Carbon Ocelot's Final Fantasy 8 Walkthrough

Index

Intro
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4
SeeD Tests
Side Quests
Other GF
Cheats
Card Game
Card Mods
Weapons
Magazines
GF Abilities
Refine Abilities
Item List

Single Page Version

Disclaimer

Walkthrough Notes

Points to Remember: (IE: Things I wish someone had told me starting out!)

• If you want to waltz through over powered, or if you want to overpower a second play through, be sure to concentrate on learning the card game! In the first 5 hours, you can 20x or 30x various stats - that's not an exagguration
• If you use a GF in a battle, your compatability with that GF goes up by 20; for every other GF currently junctioned, it goes DOWN by 2.
• The "Boost" skill lets you spend the GF summon screen trying to make your attack more damaging.
• When you go to the character menu, you can click on Tutorial then Information for everything from battle stats to descriptions of people/places you have found. It's VERY usefull.
• The level of an enemy based on your character's levels. This means you want to do whatever you can to stop your guys from leveling up early on. The Card ability is your best friend! Eventually you'll get the ability to gain +1 on the Following stats when your character gains a level: HP, Str, Vit, Mag, and Spr. At THAT point, it makes sense to level up your guys! You'll eventually get either a Rosetta Stone - or the GF Bahamut - and be able to junction up to 4 bonuses at a time, so you'll have to choose the 1 to ignore. I'd suggest HP personally, since you can buy a bunch of HP-J Scrolls in the Timber Pet Shop and use Eden's GFAbl Med-RF to turn them into a Gaea's Ring, which gives you an extra +80% on your HP. That plus junctioning Curaga to HP should max you out. And since Brothers and Diablos have +80% natively, you need only do it once to get all three characters fully stocked. You can also get extra Abiltyx4 by playing the game and winning it from a certain opponent, or just by winning 100 Tri-Face cards (Siren can make these Curse Spikes into a Dark Matter, and Eden can make that into a Rosetta Stone.)
• It is best to read each section BEFORE you have to use it. I know this is against most of your ethics, but how about a compromise? If you save your game in each section, you can then try the next one until you get stuck. THEN you can read the whole thing, eh? Also note that after you have completed a section, you may want to come back and read it to see if you missed anything crucial.
• When Rinoa is in your party, listen while you walk around for a little "sproing-oing-oing" sound. This means Angelo learned a skill. Go to Rinoa's status screen and set him to learn a new one. (You get skills to teach him from "Pet Pals" magazenes.)
• Card Strategy: If you want to seriously CRUSH the game, get good at the card mini-game, and read the rules. If you just want the bare minimum - try to keep random from spreading, but let open spread. See the card section for more info.
• If Rinoa get's "Angle Wing" as a limit break, she can cast a Demi spell that can kill. This is (to my knowledge) the only time a Demi is leathal.
• When Squall's Level goes up, be sure to use the Tutorial Testing section to bring his SeeD level up to match. The higher your SeeD level, the higher your "salary."

Disc 1

Intro:
The game opens in the infirmary of Balam Garden. Balam is the continent it's on, and all Garden's a named after their continent. The doctor comes in and asks you name your character. This walk through will assume you took the defaults, it's all easier that way. :) Then she goes to call your instructor. Here Squall sees a girl in blue and green. At this point, you don't know much about her, but she'll be important later on. She leaves, and in walks Quistis, who evidently is hanging out in the lobby, as she is there in a matter of seconds. You guys talk and walk and then get to the classroom. She talks and then Squall stands up.

1. Sit back down again right away.
2. You can login to your terminal by turning it on.
3. Select "Tutorial" from the terminal menu and you can obtain 2 GFs (Quezacotl and Shiva). These are the primary lightning and ice elemental GFs respectively.
4. Look at the garden festival thing to learn about "Wimbly Donner." I don't know why; I thought it was funny. :D
5. Quit the tutorial (or if this is your first time playing, go ahead and play it.)
6. Go talk to Quistis.

1. From the Junction menu, Junction both Quetz and Shiva to Squall. Set your Ability Junction to Draw, Item, and GF.
2. From the GF menu, set both Quetz and Shiva to learn Boost.
3. From the Config menu, change the cursor to Memory (trust me, you want this). If you know the battle system already, set the battle speed to fast, too.
4. Head to the training center (see the display if you need), and enter it via the LEFT door. If you go through the other one, you might find a T-Rexaur. If so, I recommend running at your current level.
5. When you encounter Grats, be sure to call Quetz and let him kill them all off. After you have killed off 5, both GF should have learned Boost. If you need to heal up, just head to your dormetory (remember the directory?) and 'talk' to your bed and select "rest up". You can also save just outside your bedroom.
6. Once Shiva learns boost, un-junction Shiva from Squall (that's right - you DON'T want Shiva to level up at all for now.)
7. From the GF menu, set Quetz to Learn Card. and run around fighting more Grats. Be sure to save in your dorm room and sleep if you need to heal up. Once Quetz learns the Card skill, we'll change tactics a bit. See, as YOU level up, so do your ENEMIES. You want your GF to learn these awesome skills, but you don't want to kill off too many enemies in the process. If you successfully CARD an enemy, your GF will get Ability Points, but you won't get the XP and level up. Squall was level 11 for me - only 4 levels up from where he started.
8. Set Quetz to learn Card Mod and Shiva to learn I Mag-RF (Refine Ice Magic).
9. You can now re-junction Shiva to Squall. The next time you encounter Grats, call Shiva, and use the BOOST function. (On Playstation, hold down Select and press Square a few times.) See the counter that starts at 75? That means your GF has their power reduced to 75%. If you keep pressing square, that number will climb - but you DON'T want that at this time. For now, you want to weaken them, then use the CARD command to turn them into Grat Cards.
10. At some point when there's only one Grat around, draw-cast sleep on him. While he's asleep, you can draw Sleep and Silence without getting walloped.
11. Feel free to grind these guys as long as you want. I ususally take a break once Quetz learns T Mag-RF, then go play cards and Card Mod various Cards into items that I use T Mag-RF and I Mag-RF to refine into high-level magics such as Blizzaga, Thundaga, and Tornado.

Optional (Replay): If you do the Grat Farming I talked about above, you should likely have a bunch of Grat cards, and likely even a few Shumi Tribe cards. By being careful and dedicated to your card playing, you can get some insanely good magic VERY early on. Unlike most mini-games in the Final Fantasy series, this one can have a mind-blowingly huge impact on every aspect of the game. Be sure to check out the Cards Section's "strategy" entry if you want to thoroughly unbalance the game in your favor! There's no spoilers there, so go ahead and read through it. I'll wait. ;) Interesting, wasn't it?

When you're ready, head down several screens from the Balam Directory to the front gate to meet with Quistis. On the way, you'll pass a screen with a fountain on either side. The little pink swirly thing on the left is a draw point. Feel free to draw there. Be sure you've junctioned a GF so you can actually draw. ;) You'll meet up with Quistis and you can let her give you a brief tutorial. Traditionally, you will junction Quezacotl to Squall and Shiva to Quistis at this time. Hopefully you have acquired magic either through the card game or through fighting enemies in the arena. Experiment with assigning magic to different slots - most magic has a specific junction where it's most effective.

Outside
Get Ready: If you didn't already level up your guys through the card game, you should probably do a tad of grinding here to ensure a) you get the best SeeD score possible on your exam, and b) you have sufficient magics to actually beat the next section of the game. If you did the card stuff, you can skip this bit. Otherwise, Junction Quezacotl to Squall and Shiva to Quistis. Set Shiva to learn 'Boost', and Quezacotl to learn 'Card.' When you have acquired enough AP (Ability Points) they will learn the skill. If you had Squall draw Sleep and Silence earlier, you can junction one of them to Quezacotl's "Magic Junction" and draw faster. Squall needs to be able to Draw, Magic and either Item or GF. Quistis needs to be able to Draw, GF and either Item or Magic. I recommend not giving Squall GF and not giving Quistis Item. YMMV. When you get 100 Cure for Quistis, be sure to "Spirit Junction" that one. Squall should keep Sleep Magic Junctioned.

If you DID level up and have the Card skill for Quezacotl already, I like to use this time to have Quistis hit them once, then have Squall card mod them while Quistis draws various magic from them. Eventually, Squall should turn one of them into a Jumbo Cactaur, which is an over-powered card this early in the game.

Upgraded Weapons: If you've played the card game a bit, you might have sufficient equipment to level up your weapons now. Balam (the town, not the Garden you just came from) has a weapon upgrade shop; just follow the road to get there. If you obtained the Chef's Knife, Star Fragment, 2x Turtle Shell, and 8x Screw, you can upgrade Squall from the standard Revolver weapon to the really nice Punishment. See the Weapons section for more information.

Of Magics: Head West toward the train's tunnel heading under the ocean. The entrance has an Esuana draw point. Have Squall draw by examining (talking to) it. Along the way, try to find a bite bug and a glacial eye and draw to both Quistis and Squall for all of the magic they have, but follow the advice below to try not to level up too much. Once you're full of Cure and Scan, Have Quistis attack and Squall attempt to "card" these Glacial Eye enemies. It's possible to get a Jumbo Cactaur card, which is a GREAT early game lower-left card (you know how malboro cards are 7-7-4-2? Well, this one is 7-7-4-4! You can find Glacial Eye's more rapidly along the mountain edge, and the Bite Bug can be found on the grassy area. You can draw Fire and Scan from a bite bug; Cure, Scan and Blizzard from a Glacial Eye. I typically don't bother drawing Fire of Blizzard, though, as you can get them from the Refine abilities pretty easily. If Squall drew Cure from the draw point in Balam Garden (or a glacial eye), you can have him use that to keep from having to use potions, though the Glacial Eye enemies also have cure. When you are walking through the forest, you'll likely run across a Caterchipiller. Occasionally these will card-mod into Trauma enemies. Once you get Ifrit's Ammo-RF skill (requires Ifrit reach level 10), you can turn each of these cards into 30 Demolition Ammo (there are other cards to give you this too, but this one also has card values of 4,5,6 and 8, so it's slightly more useful. Don't go out of your way looking for it, though.

Of GFs and Items: After boost, have Shiva work on her I Mag-RF skill. After Quezacotl gets Card and Card Mod, go for Boost and the Summon Mag +x% skills if you want to try to beat the spider thing at Dollet tower. More on that later. When your hit points are getting low, have Squall use the Cure that he drew from the Glacial Eye. Keep any eye on the number of cards you have. When you get close to 100 of any card, Card Mod them into their respecitive item. FYI, 5 Fastitocalion-Fs can Card Mod into a water crystal, which you can I Mag-RF into the Water magic. That's a decient one this early in the game. While we're on the subject, two of the crystals give you 100 Magic. You'll eventually have six characters you'll want to give decent magic to, but you can swap between them if you'd like.

Fish Fight: Next, go to the shore and beat up some Fastitocalion-Fs. You get 3 AP each for the Fastitocalon-Fs, and they come 2 in a group. You do the math. When Quezacotl gets the "Card" command, set Squall to use it. Now set Quezacotl to learn Card Mod. Now comes some kinda boring down time where you ensure you can do some cool stuff later. You want to get AP for your GFs so that they can learn neat stuff, but you don't really want your guys to level up. The reason is that as your guys level up, the monsters get harder. Here is where the Card command comes in handy. When you successfully card an enemy, you can get AP for your GFs, and no experience points get assigned. So, you will want to card a bunch of Fastitocalon-Fs.

Strategy 1: Have Quistis use Shiva on the Fastitocalon F's once. (Make sure she goes first. If you have Squall do anything to the Fish (including trying to card them), they might 'jump up' which is bad, as Shiva will then kill them, making this whole exercise for naught.) Shiva will start out doin around 154+ damage (if you don't defeat them too often, she won't kill them off), then they will pop up. Use card on them. If you don't succeed with card, you can have Quistis attack the enemies once or twice - but DON'T kill them. You are only doing this because the enemies are more suseptable to carding as they loose hit points. You can also use the opportunity to have Quistis draw sleep from them. Remember, you can use the exchange magic command in the magic menu to transfer magic she draws to Squall.

Stragegy 2: Did you get a bunch of stuff while playing the card game? Then you can also do this with just Squall. If you've got an upgraded weapon, junction Squall for Attack and just hit the fish once, then card them.

Be sure your aren't forgetting to select a new ability once your GF learns one. When you're ready to move on, head for the fire cave located on the farthest eastern corner of the island. Don't forget to have Squall and/or Quistis load back up on 'cure' from a Glacial Eye en route if they used them during the Fish battle. Also, be sure to card mod the bite bugs, OK? You can get an elvoret card from them, and I recommend beating up on them until you get one. Really! Alternately, if you are REALLY dedicated (or not completely bored by now) you can keep doing this, but use Quezacotl instead of Shiva. Using the GFs this way jack up the compatability with the different characters, and that's really usefull later on.

Achieving high-level SeeDs
There are some things you'll want to know about pretty early on in this process. You'll be trying to get your character to a high SeeD level, and your STARTING level is determined by a bunch of things. Basically, keep the following in mind:

• It's less important that you choose the lowest time possible in the fire cave than it is to just barely squeek by. (FWIW, I've never had a problem with choosing the 10 minute option.) If you can swing it, you want to defeat Ifrit with less than 7 seconds on the clock. This includes the time it take to choose his name, btw, so be aware of how much time is left on the clock when you defeat him, then wait about that long while on the the "Nameing Ifrit" screen.)
• Beginning when you change your clothes after the fire cave, DO NOT talk to ANYONE you don't have to.
• While in Dollet, be sure to defeat at least 75 enemies. No - carding them doesn't count. If you don't want your characters to level up too much, just give Seifer any GF you're willing to level up, max out his HP and Str, and then kill your own guys so they don't get XP from battles. Try to never run from a battle during the Dollet mission.
• When you get to the fountain in Dollet, don't try to leave the area - just be patient.
• Don't "jump off the cliff" during the dollet mission - go the long way.
• When fleeing Dollet, be sure to talk to the dog one time to save it.

Fire Cave:
This is actually pretty easy. Just tell the guys up front you are ready and select a time limit. I chose 10 min on characters that had only fought about 10 battles and still got through in this time limit. Here's the secret. Quickly kill or run from anything that is not Ifrit. When you get to Ifrit, just use magic attacks of blizzard for Squall and Shiva for Quistis on him until he dies. Note the amount of time left on the clock when Ifrit tells you that he'll join you. Once you get to the screen where you can choose his name, wait that long. Really. It will ensure you get the highest possible value for "Judement" later on when your SeeD rank is assigned.

So Congratulations; you have earned another GF. If you're trying to keep from leveling up your characters - and thus the enemies you face - try to card mod any enemy you run across here rather than defeating them. For Buel, have Quistis hit them once before Squall uses Card. For Red Bats, since I tend to keep Quistis at a low level, I just have her use the Blue Magic Bad Breath on them. To be fair, this means you have to play enough card games to get a Malboro Tentacle which she can use to learn the skill. Anyway, this causes Poison virtually every time, so I can card them as their HP drops. (Don't try attacking them; you can't do less damage than the 10 or so HP they seem to have.) For Bombs, try to do around 300 or so Damage to them, then card them. As long as you haven't leveled up Squall's weapon to far, that should be easy enough if you're not Junctioning to Str.

If you want to play the brute force way, now is an acceptable time to practice junctioning Elemental Attacks. Have Quistis junction Ifrit and junction Blizzard to attack. Go find a bomb. Don't worry about the other stuff. After she hits once (provided she doesn't kill them in one blow) have Squall Card them. You can end up with a good supply of Bomb cards when you leave the cave, and Ifrit's Fire Mag-RF can get decent magic from these. You can get some Krysta cards from bombs, and those are really helpful for winning card battles. When you are ready to head back to the Garden, be sure to head to the road (nothing will attack you there) and un-junction everything from Quistis. You'll want Shiva along for the ride later. If you transferred any magic to Quistis that you want Squall to have access to during his test, be sure to transfer it back.

On Cards: Note: Save before doing this! If you haven't already been playing the card game much, you have a chance here to get pretty good at the card game. You'll likely have lots of Fastitocalon-F and/or Bomb cards which you can burn learning the game. I usualy head to the town of Balam at this point (west of Balam Garden; check your map with the Select button). There are two major schools of thought on this one, and I've taken both sides in the past. Basically, one says you should get as many cards as you possibly can as quickly as you can. The other says you should plan your card acquisition more carefully. If you want to go the "slow and steady" path, don't go for the "all" rule below. Since you can easily LOOSE cards, I like to play the fast path. If you want to go the "get a bunch fast" route, then... Keep Card Talking to the Queen of Cards (from the town entrance, head down one screen and left one screen) until she offers to play a game with you for "all" cards. Go ahead and use 5 Fastitocalon cards. It doesn't matter if you lose - all that matters is the all rule spreads.

Next, head to Zell's house (from the queen, head right one screen and go in the lower hut on the way out of town) and play against his little brother (if he's there, he'll be in the far right room). You should be able to beat him and get some decent cards. I usually throw one bad card into the middle, and then play my best cards around that. You can return to Garden and play against other opponents. There's a LOT more information in the Card Section, so please be sure to check it out!

Back to Garden:
When you get back to garden, DON'T go immediately and get changed. This is the best time to do some major butt kicking in the training center or to do some real card work. Want to shoot for a hard game? Feel free to level up Squall at this point. Head to the training center for battles or the Cafeteria for Card games. The training center is one big loop with doors heading left and right from the entrance. Take the left door and wander around for a bit. When you encounter a big plant thing or three, Call Quezacotl. Have him kill them all off. This time, don't worry as much about leveling up. Try to card when you can, but you really do want Quezacotl to get to at least level 40 or 50 before leaving. This will not take as long as it sounds (if you don't card.) In Config options, set battle speed to highest and turn ATB to Active. I went from a level 12 Quez to level 35 in about an hour and 15 minutes. Be sure to keep Squall's HP above 250 or so. Getting wiped out by three grats or a T-Rexaur sucks. As an added side-bonuns, Quezacotl's compatability with Squall will go up. As you travel around the loop, you will encounter 3 screens. The left screen, the top screen and the right screen. The top screen contains a place where you can save your game, and there are no monsters on that screen. The right screen has T-Rexaurs that sometimes show up, along with a guy that sometimes shows up and will sell you stuff. Don't buy too much, you'll need your money for Curaga (the best cure medicine) later on. If you really want stuff, play the card game and win some Wedge, Biggs cards. You can Card Mod this into an X-Potion, which you can sell for serious coin.

Be sure to check out the Card Section if you want to rediculously over-power your character before taking on any hard enemies. :)

When you are ready to move on, head for the Dormitory. Go into your room and get changed, examine the bed a second time to rest. When you leave, you will automatically go to the directory area.

The Test (aka Dollet):
Read this whole section before starting. It will save you some grief. Oh, and be sure to read the instructions carefully to defeat the X-ATM092 a few times as well, since it's kinda tricky.

Balam: When you get to the directory, you will be assigned a group consisting of Zell and Seifer. I said this before, but once you have control, try not to every talk to anyone until this test is over. Eventually, you will be allowed to leave. You'll get into a car and have to drive to Balam town. This is easy. Just follow the road. When you get there, you'll follow your teammates over to a boat and get in. (If you don't care about your SeeD rank, you can actually leave the town at this point. However, it doesn't appear you can win the Zell card from his mother at this time, so there's really no point.) Listen to the directions from Xu (pronounced 'zoo'), then go up top when Seifer tells you too.

Prep and Start: Cool CG sceens follow, and you end up on the beach. If you are trying to keep your levels as low as possible, feel free to junction all GF to Seifer and just kill your guys off as soon as possible. (Seifer can attack them.) This will ensure they don't level up, but Seifer is free to kill off the 75 enemies required to get a good "Attack" score for your exam. If you're just trying to enjoy the story, the first thing you should do is hit the menu button and junction GFs to people. Give Shiva to Seifer and Ifrit to Zell. Quezacotl stays with Squall. Always. Well, unless he's Laguna, but don't worry about that just yet. ;) If you use the Magic menu option, you can transfer all magic from Quistis to Zell (or Seifer, if you're planning to KO Zell), which is helpful! Follow Seifer's request to "Scout the area for enemies." Just go up past the fountian and take the upper right road. You'll get "ambushed" by more bad guys. At this point you should have taken out 6 mandatory enemies. Only 69 to go for a perfect score.

After that, go talk to Seifer once, then just walk around until you see guys heading up to some strange building on the hill. You'll follow them and beat up bad guys. If you're going for a perfect SeeD score, just walk back and forth across the bridge until you've killed your required 75 enemies. Be sure to give Seifer enough HP that you don't get killed off. Since I generally avoid leveling up my main characters, I find this is a fine time to let Seifer level up Quetz and Ifrit (but not Shiva - I like to reserve her at level 1 for Grat stomping back in Garden when I want to quickly AP-up a GF to learn some skill or other.)

Anyway... Once you're ready to move on across the bridge, be sure not to talk to the wounded guys you meet there. Oh, and it doesn't matter if Seifer gets the final killing blow or not. You'll go up one path where the wounded soldiers are, and then you'll go up another screen. On that second screen is where you should unjunction any GF from Seifer; transfer Quetz to Squall and Ifrit to Zell. If you gave Seifer magic, you can transfer it to other characters, or just leave it and it'll go to Selphie eventually. Use a Phoenix Down on any KO'd characters and then heal them up.

When you get to the top, Selphie will find you. Following her off the cliff probably won't cost you SeeD rank later, but it's easier to just walk around; head over toward the building. Selphie will join your party and demand you help her find Seifer. She will get any of the Magic that Seifer still had equipped, but NOT the GF. If you've been playing the card game and you have stuff you can refine magic from, this is the PERFECT time to do so. Make sure you junction Shiva to Selphie. Finally, make sure all three characters have junctioned the GF and Draw abilities. For the upcoming battle, I like to give Squall and Selphie Magic and Zell Item as the final ability. Head into the building and save at the save point on the right. If you care to draw it, the draw point on the left is a Blind.

Siren and Esuana: Head up the elevator thing and watch another really cool CG. Come to think of it, I restored and watched this CG quite a few times. It's just too much. When the cut scene is over, you'll get into a fight with Biggs (the guy in Red). My strategy is to have every focus on drawing Esuna from Biggs until one (probaby Squall, who has Quetz and the Mag-J ability with Tornado or something else awesome junctioned so he draws 9 Esuna every time) is full. Then I have that character focus on beating up Wedge while the other two keep trying to Draw Esuna. Once Wedge is down, focus on attacking Biggs. You can always have Squall draw-cast Cure from Biggs to heal up Selphie as her HP drops. I don't bother ensuring everyone has 100 Esuna, fwiw. Random Side Note: Enjoy the company of these two bozos; you'll be seeing a bit of them throughout the game.

After you 'defeat' them, they'll get blown off the tower by Elvoret. DRAW SIREN BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! Once you've secured this GF, I'd say have people try to draw Double. That's a useful Magic to have in the next big battle. I usually do the same strategy as Esuna above - have everyone draw Double, and use Squall to heal up Selphi when she gets low on HP. Once Squall has 100 Double, I just wail on him. If any of your characters are taking too much damage from every attack, you can have them use their GF instead of drawing or attacking. Pause as soon as you defeat him so you can read the next section.

You'll get weapon's monthly (March) and other cool stuff. Then you are informed you have to run back down to the beach in 30 minutes. This is where any prep work you've done before will come in handy, as the amount of time LEFT on your timer directly impacts the SeeD level you attain (aka: your grade on this test). However, you can get a massive bonus if you manage to defeat the X-ATM092. Head down the elevator when you get the chance and JUNCTION ALL GFs TO SQUALL, SET THEM TO LEARN A SKILL. If you don't have Siren, restore from your last save and do it again so you get her. Also, make sure he's got Magic and GF skills set. No characters will get experience here anyway, so you don't really care if the others get KO'd. Once that's finished, SAVE YOUR GAME unless you don't have Siren; go back and get her. (BTW: I did all this once and accidentally forgot to draw Siren; UG!) I would suggest the following:

1. If you have Elem-Atk-J, junction Thundaga to Squall's Elemental Attack.
2. Maximize Squall's Magic
3. ... then Strength
4. ... then HP
5. ... then Vitality
6. ... then Spirit.

X-ATM092 and serious GF level-up: Like I said, Junction all GFs to Squall. This part is kinda tricky, so it's good to read the secion in advance. When you leave the tower, you'll face an X-ATM092, which should have around 6000 hit points. It's a pain, but VERY vulnerable to lightning. You have to fight it at least once on the way back to the beach. You can either choose to avoid it otherwise, or to fight and escape for lots of AP. Avoiding will give you a high SeeD level, but fighting will give your GF MASSIVE amounts of AP without leveling your characters up - which is pretty tedious to do otherwise. If you're trying to avoid him, the important things are:

• When it first starts following you, press down and run to the next screen.
• On that screen (where Selphie jumpped off the cliff), press left and run as soon as the screen loads.
• On the following screen, hold your 'walk' button (PS: Triangle) so you don't stumble - which would cause an encounter.
• On the next screen, hold down and run all the way down the stairs.
• When you're running across the bridge, it will jump over you. Keep running right for a few seconds after it jumps you, then run left. You'll see it jump over you again, but it's mostly off the top of the screen. As soon as that happens, run right as quick as you can, and you'll avoid it.
• On the fountain screen be sure to 'talk' to the dog so he runs away.
• On the remaining screens, continue running down toward the beach until the cut scene begins.

To begin, have Squall cast Scan on it. Find out how many hit point this thing has. This is your toggle number. If Quezacotl can do more then this number on the first hit, he is dead in one shot, if it takes more then one hit, he'll be dead in two. If you have Squall junctioned with Thundaga on elemental attack and tornado on strength, and can use Renzokuken, you're home free. Have him do that and the enemy WON'T show "Reparing." Next, have Squall do a normal attack to wound it so it repairs. Run away while that's happening. Otherwise, you can have Squall call Quezacotl. DON'T WASTE your 30 minutes with other characters attacking or especially calling other GFs.

Only try to run away when you've done enough damage to kill him, (he won't actually die), and then you do LESS so it's forced to repair. You can rack up the AP here - it's 50 points for each time you do this. You can get into fights with him and earn 50 AP multiple times. Note that you can fight him more than once in several of these places, but you can only enter the Menu screen when you first appear on the stairs screens. It's weird. BTW: The game may not tell you your GF learned anything. You'll have to go into the menu and check each time. Don't waste these points by having your GFs learn 10 or 30 point skills. (Exception: you need the Refine-Life magic skill for Siren.) Following this pattern, I netted 500 AP/GF in under 30 minutes. As far as I know, this is the only place in the game you can do this so quickly unless your characters are VERY fast. If you have REALLY fast (We're talking Speed=200 or more) you can do way better on Cactuar Island. I was able when I got to the bottom to junction 10 new skills among my characters.

When you run past the dog by the fountain, be sure to "talk" to him so he can run away if you haven't already killed the X-ATM092. NOTE: Be sure to have between 8:00 and 10:00 left when you pass the fountain. It's crucial in case you get stuck on the 'can't escape' screen. This leads me to another note. I don't know if this is a bug or a feature that you can exit when Zell or Selphie is talking about how "it repairs itself." It works for me, but it might not for you. Let me know if you can master this skill. Once you beat the machine by Squad C's postion (under the walkway) get the heck out of there. Watch the cool CG as Quistis mops the floor with the nasty robot.

Back to the Party:
After defeating the enemy at Dollet, you go back to Balam city where your good buddy Seifer steals your car. If you're going for a perfect SeeD rank, skip this section below and go straight back to Balam Garden. Don't forget - you don't want to talk to anyone or escape from battles along the way! If you don't care about your SeeD rank, you can do some things here. On the other hand, all of this can be done when you come back to Balam in a few minutes, so it's probably not worth it to drop your SeeD level just for this. but if you want... If you had Siren learn 'Refine Life Magic.' Head to the store and Refine/Sell/Buy Tents until you have 30 tents in your inventory. Next, have Siren 'Refine Life' from them so that all 3 of your guys have 100 Curaga. This is the best 'Cure' medicine, and if you junction it to Squall's HP-Junct you can get around 100 HP for every level he is (So a level 30 will have around 3000+ HP, but Tornado is probably your best junction now - if you've been playing the card game, that is). This is especially important in that when you have 1/4 your Max HP, Squall can call Renzokuken.

