Date sent: June 18,1997 Approximately 9:30 am From: Steve Edelman or Send reply to: sedelman@gemsmail.att.com or sinkuu@hotmail.com To: gamefaqs@gamefaqs.com Subject: Beyond the Beyond U.S. FAQ ver 2.6 @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ **Beyond The Beyond WalkThrough Guide & FAQ - U.S. Version 2.6** @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ 2.6- added items added APS instructions 2.5.1- corrected spelling rearranged order of events added items @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Credits: Steven Edelman New Jersey (sinkuu@hotmail.com) (I didn't write it, I just updated it) Kevin, Dallas, U.S.A(bossman@ix.netcom.com) Kelvin Fong, Singapore, Southeast Asia(09945234@cyberway.com.sg) Nur Hendra (nur.hendra@cyberjunkie.com) & Last but not least our friend who wrote the first version of this FAQ, Iwata Shoji (siwata@sfsu.edu). Enjoy!! _____ (0) FIRST THINGS FIRST * To see a short video opening, hold UP + TRIANGLE when the Sony Screen comes up. (1) THE VILLAGE OF ISLA * After watching through the introduction & dialog sequence, Galahad will give you a flask. Your very first task will be to obtain the mystic water from the Cave of Spirits near the village. * Be sure to look around in suspicious places where items might be hidden. You'll need as many items as you can find, for you will need them. (2) IN THE CAVE NEAR ISLA * In the cave you will encounter a path that splits into two. The right cave will lead you to the mystic water. The left cave will lead you to the lava pit. Go to the Lava Pit first. * At the lava pit, Annie will be captured by the lava monster. Don't worry. Simply go to the cave w/the mystic water & fill the flask with the water. After doing so, Go back to the lava pit & pour the water into the pit. The monster will release Annie & then give some of the water to Annie as well. Annie will then join your party. * Your task here is done. Head back to the village. (3) BACK IN THE VILLAGE OF ISLA * After watching the little sequence, Annie & Percy will join you. * Your task now is to go find Samson, the legendary warrior, so head towards the town of Marion, to the North. * Be sure to make enough money so that you can restock on weapons/armor & items. (4) MARION * When you enter Marion, walk around, and you will get to watch a little sequence where castle guards are after Samson. * Go into the house to which Samson came out of. Search the desk & a stairway will reveal itself. In the basement, flick the switch & it will trigger a hidden passage into the castle. * Before you go in, be sure to be well stocked on items. * Look around for Items and a Ring in the Graveyard. * In the depths of the dungeons, follow the path until you meet Samson. After the little sequence, he will join you. Follow the path towards the dungeon cells. You will find Edward down in the cell. The key to unlock his cell is located in the next room. Edward will then join you. * Afterwards, another sequence will follow, as the sorceress Ramue will end up casting a curse on Samson. * Go back through the tunnels. (5) BORDER CHURCH/TEMPLE * The Church/Temple structure is located to the far east of Marion. * Look on the right side of the church for a Chest. * In the structure, show the Royal Pendant (the item that you obtained after Edward joined you) to the priest & he will open a path to an underground path. * In order to get to the underground path, you will have to solve the first puzzle of the game. There really is no strategy I can offer regarding the picture puzzle---trial & error is the best method of solving it. * DO NOT GO BACK UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE PUZZLE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (6) UNDERGROUND * Once you have entered the underground path, Percy will soon leave your party & the gate will close behind you. * follow the path & once outside, you will encounter two paths---one leads to the tree puzzle, the other leads to a cave where a golden dragon dwells. Also, before you enter either path, you will also have the option of saving your game at the little house. * Within the cave of the dragon, you will notice that the sleeping dragon is blocking your way. It is intentional & it will not wake up until the very near end of the game. So, don't bother trying to wake it up or finding a way through. * The only option left is to undergo the long tree puzzle. The basic method of solving this puzzle is simply carefully pushing the acorns into the holes & eventually jumping into holes that may lead outside. Because it would simply be too complex to include a map within this posting, you will have to simply rely on, again, trial & error. * Once you have solved the tedious puzzle, head towards the castle of