Copyright 2000, Dave Thomas. You may use any part of this FAQ you want to,
but I ask that you give me credit. I also ask that you don't try to profit
from it, and all that other great stuff that I'm not bothering to mention,
but which applies to the law.
Version History-
Version 1.0- first version of the FAQ. Will cover all of the beginning up to
and through the first boss, as well as the swords on the Stuff list and the
character stats for the first 3 levels.
Version 1.1- first addition to the FAQ. This adds quite a bit, covering up
to Mt. Sabre and a little into it.
Version 1.2- when I send this to CJayC, it'll have everything covered through
Portoa.
I. Introduction
II. Walkthrough
a. Leaf Village & Vampire Cave
b. Brinmaer Village & Oak Village
c. Mt. Sabre
d. Portoa Area
e. The Angry Sea
III. Stuff List
a. Swords
b. Armor and Shields
c. Items
IV. Character Stats
Before I start to write this walkthrough, I should warn the reader, this is
my first FAQ. I should also warn you that It's very difficult to describe
where a person has to go because a lot of the scenery in this game stays the
same all the way around. I refuse to answer any questions that I know are
easily found in the FAQ. Just look for them.
This is a great RPG for the NES, one of the greatest RPG's on the system,
though Final Fantasy easily blew it away. The only problem it has is that
it's a little unbalanced; you might have to kill upwards of 100 enemies at a
time just to level up your character, unless you're way behind.
The game begins when you step out of a machine. I guess it's a freezing
chamber you wake from; not sure, though. Doesn't matter. You step out, and
in the next scene, you see a man run from you in fear. Follow him and you'll
immediately enter Leaf Village.
LEAF VILLAGE
Stores: Items shop, Armor Shop, Inn
Important Stuff: Talk to village elder for Sword of Wind, talk to man in
northeast hut for money
When you enter the village, you will see several people. Talk to them if you
want; it's not that important. Visit every house that doesn't have a sign
above it right away. In the northeasternmost hut a man sits who will give
you $100, saying it's a gift from the wise man Zebu. Nice guy, huh? In the
hut to the northwest (it seems to have an orange addition to it on the side)
you will find the village elder, who will tell you that you are the world's
last hope as he gives you your first sword, the Sword of Wind. Talk to the
girl who's walking around in the same hut, and you discover that there's a
broken down windmill nearby. Now visit the armor shop, the building to the
southwest which has an image of a shield above it. Buy the carapace shield
for $80 and equip it when you leave. Now leave town and get ready to fight.
OUTSIDE LEAF
You're in an open field. Walk around. You'll encounter tigers and blue
blobs. They aren't that tough to beat; just charge up your sword (hold the
"B" button) and fire repeatedly until they die. Always pick up the money
they leave behind. You can find three landmarks here: a cave to the west, a
bridge that leads north to another cave, and the windmill mentioned earlier.
Visit the western cave to talk to Zebu. He'll tell you to activate the
windmill and that if you do, he'll give you some magic. Hang out in the
field, fighting monsters and collecting money, until you've earned $150.
This works out nicely because you're likely to level up at least once; maybe
twice, depending on how many blue blobs you kill. Head back south to Leaf
and buy the Tanned Hide you didn't buy earlier, as well as an alarm flute in
the item shop. Now head north to the bridge, cross it, and enter the cave.
Inside, follow it until you reach a fork which leads either to the left or
up. Go up. You'll see a sleeping man. Use the alarm flute to awaken him.
He'll give you the windmill key, and mention a strange ball that can break
rock walls.
Now go back to the fork and follow the left path. You'll come out right next
to the windmill. Go inside, then walk up to the key hole and put the key in.
Now leave, and you'll see a new cave opening up. Just head for the new cave.