Speaking of GFs, now is a great time to RE-JUNCTION them. NOTE: You cannot get Zell's new Fight Magazine here yet. For the FT's (first timers): if you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry. You'll see soon. Read the Weapon's Monthly. If you've been playing the card game, there's a good bet you have a bunch of cactus thorns in your inventory. If so, you should be able to use Ifrit's Ammo Refine to get 80 Demolition Ammo for only 2 thorns.

If you've been playing the card game and using Quetz's Card Mod skill, other great refine and Junction magics at this time include Zombie Powder -> Zombie, Regen Ring->Full Life, Mesmerize Blade->Regen, Life Ring->Life, Saw Blade / Chef's Knife->Death (L Mag-RF) and Sleep Powder->Regen (Tool-RF). When you are done with refining, be sure to experiment with Junctions for best effect. I like Tornado for HP, Regen for Vit, Death for Magic, and Curaga for Spirit. Now head back to Balam Garden. If you wanna beat things up or explore the island, now is the time to do it. Want some more Esuana? Follow the train tracks behind the town into the cave and press the 'talk' (not 'card') button. You should find it.

When you get back to Balam Garden go watch the higher-ups gloat around the directory and then head right and try to walk past Seifer. After the evil faculty member interrupts headmaster Cid, head back to the elevator and go to the 2nd floor hallway just outside the classroom. Just hang out and don't talk to people. After what seems like more then a normal amount of time, you'll be invited to talk to the headmaster. After you get your evaluation, be sure to talk to Headmaster Cid in order to get your battle meter. You'll be returned to the hallway. Talk to the people there if you want, then go toward the classroom where you got Shiva and Quezacotl.

When you next have control of Squall, I recommend getting your SeeD level up. I took the tests and got him up to SeeD level A. After this, Selphie will hang out while you change clothes (I know, it's a little weird) then you'll go to the dance. I know, you have the option not to change, but you can't leave. It's weird. Sign up for her little gig if you want (and haven't already), then dance with Rinoa. (Where did the drink go? Shutup! Oh. Sorry.) More cool CG here. Squall's a pretty fast learner, isn't he? Heh.)

In the Secret, in the Quiet Place:
Then Quistis will give you your 'final assignment' from her. Go back to your room and change clothes. Before you go running off, take this time to SeeD Level-Up. Using the tutorial to access the TEST function and level your SeeD Level all the way up to whatever Squall's actual level is, then meet her in the hallway in front of the 'secret area' or training area. Be sure to switch the junction from Selphi back to Quistis here, then head for the 'secret area.' It's actually not any big secret. Remember the center screen in the training area? It's just to the left of the save point there.

Go ahead and save your game here (but not over your last save if you want to watch the Rinoa dance scene CG again) then head out along the plank there. Through this whole scene, you'll be staring at Garden. Any ideas what the geometry of this place is? ;) While we're on the subject, look at Quistis' hair in this scene. How DOES she do that little flippy thing in the back? Boy, talk about defying physics. When Quistis is done yacking, go back over the plank and save your game again. Contemplate the answer to the question: Why does this game make you want to SLAP the main character?! Go ahead and wander around fighting things if you want, but don't head anywhere near the exit doors until you are ready to leave for the night.

When you do, you'll hear someone yelling for help. Then you see that girl in blue and green who refers in this scene to Quistis as "Quisty???" If you've played the game before, you may know what is going on, otherwise, I won't spoil the big surprise for you. (Wait, isn't this a walkthrough???) So you have to beat up a Granaldo and some Raldos. Where do they get these names, anyway? Depending on what levels your characters are at, you can get different spells from him. It's not worth it to waste too much time leveling up your characters before hand, though. If you want, you can fill up Squall and Quistis with Blind, Protect and Shell here, then just kill them and be done with it. One shot with Quezacotl did the trick for me.

After you have killed them, note how well you are treated for saving someone's life! Now THAT's gratitude for ya! If you really want to do more fighting, go back in and beat things up. Otherwise, leave the training center and go to bed. You can't get anywhere else (in fact in my game even the directory stops working here) so just go to bed. Zell will tell you you have your own room. Right as you walk in, you will go to sleep. You are awakened by Selphie pounding on your door. She won't come in; she just yells through the door. Wasn't she practically in the room before when you were changing? What is the problem with this picture?

My First Job:
As soon as Squall wakes up, look on the desk. Here is where you get your copy of Weapons Monthly, April Issue. Now, why not play the card game to get some cool stuff. Remeber those bombs, anacondors, etc you got a while back? Use them. The reason you want to get new cards is so that you can get the stuff you need to get the next best weapons for your guys. Here are the items you need (as listed in Weapons Monthly April Issue): Squall - 4 screws, 1 steel pipe. Zell - 1 Dragon Fin, 1 Spider Web. The other two weapons are Rinoa and Irvine's intial weapons respectively. Go find a guy in the Cafeteria who plays with Elastoid cards. Use Card Mod to get a steal pipe. Then, if you have screws from the Geezards at Dollet, you can get Squall his next coolest gun. For Zell, you need to acquire a Catcharpillar and a Grendal.

Now that you have the stuff you need to get cool weapons, go to the front gate. Just FYI, I was still unable to begin the Balam Card Club side quest at this point in the game. You will get your mission from Headmaster Cid. WHEN HE IS DONE TALK TO HIM. That's how you get the Magic Lamp that allows you to call Diablo. Now you can leave, but don't forget do a junction switch between Quistis and Selphi. I was able to defeat Diablo as soon as I got out of Balam, but I don't know that I would recommend novices try it.

If you want to try and defeat him, your best bet is to junction for high HP and high magic, then draw-cast Demi on him until it's only doing less than 100 HP each time. As far as I can tell, this spell actually does UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 1/4 of the enemies CURRENT HP. (In other words, multiply whatever number comes up by 3 to see what the enemies' MINIMUM HP currently are; it seems this only does about 1/8th of max damage to Diablos - maybe he's got 50% immunity.) In any event, have Squall Draw and cast Demi on him, and have Zell beat him up. Selphie should just wait around until the Gravitija attack, or until her HP get low. Keep having her re-roll her random spells until she gets "Full-Cure 1 time(s)." That will cure everyone and keep you from getting killed off. For my battle, Squall and Zell had HP over 2000, Ifrit and Quezacotl had the HP Junction ability, and I had 100 Curaga spells. Once you have Diablos, be sure to junction him to someone and set him to learn Time Mag-RF and the ST Mag-RF.

Once you have learned Diablos' refine abilities, you can mod various cards to get items that Time Mag-RF can turn into Haste, Double, Quake, Demi and other great spells. ST Mag-RF can net you Berserk, confuse, bio, pain (really cool!), meltdown, and break. I cannot overemphasise the importance of mastering the card game at this time. If you haven't already, head to to the cards section and check out the strategy area. When I went into the next area, the HP stats on my guys were: Squall at 5716 (LV 17 w/ Full-life junction), Zell at 3585 (LV 9 w/ Tornado Junction), and Selphie at 3482 (LV 8 w/ Tornado Junction).

If you are playing the card game, you can win a very powerful card at this time. If you leave Balam Garden, then head back in and go to the elevator, you can ride it to the 3rd floor and card-battle Cid. He plays with the Seifer card, and winning that NOW will be 100 times easier than winning it later. If you are going to participate in the Queen of Cards side quest, be sure you have won the Mini Mog card from the kid running laps around the middle of Balam Garden, then save, then loose that card to the Queen of Cards in Balam City. Talk to her after - she'll either head to Dollet, or Deling City. Reload your save if she didn't go to Dollet and try again. NOTE: You'll need to do this before you get on the train. It's not, strictly speaking necessary to start at this time, but it will make this side quest a bit easier. I usually save before I loose a card, then talk to her after loosing it. She will then tell me where she's going. If it's not a place I like, I reload and try again. This is also a great time to try and win the Zell card from Zell's mom. She's in the second house down on the right after you enter the town. Be aware that she *very* rarely uses this card, so you're probably going to have to play a *lot* of games to win this card early on. Be sure to refer to the Card Game Section for more information.

When you are sure you are ready to leave this area (you won't be able to return to Balam Garden for a while so this really is your best oportunity to master the card game and level your guys up!) go on to Balam. When you get there, hit up the Junk Shop and get some good weapons. When you're ready, head all the way left to the train station, buy a ticket for 3,000 Gil and head inside the station to take the train from Balam station to Timber.

NOTE: Make sure you have all your junctions taken care of here or at the save point on the train! You can't get Zell's magazine yet. Finally, walk into the train hallway and watch the Telephone poles scream by... While you travel under water. Hmmm. Anyway, talk to Selphi and then go into the cabin. You should recieve Pet Pals Vol 1 from Zell during this scene. If you believe in a higher being, pray that your machine doesn't crash while the annoying We-Are-Going-Into-The-Past sound effect is playing. THAT'S IRRITATING!!!

Who are we now?:
Now, you'll fall asleep and wake up as some guy named Laguna and some of his friends. Ward will get everything Selphi has junctioned and Kiros will get whatever Zell has junctioned. At least, that's how it's worked for me. YMMV, I guess. Since this area only seems to have Fungar and Geezard enemies, I usually set Enc-None for the forest. If you don't have that take care of your junctions, then go forward and follow the path until you find a car. There's a Cure draw point and a Water draw point along the way. You shouldn't need the "move-find" ability to see these. If you run across a Fungar enemy, you can card mod them - there's a possiblity they'll become a Wedge, Biggs card. Anyway, climb in the car and head to Deling City. The city is a bit of a maze, but there are only two places really worth visiting at this time. You should exit the car on a screen with a fountain.

OPTIONAL: If you want to draw all three characters up to 100 Life magic, you have a chance here. If you go up one screen from the fountain, you can see the arch over the road. Go up one more screen and you'll see a doorway on the right in the arch. You can go in there and go down the ladder in the building you find yourself in. There's a save point down there, and you can fight sewer monsters. If you happen across a "creeps" you can draw life from it. If you didn't already acquire Life magic from Card Modding Torma cards, this is a good place to get it. Besides, if the Crepes kills your characters off, well, you know you can use that spell on them, right? Your ability to Draw is correlated with your Magic attribute, so be sure to distribute the GF with the Mag-J ability to each of your characters. I tend to give Quezacotl to Squall, Siren to Selphie, and Diablos to Zell. You can junction Death or Tornado to Magic in order to increase how many magic you'll recieve with each draw. Laguna had no trouble drawing, but Ward an Kiros did. I had to fight a few of these guys and exchange Life from Laguna to the other guys to fill everyone up. Once in the sewers, cross the bridge and head down. See that magazine? You can't get it now, but you'll want it later. When you're finished drawing up Life, head back up the ladder, exit the building, and head back down two screens to the fountain.

To get to the next area, head Right, then Forward. Then go into the hotel and head down the stairs to the right. Talk to the lady and sit down, then after you stand go talk to Julia and sit back down again. After she invites you up to her room and leaves, follow her up. Talk to the Receptionist, then talk to her over and over, listen to Laguna be a dork and then wake up on the train.

Long and Boring Train Ride:
When the train stops, talk to the guy in the blue cap and vest. Tell him "but the owls are still around." Follow him to the train. Once on board, you can win the Angelo Card from Watts. Go wake up 'the princess.' Now go back to everyone else. After a long drawn out discussion of what you have to do, return to "the princess's" cabin for Pet Pals Vol II. Read both Pet Pals (yes, you actually have to read them to be able to set the skill), and then view Rinoa's Status Screen where you can set Angelo to learn whatever you want.

Then go talk to Watts; if you want, save the game before talking to him - so that you don't have to listen to the stupid schpeel again. Remember, stop for blue guards, run for red guards; you have 5 seconds to do the codes. I've never failed at this; it's pretty easy. If you do fail at it, let me know what happens, OK? Heh heh.

A quick word of caution. If you have reset the keys or buttons, you'll have to figure out which ones are which. The pattern on the screen didn't match my system (I remapped the controler I was using to resemble an actual PS controler.) Once you finish the train scene be sure to save your game before Rinoa begins her "serious negotiations" because, let's be honest, do you want to do that stupid train thing again? You have another opportunity to win the Angelo card from Watts (the guy by the door) here, so if you're playing the card game, take advantage of the opportunity.

BTW: The system may unjunction one or more of your charcters. Be sure to check over them thoroughly. I like to make sure that Bio is not junctioned as to Elem-Atk, as this enemy is immune. Do make sure everyone can draw, through, if you need Esuna or Double. When you are ready, talk to Rinoa. She'll lead the way to almost certain peril. This is a two part battle. The first part is fairly easy, but the second one will cast a lot of nasty status ailments at your guys.

If you can keep your guys alive (and cohererent), you can draw Esuana, Double, Berserk, and Zombie. Invariably one character will finish drawing before the others. When that happens, I like to have that character just hang out while the others draw. That way if someone is hit with Berserk/Silence, they can still draw-cast esuana. When you've drawn all you want, draw cast double on someon with high magic, and have then double cast cura for insta-kill. After the battle, you'll come back to the 'strategy meeting." Go over and talk to Selphie and Zell then go talk to Rinoa. You will get to see the contract between these guys and Garden. When that's over, talk to Watts again and then go assualt the TV station.

Assault the TV Station:
Once you leave the train, you can go to the pet store (one screen up from the train drop off) and buy pet pals vol 3 and 4 if you want. I'd recommend buying at least 5-10 Amnesia greens too. With those, you can force a GF to forget an ability. Like Quezacotl knows Elemental Defx1 and Elemental Defx2. You only need him to know Defx2, so if you make him forget the other, you can add cool abilities later (like ribbon, etc.) NOTE: DON'T HAVE THE GF FORGET ELM DEFx1 IF YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW ELM DEFx2! You won't be able to get Elm Defx2 later if you do.

Now head over to timber maniacs (one screen right from the train drop off) and get the magazine Girl Next Door (the closest stack directly in front of you. You'll need it later if you want to get the Shiva Card. It should be in one of the stacks in the lobby. For more fun, read all the back issues of Timber Maniacs you can find. By the way, if you are wondering about these magazines, read all of them that you come across. They'll show up when Selphie updates the bulletin board back at Garden. It's a random side plot, but worth the effort (at least in my opinion) as they help you understand WHAT THE HECK is going on with this whole Laguna thing.

Anyway, head over to the bar (from timber maniacs, go right one screen and up one screen) and beat up the guys who just harassed the drunk (they'll attack you). Give him his card back and he'll let you through the alley. (Or you can buy him his favorite beer to accomplish the same thing. For this game it was Mimette, but it may change. You should be able to guess it in a few tries if you talk to everyone in the bar.) Now head out the door the drunk was blocking and save your game. If you are playing a lot of card game, you can get page 3 (Forbidden, Armadodo, Tri-Face, Snow Lion, Abyss Worm) stuff from him - good for Card Mod'ing into Tornado, Pain, Zombie, Death, etc (via Diablos' ST Mag-RF capability).

Follow the alley up to the big TV and try to read it. I found "I'll never let you forget about me," "Bring me back there," I am alive here," and "Remember me." Anyone else read anything worth seeing? BTW: If you junctioned to Rinoa earlier, you can switch your junction back to Selphie or Zell at this time if it makes you feel better. I never ran into any fights here, though. Now head up the stairs and forward. When you have control of your guys after the Seifer incident, follow him left and watch the cut scene.

Go through the whole Seifer thing then get back to the bar. You'll get an offer to be put up by some lady. Follow the lady to her house, then talk to everyone when you are in the bedroom. You may have to talk to Quistis twice. When you can come down stairs, try to leave the house. Quistis will tell you where you can go. Next go outside and talk to the 'guard' out there. If you go down two screens, then right, you can get to the shopping/inn area. There's a girl at the Inn who plays with Page 4 cards (you can get major Thundaga by card mod'ing Dynamo Stons from a Blitz.

Now head right toward the train station. Talk to the 'old man' out there. Now you should have everything you need to leave town. Head right one screen and up the stairs, then across the bridge and down one screen. Keep talking to everyone in the main car. The system ask you if you want to "let Zell be," accept that and you'll ride to East Academy Station (Get off there). If you are trying not to get your character levels up to high, be sure to equip "Enc-None" here. It's possible your SeeD rank will go down by one after 5 attempts to pay you while you haven't been getting into battles, but your SeeD salary isn't going to be your main source of income in this game, so... Meh? Also - just FYI: There's nothing to prevent you from returning to Timber and staying at the hotel there so you can get the Timber Maniacs.

[Dollet Side note: If you want to, you can head to Dollet here, too. It's in the upper right corner of this continent. When you get there, take the left-most route down. Go two more screens down and follow the young boy into the house. Look at the painting, then head to the beach and listen to the old man and the young girl. The girl will tell you that the bone points out the location of a dogs hiding spot. Now, head back up to the fountain screen and talk to the dog. You'll get a treat. You can go back and look at another painting, then find the dog one screen up from the painter's house for another treat. Repeat one more time for one last treat. If you go to the inn and stay for the night, you'll be able to read an issue of timber maniacs upstairs. If you go to the restaraunt, you can find another issue upstairs on the poker table. You can remove the random rule here if you're patient - see the cards section for more info. If you beat the guy there at cards, you can get escorted to his back room. This is important for the "Queen of Cards" quest later on. I don't recommend plaing cards in Dollet without abolishing the Random Rule first. If you are good enough, you can win the Siren card from him here.]

[Obel Lake Side Note: You can start the misc side quest for Obel Lake here. See the Side Quests section for more information on this one.]

If you don't do the Dollet, etc stuff now (or after you're done with it), head over the little bridge when you get off the train at East Academy Station. If you run into a Thrustaevis, you can draw float. You should see a small woods to the West. This time things will be different; switch your junctions to Squall, Selphie before heading into the woods. (Into The Woods!) Remember to junction Squall, Selphi and Quistis (you're not junctioning Zell this time, and not Rinoa either.) Yes - you're gonna do another Laguna switch here, so ya better play this right.

I'm Laguna Again:
OK, this time while you're playing as Laguna and company, there are a lot of things you can do. First off, be sure to check your junctions - just in case! If you are trying to keep your characters' levels low, you have two options here. First, you can kill off Laguna and Ward early on, and have Kiros enable ENC-None. There will be a few battles you do have to participate in, but you can avoid most random battles. Second, if you have played enough of the card game to have won some Cockatrice cards you can ST Mag-RF into Break. This magic causes petrify, which means you don't get XP for killing the enemy and can thus keep your level low.

When you are ready to go, head forward along the path toward the top of the screen. There is a sleep draw point at the entrance to the facility which will recharge over time. If you follow these directions, you'll be able to draw three times. I got 21 sleeps for nothing. :) On the other hand, if you've been following along the card game stuff, you prolly don't need all those sleeps in the first place. Anyway, head down the road and fight some enemies. When Laguna tells you to run, head straight (don't take the right-hand fork) and you'll come to a big circular platform thing; there's a ladder here. Head down the ladder. There is a confuse draw point on the right hand branch en route to the ladder. At the bottom of the ladder, look around for a key (Hmm... What's this?). Pick it up. Received [Old Key!]... Aaaaand watch Laguna lose it.

Head down to the next screen. You'll walk across three trap doors. When you walk over the middle trap door it will go "click." Play with it and watch some dialogue. FYI: Much later on in the game you'll want to have these doors open. So let's see if we can figure out how to open as many as we can, OK? Continue right one screen and watch the guy fall into the trap.

Since you can't go left, head right to the T-Junction, then wander around next to the broken metal. You should find a second key. (Hmm? What's this...) Received [Old Key!]... And once again we see how well organized Laguna is. Head Right one more screen, then down one screen, up the ladder and back to where you found the sleep draw point. Now head back down (by going straight ahead, like you did earlier) and tamper with the far left trap door. When you get the insults, head back the way you came (I mean ALL the way back up the ladder, around the fork, down the other ladder, and back to the screen with the three trap doors - but this time you're coming in from the right side), and loosen the leaver on the far right trap door. Now, head right two screens and take the upward branch. On the next screen, head up and left to find the detonators. Press the red button first (for the furthest away boulder; left door opens) then the blue button (for the one closest; right door opens.) Don't mix up the order! All three doors should be open now - this will be very useful later on!

[OPTIONAL GRIND SECTION] You can get out of this area by heading either direction from the detonator, but if you go one screen up you can find Elastoid enemies while running along the metal stairs and bridge. You can draw Dispel from them, and you can card them, then mod those into Steel pipes. But more impressively, you can occasionally card them into an Ultima Weapon card, which you can card mod into an Ultima Stone. Once you have Bahamut's Forbid Mag-RF skill, these can become Ultima magic (which no enemies have available to you for drawing.) Also, you can mug Dynamo Stones from them. It takes about 700-800 pts of damamge before they're easy to card.

Emulator Note: If you're playing on an emulator which allows you to save state, the random number seed that determins if a card is "special" or not is re-rolled at the start of character's turn. This means - if you are using an emulator to play the game - you can simply get an enemy to the point where it's cardable, then:

1. Save State
2. Try to card.
3. If you get the common card, reload state and have all three characters skip their turn (the 'O' button on the Playstation controller.)
4. Go back to the beginning (save/try/load) until you get the Ultima Weapon Card!

Back to Reality Again:
When you return to your normal form be sure to return your GF in the proper characters, use a tent or healing magic if you need it, then head for Galbadia Garden. From where you emerge from the forest, it's forward and left (that's north). Once inside, head foward a few screens. *It's completely different.* (i.e., the In/Out arrows are the opposite of Balam Gardan. XD) When Quistis leaves, reform your party, then head through the turnsty. If you need haste, you can draw it from the light shaft in the center ofthe lobby.

Save your game if you'd like, then go directly right down a hallway. In that hallway take the left-hand door and go through. It should be an ice skating rink. Now go around it counter-clockwise until there is a door in front of you. Go through it and look for the Draw Point. That's the first place you can draw Life (unless you drew from the crepes in the sewers when you first became Laguna, that is). If you are patient, you can draw one or more of your guys up to 100 life, but if you are impatient, don't bother. You'll have another opportunity to fight an enemy you can draw it from soon enough.

Exit the ice skating rink, and head through the door on the right. The girl in the back of this three person party plays with all the page 6 cards. Remember L Mag-RF lets you refine Holy From Krysta's Holy Stones. Exit and go back to the room with the light shaft. Then go down the next hallway (counter-clockwise) and up the stairs to your right. Right in front of where the stairwell comes out on level two is a door. Unless you want to draw some double, go through it. [Optional]:If you want the double, head right and go around the upper walkway, continuing right. You'll go through a door, and at the bottom of a podium is a double draw point. Get it, and go back to the door at the top of the stairs.

Talk to Zell, then talk to everyone else. Keep talking to everyone until Squall leaves. Depending on how you've played, you may have to go back into that room. If you do, go get more haste (I mean, unless you can just use Diablos TimeMag-RF to refine it from an easy to acquire Magic Stone.) Come back to the room and talk to Quistis again. She'll tell you to meet everyone out front. Get more haste. On the way you'll bump into Raijin and Fujin. If you take the other hallway, you can get shell out by the athletic courts. When you are bored, leave. Talk to Quistis then head down a screen. Technically, I guess you can leave the screen here and level up as just Squall. I'm not sure why you'd want to, so just talk to Rinoa. When you've all been given orders, talk to Rinoa again.

The Plan Phase One:
OK. Find the train station by Garden and buy a ticket for Deling City. If you try to go to Deling City without the train, please note the large Galbadia APC in your way. Now get on the train, and depending on who's in your party, either try to exit the train or go and rescue Selphi from the clutches of Irvine. Well, you can't do that, but anyway... After going to check on him, and returning, and listening to him go on about what a horrible life he has, note that the train appears to hit something. This is why you have to ride the train. :)

When my guys finally reach Deling City, the game dies. SUCK! OK, I'll move to a different computer. Here we are. Once you get off the train, head down and enter the "down" side of the escalator, then go up the escalator on the next screen. Talk to Rinoa, then go forward to the next screen. If you talk to the guy in the uniform in front of the street. He'll tell you to talk to him when the bus to Caraway's Mansion gets here. If you're not doing the Queen of Cards side quest, just talk to the guard when bus 08 shows up.

Optional: Queen of Cards side quest. If you're doing this side quest, you can win the Kiros card that the Queen's father created when you lost the MiniMog card earlier. From the screen with the uniformed guy above, head right (you'll have to go out onto the street), then head forward. You should end up at the shopping arcade. Go down one screen to the next half of the shopping arcade and play the guy dressed in black, just up from the uniformed attendant. Head down one screen and right one screen from that location to arrive at Caraway's mansion.

When you get to the Caraway Mansion bus stop screen (it'll say 60 on the road), talk to the guard at his gate. He tells you to go and get a 'Code Number' off of a previous students 'Item.' In other words, the number is on some guys sword that he dropped when he bolted. Then have him escort you out of town.

He will tell you it's convenient to rent a car. Unless you've been playing cards and have used Card Mod to get some float or tornado, he's wrong. It's faster, but you might be in trouble when you get to the tomb. If you don't have these wind magicks, I recommend walking so that you can come across a Thrustavis. These guys have float. GET SOME! The easy way is to junction Siren to Squall and have him junction Status Attack to Sleep. Notice how the thing floats while asleep. Hmm... Anyway, if you want to go for 'brothers' when you get there, you may want to visit the junk shop in deling city to get your new character's weapons up to their max. Either way, head northeast to the end of the little penensula to visit the Tomb of the Unknown King.

The Brother's Grim:
Stock up on float for Squall at least, so that when the Brothers do their earth attach, it does not do REAL damage. You don't - technically speaking - HAVE to get brothers. You can go back from here and just give Caroway's guard the Code Number after you find it, but let's be honest. Do you WANT to miss out on a GF??? Plus you get *TWO* REALLY COOL CARDS out of this deal. OK head for the cave. To get there, stand by Deling City facing the ocean at it's closest point (to the south, I think). Then, walk along the shore following the ocean's edge clockwise until you come to a little forest looking area in the middle of nowhere with a door. That's it. Go in, save your game at the save point to the right, and head into the temple looking thing (you can safely ignore the girls fleeing in terror yelling "float.")

Go forward until you come to a cross in the path. That's where the sword should be. Read the number off of it. No I WON'T tell you the number. It's random; it wasn't the same for me twice. Anyway, if you want to fight the brothers and gain them as a GF, read on, otherwise, go back and tell the number to the guard in front of Caraway's house. If you run across a buel and a blobra here, you can draw various magic's out of the buel and cast them on the blobra, hint, hint. To get brothers, follow the right wall (6ish screens) along until you come to the first one (Sacred). Draw if you want, then beat him. It took one boosted Quezacotl to drive him off for me. Notice I didn't say kill. Oh yeah, if you want, you can draw Life, Shell and Protect (and berserk, though you probably have this full already if you want it) from this guy. I had two guys full of Shell and Protect from the earlier Garden battle, but I drew up the third on ehere. For what it's worth, don't bother using Mug on this guy - he has nothing.

There's a move/find save point here. Now, continue to follow the wall around to the right. (Notice, you have been going COUNTER-clockwise - according to the map you've been given - this whole time.) 8 screens, I think. When you come to a chain, (draw the float if you want) go to the right hand side and inspect it. SPLOOSH! OK, continue following the right wall. When you come to the next dead end (7 screens), you will see a water wheel and some gears. Go and inspect the gear. (It's actually a lock, I think.) Now on to meet the brothers. If you wish to save the game first (HINT HINT) enable Siren's move-find. There's a save point right here (or go back to the beginning, one more 90 degree rotation around the area). OK, now that we are ready, let's go. Head straigh up from the entrance. (Or if you saved at the gear box, that's back one screen, forward two screens, right, left, left, straight.)

