the village Elder, who tells you to proceed through the cave to the city of Portoa. The queen there should be able to help you. Just before you reach the exit, someone teaches you Paralysis, which will come in handy inside Portoa. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Portoa PORTOA VILLAGE This place is referred to as the Capitol of Water, and it shows. From the cave, just head southwest and cross the bridge, and you'll end up in Portoa itself. PORTOA Stores: Item Shop, Armor Shop, Inn, Pawn Shop Important Stuff: talk to queen and fortune teller repeatedly; freeze guard in palace when you're not welcome and he's not blocking the door to open up the back room You can refresh and everything here, but for now, there's only one major thing you have to do; first, visit the queen. See what she has to say. Then, visit the fortune teller. She'll allow you to visit the queen by saying the palace will be open for you. Here's the thing: in order to keep moving, you have to visit the Queen's chamber WHILE SHE ISN'T IN IT. The people in the palace talk a lot about how she disappears. When this happens, the guard standing at her door blocks it off from you if you get too close w/o talking to the fortune teller first. Here's what you do. Visit the Queen and talk to her, but then don't visit the fortune teller. Just go back inside the castle immediately after leaving, then equip your new Paralysis magic and freeze the guard that would otherwise move in front of the door. You can now freely visit the door on the Queen's chamber's right hand side. Nothing inside though - yet. Go back out, visit the fortune teller, and visit the Queen again. This time, she'll give you the Flute of Lime and tell you about a waterfall with a cave behind it. If you explored the area rather than visiting Portoa immediately, you know which waterfall I'm talking about. From Portoa, head east as far as possible, then north as far as possible. WATERFALL CAVE Inside the cave, just follow the path early on. Don't even bother fighting, as the enemies here are immune to both fire and wind. When you come to a 4- way intersection, go right. AVOID GOING LEFT OR UP because there's a vicious enemy there that likes to poison you. Follow the path to the right and continue until you meet two statues blocking your path. Use the Flute of Lime to return their bodies to normal and continue into the next area. Watch out here, because you'll meet Medusas, who can turn you to stone if they shoot you. Fortunately, they're not very fast or smart, but you can't hurt them yet. Take a right at the first fork in the road. Follow this path and you will eventually come across a river you can't get over. Go up its shore instead, break the ice wall, and the Sword of Water is inside a treasure chest. Equip it, and you can finally hurt all the enemies in this cave. Which is good, considering Medusas are worth 50 EXP and $50! You can level up quite a bit here if you want to. Head back and take the left direction at the fork in the Medusa area. Just follow this path, and after the stairway, go up the first chance you get. You'll see a familiar (hopefully) face, only he's frozen in stone. Yep, it's Akahana. You have to revive him like you did earlier to the other two guys, by using the Flute of Lime. Problem is, you don't have one. Go back and turn right this time instead of up. This is the other side of the river where you got the Sword of Water. Go up and you'll find another Flute of Lime. Use it to revive Akahana, and he'll give you a Shield Ring, which will double your shield rating for the rest of the game when you have it equipped. Now you can leave the cave or do some serious leveling-up. It's up to you. Back in Portoa, the fortune-teller informs you that someone is waiting in a lake to the south. Best not keep them waiting, right? Head south across the bridge from Portoa, then west, then back north when you change screens. In the next area, you'll talk to Rage, who happens to be carrying the Ball of Water. Pick it up, and equip it. Rage mentions someone waiting inside the tree behind him. Power up a level 2 water shot and watch what it does to the water. You can use this power to freeze certain parts of rivers that are a certain distance apart. Inside the tree, you'll talk to Mesia. She has almost nothing really important to say; just leave after you talk to her and head back to Portoa. Head back to the palace. In the room behind the Throne room, see that part where the bubbles in the water reach across to each other? You can freeze this water and then cross it. Cross it, then freeze the next area, then enter the crack on the far wall. In here, the Queen will reveal herself as Asina, one of three wise men who will help you. She teaches you Recover magic, which cures your status ailments, and promises to teach you Barrier magic if you eliminate the whirlpools from the Angry Sea. Beyond this part, you