Just as you reach it, Zebu's voice will tell you that he will teach you
Refresh, the first magic spell. Go inside the cave and follow the path. The
enemies here are slightly stronger than in the first area, but they're still
not bad. Also, they're worth 2 EXP, not 1, so you'll level up faster from
here on. After a while, you come to a fork where the path up leads to a gray
dead end. Obviously, you have to head to the right. This leads to two
doorways. Take the top one first to face an easy, optional battle against a
rock-dude (technical term) for some warp boots, as well as a ton of EXP and
money. It's worth it. On the second path, you come to a four way
intersection. Explore down first, and you'll get a medical herb which can
heal you. Then explore right, heading down first. You'll find the Ball of
Wind. This is a very important item in this cave. Remember what the sleepy
guy said? This is what he was talking about. You have to equip it to use
it, but it allows you to charge your sword to level 2, which makes an even
more powerful blast, strong enough to take out rock walls!
Head up immediately afterward, and break the rock wall. Behind it you'll
find an antidote. This'll be useful if you're hit by one of the red blobs
here, because they cause poison, which is relieved by an antidote. Head back
to the first rock wall you saw, and break it. Behind it is a two way
intersection. The left path leads to an easy-to-get Medical Herb, the right
leads to the boss, a vampire-type dude.
BOSS: Vampire
This guy's not the hardest boss in the game by far, but he's no pushover
either. He makes two bats which both try to fly at you. He also vanishes
into thin air, then reappears in a different place. You can fight the bats
all day, but it won't do anything. Instead, try to charge up your sword to
level 2 and hit the vampire himself. The more he's been hit, the less time
he sits around before vanishing again. About 6-8 hits should do it,
depending on your level. After you beat him, you can pick up the rabbit
boots from the chest he leaves behind. Leave out the top of the screen,
follow the path, and break the rock wall to open up the path to the exit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brinmaer Village and Oak Village
BRINMAER VILLAGE
Stores: Items Shop, Armor Shop, Pawn Shop, Inn, Bar
Important Stuff: Talk to Akahana
Head south from the cave until you see the opening to the west. This is
Brinmaer Village, the second city in the game. Once inside, the first thing
you'll see is a man standing right in front of the entrance. Talk to him and
he'll introduce himself as Akahana. He lost his statue, and he wants you to
find it. Don't go yet, though. First, look around town. If you need to,
stop at the inn for $20. If you have $140 lying around, you can buy Leather
Armor from the Armor shop. You can also buy a Bronze shield for $220. You
can also sell your current equipment for half of what you paid for it. I had
enough money to buy the Leather armor after I sold off the Tanned Hide. I'll
never wear the Tanned hide again anyway, since the Leather armor is better.
Now talk to all the people in the village, and they'll foreshadow later
events in the game for you.
OUTSIDE BRINMAER
You'll need to find Akahana's statue to move on. Head north along the river
and cross the bridge, but watch out for the brown stuff. Once you've crossed
the bridge, head west and walk around in the tall grass until you find the
Statue of Onyx. BE WARNED! The enemies in this area are MUCH, MUCH HARDER
than in the last. They take 3 shots to kill at level 4, and throw axes at
you. Cross the bridge again, and go back to Brinmaer. Give the statue to
Akahana and he'll reward you with a gas mask. Some gift, huh? Well it comes
in handy later. Leave Brinmaer if there's nothing new you want to buy.
I advise that you try to level up until you're at level 5 right now, for
safety's sake. Go back across the bridge, but head east this time. See that
brown spot that you can't seem to get around? Put on the rabbit boots and
press A to jump. You can jump over the pit and take minimal damage! Avoid
the blue mushroom-thingys in the next area; you can't hurt them yet, but they
can hurt you. If you head north from here, you'll jump over another pit,
only to be told at the far north that you "can't climb this yet!" Instead,
head east. Before you exit this screen, though, equip your gas mask.
OAK FOREST AND OAK VILLAGE
Stores: Item Shop, Inn
Important Stuff: get the Sword of Fire here.
This has got to be one of the most frustrating parts of the game early on.
