BREATH OF FIRE III Mini Game & Puzzle FAQ Version 1.0 by DavidK519 E-mail- DKK5@aol.com Updated July 7, 2003 Table of Contents: 1- Introduction 2- Cracking the Mini Games and Puzzles I- Wood Chopping Game II- The Tombstone Puzzle III- Hide & Seek: Part I IV- The Tower's Crystal Challenge V- Floor Panel Puzzle VI- The Tower's Cube Puzzle VII- The Tower's Laser Puzzle VIII- Training Beyd IX- The Lighthouse Main Valve X- Angel Tower Cube Puzzle XI- Pushing the Mine Cart XII- Breaking the Greenhouse Windows XIII- Hide & Seek: Part II XIV- Machine Pulling Game XV- Finding the Ship Parts XVI- The Well Game XVII- Making Shisu XVIII- Beating the Tides XIX- The Black Ship Crane XX- Boost Counter XXI- Colony Portal Drive XXII- Relay Point A Beam Puzzle XXIII- Floating Platform Puzzle XXIV- Aligning the Antenna XXV- Workbot Puzzle XXVI- The Desert of Death XXVII- Myria Station Electric Floor Puzzle 3- Acknowledgments and Closing ======================================================================= 1. Introduction Throughout the excellent game that is Breath of Fire III, there are a great number of mini games and puzzles to solve. In many cases, you must participate in these puzzle and mini games in order to progress through the game. However, some of these activities are completely optional. These games have a vast range of difficulty, from ridiculously easy to frustratingly hard. Regardless of difficulty, the purpose of this FAQ is to help you conquer every mini game and puzzle the game throws at you. ======================================================================= 2. Cracking the Mini Games and Puzzles This is the main (and practically only) section of the FAQ, which will assist you in solving all of the game's puzzles and mini games. They are arranged in basic chronological order. The following is the layout I will use for each puzzle/mini game: Location: Where the activity is located. Party Requirements: List of party members (besides Ryu) that must be present in order to participate in the activity. Other Requirements: Anything else that you need in order to participate in the activity. How to Crack it: The meat and potatoes of the FAQ. This part will tell you how to solve the puzzles and gives the solutions to the puzzles. With mini games, I will give my advice on how to conquer them, as well as give solutions, if there are any. *** NOTE- In some cases I may employ content from my own walkthrough. So if something in this FAQ seems familiar, it's because it was taken from my walkthrough. In certain situations, the wording of content taken from my walkthrough may have been altered of the purposes of this FAQ. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Wood Chopping Game ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: At Bunyan's house in Cedar Woods Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This is the game's first, and by far the game's easiest, mini game. After Bunyan sends Rei off to Mt. Glaus, he makes Ryu and Teepo stay behind at his house and do some honest work by chopping wood. This is how it works: Teepo sets the log on the stump and tips it over so Ryu can cut it with his sword. In order to complete this game, you must cut a certain amount of logs within the time limit. To use Ryu's sword, press the Triangle button. You'll want to swing at the log right after it begins to tip over. If you swing too early you'll hit Teepo, and if you swing too late you'll miss the log completely. The key here is to just keep your eyes on the log. Don't try to develop a rhythm, as sometimes Teepo waits longer to tip over some logs than others. As long as you keep watching the log, and slice it just after it begins to tip, you should be able to hit every single one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- II. The Tombstone Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Wyndian Catacombs Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This can be a confusing puzzle at first, but the key to solving it is memorization. Well first of all, to start the puzzle head left from the entrance to the catacombs and examine the big tombstone at the end of the narrow path there and press "7". Now, return to the main area of the catacombs, and you'll find seven small tombstones scattered around the place. Each of the tombstones has two switches you can press, and each switch is either green or red. Go around and examine each tombstone, pressing the GREEN switches. If you hit a red switch, you'll fall through the floor and have to climb back up to this area (However, you can get a Glass Domino in the process). Here are the correct answers for all seven of the small tombstones: "above" or "beneath" Answer- above "climbing" or "outside" Answer- outside "This" or "that" Answer- that "Look" or "secrets" Answer- secrets "green" or "red" Answer- green "I" or "You" Answer- You "is" or "not" Answer- not As you're doing this, be sure to memorize the words for the red switches, as those are the answers to the final part of the puzzle. Go inspect the big tombstone at the west end of the room and you'll be faced with a series of switches to press. All you have to do is give the answers that were in RED from the seven small tombstones. Here are the answers to the big tombstone: "red" "climbing" "I" "is" "Look" "beneath" "this" Once you give all the correct answers to the big tombstone, you'll fall through the floor, allowing you to exit the catacombs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- III. Hide & Seek: Part I ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: In Wyndia near the inoculation shop. Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Once you reach the town of Wyndia for the first time, you'll be wanting to get some information on some certain missing people. If you talk to the leader of the kids playing near the fountain by the inoculation shop, you'll be forced into a game of Hide & Seek to see if these kids will tell you anything if you play their little game. The key to finding these little tikes is to look behind walls and other objects using your camera angles, as none of the kids are hiding in plain sight. Now, here's where to find them all: -Check behind the trees to the right of the fountain near the inoculation shop where you start at. - Check near the city's entrance gate behind the left wall to find another one. - Head over to where the weapon shop is and check behind wall to the left of where the bum is. - Finally, walk up to the cafe area and check behind one of the trees out in the open to find the last kid. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. The Tower's Crystal Challenge ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Momo's Tower Party Requirements: Nina Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: First of all, this is an optional puzzle, so you don't have to solve it in order to continue with the game. Also, you can do the puzzle at any point during the game, as long as you have access to Momo's Tower. You'll notice that in the outside courtyard in front of the tower, there is a pool of water surrounded by four small crystals with a treasure chest in it. Head through either door near the pool and head up this path to reach a large crystal. If you light up the crystal with Nina's magic wand, a timer will start running, and you will have 30 seconds to go back outside and light up the four smaller crystals as fast as you can. The catch is, a laser beam will prevent you from going out the short way. So here's the path you have to take to get back outside: Ok, before you even activate the crystal, stand right near the pillar to the left of the crystal and activate it from there. This is so that you can get to those stairs just north of the pillar as fast as possible. Once you begin the puzzle, bolt up the stairs and take this next path going southeast. Run down the hall and go through the door leading outside along the southern wall. Now head southwest down the stair sets and double back around to reach the pool. Take note that if you go down stair sets at an angle going STRAIGHT DOWNWARDS you'll go faster. However, do NOT go UP a stair set at any odd angle like that, as it will slow you down. Now hit the crystals in the following order according to the diagram shown below: B | 2 | | 4 | D | | | | | |Pool | | | | | | | |_____| | | 1 3 | |_____________| A C _____________________ _________STAIRS_________ __________________________ ____________________________ Point A is where you'll want to be standing to hit crystal 1, point B is where you'll want to hit crystal 2, Point C is where you'll want to hit crystal 3, and point D is where you'll want to hit crystal 4. Make sure you are facing the right way before you try to hit the crystal, or else you'll waste a lot of valuable time shooting chrysm in the completely wrong direction. The rocks that are lying round shouldn't pose too much of a problem. Now if you complete the puzzle within the 30 seconds, the pool will drain, allowing you to access the chest from back inside. The item in the chest depends on how fast you completed the puzzle. Here are the prizes according to how many seconds were left on the clock when you completed the puzzle: Less than 5 seconds left- MultiVitamin 5.0 to 5.99 seconds left- Wisdom Fruit 6 seconds or more left- Ring of Ice Be aware that once you complete the puzzle, you have to exit and reenter the tower to do the puzzle again. Also be aware that you can only get each prize once. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- V. Floor Panel Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Momo's Tower Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Shortly after getting Momo in your party, you can do this optional puzzle. In one of the rooms near where you meet Momo, you'll find a 4x4 square consisting of orange and gray panels. The object of the puzzle is to turn all of the panels gray, which will unlock the door in this room. To start the puzzle, inspect the note on the wall near the bookshelf. A panel will change color when you step on it, and the puzzle will reset itself if you step off of it. Also, you cannot walk directly backwards while doing the puzzle. Here's a diagram displaying one of the many ways that this puzzle can be solved. The numbers represent the order in which you are to step on the panels: LOCKED DOOR B ------------------------------------- O | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | O ------------------------------------- K | 12 | 7,11 | 6,10,20| 5,21 | S ------------------------------------- H | 13 | 8 | 9,19 | 18 | E ------------------------------------- L | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | F ------------------------------------- In case you find this diagram hard to follow, here is a set of written directions. I will refer to the side of the puzzle nearest to the locked door as north, and the side nearest to the bookshelf as west, which would make the side opposite to the locked door as south, and the side opposite to the bookshelf as east. So, keeping that in mind, here are the directions: First, start in the northwest corner of the puzzle and walk east all the way across the first row, stopping in the northeast corner. From there, go south one space and head west two spaces. Now, head south one space and then east one space. Walk north one space and then head left, all the way over to the west side of the puzzle. Go down two spaces to reach the southwest corner of the puzzle and then head east all the way across the bottom row, stopping in the southeast corner. Now, walk north one space and west one space. Go north one space again and then go east two spaces to solve the puzzle. Once you solve the puzzle, go through the door you just unlocked and reap your reward of Flame Chrysm, Ice Chrysm, and a Skill Ink. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- VI. The Tower's Cube Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Momo's Tower Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: If you completed the previous puzzle, you can actually get a hint on how to solve this one. In the middle of Momo's Tower, you'll find yourself in a large hallway with five revolving cubes in it. This is actually a trap. There are switches on each of the four cubes nearest to you, and if you don't hit the correct switches, then you'll fall through a hole in the floor as you try to walk by. The correct switches to hit are the ones corresponding to the two cubes that are identical. Look carefully to determine which two cubes are exactly alike. The correct switches to hit are the second and fourth cubes, going from left to right. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- VII. The Tower's Laser Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Momo's Tower Party Requirements: Nina Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This is the last puzzle that you have to solve in order to complete Momo's Tower. In the hallway right before the last room, you'll find a crystal among three laser emitters. You can change which lasers are on by hitting the crystal with Nina's magic wand. Refer to the diagram and directions below to solve it: Laser 1 Laser 2 Laser 3 | * + | * + | B * + | * + A | Crystal * C + | * + | * + | * + | * + Now, when you first enter the room, Lasers 1 and 3 will be on, and Laser 2 will be off. Hit the crystal from point A to turn off Lasers 1 and 3 and turn on Laser 2. Walk over to point B (making sure all of your characters are past the Laser 1 emitter) and hit the crystal to turn Lasers 1 and 3 back on and turn Laser 2 off again. Now, walk over to point C and hit the crystal one last time to turn off Lasers 1 and 3, allowing you to continue into the last room. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. Training Beyd ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Rhapala Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Shortly after reaching the town of Rhapala, you will get into a situation in which you must train a nerdy guy named Beyd, who's in competition with a sailor named Zig to be the Guild Master. The first thing Beyd will do is give you 1000z and ask you to buy him a weapon and a suit of armor. Although he tells you not to get him heavy equipment, don't heed him, as his Agility is already as low as it can get. He can use any weapon or body armor that Ryu can use, so go out and get him the best weapon and armor you can. If you're low on money, you can always just give Beyd hand-me-down equipment from your inventory and keep the 1000z zenny he gives you. Once you've gotten him some equipment, go talk to him again and tell him you wish to begin training. You'll then meet in the town square at night for your first training session. Here's a run down on how the training sessions work. Each session lasts for either 20 turns, until Beyd's HP reaches zero, or until your party is wiped out, whichever comes first. You fight Beyd like in a normal battle, using any combination of party members and formations that you want. Beyd has three stats that can increase during his training: HP, Power, and Defense. This is what determines how each stat increases. You can see Beyd's stat progress at the end of each session: HP- Determined by how much damage (total) that Beyd has taken. Power- Determined by how much damage (total) that Beyd deals to your party. Defense- Determined by how many times Beyd was attacked while defending. The best way to train Beyd is to work on each stat separately. Don't just mindlessly fight him. Decide which stat you want to work on and dedicate an entire session to it. Use the following methods to train each stat: Training HP: Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Garr Notes- Beyd is extremely weak when you first start training him (and that's an understatement), so keep this in mind when you begin tuning him up. Before you even start attacking, Have Ryu and Momo cast Protect on Beyd 3 or so times so that you won't be killing him in one hit. Then, have Ryu and Garr attack Beyd while Momo heals him. Whenever Beyd starts to get low on health, stop attacking him and heal him to full HP. Then resume the pattern of attacking and healing Beyd. The only things you have to fear are critical hits from Garr, which can probably kill Beyd in one hit. If you don't want to risk this, put Nina in your party instead and have Ryu lead an Attack Formation. When the last round comes up, you'll want to deal as much damage as you can on the final attack of the session. The best way to do this is to have Ryu use Accession the turn before last and use his most powerful dragon attack on Beyd, mainly an elemental Claw or Dragon Breath. Training Power: Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Nina Notes- Training Beyd's power is easy. First