can talk to a dolphin that seems to need an herb to heal it. An ordinary Medical Herb is all it needs, and in return, it'll give you a Shell Flute, which you'll use later. Leave the palace, leave Portoa, and head east. Freeze the river, cross it, and enter the cave on the other side. INSIDE THE CAVE The Fog Lamp is in here, but so are a lot of enemies that can't be hurt by the Sword of Wind. Just your luck, since you've got to use it to break the rock walls in here. Take the first right, then go down, then from there, I'm sorry but I simply can't remember. This place is a veritable maze. If you explore every path thoroughly, you'll find the Fog Lamp. Work your way back out of the cave, but explore up at the first fork and you'll find a Lysis Plant. When you're satisfied with this cave's completion, head back out and south, across the swamp, through the mountain pass, and along the river. There's another cave across this river. There are lots of different enemies in this cave. The blue mushrooms can be beaten with the Sword of Fire. Any purple enemies can be, too, (except purple dragons) but the Sword of Wind also works on them. If you go through the entire cave, you will eventually arrive at an unusual opening. In the northeast corner of this place, you can find a patch of flowers, in which lies a Kirisa Plant. Save it for now (although come to think of it, you can only use it in one place, so it doesn't matter anyway!) PORTOA Back in Portoa, head to the far west, where you'll find a solitary house on the waterfront with a boat sitting on a dock to the side of it. Go inside and give the person who says, "We're not open, go away!" the Fog Lamp. In return, he'll give you access to the boat. Congratulations! You've finished off the Portoa area! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Angry Sea DEPARTURE FROM PORTOA Hopefully by now you have the Shell Flute and access to the boat. If not, you've got to get both. First, get on the boat on the western side of Portoa. The boat will automatically take you to a watch-house right on the beach. Inside, talk to Kensu, who has lost something. Next, use the Shell Flute. It will call the dolphin you healed earlier, and now you can ride on his back! Feel free to explore your surroundings. Directly to the north, there is an island with a cave on its southern side: inside the cave is the village of Joel. JOEL VILLAGE Shops: Item Shop, Inn Important Stuff: none, yet...later, though In Joel, the main thing you can do is buy items, rest at the inn, and gather information. Apparently, someone came from the next village asking for a sacrifice, and Mesia volunteered. Leave Joel for now, and explore to your west. First, you should notice a lighthouse on Joel's western side, and a cave to access it. Along the southern shore of this area, you can find a cave, which leads back into Portoa, coincidentally to the Queen's chamber. To the north of this, there is another island, with another cave -- this time into a sort of dungeon. The enemies here are great for EXP, though -- 160 each, and they don't even really fight back. North of this island, you'll find what's blocking your path: a waterfall with an opening between two rocks, which is blocked by a whirlpool. You'll have to stop the whirlpool to advance. You can also find an altar of sorts between these two land (sea?)-marks. SEA CAVE This place is fairly tricky. You have to walk on one side or the other of a river, occasionally freezing the water with the Sword of Water in order to move forward. However, some of the enemies are invulnerable to water (such as the red mushrooms), so you'll be switching swords rather often. At the first fork (when you first find water), head down and follow this path until you can leave the watery area. You'll come to a four-way intersection, but the choice is easy; to the right, there's a dead-end, and to the left and down both head back to the water. So, go up. Behind the wall, you'll find a Magic Ring. Continuing along the path, you'll come to another area with a stone wall. Behind this is a staircase. Explore the next area to the west and you'll find an Iron Necklace; to the east, there as a moving platform. Time this carefully, as it's easy to fall. Across this pit, you'll find a Lysis Plant, and a staircase to a very odd area. In one of the torn-up houses, you'll find Clark, a man who was mentioned repeatedly in Joel. He warns you of Sabera, a woman sorcerer who turned this town's residents into zombies. To the north of this, you'll find a weird castle. Inside, you'll recognize some Draygonian soldiers. Head left, then up, and you'll find a Fruit of Power at the end of the path. Heading right brings you into a battle with the Vampire from the cave you traveled through to get to Brinmaer earlier. BOSS: Vampire Not very difficult. His bats are invulnerable this time around, so you have no choice but to try to avoid them. With