Oak forest is a dark place where there are vicious monsters. You have to
travel through this place to reach Oak village, though, so it's a necessary
evil. From the entrance, follow this path: right, up, right, up. This will
take you through the maze to Oak village. Watch for any enemies along the
way; they're really bad here. Once inside Oak village, walk around. You'll
notice that all the people in the village tell you the same exact thing: "Go
in peace." They aren't friendly in Oak village. That's okay. Head back
out, all the way back to Brinmaer village, and stay at the inn if you need
to.
From Brinmaer, go north until you've found an opening in the mountains.
Follow it and you'll find a house. There are two men inside the house. One
introduces himself as Tornel, the other as his trainee, Stom. They test your
skill, as you fight Stom. If you hit the B button rapidly enough and if
you're at a high enough level (I gained experience until I had 250 experience
on level 5), he's not hard to beat, and when you do beat him, Tornel teaches
you the telepathy spell.
Now it's time to head back to Oak. When you get there, go into the house to
the southwest. The person there says their child has been missing since he
went into the forest. You have to find him. The other people in the village
also say different things, now, but they're not very nice. The kid is hiding
in a corner of Oak forest and isn't easy to find, unless you cover the entire
area. From Oak, go down as far as possible, then right, then down again.
You'll find the kid, who you must then lead back to Oak. When you enter Oak,
the kid returns to his house. Follow him and talk to his parent. (S)he'll
give you the insect flute, which you'll need soon enough. Now go to the
village elder for the real reward. He'll ask you to kill a giant monster,
which can't attack their village because of a certain item they have. Then
he gives you the item: The Sword of Fire, the second sword in the game.
You'll notice this sword's power almost immediately if you fight enemies.
Now, let's go get the Ball of Fire so we can get its level 2 attack.
Remember that monster? Well now you have to find it and fight it. From Oak,
go down, take the first path to the right, and follow it all the way, until
your screen is half blue, half black. Use the insect flute. You'll summon
the boss.
BOSS: Giant Insect
Another vicious creature you really don't want to mess with. This thing
shoots poison out of its mouth. It also has one of those annoying bugs you
see in the forest helping it. The bug can't be killed, so don't bother.
Equip the sword of Fire if you already haven't. You have to shoot the
monster's mouth when it isn't shooting its poison at you. This takes great
timing. By the seventh shot, he should be dead. After he dies, he'll give
you the Ball of Fire.
Head back to Oak, where everyone has totally changed their opinion of you.
Rest if you need to, and head back to Brinmaer. You're about to climb a
mountain. PLEASE NOTE: The Inn in Oak village costs twice as much as the one
in Brinmaer. If you think you can possibly make it back to Brinmaer w/o
dying, do so, as you'll save $20 in the process!
You might want to level up, but it's not important yet. The enemies you'll
face on the mountain aren't incredibly difficult, but you'll probably switch
swords quite a bit. In fact, I'll get this out of the way right now.
Whenever you're outside, have the sword of Fire equipped. Whenever you're
inside, have the sword of Wind equipped, unless you need to break an ice
wall.
ON MT. SABRE
You should start you trip up the mountain by going to the southwest corner of
the Brinmaer-Oak area. Follow the path until you see the ground in front of
you moving slightly. This is a zombie from the mountain. They're good for
experience and they don't fight back (much), so they're great targets, but
they take a couple shots to kill. Anyway, this zombie is in the middle of a
fork in the road. Take the right fork and enter the cave. You can fight the
monsters here if you want, or you can just avoid them. Go up the staircase-
type-thingy. Recognize the music? It's the same song that played when you
talked to Zebu in the cave outside of Leaf. Remember the ice wall behind
Zebu? Now you can break it with your Sword of Fire. Do so and talk to Zebu.
He tells you to return to Leaf. When you get there, you'll notice that
everyone is missing except for a dog in the addition to the wise man's house
(the one where you got the Sword of Wind). He'll inform you that evil people
attacked and took everyone away. It's your job to get them back. Head back
the way you came, all the way out to the fork in the road where you went
right, but go left this time. Follow the path, and be careful to avoid the
ice slopes when they're on both sides. You can't climb these. You can,
however, climb the one immediately after them if you're wearing rabbit boots.