Zalagoon. (7) ZALAGOON Do the obvious (Sleep at an inn, buy Items, Weapons, Armor...) * Find a way to get into the castle so that you can talk to the King & Queen. But, guards are blocking your way. You must soon enter the sewers/well. It will lead to the backyard of the castle. * Go to the bar. You will see a chest that seems inaccessible. It is time to enter the sewers! (8) THE SEWERS *A lot of people think that the best place to enter the sewers is the well by the Inn. SEARCH the well and away you go. * In the sewers, search around. Get accustomed to the paths & get a basic idea of how to get through. Be careful not to slip into the water or you'll be swept back to the entrance. You will find a path that is blocked by a locked gate near the northern part of this maze. **NOTE - The sewers is a difficult maze - it gives a LOT of people trouble, including myself. The Key to the locked gate is in the BAR - You'll have to make your way to the SW area of the sewer where you'll find an entrance leading up to the bar *Tip* "watch for water coming out from the wall but there is no water from the other side of the wall. Just jump in the water and go into the wall, you'll enter that room." Thanks to Nur Hendra . Get the key and make your way back to the locked gate. Use the key and pat yourself on the back. * Follow the path & eventually you will come across a ladder leading to the backyard of the castle. There, you will meet the Queen & Sir Bison. * During the sequence, it will eventually come to a point where Samson will be tested if he is truly the real Samson or an impostor. But, because he is cursed, his incredible strength will be gone, hence, he will fail to raise the column & be accused of being an impostor. * You must now go through the sewers again to get back into the castle again. Once you have reached the backyard, the queen will give Edward a Magic Bean that will be crucial later on. * You will then be told to go to Simone Village to get Samson's curse lifted. On the way to Simone, be SURE to stop by: (9) THE VILLAGE OF OPHERA * This little town is located in a desert far southeast of Zalagoon. There is not much to do here, but it is the first town to offer magic- replenishing potions for your spellcasters. *Talk to the villagers and you'll find that many people mentioned about the ruins in the West. Remember to sleep at the inn before setting off to Arawn's Tower. (10) THE TOWER OF ARAWN * You probably noticed this temple lying in the edge of the desert. You do NOT have to enter it at this point in the game. * The temple not only holds the key to finishing the game, but also is where you will eventually find Arawn. You will first need to find the Moon-Crescent, located deep (and I do mean deep!) within the puzzle of the Tower of Arawn . * However, you can simply pass it by & head down towards the sea port town of Luna, & come back to it later when you are ready. OR you can explore a little and build up your exp. Points. Be careful, though, the monsters here are pretty tough! Whatever you decide, you'll eventually want to head towards LUNA, which is in the Southwest. (11) LUNA * This particular town is one of the most unique towns you will ever come by in the game. During the daylight, it does not seem as much, but by nighttime (which you'll get to later in the game), it is a party saloon for the villagers!!! * Here's a good Luna tip by nur.hendra@cyberjunkie.com: "This is my own 'trick' but when I need gold (early in the game), I fought monsters until I got, maybe, 5000 to 10000 gold. Then, on LUNA, I bought as many 'Mysterious Vases' as I could, and it can turn out to be some magic thing (tornado vase, wind vase, etc.) then I sold the worthless 'Mysterious Vases' on the other man in that room, and sold the other magic things for a better price on the Weapon Store'. Just do that until your gold reach above 70000, and you'll never get poor again!" * If you look around, you will notice that there are many treasure chests simply lying around, but you cannot get to them.....for now. The only way to get to them is when it is nighttime. And, in order for the town to become nighttime, you need the Moon-Crescent that is in the Tower of Arawn . * You do not necessarily have to get the Moon-Crescent for now. Rather, you can head up towards the magical village Simone, located far North of Luna. (12) SIMONE *In order to get to Simone, you need to pass through the cave. Search through the cave EXTENSIVELY for treasure chests & be sure to get the Magic Emerald before you leave the cave. You'll need it if you want a new character. *The Magic Emerald can be found. You will notice 2 exits that are beside each other. Take the left one and climb up the two long vines to the peak of the