Don't bother mugging - neither of them have anything. The "older" (little) one has Double, but that's the only difference from the previous fight. (Fun Fact: Those arm bands say "young" and "old", in case you're curious. XD). It took me one Quezacotl and one Shiva to finish them both off. "All too easy..." If you haven't been really leveling up your guys, you should probably junction float and/or shell and/or life to your elemental resist to ensure the don't do really nasty damage to your guys. You can cast float against them for major damage, too. ;) If you have Tornado, it's strongly recommended as a Elem-Atk junction for maximum damage. Then watch the weird guy come out of the tomb and he'll give you Minituar's Card. That's all there is to it. Head back out (should be down a screen or two, then straight three screens), making sure you have the ID number of that student from the sword. The number on the sword was 16 once, 47 the next, 140 the next, 32 another time; YMWV.

Optional: Queen of Cards Side Quest. Now that you have the Sacred Card, you can head back to Dollet and lose it to the Queen so she can have hear father create a new card. See the Card Game section for more info.

The Plan Phase Two:
Head back to Deling City. Remember that ID number from the sword? WHAT? You forgot to get it? I told you TWICE. Sheesh. Why do I bother with these things anyway. Oh. Sorry. Enter Deling City. (Go to the other computer to do this, as this one crashes again. MAN!) If you go to the Hotel and stay the night, you can get into the suite and get the Timber Maniacs off the floor beside the middle bed. Tell the number to the guard outside Caroway's Mansion (ones digit first, then tens then hundreds...). Now you get to go inside; talk to all of your guys. Don't worry about Junctioning your GFs yet, I'll tell you when you have to worry about that.

He talks too much, and you eventually walk around with him. When he dismisses you, you're free to wander around and do whatever, but eventually you'll end up back at Caraway's Manor. After some discussion, you'll follow Caraway around again. Eventually your teams will split up, and Caraway will head back to his mansion. Quistis will make a very stupid decision that she actually wants to apologize to Rinoa, and leaves her post. Wait a sec... Isn't the fate of the world, not to mention ALL her friends riding on her doing her job??? Sorry guys, this just isn't believable. Not even Quistis is that big a MORON. Anyway. Go back to Caroway's Mansion and get locked in. You are now Rinoa and you need a magazene. :P See that Sewer portal on the far right (not the big circle - the littler one)? Make sure Rinoa is Junctioned up (if Diablos has learned Enc-None, use it!), save your game, and go down it.

Head left a bunch and grab the "Weapons Monthly, May Issue" there. Head right to the ladder and climb up. Save your game and climb up the boxes - when you get to the top, you'll automatically jump to the wall. Head left, climb up the ladder and scale the little ledge there. When you have control of Rinoa again, switch any/all GF from her to one of the three locked in the general's mansion, then walk up to the sorceress and talk to her (I card talked for irony's sake.) Now press OK a lot, walk forward and watch the CG. After Rinoa gets killed by the Iguion, the scene switches to Quistis and the rest looking for a way out. Go grab a glass from the shelf by the door. A little farther down that same wall is a shrine. Put the glass in the hand of the statue. Now Junciton your GFs to Quistis, Zell and Selphie. Head down the corridor and save your game. [Card side note: The Creeps enemies can be card moded. Remember how the Grats would give you Shumi Tribe cards sometimes? Well the Creeps will sometimes give you a Sphinxara Level 7 Boss Card and the Grand Mantis will sometimes give you BGH251F2 Level 7!]

The Sewers (Part I):Go down the ladder. Now you are in the Sewers. Here is how to get through the sewer maze:

1. After you descend the ladder, step on the little bridge and inspect the water wheel.
2. Inspect the gate to open it and go through.
3. Go down the walkway.

Squall to the Rescue:
Oh yeah, Rinoa didn't really die. I was just pulling your leg. :) Now you have to go rescue her. Follow Irvine around the float and into the same area Rinoa climbed up the boxes. SAVE GAME AND JUNCTION Squall and Irvine. Of note: Both should be able to draw. Don't junction Fire or Bio to your elemental attack! For Status Defense, Junction Break to prevent petrification if you can. If you've got the Mug ability for Diablos, enable it. Check again that you can draw. You don't want to know how irritating it is to not be able to draw in the next scene. If you have Quake or Holy, consider junctioning these to Elemental Attack for this battle.

[NOTE: If you didn't go down into the sewers for Weapons Monthly May as Rinoa, you can do so here. Just open the sewer portal at the upper right and head down inside, then go left a few screens; head back up the ladder when you've got it.] Head up the crates, jump to the wall and scale the ledge just like the Rinoa, then another ledge to your immediate left. Run down the hallway and DRAW CARBUNCLE from the Iguion before attacking. If you've managed to get the Mug skill by now, you should be able to mug some G-Return items from them. Kill them before they kill you. Note that their Magma Breath attack can inflict Petrify on you, but they helpfully have Esuna you can draw and cast on an affected character.

Once you've finished them off, press OK a lot, then junction Carbuncle to any character that doesn't already have "Abilityx3" (likely only Diablos has Abilityx3 at this time), and into the hallway again. Notice the trap door? Go down it and grab the rifle. After messing with Rinoa's head and watching Irvine have a nervous breakdown, you are back in the other characters down the sewers.

The Sewers (Part II):
SWITCH THE JUNCTIONS BACK!!! Don't wander around down here with a bunch of unjunctioned characters! You can card-mod the red bats to get an X-ATM092. OK, now that we're back in the sewers, get back to our maze:

1. Go strait and inspect the gate to get through..
2. Cross the little bridge and inspect the gate on the upper left.
3. After you go through the gate, inspect the ladder. It should fall. (If you cross the ladder you can draw esuna on the next screen to the left.)
4. Go past the ladder and up the stairs on the next screen to the left.
5. Inspect the gate and go through.
6. Go down the hallway and through the next gate.
7. Go over the little bridge and through the gate to your right. (See the bio at the bottom of the next screen? Instructions on how to get it will be bulleted in a minute, if you need it - but it's easy to get from the card game.)
8. Go right for the full screen.
   If you want some Zombie:
   • Go over the little bridge, and through the gate down.
   • Pass this screen and get the bio then go back to where you were after step 11.
   Go part way over the bridge and up the wheel.
9. Go across the little bridge and down the other wheel.
10. Go through the gate at the bottom of the screen and go down a full screen.
11. Go down the wheel.
12. Go through the gate at the bottom of the screen and go down a full screen.
13. Open the gate and go down the wheel.
14. Go through the gate at the bottom of the screen and go down a full screen.
15. Open the gate, go down the stairs and inspect the ladder that is on your current side.
16. Open the gate just after the ladder and go a full screen right. If you've been following along, you shouldn't see a magazine here. You needed to get that either as Rinoa or as Squall/Irvine.
17. On the screen here, ride the wheel up. (You only had to knock down the ladder if you didn't get the Magazine already.)
18. Go through the gate and up a screen.
19. Go over the bridge, save your game, and then go up the ladder.

This is another instance where it pays to have one GOOD and the rest mediocre characters. On my game, Squall was at level 24 and the other characters were at level 9 and 12 for the final fight. [NOTE: If you can get the ability to mug, Squall can mug a Hero from Siefer and an Elixir from Edea; both have healing magicks junctioned, so you can just draw cast it at THEM to keep from killing them off before you've stolen. It took about 8 mugs before I succeeded.]

I used Quezacotl to wipe the walls with everyone. One use of Quezacotl killed Siefer, and two killed Edea. There wasn't anything useful to draw from Seifer, but Edea had Dispel, Life, Double, and Cura. As always, if you've been playing the card game, you probably don't actually need these. Anyway, after you win the battle and she kills Squall you get to save the game.

Congratulations, you have completed Disc One. To continue, head to to Disc 2.

Disc 2

Return to Laguna (Who is Blue?) :)
Disc II opens up to Laguna (and Ellone) who are in Winhill. There's a save point here and a curaga draw point directly in front of the dresser. Follow the girl downstairs and talk to her, then head outside. Just next door (on the left) of this house is a bar. Head to the front door of the bar. Walk inside and meet "a stranger." When you meet the stranger, you can talk for a while or go and kill monsters. Just FYI - it's super interesting to ask about Julia. You may learn something about the parents of a certain party member of yours. If you want to draw Cura/Slow, you can from a catcharpillar enemy. Also, you'll want to make sure you junction to both your guys. ;) I found an interesting junction in Shiva + Diablos (you can junction to nearly every stat this way). As far as I can tell, this scene only serves to give you more information about Laguna, Raine, Ellone, and Julia. No cool stuff that I can see during this visit to the town of Winhill.

Just do what you can to rid the town of monsters (if you want) or just run away from them and continue on. After you talk to "the visitor" you have to leave the bar, go to the end of town (all the way toward the viewer) and back. Outside the bar is a Dispel draw point (in the lower right of the screen). The next screen down has a Drain draw point and a flower shop. One screen right of the Drain draw point is a Reflect draw point. Down a screen from the Reflect draw point is an empty house, an empty hotel. At the very bottom of the town you can find a store on the left. Bare in mind that Laguna has his own money, but that any items he buys will show up in your inventory when you're returned to the other characters, so try and spend all his money! When Laguna says the circut is complete, head back to the bar and report to Raine and Ellone (well, Ellone tells you to report to Raine). Once you've made your report (after getting caught evesdropping) you'll want to head back to the room you first woke up in. I decided to see what happens if you keep Enc-None equiped. Laguna proudly announces he's exterminated no monsters, and Raine is thrilled...?

Wake up and smell the prison:
Jail Break, Phase One:
The next scene openes up in jail. You are Zell. Talk to Quistis, then Selphie, then Rionoa, then Rinoa again. Now press enter alot. Now you are Squall. Press enter alot. Fairly lame CG. Now back to Zell. Press enter alot. Now back to Squall. Press enter alo... are you getting as bored with this as I am??? Now Zell... Help the Momba. Now Squall... Lie or talk, whatever. Now you're Zell. Talk to Selphie twice ("I hope it won't hurt!"), then talk to Quistis. Finally, you can do something again! Use your get out of jail free card.:) Now it's time to JUNCTION! Go down one level to save your game (technically this is optional), then go up two (or one past your starting) to get the weapons. Kill the guards (if Zell can Mug, you can steal a potion or even a Remedy from a guard) and go back. BTW: Don't bother trying to do anything else. Zell cannot open any doors when he is by himself. ONLY when joined by Quistis and Selphie. As soon as you see your characters do their little zoom in sequence, start pressing the "menu" button.

Jail Break, Phase Two:

You want to get a chance to junction up your guys before the next battle. You'll likely wanna be able to draw, right? So make sure you've got some room available. Once you have returned the weapons to the other prisoners, your cell will be opened. Remember these clowns? (Yup. That's right, it's Biggs and Wedge!) You can mug a Strength Love from Wedge and Regen Ring from Biggs Draw anything you want, then kill them and leave. They had Reflect, Haste, Slow, Regen, Cure, Fire, Protect and Shell during my battle. Again, JUNCTION! Junction before leaving the cell as the three of them. Now that you have three usable guys, I recomend you play around for a bit. Unlike most locations, you cannot come back to the prison. EVER. So, since there are some cool things here, pay attention and get some fun toys. First, go back down to level 6 and save your game. Now descend to level 1 and start from there to get everything you can. ( You cannot go past level 1.) Here is a list of what each level has on it:

Level	Room	Stuff
1	Left	Nothing. (With M/F: Save point, Thanks Zach!)
1	Right	Combat King 001 (Zell learns "Dolphin Blow")
2	Left	Box with Pet Nametag
2	Right	Box with Strength Up
3	Left	Cannot Open Door
3	Right	Box with Pethouse
4	Left	Box with Tent
4	Right	Cannot Open Door
5	Left	Cannot Open Door
5	Right	Man 1*
6	Left	Cannot Open Door
6	Right	Cannot Open Door
7	Left	Nothing (you started here)
7	Right	Cannot Open Door
8	Left	Man 2**
8	Right	Cannot Open Door
9	Left	Cannot Open Door
9	Right	Draw Point: Berserk
10	Left	Save Point
10	Right	Man 3***
11	Left	Man 4****
11	Right	Nothing. (With M/F: Thundaga Draw Point)
12	Left	Cannot Open Door
12	Right	Cannot Open Door

Paying to Play...
Allow me to take a moment to explain about the strategy for playing cards here. I know it seems expensive to pay upwards of 500 Gil for each game you play, but there's a silver lining here. If you take three Tonberry or Tonberry King cards, you can use Ifrit's Ammo Refine skill to turn those into 90 AP Ammo, which you can sell to the guy on level 8 for upwards of 5,000 Gil. Other cards that make sense to sell: X-Potions from Wedge, Biggs and Fujin, Raijin, and the Ammo you can refine from Trauma, Oilboyle and Cactuar. Also, the magic you can get from refining Chimera, Ruby Dragon, Krysta, etc are worth WAY more than the money (or time, for that matter) you spend to get them. In addition to this, if you leave every hour or so to go save your game, you're going to earn your Seed salary of up to 30k. The bottom line is, I always leave the jail with WAY more money than I came. As always, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary.)

Prison has its Ups and Downs...
NOTE: Barriers start out on floors 2-6 and 9-12.
When you get to Squall (Level 13), he is called Laguna by the little creature (Momba). Then, he ask you to give them floors to make short cuts to. Be sure to talk to all the Moombas. The first set are "12, 11, 10." Just keep talking to him and recomending floors to make short cuts. All this really means is that later in the game you don't have to run around the ones with barriers. After that, leave, and you will hear the guys talk about stuff. Eventually, you and Selphis and Quistis will board the crain, with Zell up top. Don't bother junctioning to Squall here, you'll have to junction back to Zell before there's any action. When you press the button (go forward and press examine a spot on the right side of the console) you will start moving. In a little bit, you will end up at the bottom of the shaft. If you are peranoid about getting in battles, junction, otherwise just move right and then forward. Open the door to see the sand. Then you hear gun fire and go back. See Zell. See Zell run. RUN ZELL RUN! If you are just going to run, don't bother junctioning here. Otherwise, go ahead. In any event, continue on around the center hole in a clockwise direction. Get SMACKED. Squall comes to the rescue, then gets ridiculeded by Quistis. Everyone get's pinned down nicely and life more or less sucks.

Enter Irvine and Rinoa. After a brief discussion, (interupted by gunfire) Squall and Rinoa go up, taking 1 other person with them. I chose Quistis, so I will use those names to explain the rest of this scene. Junction everyone you have chosen, and head up to the top level. Try to leave, and the scene should switch to the other three. JUNCTION THEM! From this point on, your activity in the prison is basically on rails.

When you're ready to move on, descend toward level 3 where the thingy is waiting. STOP! READ THIS NOW!!! Now you should be back to Squall, Rinoa and Quistis. If you talk to the moomba up and left, you'll get a Cottage. The one just below the stairs down will give you a rename card. He also is trying to tell you that the guy just ahead will use confuse magic, and that you should run. Junction again, then you'll try to leave. Head up the small stairs and save at the save point off to your right. Now head up the stairs to where the catwalk is. If you have Diablos' ST Mag-RF handy, try and ST Mag-RF some Betrayal Swords to get confuse magic. Junction that to ST-Def-J or ST-Def-Jx2 for best results. Head up another flight of stairs until your characters notice the catwalk. Try to head out across the catwalk. You'll fight, then come back in. After a brief conversation over the radio, try to leave again. You'll get a cut scene, then a break, then when the music starts, it will collapse stranding Squall. As soon as any CG starts hold down the right arrow key. (Or controller arrow equivilant.) As the CG progresses you will begin to see a green light at the far right end of the catwalk. Squall should be moving toward it. Once he passes it, he should disappear.

Divided we Stand:
After the scene comes back into focus, you will all discuss stuff then leave in stolen cars. After a while you will park and have more meaningfull discussions near an Aero draw. You really shouldn't need to draw that by this point, but whatever. When you can move again, go climb up on the abandond vehicle and talk to Selphie. After a brief cut scene, talk to her again. You will need to choose 3 characters here. I chose Squall, Quistis and Rinoa to be on one team, and the Zell, Selphie and Irvine to make the 2nd team, so my dialoge will reflect that. Confirm you like whatever you chose, and then the scene cuts. When you see Squall, walk to the left (past the 'turn-sty') and hijack the train by hopping aboard and examining the controls. Some wuss will try to out-run the train to stop you. Then you become the other team.

You can now exit the vehicle, should you wish. I usually do so and go fight fish along the coast to get all four currently possible Stat-Ups from Ifrit (Str), Siren (Mag), Brothers (HP), Carbuncle (Vit). Once you do that, you can use one of the Rosetta Stone items you (may have) acquired in the jail to make one of your characters the level-up target. If you like, you can even head over the bridge to the city of Galbadia and sell/buy/junk - or even win the Rinoa card from her father in his mansion. You just need to talk about cards with him, lose the Ifrit card in a game with him, talk about cards again, and then he'll play with the card and you can win it.

Anyway, once you actually start driving the vehicle, it appears you cannot use the 'exit vehicle,' keys anymore. However, it CAN run out of fuel and then it only moves at a slow rate that is really irritating! So when you're ready to go on, head forward and around the inlet of water, following it until you get to the missle base. Feel free to use the map (press select a few times) if you need to to see where exactly you are going. When you get there, you will be allowed in by the security guards because of your amazing skills at subterfuge. Or possibly just incompetence.

To the Missile Base and Beyond!
NOTE: Since you will get different dialogue depending on what you do here, my conversations will all be italicized and written in green. Once you get out of the truck junction your guys for the final battle. You can wait if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you. Also, you'll miss Siren's move/find if you don't have it enabled. If you have the ability to use Siren's move/find, by all means do so. You start out in a banana-colored car. The missle base is north-west of your starting location, but you have to go past a watery inlet first. Just head north past that, then turn due west. You really can't miss it. Drive right in and you'll emerge as a group of your guys disguised in all-blue galbadian soldier uniforms. Here's what you need to do, in order.

1. Once you are junctioned, head over to the building on your left and go thru the door. Save your game if you wish, then examine the wall just to the right of the left most door. Now go through the door and walk past the guard. Walk quietly by.
2. Don't go thru the first door, but continue around the catwalk and head down the stairs. Save if you want, then head down the path past the stairs on the left. Draw blind if you want, then talk to the guards at the right.
3. Now go back down the hall then through the door by the save point. If you have Siren's Move/Find, you'll see the draw point. If not, it's in front of the machine that the guard is examining. Draw Full-Life. Now talk to that guard. They'll go on ahead.
4. Leave that area and head back along the left branch to the place with blind, and talk to the guards again.
5. Now head back up the stairs you first came down (go and draw more full-life if you want first) and talk to the guard at the first door (the one I "walked quietly by").
6. Go through the door (draw blizzara if you want) and Just hit whatever then bang on it hard, and do lots of b2 pressing.. Leave now, and 'try to talk your way out.' We were just going to call you guys!".
7. Go back to where you got full life and Play it cool. Now Help out. I'm not sure you can draw more here, so "push B2 repeatedly."
8. Now you can go back out the door and examine the control panel to the right of the door. Select: TARGET -> SET ERROR RATIO -> set ratio to max -> DATA UPLOAD -> 'YES' -> EXIT.
9. Talk to the man at the last stair case then beat the guys in the office up. You can draw confuse from the guy in red here, and it's useful to have that junctioned to "status defend" from time to time. You can Mug Hi-Potions from the blue guys and a Tent from the Red Base Leader. Afterword, examine all the computer systems in the room, then go to the next room (forward). This is a good time to junction for the BGH251F2 battle, if you haven't already. I junction for lots of HP and Str, then Elem-J Thundaga to as many characters as possible. Now examine the computers in the 2nd room, and set the auto destruct. Depending on how good your guys are, you can make this value whatever. I chose 10 minutes and was fine given the Thundaga junction.
10. After leaving the building, it's time to beat up on the BGH251F2. This large blue vehicle has Shell, Protect and Stop. Feel free to draw if you want, then use Lightning magic on it. Quezacotl is your friend. :) After fighting the vehicle, you'll fight the easy enemies inside. You can mug Potions from the blue soldiers, and another Tent from the red Elite Soldier. You should get 'Weapons Monthly June' for this. Now run around the parimeter like a chicken with it's head cut off and after a while your guys give up and sit down. Farewell my friends - your sacrifice will not be in vain.

What's up with Garden?
Prep work: As soon as you have control of Squall etc, JUNCTION. You can technically leave garden and head to the town of balam to weapon mod if you read the Weapons Monthly June you just won. There's not really much else you can do in Balam, as far as I can tell, though. In any event, leaving Balam Garden at least allows you to save outside on the world map, if you want. If you've been trying to prevent your guys from leveling up, this is where you need to start paying attention to their "to next level" XP info. Junction as many Stat-Up abilities as possible to the character with the least XP to go to the next level. For me, Squall was 100 XP away from level 12, and I won a few Rosetta Stone items from card battles in the Galbadia Prison. I used the Rosetta Stone on Ifrit so he has Abilityx4, and then I junctioned Ifrit, Siren, and Carbuncle to Squall. I junctioned the Move-Find ability, along with Mag Bonus, Vit Bonus, and Str Bonus. For the character with the next-fewest XP to go, I junctioned Brothers so I could get the HP Bonus - just in case TWO characters leveled up at the same time. If you only have Diablos' Abilityx3, use that to junction the Mag/Vit/Str bonus to one character. As your "Stat-Up Junction" character levels up, be sure to do use the Switch menu to switch that junction group to whoever is most likely to level up next. In addition to the above junction, I usuually do Quezacotl, Shiva, and Brothers to the 2nd character, and Diablos to the 3rd. This gives me 3 characters with HP-J, and allows me to junction Enc-None.

When you're ready to tackle this section, head through the main Balam Garden gate. You will almost immediately be acosted by a faculty member asking a weird question. In my game I chose to say that I was a follower of Cid (You know, the HEADMASTER) so I got attacked alot. If you tell the first guy you swear allegence to "Garden Master Norg," you can avoid some of the battles here, but you'll miss out on some excellent loot. Here's your general explination of what to do:

Finding Cid:

1. At the turn sty area, talk to the guy there for a mega-potion.
2. Now go to the directory area and talk to Rajin and Fujin, then circle around the garden clockwise. At each area of the garden, go and help people for cool prizes.
3. Your first stop will be the infirmary. If you jump in to the battle, you can mug wizzard stones from the enemy called. After the battle, you can card-talk to the doctor to try and prevent rule propagation here. Basically just keep card-talking and saying you don't want to play until she does NOT start off with "You know some rules unknown to this area." This will keep any rules from Galbadia from spreading to the garden, and will set Balam as your new home base for future card battles. This is one of two places where you can play cards during this session. Before you leave the area, be sure to non-card-talk to her also; you'll get an elixir!
4. Leave the infirmary and continue running around the area clock-wise to the Quad. Head left after the Faculty member retreats, head left and - since these people are in SeeD uniforms - explain you're with the Headmaster. Talk to the people here for an x-potion, then leave and continue your clock-wise circuit of the Garden.
5. Head to the cafeteria and talk to the Facutly member to start a Bomb fight. You can Mug a Bomb Fragment, if you want. After the battle, talk to the people in the Cafeteria for a Gyshall Greens, then continue your circuit around the loop.
6. Next stop is your dorm. Talk to the Facutly member there to fight a Catcharpillar (mug a Spider Web if you want), and then continue on. My party consited of Squall, Rinoa, and Quistis. Squall's room consisted of one bed. So that's awkward. Anyway, you can rest if you want. And you can save.
7. Continue around the loop toward the Parking Lot. You'll fight a Grendle along the way. You can draw Double if you need, and you can mug a Dragon Fin. After the battle, head to the Parking Lot and talk to Cid (and the other people here) for a Tent.
8. Head to the Training Center and save the younglings. You may not get the same encounter I did, but the dude called a t-rexaur on me. Mug a Dino Bone, then kill him off or card mod him. Talk to the gal afterwords for a Remedy.
9. Now you can head to the Library. Chat with the faculty member to fight a super powerful Grat (LOL), and talk to everyone to for a Remedy.
10. Continue around the loop. After you come full circle around the garden, you should see Xu running up the stairs. Follow her. She'll get off on the 2nd floor and goes around the corner past the classroom. Talk to her and she'll invite you to meet Cid. If you continue past where she was, you can go outside and talk to the Bandana guy there to play cards. He plays with Page 6 cards now, so if you failed to get something you wanted while card battling the girl in Galbadia Garden on Disc 1, you have another chance. (i.e., if you want to win a bunch of Krysta cards and refine them for Holy magic, now's your chance.)
11. When you're ready to move on, head back to the elevator and it will go up to the 3rd floor to Cid's office.

Saving Garden:

1. When the elevator breaks down, talk to the girls, examine the control pane, then examine the floor panel. You noticed that panel, right?.
2. Climb down the ladder quickly, and thank the stars Selphie isn't here. What a terrible angle for a ladder.
3. Anyway, once you get to the bottom you will automatically jump to safety as the elevator crashes down past you. (Wait, I thought it was STUCK. What broke? And why does it work in the next scene? Oh sorry Suspend Disbelief for maximum pleasure.)
4. Now, head down the hall and examine the floor with the big thing sticking out of it. When Squall jumps down the hole, he talks to himself about fire for a while. (fire... fire... he he he... FIRE... uh huh huh. huh...)
5. When he's finished, head down the tube and around the corner.
6. Go out the tube and down the ladder.
7. Get off the ladder and cross to the door across from you.
8. Open the door and go inside.
9. Examine the huge valve there in the middle. I needed two people to finish the job.
10. Now go back out the door you came in through and down the new ladder that has appeared.
11. Exit the ladder and head down the long catwalk. Begin random encounter sequence. Use Diablo's "Enc Half" or "Enc None" if you have it, or just fight/run.
12. If you do find a Tri-Face here, be sure to Card him, then card mod for the curse spike, then status-mag refine for pain. It's cool stuff. Anyway, go and draw full life here, then go around the big pillar in the middle of the floor.
13. I chose to just have Squall climb way up.
14. When you ge to the room, press the button on the panel and watch the effects.
15. Examine the ladder and climb back down. NOTE: BE SURE TO PRESS THE BUTTON FIRST! You can't come back up. Anyway, I tried to go around the corner and look for more full life but it was used up. There is a glowing green light on a gate on the ladder screen. (pretty much in the center of the screen.)
16. Examine the gate, then go down the ladder.
17. Save your game, then flip the lever and head toward the door; fight Oingo Boingo. I mean, the Boiling Oil. I meant he Oilboyles. You can mug fuel here, but you cannot card them. This is not an easy battle, unless you follow a few suggestions here. First off, be sure you saved your game! At high levels, these guys will have confuse, and that can ruin your day. If you drew and juntioned confuse earlier like I suggessted, this will not be quite so hard. Junction Blind to your status defense as well. If you don't have confuse (and you REALLY want to draw now), I recommend killing off one of them, then drawing confuse, while using curaga to keep your guys alive. If you get confused, be sure to quickly cast esuana (you can draw and cast, if you need to) to clear the status. Go ahead and junction confuse to your status def if you haven't already. You may not need it soon, but it's ALMOST NEVER good to have your character attack a friend (exceptions are: reducing HP to get limit breaks and clearing statuses like 'confuse.') For the curious, I always junction 'defensively' for this exact reason. Junctioning offensively can get your characters killed off very quickly. In any event, I summoned Ifrit and Quezacotl twice (a different time through the game) and that was a fairly easy way to kill them off.
18. Once you beat the oilboyles, go through the doorway and down the ladder (you have to jump on from the left). More cool cg.
19. Go down the ladder (you may not be able to see yourself, but you're at the top of the ladder) and off to the left.
20. Go forward and push buttons. Keep it up until Squall talks back to Rinoa. More cool CG.

Finding Norg: Before you go off to fight Norg, you might be interested to learn you can finally challange the CC group here. See the Card Game Section for more information. I used to think you can't battle CC Club yet, but he WILL show up on the screen one down from your dorm - if you've beaten Jack and Joker already. He came in from the west when I played against him.