a little skill, it's not too hard. When he's dead, he drops another Fruit of Power. In the next area, first head left, then right at the first fork, and across a pit of spikes (use your rabbit boots), you'll get a Medical Herb. Go down, instead of right, and you'll come to an unusual situation: Mesia stands there, warning you about a sorcerer in the next room. In the next room, you'll find a pit, with ANOTHER Mesia standing there, claiming to be the real one. If you already went through the room and found the real Mesia, you'll have to drop in the pit; there's no other way out. Otherwise, you can fight the fake one. How? By attacking her with fire. After attacking three times, she'll transform into Sabera. BOSS: Sabera Another one of Draygonia's "finest four". Like Kelbesque, you have to be at a certain level (in this case, level 11) to beat her. Her attack isn't that difficult to avoid; she moves slowly, and shoots attacks in a wave around herself that you can outrun. She's also rather weak; 4 or 5 well-placed level 3 fire attacks is all it should take to beat her. The trick is to avoid her attacks, and still manage to send some of your own. When Sabera departs, she takes Mesia with her, but leaves the Broken Statue. Also, the town she messed up is back to (relative) normal. Talk to Clark again, and he'll give you the Eye Glasses. You can also get some hints as to what else to do in this area. For instance, a man tells you, "A legend says that if the Statue of Gold is placed properly, we can return from any storm." Another person mentions an altar to the Statue of Gold, and tells you that it's on an island. Remember that? Yet another person tells you that a glowing lamp is in the lighthouse, which can fix things. WRAPPING UP If you haven't put two and two together by now, you have to fix the Broken Statue with the Glowing Lamp in the lighthouse, then place it on the altar to stop the whirlpool. Teleport back to Joel, where everyone is eager to congratulate you. In the orange shed on the side of the elder's house, use the Eye Glasses to reveal a secret door. (How one could miss a door that big is beyond me.) The door leads to the lighthouse, where Kensu has fallen asleep. Buy an Alarm Flute from the Item shop and use it to wake him up. After cursing you for waking him up, he'll leave behind the Glowing Lamp. Use it right away to fix the Broken Statue, then head for the island with the altar. Place the statue on the altar, and check the passage between the rocks. You can move through it, now. As you do so, a voice teaches you Barrier, and tells you that the Wise Men are headed for Shyron in Mt. Hydra. Head east along the shore, and you'll come to a beach. Beyond the beach is the town of Swan, and the end of the Angry Sea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mt. Hydra SWAN Stores: Item Shop, Armor Shop, Inn, Bar, Pawn Shop Important Stuff: Talk to Stom, then track down Kensu to learn Change Swan is a nice city, but the prices are pretty high. First, talk to Stom. He's in the shed next to the Item shop. He'll tell you to find Kensu. At this point, upon using Telepathy, you can get some clues: first, Kensu has changed form, and second, you can find his true form by using Paralysis on him. The first form of Kensu is in the bar, disguised as the only Draygonian soldier that isn't moving. When you hit him with Paralysis, he says, "Shoot!" and vanishes. His second form is in the unmarked building at the far eastern side of Swan. If you visit this building before you start your Kensu hunt, it's easy to spot him as the new guy. He's the one that says, "Many thanks for your promise," in case you didn't bother. This time he asks you to find his pendant, which is in an underground river. Use Telepathy again, and you can learn that he thinks it's in a channel behind a palace. He's referring to the palace at Portoa. You'll find the pendant in the water if you explore thoroughly. Teleport or use some other method of travel (across the Angry Sea, for instance) to get back to Swan, and return the Love Pendant. He'll teach you Change, which allows you to assume various different forms. It comes in handy right away. He also tells you to travel to Mt. Hydra. First, though, let's take a detour. Teleport back to Brinmaer and stay at the Inn there to replenish your MP. You could stay elsewhere, but hey, it's $20 - you won't find a much better deal. From Brinmaer, head east until you find the river, then head south along its shore. You'll spot an area that can be frozen by the Sword of Water. Do so, cross it, and explore. To the south, you'll find the city of Amazones. Remember the lady in Brinmaer who mentioned a city inhabited by only women? This is it. AMAZONES Stores: Item Shop, Armor Shop, Inn Important Stuff: Blizzard Bracelet in Aryllis' house Talk to some people. They hate you. After all, you're a man. The Armor shop has the Sacred Shield, if