mountains. Grab the Magic Emerald. * Once you have passed through the cave with or without the jewel, head towards Simone. Talk to the villagers. You will also find a path that is blocked by a rock. Go close to it and hear a story. *Go to the mystic tree up North & talk to the high priest for more information on how to cure Samson's curse. * If you do have the green jewel, go to the far West side of the village. You will find a house. Go in & give the jewel to the Summoner. A sequence will follow. * When you have the yellow blob following you, head outside. Another sequence will follow, and now, you have a new character to join your party! His name is Tont & he is a Summoner. As the game progresses, he will become EXTREMELY useful, as he learns very powerful spells such as Titan Level 3 or Tolle Level 3. [Note:] Now that you have the new character, there is nothing left for you to do, but to go get the Moon Crescent in the Tower of Arawn, if you haven't already. If you already have, then go back to Luna & use it. (You have to be outside of the town in order to use it.) (13) LUNA-NIGHTTIME * Use the Moon Crescent outside of Luna. * After you used the Moon Crescent, you now have access to those treasure chests that you couldn't get to before. * Buy new weapons. Talk to the villagers. * Once you leave the town, it will turn into daylight again. * Go back into the town & look for a guy who is sitting down talking to another villager. Talk to him. He will offer to trade you your Moon- Crescent for an ancient stone piece called the Statue of Gaea. Go ahead & trade it. You will need it in the town of Jonowan. * Stock up on items. Head to Jonowan. (In the SE) (14) JONOWAN * In reaching the little town of Jonowan, you will need to journey through the mist valley & the rainbow valley. Use the statues to pull you across rivers and valleys. * Your task is to obtain the Vase of life, which is located in the remote island of Jonowan, right across from the village of Jonowan. * In the village of Jonowan, find the statue, located nearby the eastern part of the village. Search around & eventually you will come across it. It will give you directions on where to put the Statue of Gaea: ***NOTE: You will need to use the stone near the 4 rocks in the NE section of the village - a lot of people get stuck here - It's hard to remember, but it is 1 right & 3 up from the center of the 4 stones. SEARCH around the area, and something will pop up. Use the Statue of Gaea here. * Use the stone piece and place it in the statue. A sequence will follow & a bridge between the village & the island of Gaea will reveal. * Once on the island, go in the Water Shrine & solve the puzzle. Don't step on the purple marks. They minus 5 MP each!. *Find your way through & at the end of the puzzle, you will face the Water Demon. Constantly use fire spells. Once you defeat the demon, talk to the bowed down guy. He is the pirate Domino. Domino will give you the vase of life. Don't worry about Domino for now - you'll meet up with him later. * To leave the island you will need to make the bridge re-appear. There is a slot (kinda looks like a stone) in the first level of the temple - Search it and use the Statue of Gaea there. (15) BACK AT THE TOWER OF ARAWN * Now that you have both the Magical Bean & Vase of Life, go to the Tower of Arawn . Place the Vase of Life first, then the Magic Bean. A giant stalk will grow & allow you to explore the upper region of the temple. * This is yet another annoying puzzle. You must carry water drops to vine buds and smaller leaves in order to make them grow. You will have about 10 steps or so before you lose the water. If you seem to be dropping the water before reaching the bud or vine, try another path. I had to backtrack several times on this one. (16) UPPER REGION OF THE TOWER OF ARAWN * The puzzle here is based on the concept of day & night. When you enter the "daylight rooms", the night blocks will be raised, thereby preventing you from passing by. Same goes for "nighttime rooms". * Find the hammer. Look for it lying on the ground. I'm not exactly sure where this hammer is, but I believe it is in the second or third outside circular area you go through. * Use it on a particular crack in the ground. It will open up a new path. * Search your way through until you find a room with an old man. He is Arawn. He will then explain to you your true destiny & task. He will give you Light Orbs for each of your characters & one ancient tablet. * The Light Orbs: Ever wonder what those light orbs given by Arawn were good for? If you have more than 5 characters in your party, you can use these to teleport to the town where your extra character is. This is great for moving from town to town quickly. * He will then