Do so and follow the path along the bridge into the cave. When you're
inside, break the ice wall, go around the circle (it's a squared circle, both
directions of the fork lead the same place), and break the second ice wall.
Behind this wall, you get the Tornado Bracelet, which allows you to charge
the Sword of Wind up to level 3, but costs MP to use. Head back outside.
Once outside, cross the bridge, slide down the hill, and go left. This path
eventually leads to another cave. Inside the cave, you come to a fork rather
early. Go left first. Use the Sword of Fire in this part of the cave;
you'll only face a few enemies that're invulnerable to it anyway, and you
have to break the ice walls. At the end of the path, you'll find Warp Boots.
Travel back and take the other path. At the end, you'll reach a staircase.
Take it and at the first branch, the left path is short and offers a Medical
Herb. When you take the right path, after breaking the ice wall, go right
again to reach a staircase. Take it, then go up at the first fork. After a
few segments, you'll meet Tornel again outside. He'll teach you Teleport
this time, which allows you to travel between areas very quickly at the cost
of MP. You'll also get a Magic Ring outside. Head back to the vertical fork
and go down this time. It leads outside, to an area similar to the one you
were in when you first started climbing Mt. Sabre. As you look around,
you'll notice the ice sheet which you'll have to slide down. Remember that
bridge? Yep, you guessed it. You're back in the beginning. You've made a
full circuit, which means you can leave now. Get out of there and head back
to Brinmaer to rest if you need to. I recommend it; Mt. Sabre isn't done
yet, and the enemies are no laughing matter in the next part.
MT. SABRE NORTH
Remember when you went to the far northern part of the map near Oak? That
voice said you wouldn't make it? Well, apparently, you will now. Go there
and follow the path up Mt. Sabre. Visit the inn and talk to everyone. One
person mentions someone from Brinmaer climbing the mountain. Remember that;
it becomes important in a minute. Now go outside and head left. Just a bit
outside the inn, you'll meet the man you talked to in the bar in Brinmaer.
He's hurt, and mentions that some people captured him and put him to work, as
well as people from Leaf. Then he dies. Continue going left and you'll
eventually meet two guards standing in front of a doorway. They talk about
how they're forcing the Leaf villagers to work, and they even say "Long live
the Draygonia Empire!" Walk up to them and try to talk; they'll attack you.
Don't bother trying to beat them, just slip inside while they go berserk. Go
up the long hallway, then go through the stairway. After this, you can go
left and get an Antidote or down to continue. From here, it doesn't matter
how you go; you'll end up in a hallway that has two staircases, one right
above and off to the left of the other. Go to the top one. The guards in
this part aren't easy. I suggest you avoid them, but if you really must
fight them, it pays well - they're worth 25 EXP each. When you're outside
again, just head right and go in the first cave you see. Break each ice wall
in this hallway. You'll be in a "holding pen" for Leaf residents. Pass by
the first pen and go to the second one instead. Each pen has its own ice
wall in the back, which has an area behind it. The second one is important,
as it has the Key to the Prison hidden behind it. Behind the first one is a
hallway that leads outside. Once outside, go up the staircase. Be prepared;
the boss is ahead.
BOSS: General Kelbesque
This guy isn't easy at all. He claims to be one of Draygonia's "finest
four". Whatever. Here's the problem: YOU CAN'T EVEN HURT HIM UNLESS YOU'RE
AT LEVEL 7! Not even a bit, not even from your very strongest attack. He
doesn't get hurt unless you're at level 7 or higher. How do you beat him
then? Just load up your Sword of Wind, prepare a few shots of level 3
tornadoes, and let him have it. He'll come back by stamping the ground,
which sends stuff flying at you. Just avoid it, and avoid running into him,
as he can easily come very close to you. AT ALL COSTS avoid getting
cornered, as he loves to trap you. If you run out of MP, you can also hurt
him with a level 1 or 2 shot, but it's not as easy to aim.