1. Go to the second floor observation deck (past the classroom, through the door at the end of the hall. NOT THE EMERGENCY EXIT!)
2. When you have control again, go back toward the classroom. Now press B1 alot. :) Eventually, you will end up back in your room with Rinoa and she will ask you to show her around Garden. (Don't change your junctions unless you are planning on doing the CC side quest.)
3. Go counter-clockwise toward the directory and talk to the doctor along the way. After visiting the Doctor, head back the other way and visit the Parking Lot, the Training Center, and the Library. When Rinoa looks around the library, head one screen right. Try talking a few times, then leave the library and head toward the elevator.
4. When you get to the directory screen, a member of the Garden Faculty will come and tell you to go down the elevator. You can leave the screen now, if you want. You can do the Card Game side quest for Balam's club.
5. Talk to Cid, then follow the Faculty guy to the battle with Norg.

Squall now wants to go talk to Cid. Junction Leviathan and set him to learn Supt-Mag. After that you'll want to teach him Spr+20%, Spr+40%, and then Spr Bonus. Once he's learned Spr Bonus, you can use the Abilityx4 junction to really level up one of your characters as I mentioned above. Before starting, save your game in the training center and have a little play time to explore Garden. I like playing the Card game here. Even if you lose your cool cards, you can always go back to the save point in the center. Also, it's a good idea to card a bunch of things here and have Leviathan learn Supt-Mag RF. His recover skill can also do 9999 damage to undead, so it's good to have as well. GF-Med RF is usefull, I guess, but I've never used it. :) 'Man from Garden' also begins appearing here in the TC, so you can buy/sell stuff if you want. Things you can't do: Talk to Pigtail Girl in library. Leave Garden. Play cards against CC Heart or Cid. (but you can beat the Balam Garden Card Club through Spade en route. When you are ready to continue, go to the Infimiry and talk to the doctor and Cid. Give report, etc. Now walk around to the directory and tell Xu where Cid is, then head to the 2nd floor observation deck. After your party splits up, go and find Ellone. (Big hint: She's in the Library.) Press "ok" a lot, watch squall go through a crisis...

Fisherman's Horizon
After Squall's philosophy lecture, he'll wake up in his room. Either go with Rinoa or not, then you'll walk around a little bit and end up in Cid's office. When you get control back, you have another opportunity to win the Seifer card from Cid before it becomes really hard later. After talking with Cid, head down to the 2nd floor deck and head down the catwalks toward the center of town. Talk to the guys of FH for some background info. On the way, there will be a ladder down in the middle of a catwalk. Take that and head left up and down some ladders. You'll meet the Master Fisherman and (if you're good) you can spread the OPEN card rule around, but be careful of the Sudden Death rule. Also, regular talk to him and he'll give you occult fan III. Keep talking to him until he asks you to talk to his 'pupil.' Go back up the ladder and continue right.

Mayor:(The mayor's house is in the middle of the big solar cell array.) If you're playing the card game, head right a screen before walking through the front door. You should run into Martine, who has the Ifrit card if you lost it to Rinoa's Father. Talk to the mayor, then go right and draw Ultima from the hidden draw point by the machine. You can win the Quezacotl card from the mayor, if you're good (it took 6-7 games before he even played with it for me). If you've been playing along with the Queen of Cards side quest, you can also win the Irvine card from the mayor's wife. After that, head back to garden to ask Cid for permission to allow outsiders into Garden. Along the way, Galbadia will show up, and you'll have to follow the mayor to help him (If you try to go back to garden before helping him, Cid will just ask you if something's wrong.) Then you fight standard Galbadia soldiers.

For the initial battle, you can pretty much just attack them; standard Galbadia soldiers shouldn't be much of a fight for you by this point. As a bit of an asside, though, if you've been leveling up your guys, the enemies will also level up and have better stuff. You can mug potions/tents from low level Galbadia soldiers, and Hi-Potions/Cottages from higher level ones. After the battle a familiar looking BGH251F2 (Ironclad) shows up. If you have steal (mug), use it. I got an adamantine out of this thing! To beat it easily, use Quezacotl. 3 tries for me and it was toast. Now we see our friends again! You'll have to talk to Rinoa first, then you can talk to Dobe. If you come back to this screen later, there's a man at the bottom of the stairs. He tells you he has 256 cats, but that he can't count higher than that. This is a joke. For those of you who don't get it, Final Fantasy has nearly always relied on 8 bit numbers. 8 bits lets you count between 0 and 255, for a total of 256 different values. I guess you kinda have to be a computer nerd for it to be funny.

More Fisherman's Horizon: After talking with everyone there, head up the stairs and across the street to the tower looking thing. Go inside and examine the Momba. Then read the issue of Timber Maniacs. Now you can talk to the man about the battle. Play cards with him if you want, then leave. When you exit, head down the tracks and along the road to the right. Talk to the kid over and over until he gets it right. NOTE: If you try this conversation before talking to the Mayor, you may find the kid gives up until after the battle. Read any Weapon's Monthly magazenes you haven't already, then you can talk to the old guy on this screen to remodel your weapons. Remember, card battles can get you the hard to find stuff!

Head back left across the dock, and you can go upstarirs of the shop across the street for another Timber Maniacs. When you are ready, head back to garden, but don't let Irvine's schpeal keep you from talking to the master fisherman on the way there. He wants to meet you at the inn. Play along. Head back up the long ladder and head right. Down the elevator, and right to get to the inn. Talk there and head out to the junk shop area. Eventually you'll get a megalixer out of this, but you may have to talk to people for a while. And where the master fisherman used to sit, there is now a full-life draw point. ;) Now head on up to the garden.

A Couple of Couples: Along the way, talk to Irvine about Technitians, Selphie, guns and women. Head to your room and save. If you haven't already done it, I'd use this time to start take on the CC group (aren't you tired of me saying that over and over?) You can get GREAT cards this way. You'll not be able to play Queen or King until you've watched the concert. Head to the quad (stage area) and find Selphie. Then you will go to Cid's office and report. Amazingly, every single one of your charcters learned to play every instrument in their childhood. Be sure to pick the right ones. The dialogue later depends on what happens here. I recomend Flute, Guitar, Tap and Violin. Not only do you end up with dialogue that will explain alot, it's also pretty funny to watch Zell Tap Dance. :) After you watch it, you might want to go back and select Sax, Bass, Electric Guitar, and Piano. They'll play a different song (one that you may recognize...)

Once you decide, you will wake up as Squall. Leave your room and talk to Rinoa. OK, the two of you are going to hook up eventually, so you better get used to the idea. When you finally meet her, head out and talk to Irvine. Twice. Then you should get some decent music and a fun time all round. Then you'll go back down memory lane and.. OOPS! Time to go to the bridge IMMEDIATELY... Remember, that word comes from the greek, "IMME" or "Whenever" and "DIATELY" or "you have time." :) Just walk around if you want. So go to the 2nd floor classroom and talk to the girls to get your stats. Then go to your terminal and login.

Select "Garden Festival Commite" and read Selphie's diary, etc. You can also see the "Sir Laguna" page where all those Timber Maniacs you have read will show up. OK. I know it's confusing, but here is how this works. The Diary goes in reverse order, so that you can exit when you get to a place you have already been to. Unfortunately, it's irritating to no end to try and figure out what Selphie is talking about at any given time. I guess that makes sense, though. :) SO! When you are done, head out and up to Cid's Office (now the bridge.) If you've been following along, play against CC Heart, then talk to Nida (did you catch what Quistis just said...?)

You'll take control of the garden, but exit back to Squall (triangle, or equiv). If you want to play against CC King, just head back to your room and have everyone leave, then rest. Save when you've beat the King, then head back up to the bridge to continue. If you are playing the PC version you may now cheat, otherwise, I'd suggest you engage in other side quests. You should be able to continue the Queen of Cards side quest now, too. Of course, I always suggest heading to Shumi Village for a bit of Ultima Magic (it's all in the side quest area on your left). It cost 5,000 gil, but it's worth it. See the Other GF section to see how you can get Odin and Tonberry at this time, also.

Going up to Balam
When you rea ready to move on, head to the city of Balam for your next mission. When you arive, you realise that there are guards everywhere, and that Galbadia has taken over the town. Equip your party with Zell (and Quistis for a laugh), set your Junctions and head down toward the city. Talk to the two old people out front, then talk to the soldier. You may have to walk around a little bit before he finally gets suspicious. I just had my guys leave and then come back. Eventually, you should be able to convice him to let you into the city. Here is the order of what you have to do here.

1. Talk to the soldiers in front of the inn.
2. Talk to the soldiers down at the dock. Both guys and the dog.
3. Go talk to Zell's Mother (wander around his house. If you have Quistis in your party, head upstairs for a laugh).
4. Talk to the guys by the train.
5. Go talk to Zell's Mother again.
6. Go talk to the sick men at the train station, and the engineer.
7. Go gack and talk to the Dog (yes the dog) and follow him to the train station.
8. Now SECURE YOUR JUNCTION then follow Raijin back to the inn. Junction Notes: For battles where I'm using the Mug skill, I try no to junction any magic to Strength, Elem-Atk, or Status-Atk on that character. That way I don't have to spend time curing my enemy while mugging, or accidentally kill them off without getting the cool items I'm looking for. For this comming boss battle, if you junction Pain to Status-Atk on someone you can inflict them with Darkness.

Trabia:
Head to Trabia Garden in the norther part of the Island between Shumi Village and Balam. You should be able to see it on the map, actually. When you get there, Selphie will run ahead. Here's the order you have to do stuff in...

1. Follow her and talk to her and the gal she is with.
2. Now go right to the grave yard if you want to get another copy of Timber Maniacs.
3. Now go back past Selphie and head left. When you get to a fork in the road, go right.
4. Talk to the guy reading the book twice.
5. Follow the directions in the book for a copy of Weapons Monthly, August. (Head to the Fountain, and go down untill just before the scene switches. It's on the ground to the right.) You may have to talk to the little girl to get her to leave first, though.
6. When you have that, head back to the fountain.
7. Talk to her best friend then go and watch her cry at the grave yard.
8. Go and talk to the friend again, and then go and meet Selphie at the basketball court. Draw Aura from the rocket on the way, if you want. The basketball court is three screens left.
9. Talk to everyone, then try to leave.
10. Press enter alot and follow the guys outside. Talk to the little boy, then take the left path down to the ocean.
11. Now talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Then talk. After that you can go and talk. Here's a little story 'bout a man named TALK! Oh sorry. IF you pay attention here you MIGHT figure out what is going on.

• If you are good enough, go back and try to win Selphie's card from her best friend. Be carefull, though, since Trabia uses Random. FWIW, I came here after Dollet and she recommended a game with Dollet's rules and Trabia's rules. When I accepted and won, the Random rule was abolished from Trabia!
• I would also recommend people go after Odin/Tonberry if you haven't already.
• Shumi Village Side Quest (see the Side Quests section)
• Winhill Side Quest (see the Side Quests section)
• Chocobo Forests Side Quest (see the Side Quests section)
• Queen of Cards Side Quest - up through Chubby Chocobo (see Card Game section)

Eada's House:
To get to Eada's house, head due north from shumi village (which is very close to due north from Trabia. While you're there, get some Ultima!) When you encounter a land mass (not the one shumi village is on) follow it around to the left. When you see the lighthouse, you'll probably also see Galbadia Garden floating around nearby. Try to stay away from it. Don't leave the water until you are really close to the lighthouse. Then, land as soon as you can and walk the rest of the way. When you get to the lighthouse it looks familiar to Squall. If you go exploring he'll get the feeling there is something huge nearby. Duh! Go back to your Garden and head toward Galbadia's Garden. It should be floating over some trees nearby.

Attacking Galbadia Garden:
OK. This is going to be a long section, so don't try this without a bit of time to spare. I'm going to assume by this point you have the move/find skill and that it is always equiped. Get your party all healed up and head toward Galbadia Garden. It's floating over a bunch of trees near Eada's house. After seing Galbadia in binaculars with lenses that seem to be made of wax paper (then battle music starts. How could a battle be inevitable? It looks like a rotten apple!) Squall will be asked to make announcements.

Gentlemen, start your gardens!: Make your announcments. Pick as many as you want to make and then press 'no orders/end.' I chose { prepair for attack, prepair for defense, take care of lower classmen, and call my comrads. } If you jabber on about meaningless stuff everyone gets confused and it's kinda comical, but your SeeD level may suffer or your comrads may ridicule you. When the announcement is finished, head down the elevator. Squall tells you not to bother junctioning yet, and he isn't kidding.

After you go down the elevator, watch the CG of a deer with bad tendonitus. (I mean, how lame can a deer look jumping?) Talk to everyone you meet so that squall looks important. You'll end up on Level 2 first, so head for the classroom. Talk to the people there, then head back to the elevator and go to the first floor. Since you can't get anywhere else, head for the Quad. You can save at the save point along the way (by the trash can in front of the wheel-chaired guy ("Strategist"). GO to the quad and talk to everyone. Zell takes the ring, you talk to everyone again and try to leave. Nida comes on the air and requests you come to the bridge now, so go. Cool CG scenes.

Isn't she Expendable?!?: You are now Zell, et all. JUNCTION, then head left to the main area. After the ring switch, head farther left and watch Rinoa fall to her near-death. Now leave and go to the front gate to enlist Squall's help. The team will divide again, but you may have to wait until you leave the turnsty screen before you can junction. Remember to junction Rinoa's GF etc to someone else, as she really doesn't need it where she's "Hanging Out." Head your party to the elevator and select "2nd Floor."

Go left and enter the classroom. Beat the twerps here and talk to all the survivors. After sending the female student away, you will be summoned to the bridge. Head up and talk to the doctor. After about 20 minutes (no I'm teasing, it just seems like that long) you will again have control of Squall. You have to save Rinoa, but how? Well, she's at the Quad, so head for the classroom! (Bizarre, ain't it?)

Actually, your elevator stops on the 2nd floor and the idiot that was supposed to be taking the students to the infimary is lollygagging around looking for one lost sheep. Anyway, go help Mark. Choose "Look around for another option." Then "Press the button for the emergency escape." Just hold down the triangle punch button and wail on him. It's a pretty stupid way to do this in my opinion. I mean, the guy knocked my character off, and he had 9999 health and 255 str. I mean, one punch should have knocked him into oblivion. But anyway... After you save Rinoa and land, head left and listen to the dialogue.

Enter the Garden: Eventually you can enter Galbadia Garden. If you have move/find, there is a draw point in the distance past the entrance. It's aura for those of you who don't have enough allready. Head in, choose a party, junction and save your game. Here's the play-by-play, er, I mean, step-by-step.

1. Now head right, then right again at the next hallway.
2. Go up the stairs to the 2nd floor and talk to your good friends Raijin and Fujin.
3. Go left (past Raijin) and take the first door on your right.
4. Talk to the guy there for the first Key Card.
5. Go back the way you came and save your game at the save point.
6. Head left this time and go thru the door on the left which you can now open with the key card.
7. Cross the rink (you can draw protect at the far goal and life in the locker room), and head out the door.
8. You should be in a hallway. If not, you are probably in the locker room. Leave the room and head right until you find another door. Go through it.
9. Now that we are all in the hallway, head through the door on the right.
10. Talk to the guy there for the next Key Card [2].
11. With level [2], return to the save point by going down twice (after leaving the room where you got the card, of course).
12. Go right again twice to return to the stairway and go up to the third level (Rajin and Fujin are on the 2nd floor).
13. Go up the stairs, and use Key Card [2] to go through the door and head left until you jump off the ledge.
14. Continue left (draw shell if you want) and enter the garden.
15. You should be on a screen with chandallers. Go down three screens.
16. Head around Cerberus and save your game. Make sure you have junctioned everyone nicely (junction Mag Def to Quake).
17. Optional Great Magic: You can draw Pain, Bio, Flare and Stop from a tri-face here. (You can also mug curse spikes from them, but it's kind of unnecessary if you're drawing everyone up on Pain.) At the very least, get flare! I stocked up here (my guys are immune to poison). If the Tri-Face doesn't have the high-level magic you want, you can use Tonberry's LV-Up ability to increase the level and get the good magic.
18. Beat the dog (you may have to "talk" to him to fight him). If your team is lower level, I recommend junctioning air magic to Mag-Def. If they are higher level, be sure to junction Quake magic to your defense. Be sure you mug a Spd-J scroll from him, and if your charactes are a high enough level, he'll have Tripple you can draw, so be sure to have space available! Save again, then junction him, set him to learn "alert." Draw "haste" here if you want, then head left one screen.
19. Go through the door on your left and talk to the girl there for the next key card [3].
20. Back past where you beat cerberus and up to the 2nd level (you passed the stairs leading there on your way into this room.)
21. At the top, head left and go up the elevator. When the elevator stops, you can head right and save your game at a point there before these last nasty battles.
22. Draw from Seifer if you want and/or mug some mega phoenix potions, then beat him and head back to the elevator.
23. When it gets to the bottom, head down one screen, then right past the stairs.
24. Circle around the bottom of the screen and save you game at the save point.
25. You'll get 50 AP from the upcoming battle, so set your GF to learn accordingly. Now head right into the auditorium. After beating Seifer again (depending on his level, you can mug a Hero or Holy War from him) DRAW ALEXANDER FROM EADA!!! Now take her out too (you might be able to mug a royal crown from her - I did). If she hits your characters with status attacks, just draw-cast esuana from her. Her Malestrom attack can cause curse - be sure to cure it. She is reflected, and if you cast dispel at her she'll waste time casting that instead. I had to use cura on both Seifer and Edea to keep them alive while I used steal/mug to acquire the stuff I wanted.

Disc 3

Back to Edea's House:
After saving and swapping discs, Squall is back in command. Don't forget to junction your new GF, Alexander. You probably want his "High Mag-RF" skill. Leave the infirmory and head to the bridge. If you like, you can always talk to Rinoa first. Ha ha. Just kidding. You can't talk to her 'cause she's DEAD! No, you know I'm only joking when I say that. This isn't like FF7 where you know who DIES and REALLY PISSES OFF A LOT OF PEOPLE!!!!!!!!! Anyway, I'm not bitter. No, not a bit. (Stupid $!#@&*$ game.) Anyway, head up to the bridge and talk to Nida if you'd like take off for Edea's house, but...

This is also a great time (prolly the last chance, actualy) for taking on the Card Club in Balam if you have followed the two main principals. (Don't spread any rules to Balam and get lots of cool cards early on. Do the GF quests that you can for cool cards! Odin Rocks!!!!) If you head into the Training Center and go to the left branch, there's a Weapons Mon Jul magazine laying on the ground there.

Anyway, on to Edea's house... If you walk along the shoreline due west of the house (and keep pressing X), you should eventually find a Holy draw. Anyway, when you get to Edea's house (first screen up has an old issue of timber maniacs, next screen to the left has a curaga draw point). Cid will appear from the right, and talking with him will allow you to go on to the next screen. As soon as you do, you're able to play cards against Edea and win her card from her. When you're ready to advance the plot, talk to Edea a few times. You'll learn all sorts of things. ( If you seem lost at Edea's house, just try to leave and everything should work itself out. )

Now, if you have been following some other guides ( or the game logic for that matter,) you would jump to the conclusion you should be searching for a ship right now. That's wrong. You should now check that Squall has junctioned his GF and at least one other character has too - make sure you remember which character it is. If Squall and this characters already know Flare or Meteor, consider transfering their magic to someone else, as you'll be able to draw these from an enemy soon. When you're ready, go talk to Rinoa in the Infirmory and the scene will switch to Laguna.

Laguna the Actor:
Remember I said to check Squall and another char's junction earlier? Here's why. Now we see laguna's acting career. Watch the scene (right out of the Marx Brother's) unfold then battle the Dragon. If you get knocked down and select "I'm done for..." the game will actually end, which is totally stupid. Just tell the game you want another try. The best way I've found to get through this is to never defend and just use triangle as fast as possible to keep attacking, and thereby prevent him from attacking. When you knock down the dragon, Laguna will call for Kiros.

Select "Wait a minute," and you will be able to save and junction some GF to Kiros as well (since the previous junction was only for magic). If you have the game auto-junction for you, be sure to check and verify taht you don't have Fire/Wind magic junctioned to your attack (as for defense, that's actually a good idea!) While you're at it, if you have Tonberry, junction Lv-Up and Lv-Down to someone. If you get the Red Dragon at a high enough level, you'll be able to draw Meteor from him! (You can also get Flare, if you don't have enough of that already.) Don't forget to free up space, if either of your characters are full of magic. BTW: If you run around on these screens you can find Bite Bug and Mesmerize enemis, if you need.

If you head left after selection "Wait a minute," you can save your game, which I kind of recommend. :) Heh, heh. One time I totally got a Zantenzuken here. :D After defeating the dragon (by the way, a Mug will earn you an infirno fang) you will be held captive by Ellone's "charm." Eventually Squall get's the bright idea to talk to Edea. ("Hey wasn't Squall just talking to..." "SHUTUP!" "Oh.")

Back to Edea's:
OK. Despite the fact that now ALSO seems like a perfectly logical time to go after the SeeD ship, you're going to go talk to Edea. Head back to Edea's house. In route, stop by and look at Selphie's Diary logs of Laguna's articles. (If you missed it before, grab the 'Timber Maniacs' on the floor and read it.) Then go back and see what the new mag is. When you talk to her you will get a piece of paper that allows you to board the white ship. (If you want, save your game and then try without going to her house.) In any event, to find the ship:

1. Go to Edea's house.
2. Head north until you see some forest.
3. Go forward and float above the island in front of you.
4. That Orange thing that just showed up north and slightly east is the ship.

White SeeD Ship:
When you get to the ship you will be told that no "one believes you; go away." That guy is a jerk, head strait and say hello to a couple of old friends... After a delightful conversation about the good times you all shared (   >.>   ), head up the stairs and talk to Zone (you may have to talk several times). Give him the "Girl Next Door" magazene you got from Timber Maniacs Head Quarters and get the Shiva card in Return. Read the timber maniacs there too. In retrospect, the Shiva card really isn't worth the trouble it takes to aquire it, unless you're doing the queen of cards quest. Head back down the stairs and go past Watts and down the next set of stairs. There's a Holy draw point here, which you can draw from after a few moments. If you leave this area and head back toward where you first arrived, you'll be able to talk to one of the White SeeDs to hear a really creepy story. When you're ready to advance the plot, go back to the room with the Holy draw point and talk to the guy in the captains cabin a few times. You'll end up back on Garden. This is your last chance to do stuff for a while, but don't go to FH or talk to Rinoa until you're ready to move on.

While we're on the subject of things to do before moving on... If you aren't trying for a speed run, consider going back to the desert area at the far east end of the island where Edea's Lighthouse is. Each Cactaur you can defeat will net you 20 AP and very limit amounts of XP. This means you can really quickly get your GF's abilities learned without leveling up your characters (which results in high level enemies, and is generally considered a bad thing.) I would highly recommend getting Alexander's Med Data and Med LV Up skills so you can get 6xRemedy Plus (10 Remedy can become 1 Remedy+). If you have 6 of those in your inventory along with 6x Stell Pipe and 6x Malboro Tenticle, you'll be able to acquire a really powerful GF in the next area.

Finding Esthar City:
If you have found out that Ellone's in Esthar and have gone to talk to Rinoa in the infirmary, Squall will now magically show up in Fisherman's Horizon and attempt to walk all the way to Esthar with Rinoa on his back. Game physics aside, this is still a bit of a streach. When Squall is again controlled by you (like, 4 seconds later), walk right until the screen goes black and then appears again. Walk a little while, when you have control again, talk to Rinoa and walk some more. All your friends are, of course, waiting for you at the Esthar Contenant. I'm not sure how they got here, but they're here to wish you well, and of course to help you locate Esthar. You can take Edea if you want, but she seems a completely usless character to me. Anyway, enter the continant and head east into the funny looking blury area that looks like a big pit.

1. Head strait into the icy wilderness.
2. At the next screen, if you want Meteor or Thundaga, scale the head of the dinasaur skeleton on the right, and climb up his back to access the ridge off to the right. The draw point on your right is Meteor, and if you cross the little skeleton bridge over the path, you can get to the Thundaga.
3. When finished there, climb back down and head strait along the path.
4. Head right at the next screen, and under the two skeleton bridges.
5. Go strait one screen to arive at the 'T'. Head right one screen if you wish to save your game, otherwise, take the left fork.
6. The next screen contains an Abadon, so here are a few things you can do to prepare. Junction Holy to your Elem-Atk, make sure whoever has Alexander junctioned can call a GF, and/or make sure your team can use magic. Also, he can cast confuse, so make sure you've junctioned it to Status-Def if you can. If you're a high-enough level, you can draw Flare from him, so consider transfering the Flare from your three party members to other characters. This is a rather nasty boss that you cannot run from or card. You can however Mug a Power Wrist if you are either super Lucky or Super Patient. Call Alexandar, cast holy/curaga and he should be quickly gone. If he's at a high level, he may have Curaga, so you can draw-cast that at him for fun and profit. ;)
7. After defeating him, head to the next screen (top right of screen).
8. The next screen is the entrence to Esthar City.
9. You may either enter the city or continue right to reach a dead end with no usefull stuff there. :) Random Side Note: How come Rinoa doesn't fall off when Squall starts climbing the lader? Are her arms THAT heavy?
10. To enter the city, go to the middle of the screen (where the flashing ladder is) and press the 'inspect' button.
11. Climb the ladder, and head strait along the catwalk you appear on.
12. At the next screen, you may play with the control panel if you would like to learn something about the whole camoflage thing, or just go strait to activate the elevator.
13. Watch the non-pre-rendered scenes and then eventually arrive at the elevator stop.
14. Head strait again and watch the decently cool pre-rendered sequence.

Laguna at the worst possible moment:
You'll hear that irritating sound (and if you are really unlucky your computer will freeze in the middle of it and make it go ON and ON and ON until you reboot and download the new drivers for your sound card. Some geeks have all the luck!) and you will be transported back to the land of Laguna. If you're trying to keep your level low, be sure to equip Tonberry's LV Down skill and use it over and over. When Ward and Kiros leave, go over to the elevator. Laguna will complain (big surprise there) about being hungry. Talk to both guards and eventually they'll go away. Talk to the moomba a few times, then the other slave a few times, then the moomba again. Eventually you'll be in an easy battle.

When Kiros and Ward join you, don't forget to pause before the battle and make sure they've junctioned GF (since the Magic was transfered, but not the GF). Does anyone else find it annoying that you have to remember which combonations of GF work well together? I mean, I keep getting a good set, then the whole Laguna thing happens and now I have no idea what I was using. So for my game, I like to junciton Kiros with Shiva, Diablos, and Pandemona. Ward gets Brothers, Carbuncle, and Cerberus. Laguna gets the rest. Don't forget to have any "nnn Bonus" abilities junctioned. Also, I have Laguna using Tonberry's LV-Down ability, to prevent them from getting to too high a level. After a few battles, head up the elevator and walk over by the weirdly dressed folks to learn some stuff. Keep walking toward them until Laguna makes a brake for it (and accepts the position as leader of the resistance). When you have control again, draw death and/or save if you want, then head back into Lunatic Pandora. When you get inside, pick up the Weapons Monthly 1st Issue on the floor, then head down the elevator. Talk to Odine, fight a battle and go up an elevator. You'll get in the car and end up at Odine's Lab. Fight another battle and save your game/draw double if you want, then sit on the little chair in the center of the room.

When this elevator stops, draw flare if you want, then head through the door. Fight again, and head over to the control panel on the right. Inspect it a few times to unlock the door downstairs, then go to the glass window on the far end of the room. When Laguna finishes yelling, go back down the elevator you came up in, and head through the door at the far end of the room (it was locked before).