teleport you to the temple near Simone. *There, the legendary sorcerer Zeon will lift Samson's curse. YAY!! * After the sequence, head out the cave that leads to Zalagoon. * Go to Zalagoon and talk to the king again to prove your identity. After this, you will find that Advisor Glade is really one of the Vicious One's minions (duh) BE PREPAIRED FOR A FIGHT!! * After winning the fight with Glade explore the castle!! There is a ring to be found here. (17) NEW TASK....A NEW JOURNEY THROUGH MARION * Your task now is to go to Marion & update the King & Galahad on what has happened so far. * In getting to Marion, you will need to go through the cave where the golden dragon dwells. He is still sleeping, so simply find a way through. You will also find a treasure chest that you cannot access. Come back to it later in the game. (I will mention it towards the end of this guide.) * After exiting the cave, you will need to cross the bridge. * Head to Marion, follow the soldiers, watch the King leave. * Go back upstairs and search the Left tower. * Watch Ramue curse the Dark Knight. Take the key from the following battle and use it on the Right Tower. Then go back downstairs to confront Shutat. * After the sequence, Galahad will eventually ask you if you are still insisting on going to Bandore. * Obviously, "Yes" is the answer. * Head towards the Western bridge, which will connect to the Western islands, leading to Bandore. Go. (18) BANDORE CASTLE * Guards will not let you in the castle. Look for another passage. * The hidden passage is located on the left side of the Bandore village wall. Follow the path. * The path will lead you to a cave. As with all caves in this game, there are treasures to be found. * * * The cave will lead you inside of the Bandore castle. Be prepared. Guards will attack you. (19) INSIDE THE BANDORE CASTLE * Explore & find your way through. (a little too vague I suppose..) * When you first enter the depths of the castle, you will find a room with a locked door. Remember to come back when you have the key. (what key? I'll explain later...) * Look in pots and shelves. You will find some nifty things. * In one of the dungeons, you will encounter a particular guard that will stop & attack you. Once you defeat him, he will drop a Chain key. (This isn't the key for the locked door mentioned before.) * Find the dungeon cells. Find Kevins. Use the key. Talk. Watch.) (Note: You probably noticed that treasure chest. This chest can only be opened after you have the skeleton key, which you get later on in the game.) (20) VOLCANO MAZE * Your mission now is to find Kevins & save him. Go. - The route to the cave is up 1 floor. Exit at the bottom and go to the stairs on the right side. * You will have to walk on the lava as a shortcut in some places, but it will take away VP. * After exploring around, you will eventually find out that it was all part of an "elaborate plan", to use Kevins to lure you into a trap. (Gee. Some trap eh?) * A mysterious person ("The Dark Knight" also known as Percy) will save you. Get the key. Use it. * Go through the annoying caves & collect the nifty treasures. * There will be a scene with Kevins & Yeon (the green guy). * After they both fall, go into the cave (not the one with the rock in front of it) & get the key. * Your task here is done. Search for a way out. (HINT: Go back through the annoying caves) There will be a locked gate. Unlock it with the golden key. Go. *** The cave with the rock in front of it: There is NO WAY to pass through this cave!! It supposedly leads to the village of Zeal, which is accessed using the flying machine, which you'll get later on in the game. (22) THE SEA DOCK/PIER * Here is a nice scene. Watch. See-King-Get-Creamed. * Afterwards, a new character will join you a give you his boat. * It's DOMINO! *Search the boat Thoroughly before talking to Domino. * Sail the boat. Sail. Keep on Sailing. Fight bad guys. Sail. (23) THE VILLAGE OF LEAVE * This tiny village is located to the SE of Bandore. It has many, many good items to offer, so remember to stock up. (24) THE CASTLE OF BABAROS * This castle is only reachable by boat. It is located in the core of the mountains & is surrounded by acres of forests on the other side of the mountains near Leave. * Once you manage to reach it, explore. Meet people. Talk. * There will also be a little scene where a red-headed girl beats up a few guards. She is the princess of Barbaros and is rumored to be one of the secret characters. Nice. * Talk to the people of Barbaros. Go in the castle. Talk more. * Talk to king. * Go to room. Read book. Walk. See Jane fly. (Just kidding.) * There really isn't much to do in Barbaros, but if you noticed in the castle, there is a tablet. Remember to come back