After you beat Kelbesque, he flees and leaves the Flame Bracelet behind.
That's not all, though. Use the Prison Key to open up the locked door at the
top of the screen. Inside is the village Elder, who tells you to proceed
through the cave to the city of Portoa. The queen there should be able to
help you. Just before you reach the exit, someone teaches you Paralysis,
which will come in handy inside Portoa.
This place is referred to as the Capitol of Water, and it shows. From the
cave, just head southwest and cross the bridge, and you'll end up in Portoa
itself.
PORTOA
Stores: Item Shop, Armor Shop, Inn, Pawn Shop.
Important Stuff: talk to queen and fortune teller repeatedly; freeze guard in
palace when you're not welcome and he's not blocking the door to open up the
back room.
You can refresh and everything here, but for now, there's only one major
thing you have to do; first, visit the queen. See what she has to say.
Then, visit the fortune teller. She'll allow you to visit the queen by
saying the palace will be open for you. Here's the thing: in order to keep
moving, you have to visit the Queen's chamber WHILE SHE ISN'T IN IT. The
people in the palace talk a lot about how she disappears. When this happens,
the guard standing at her door blocks it off from you if you get too close
w/o talking to the fortune teller first. Here's what you do. Visit the
Queen and talk to her, but then don't visit the fortune teller. Just go back
inside the castle immediately after leaving, then equip your new Paralysis
magic and freeze the guard that would otherwise move in front of the door.
You can now freely visit the door on the Queen's chamber's right hand side.
Nothing inside though- yet. Go back out, visit the fortune teller, and visit
the Queen again. This time, she'll give you the Flute of Lime and tell you
about a waterfall with a cave behind it. If you explored the area rather
than visiting Portoa immediately, you know which waterfall I'm talking about.
From Portoa, head east as far as possible, then north as far as possible.
WATERFALL CAVE
Inside the cave, just follow the path early on. Don't even bother fighting,
as the enemies here are immune to both fire and wind. When you come to a 4-
way intersection, go right. AVOID GOING LEFT OR UP because there's a vicious
enemy there that likes to poison you. Follow the path to the right and
continue until you meet two statues blocking your path. Use the Flute of
Lime to return their bodies to normal and continue into the next area. Watch
out here, because you'll meet Medusas, who can turn you to stone if they
shoot you. Fortunately, they're not very fast or smart, but you can't hurt
them yet. Take a right at the first fork in the road. Follow this path and
you will eventually come across a river you can't get over. Go up its shore
instead, break the ice wall, and the Sword of Water is inside a treasure
chest. Equip it and you can finally hurt all the enemies in this cave.
Which is good, considering Medusas are worth 50 EXP and $50! You can level
up quite a bit here if you want to. Head back and take the left direction at
the fork in the Medusa area. Just follow this path, and after the stairway,
go up the first chance you get. You'll see a familiar (hopefully) face, only
he's frozen in stone. Yep, it's Akahana. You have to revive him like you
did earlier to the other two guys, by using the Flute of Lime. Problem is,
you don't have one. Go back and turn right this time instead of up. This is
the other side of the river where you got the Sword of Water. Go up and
you'll find another Flute of Lime. Use it to revive Akahana, and he'll give
you a Shield Ring, which will double your shield rating for the rest of the
game when you have it equipped. Now you can leave the cave or do some
serious leveling-up. It's up to you.
Back in Portoa, the fortune teller informs you that someone is waiting in a
lake to the south. Best not keep them waiting, right? Head south across the
bridge from Portoa, then west, then back north when you change screens. In
the next area, you'll talk to Rage, who happens to be carrying the Ball of
Water. Pick it up, and equip it. Rage mentions someone waiting inside the
tree behind him. Power up a level 2 water shot and watch what it does to the
water. You can use this power to freeze certain parts of rivers that are a
certain distance apart. Inside the tree, you'll talk to Mesia. She has
almost nothing really important to say; just leave after you talk to her and
head back to Portoa.