you can afford it. I advise against buying it, though; in a short while you'll be able to get it for about $3000 less. There are two ways into Aryllis' house: Paralysis on the front guard (which will get you ejected if you talk to Aryllis), or Changing into a woman. Also, an added notice: if you talk to the people, they're really nice to you as a woman. A little discussion with the guards will reveal that Aryllis is interested in the Kirisa Plant, which you conveniently have. Give it to her and you will receive the Bow of Moon. Teleport back to Swan. Change comes in handy immediately. To the west of Swan, a pair of Draygonians guard a gate. If you Change into a Draygonian, they let you through. To the south of this new area, you'll find the desert, but you're not interested in that yet, nor are you interested in Mt. Hydra to the west. To the north is the fortress of Goa, which is guarded by Draygonian archers. GOA Stores: Item Shop, Inn, Bar Important Stuff: Nothing yet In Goa, you'll notice that almost all the doors are blocked by Draygonian guards. On the northern wall, you'll find Kensu, telling you to go to Mt. Hydra. Why'd we stop in Goa, then? So we'd be able to Teleport back here later, just in case. MT. HYDRA There are two paths to take here, eventually: one goes up, and one goes left. Take the left path. There are no enemies here, so don't worry about that. At the end of the path, you'll find something very similar to Mt. Sabre: a gate being guarded by two people. These guys won't attack you, though. They tell you that this is the gate to Shyron, in fact, but they can't let strange people in. Solution? Change into Stom. They know him. SHYRON Stores: Item Shop, Armor Shop, Inn Important Stuff: Learn about Sword of Thunder and get Key to Styx from Zebu Not much here. An Inn, which costs more than you really need to spend; after all, you can Teleport back to Leaf, stay there for $16, and get the same treatment, minus about 20 MP. Small loss compared to $134. Akahana explains that his hometown, Goa, has changed too much for his comfort. Stom has some...encouraging news. Tornel mentions an armor that is causing devastating losses. Most importantly, Zebu orders you to climb to the top of Mt. Hydra, open the Gate of Styx, and retrieve the Sword of Thunder. The other significant thing is in the Armor Shop: everything is cheaper than it was in Swan and Amazones. If you're going to buy armor or a shield, do it here. Return to that fork in the road from earlier, and head up this time. The enemies in this area are tough; in the caves, they swing maces at you, and outside, there are puddles which can poison you, and which are only occasionally damageable. Inside the first cave, turn right to find a Fruit of Lime, and turn left to progress. Stay outside. If you explore the outside area enough, you'll find a staircase leading to a gate. That's the Gate of Styx that Zebu mentioned. (If you want, you can also explore the caves; the reward is a Magic Ring and a ton of EXP.) STYX First, activate Barrier and use it to slip through the shots. Be quick, because it uses quite a bit of MP. Go to the left, and you'll find a guy guarding the way. He's easy to kill; go to the top of the screen and blast away. He won't be able to touch you. Follow the path along the river of stuff, and you'll eventually reach the second floor. Take the first right, and use your Rabbit Boots to jump across the pit of spikes. To the right side of the pit, you'll find the Sword of Thunder. Immediately, you're congratulated and warped to the temple of Azteca, where everyone explains the finer points of the plot for you. ('bout time.) Equip the Sword of Thunder and witness its awesome power. For now at least, there's nothing else you can do on Mt. Hydra. Move on to Goa. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goa THE CITY OF GOA Stores: Item Shop, Inn, Bar Important Stuff: Travel north to the top of the city, into the fortress behind it. You'll have to use Barrier again, like you did earlier. At the end of this path, a voice will try to summon you back to Shyron, which is under attack. Go there to help. At Shyron, you're too late. Everyone is dead or dying. Akahana mentions an item that his friend in Goa has, Stom warns you about Mado (who is "more treacherous than the other three", as he puts it), and upon entering the temple of Azteca, you will be attacked by Mado. BOSS: Mado Your new Sword of Lightning is worthless against him. Use the Sword of Water instead, but watch out for his attack. Speaking of which, he rolls around the screen rather quickly, then throws ninja stars at you. After about a dozen shots at level 3, he'll die. Mado leaves the Ball of Thunder behind. Pick it up and return to Goa. Return to the hall you were in before, and this time, use a level 2 Thunder shot to break down the iron wall. In the next room, head to the far left corner, then onto the second