later. *The King will say that he will not talk to you unless you prove yourselves worthy of his time. Head for Discipline Island! (25) DISCIPLINE ISLAND * This island has some nice goods to offer. Also look for hidden items in bushes, rocks, etc. * Also remember to talk to a girl standing in front of the house. She will offer to give you a good time after you manage to "upgrade" yourself. (This is a RPG. No dirty thoughts allowed.) * The "upgrade" is basically the same thing as raising your status level, plus your upgraded characters get a cool new look. * To upgrade, go in the shrine, located on the far northern side of the town. Remember to buy new weapons before going in. * The upgrade process is basically a test---a test for your main character to see if he is worthy. You must not only go in there ALONE, but also solve the puzzle as well. Better be prepared- fighting 5-6 magic casters by yourself can be extremely annoying at times. Running and smoke bombs are good strategies to use here. * Note: The puzzle is basically a remember-the-figure puzzle. You will be given a flash shot of the tiles & you need walk on it exactly as it was shown Drawing a map on graph paper of the blocks on the first level (the colored ones painted on the floor) has helped a lot of people through this puzzle, including myself. Also remember to find the treasure chest with the sword. * If you managed to succeed, you get to change the status of all your characters, IF they are level 20 or above. (Also remember to go back to that girl...) * If you don't succeed, simply move on. You can come back to it whenever you feel ready. But, you must succeed it if you want to get the FLYING DRAGON and use better weapons. (Not to mention finishing the game....)Once you do pass the test, you will find that your little dragon friend, Steiner, isn't really little anymore. He is now a fully developed golden dragon, capable of taking you anywhere (almost anywhere) by flying. It really beats riding the boat and having to fight enemies over & over. * NOTE even though you can fly on Steiner's back, there are still a few places that are still inaccessible, for these few areas, you either need the flying machine or a journey through another annoying cave. * When you upgrade your characters, your main character now has a new spell call Steiner, hence, because you now can summon him to cast dragon breath on enemies. At a cost of 9 magic points, it's a great deal. (25A) MERLIN Now is a good time to go find the ancient wizard Merlin. He is only accessible via the boat. He is located NE of Marion, (or S of Discipline Island) where two mountain ranges meet and dip in to form a little alcove. (Use you map, and you should see where I'm talking about). Sail around to this area and go directly to the point where the mountains dip in the furthest. You will not see a place where you can get off; but you WILL be able to walk off where the mountains dip in the furthest. You will enter a small cave. Search the pot and Merlin will teach you the Resurrection Spell (YAY! :) But if you go before you are promoted, you will just get your health recharged. (HEY! A FREE INN!) (26) PITY ISLAND Now that you can Fly Steiner, head to Pity Island, which is south of Isla. You can solve this puzzle whenever you want to, now that you can fly. Pity island has a Mushroom maze : Green Mushrooms will Shrink you, Red mushrooms will restore you to normal size. There are also leaves you can use to float around on, but you can only use them when you are small. Your task here is to find one of the ancient tablets & other nifty stuff. (27) MISTRALL * Now that you now have access to flying anywhere without the bothersome enemies getting in the way (thank goodness), you can now easily go to the far northern island of Mistrall. It is a town composed of an elven race, with really powerful weapons. * Talk to the metalsmith. He will offer to make you some really powerful weapons & armor if you will get some mithril metal for him. This task is optional. But, if you want to proceed with it, you need the aid of the flying machine (I'll get to that later) & travel to the nearby ice cave. (28) BANDORE, PITY, & BARBAROS (Getting the tablets) * Now that your ready to get all the tablets, get ready to do some heavy traveling & fighting. * You task now is basically to get all four tablets & place them in the four temples. * What four temples? Well, before you go anywhere, you must begin to be very familiar with the map. Know where the small temple islands are. Know where the circle in the ocean is. * You can get the tablets in ANY order. You already have the tablet that you got from Arawn (the old man). You can start off at Bandore, where all you need to do is to unlock the door (I mentioned this before) with the GOLDEN key & get the tablet. *Then you can go to the Island of Pity, if you haven't already (see 26) where the mushroom puzzle awaits you. It was a pain to go through it but once you got the tablet, simply use the "escape" spell to warp out. The final tablet is at Barbaros. When you go there, you will notice that you whole castle/village is nearly destroyed. Go to the main castle hall where the king awaits to say his last words. Ignore what the king's advisor says. He is basically mumbling how afraid he was when he saw the beast... Get the last tablet. * NOTE Here's how to find Lorele, another secret character in the game: When getting the Tablet from Barbaros, Listen to the King. Lorele is in a secret passage way just before the stairs to the dungeon. Search the right wall and you'll find the secret passage and then a guard. Talk to the guard. You will receive a key. Use the key you just got and you'll have Lorele!! *Another Trick: In the destroyed town of Barbaros, try to get up on the upper gate wall that you can see when you first when you enter the town. You can find a way leading to the upper gate walls in the castle. On the Left Side of the gate walls, go as far as you can go until you find a dead end. Though you will not be able to see yourself, at the dead end, go ahead & talk. A secret merchant will talk to you & sell you some special items that you cannot buy anywhere else in the game. * Now that you have all the tablets, place them in the small four islands with the temple shrine. There is no particular order. * There will be a flashing light scene. The Flying Temple will arise from the depths of the sea. * Before you go in, be sure to be stocked up on items. (27) THE FLYING MACHINE/TEMPLE * Go in the temple. It is yet another annoying maze filled with fun & surprises. * Fight the enemies & try to get to the core of the temple. * There will be one part where you have to use an item in a treasure chest to ignite the fire & open the door. * Once you do get to the core, there will be a scene. * Steiner gets hurt, but don't worry -- he........you'll see later! * YOU NOW HAVE ACCESS TO THE ULTIMATE FLYING MACHINE!!! * YOU ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO GO TO HIGHER HEIGHTS!!! (Note: Now that you have access to higher heights, you can now go to the ice cave to get the Mithril metal. It's optional though) (28) THE DRAGON SHRINE * This "Dragon Shrine" ( not the Dragon cave) is located in between Marion & Zalagoon. Use the flying machine to get there. Look around that area to find it. Go in & you find.....Steiner!!!! * Now that you have Steiner back, you can now go to the valley near Bandore. OR, take a slight detour to..... (29) THE ICE CAVE EAST OF MITHRIL In this cave, you will want to find the Mithril, which you can give to the metal smith in Mistrall to make some very powerful (and expensive!) weapons and armor. The Mithril is located behind an ice door. You will need to find the flint in this cave and use it on the oil pot located in front of the door to melt it. The cave is fairly easy: you will have to use the ice slides and find out which ones to use. (30) THE FINAL TABLET * You will need the final tablet to open a door in an upcoming part of the game. * The final tablet is located on a remote island located near the southwestern lower part of the Barbaros islands. Keep looking for it. You will eventually come across it. Or simply look at the map provided with the game. (Note: In the ancient temple, there are two things you can find hidden.) (1) look for a hidden staff weapon in one of the lights. (2) look for a hidden passage in the western part of the walls in the last room. It will lead you to the treasure chest. * When you enter the temple, you will first fight Dagoot, the archer/magician you encountered in the sea, He is packed with lots of magic spells. (31) ZEAL * Even though there is a little town within the desert valley, there really isn't much to be seen. * After you feel pumped & ready to take on another challenge, go into the cave located near the southern part of the desert valley. Be prepared - I mean really prepared - for a looooooong journey. (not to mention annoying.) (32) THE ANNOYING CAVE * Okay. Of all the caves in the game, this cave is quite possibly the most annoying cave of all. Good thing you only need to pass it once. * Not only are the enemies attacking you every 3-5 steps of the way, but you also have to take into consideration WHERE you are stepping into. There are sandholes everywhere. You will know when you experience it. * You will also face an "enemy" towards the end. He has a familiar look.....hmmmm.....look closer......Percy? Is that you? NOTE - If you want to save Percy and