of all, have Nina cast Weaken on all of your party members to maximize the amount of damage Beyd deals per hit. If Momo has Might, then cast it on Beyd to have him do some insane damage to you. Your main concern should be keeping your party healed while Beyd pounds you with his attacks. If anyone dies (mainly Nina or Momo), revive them with an Ammonia. Whenever you're not preoccupied with healing yourself, attack Beyd to give his HP a boost. Just remember to heal him if his HP gets to low. Training Defense: Recommended team- Ryu, Momo, Nina Notes- In order to get Beyd to defend, you'll have to bring him down to about 1/5 or so health. To do this, first cast Protect on Beyd once or twice and then have your party attack until you get Beyd's HP low. Once Beyd starts defending, have Ryu and Nina attack him as many times as possible without killing him. Bring him down to a sliver of his health and then heal him. Afterwards, repeat the process of bringing him down to 1/5 of his health and then attacking. Ryu should stick to his normal attacks, as well as a melee skill like Double Blow, while uses level 1 magic spells. Since Momo has the highest attack power of your group, be careful when attacking with her so that you don't accidentally kill Beyd. Once you feel you've trained Beyd enough, talk to him back at the Wharf and tell him to go to the Lighthouse. Zig will overhear you and challenge Beyd to a fight. The fight is supposed to be just between Beyd and Zig, but whenever you see Zig turn his head away to wave at Shadis, help Beyd out either by healing him or having your strongest attacker (Garr) smack Zig. After Beyd bests Zig, go talk to him at the Wharf the next day and he'll give you a badge, which allows you to go to the Lighthouse. Also, you'll notice that Beyd has put out two treasure chests for you to plunder. The prizes in the chest depend on what equipment Beyd had when he beat Zig. They will be the next most expensive weapon and the next most expensive armor. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- IX. The Lighthouse Main Valve ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: The Lighthouse near Rhapala Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: Flame Chrysm How to Crack it: This is easily one of the game's most frustrating puzzles. While exploring the Lighthouse, you'll come across a room where you activate the Lighthouse boiler by opening the main valve. To do this, you must first put some Flame Chrysm in the orange hatch near the switch for the main valve. Then, examine the switch. A wave grid will appear, and an arch will start bouncing about the grid. You'll also notice a little line at the top of the grid. To open the main valve you must hit the switch (hit X) right when the arch hits that line at the top of the grid. Before you go rushing into this, just sit there and watch the pattern of the arch. It will hit the line at the top every four runs, so watch it carefully and develop a counting rhythm of 1,2,3,4 for each time the arch first hits the top of the grid. Once you get a smooth rhythm going and you're ready to attempt to open the valve, start your counting after the arch hits the line. Count to four according to your rhythm and hit X JUST BEFORE you see the arch hit the line, and your timing should be perfect. It's best to try to open the valve on your first attempt, because each attempt at this will cost you a Flame Chrysm. If you run out of Flame Chrysm, exit this room through the doorway in the lower section of the room. Head right and go through the doorway to the south to reach three boxes, each containing a Flame Chrysm. If you run out of them even after that, then you'll have to go all the way back to Rhapala to buy some more, sorry. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- X. Angel Tower Cube Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Angel Tower Party Requirements: Garr Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: As you go deeper into Angel Tower, you'll eventually end up in quite a large area with three big green cubes. In order to reach the basement of Angel Tower, you must use Garr to push the cubes into position to form a path leading to the stair set at the east end of the area. Refer to the following instructions in order to solve the puzzle. From the beginning of the area, head down the next stair set you see (to the southwest), and use your camera angles to find a chest containing Napalm near the stairs. Now, continue down the path, past the small stair set on the right to reach a big green block (similar to the one you saw before). Have Garr push it straight against the ledge to the far right and then up two spaces. Return to where you first entered this room and go right. Follow this path to a stair set going down. Head down those stairs to reach another block. Have Garr push it to the left three times and then position yourself north of it to push it southwards all the way it can go (to get north of the block, you'll have to switch your lead character to Ryu, because Garr's too big to get between it and the ledge). Once you've done that, get back to the east of the block and continue down the path, hugging the rightmost wall. Walk to the left and take the upper left path to get behind another green block. Push it up twelve times so that it forms a bridge with the block you pushed before. Now, as you can probably see, you've formed a path to the stairs going down at the east end of the room. Use the path you've made to reach the stairs, and then climb down them to reach Angel Tower's basement. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XI. Pushing the Mine Cart ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Dauna Mine Party Requirements: Garr Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This is really the first puzzle you'll have to solve after Ryu becomes an adult. As you're making your way out of the Dauna Mine, on floor B2 you'll find a small network of tracks in the open area, as well as a mine cart full of explosives. There's a large boulder blocking the exit to this area, so the object here is to set up the tracks so that you can blow up the boulder using the cart of explosives. It's all really a matter of looking at the track layout in order to hit all the right switches. Refer to the crude diagram and instructions below to help you solve it: S S------------- S | | [4| | | SSSSS | ----------------[Boulder] | | *Mine Cart | | Starting Point | | | | SSSSS | | | | | | | | | [3] |-------- | | | | | | ________ | [1] | | Feather| | | | Sword | | | |________| S |-------------------------------------------------S | [2] S | | | | | | | | SSSSS If you wish to follow the diagram, then keep in mind that the numbers in the [] are the switches that change the track direction. The "SSSSS" are the wooden boards where the cart will stop. First, go hit switches 1 and 2. Then have Garr push the cart and it will form a bridge allowing you to get the Feather sword in the chest on the ledge. Now, push the cart from the stopping point near the Feather Sword so that it ends up right back where it started. Hit switches 2 and 3 and then push the cart again. It'll end up at the northernmost stopping point (near switch 4). Now give the cart one more final shove to destroy the boulder blocking your path. Now, here are some directions you can use if you don't want to use the diagram. First, walk past the mining cart and hit the first switch you come across along the track. Then follow the track northeast and hit the switch on the right side of the track. Now have Garr push the cart full of explosives, and it should end up forming a small bridge that lets you get to the chest containing a Feather Sword on the ledge. Grab the Feather Sword and then have Garr push the cart back to where it was when you first found it. Then hit the switch to the south of the Feather Sword chest again (the 2nd switch you hit). From that switch, head upwards and hit the switch directly northwest of it. After that's done, push the cart, and it should end up stopping at the left end of the northernmost track. Push it from that location, and the cart should collide with and shatter the big boulder that was blocking the passageway out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XII. Breaking the Greenhouse Windows ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: The Plant Party