floor, then east, staying on the second floor. Eventually you'll encounter General Kelbesque again. BOSS: General Kelbesque This guy was rather difficult the first time around. This time, he's arguably worse. It seems he can take more of your level 3 wind attack than before, and his new beam attack is quite effective. It's still avoidable, though. After you defeat Kelbesque, you will come across Zebu. He'll recover your strength. In the next area, you'll find a river similar to the one in Styx. Stick to the path, heading up from the start, and don't freeze any bridges, and you'll find a Fruit of Power on a nearby path. Explore further, and you will find a path which leads ultimately to Sabera. BOSS: Sabera Poor Sabera. She wasn't that hard the first time, right? This time she's even easier. She still moves slowly, she's still extremely susceptible to fire, and she still does more or less the same attack. After you beat her, you pick up the Fruit of Repun. Behind her chamber, you'll find Tornel, who will once again regenerate your HP and MP. The third floor is rather simple. Explore to the far left or right, and of course, the middle path leads to an Opal Statue. The left side leads to a ton of EXP in the form of the spiders you fight; the right leads to the next area. The fourth floor is also fairly straightforward; follow the path, be careful on the moving platforms, and eventually you'll reach Mado again. BOSS: Mado This is not easy. Mado has gotten a whole lot faster, and a whole lot deadlier. If you're not at level 14, you can't even touch him. Be sure before you enter the battle that you've got full HP and MP; otherwise, you're going to have a hard time. When you beat him, he'll drop a Sacred Shield. (Not bad, eh?) Beyond Mado's chamber, you'll find Asina, who will once again heal you. She'll also warn you about Karmine, the last of Draygonia's finest four. Continue on to the next floor, which has some rather difficult enemies. After this, you'll find an area similar to the first part of Goa, where you have to use Barrier once again. Immediately after this, you face Karmine. BOSS: Karmine Considering your last fight with Mado, Karmine isn't actually that difficult. On his own, though, he is formidable. He shoots fireballs in random directions, which bounce off the walls. Dodge these and charge up level 2 Thunder shots. The most convenient thing about this is, since you're only using level 2, you don't burn MP, so you can use it to heal. And believe me, you'll want to. Karmine's fireballs are powerful. After the battle, Karmine leaves behind an Ivory statue. Behind this, though, is the Storm Bracelet. Take it and head out the way you came. Go back down from this staircase and take the first left. In the next area, you'll find a blue blob. Approach it, and it will tell you that it's actually Kensu, and that he was hit by Karmine. Give him the Ivory Statue to fix this problem, and he will teach you Flight, and tell you to head for the Pyramid. Go out the backdoor, and use Flight to jump over the water. You'll come out in the middle of Death Desert. We can proceed from here, but it's advisable to backtrack and collect some good stuff on Mt. Hydra. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Back to Mt. Hydra MT. HYDRA This'll only take a moment, I promise, and it's really important. First, go back to Styx, and take the first right. Follow that path and use Flight to jump over that river. On the other side are three chests: two fakes, and one with the Psycho Shield, the best shield in the game. Head back out of Styx, and then take the right fork in the road. Follow this path, use Flight to jump over the gap, and pick up the Bow of Sun. From here, you can teleport back to Swan, stop in an inn, and get ready for Death Desert. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Death Desert TO THE CAVE Zebu advises you (if you use Telepathy) to head to Death Desert now. From Swan, head west, then south. You'll find the desert. Right now, all that brown stuff is poisonous, but you can walk along the outside if you're careful. Keep walking along the path to the left of the entrance until you find an oasis. The oasis has a big staircase. Enter that staircase. THE CAVE This place is HORRIBLE. The entire thing is one big maze with a pair of enemies who won't leave you alone and are hard to kill. Anyway... To the right, you'll find another staircase. You can't do anything else, so go there first. Follow the path up, and pass the freezable area, continuing on a path, and you'll find Leather Boots, which allow you to walk on the desert. In here, you can also find a Fruit of Power, and the Power Ring. Once you have these three things, you can leave the cave and heal. DEATH DESERT Now that you have the Leather Boots, you can travel through Death Desert without taking damage. Find another cave, this one blocked by two whirlpools, and use Flight to