Head back to the palace. In the room behind the Throne room, see that part
where the bubbles in the water reach across to each other? You can freeze
this water and then cross it. Cross it, then freeze the next area, then
enter the crack on the far wall. In here, the Queen will reveal herself as
Asina, one of three wise men who will help you. She teaches you Recover
magic, which cures your status ailments, and promises to teach you Barrier
magic if you eliminate the whirlpools from the Angry Sea. Beyond this part,
you can talk to a dolphin that seems to need an herb to heal it. An ordinary
Medical Herb is all it needs, and in return, it'll give you a Shell Flute,
which you'll use later. Leave the palace, leave Portoa, and head east.
Freeze the river, cross it, and enter the cave on the other side.
INSIDE THE CAVE
The Fog Lamp is in here, but so are a lot of enemies that can't be hurt by
the Sword of Wind. Just your luck, since you've got to use it to break the
rock walls in here. Take the first right, then go down, then from there, I'm
sorry but I simply can't remember. If you explore every path thoroughly,
you'll find the Fog Lamp. Work your way back out of the cave, but explore up
at the first fork and you'll find a Lysis Plant. When you're satisfied with
this cave's completion, head back out and south, across the swamp, through
the mountain pass, and along the river. There's another cave across this
river.
There are lots of different enemies in this cave. The blue mushrooms can be
beaten with the Sword of Fire. Any purple enemies can be, too, (except
purple dragons) but the Sword of Wind also works on them.
If you go through the entire cave, you will eventually arrive at an unusual
opening. In the northeast corner of this place, you can find a patch of
flowers, in which lies a Kirisa Plant. Save it for now (although come to
think of it, you can only use it in one place, so it doesn't matter anyway!)
PORTOA
Back in Portoa, head to the far west, where you'll find a solitary house on
the waterfront with a boat sitting on a dock to the side of it. Go inside
and give the person who says, "We're not open, go away!" the Fog Lamp. In
return, he'll give you access to the boat. Congratulations! You've finished
off the Portoa area!
-----------------------------------------------------------
III. Stuff List
Swords-
1. Sword of Wind- Given to you by the elder in Leaf. Not bad, but they get
better. Adds 1 to attack power.
Level 1: Small gust of wind.
Level 2: Rather large, yellow-green ball. Breaks rock walls.
Level 3: Several tornadoes cross the screen from the direction you're
facing. Costs MP.
2. Sword of Fire- Given to you by the elder in Oak. Considerably better
than Wind Sword. Also kills different enemies that otherwise couldn't be
harmed. Adds 2 to attack power.
Level 1: Small flame shot crosses screen.
Level 2: Several flames cross the screen. Melts ice walls. BENEFIT:
You can hit the same enemy twice or even 3 times with one of these shots.
Level 3: Circle of flames appears in front of you. Causes absolute
chaos on enemies, but costs MP.
3. Sword of Water- Found in a cave behind a waterfall near Portoa. Often
the most valuable sword in the game, and the one you'll be switching to the
most often, but not because of its power. Adds 4 to attach power.
Level 1: Drop of water, not unlike the first two swords.
Level 2: A wave crosses the screen. Can freeze certain parts of rivers,
allowing you to cross them.
Level 3: A wave of snowflakes spreads around you in a circle. Costs MP.
4. Sword of Lightning- Found in a cave. Very powerful sword, and also
extremely useful until the very end of the game.
Level 1: 3 lightning bolts shoot away from you in 3 different
directions.
Level 2: 7 lightning bolts shoot away from you in 7 different
directions.
Level 3: Huge lightning bolts hit the ground. Kills all enemies, but
once again, costs MP.
5. Crystalis- The game's namesake. It'd be really important, too, if you
used it against more than just the last guy in the game.
Level 1: Crystalis' only level.
As you progress through the game, and kill enemies, your character levels
up. There are 14 different levels, and each one has an impact on your total
stats. Note that the attack and defense ratings assume that you have nothing
equipped.