Requirements: Peco Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: During your investigation at the Plant (on your second visit), two of the greenhouses will get filled with chrysm gas. You must release the gas from the greenhouses in order to continue. Put Peco in your party and ride all the conveyor belts up to the ledges overlooking the chrysm flooded greenhouses to find a bunch of rocks lying around, as well as an X on the ground across from the big window pane of the greenhouse. Well, I think it's not too hard to figure out what you're supposed to do here. To break the greenhouse window, have Peco position a rock on the X and then kick it towards the greenhouse with a running start. However, there seems to be some misconceptions about exactly how to get a "running start". To build up speed, all you have to do is continuously run. You don't necessarily have to run in one direction to do this. Since you have very limited space up on these ledges, the best way to build up speed is to run around in small circles and then run over and kick the rock. See the following diagrams and instructions if you're having trouble doing this: Greenhouse 1: ___________________ | | __| |CONVEYOR BELT | -------- | __| | | | | | Mach | | | | | | -------------- | -------- | | G | | | | R | | | | E | |__ A | | E | |_ --- -> X| | N | |_ |S| __| | H | | --- | | O | |_______________| | U | CONVEYOR | S | BELT | E | -------------- First off, the S in the box is the switch for the southern conveyor belt and the bigger box labeled Mach is the reactor in the middle of the ledge. First, have Peco kick a rock into the X. Then run around in circles around near point A. Then, without stopping, turn and run into the rock in the direction the small arrow is pointing. Greenhouse 2: --------------------------------- | | | | | GREENHOUSE | | | | | CONVEYOR --------------------------------- BELT ____________________________________________________ _| X | | | | A -> -> -> -> -> B | | --- _________________________________________| | |S| | CONVEYOR | --- | BELT | | | | |__ | |__ _| | | | | PATH Once again, the S box stands for the switch that's on the path. Have Peco position a rock onto the X and then head over to point A. From there, run down the narrow part of the ledge in the direction the small arrows are pointing. Quickly turn at point B, running into the rock going towards the greenhouse. Make sure you don't stop moving as you turn, or you'll lose all the speed you've built up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XIII. Hide & Seek: Part II ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Wyndia (Adulthood) Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Wyndia stays pretty much the same old city, even after Ryu grows up. But it looks like some people will never grow up. Go to Wyndia after Ryu becomes an adult and you'll find the same four people who you played Hide & Seek with when you were a kid. And surprise, surprise, they're still playing Hide & Seek. However, instead of just hiding in Wyndia, now the entire known world is their playground. Talk to their leader, Bais, and he'll challenge you to a game. Accept their challenge, and they'll all give you hints about where they're going to hide: Bais- "Somewhere in the northwest where there's lots of strong men" Lang- "Someplace close" Wynn- "That place that smells like oil" Lee- "The place that connects this world with that world" Use these hints to try to determine where they're hiding. And while you're searching for them, keep in mind that you must use your camera angles to spot them, as none of them are hiding in plain sight. Here are their exact locations: Bais- He's hid himself deep inside the Dauna Mine, so I'll explain in detail how to find him. From the elevator on the B3 level, Follow the path right and then northeast onto a wooden bridge. Take the bridge up to a junction and head northwest. Use you camera angles to check around the last pillar along the path to find him. Lang- Behind one of the tombstones in the Wyndian royal graveyard. Wynn- Behind one of the houses at the west end of Junk Town. Lee- Behind the left Eastern Checkpoint gate. Find them all and then return to Wyndia. Talk to them and they'll all become masters. Level up three levels under each of them to get the following rewards: Bais- Chain Formation Lang- Cupid's Lyre (item) Wynn- Refuge Formation Lee- Magic Formation ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XIV. Machine Pulling Game ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Steel Beach Party Requirements: Garr Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: In order to get a warrant to look for parts inside the Steel Beach freighter, you'll have to prove your worth to the foreman by pulling machines up out of the water. So put Garr in the lead position of your party and talk to the foreman to play the machine pulling mini game. Here's a rundown of how the game works. Garr and the foreman will work together pulling the machine up to the shore by taking turns pulling their respective ropes. The little monkey guy holding the flags shows you whose turn it is. If he's holding up the red flag it's Garr's turn, and if he's holding up the white flag it's the foreman's turn. If you pull the rope when it's not your turn, it'll break and you'll fail. Also, watch the rope lengths for both Garr and the foreman. If the difference in your rope lengths exceeds 2 meters then you'll also fail. Pull the machine in to about 6 meters to beat this mini game. Now, the key to completing this mini game successfully is to always stay 1 meter ahead of the foreman. Why? Well, while you can adjust the speed at which you pull the rope to compensate for the difference in your rope length, the foreman does not. No matter what the difference in your rope length is, the foreman will always pull at the same speed, forcing you to take some initiative. So, start out the game pulling the rope as fast as you can, whenever it's your turn, until you get 1 meter ahead of the foreman at the end of your turn. After the foreman catches up and your turn comes around again, make sure to get back ahead of him by at least 1 meter. Remember, just don't get 2 meters ahead or the rope will break. If you constantly stay ahead of the foreman in this fashion, he'll never get the opportunity to pull 2 meters ahead of you. And from there, all you have to do is carefully watch the little monkey guy to make sure you only pull the rope when it's your turn (the red flag). Sometimes, either Garr or the foreman can get an extra turn. If you get an extra turn and you're already 1 meter ahead, then just pull the rope slowly, putting some extra distance between you, but just don't get 2 meters ahead. If the foreman gets an extra turn, you'll have some catching up to do on your next turn. Once you complete the mini game, you'll fight the Angler boss, so make sure you bring another good party member along with Ryu and Garr. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XV. Finding the Ship Parts ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Steel Beach and the freighter Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: Beat the Machine Pulling Game How to Crack it: After defeating the Angler upon completion of the Machine Pulling Game, you'll have proven yourself worthy of going inside the freighter to look for the parts you need to fix the ship. However, before you go inside the freighter, there are a few parts lying around outside to pick up: -In the water just north of where the foreman is standing -Behind the southern wall southeast of where the foreman is standing -In the small junk pile south of where the foreman is standing -Behind the ledge southeast of the freighter's entrance -Hidden on the right side of the freighter near the guy using the blowtorch Once you've gotten all of the parts outside, head inside the freighter and search the place from top to bottom to find the rest of the parts you need. Some of the parts will be lying around in plain sight, but many of them are hidden behind crates and walls and underneath beams. Use your camera angles to check for hidden parts. Now, here are some directions on finding all of the parts in the freighter: When you get inside, first, take this path northwest and check behind the short railing to the left at the end to find a part. From there, keep heading northwest until