Back to Esthar:
When you regain conciousness, you will be acosted by the 'welcome commitee'. Eventually, Rinoa will be left in 'capable hands' (I'm still not convinced I know what the doc is capable of, but that's a whole different issue). You are now free to roam about the country. Talk to the Presidential Aide here and he'll tell you to head to the Lunar Gate. It turns out Ellone is in space. You would not believe how long it took me to figure that out the first time I played. (I didn't talk to the him the first time around.) You can also play cards against Odine to get the Ward Card. Leave the room and look at the painting over the doorway to the room you were just in. Doesn't that look familiar? :) To get to the Lunar gate, you're going to need to rent a car, but we really want to explore the city in the mean time. Since there are almost an infinite number of paths through the town to the rental place, here are directions for getting there in the minimum number of steps:

1. From the presidental hallway outside the room where you left Rinoa, head right (this is the screen where the queen of cards will end up if she ever says she's heading to esthar) and sit on the elevator seat (select yes when askedto 'leave palace,') and watch the cool CG. Wait... They have a protective bubble now...
2. Once outside, head down then right.
3. There's another one of those floating Seat things. This is a tube junction. When you get to the tube junction, take the 'City Entrance via Shopping Mall.' When you get to the mall, feel free to get off the lift and do some shopping, or head on to the City Enterance. Be sure to try and visit all the stores (you're just touching a screen, though some of the stores will give you a gift the first time you visit, so go back to them a second time. If Johnny's Shop is closed, just keep trying and it will eventually be open. This one has some good stuff - if you've got the Call Shop / Familiar / Haggle / and Sell High skills learned, you can get as much Gil as you need pretty quickly. Just buy 100 Tents and Cottages, then Recovery-Med Refine those into Mega Potions to sell back to the shop. Repeat as desired. There's also Cheryl's stop. You can get a Rosetta Stone here if you try to enter it a bunch of times - really! This will teach a GF Abilityx4. If you missed a rosetta stone while playing cards in the Galbadia Prison, you probably want this one. I recommend teaching Shiva Abilityx4 - that way all three characters can get the fourth ability junction. You can draw tornado around here if you want, but if you've played the Card game at all, you probably have had plenty of Tornado since before you even left Balam for the Fire Cave. When you are ready to continue, just get back on the transport seat and select 'To City Enterence'.
4. When you get off the tube, follow the big yellow triangle that points down (not the small flashing one pointing up), and examine the panel to the left of the rent-a-car access ramp. Select 'Rent Car.' (Trust me, it's worth it! The area around here is crawling with Malboro enemies, and they're not a lot of fun to fight. If you have to go on foot, I'd really recommend Enc None.)
5. Once you are outside the city, drive forward until that road ends, then turn right. Take the 2nd left and you should be pointed directly toward the lab where Lunatic Pandor was. Head south from there to go to the Lunar gate. (Note: When you return to the city of Esthar, be sure to drive all the way to the city center - where you came from.) If you get lost, press select and pull up your map.

Doomtrain Sidequest Note:
NOTE: If you want, go for the 'Doomtrain GF' at this point. Leave the city and head east by souteast until you arrive at Lunatic Pandora. Turn south and you should see the 1/2 U shaped structure of the Lunar Gate. Head south by southwest and you'll come to "Tear's Point." Go forward two screens and pick up the "Soloman's Ring" on the ground. If you have at least 6 steel pipes, at least 6 malboro tentacles and at least 6 Remedy+ potions, you can use it and call Doomtrain. His St/Elem-Def-Jx4 skills are great, and his Junk shop comes in handy! Also, the Forbid Med-Rf lets you get refine Attribute-Up items from the cool stuff you can card mod. In other words, if you have him, and like playing the card game, you can get seriously good characters at fairly low levels. Really cool stuff! Use Quetz' Card Mod skill to turn an Elastoid into a steel pipe, 4xMalboro Card into a Malboro Tentacle, and use Alexander's Med LV Up (must learn Med Data first) to turn 10 Remedies into 1 Remedy+. Doomtrain starts out with status attack/def junction, so I usually junction him to whoever has the Shiva-Diablos-Pandemona combination. (Since Siren and Carbuncle also have Status Def junctions, this allows all three character to be able to defend against various status conditions (like confuse, instant death, etc.)

Back to the Lunar Gate:
But on to the Lunar Gate. When in doubt, be sure to check you map, which now contains the location of all stuctures in Esthar. When you arrive at the Lunar Gate, enter the building, follow the lady and enter the tube ("I'll do whatever it takes"). You have the choice to trust Zell or not, but the outcome will be the same regardless of what you choose, so you might as well be nice. I mean, that was my choice. You can choose to be a jerk to Zell if you want. It's probably not that far out of character for Squall, I suppose. You're going to have to choose a party here. I like the Zell-Edea-Irvine group. This group should get all junctions - not the Squall-Rinoa-X group. I like to send Selphie along with squall, FWIW. Once you've chosen the party, have Squall follow the third wheel through the elevator door. Watch the cool CG and then move the remaining characters outside. Exit the building, return to your car (you have to be on the world map to get in your car, btw) and head back to the city. Don't forget - you need to drive to the city center, not just on to that part of the map.

Back to the City:
From the 'City Enterence' (where the big yellow triangle is) head left two screens, and down one. Draw Quake if you want, then talk to the research assistant and tell him, "yes" you want to talk to the doctor. Follow him, and sit on the elevator seat. When it stops go through the door in front of you and talk to the doctor. The short version is this - you want to try and jump on to Lunatic Pandora as it is crossing over the city. There are three places where you can do that. You have 20 minutes to complete the mission, or it's game over. See below for directions to get to the first point within the 5 minutes alloted. When you have your instructions you can leave. Feel free to talk to him if you want to have massive overloads of useless information. Once you have your characters junctioned (Enc None is a must here), leave the laboratory and head for the first contact point. There is no reason to miss it, so I'll tell you how to get there. From Dr Odine's lab:

1. On the screen where you exit from the Lab, head right to the main drag (meaning, get on the main drag, don't go right one screen).
2. Go Left.
3. Go Strait (upper left corner of screen).
4. Go Strait (Not left) at next fork.
5. Go Right (not strait) at next fork.
6. Follow the road to the right.
7. Follow the road to the right (you appear at the top left corner of the screen here; it's kinda hard to see your guys though).
8. When you see two Esthar soldiers looking at a blue car, stop and wait at the upper edge of the screen. I got here at 18:40 on the clock.
9. Wait for Lunatic Pandora to show up (it will show up when the timer hits exactly 15:00).

Lunatic Pandora. Part II:
You should enter Lunatic Pandora towards the base. There are a lot of dead ends and other annoyances here, so just stick to the path described below to get through with the least headache.

1. Draw Meteor if you want, and head up the stairs.
2. At the top of the stairs are three elevators, conveniently labeled Elevator I, II and III. Draw Curaga if you want/need to, then take number 3 (far right).
3. When the elevator stops, head down the stairs at the right and bottom of the screen, then take the ladder; you should end up at a confuse draw point.
4. To the right is a LuvLuvG (if you did the whole Laguna picks up and looses the key thing earlier).
5. From there, head left past the boulder and check each of the rooms.
6. Get the cool stuff (My rooms had a Power Generator in the far right, a silence draw point in the middle and a phoenix pinion in the far left).
7. Continue left. On your way, be sure to pick up Combat King 005!
8. When you get to the little room, draw Ultima (unless you have all your guys full of it)
9. Head back right a few screens, up the ladder, and back down the elevator. Because I had been fighting some battles for a while and had gotten paid by Garden, I was able to head straight down from Elevator 2 and get another hit at the Meteor draw point.
10. Go to elevator number 1 this time, and draw Holy if you need to, then head left around the corridor (you can draw holy across from the elevator). As you go around the corridor, look for a small cave on the right. There will be a Speed-J scroll inside.
11. At the fork in the road, head strait, and then you will be acosted by something you could probably beat, but you aren't given the chance to figure it out.
12. After Zell orders the retreat, watch some CG and eventually you will be Squall again.

Moon (base) Patrol:
When you get the chance, you may want to swap GF again.

1. Talk to the guy in the white coat, then pick up Rinoa and follow them into the room.
2. Save your game.
3. Optional: Abolish the Random card rule in this region.
   
   1. Hard Reset the game console (don't use L1,R1,Start,Select).
   2. Continue that game and do the following card challanges against the guy on the right:
   3. Challange and say no [1] time.
   4. Challange and say Yes, then Quit without playing [1] time.
   5. Challange and say no [11] times.
   6. Challange and say Yes, then Quit without playing [4] times.
   You should see the message: The "Random" rule was abolished from this region. If not...
   1. Challenge and say no [4] times.
   2. Challenge and yes Yes, then Quit without playing [5] times.
   It should be easier to win the Alexander card from Piet (the guy in the white coat here) now. Don't forget - if you challange often enough, eventually most opponents will offer the trading rule One instead of the normal one used in the region (in this case, direct - ug.)
4. Talk to Piet (in the white), then go into the next room and you'll put Rinoa on the table.
5. Save your game, then leave out the door on the right and head toward the control room (the far end of the screen).
6. Go Forward (past the stairs) and look at the screen when directed to do so. You can now go visit Ellone - she's up the stairs you walked past on the previous screen.
7. Go up those stairs and continue straight (that's toward you when you are playing and the game is upside down) and go through the door and talk to Ellone.
8. Optional: Win the Laguna card from Ellone. She plays with it - but rather infrequently; just keep trying. If you're using an emulator, this is a good time to use the emulator saves. :) Note that you won't have another oppotunity at this, and the Laguna card can be Card Mod'd into 100 Heros.
9. She agreees to come look at Rinoa. (BTW: If you didn't head to the control room already, then along the way she decides to take a detour and show you the moon; until you go over there and look at it, she won't follow you to the other parts of the station. Anyway, induldge her and then go ahead and follow her to the bridge. Go look at the monitor next to your other character, then talk to Ellone. You can finally get her to come with you to look at Rinoa.)
10. If you have already been to the control room, then the red alert happens when you head down the stairs.

1. Go save your game (this is actually kind of important, esp if you miss the next one.)
2. Follow her into the control room.
3. When she deactivates the seal, try to grab her.
4. CLick on the panel again and watch the neat Lunar Cry.
5. Follow Rinoa up the stairs and into the hallway you went through to get to Ellone (you will be forced to look at the eyeball, er-moon zit poping.)
6. Take the door to the right (it's kinda hard to see) and try to go out the air lock.
7. Squall will decide he needs a space suit, so go look for one. (Hint: The space suit is behind door number three.)
8. When you have it on, you can follow her out the airlock toward space.
9. Hold forward on the controller until you get to the main docking doors and realize you cant get out, then come back down. (At some point Squall should say, "I can't get out; looks like I'll have to go back.")
10. Follow the other clowns out of the area hallway.
11. Go find Piet (FWIW, this is your last chance to win the Alexander card) and talk to him.

1. Anyway, talk to Ellone, get on the elevator and go down, then watch another cut scene, (if your characters can draw, there is meltdown in a cupboard on the left, if you need it.)
2. If you have move/find enabled, you may see a save point here. SAVE YOUR GAME. I'M NOT KIDDING. You don't want to have to do all this over again if you screw up here.
3. Head through the door to your right.
4. Go talk to Ellone, then get in your escape pod's harness.
5. When you get out of your harness, go talk to Ellone, then watch the long and boring Rinoa Death scene (OK, some people may think it's not boring, but they're wrong. :) )
6. When Squall decides to commit suicide, he leaves the pod.
7. But wait, a really smart guy (Piet) said they were both going to die, so I guess they have to live!
8. Anyway, point the controller up and right/left untill she lines up with him (point just up/down or just right/left if you are on the same verticle plane). If she's drifting away too fast, press and hold triangle for a boost.
9. If you fail, you'll have to go through that whole scene again! (Just kidding, you'll get one more chance - and she wont be so far off center).
10. A large red thing will appear, and you'll be able to manuver toward it.

The Rangnorok:
Once safely inside the ship, JUNCTION NOW SO YOU DON'T FORGET. Sorry, voice of experiance there. When junctioned, save your game and re-engage the anti-gravity by trying to leave. One you go through the door (and change clothes) you will get a reward for saving Rinoa. Again. Anyway, Ever-The-Ladies-Man-Squall botches another meaningful scene by pointing out to a vulnerable Rinoa that they are about to die.

You'd think even Squall would realize that THEY ARE ALWAYS ABOUT TO DIE! On a side note here, Rinoa ALWAYS limit breaked to 'Angel Wing' when I played this part of the game. Odd. (Of course, if you have Odin, you can also get Zenzotsuken here and make it rain, but that is treated as 'normal'). But now you get to play a little game. The basic scenareo is that the Propagators (these colored monsters) can revive each other. The hitch is that they can only revive monstors of the same color.

Depending on your perfered level-up procedure, you may want to roam around here. If you like keeping your guys low-level with butt-kicking GF, you can kill these guys out of order all day long. You'll get 5 AP and an item (some kind of stone - it's pretty much random) but no XP so your levels don't go up. Note that you can't card them, but you *can* LV Up and LV Down, so you can farm cure, cura, and curaga if you need. They've also got Life and Esuna, and you can mug Wizard stones, so you can refine high-level magic from those if needed. I like to junction sleep to status attack so these guys rarely even get to land a blow on me. If you want to level up a bit, don't forget to junction ALL your GF (usually there will be a few junctioned to someone else by this point.) I guess I would say, if you're only a few AP away from something, or if there's a thing you really want right now, then go ahead. Otherwise, you'll be able to get back to the Cactaur area soon enough, and that's a much more lucrative place to grind in my opinion. YMMV.

So way - you have four colors, purple, red, green and yellow. The trick is to kill them in pairs. Kill the two purple ones, then the two greens then the two reds then the two yellows. In other words, if you kill a purple then a red, the other purple will come and revivie it's friend while you are fighting the red and the first purple will be back alive when you are done fighting the red. You have to beat these guys in the correct sequence before the game will proceed, though, so... Follow this easy guide to do what must be done in the right order:

1. Go down the stairs from where you first entered the ship and fight the purple guy.
2. Take the leftmost (main) door (read next item before doing this one!)
3. Run really fast and go through the door on the left side of the screen.
4. On that screen (which I'll call the cargo bay) kill the second purple Propagator. Congrats, that's all the purple ones!
5. Now go one screen to the left to where the ELEVATOR is and kill the green propagator there.
6. Now go back to the cargo bay and exit through the door on the right (read next item before doing this one!)
7. Run down (toward the player) and out the door to where you killed the first purple dinasaur (er, Propagator) before the red guy can strike.
8. Now head through that right most door and kill the second green guy.
9. That's all the Green Propagators.
10. Save your game. (Now do you see why I said to save your game earlier?)
11. Now go out the door and up the stairs to where you first saw the purple Propagator.
12. Fight Red Guy Number 2 - Now with less cancer causing agent... No, wait, that's red dye number 2. My mistake. (Out of curiosity, where was he before? Obviously he was healing the other red one! Oh, sorry.)
13. Then fight the red guy I have been telling you to run past for so long. :)
14. That's both Red Propagators. (Assume best Rod and Todd voice: Yeah!)
15. Now go back to the room where the ELEVATOR was and head through the door on the left to kill the yellow guy.
16. When he dies you will be in the elevator room. Go down two screens (toward the player) and kill the other yellow one. Where was he, come to think... No, forget I asked. I don't want to know.
17. Now go back and up the elevator

Saving Rinoa:
Fly the Rangnorok to the Sorceress Memorial. When you get there, take the long stair to the top (and draw stop if you want) where the guards are. Talk to the guards to gain enterance to the memorial. Once inside walk forward to talk to the Lab Guys. Then, walk left when the alarm starts. Go forward until he takes over and watch the cool CG. After the big guy in the robes 'talks' to you, you can leave.

Lots of things to do:
Check out the Side Quests and Other GF sections for a very large number of things which you can do at this time. I highly recommend getting any new GF, then heading to Cactaur island for some grinding to get them lots of AP to rapidly learn their Abilities. You may also want to get your weapons modified as high as possible at the Junk Shop. This may involve fighting monsters or winning and modding cards to get the required items. You can also continue the Queen of Cards quest if you won the Alexander card from Piet. You can also go after the Pupu Card (see the cards section.)

Also, if you go to Esthar and have Squall sit on the couch in the presidential palace, you'll see Odine leave the room. If you talk to the presidential aide, he'll tell you that Odine is still an important guy. From there, you can follow him to Odine's lab and play cards. At least, I don't think there's anything else you can do except look into the restraining room and watch squall mock Odine by suggesting he sequester himself there.

Optional: Dinner Time:
Do you have the GF Eden? Eden has an ability called "Devour" which you should really understand. By using Devour on an enemy that's been sufficently worn down (to around 25% of their total HP), the enemy will be consumed and you won't get XP (so your levels don't go up to fast). Depending on the enemy, this can have interesting side affects. For example, do you need some Adamantine to get your characters their best weapons? Head to the thin strip of island coast line north and a little east of Deling City. This area is called Dollet - Long Horn Island. Run around the beach area an you'll fight two types of enemies: Fastitocalons and Adamantoise. Devour on fish with simply restore your HP. However... If you use Devour on an adamantoise that's above level 30, your character will have his or her Vit attribute permanently raised by one. Here are the best things to Devour, and where to find them:

Enemy	Becomes	Notes
Adamantoise	Vit +1	Found along beach of Long Horn Island, North and a bit East of Deling City. Must be level 30+. Use tripple-cast demi by two characters to quickly wear it down. Can drop adamantine.
Behemoth	Mag+1	Best found on Esthar Continent after acquiring Ragnarok. Must be level 40+. Actually, better found in Esthar itself at the same time.
Malboro	Spr +1	Best found on Island Closest to Heaven (way North from Lunar Gate and a bit east). Must be level 30+. Set battle speed lowest & wait. Cast tripple and 3xDemi for all chars. Probably starts at level 100, so use Lv-Down once. Junction Status-Def as Berserk, Confuse, Pain, and Sleep.
Ruby Dragon	Max HP+10	Best found on Island Closest to Hell (westernmost island). Must be level 30+. Can drop Dragon Fangs.
T-Rexaur	Str +1	Best found on Island Closest to Hell (westernmost island). Must be level 20+

Edea's House and the Presidential Palace:
Back abord the Rangnarok, you decide to head over to Edea's House. Have the Rangnorok take you there (autopilot can be engaged by viewing the 'big map' while piloting around) and go on inside. Follow Angelo left one screen. After a while nothing happens. Yeah. Try talking to the dog. After a bit Rinoa shows up (or depending on your party she may be there all along.) Talk to her to begin another long and boring (but at least not pointless) dialog. After you are interupted, head right and try to leave to force Edea to talk to you. After a brief story, head back to the Rangnarok and over to Esthar City. Land on the big cylindar on the middle of town, the airstation. It's the default destination of the autopilot. You may have to nudge the airship forward to initiate the landing dialog. Head to the presidential palace following these directions:

1. Head down from the airstation.
2. Go right until the road ends and take the upper branch.
3. Follow that path strait until it ends in a triangle branch (not the first 'T' style branch).
4. Optional: Do you need Energy Crystals to refine Ultima or mod into powerful weapons? Head down one screen and talk to the hard-to-see all black character down the stairs to your right. This will start a battle with an Elnoyle. You can mug Moon Stones from him, or don't mug and receive Energy Crystals after the battle is over. You can also draw Pain, Double, and Holy, if you need these. You can turn him into a Card, if you don't want to get all the XP from the battle. If you need more crystals, leave the screen via the right path and return to respawn him.
5. Take the rightmost branch to the enterence to the palace.
6. Head forward past the guards and get on the little elevator/transporter thing.
7. When it stops, head left one screen - this is the entrance to the room where you first left Rinoa. Are you playing the Queen of Cards side quest? If so, go in the room and win the Phoenix Card from the Presidential Aide there. That is the last card in this quest.
8. Left a few screens from the entrance to this room is a door with two guards at the end of a hallway.
9. Step to the center of the room, but read below if you're playing cards.

Last chace for other stuff
After Laguna's Flower Power speech (and accompanying leg cramp) you'll be back abord the Rangnarok and heading for trouble. But first things first. HEADING TO LUNATIC PANDORA IS A POINT OF NO RETURN. Don't do that until you've finished all the other stuff you want to do. Be sure to check out the Side Quests and Other GF sections for a bunch of stuff you might enjoy. Also, if you do the Balam Garden Card Club quest, you'll be able to to a lot of really high power cards during the final sequence which will let you massively level up your guys. I strongly recommend getting all the GF, if you can.

If you'd like to use the Disc 4 Card Club rules to seriously level up stuff, I'd suggest you use this last opportunity to abolish the random rule from any place where it exists. Hopefuly you've nuked it from Lunar earlier. You should also considre removing it by playing games in Trabia Garden and Winhill. See the emulator note in the Cards section for more information.

Lunatic Pandora:
OK, this is your last warning. If you want to do any side quests, this is your last chance. At least get Odin, as it's fun to watch him fail for once. :) When you're ready to advance the plot, pilot the Rangnarok into Lunatic Pandora and do a bit of prep work. Do you have all the Full-Life magic you want? You'll be able to draw some soon, so if you want to transfer some away from your current party, this is a good time to do so. Make sure your team can draw, then save your game in the far right cargo bay of the Ragnorok. When you're ready to move on, exit the ship using the cargo bay one screen to the right of the cockpit.

Old Friends:
As soon as you get out, you will be forced to battle Raijin and Fujin again. First off, draw as much full-life as you can get from Fujin. If your charcters aren't a high enough level, she may only have cura. If at least one of your characters is level 30, it's worth reloading from the save point a few times, as her level is kind of random based on your charater levels, so give it a few chances. You can Mug a Power Wrist from Raijin and Megalixirs from Fujin. When you are finished drawing and mugging go ahead and kill them off. After the battle (I mean RIGHT after) make sure to junction to your new found wealth of Full-Life. I think it works best as Staus protection. Also, Ultima as an Elem-Def junction renders your characters IMPERVIOUS to any elemental attack!

More Old Friends:
If you are ready to move on, head left and then strait until you come to a dead end. Head left from there to see Biggs and Wedge. You can avoid them altogether, or go over and listen to Biggs whine. Don't worry, you don't have to fight them this time. They finally learned their lesson. :) Anyway, (save game then) follow them out into the hallway, then you are once again loose in Lunatic Pandora.

To the center
If you followed my instructions so far, you have basically cleared out this facility already. If you want, you can visit some of the draw points that you missed earlier (and some of them have recharged) but I will assume you know how to do that if you want. For now, what you have to do now is go beat some people. So, go strait down the yellow tube to the door marked 2. Go down and head left to the door marked 1. Go up one, and head left until you find the save point. Save your game, then continue along your present course (the path off to the right seems to be a dead end). When you come around the corner, you are ambushed by something called a "Mobil 8." In stead of just beating the crap out of it, try to mug. I was able to mug 2-4 [Vit Ups] from Left Probe, 2-4 [Str Ups] from the Right Probe, and a Laser Cannon from the main Mobil Type 8 enemy. After that, just beat up on the Mobil Type 8 (the middle one; don't bother attacking the sides!)

When that battle is over, you have a chance to switch your junction before the next battle. OK, I kind of lied when I said there was a point of no return. Technically you can go back to the ship and leave if you want/need to. Since you can draw Aura in the next battle, I like to transfer any Aura I have on my current party to my reserve party members to free up some space (and of course make sure everyone has the Draw Ability junctioned). Again, if your characters aren't all over level 30, be sure to save before continuing. When ready,follow Rajin and Fujin on down the path and save Ellone. When Siefer's buddies ditch him, go and beat him up. Draw Aura if you want. Oh, and if you have Odin, don't worry, he won't keep you from being able to draw Aura. When he can't kill Seifer, his sword goes up into another plane and grants you the power of Gilgamesh. See the GF Side Quests for more info on these two guys.

For the Seifer battle, I like to have everyone draw the magic they want, and when one person is finished (of if they were full to begin with), I have them cast triple on themselves and use Curaga on the whole party to keep everyone healed up while Seifer is attacking during the Aura Drawing phase. I then have someone Mug him for a Hero, and then just wail on him when everyone has the magic I want. Once Seifer is defeated you will see a small scene, then you will be asked to save your game.

Congratulations. You have finished Disc 3. When you're ready to continue, head to Disc 4.

Disc 4

Optional: Enter the Rangnarok:
If you just wish to beat the game you may safely skip this section. Otherwise, jump through the last door (the one farthest from where you started - you kind of have to jump off the middle of the link) to get back to the Rangnorok. When you go through the door, you will be on the beach off the eastern coast of Esthar in Grandidi forest. Enable Enc-None, then go north a little way until you can pass through a valley. Then follow the right wall to the small Chocobo Shrine up there. The shrine looks like a normal Chocobo Forest, except that is is in the middle of a regular forest. Once you get there you can ride the Chocobos in this forest for free. Just hop on him.

OK, Why would you want to do this? Because the Chocobos can run through shallow water! Head east to the coast where your door is, then follow the coast line all the way down to near cactuar island. You are looking for the Rangnarok. (Hint: You can find it by looking for the big red dot on the full screen map. Once you get to the Rangnarok, if you have defeated all the CC members, you can now play against them again, only this time they have RAD cards. You can complete your full collection of cards here and card mod them for all sorts of usefull things. In addition to playing the CC group, you can also go after other GFs and devour some enemies (See toward the end of the Disk 3 section of this walkthrough.) As far as I know, you can't enter any populated areas that I have found.

Card Club Strategy:
One of the quickest ways to get your characters really leveled up involves playing the card game here. In the room where you first found the Purple Propagator (the one with the long stair case on the right) you'll find the two girls who are Card Club Diamond. They play with Trabia's rules. Directly up from there (through the bit door with the ciricle) is CC Jack, who plays with Balam's Rules. If you go through the smaller door on the far right instead, you can find a save point. So here's the trick. The girl on the left will regularly play with any card you don't have from pages 8-10. You can use the Balam / Trabia jump to try and have various rules you don't like abolished. This means you can get rid of random, if you haven't already. One thing to know about CC Diamand. The one on the LEFT is the one you want to play. She plays with pretty much all cards. The one on the RIGHT only plays with SOME cards. If you play Left CC Diamond, she'll play with the first page 8 card you don't have, then the first page 9, then the first page 10. This means you can Card Mod the Angelo card into 100 Elixirs, then Med LV-Up those to 10 Megalixirs, then win back the Angelo card and quickly get yourself 100 Megalixirs, which could come in handy. I like to play with Irvine, Zell, Edea, Seifer, and Squall. That's a power card in every corner, and Zell as a good all-rounder. I'm guessing you're OK with becoming rediculusly overpowered at this point, so here's a guid for which cards to use and win back, and what you can do with them:

Card	What you get	Use Ability	To get...
Chubby Chocobo	100xLuvLuv G	Nothing	Each LuvLuv G will Raise compatibility w/ all GF by 20.
Gilgamesh	10xHoly Wars	GFAbl Med-RF Forbid Med-RF	10xHoly Wars => 2xKnight's Code => Forbid Med-RF => 2x Vit-Up
Minotaur	10xAdamantines	Forbid Med-RF	10xAdamantines => 2xVit Up
Eden	3xMonk's Code	Forbid Med-RF	1xMonk's Code => 1xStr-Up
Irvine	3xRocket Engines	Forbid Med-RF	5xRocket Engines => 1xSpd-Up
Zell	3xHyper Wrist	Forbid Med-RF	10xHyper Wrist => 1xStr-Up
Edea	3xRoyal Crowns	Forbid Med-RF	10xRoyal Crowns => 1xMag-Up

Other Doors:
There are two other doors by the chain. The first door teleports you to Galbadia- Wilburn Hill (near the now destroyed missle base). For yucks, you can go stand on top of the missle base remains and draw confuse. ;) The second door takes you to Centra- Serengetti Plains. You can get to the Centra Ruins from here, and obtain Odin and/or Tonberry at this location. I'm not sure there is anything else you can do on the Centra plains. Well, other than fight fish, jelleyes and geezards. I suppose you can get a chocobo at the chocobo forest there, but, uh, why...?

The Castle Improper:
Here we come a castling among... Oh Sorry, lost my focus for a bit there. (Danged ADHD!) Head up the chain from the beach where Edea lives (You have to go through a door to get there, though.) When you get to the top, you can save your game (and draw flare if you don't have all your chars full of it) and I suggest you do. Once saved, you can go back down the chain and level up your guys if you thing you don't have them good enough. When you have saved your game, head forward and all your other characters will show up. You will be allowed to select a new party, then you enter the castle. What's going on here is that there are different monsters in the area here that have sealed off certain powers.