get him to join your party, you must not attack and kill him. I used the defend strategy, and the sleep, mute, and confusion spells on him. It takes 10 - 15 rounds before he runs away, but it WILL work. After he runs away, you will find him lying on the ground. Talk to him and he'll join your party. (33) THE ENEMY'S KINGDOM - QUAMDAR * Congrats. You made it through the most annoying cave & you dying to make it to the nearest village to replenish yourself. * Save your game. You're at the near-end of the game. * Once you explore & familiarize yourself with the area, find the temple & go in. * You Must be prepared to fight TONS of enemies (pretty powerful ones at that) and be prepared to unleash a bunch of magic. In other words, be stocked up with magic replenish potions. * NOTE You'll notice that the merchant in Quamdar doesn't sell magic replenishing potions (pretty dumb, huh?). You can use your ORBS [see tips and tricks section] to travel back to other towns. BUT...REMEMBER TO SEND ONE OF YOUR CHARACTERS BACK TO QUAMDAR, OR YOU'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE CAVE AGAIN!! (or reset the game). * When you enter the temple, you will first fight Yeon, the magician you encountered at Bandore. He is packed with lots of magic spells as well, but is not hard. * After kicking his butt, use your final tablet to open the door. (34) INSIDE THE DEPTHS OF THE UNDERWORLD * The moment you step past the door, be prepared for the longest & last puzzle in the game. * The puzzle is basically set so you will need to bring both the GOOD ORB & the EVIL ORB separately to the core room to open the door leading to Shutat, Ramue, & ...... * My advise: Take heed to the temple music. The faster the music, the closer you are to the core room. The slower, the farther. Also take heed to the surrounding statues. * Once you have taken both orbs to rightful places in the core room, the doors will open & you will finally face Shutat & Ramue. (Note: The process in taking the orbs to the statues is an extremely long one, so be prepared to encounter tons of enemies.) (34A) Access To Treasure Chests: Remember all of those treasure chests that you could not access without a certain key? Well, it just so happens that the key is located in the cave of the sleeping dragon. Before you face Shutat & Ramue, Go to the Dragon Cave and listen to what someone (the dragon?) says. Then go get the key & you now have access to all of the treasure chests & the mighty dragon sword. But note that the key will not be there until you have reached the enclosed valley. THE WHEREABOUTS OF SOME OF THE TREASURE CHESTS -In the cave of the sleeping golden dragon. Go to the house where a treasure chest with the sword awaits you. -There are two chests in Bandore. One is in the upper floor of the inn. The other is located in the dungeon cells of the castle. -There is one in the magical village of Simone. Go in the tree & there will be a treasure chest on the bottom 2nd floor. (35) SHUTAT & RAMUE: "ONE ANNOYING DUET" * You finally made it through the puzzle & you're pumped & ready to take on Shutat & Ramue. Make sure you are stocked up on magic-replenishing potions & healers. It wouldn't hurt to teleport back to the village to rest at the inn & save the game either.(I teleported out after bringing each orb to the core room - it takes longer this way but it seemed safer and I got a lot of exp.!) * Once Shutat greets & congratulates you for reaching him, he will babble on and on about his vision of a new world, sculpted in his own very image. He will later even give you a choice if you want to: (A) join him in his "crusade" of darkness or...(B) challenge his will. Hopefully, you chose (B) or in regards to the game, answered "[No]" to his answer. He & Ramue will then fight you. * Both Ramue & Shutat are magic users, so my advise is to take out one of them as fast as possible, preferably Ramue. Once you have broken the duet, taking out the last one will be simple. * BUT.....it's not over. It seems that both Shutat & Ramue were acting under the influence of an evil being. So...I hope by now, you still have some life left in you, because the REAL boss is next. (Note: You might want to check out the tricks & tips sections of this guide before facing the main boss. It will tell you how to obtain the ultimate dragon sword & some other nifty items.) THE FINAL SHOWDOWN!: What can I say? The main boss has got to be the toughest enemy in the entire game. He will constantly attack you with his "Soul-Blast" spell which will knock off about 22-27 hit points off all your characters, depending on the level of armor and defense. It may not sound as much, but that would only be true if he did not cast the spell 2 to 3 times per round! And to top it