you find an "H" shaped part on the ground. Pick it up and head back southeast. Go down the stairs to the right, and then climb down the two ladders below it. Then walk left on this narrow path and climb down the next ladder to reach the lower level of the freighter. Head right and hit the blue switch there two times. Now, pass under the beam you just raised and pick up the part to the right. Head left from there to find another blue switch. Pick up the part to its left and the part hidden behind it, and then hit that switch two times. Return to the last ladder that you came down, climb back up it, and head right. Walk across the first beam and pick up the part on top of the crate. Go down the tiny ramp and then northwest across the next beam. Make your way across the beam after that and collect the part on top of the crate. Now, go back to the lower level of the freighter. From the bottom of the ladder, walk northwest to a third and final blue switch; hit it two times. Pass under the beam and check around for the part hidden behind it. Head northwest a little ways and pick up the part hidden behind the crates on the left. Then, check around the crates to the right to find another part and a chest containing a Robe of Wind. Now, once again, climb back up the ladder you took to get down here. Head right and walk across the three beams again to get to the last part. Once you find all the parts, go back to the engine room of the ship back at the Dock and give all the parts to Momo. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XVI. The Well Game ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Coffee Shop Party Requirements: Garr Other Requirements: Volume on your television How to Crack it: This can be one of the most frustratingly annoying mini games that the game has to offer. In order to get the vinegar you need for making shisu, you'll have to help the little cloaked guy standing near the well at the Coffee Shop. Put Garr in the lead position of your party and talk to the little guy near the well to play the well mini game. The object of the game, obviously, is to draw water from the well. To do this, you must first lower the bucket by hitting the X button. Once you hear a splash, swish the bucket around with the d-pad until the sound of the bucket filling up stops. Finally, pull the bucket back up by hitting the Triangle button THE SAME NUMER OF TIMES AS YOU HIT THE X BUTTON. This is a very important fact to remember, as most of the time, failure in this mini game is a result of not hitting the Triangle button the right number of times. If you do everything correctly, you'll beat yet another mini game and get two helpings of vinegar. Now that you know how the game works, it's time to learn how to conquer it. The most common mistakes made in this game are not hitting X and Triangle fast enough, and not hitting Triangle the same number of times as you hit X. Keeping that in mind, it's time to go through this step by step. First, hit the X button at a good pace. By good pace I mean hit it quickly while still being able to count the number of times you hit X before you hear the splashing sound. Once you hear the splash, stop hitting X (making sure to remember exactly how many times you hit it) and use the d-pad to fill up the bucket. You can do this part at any pace, so don't worry about that. Now, once the sound of the bucket filling up stops, quickly hit the Triangle button the same number of times you hit the X button, then JUST STOP. Even though Garr may still be pulling on the rope when you stop hitting the Triangle button, as long as you did everything correctly, Garr will stop shortly and you will have done it! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XVII. Making Shisu ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Parch Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: The shisu ingredients (explained below) How to Crack it: In your quest to cross the Outer Sea, you'll need to seek information about someone called the Legendary Mariner, the only person ever to cross the ocean. It turns out the mayor of Parch knows quite a bit about the Legendary Mariner, but he refuses to speak with anybody due to his grumpiness over the fish he's forced to eat there. However, he drops a hint about the Maekyss Gorge, so pay it a visit. Talk to the lady inside the house under the bridge, and she suggests that you feed the mayor shisu to help get him over his hatred of fish. Before you can begin making the shisu, you have to collect all the ingredients, listed here: Mackerel- You can catch these in the fishing spot that appears right next to the Maekyss Gorge after you're finished talking to the lady in the house. Look for the medium-small sized shadows and catch them with just about any kind of bait. A simple worm will do just fine. You'll only need to catch one of them. Shally Seed- You'll have to have Peco in your party to obtain the Shally Seeds. Once he's in your group, have him bash the tree in the alcove under the bridge in the Maekyss Gorge to get some Shally Seeds. You should probably get anywhere from 20-40 of these. Vinegar- This is obtained by playing the well mini game at the Coffee Shop (explained in the previous section). You'll receive 2 servings per play. Pick up 4-6 servings of it. Horseradish- Go to Ogre Road back in the Dauna region and cut down the strange looking bushes along the northwest end of the road to pick up some Horseradish. Be sure to get 5-10 helpings of it. Return to the Maekyss Gorge once you get all the ingredients and speak with the lady again to get some more detailed descriptions on how to make the shisu. To make the shisu, first lay out your mackerel slice and make your shally seed ball. Then add vinegar and horseradish, and finally, knead it one or two times. Some key things that you need to remember are: -You'll want to make the shally seed ball about as big as the mackerel slice before kneading it. -Keep the vinegar to shally seed ratio about 1:4. -Keep the vinegar to horseradish ratio about 1:2. -Be aware that you lose one shally seed every time you knead. Once you're actually ready to make the shisu for the mayor, go back to Parch and speak with the mayor's advisor to begin. First, select your mackerel slice and make your shally seed ball about as big as the slice of mackerel. Remember to count how many shally seeds you use. Also, be sure to add slowly, as you can't take shally seeds away if you accidentally make the ball too big. Once your shally seed ball is done, determine right now how many times you're planning on kneading the shisu. If you're only going to knead it one time then subtract 1 from your shally seed count, and if you're going to knead it twice then subtract two from your seed count. Now, add vinegar equal to about a fourth of your shally seeds, taking the kneading subtractions into account. Then, add about twice as much horseradish as vinegar (a 2:1 ratio). Then knead it one or two times, depending on what you planned on earlier. Then hit end and see if the mayor likes it. If you were successful, the mayor will love the shisu and give you the Sea Charts, which will help you in finding the Legendary Mariner. Also, talk to the mayor's advisor afterwards and he'll give you a present of his own as a token of his appreciation. The item he gives you depends on how well you made the shisu. Although following the basic formula that I have presented here will probably not net you the absolute best prize (a Shaman's Ring), it will win you something good. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XVIII. Beating the Tides ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: [?] area between the rocks at the edge of the Inner Sea Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This can prove to be one of the more difficult mini games if your boat driving skills are not sharp. When you enter the [?] among the crags to the far east of Parch, you'll have 25 seconds to get wherever you need to go due to the rapid change in the tides here. Along with the Legendary Mariner's house, there are three items to pick up in this area (Ice Shield, Blizzard Mail, and Heavy Dagger). Don't try to go after more than one item in one run through, because there just isn't enough time. Try to get all the items before going to the Legendary Mariner's house. The key to getting around this area quickly is to know your boat controls well, and to dash in bursts. And when you're waiting for your dash bar to fill back up, make sure you're still holding up on the d-pad so you'll still be moving forward. Just NEVER let you engine overheat, or else you be stopped dead in your tracks for a few seconds. And remember, in order to open a chest, you must face it and hit the X button. Now, here are some directions: -From the start, dash straight ahead up the channel going northeast. maneuver around the rocks at the end of the channel to reach one of the treasure chests. -Once again, head up the channel to the northeast from the beginning. Dash north at the end of the channel, passing the above chest among the rocks to the right, and head for the entrance to the extremely narrow channel there. Follow this channel all the way around to another chest. -Take the wide channel to the northwest from the start and dash up it. Maneuver around the rocks at the end of the channel and make your way to the west. Continue to the west, staying on the southern side of the channel to avoid rocks, until the Legendary Mariner's house comes into sight. Then head down into the small channel south of the house to reach the last chest. -To make it to the Legendary Mariner's house, follow the above directions, except run towards the house when it comes into sight and dock there before the clock runs out (Note- Return to the Legendary Mariner's house a second time later on to get a Protein). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XIX. The Black Ship Crane ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: The Black Ship Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: As you move through the Black Ship, you'll eventually encounter a room full of crates along with a big crane. In order to proceed, you'll need to use the crane to pick up the smaller crates in the lower area to form a bridge leading to the other side of the room. This crane operates just like the standard "prize grabber" machine. First, hold down X to move the crane across. Release X and then hold it down again to move up. After releasing X the second time, the crane will attempt to grab something. If it grabs a crate, it'll automatically drop it into place to form the bridge. If it comes up empty handed, it'll return to it's starting position. So, you can only move in each direction once. Use the floor tiles in the lower area to help you line up the crane as you're moving it across. First determine which row the crate is on, then use the laser the crane emits to stop on the right row. Then, simply move the crane up and stop it when the laser lands right in the middle of the crate. Remember, you can only pick up the small crates. Really the only crate you should have trouble with is the one partially hidden amongst the large crates. Since the row it lies on is hidden by the ledge you're standing on, you'll have to time it moving across. Only hold down X for about a second and you should get positioned onto the proper row. The rest is simple, just watch the laser. Once you successfully grab three crates, your bridge will be complete. However, by picking up a fourth crate you can get the item trapped inside of it. Each crate holds a different item, shown here: ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ | |******** | | | | | | |___|********_********__|___|___|___| | |******** ******** | | ******| |___********#####***** | | ******| | ********# 4 # ******************| |___********#####_******************| | ********| | ******************| |___********|___|___|__*************| | ************** | ****** ******| |___|___|___******__|__******___|___| | | | ****** | | | ##### |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___# 3 # | | | | | | | | ##### |___|___|___#####___|___|___|___|___| | | | # 1 # ##### | | | |___|___|___#####___# 2 #___|___|___| | | | | | ##### | | | |___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___|___| | | | | | | LEDGE |___|___|___|___|___| LEDGE | | | | | | |___|___|___|___|___| CRANE The areas blocked out with * are the bigger crates, amd the numberd # boxes are the smaller crates. All of the open squares just represent the tile floor. Now, here are the items that are in each crate: Crate 1- Ascension Crate 2- Light Bangle Crate 3- Wisdom Fruit Crate 4- Protectors Be aware that you can get all the items from the four crates. To do this, simply get one item, then leave the room and come back in. The crates will now be reset, allowing you to access another item. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XX. Boost Counter ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: The Black Ship Party Requirements: Momo Other Requirements: Volume on your television How to Crack it: Upon reaching the bridge of the Black Ship, have Momo take a look at the controls. She'll tell you that in order to get the ship's guidance system active, you must activate the boost counter. This is how the boost counter works. Once you begin, Momo will stay at the bridge while your other two party members go down and look at the number reading on the boost counter, which is in the northeasternmost room in the hall where the bedrooms are. Check the boost counter and them come back up to the bridge and tell Momo exactly when the counter reaches 100. The good thing is, you don't have to fight random battles while your doing this. Ok, here's how it's done. Leave the bridge via the stairs on the right and ride down the elevator in this room. Go down the next set of stairs and head through the first door on the right side of this hallway to reach the boost counter room. Now, examine the panel in here and you'll see the boost counter going up. Watch it for a little while, and when you're ready to go back up to the bridge, be absolutely sure to remember the last number you see on the counter. Also turn the on the volume on your television. Now, when you close the counter screen, you'll start hearing beeps. These beeps correspond to the boost counter where you left off after closing the screen. For example, if the last number you saw on the boost counter was 40, then the first beep you hear will be 41, and the next beep will be 42, and the next 43, and so on. Now count the beeps carefully as you make your way back up the the bridge. Go stand right next to Momo when you get to the bridge and keep counting the beeps. Once your count reaches 100, quickly talk to Momo and you will have done it! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXI. Colony Portal Drive ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Colony Party Requirements: Momo Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Once you pick up the Key that's lying on the inactive portal drive at the top of the Colony, make you way to east end of the Colony and junp through the glass window near the chest containing a Wisdom Fruit. Have Momo examine the controls in this room and put the Key in. Now, you'll notice that there are three big mirror-like reflectors in the middle of this room. In order to activate the portal drive, you must get the laser at the southeast end of the room to hit the fuse at the opposite end of the room. You are to use the big mirrors to reflect the laser beam into the fuse. You can change the angle of the reflectors by hitting the buttons at their bases. In order to reflect the laser into the fuse, you'll want to have the mirrors set up like this: FUSE ____ ___\___\____ \___\___\___\ \___\ |--__ | --| |--__ | | | --| | | | | | | | | |--__ | | | --| |--__ | --| |\ | \ | \ | \ | | \ | \ | \ | \| LASER _______ \ \ \ \ \______\ If you're having trouble with the diagram, then just turn the southern reflector two times, the eastern one two times, and the western one three times. Then hit the switch for the laser and the portal drive will be activated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXII. Relay Point A Beam Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Relay Point A (Steel Beach Freighter) Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Early in your ascent of the Relay Point A antenna tower, you'll come across an area with four switches which control the four beams in the area. You'll need to use the switches to manipulate the positions of the beams in order to get around in this area and continue on with the mission. However, if you play around with the switches you'll notice that each switch can