You must get your powers back so that you can do things like save your game, revive down members, use items, use GFs, etc. Your party is broken up into two groups. I recommend two parties where one group (the usless one) only have Diablo's Enc-None ability. This party is only used to pull levers and flip switches, etc. The other party should be REALLY buff and kick-butt. I'll go through this in the order I recommend you do it. If you think you have a beter way of doing it, by all means let me know. Also, depending on which end game strategy you want to use, there are two ways to work this. One strategy is to get all your guys up to really powerful, and the other strategy is to just use three good guys to beat this section. If you are planning on getting all your guys up to powerfull, don't forget to switch around the character's you are using to do the real battles. They way I do it is this: when I go to save my game afer every major battle, I look to make sure I am fighting with Squall and the two weakest (I use lowest level to mean weakest in this case) characters. One more thing... If you missed any GF on your way here, you may want to draw any of the ????? you run across while fighting the minions below. You're welcome. ;) )

First Minion/Ability: Sphinxara/Magic:
You really need magic to defeat some of the other opponents (as they are only suseptable to things like Fire or Wind, etc. So head up the stairs in the middle of the enterence way with your real party. Junction your most powerful magic (ultima/full-life) to your strength, and don't forget to junction your Str +40% GF abilities if you have them, then go beat him up. He has two faces, and you have to beat both of them. You can Mug an elixir from him. :) If he summons another enemy, just ignore that one. You only have to kill off HIM, not his summons. Once you have defeated him, take the time to stop and junction your magic skill to your characters. Since you can't use any of you other abilities anyway, it doesn't really matter which one you junction to. Now (despite the fact that the game says you can't save) go back out the door and down the stairs to the enterence of the castle. You can save your game there, but don't save over the previous save spot, as that is where you will need to come back to if you find out your character's aren't powerful enough to defeat these guys. Don't forget to swap out some guys if you are playing that method. Now that you have your magic let's go onto the next battle.

Second Minion/Ability: Trauma/Draw or Resurect:
Depending on whether you character's have plenty of the best spells in the game, you may want to postpone enabling the Draw command for a while. If you don't have very good magic (how did you get this far?!?) then you will want to enable Draw for the next battle. Get your tripple and Tornado magic ready, and head up the main stairs again to where you fought Sphixara. From that screen, head right and go through the door at the end of the banister. In the next room, head down the stair case and through the door at the top of the screen (ignore the rope and green disc for now.)

Once you enter the art gallery, look at all the paintings, then head up the stairs on the right. You're going to need to look at all the paintings on this level too. Go left first and look at all the paintings you see, the return here and do the same thing on the right side. At the very far right, continue until you come to a draw point. I know, I know, no one can draw yet. But you aren't here to c draw. Look down at the clock painted on the floor. Where are the hands pointing? Look at the minute hand. It's pointing at the number four (roman numerial IV) but the spelling in roman numerials is listed here as IIII. The hour hand is pointing at Eight, or roman numerial VIII. The second hand is pointing at six, or roman numerial VI. You need to know this, because you will not be able to get to the next level until you figure out this puzzle. The way it works is this: When you look at the big picture opposite the stairway you took to get up here, you will be prompted to enter the three titles that are included in the work. They are the titles that include the letters in the roman numerials that the clock is pointing too. (Easy to figure out, isn't it?)

Anyway, you can only enter titles of pictures you have looked at, so if you didn't do it before go look at all the pictures in the room so that you have all the names to use. The title of the Picture is "In the Garden Sleeps a Messenger" or "Vividarium et Intervigilium et Viator." You must enter them in that order (hour hand, minute hand then second hand. See, it's easy isn't it?!?) Once you enter the name of the painting, you'll see a blck blob. Examine it and the next enemy (Trauma) will show up behind you.

You can either beat him up with weapons, or you can attack him with haste+tripple+tornado, either one should kill him off. FWIW, he has nothing to mug, but if he summons anything to help him out, be sure to mug THOSE for various stones. Although, if you have weak characters, physical attacks might not do much damage to him. Once he is defeated, you should get an Elem-Atk, and then you can unlock any ability you want. If you don't have the best magic, it't a good idea to unlock Draw. If you have OK magic, you can unlock Resurect to ensure you can bring your guys back from the dead. Remember, though, that you don't have the item skill, so you can only bring them back by magic (you did unlock that before, right?) or using the "Revive" GF Ability (when you unlock the command-ability ability). Once you have enabled your ability of choice, head back out of the castle and save your game again. I know, it's a pain, but do you really want to have to do this entire thing over again if you have bad luck on one battle? I didn't think so. (Of course, your computer may also decide to reboot itself for NO APPARENT REASON! I hate this machine! DA!) Don't forget to swap out guys if you want to play that strategy. You are now ready for your next battle.

Third Minion/Ability: Red Giant/Draw or Resurect:
Return to the clock, then head up though the door at the top of the screen. Ignore the green circle for now, and head down the stairs between the suits of armor. Take the leftmost bridge and enter the door on the left. When you enter the room, the door will close behind you. Junctin Pain or Blind to one of your charcter's attacks. Go forward and take the key. Now for a little advice. Unless your guys are REALLY strong, don't bother trying to attack him normally. If you do, you are going to get worked. He mocks you after an ATTACK. Note that a MUG is not an attack. If you have your guys MUG instead of attack, you'll be fine; he won't mock you. That being said, it won't do much damage; the only time you should attack him is with the character that is going to blind him. Nail him with Demi after that and he should fall easily. If you have draw and magic, you can draw/cast it on him. Or if you have triple and Expend 3x1 you can do A LOT of damage to him in one shot! When/if he throws away his sword you know he is almost dead. Have one of your characters on standby to heal the rest, as blind doesn't affect his ability to hit you with his fist. Once Demi starts doing only a small amount of damage (read double digit) switch one character to physical attacks to finish him. Take back whichever ability you didn't take above. Use the prison key to get out of the prison. Go back and save your game, and don't forget to swap out some characters if you are playing that strategy.

Fourth Minion/Ability: Tri-Point/GF Command:
Go back up the main stairway, but this time go through the big door at the top of the stairs. You will see a chandelier. Go across it and it will fall. When you get up, look a the hatchway that the chandelier just landed on. It should have broken enough to open up now. Open it and you will appear at the top of a stair way. Now comes the fun part. Equip as much thunder magic as you can to Elem-Defense. If you get above 100% def, this guy's damage will give you back health! If you don't you're gonna get hurt! Junction fire magic to your Elem-Attack. Walk to the bottom of the stairway and walk toward him. If the game doesn't start the battle, you may need to walk a little farther away from him. At the start of my battle, I got an "excalibur" which did 3K+ damage to him. Cool! I recommend haste-tripple-firaga.

Prepair to be scaned. He will scan you to analyse your weaknesses (if any). When he scanned my guys it just said: "Absorbs" and listed all possible elemental attacks. :) Wail on him, and you shouldn't have much trouble. Remember, this guy has a unique "Counter" ability that will send 4 million volts through you! (Number stolen from a Monty Python skit.) So if you don't have your guys all able to absorb lightning magic, you may have to resurect your guys! After you beat him, go and save your game Difficult to do this time, isn't it?

If you go back up the stairs, through the door at the top left, and then go down and right, you should exit by your other party. If you want to walk all the way back, go back up the stairs and through the door on the left. Next, go down a hallway and out the door at the end (on the right). You'll be back in the narthex (that's an entry way for those of you who didn't go to one of those kinds of churches growing up ;) ).

Fifth Minion/Ability: Gargantua/Limit Break:
Return to the castle and take your main party up to the fountain via the falling chandelier method (go up the staris, through the door at the top, and walk onto the chandaleer; when it falls, go through the door at the top of the screen). Walk around the fountain, and inspect it everywhere. Eventually you should get the 'Treasure Vault Key' around 7 or 8 o'clock. I just happen to find it one day while I was looking for a way to drink out of the fountain. Go through the doors behind the fountain and head up the stairs to your immediate right (ignore the swirling mass of stuff for now). As you walk across the little bridge, you will knock a thingy off the bridge.

Now go back to the room with the fountain and use the 'Other-Party-Leave-The-Castle' trick to get your party back quickly. Now enter the castle again. Go up the stairs and back to the Art Gallery. When you get there, go through the door and down the stairs between the knights. Now there is something glittering in the 'river' there. Head over the rightmost bridge and pick up the shiny thing in the water. Now go through the door on the right. You may draw ultima (if you don't have it full) then attack this guy. He starts out being a standard Vysage and the two hands (Mug a life ring and some wizard stones), then becomes Gargantua when you beat him. This enemy has a counter function (Counter Twist) that you may want to know about. Your weaker (Vitality wise) characters may need to use GF command (if you have it) or cast magic on him. He can be easily beat with Holy magic, by the way. Again, I recommend the haste-tripple-holy combo. Once you beat him, get Limit Break (really, you're gonna need it.) Remember, to quickly return and save your game, you may go back to the knights and switch to the other party, then head down to the area outside the castle to save your game.

Sixth Minion/Ability: Catoblepas/Command Abilities:
This one is drawn out. In fact, now you will need both parties. Make sure the dummy party has Diablos's Enc-None enabled and consists of all females. The other party should be the male characters. Really, otherwise it WON'T WORK! Take your main party to the green circle where the dummy party is waiting. Switch to the other party. Take the dummy party up the stairs and go left at the top. Go through the door there, and follow the parimeter around and down the stairs, through the door and down a long hall. You can stop at the next green circle (located in an elevator.) Switch to the other party. Take the other party to the room where the knights are (just past the art gallery) and (instead of going down there) take the stairs above the knights and go through the doorway on the left and down the not so long hallway. You should end up in the room where the other party is. If not, backtrack and make sure you followed these directions correctly! Walk onto the green circle and (if you have three guys) you should move the elevator down. Select "Switch to other party" and have them go left one screen to the library. Pick up the shiny thing on the ground (flood gate key), draw Curaga if you want/need, and go back to the elevator. Now take the real team to the room past the Art room (the one with the knights), then down into the basement. This time, go over the left bridge and examine that pump handle two times. The second time should cause the water to subside. Now, head back to the main screen. If you didn't get it above, you can get the treasure vault key by heading up from the room where the chandellier falls and examining the fountain there.

From there, go up the stairs and to the left, through the doorway, down the winding staircase, and through the door at the top of the screen. Just past the first collumn on your left, try to open the hidden door which leads to the treasure vault. Go down and use the Holy draw point, if you need. To proceed from here, you have to open all the coffins. Examining each coffin causes a different thing to happen. Let's label them from bottom left to upper right "A, B, C and D." Examine them in this order: C, A, D, B. This causes Catoblepas to show up. DON'T USE LIGHTNING. Instead, junction lightning magic to your defense and just use Earth/Water magic/GF against him. My favorite combo is haste-tripple-quake, but it's also pretty effective to junction Quake to your Elem-Atk. Oh, he has nothing to steal, so you don't need to worry about Mug. If you junction Pain to your attack, you can inflict Darkness on him, which renders his Deadly Horn attack useless. :)

He will fall. In fact, I have found almost all monsters (except Fastitocalon-F) in this dungeon to be weak against water. Keep that in mind. When you beat him, he'll use meteor against you, do don't be almost all the way dead. You should receive a Status-Atk from this battle. Get Command Abilities. He's a real wuss. Go and save your game. Don't forget to switch your guys back now. You don't have to have all guys and all girls here. :)

Seventh Minion/Ability: Krysta/Item:
OK. This guy is a real pain. At the beginning, have your dummy party go up the stairs and ride the chandelier down. Go stand in the green circle. You will be informed that the lever has been depressed (Maybe it needs some Cymbalta?) Switch to the other team and have them go up to the chandelier. They should be able to run across it to the door at the far end of that screen. Go through it and draw Meteor from the hidden draw point here. He's got a nasty counter attack (and he has nothing to steal), so don't mug or attack. Tripple Flare works well. Don't fight him using Ice magic, try fire and lighthing. He counters with Ultima when he's about to die, so be careful. You should get al Elem Guard from this, so your GF can learn Elem-Defx4. Also, after he's defeated, you can draw Meteor from the draw point here. When you beat him, go back and save your game, then switch any characters you want.

Eighth Minion/Ability: Tiamat/Save:
Last ability here. Take your main party to the room with the organ. Go up the stairs on the right, across the bridge, and through the left door. Climb the tower until you get to the pendulum. Just before the section of the walkway which has collapsed upon itself is a gap in the railing where the pendulum is swinging. "Examine" that gap an you should jump over. Once you jump over, enter the doorway. If your guys are good enough, kill him before he casts "Dark Flare." Of course, if you are set to absorb all magic, you'll get MAJOR health from him when he casts it. That's VERY nice. Of course, Rinoa's Angle Wing + Meteor does wonders, too. If you have to, cast Aura on Squall. That's all there is too it. I mean, if you have all your guys above 7500 HP then you might get a second chance, but other then that, make sure you have saved earlier. :) Anyway, when you beat him, take "Save" and then jump back across the pendulum area. You now have a choice to make you make take the Omega Weapon (see side quest section) or go ahead and finish the game (see below). Of course, you could always go and get a Rosetta Stone if you want. Return to the level with the Organ. Just go up to the organ and mash all the keys together in the following order: B1, B2, B4, B3. (That's Do-Re-Mi-Fa). After pressing the last button, let go, press B-10 to end and head down to the fountain. Take the right road and notice that the barred area is now open. Go through that and around to the right. [ If you've got water covering it, you've missed something. Go back to the room at the bottom of the stairs between the knights past the art room (whew that's a mouthful!) and crank the handle just past the left little bridge. ] Anyway, at the end of the hall is a box. There is a Rosetta Stone inside that lets your GFs learn how to have four abilities instead of three. Cool, huh?

End Game
OK. When you are ready to go to the end of the game, climb to the top of the tower (ride the chandaller down, go out the door, past the fountain, then past the organ up the stairs. If you can't get there, you are skipping ahead and should be ashamed of yourself! :) ) So, when you get to the clock hands, run left until you are on the ladder, then climb down. From there, climb down to the platform. Go right a few steps until you can climb down a ladder. From the bottom of that, you can only head strait ahead. I hope you are able to save! :) Go forward and save your game at the (final) save point. When you open that door, you'll start the final battle(s). There are two schools of thought here. Since three (random) people will be chosen, You can either distribute your GFs evenly and have each character have an even shot at beating her, or you can just give three characters the total edge. As long as all three aren't killed off, a "dead" character will eventually be replaced by a reserve member. If you have a Laguna card, use the card mod and med level up abilities to turn that into a Holy War. Use aura to get limit breaks without being near death, then use a Holy War and this battle is a total walk in the park. :)

Whichever strategy you choose, once you beat the first form, she will call griever. My guys beat him easily, then there was a combined form. Once we beat her, Ultimacia finally showed herself. Just do your worst. If you can beat her quick, you are home free. :) If not, use hero, aura, and GFs to keep from being smeared into the crevases of the world you curently occupy. Only a few more limit breaks (with a dialogue box in between each) and it's over. :) Then watch the CG for 20 minutes. You don't have to press X on these dialogue boxes, btw, which is good - because "20 minutes" isn't exactly misleading.

Final Notes:
Well, I hope you had as much fun playing this game as I had writing this walkthrough. As you may have noticed, there are quite a few other walkthroughs on this site. Please play the other Final Fantasy games and use my other walkthroughs, if you had fun with this one. If you enjoyed this, please . See you around!

SeeD Test Answers

Other Side Quests

Chicobo Card (Disc 2, after FH):
If you successfully call a Chocobo in all the Chocobo Forests, you can get the Chicobo Card. Basically the way this works is you walk around pressing Triangle until you hear the cheep sound change and see the red bar on the bottom right of the screen jump around more. (If that doesn't make sense, pay the kid to teach you how to do things.) When the sound and red bar change, you're ready to blow the Ziner. Use the card-talk button to switch to that and use triangle to call the chicobo.

1. The Beginner's Forest:
To get to this forest, head to Shumi Village (waaay up north on the map) and look off to the left. There's a small circular patch of forest there. (Hey, why not stop of at Shumi Village for a bit of Ultima Magic, while you're at it?) Pull up the menu with Square (card-talk) and chose Sonar. Go toward the back of the forest and blow the whistle with triangle (menu escape) as you walk around. Eventually it should be obvious where things change. Use square to switch to Ziner and blow it to call down a single Chocobo. Talk to that Chocobo with X (main select) and you should see the mother chocobo drop down. Now switch back to sonar and look along the back left wall until you get a hit. Use the Ziner there and the mother chocobo should go dig up an Aura Stone for you. Talk to the Mother to ride it out of the forest, and go south to the next island down.

2. The Basics Forest:
Ride the chocobo you caught in [1. The Beginner's Forest] south, then go left around the mountains until you see a small dome of forest pretty much directly south of the other one. You don't need to bother dismounting - just ride straight in to that forest. Select the sonar and find the spot near the middle back where it goes off. Use the Ziner and three will come down - one at first, and two that follow it. Next, walk directly on top of the front right chocobo and blow the ziner again. Two of them should fly away, leaving a lone chicobo you can talk to in order to summon the mother. Use the sonar along the back-left snow bank to find the next treasure. When you find it, use the Ziner and the mother should dig up a Flare Stone for you. Ride this chocobo out of the forest to...

3. The Roaming Forest:
Ride the chocobo south into the water, then continue south until you see another shoreline. That should allow you to get to Trabia Garden. Head around the mountains east of the garden. Use the sonar to find the right spot (I pressed triangle as soon as I arrived and they dropped down - YMMV) then use the Ziner to call them. You should see two. Use the sonar to find the spot between them and use the Ziner there to make a third drop, then watch them all head back up. Go almost all the way out and use the sonar to find the spot by the log where the Ziner will call a single Chicobo. Talk to it to summon Momma. Use the sonar to find a spot WAY in the back where you can blow the ziner to get a Shell and Holy Stone. Ride the mother chocobo alllll the way back north to the first forest near Shumi Village.

4. The Solitude Forest:
Get back in Garden and head to the northern most point of the Centra continent (it's due south of the island of Balam.) You should see the forest surrounded by mountains at the northern edge of the contient. Park the garden south of those mountains and walk around them on foot. Use the sonar to find the place just left and behind the chocoboy where it goes off. Talk to the chicobo to summon mama. Talk to Chocoboy to get him to move (begin a card game if you have to, but I don't think you need to beat him.) Use the sonar to see where you'll need to tell mama to dig. I had to step aside in order to switch to the ziner, but I was able to get right back and use the ziner where the chocoboy was standing, which causes the mother to dig up a Protect Stone and a Meteor Stone. Ride the chocobo out of the forest and head southwest to get to...

5. The Fun Forest:
This one is located near Edea's Lighthouse. If Galbadia Garden is near the lighthouse, you'll want to ride a Chocobo here. Use the sonar to find the first spot to use the ziner (just right of the middle of the clearing). Three should drop. Next, find the spot in the clearing just right of chocoboy. A fourth should drop. Finally, find the spot down and left of Chocoboy and blow the ziner twice. Talk to the lone chicobo to summon mama. Use the sonar to find the dig spot way in the back right of the clearing where you can get a Meteor Stone, a Flare Stone, and an Ultima Stone! Ride the chocobo out of the forest and head south-east until you come to a desert. Just south of that is...

6. The Enclosed Forest:
South of the desert at the far eastern edge of the Centra continent is a tiny forerst kind of hidden next to two other larger forests. Ride the chocobo from the previous forest here. Use the sonar to find the following spots, and blow the ziner when you find them: 1) just down and lef from chocoboy; two chicobos come down. 2) Just back and right from the left-most Chicobo; one comes down, one goes up. 3) Just left of the big rock where the chicobo just flew up from; one comes down. 4) Way in the back, just right of the forked tree; one comes down. 5) In the middle of all the chicobos; all go up, one comes down. Talk to him to summon mother. Use the ziner all the way right (behind the rock) to have mama dig up a Metero Stone, a Holy Stone, and an Ultima Stone. Ride the mother out of the forest and...

7. The Final Forest:
Ride the Chocobo from the previous forest north a very short bit and go around the little mountain range until you see a shoreline you can use. Ride north along the east side of the continent and look at the water color. You want to follow the shoreline until you see a place where you can turn north toward the next continent up. Do so, and follow it's shoreline around the east side of the continent. You should come to an inlet heading west relatively soon; note: it's the thin river of water, not just the water past the first island. Follow that north until you come to a shoreline of a very thick forest. Go across this forested area and continue north until you come to a second shorline of a thick forest. You'll follow a cliff face northeast a bit, and then you'll see a spot where you can cut through and head north. Do so and continue north and a bit west. You should eventually come to yet another domed chocobo forest area. Head inside and talk to Chocoboy. After chatting with him, head foward a bit and watch the chocobos do a fun dance. Do you recognize the dance waltz music? That's right! It's the same track from the dance party where you first met Rinoa! When there's only one lone chicobo left, talk to him for the Chicobo Card. Talking to him again will grant you a Gyshall Green (at the expense of 600 Gil). Talk to Chocoboy again and (despite the typo) have him call you a Chocobo so you can leave.

One Final Note: Once you get chicobo, you can cheat if you're playing the PC version of the game. Otherwise, you're probably SOL if you're playing on an Emulator, etc.

Shumi Village (Disc 2, after FH):
To complete this area, go to Shumi Village (Just North of Trabia Garden on a little island). Now, DRAW ULTIMA from behind the guys. This draw point will respawn after you have taken a bunch of steps. The easiest thing to do is just come back after every time your characters receive their Garden Salary. Go to the elevator and go down. You will be given special permission to hang out here. Note the blue and red orbs in the elevator, reminicent of the orbs on Norg's device. It doesn't mean anything, but it's sorta cool to see.

• When you get down, enter the first doorway, the Inn, and save your game upstairs.
• Leave the inn and go all the way to the last hut. That's the Sculptur, in the back; you'll talk automatically. He'll insist you go talk to the Elder.
• Leave this hut and head right to the next screen. The moomba should be out of the way, so you should be able to go inside. After a chat, you'll be asked to help out with the statue. Head back to the statue and talk to Sculptor. He'll tell you he needs Blue Stone.
• Look beside the statue for Blue stone (if you need it, there's a Firaga draw point behind the statue). After examining it, you'll find out you need the Wind Stone next.
• Leave the hut and go right two screens. Look at the rocks by the only hut you can't enter (near the entrance) for Wind stone. Go back and give the stone to Sculptor.
• Now you need some Life Stones. Leave the hut and go one screen right. The life stones are in the tree roots to the right of the Moomba outside the Elder's hut, get them. Go and give them to Sulpter.
• Now you need Shadown Stones. Take the elevator back up to the surface and look where all the shadows intersect (just run around the shadows until Squall tells you it's near; if the Draw Point has spawned more Ultima, grab more!) Take the shadown stones to Sculptor.
• Now he needs Water Stones. Leave the hut and head next door to Artisan's house. Read the Timber Maniacs magazine on the couch, then talk to him. Keep talking until he starts repeating himself, then look at the sink to the left of him. Take it to Sculptor, talk to sculptor normally, and then return to the Elder.
• When you try to leave the Elder's hut, you'll get a Phoenix Pinion. If you are confused, have Squall explain it to you after you leave the hut.
• After you hear the loud cry, go and visit the Sculptor again.
• By now you should have walked enough for the Ultima draw point to respawn, and it doesn't appear you can advance the story line here until you've at least taken the elevator to the top. So leave via the elevator and draw if you can.
• After checking on the Ultima, go back and visit Elder. He'll tell you to go and see Atendent helping Sculptor.
• Go talk to Attendant, then to Sculptor, then leave and go talk to the Elder. He'll ask you to talk to the Moomba outside.
• Do so, then go and talk to Assistant again. Then leave the screen and then immediately come back.
• Talk to both of them, then go and tell the Elder what is happening, and get a bit of info.
• Now go talk to Sculptor again, then Assistant. Twice. Now go back and talk to Elder. Now go talk to Artisan.
• Hmmm. What to do? What to do? Didn't he give you a bit of a hint earlier? Oh alright. I'll tell you. Go and talk to the guy at FH with the Moomba doll. He'll give you what you need (the doll.) Take it back to Shumi Village (don't forget to see if you can draw ultima both ways, if you've walked a bunch) and walk to Artisan's house.
• The doll contains a message that makes everything turn out better. After delivering it, head outside and meet the fisherman!
• Talk a bit and Artisan will be happier. Now head over to the shop and talk to all 3 of them.
• Now go talk to the Elder for a cool gift. I got a Status Guard.

Lots of Ultima: After you finish the quest above, there's an easy way to get lots of Ultima. The Ultima draw point in Shumi Village refreshes based on the number of steps you have walked, and walking on a Chocobo counts as 2-3 times the regular number of steps. Just next to Shumi Village is a Chocobo Forest. See the instructions above to call the chocobo in this forest, then run around on the Chocobo until you get three disburments of your salary (probably only 4-5 minutes). You can now return and draw 8+ ultima. Repeat as desired. Note that - unlike when you draw from an enemy during a battle - increasing your magic attribute does not appear to result in receiving additional magic when drawing from a draw point.

Winhill (Disc 2, after FH):
Head over to Winhill to learn a little more about that cute little area, as well as solve a fun puzzle. Make sure you party consists of Squall, Zell and Quistis. When you first walk into town, talk to the 'seedy' ;) looking characters and then head to the main mansion. It's right next door to Ellone's Parent's house. Follow the directions below for a prize.

1. Talk to the man on the stairs a few times, then go down and talk to his wife. Their precious vase is missing! You've got to help them find it! (Always the hero, ain't ya Squall?)
2. You did remember to have Squall, Zell and Quistis, right? That's the key to getting the last piece. If Quistis isn't there, the joke won't be made. Go look at the suit of armor. You'll get a vase piece. Show that to the man on the stairs and you'll be told to let him know if you find more pieces. Here's a hint: There are four total.
3. Optional: Head over to Elle's house and look at her parent's picture. If you want, head upstairs and save your game and/or draw curaga.
4. Head upstairs in Raine's Pub and talk to the new owner until she tells you about the flowers. Then talk to the cat. o.O
5. Now go down stairs and smell the flowers closest to the door.
6. Go over to where Raine appears and she will become a cat. After a few moments, you will be able to pet the cat. When you do, you receive a Vase Piece. Go back and talk to the man on the stairs in the mansion.
7. Now go outside and talk to all the other people around the area. The guy on the bench doesn't think to highly of Laguna. The Dispel draw point is still at the bottom of the stairs on that screen. The other draw points from Laguna's visit are still here, too - though one is all used up.
8. Go over the bridge and toward the old lady. When she ducks inside her house and slams the door, follow her. Go look at the white flowers by the doorway and tell the lady you like flowers. After her story, smell them. This is Vase Piece Two. Don't bother trying to get more info out of the lady, she won't talk to you. Head out and go give the stair guy this Vase Piece.
9. Now continue down the path and you'll run across a Chicobo. Time yourself just right and you can bump into him! The first three times you kick him you'll get a treat (including the third Vase Piece). After that, however, if you keep doing it a big Chocobo will come and kick you! It's worth it just to see it. :) Go and give this piece back to the owner.

Timber Maniacs:
From time to time during the game you run across "timber maniacs" magazenes. When you do, read them, then go and look at Selphie's BBS back on garden. There is some interesting stuff to learn there, and they are pretty funny. If anyone is interested, check out the "Timber Maniacs" section of the "Magazines" page. There you'll find out which TM magazines match to which Laguna tale.

Islands Closest to Heaven and Hell:
OK, strictly speaking, this is not (in my opinion) a side quest. All this entails is going to the farthest west and east islands and drawing some cool spells. Oh yeah, the toughest monsters exist here too so be carefull. It's a good place to level up, I suppose, but I don't really see any other reason to go here, though. I get the spells/stuff I need through enemy drawing and Card Mod.