off, he will on occasion, throw in a level 4 summoning spell & a level 3 dispel to annoy the heck out of you. NOTE: the FIRST tip works in the JAPANESE VERSION OF BTB ONLY!!! IT WILL NOT WORK IN THE US VERSION!! *) Making More Money: If you are equipped with any of the magical rings, go ahead & sell it. But make sure that it is equipped first. Once you sell it, you will notice that you are still wearing it & you are 7,500gps richer. Keep on repeating the process until you reach 99,999 GPs. Go out & buy stuff. *) The Light Orbs: Ever wonder what those light orbs given by Arawn were good for? The orbs can also be used for Speed Traveling: When you've cleared Arawn's Tower and have gotten at least 6 characters, you can travel very quickly to towns and places you've visited. Put the unwanted 6th player in the town you've visited and want to visit. Then get 1 of your players to use his / her Light Orb. Then teleport to the town instantly. *) RUN!!! Tired of fighting those monsters every 3 steps? Then run! Running is quite easy to do in this game and you are not penalized anything for it (except that you gain no exp. points, of course). *****[ITEMS]***** v 1.3 Below is an incomplete listing of some of the items I've come across. If anyone knows of any other items not listed here, let me know. Resist Jewel - Magic damage halved. NOTE: Most jewels seem to only last for one battle, but this one, for some reason or other, lasts for the ENTIRE GAME. Be sure to use this one on all members as soon as you can - they can be bought from the "hidden merchant" in Bandore. Mage's Potion - Gives back 20 MP - one person. Healing Potion - Gives Back 30 VP - one person. Mage's Jewel - Full MP - one person. Healing Jewel - Full VP - one person. Reviving Herb - Revives one dead party member. Source of Agility - Increases Agility Source of Wisdom - Increases IQ Source of Courage - Increases 1 Level Source of Growth - Increases XP Source of Life - Increases LP Source of Vitality - Increases VP Source of Magic - Increases MP Source of Power - Increases Power Source of Defense - Increases Defense Smoke Bomb - Let's you escape a battle. Won't work on bosses. Critical Jewel - Increases critical hit % - one person Critical Orb - Increases critical hit % - all members Counter Jewel - Counterattack % increased - one person. Counter Orb - Counterattack % increased - all members War Amulet - DF/AG up - all members. Tempest Jewel - Double attack % increased. Angel's Orcana - Heal Rain L1 - reusable, but will break (can be repaired by merchant). Unicorn Horn - Cure L1- one person - reusable, but will break (can be repaired by merchant). Ring of Power - Increases Attack & casts Attack Level 1 Ring of Defense - Increases Defense & casts Defense Level 1 Seraphic Ring - Cast Heal Rain L2. Ice Ring - Casts Ice L3. Tempest Ring - Increases speed. Helium Ring - Makes the character equipping talk at a high pitch Slow Card - DF/AG down for enemies. Wind, Thunder, Tornado & Flame Vase - Magical attack for ONE group of enemies. Wind, Thunder, Tornado & Flame Card - Magical attack for ALL enemies. Drain Statue - Casts Steal L1. Confusion Feather - Confuses enemies. Confusion Powder - Same as Confusion Feather. Illusion Powder - Increases chances of enemies attack missing. Vision Crystal - Increases field of view (When traveling in overland). Lasts until you trigger a battle. Guiding Branch - Warps you to the exit of cave/temple. Sleeping Powder - Puts enemies to sleep. Monster Bait - increases your chances of fighting monsters for a short period (good in areas where you can win easily and need exp. & GP) Active Playing System (APS) Unlike most RPGs, BTB has an unique system in the fight sequences that actually provides some involvement in the fights, as opposed to just telling your party what to do. When the diamonds bounce over the heads of your characters, by pressing the buttons at the right time, certain events can be triggered. I usually just pound on all of the buttons, but I believe it is just the X button, along with pushing the D-pad up or down. You can tell when the APS is triggered, by the same sound you would hear if you were equipping something (Kind of a ch- chink or c-clink). You people know what I'm talking about. Anyway, here are some of the things that can happen: On Offense: Double Attacks Charge Attacks Double Charge Attacks Blue Jumping Attacks (A little more than a regular attack, usually 1st of 2 attacks) Gold Exhilarating Attacks (equals Double Charge in 1 attack) On Defense: Charging Counterattack Guaranteed Block Vital Recover (left with 1 VP) (prevents grogginess & saves LP!) On Life Recovery Max VP recovered for 5 LP Half VP recovered for less than 5 LP Both? Anything else? Not sure of..... T H E E N D