control more than one beam, and you can only hit each switch once without resetting them all. To reset the switches and the beams, examine the green monument right near the switches. The big green monuments scattered throughout the surrounding areas will tell you how each switch controls the beams. They are as follows: North Switch (Brown) South Switch (Light Green) East Beam- No effect East Beam- No effect West Beam- No effect West Beam- Up South Beam- No effect South Beam- Up North Beam- Up North Beam- Down East Switch (Blue) West Switch (Red) East Beam- Up East Beam- Down West Beam- Down West Beam- Up South Beam- No effect South Beam- No effect North Beam- Down North Beam- Down Using this information, you can probably figure out how to position the beams to get where you need to go. However, if you're still stuck then use the following directions: First, hit the blue switch, pass under the eastern beam, and go through the door there. In this next room, head up the stairs, go to the right, and then go down the next set of stairs. Walk left along this path and pick up the Hourglass in the chest. Return to the four switches area and reset the switches. Once the switches are reset, hit the light green switch and pass under the southern beam. Head up the stairs to the right and go through the door at the top. Take this next path all the way around, and go through the doorway at the end. Walk left across the northern beam, and pick up the Lacquer Staff in the chest. Then, go back to the four switches area and reset the switches. Hit the blue, light green, and brown switches in that order. Pass under the western beam, and go up the stairs to the left. Walk across the west, south, and east beams, and then pass under the northern beam to reach the big stair set. You will now be able to continue on with the mission. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXIII. Floating Platform Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Relay Point A (Steel Beach Freighter) Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: Shortly after completing the beam puzzle in Relay Point A, you'll end up in a room with a big pit in the middle of it. In order to unlock the next door, you must access the switch on top of the pillar in the middle of the pit by using the three floating platforms. When you step on a platform, it'll move in the direction in which you approached it. So if get on a platform from on its right, it'll move left. The platform will keep moving until it reaches the edge of the pit or another platform. The key to solving this puzzle is to line up all three platforms in the northwest corner of the pit. From there you can probably figure out the solution, however, I'll go through this step by step in the following diagrams, as well as provide some written directions at the end of the section. The "S" stands for the switch in the middle, while the [#]'s are the floating platforms. Step 1: Ride platform 2 to the left, which will cause you to ride platform 1 into the northwest corner of the pit. Ride platform 3 up to line up all three platforms. ------------------------ |<- [1] [2]| <- | | | | | | | SS | | SS | | | | | | | | [3] | ------------------------ ^ ^ Result of Step 1: ------------------------ |[1][3][2] | | | | | | | | SS | | SS | | | | | | | | | ------------------------ Step 2: Ride platform 2 downwards and get on platform 1 from the left side, causing you to ride platform 3 over to the northeast corner of the pit. Result of Step 2: ------------------------ |[1] [3]| | | | | | | | SS | | SS | | | | | | | | [2] | ------------------------ Step 3: Ride platform 2 up and then ride platform 3 to the left. This will line up platform 3 with the pillar, allowing you to ride it downwards to access the switch for the lock (shown by the line). Result of Step 3: ------------------------ |[1][2] [3] | | | | | | | | | | | SS | | SS | | | | | | | | | ------------------------ Now if you're having trouble with the diagrams, then simply follow these written directions. First, ride the platform in the northeast corner to the left. Then ride the southernmost platform up to line up all three platforms in the northwest corner. Now, ride the rightmost platform downward. Go back up to the northwest corner and ride the two platforms there to the right. Ride the southernmost platform up, and then ride the platform in the northeast corner to the left. Get back on that same platform and ride it downwards to reach the pillar in the center. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXIV. Aligning the Antenna ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Relay Point A (Steel Beach Freighter) Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: Volume on your television How to Crack it: This is quite easy. When you reach the top of Relay Point A, you'll have to align the big satellite dish there to get the portal drive out of auto-receive mode. To do this, simply point it in the direction that has no static, hence why you need your television's volume on to do this correctly. Turn the antenna so it's facing to the left to reduce the static and then adjust it's position slightly until you hear practically no static noise at all. Once you do this you can use all the portals in the game freely. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXV. Workbot Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Factory Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: In the last area of the Factory there are a bunch of electric livewire lines running along the floor, blocking your path to the exit. The only way to turn off these livewire lines is to use the workbot, the little robot amongst the switches in the middle of all the livewire lines. To control the workbot, examine the panel on the big blue platform south of where all the livewire lines are. This is how it works. Once you activate the program, the workbot will move whenever you move. So if you walk upwards, the workbot will move upwards as well. And if you stop moving, the workbot will also stop moving. Watch the workbot as you move and try to position it near the switches. To hit a switch, have the workbot face it and hit the Triangle button. The secret to reaching those switches is using the little cubic objects to manipulate your range of movement. For example, move so that the workbot gets up against one of the cubes, then keep moving in that direction. You'll still be able to move and the workbot will be stuck there. Then walk back in the opposite direction to allow the workbot to move even farther than before. This is how it's done step by step, literally! Well first of all, when I'm referring to direction, up means walking towards where the workbot is and down is walking towards the side with the stairs. Now, take two steps to the left and one step down to end have the workbot end up on the left side of one of the cubes. Walk right three steps and then go back left by one step. Head up one step, then left one step, and then up one step again. Now take one more step to the left to position the workbot in front of one of the switches. Hit it and then walk right one step. Head south one step and then take two steps to the right to get the workbot back behind one of the cubes. Take three steps downward, and then go back up by three steps to reach another switch. Flip the switch and take two steps to the right to access the last switch. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXVI. The Desert of Death ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Outside the northern side of the Factory Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: Water Jug (explained below) How to Crack it: Once you make it through the Factory wall, you'll emerge on the edge of the Desert of Death. Talk to Horis at the base camp, and he'll give you a list of help topics to choose from which explain how to travel in the desert. Here are the desert basics. In the desert, you travel at night and make camp during the day. You are to use the stars in the night sky to navigate. There are three different stars you have to worry about: N 1 3 2 W E S 1. The North Star- This is your main navigation star. It will always stay exactly to the north and never move. 2. Fake North Star- It will most always be to the northeast and it looks very similar to the true north star. However, the fake north star can move. 3. Evening Star- This star is usually somewhere in the northwestern or western sky. It moves frequently depending on which direction you're walking in. It is easily distinguishable from the true and fake north stars. Take note that it takes four turns to change a cardinal direction. So if you're facing north, it takes four turns to the right to be facing east and four turns to the left to be facing west. Likewise, it takes eight turns to face the opposite direction. As you walk through the desert, you'll periodically need to drink water. To get some water, examine the big vase at base camp and pick up 16 helpings of it. Only drink water when you are prompted to, and only use one helping of water each time. If you go without water for too long, you'll start to take damage as you walk, and eventually your max HP will begin to decrease, permanently! If you really want to stretch your water supply, you can take about 20 steps after the prompt before you begin to take damage. However, if you follow all the directions carefully, you shouldn't run the risk of running out of water. You'll end up using 1-2 servings of water per night. You'll also be forced into random battlefields while going through the desert. Be aware that some of the enemies you fight in the desert are weak against ice magic, with the exception of the Scorpion, whose weakness is electricity. Be sure to check all the random battlefields thoroughly, as there can be more than one prize in some instances. Also, you may frequently come across unusually good items, such as Swallow Eyes and Moon Tears. You'll encounter about 2-3 random battlefields per night. When exactly you make and break camp is also important. Only make camp after the sun has completely risen and you get a prompt to make camp. To set up camp, simply press start. Exactly half of a day passes when you rest at camp. If you make camp before the night is completely over, it'll still be daytime after you rest. And also, do NOT follow the directions that are on Horis's memo. Although he gives you the right instructions when you talk to him, the directions he has written down are wrong, so don't heed them. Lastly, if you get lost, simply make camp and talk to the rakda (the little camel looking creature), and you'll be able to automatically return to the base camp outside the Factory (Note- If you've already made it to the Oasis once, you may also choose to return there as well). Directions: The directions to the Oasis that Horis gives you can be difficult to follow, so I have also provided two more simple methods of reaching the Oasis. However, I'll begin with Horis's instructions: First, walk north for two nights. The evening star should now be directly to the west. Walk east, away from the evening star, until it sinks below the horizon, which should occur after about two and a half nights. Make sure you check the evening star periodically while doing this. Then continue north until you reach the Oasis, which takes about three nights. Here are two quicker and simpler ways to reach the Oasis: From the start, walk north for two nights. Now, turn twice to the right so that you're facing the fake north star. Follow the fake north star and you'll reach the Oasis after four nights. Now, here's the easiest way to get to the Oasis. Take one turn to the right while facing the north star, and you'll be facing right between the true north star and the fake north star. Now just walk in that direction to reach the Oasis within six nights. ***Note- Regardless of which directions you follow, right before you actually reach the Oasis, you'll have to fight the Manmo boss. Afterwards, you are put into a situation in which you must kill your rakda. Side Trips: After you get to the Oasis, there are a few other trips you can take into the desert to get some nice items, which include the Royal Sword and Life Armor. Talk to the strange man hanging out in the Oasis item shop to get some hints about where to look for these items. However, I wouldn't recommend taking these trips unless you are unable to get these pieces of equipment by trading at the Manillo shop near Kombinat. But if you are going to take these extra trips, be sure to get some wore water in the Oasis before heading back out. Now here are the directions: Royal Sword- Leave from the Oasis and head west for four nights. Afterwards walk south, and you'll find the sword in a random battlefield after about a night or so. Life Armor- From the base camp at the Factory, walk north for two nights and then go west for three nights. You'll find the armor in one of the random battlefields. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- XXVII. Myria Station Electric Floor Puzzle ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Location: Myria Station Laboratory Party Requirements: None Other Requirements: None How to Crack it: This last major puzzle is one of the most time consuming puzzles in the game. And actually, it isn't completely necessary to solve this puzzle in order to continue on with the game. You'll notice, in the main area of the laboratory, there is a large section of floor charged up with electricity which obstructs the path to the lift you need to access. To avoid having to deal with the puzzle entirely, you could walk across the electric floor and simply heal yourself of all the damage and status changes you'll take by doing so. However, if you're going to take the time to solve the puzzle, you'll have to use the three panels within the two rooms near the electric floor. There are two panels in the northernmost room and one panel in the room southeast of it. Examine a panel and three grids yielding a bunch of +'s and -'s will pop up. Hit left or right on the d-pad to adjust the pluses and minuses on one of the three grids, depending on which panel you're working at. You'll want to line up the positives and negatives so that they overlap each other on the other grids. For example, if there is a + in a certain spot on one grid, you'll want to adjust the other two grids so that there is a - in the same spot on another grid. If opposite charges occupy the same spot on different grids in this manner, then the corresponding spot on the electric floor will lose it's electrical charge. To confirm your adjustment, just hit X, and you'll get a quick view of the electric floor with the changes you just applied to it. The objective is to create a clear, electricity- free path going across the floor. So, look at the grids carefully and align them so that large concentrations of opposite charges overlap each other. In case that may have sounded confusing, here is one of the many solutions to the puzzle. Adjust the left grid 4 clicks to the left, adjust the right grid 17 clicks to the left, and leave the middle grid the way it is. This isn't the ideal solution, but it does create a clear path. So once you've adjusted all of the grids, carefully walk through the path you've made and ride down the lift at the end of this room. (Note- I will add the ideal solution in a future update). ======================================================================= 3. Acknowledgments and Closing I'd like to thank the following for either help or inspiration on my guide: Capcom- For making one heck of an RPG, and a heck of a series for that matter. Game FAQs- For providing a website where gamers can share their secrets and expertise with others. All the contributors to Game FAQs- The site wouldn't exist without those who put time and effort into writing the FAQs. Neoseeker and IGN- Other great gaming websites. AnybodyKilla- Whose frustrating struggle through some of these mini games somewhat inspired me to make this FAQ. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This document Copyright 2003 David Kovaz. This document is not to be reproduced and/or distributed in any way for profit. It is not to be reproduced and/or distributed at all without the author's prior written consent and approval. This document is not to appear anywhere without the author's alias (DavidK519, DKK5, or David Kovaz) in or attached to it. This document is not to appear anywhere in an altered or incomplete form. This document is not to be used as a reference for any publication unless proper credit is given to the author and the source. Most recently updated versions of this guide can be found at: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://faqs.ign.com