Omega Weapon:
OK. To get here you must be at Ultimecia's Castle. Unless you know what you are doing (or wanna REAL challange) DON'T come here. If you do, here's how you fight this battle. Take the main party to the Green Circle by the fountain. Now take the dummy party up the main stairway and to the right. Go through the doorway there and down the stair to where the Rope is. Pull the rope the run to the green circle there. Switch to the REAL party. Head around the fountain and through the doorway to where the black cloud usually is. Go there and kick some Ultima Butt. Since you think you are cool enough to get here, I'll let you figure out just how to beat this guy. I will say this, however: If you can't have at least one guy with 9999 HP, don't bother. You WILL NOT win. Oh yeah, I beat this guy in 51 seconds. Anyone able to top that? Ok, maybe a few more hints: Aura is your friend. And don't junction Water or Holy to attacks, but you CAN draw-cast ultima, if you want. Oh yeah, and if you see the words "Terra Break," or "Medeo Flame" either summojn GFs, or kiss your hiney adios! Really. I mean it. Basically to beat this guy, you have to do REAL damgage, REAL quick. By the way, that 51 seconds I mentioned above? That was the only time I DID beat him. So don't feal bad if you keep getting worked! Alright, enough people have asked, so I'll tell you my strategy that sorta helps. Have one character cast Aura on Squall, and another character immediately AFTER that use a Holy War. That will allow you to not get killed. Let Squall use his Renzokuken three times, then have the character's get ready to do it again as soon as the Holy War wears off. I know, he gets a couple of free shots, but you shouldn't get hurt. I had Squall's Lion Heart connect twice while fighting him, and STILL this guy kept comming. What a pain. On the plus side, you get the 3-stars, and the GF get 250 AP! I went through 4 Holy War's doing this, btw; it's a real pain the nose.

Cactaur Island:
If you haven't already got all the optional GF, you might go through that first. Once you're done, if your guys are fast enough, you can earn your GF their abilities REALLY fast on Cactaur Island. Simply go to the island where you got Cactaur, and walk around in the desert. If you can beat these guys, you'll earn 20 AP for EACH ONE!!! I usually disable Ribbon on my guys and enable Initiative instead. That lets my guys strike first, which gives them a SLIGHT chance at hitting something. Heh heh. If you can hit them, you can get your GF Abilities in no time. During the course of killing off Cactaurs, you may end up with a large quantity of Cactaus Thorns. Use the GFAbl Med-RF (Eden) to turn 100 into a "Hundred Needles."

Obel Lake (Disc 1, after Timber):
When you've first left Timber, there's a large lake near by. You'll notice an isthmus that reaches into the center of the lake. Head out onto the isthmus and press 'x' at the end. You'll see a message saying "It's Obel Lake." with two options: 1) "Throw a rock" and 2) "Try humming." Choose option 2) Try Humming." You'll see a note saying, "A black shadow rose to the surface." Now select "Try humming again." You'll get a message saying, "Black Shadow ...Hello human. What a lovely tune." followed by "(There's something large there...) Press X again and you'll get a note saying "Thanks for speaking to me again. Can you do me a favor?" You'll have two options: (What is it) and (I don't want to hear it...) Select Option 1 (What is it) and he'll reply, "It's my friend Mr. Monkey... Can you find him for me? Please..." Press 'X' again and he'll say, "Mr. Monkey should be in a forest somewhere. Keep walking around, and I'm sure you'll find him." Press 'x' again and you'll see "If he's not around, perhaps he took a train towards dollet?" Head away from the lake a few steps, then come back and press 'X' again. This time select "throw a rock." You'll see a message with a bunch of dots and "The rock skipped n times." where n is some number. Keep doing this until you see a message saying, "The rock skipped many many times."

Now leave the lake and get on the tracks heading north toward Dollet (past the staition you exited at for Galbadia Garden). On the Dollet - Hasberry Plains, you'll see the tracks cross a road. Just West of that is a small forest along the North of the plains. Wander around in there until you see a note saying "There's the monkey!" You'll have the option to sing or "throw a rock." Select "Throw a rock" and he'll either taunt you or say "...OUCH! ...D-Darn it! ...You're gona pay for that!" If he just taunts you, leave the forest, come back, and throw another rock until it hits him. He'll throw a rock at you and run away. "...Upon inspecting the rock, it looks man-made, and has some carving on it..." "U R H A E O ...Is this... part of something?)

Leave the forest and head back to the lake. Hum again and you'll "relay the whereabouts of Mr. Monkey" to the shadow. Keep talking to him and he'll eventually say, "Oh, yeah... At the beach in Balamb, something special washes ashore at times."
When you can again get to Balamb, and search along the shore for the 2nd rock (S T S L R M).

If you keep talking to the shadow, he'll eventually say, "Oh, yeah... You'll find something on an island east of Timber, too." When you have a chance, search those islands (it was toward 1/3 of the way to the East end of the skinny island north of the Railroad bridge for me) for another rock "It looks man-made, and it has some carving on it. (R E A I D R).

If you keep talking to the shadow, you should get "There's also something on top of a mountain with a lake and a cavern." This one is a bit more tricky, and requires the Ragnarock to find. You'll have to land on top of the mountains directly north of the Galbadia Prison. Fly around and you'll see where the waterfall is coming out of the mountain. You'll get the message "A bird is warming an egg." If you "Check it out," you'll fight a few Thrustaevis enemies, after which you'll find a rock that says, "E A S N P D."

Take all four rocks back to the shadow, hum, and he'll put them in order. Read it right to left, top to bottom and it will spell out "Mordred Plains has treasure." Those planes are in the north-western part of the Esthar contient. That continent kind of looks like an H. If you go to the top-left side of the H and search over and over in an area that's a bit more brown than the rest, you'll see the following:
"There are many multicolor rocks with faces all over the place..."
"The red-faced rock tells you angrily, 'The treasure's to the nnn!'"
"The blue-faced rock whispers, 'Some of us just repeat the same thing.'"
"The blue-faced rock whispers, 'Some of us just talk nonsense.'"
"The blue-faced rock whispers, 'People call us the liar rocks.'"
"The blue-faced rock whispers, 'Some of us just say the opposite of what we mean.'"
"The blue-faced rock whispers, 'I don't know where the treasure is.'"
"The white-faced rock tells you coldly, 'It's nnn.'"
"The black-faced rock tells you sternly, '...The treasure is probably in the direction of the North Star...'"

So basically none of these guys tell the truth - but one is ALWAYS telling a lie. That's the red one. Do the opposite of what it says and you should eventually come to a spot where you see the phrase, "The red-faced rock tells you angrily, 'The treasure's not here!'"

Search there again and you shoud see "What's this?!...." "Found Three Stars!" You know how you can use tripple to cast three spells on your turn? Well three stars lets a GF learn an ability that makes that only cost one magic instead of three!
---

Random Mysterious Hint: "Oh, yeah. Do you know what? Take a break at the railroad bridge." I don't know if this is related, but if you search around on the railroad tracks bridge to the north (on the way to Dollet), you'll find a fire draw point. Whee.

Random Mysterious Hint: "Take some time off at Eldbeak Peninsula. I bet it's a wonderful place." If you go to the very nothern tip of this continent and look east, you should see a bit of another continent. Head there and go to the tip - you'll know you're there because you can see a bit of Dollet off in the distance. Search around until you see "There is a stone pillar. If you look closely, there's something written on it. TRETIMEASUREATMINOFFDESILE. OK, so the hint is to "take some TIME OFF at..." So if you take that out of the middle, you're left with treasureatmindeisle, or "treasure at minde isle." That's the island off the coast of Esthar, in the south west (at the bottom of the H that the continent kind of makes.) If you search in the eastern light-colored areas, you should find a Luck-J scroll.

GF Side Quests

Odin (Disc 2):
Welcome to the Centra Ruins. You remember the Centra, right? Oh, wait. That was the Cetra. Anyway, you can get a really weird GF here. To get to the Centra Ruins, where you can get Odin and Tonberry, start out at Shumi Village. (Don't forget my favorite magic you can get here!) Keep the small globe map up for this. Go north. When you come to the centra land mass, follow it around to the right (counter clockwise). After a while you will be on the north side of a tiny strip of land connecting the two pieces of centra. From here head due north and you should be able to go up onto the land. When you get on to the land, turn your vessle to face east. You should see something big. Go there. Prepair your guys, then save your game right outside the ruins. To prep your guys, make sure they are almost totally dead, and that you have Enc-None turned on. If you don't have enc-none this could be tricky, but it's still do able, just RUN from any battle you get into! See the timer at the top left? You have to beat Odin before it runs out. You can't really do it if you are getting sucked into battles every 30 seconds. So, set the guys and head in. You did remember they should be close to dead, right? Renzokuken can make this a very quick battle, and this enemy is the only one in the game that won't hit you back.

1. Go forward, through the gateway that says "My Blue Heaven," around the fountain and up the stairs (there's a drain draw point hidden just behind the fountain, btw).
2. At the platform in the stairs, go right.
3. At the top of the stairs, head forward and go into the temple.
4. Once there, take either little stairway to the top of the block in the middle of the screen.
5. When the block stops moving, you will be presented with a choice of two ladders.
6. Take the left one for now.
7. The right one just leads to a platform where you can draw Aero. Pretty boring, eh? But if you take that route, it will steal 90 seconds minimum off your overall time left.
8. At the top of this ladder is another one. Just examine the wall in front of you at the top.
9. When you get to the top of the ladder, head through the doorway and flip the big switch in the center of the room.
10. Get back on the ladder and go back down to the bottom.
11. Now the little area between the ladders has a blue light on it.
12. Press the light and a magical stairway appears on the far right of the screen; go up it.
13. When you get to the top, you should see a ladder on the left; go up that.
14. When you characters have finished wasting your valuable time jumping slowly across to the ledge, remove the left eye from the statue (remember that's HIS left, not YOURS).
15. Jump back across and go down the little ladder.
16. Now go up the stair way on the right.
17. At the top of the stairs you have two options, go right or go up. If you go right, there is a draw point for pain. If you don't have it full on all your guys already, go ahead and draw. That one is worth it.
18. Now go up the ladder on the dome.
19. Go examine the statue.
20. Select: Put the left eye in.
21. Then select: Leave it as is.
22. You will be given the password. WRITE THIS DOWN! (It was 4-3-6-7-4 once for me.)
23. Examine the statue again and remove both it's eyes.
24. Now go back down the dome ladder, and descend the stair case until you come to the room with the other statue (where your character's jumped slowly across to the little ledge).
25. Go up the little ladder to that statue and put both his eyes in.
26. You will be prompted to enter the code. Press the right and left arrow keys to enter the number you got at the top. The leftmost digit in the code should be at the top of the collumn.
27. When you have finished, press the button that you press to exit a menu.

Tonberry (Disc 2):
WARNING: DIFFICULT! Possibly long, too. This section took me 1.75 hours. Head to the centra ruins (see 'Odin' for directions). SAVE YOUR GAME BEFORE ENTERING THE RUINS. Wander around killing Tonberries. These guys will counter with Everybody's Grudge, which does massive damage to anyone that has killed a bunch of enemies (i.e., Squall gets hit with 9999 dmg every time.) However, they don't seem to counter attack if you're hiting them with a limit break. I like to use Squall and Irvine near death for these battles, and one other character will full health - just to prep for the final Tonberry King encounter. After defeating 18+ of these guys, Tonberry King decides to come out and protect his subjects. EEP! If you can beat him, you deserve this GF! You can't steel anything. Invincible moon (Rinoa and Angelo) is very cool. BTW: You can draw life from him, if you need to.

My strategy on this one is to get Squall REALLY powerfull while staying at a low level (think high-level magic junctions), then attempt it. Tonberry King seems less likly to attack you unless you have first attacked him, so I only attack using limit breaks. This takes a bit of patience, but it can be done, and it decereases the time you spend fighting Tonberries quite a bit. If you don't prepare well, this can be one of the hardest GFs to get. His familiar skill makes it worth it to get early on, though, if you can.

So let's prepare well, shall we? To help defeat tonberrys, I make sure two of my characters are close to death all the time. It means I use a fair bit of life magic or phoenix downs, but it also means I can use their limit breaks. Tonberrys (even Tonberry King!) are weak to the Vit 0 stat - so hit them with a Meltdown spell and you'll do 25%-33% more damage with each attack. If you junction Flare to your Str, you can kill Tonberry King off after two or three Limit Breaks. If you don't have Meltdown, Quistis can use Bad Breath on them, which also makes it quite a bit easier.

To help defeat Tonberry King, be sure you have at least one character that has full HP. He uses something called "Junk" that can kill off your guys with surprising speed (800+ damage each). If you keep the other two near death, though, you can make use of limit breaks. Again Meltdown is your friend. Using the above info, I pretty easily defeated him with Squall (30), Zell (10), and Irvine (13). You probably don't even need Squall at that high a level, but I like having him somewhat buff by this point (using the 4xAbility and Vit/Str/Mag/Spr Bonus abilities junctioned.)

MiniMog (Disc 2):
If you play the PocketStation game (and rescue MiniMog) you can get "Mog's Amulet" which should allow your GF to learn how to summon Mog to come in battle. All he does is give you back a few hit points, so in my opinion it's not really worth it, though I acknowledge that some people also like to play for the "cute" factor.

Chocobo (Disc 2):
This is the only GF summoned by using an Item. Use "Gysahl Greens" (during a battle, obviously) to summon Chocobo. This only works after you have succeeded in obtaining a chocobo, though. If you are playing the PC game, you can make this attack more powerfull by playing the PocketStation adventure that ships with the game. (Anyone know how to make it more powerful on the PS?!?)

Gilgamesh (Disc 3):
If you get Odin (see above) then when you defeat Seifer at the end of Disc 3 you'll get a neat surprise. Now when Gilgamesh comes, all you have to do is choose an attack. Make sure you don't use "Excalipur" (does not damage) , unless you are trying to run away from your enemies so as to avoid gaining experience and leveling up. (Yes there are reasons to keep your character's at low levels. Determining why is left as an excersise for the reader).

Doomtrain (Disc 3+):
Doomtrain can only be called once you have the 'Solomon Ring' that you get from Tears' Point. Once you get to Esthar, you should see it on your main map. Go there and pick it up from the ground around the statues. In order to call Doomtrain, you need to use that ring when you have the proper elements. The elements are the ones listed in the 3 other Occult Fan magazenes. You need at least 6 Steel Pipes, Malboro Tentacles and Remedy+.

When you have those, use the ring from the item menu. Card-Mod Steel Pipes from Elastoids, Malboro Tentacles from Malboro cards, and use Alexander's Med LV Up ability (Learn Med Data to unlock this on) to get Remedy+s from Remedies. NOTE: It looks like you can do this on Disc 4, too. Tears' Point is accessable from the world map. Also of interest, if you happen to get a Soloman's Ring before you get to Tears' Point (*cough* cheater *cough*) you can call Doomtrain as soon as you get it. You can draw Life and Reflect while at Tears' Point.

Cactuar (Disc 3):
This may be one of the best GF to have junctioned at any given time. Cactaur comes knowing bonus abilities for HP, Str, Vit, Mag and Spr. Junction him with Abilityx4 and you can REALLY get a high-power character while leveling up. Combine that with the Tonberry's LV Up command, and you can get seriously powerful guys. Every time my cactaur-junctioned character levels up, he or she gets and extra point in str, vit, mag, and spr. That's pretty powerful! You can only get cactaur on Cactaur Island. To get to Cactuar Island, you must get the Rangnarok (on disc 3). The first thing you must do (I'm not kidding) is JUNCTION ITEMS TO EVERY MEMBER OF THE GROUP!.

When Cactuar attacks, he can occasionally use something called the attact of A THOUSAND CLUBS!!!! No WAIT, that's Kodachi from Ranma 1/2. Sorry. He actually uses something called the attach of 10,000 needles, which is (of course) an order of magnitude worse. When you first get the Ragnarok, head south and a little west to get to a little island with desert on it. A BIG cactus will show up occasionally. When it does, run toward it begin the attack. When you start the battle, try to keep your characters alive. Use Phoenix downs (you do have item-junction, RIGHT?!?) to keep your party 'In the Yellow' so that they can use their Limit Breaks. When you beat him, be sure to junction him quickly so that you can use his skills! BTW: You can mug some cactus thorns from him.

Bahamut (Disc 3):
To get Bahamut you need the Rangnarok (in other words, you must be on at least Disc 3.) Be sure you save before attempting this battle. Head to the island research center. Head to the Southwest corner of the square version of the world map. Just Northeast of the far Southwest corner, you'll see a floating platform. Land the Ragnorok there. You must HAVE ZELL IN YOUR PARTY WHEN YOU LAND; be sure not to have FIRE or THUNDER juctioned to attack on any characters! Also, be sure your guys are at Max HP, or can absorb Fire attacks. >.< When you have finished listening to Zell's speach, head into the facility.

First up, a little prep. You'll want to be able to mug and LV-Down here, if possible. Also, you'll want to be able to card, if you don't want to get lots of XP out of this. There is a machine on the right side of the screen which you will be walking toward... ONLY move when the BLUE LIGHT IS OFF and the dancing squares are invisible! If you move while it's running you WILL have to fight a TON of enemies. Walking only when it is 'resting,' you must make your way to the front right of the machine. I found enc-none to be almost a necesity. Also, there's an enemy here with Full-Life to draw. I like to transfer OUT all my Full-Life so I can stock up here, since it's a hard one to get otherwise. If you have LV-Up and LV-Down available, you can LV-Up a Red Dragon and learn both Flare and Meteor from it. (Or if your guys are high enough levels already.) If you want to do that, transfer those magic to another character. Finally, I'd be sure to have Pain Status-Atk for as many characters as possible. Bahamut can hit for serious damage, and he's surprisingly vulnerable to Darkness. Also, you may want to check that your GF are set to learn things that will require 60+ AP.

Right. So, after a brief bit of conversation you may begain walking around. Head right until it says, "You have percieved the resonance." Next head right and then forward (if you are blocked by a vine, you'll have to come toward the bottom of the screen before you can go all the way right; once you've gone around the longest vine, you can head toward the device). There is a panel you'll see on the machine - be sure to be healed up all the way before you get there.
Once there it will ask you three questions which you will have to choose the answers to based on a menu that pops up. For the first question you have only one choice ("It's not our will to fight"). The next question should be answered with 'Never'. The third answer is the mostly hidden last response ( .) Choosing that will cause you to fight Bahamut. Finish him off to aquire him. I mugged a Hyper-Wrist off him. Once you have him, be sure to see what cool stuff you can get using his "Forbidden-Magic Refine" skill. You can turn an Ultima Stone into Ultima, for example. Once you aquire Bahamut, you have to "change regions" before you come back and go for the Omega Weapon. I recommend going back to the Rangnorok and then having your guys walk around the ship for a few seconds. This seems to reset it. When you have walked around, return to try for the Ultima Weapon (if you dare!) See Eden below, but be sure to junction your new magic if you drew any.

Eden (Disc 3):
When you get the Rangnarok, you can try for Eden. It's tough, but you have to persever. To obtain this GF, head to the bottom left corner of the square map and look for a little Island looking thing. It's just barely north-east of the main south-west corner. When you land, you will have to Obtain Bahamut (see Bahamut above) and leave the island. After leaving the Island walk around somewhere else (even abord the Rangnarok seems to work) then return. Upon entering the complex this time you will be able to save your game at a save point nearby.

Do so, then cross the makeshift bridge and descend into the abyss (The stick didn't work for me - I had to use the left directional arrow.) Draw Dispel if you want, then talk to Quistis/Zell/whoever to begin examination of the nearby terminal. Let it explain what is going on and the trapdoor in the floor will be opened up. When it's opened, head down and examine the nearby terminal. The way this puzzle works is that you have to expend just enough energy (steam) to get through the floors so that you can still have some energy to open the door at the bottom. Here are the levels you have to set in order (ignore the numbers on the walls):

1. At the main level, it will automatically choose 4 for you. Go down to level 2.
2. At level 2 select that you want to use 2 pressure units. Go down to level 3.
3. At level 3 select that you want to use 2 pressure units. Go down to level 4.
4. At level 4 select that you want to use 1 pressure units. Go down to level 5.
5. At level 5 select that you want to use 1 pressure units. Go down to level 6 (It's an elevator; stand on the pad).

• If you junction LV-Down and Card, it's possible to draw any magic you want, then drop the level and/or card them. This should help make sure you don't get too much XP and level way up before the eye opening battle way down below. Also, if you're on an emulator, you can save state before each battle, if you'd like. Equip Move-Find to see the Ultima and other draw points along the way.
• The first set of stairs has a bunch of Tri Face enemies. Junction Sleep to ST Attack and both Pain and Confuse to ST Def. If you are too high a level, the Tri Face enemies will use poison gas which causes confusion. If you're trying not to level up, have one character level them down while another uses mug, then card them after three or four rounds.
• The next set of stairs (after switching screens) will have a Grendal and an Imp. Use the same strategy as above, but be aware the imp may cast Berserk, so have remedies handy to cure that.
• On the next set of stairs you'll start to encounter Behemoth. There are two strategies. The first is to do something similar to the above, and hope he stays asleep while you LV down and attack/mug until he's at level 1. Then switch to card and attack/mug. You wouldn't believe how many HP these guys have. The second strategy is to junction "Pain" to your attack to do two things. First, it casts silence to keep him from using flare or meteor on you. Second, it causes poison that will do much more damage then most attacks could! Oh yeah, and blind keeps him from being able to attack you normally. I think you see where this is heading.
• The next set of stairs will drive Red Dragon encounters. For these guys, junction 100 Water to your Elem-Atk. Want to make sure all your guys have Meteor? You've got several red dragons in a row. Just LV-Up (if needed), then draw meteor, and then LV-Down - you can get all your characters filled up on Meteor pretty quickly. Just remember to transfer it to someone else before hand. e.g., If I'm playing Squall, Zell, and Quistis, I'll transfer all their Meteor to Rinoa, Selphie, and Irvine. Then I can draw up 100 Meteor on my party and have a LOT of spare magic to go around - and it's the really powerful magic when it comes to junctioning!
• The final set of stairs comes with pairs of Iron Giant enemies. These have Haste magic, and like all the above can be put to sleep pretty easily. The regular strategy of LV Up (if needed), draw, mug, LV Down, Attack, Card seems to work well. Alternately, a Status-Atk Pain junction will make it blind rendering its Great Sword attack useless. Don't junction Bio to Elem-Atk, though. If it's blind, you can just attack them until they die, or get far enough down that you can card them. They can be "Degenerated," by the way. Merry Christmas. ;) If you use LV-Down, you can do it like 5 times on these guys. That also reduces the amount of XP you get from fighting them, FWIW. It goes from hundres to, like, 4.
• After the screen with all the Iron Giant enemies, make sure you have move-find enabled and SAVE at the save point here before doing anything!

Fighting for Eden:
I really hope you saved 10 pressure by following the instructions above. Very few things are as irritating in this game as getting all the way here only to realize you DIDN'T leave enough steam pressure to open this last door. Then you have to go all the way back up through that mess and try all the levers, and then come all the way back down to see if it worked! Anyway, you saved at the hidden save point, right? You'll get 100 AP for this battle, so don't waste it. Set your guys to learn stuff you care about. Be sure you have the ability to cast aura on Squall, and be sure you can draw Eden! Make sure you are well equiped (this guy is TOUGH!)

He *does* have ultima you can draw, but he's going to attack with super powerful magic, so drawing might be tough. Junction Quake to everyone's Elemental Defense! Junction Mug to whoever has the highest speed, or at least make sure speed is high for whoever has it. You want to be able to mug the 3 Stars, if possible. Also, be sure folks can cast magic, draw (at least one - you WANT the Eden GF, and others may want Ultima magic), and use items to revive. Don't be afraid to use your most powerful potions here! This is arguably one of the two hardest battles in the game, so those potions were given to you "for such a time as this." Also, you may want to set your battle speed down quite a bit. Do you have any Hero stones / spells? Those render you invincible for a short time. Use the hidden save point to switch in your lowest level characters. The power of his attacks correlate to the average of your characters levels. I like to go in with low level Selphie, low-level Irvine, and Squall. Make sure you have plenty of AP Ammo available. If Squall doesn't have the Lionheart weapon, use Aura on Irvine (limit breaks galore!) and have him use his limit break with AP ammo.
After you pull the lever you will fight the Ultima Weapon. First things first; draw Eden. Eden is easily the best GF. Next, mug a three stars from him. Third, case Meltdown (you NEED VIT 0 here!) After that, wail on him. Can you say Aura? I knew you could! If you happen to have Squall land a Lionheart, it's essentially all over. As far as I can tell, the whole reason they made you fight so many battles you couldn't run from on the way down was to level your characters all up at least 20 levels. Shrewd, eh? But the catch is that high-level characters must fight high-level enemies. This guy level is directly related to your characters. Kill this dude and get back up to the top (thank your lucky stars for Enc-none here; Does anyone else miss the days of "warp" spells?)

Why Eden?:
OK. I've had some emails complaining that I don't really explain why anyone would want this GF. Basically, he kicks serious posterier. He can break the 9999 limit barrier, and you can "boost" him up to 250, easily the highest of any GF. For example, when fighting Chimeras, even low-level characters can land in excess of 17,000 pts of damage using this guy. So to sum it up: He rocks!

Cheat (PC Version only)

Chocobo File Updater - By Carbon Ocelot (2/21/2001)

Instructions:
NOTE: Make sure you have "Chicobo." If you don't have Chicobo, refer to the section below "Getting Chicobo."

1. Load your favorite group of characters, and enter the save menu.
2. Select the "Chocobo World" slot.
3. Select "World" to send Chicobo to Chocobo world.
4. Use Cntl-Esc to get to windows. (NOTE: With XP, you may have to use cntl-alt-del to break out of the game. This will bring up the task manager and let you switch to a different process.)
5. In the ff8 save directory of which ever slot you are in, Backup the file called "Chocorpg" someplace safe.
6. Unzip the 2 files "updater.bat" and "ch2" and place them in the ff8 save folder.
7. Double click on updater.bat.
8. Alt-Tab back to FF8. (You may have to use the task manager in XP.)
9. Select "Home" to bring Chicobo back to this world. Chicobo should bring some goodies with him. If this does not work, you may have to edit the file. Email me at the address on the contact page for detailed instructions.
10. Now send chicobo back to chocobo world, then Alt-Tab to Updater and press any key. (Again, use the TM for XP.) This will 'recharge' your chicobo.
11. Switch back and forth as desired.

How I Use It:
I got tired of switching back and forth between the two games, so I rigged up a quicker way of doing this. On my internal network, I shared my save folder, and had another machine attach to it, setting it to mount it as drive H: (or whatever is available). Then I drop to dos, say H: (to get to that directory) and then type updater.bat. Now whenever I press the space bar on the OTHER machine, my choco file get's recharged. I put the keyboard from the other machine on the floor and press the space bar with my feet. Now I just bring choco back (collect toys) then send him to choco world. Then press the space bar with my foot. Then bring him back to collect more toys. It WAY faster, but requires a network, two computers and a little windows knowledge.

Getting Chicobo:
To get Chicobo, simply catch a large chocobo at one of the six chocobo forests. Your first catch (or payment to chocobo boy) will give you a Chicobo. The easiest Chocobo forest to catch a chocobo in is the one by Shumi Village on the Northern most island of the square map. It's the small round forest patch.

Legal Note: The author assumes no responsibility for your machine crashing as a result of using this, uh, patch. :) Also, when you want to play chocobo world, be sure to delete the three files "ch2", "chocorpg", and "updater.bat" and restore your old "chocorpg" file first.

Card Game (Triple Triad)

INDEX
Rules
Balam Card Club
Strategy
Queen of Cards Quest[s] (N/C)

Why play cards?:
I'm glad you asked! Quezacotl's Card Mod skill lets you turn cards into items, which can be used or refined into things that can significantly help your characters throughout the game. For example, be sure to see the Weapon Upgrades section and learn how items you acquire through the card game will let you upgrade to a new weapon (you don't buy better weapons in this FF.)