enter it. You'll come out in the town of Sahara. SAHARA Shops: Item Shop, Pawn Shop, Inn Important Stuff: Talk to Deo as Stom to get Deo's Pendant You want to get Deo's Pendant. Believe me, you do. It automatically recovers your MP while you stand still. With a little patience, and if you can find a good spot with no enemies, you can prevent yourself from ever dying without ever needing an Inn again. There's not much else to do here; head east into the next cave. Upon traveling through this cave (it's a short cave), you'll come to another area of the desert. Right in front of you is the pyramid you're headed for. PYRAMID This is the most frustrating area yet. Everything looks alike, and there's almost no way to tell where you're going. All I can tell you is, go up different paths, through doors, until you find a door that leads to a 3-way intersection (as opposed to a 4-way intersection). The ultimate goal is to find a staircase directly above this intersection. It isn't even recessed into the wall like the rest; it's just directly attached. Inside the door, you'll meet Emperor Draygon. BOSS: Emperor Draygon This guy is surprisingly easy. Equip your Power Ring and hit him with level 3 Thunder blasts as often as possible. Get on one side of him to avoid his shots, and be ready to heal; when he charges you, he does lots of damage. With the Power Ring equipped, Draygon is almost nothing. The battle won't even take 30 seconds. Afterwards, he drops the Psycho Armor, and you fall into a pit. At the bottom of the pit is a wounded Azteca, who gives you the Bow of Truth and tells you to help Mesia, by traveling through the basement of the pyramid. At this point, you should never die again in the game. With the Psycho equipment and Deo's Pendant, you can regenerate from anything. Just to be absolutely sure, though, you should level up to level 16 if you haven't already. It won't take long; the enemies give over a thousand EXP each, after all. I recommend the cave between Sahara and the Pyramid. The enemies there are particularly easy to beat, and are worth about 1400 EXP each. PYRAMID BASEMENT When you're ready, head north of the pyramid, and a little to the east. You'll find a staircase facing north, with two whirlpools blocking it. Fly over the whirlpools and enter the basement. There's nothing here; it's a straight shot to the first challenge. BOSS: Sun Statue, Moon Statue I hesitate to call this a boss battle. All you have to do is use the Bow of Sun and the Bow of Moon, and both statues are destroyed. You don't even have to aim; just use them like any other item, and both are finished. Watch out for the fireballs they shoot, though; they're powerful. If you get low on health, or rather, if you get damaged at all before destroying one, just get rid of one and hide in the corner where it was. The remaining one can't hit you. All in all, if you've read this, you shouldn't take more than 15 seconds beating both of them. After disposing of both statues, a staircase opens up. In the next area, head right. It's the only way to go; every other way is a dead end. After this, you will find a hall with spikes. Equip the Leather Boots here, and cross. Don't bother going left or right; neither way is helpful. Just go straight. The last floor is another left-or-right decision; to the right is an Opal Statue, and to continue, you have to go left. (The pits at the end are rather tricky, so I advise you just Fly over them both.) After this final staircase, it's another showdown with Emperor Draygon. BOSS: Emperor Draygon First, use the Bow of Truth to reveal his true form. He looks like a demon. After that, it gets really, really tough. Aim for his core when he shoots his little laser things at you. It's purple and on his chest; you'll know it when you see it. Hit it with level 3 lightning if you can. However, if you even want to get him to open his core for attack, you have to damage him first. With a Power Ring equipped, he'll take about 3 level 3 lightning shots (that damage the core) to be defeated. Afterwards, you get a short interlude in the plot in which Azteca explains what happened to Draygon originally. Mesia calls you from the tower, and tells you to enter the next room. You do so automatically, and find yourself in the tower. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Tower The final task remaining is a doozy. First, you must ascend the tower. How? By beating enemies. After clearing out a few waves of the mechs on each floor, a staircase opens up. Beware; the second wave is really tough. They can even survive a level 3 thunder blast, as long as they weren't damaged previously. The first floor's staircase explains in a little more detail the relationship between you, Mesia, and the tower. The second is about Azteca. The second staircase is also nice in that it is a safe haven; while on it, nothing will attack you. Use this fact, Deo's Pendant, and the Psycho Armor to your advantage. Another strange phenomenon: since the game only checks whether there are any mechs on YOUR FLOOR, and not anywhere else, if the last mech happens to walk down a staircase, you don't need to beat it to advance. I know it sounds odd and unusual, but it happened to me twice while trying to ascend the tower. Anyway, the tower has five floors, but the last two are no-enemy zones. Inside the door on the fourth floor, you'll find Mesia. She tells you to unsheathe your swords, and when you do so, she gives you Crystalis, a combination of all four. Mesia then tells you to defeat DYNE. Head back outside, to the right, and up the staircase to the final showdown. BOSS: DYNE This is a little tricky. DYNE's core is blue, and just like with Emperor Draygon's true form, you have to hit that to do any damage. Problem is, every time you hit it, the two side guns make sure to hit you in return. Watch your energy, and use the Psycho Armor and Refresh if you need to. DYNE is surprisingly weak; a few shots with Crystalis is more than enough to finish it. After the battle, you stick Crystalis into DYNE. As the self-destruct sequence initializes, Mesia enters the room and talks with you. Both of you evacuate, and the game's ending sequence is shown. ----------------------------------------------------------- III. Stuff List Swords- 1. Sword of Wind- Given to you by the elder in Leaf. Not bad, but they get better. Adds 1 to attack power. Level 1: Small gust of wind. Level 2: Rather large, yellow-green ball. Breaks rock walls. Level 3: Several tornadoes cross the screen from the direction you're facing. Costs MP. 2. Sword of Fire- Given to you by the elder in Oak. Considerably better than Wind Sword. Also kills different enemies that otherwise couldn't be harmed. Adds 2 to attack power. Level 1: Small flame shot crosses screen. Level 2: Several flames cross the screen. Melts ice walls. BENEFIT: You can hit the same enemy twice or even 3 times with one of these shots. Level 3: Circle of flames appears in front of you. Causes absolute chaos on enemies, but costs MP. 3. Sword of Water- Found in a cave behind a waterfall near Portoa. Often the most valuable sword in the game, and the one you'll be switching to the most often, but not because of its power. Adds 4 to attack power. Level 1: Drop of water, not unlike the first two swords. Level 2: A wave crosses the screen. Can freeze certain parts of rivers, allowing you to cross them. Level 3: A wave of snowflakes spreads around you in a circle. Costs MP. 4. Sword of Lightning- Found in a cave. Very powerful sword, and also extremely useful until the very end of the game. Adds 8 to attack power. Level 1: 3 lightning bolts shoot away from you in 3 different directions. Level 2: 7 lightning bolts shoot away from you in 7 different directions. Level 3: Huge lightning bolts hit the ground. Kills almost all enemies, but once again, costs MP. 5. Crystalis- The game's namesake. It'd be really important, too, if you used it against more than just the last guy in the game. Adds 16 to attack power. Level 1: Crystalis' only level. Armor- Name Adds to Armor Rating Other Notes Tanned Hide 2 Leather Armor 6 Bronze Armor 10 Platinum Armor 14 Soldier Suit 18 Ceramic Suit 24 Battle Armor 28 Guards against Poison Psycho Armor 32 Restores HP Automatically Shields- Name Adds to Shield Rating Other Notes Carapice Shield 2 Bronze Shield 6 Platinum Shield 8 Mirrored Shield 12 Guards against Petrify Ceramic Shield 18 Sacred Shield 16 Guards against Paralyze Battle Shield 24 Psycho Shield 32 Guards against Everything (except Poison) ----------------------------------------------------------- IV. Character Stats As you progress through the game, and kill enemies, your character levels up. There are 16 different levels, and each one has an impact on your total stats. Note that the attack and defense ratings assume that you have nothing equipped. Level HP MP Attack Defense(Armor/Shield) EXP to level up 1 48 34 1 (1/1) 30 2 64 34 2 (2/2) 60 3 80 51 3 (3/3) 150 4 96 68 4 (4/4) 300 5 112 85 5 (5/5) 700 6 128 102 6 (6/6) 1200 7 144 119 7 (7/7) 1600 8 160 136 8 (8/8) 3500 9 176 153 9 (9/9) 5800 10 192 170 10 (10/10) 8000 11 208 187 11 (11/11) 10000 12 224 204 12 (12/12) 20000 13 240 221 13 (13/13) 30000 14 255 238 14 (14/14) 40000 15 255 255 15 (15/15) 50000 16 255 255 16 (16/16) 0 ----------------------------------------------------------- V. Thanks Wow, it's basically done. I can't believe I actually wrote it in the first place. Anyway, I'd like to thank a few people. SNK: They made the game, and it is SWEET. No question about it. CJayC: For running GameFAQs. Without him, I would not have even bothered. The reader: If you're reading this, consider yourself thanked. Of course, if you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them. Just e-mail me at Superboc@hotmail.com. I'll probably answer within a day or two.