Triple Triad Rules
The rules for triple triad are fairly basic. Throughout the game you aquire cards through various means. You can "Card Talk" to a character by pressing the 'A' key (PC Version) or Square button (Playstation). If that character plays cards, you will be given oppertunity to begin a game. The rules change from location to location, but the basics are the same. You win a game by flipping over more of your opponants cards then s/he flips of yours. Depending on the rules of the land, the winner gets one or more of the losers cards. The variable rules are:

• Open. The open rule means that you can see the cards your opponant will be playing with. Be aware that s/he can also see yours. The open rule is very helpful for avoiding same/plus combos, and is an absolute MUST for beginners. Try to spread this rule early on if you're a novice. If you're a veteran player, you probably know what kinds of plays to avoid.
• Random. This rule makes it very tricky to win battles. With Random, the computer will chose 5 cards for you that you will have to play with. Since some cards cannot be Card Moded without up to 10 cards, it's difficult to keep your deck stacked such that you control what cards are chosen. In fact, with the Difference and All rules, it's virtually impossible! Try not to let this rule spread! If it does spread, you should can eleminate fractional reserves of cards (e.g., you have 1 Chimera card so you need 9 more to get a full set of 10 to card mod) by acquiring 4 really low level cards, and losing on purpose. Your opponent will take the best card you played with, so if you play with 4 bite bug cards and 1 Chimera card, they'll virtually always take the Chimera.
• Elemental. Some cards have an elemental symbol on them. If the square you play the card on matches that symbol, all point values on that card go up one. If you do NOT match that symbol, all points go DOWN, so be carefull if you are used to just playing a 'pattern' game - cards that did not previously match for "same" may match now.
• Sudden Death. With this rule, if the game ends in a draw, you'll swap a few cards with your opponent and play again. I recommend avoiding spreading this one.
• Same. When the Same rule is used, any card played with numbers that matches two or more numbers on adjacent cards with cause those cards to be flipped. When a card is flipped due to the same rule, all cards it can flip will be flipped, etc. Save your game and play with Same until you are comfortable with it.
• Same/Plus. This is identical to same, except that instead of just matching the numbers on the other cards, you can also match the value that their numbers add up do. So if you play a card where the edges are 2 and 5 next to two cards whose edges are 7 and 4, the values add up to 9 and 9, and thus the two cards matching those edges will flip instead of just the 7 (which would flip because 7>2). This can get tricky, so save your game before messing with it.
• Same/Plus/Wall. Treat this rule as the one above, but the wall now counts as a 10 (or 'A').

• One. With One, only a single card is traded. The winner chooses the card.
• Difference. This rule allows the winner to chose as many cards as he won by. If you win by 5 or more points, this is effectively the same as the All rule below.
• All. Yeah, you guessed it. Winner takes all cards. Ouch if you lose your good ones. Make sure you save your game before toying with this. When you pair all with random, you might end up losing several good cards because you can't win due to the random bad cards being injected. In this case, use the trick above to remove as many bad cards from your hand as possible before playing with the All/Random combo!
• Direct. At the end of the game, whoever controls each card on the board wins that card. If your strategy in the game is to allow an opponent to flip a high value card so you can flip their other cards, you will lose the high value card they have flipped. Try to avoid this rule.

Abolishing Rules:
When you first arrive in a region, you have a chance of either spreading a rule from a previous region or abolishing a rule from the new region. Or sometimes neither. For this reason, it's generally considered helpful to use this aspect of the game to your advantage to abolish rules by bouncing back and forth between regions with dissimilar rules. Most importantly, you want to get rid of the Random rule. Dollet, Trabia, Centra, and Lunar all start out with the random rule. By going from a region with a rule these don't have, you can possibly eliminate the random rule. Generally speaking, abolishing rules follows this patter:

1. Come TO a city where you want to abolish a rule FROM a city with a rule that isn't yet spread.
2. Save outside the target city
3. Enter the city and challenge someone to a card game. You should see a note about combining rules from both regions. If you don't, you need to visit a DIFFERENT city first if you want to stand a chance of abolishing a rule.
4. Accept the offering of a game using both rules, then press "quit" from the subsequent Rules screen. At this point you will either see no message, or a message saying a new rule has spread in this region, or a rule saying an exiting rule has been abolished. If the rule you wanted to get rid of is now gone, you're home free. Other wise, reload the game you saved outside the city and come back to try again.

Emulator's Note:
If you're playing on an emulator, it's quite a bit easier to abolish rules from various areas. For example, Trabia has the annoying Random rule. If you simply save your game outside the city (choose save from the menu - don't use the emulator here), then go into the city and play cards with anyone, they'll offer to play with any rules you know from another region. Just use the emulator quick save before offering to play. After agreeing to play with combined rules, you can quit from the Rules screen. Most of the time either a new rule will spread here, or an existing rule will be eliminated. If a rule spreads, simply load your quick save, then card-talk the same person, but decline to play immediately. Then quick save again, and repeat until either the rule you want eliminated goes away, or they stop offering to play with combined rules. If they stop offering to play with combined rules, you have two choices. Either reload your quicksave and find someone else to play with (then repeat the steps above as needed), or alternatively you can simply hard-reset the emulator and start the game over, then restore the save game outside the city and try again. Eventually you'll be able to nuke the rule you want. For the few areas where this isn't convenient, I'll offer suggestions that don't rely on the emulator in the appropriate spots. If you're trying to abolish the Random rule in Trabia at the end of Disk 3, here's a tip if the Esthar president is on the Ragnarok - you can play against him first, if you need to learn new rules, then go play into trabia. You can do this over and over, if needed to eliminate various rules.

Spreading:
Rules spread when you play games around the world. When you propose a game to a character in a new land, any rules from the previous land you played in may be new to him. He may suggest you play a game that combines rules from both area. Unless you just came from Balam (includes Balam Garden) I don't generally recommend this. Keep proposing games and eventually s/he will not ask to play with combined rules. To spread open, but keep other rules from spreading, I usually go back and play in Balam Garden after each new land I play in. In Balam, I always say no to anyone who wants to play with combined rules. Then when I go somewhere else, I say 'Yes' if they ask to combine the rules from Balam. If this confuses you, you can also pay of the Queen of Cards early on so she'll spread the open rule, if it's not already active in Balam.

That's pretty much it for the rules of the game.

Triple Triad Strategies

Start early:
It's possible to acquire some good cards without having ever left Balam. Once you get your starter deck from the guy at the hallway of level two, head for the training center. Set Quezacotl to learn 'Card' and go hunting for Grats. When you get weak, head to your room and rest. (Save your potions and cure spells for later.) From the main entrance to the training center, head to the left and call Quezacotl when you encounter a heard of Grats. He'll usually kill grats in one shot, but you may have to kill them yourself with a good smack once in a while.

When he learns card, eneable it in the menu and have him move on to 'Card Mod.' Continue Grat hunting, but this time try not to kill them out right - if Quezacotl doesn't kill enemies on one shot, great! Otherwise, you'll have to hunt by hand. Hit them two or three times to weaken them, then card them. You'll get lots of Grat cards, but you should also get a few Shumi Tribe cards. These are increadible cards to aquire this early in the game. Try to get three of them if you can, then you can begin playing in earnest.

Round One:
Leave the arena, save your game, and take on the girl in the Library at the desk. When you get good enough that you can beat her with ease, go for the girls outside your dorm room, then the lunch counter lady (the one on the left). If you can beat all these easily, try Dr. Kadawaki and the guy by the entrance to garden (the one in the booth). If you can defeat these guys pretty much every time, you should begin to acquire some decent cards, and you will probably begin to develop a bit of strategy.

Round Two:
Head to the Library and go to the far right screen (a little study area). You should find a girl who says "Hehe... So you want to play with me?" She plays with some pretty good cards, so you can get some pretty powerful cards here. Continue until you can beat her with some frequency. After that, it's time to win your first Page 10 card - Quistis. Save first. ;)

Head to the Cafeteria and go to the back-right screen. You'll see a few guys you can talk to ("...the one in front, or the one in the back?") Card talk to the one named "Trepe Groupe #1" and beat him to acquire your Quistis Card. To beat him easily, I used: Shumi Tribe, Malboro, Wedge/Biggs, Elastoid and Wendigo. If you can't beat him on the first try, just keep at it. If you lose too many cards, restart from your save (you did save, right?!?) and try again. When you have it, save again and then look for the kid that's running circles around the middle of Garden. You can't miss him - he runs past on the screen with the directory almost every time. Card talk to him and win the Mini Mog card.

Side note: I used to think the mini mog card was only good for card moding, but there's a problem with that - you will not be able to complete the queen of cards quest if you do that. I'll just play the Queen of Cards the first time I get to Balam City and loose it to the Queen to start the side quest.

Moving up:

It's probably obvious by now, but they single easiest way to get powerful characters is to win and card-mod certain cards, and then use your GFs' magic refinement skills to turn those things into magic. Throughout most of the game, you'll be playing with 3 characters. You can also move magic between characters via the Magic submenu. What all of this means for you is that you can very early on in the game use the card game to make normal game play easy (I mean REALLY easy!!!) and the really tricky stuff possible. Put another way, if you want to get some of the most powerful stuff in the game, you're going to *have* to learn how to play the card game well. As an example of what the card game can do for you, before I have Squall (L17), Zell (L9), and Selphi (L8) get on the train for Timber, they all have between 3000 and 5000 HP. All three have 100 of the following high-level magic: Tornado, Death, Meltdown, Pain, Curaga, Regen, Zombie, Blizzaga, Thundaga.

And it's not just magic. Remember the Weapon Upgrades section? I upgrade Squall's weapon the moment I leave Balam Garden to go take the Fire Cave test.

I get a lot of email from people saying "It's so boring to play the card game for hours before I even play this game, why don't you just level grind?" My answer is: Go ahead!!! It's your game - play however makes you happy. For those of you who want to truely dominate - no matter what it takes, the card game is an easy (if a little time consuming) way to do it. Compare to other games where you have to play the same level 100 times and get everything EXACTLY right or you can't beat it. That really bugs me. But I'm not going to force you to do things *my* way. ;)

For example, if you get 50 Chimera cards, you can refine those into 100 Full-Life. Junction this to HP and a level 13 Quistis goes from 900 HP to 7700 HP.

Before leaving Balam for Timber is my favorite time to play the game. Here's what I like to do:

1. Save outside the Town of Balam.
2. Go in the town and play cards with the Queen of Cards until she plays a game with the Trade Rule 'All' or 'Diff'. That changes the trade rule for this region. If she wants to play with any other rule, I just quit without playing.
3. After that, you can head back to Balam Garden and play against all the opponents listed here. Better yet, play against the guy squatting by the Dock, if he's there.
4. If you are on your way to Timber for your first SeeD contract, be sure to leave Balam Garden after talking to Cid, then go right back in and take the elvator to the 3rd floor so you can card battle Cid for the Seifer card. It's one of the best cards in the game, so getting it early is a huge advantage.

• Zell: Ifrit & Siren w/ HP=Full Life / Tornado, Str=Quake/Flare, Mag=Death, Stat Atk=Pain, Stat Def=Esuana&Confuse, Elem Atk=Thundaga, Elem Def=Water/Shell
• Squall: Quezacotl w/ HP=Full Life / Holy / Tornado, Vit=Regen, Mag=Pain, Elem Def=Full-Life/Shell
• Selphie: Shiva & Diablos w/ HP=Full Life / Holy / Tornado, Str=Demi, Vit=Meltdown, Mag=Quake, Spr=Curaga, Elem Atk=Thundaga, Elem Def=Firaga/Bio

• Bandana Guy: Randomly appears one screen down from the turnstile (Two down from Balam Directory). Prefers: upper left corner, unless he can flip a card. Can win:
• Adamantoise (3 = 1 Turtle Shell; weapon upgrade)
• Armadodo (1 = Dino Bone)
• Belhelmel (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 10 Death)
• Blitz (1 = Quezacotl T Mag-RF into 20 Thundaga)
• Blobra (4 = Leviathan Supt Mag-RF into 40 Shell)
• Blood Soul (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Zombie)
• Blue Dragon (4 = Leviathan Supt Mag-RF into 5 Aura)
• Death Claw (1 = 1 Sharp Spike; weapon upgrade)
• Fastitocalon (2 = Shiva I Mag-RF into 50 water)
• Gesper (1 = Quistis Blue Magic: Degenerator)
• Gayla (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 Meltdown)
• Hexadragon (3 = 1 Red Fang; weapon upgrade)
• Imp (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
• Mesmerize (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Regen)
• Snow Lion (1 = Shiva I Mag-RF into 20 Blizzaga)
• Tonberry (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
• Torma (4 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Life)
• Tri-Face (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 pain)
• Vysage (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
• Turnstile Receptionist: Always in the Receptionist desk one screen down from the Balam Directory. Prefers: upper left corner, unless he can flip a card. Can win:
• Abyss Worm (5 = Quezacotl T Mag-RF into 20 Tornado)
• Behemoth (10 = 1x Barrier; Quistis learns Mighty Guard)
• Blood Soul (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Zombie)
• Chimera (10 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Full-Life)
• Elastoid (1 = 1x Steel Pipe; 6 needed to summon Doom Train)
• Elnoyle (10 = 1x Energy Crystal)
• Gayla (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 Meltdown)
• Gesper (1 = Quistis Blue Magic: Degenerator)
• Imp (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
• Iron Giant (3 = 1x Star Fragment)
• Malboro (4 = 1x Malboro Tentacle; Quistis learns Bad Breath / 6x needed to summon Doom Train)
• Mesmerize (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Regen)
• Ruby Dragon (10 = Ifrit F Mag-RF into 20 Flare)
• Snow Lion (1 = Shiva I Mag-RF into 20 Blizzaga)
• Tri-Face (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 pain)
• Wedge, Biggs (1 = 1 X-Potion)
• Girl in Back of Library: In the far right screen in the Library (three screens right from the Balam Directory.) Prefers: upper left corner, unless she can flip a card. A little harder to beat than guys down from the Balam Directory. Can win:
• Adamantoise (3 = 1 Turtle Shell; weapon upgrade)
• Behemoth (10 = 1x Barrier; Quistis learns Mighty Guard)
• Blitz (1 = Quezacotl T Mag-RF into 20 Thundaga)
• Blobra (4 = Leviathan Supt Mag-RF into 40 Shell)
• Blue Dragon (4 = Leviathan Supt Mag-RF into 5 Aura)
• Cactaur (1 = 1 = 1 Cactus Thorn)
• Chimera (10 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Full-Life)
• Elastoid (1 = 1 Steel Pipe; 6 needed to summon Doom Train)
• Elnoyle (10 = 1 Energy Crystal)
• Hexadragon (3 = 1 Red Fang; weapon upgrade)
• Imp (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
• Malboro (4 = 1 Malboro Tentacle; Quistis learns Bad Breath / 6x needed to summon Doom Train)
• Ruby Dragon (10 = Ifrit F Mag-RF into 20 Flare)
• Torma (4 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Life)
• Tonberry King (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
• Vysage (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
• Dr Kadowaki: Always in the Dr's office, two screens left from the Balam Directory. Prefers: upper left corner, unless she can flip a card. Moderately harder to beat than guys down from the Balam Directory. Can win:
• Elastoid (1 = 1x Steel Pipe; 6 needed to summon Doom Train)
• Elnoyle (10 = 1x Energy Crystal)
• Gayla (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 Meltdown)
• Gesper (1 = Quistis Blue Magic: Degenerator)
• Iron Giant (3 = 1x Star Fragment)
• Malboro (4 = 1x Malboro Tentacle; Quistis learns Bad Breath / 6x needed to summon Doom Train)
• Mesmerize (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Regen)
• Snow Lion (1 = Shiva I Mag-RF into 20 Blizzaga)
• Torma (4 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Life)
• Tonberry (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
• Tri-Face (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 pain)
• Turtapod (1 = 1 Turtapod)
• Trepe Groupie #1: Always in back of cafeteria - "The guy in the back." Moderately hard to beat. You cannot assume he will prefer a specific corner. Can Win:
• Behemoth (10 = 1x Barrier; Quistis learns Mighty Guard)
• Chimera (10 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Full-Life)
• Elastoid (1 = 1x Steel Pipe; 6 needed to summon Doom Train)
• Elnoyle (10 = 1x Energy Crystal)
• Iron Giant (3 = 1x Star Fragment)
• Malboro (4 = 1x Malboro Tentacle; Quistis learns Bad Breath / 6x needed to summon Doom Train)
• Mesmerize (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Regen)
• Quistis (1 = 3x Samantha Souls - but DON'T do that - see the Queen of Cards Quest!)
• Ruby Dragon (10 = Ifrit F Mag-RF into 20 Flare)
• Tonberry King (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
• Wedge, Biggs (1 = 1 X-Potion)
• In Balam City - Guy squatting by the dock. OK, technically this isn't in Balam Garden, but it's a great next step after you leave garden. If you can get the Diff or All rules to spread by playing cards with the Queen of Cards in Balam, you'll probably want to play aginst this guy. You can win the following cards from this guy:
  • Adamantoise (3 = 1 Turtle Shell; weapon upgrade)
  • Armadodo (1 = Dino Bone)
  • Abyss Worm (5 = Quezacotl T Mag-RF into 20 Tornado)
  • Behemoth (10 = 1x Barrier; Quistis learns Mighty Guard)
  • Blitz (1 = Quezacotl T Mag-RF into 20 Thundaga)
  • Blue Dragon (4 = Leviathan Supt Mag-RF into 5 Aura)
  • Cactaur (1 = 1 = 1 Cactus Thorn)
  • Chimera (10 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Full-Life)
  • Elastoid (1 = 1x Steel Pipe; 6 needed to summon Doom Train)
  • Elnoyle (10 = 1x Energy Crystal)
  • Imp (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
  • Iron Giant (3 = 1x Star Fragment)
  • Malboro (4 = 1x Malboro Tentacle; Quistis learns Bad Breath / 6x needed to summon Doom Train)
  • Mesmerize (1 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Regen)
  • Ruby Dragon (10 = Ifrit F Mag-RF into 20 Flare)
  • Snow Lion (1 = Shiva I Mag-RF into 20 Blizzaga)
  • Tonberry King (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
  • Torma (4 = Siren L Mag-RF into 20 Life)
  • Tonberry (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
  • Tonberry King (1 = 1 Chef's Knife; weapon upgrade)
  • Tri-Face (1 = Diablos ST Mag-RF into 10 pain)
  • Turtapod (1 = 1 Turtapod)
  • Vysage (1 = 1 Wizard Stone; various magics)
  • Wedge, Biggs (1 = 1 X-Potion)
  
  
  Things to keep in mind...
  10x Elnoyle -> Energy Crystal -> High Level Magic (Ultima) Later
  6x Elastoid -> 6x Steel Pipe -> Call Doomtrain Later
  24x Malboro -> 6x Malboro Tentacle -> Call Doomtrain Later
  3x Adamantoise -> Turtle Shell (Weapon Component)
  4x Blue Dragon -> Fury Fragement -> 2x Aura Stone (Siren's Tool-RF), but Supt Mag-RF is 5 Aura later.
  GIM47N -> 10x Fast Ammo
  Wedge, Biggs -> X-Potion (Not magic, but powerful) (Siren: Tool-RF)
  Creeps -> Coral Fragment -> 20x Thundara
  Thrustaevis -> Shear Feather -> 20x Aero
  Glacial Eye -> Arctic Wind -> 20x Blizzara
  Bomb -> Bomb Fragment -> 20x Fira
  Caterchipillar -> Spider Web -> 20x Slow
  Gesper -> Steel Orb -> 15x Demi
  Grendel -> Dragon Fin -> 20x Double
  Elastoid -> Steel Pipe -> 20x Berserk
  Ochu -> Ochu Tentacle -> 30x Blind
  Cockatrice -> Cockatrice Pinion -> 20x Break
  Elastoid -> Steel Pipe -> 1x Auro Stone (Siren: Tool-RF)
  3x Iron Giant -> Star Fragment -> 2x Meteor Stone (Siren: Tool-RF)
  For more information on other card mods, please see the Card Mods section.
  
  Early Non-Card Mods:
  Buy 10x Tent -> 100 Curagas (Siren's L Mag-RF Skill)
  Kill Grats -> Sleep Powder -> 20x Sleeps (Diablo's ST Mag-RF Skill)
  Kill Grats -> Silence Powder -> 20x Silences (Diablo's ST Mag-RF Skill)
  
  Because I've played the game so many times, I don't feel the need to jump right into the fighting action and advance the plot. As a result, I've found that before I even get to the Fire Cave, I like to play the card game and get serious status junctions for my characters. If you don't want to spend all tha time, you can just sell stuff off instead. If you go that route, consider selling off any of the extra "Quistis Can Learn x" items. If you're playing cards, the Wedge, Biggs cards can card mod into X-Potions, which can be sold off for 2500 Gil EACH!
  
  1. Keep the random rule from spreading. Unless you really like a challange, it's a bad idea to let random spread. Since some countries force you to play with Different or All, you may not have a choice about what cards you aquire. If you get a Chimera, for example, you have to aquire 9 more before you can card mod it away. Since the Chimera card is not usefull in a battle really, it's better to not have it in your hand unless you are trying to get the Regen Ring it will mod to. Also, when you are trying to aquire a rare card, it's frustrating to have the computer randomly chosing when your opponant will play with it.
  2. Let the Open rule spread. Since Balam (includes Balam Garden) uses the open rule, I try to return there between each battle in a different land. Since the next time I battle (in a new area) they will ask me to play with balam's rules, I can spread "open" this way.
  3. Look for opponant patterns. Some opponants have a fondness for certain corners. If you know this in advance, it can help you chose what cards will work well against them.
  4. If I don't have dynamite strong cards, I like to play a worthless card in the middle of the board. It encourages your opponents to play good cards in bad spots.
  5. Go for the corners if you can. If you can control the corners, it's a lot easier to protect weak cards. Remember, the Malboro card may only have 2 sides that are good, but when placed in the lower left corner, only a handful of cards will beat it (until you start playing the high profile players later)!
  6. Unless you're playing "Direct," don't be afraid to sacrafice a good card for the win. Pay attention to your trade rules. I usually place a rare card where it can be flipped to force my opponant to play his dangerous cards first. Remember, most characters just can't resist the chance to flip Squall. But if you are playing with Direct, you'd better be able to win it back later!
  7. Try to Card Mod anything you don't need, but keep a backup just in case. It is inevitable that you will have to play a game where Random is used. To minimize its effect on your hand, keep a smaller hand! You probably won't be able to have a hand of 5 awesome cards, but a true master of the game could get away with it. If you try to play with only 5 cards, save your game first. Remember, you must have at least five cards to play. Also remember that the queen of cards quest requires you to lose SPECIFIC cards to her, so you may have a hard time doing that if you've card mod'd the only copy of, for example, Mini Mog.
  8. When playing with same/plus, spread the cards out and fill in squares. Try to play next to an existing card to keep from opening yourself up to same/plus attacks. Keep the number of sides open to attacks to a minimum. If your opponant opens by playing in a corner, play next to that card if you can. If he plays into a three card "L" shape, play in the hole to form a square. Getting into this habit will cut down on the number of times you have to reload because you irretrevablly lost your best card.
  9. It's usually easier to get a rare item by Card Mod then by random encounter winnings. Unless you have the "Rare Item" skill enabled (or you cheat), you will probably need to resort to card play to get an item. For example, if you need a Malboro Tentacle for a weapon, you would have to be insane to try for it the normal way (or insanly good, but that's beside the point). Play the guy in the booth at Balam Garden, however, and you can get a Malboro Tentacle by winning and Card Moding four Malboro cards.
  If I think of more strategy hints later, I'll put them here too.

  Balam Garden Card Club

  Note: You can't start this on Disc 1!!! Read the whole section for more information. The Card Club of Balam Garden is a group of players in the Garden that are really good. Defeating them will not only fufill a side quest, but can also net you some sweet cards you would otherwise be unable to aquire. I played several games with each, and will tell you any 'special cards' they chose to use. To complete the card club side quest you must:
  
  1. Win at least 15 games against Balam Garden residents
  2. Defeat CC Jack
  3. Defeat CC Joker
  4. Defeat CC Club
  5. Defeat CC Diamond
  6. Defeat CC Spade
  7. Defeat CC Heart
  8. Defeat CC King

  Win 15 games:
  I was unable to verify the number 15 for two reasons. First, you cannot take on the CC at the very beginning of the game. Therefore, since I get the Quistis and Mini Mog cards right off the bat, (not to mention I use the card game to get massive magic early on and totally unbalance the game :D ) I had played way more then 15 games.

  CC Jack:
  Once you have won enough games, feel free to head over and take this guy on. He's the guy that first tells you about the CC. You can find him (appears randomly) hanging around the front lobby. He usally walks in from either the top righ or bottom of screen. If you haven't won enough games, he will ask if he has told you about the CC yet. He did not appear to play with any 'special cards.'

  CC Joker:
  Card Club Joker will only play you after you have defeated CC Jack. He is also called 'Man From Garden' in other areas (Like Galbadia Prison and once you have the 'Call Shop' skill.) He runs the only buy/sell place in Balam Garden. You can find him (appears randomly) in the Training Center, standing on the end of the 'dock' on the screen where you can fight T-Rexaur enemies. If you go there and he's gone, just leave the screen and return. Even after you defeat him, you may want to continue playing until you win the Leviathan card from him. When you defeat him, he will add the 'View GF Information' function to your battle meter. Note: He doesn't appear until after Disc 1.

  CC Club:
  Card Club Club (Now you know why they always refer to this as the CC group in the english version of this game) appears randomly around the dormitory. Piece of advice, if you have just come from Joker, save your game in the dorm first, then come back and try to take on this guy. He does not apppear to play with any special (rare, high-level) cards.

  CC Diamond:
  The CC Diamond is actually 2 people. They are the 2 girls that hang out in front of the directory in the lobby of Balam. If you do not see them, wait a few seconds. They sometimes appear from the bottom right. If this is the case, you will have to wait until they are stopped in front of the directory before you can talk to them. They did not appear to play with any special cards, per se. However, they do play with Page 7 cards, so you can win an Ultima Weapon or two, if you're patient.

  CC Spade:
  Remember back on Disc 1 I told you to remember the guy who gave you your starter pack of cards? Well, he's the Spade of the CC group. He does not appear to play with any special cards. NOTE: If you begin the CC quest before fighting NORG, you'll automatically take the elevator down to B1 when you approach it. Then you'll have to fight that battle before returning here.

  CC Heart:
  Head up to the bridge and challange Xu. Please note that this battle is not possible until you've finished the Fisherman's Horizon section (Xu will not be on the bridge until then). She uses Carbuncle. At this point, the battles get REALLY TOUGH. Be sure to have saved your game before attempting this battle. Another interesting thing to remember here is that she plays easier after the first battle. So rememeber, you don't have to win Carbuncle on the first battle. Of if you feel like you have to, substitute a Malboro (or equally powerfull but not unique card.)

  CC King:
  To get King to show up, you have to first 'Card' (B2, etc) to the doctor. When you do, she will tell you that she is no longer the King. To find the king. Go to your dorm and SAVE. Then rest. If the King doesn't challenge you in the middle of the night, leave the dorm and then return. Repeat Rest and Leave routine until satisfied. Again, you don't have to win the Special Card (Gilgamesh) right off the bat. You can always do that later. The CC King will tell you when and where the King allows challenges.

  Now that you have defeated all the CC members, if you leave the castle on Disc 4 and return to the Rangnorok, the members of the Card Club will be waiting for you. Furthermore, they will play with the most advanced, rarest cards in the game. If you can defeat them and mod their cards, you can basically level up your magic and gear in very short period of time.

  Queen of Cards Quest[s]

  OK. I've finally decided to update this to include the instructions for defeating the Queen of Cards in the Queen of Cards Quest. This quest is actually easy to figure out, but hard to acomplish. You'd better be REALLY good at the game. Here are the directions as well as a few bits and pieces to help you out. Lose a GF or better (lvl 8+) card to her in various towns until she gets to dollet. Then you'll have to start losing specific cards. Just lose a specific card to her, then head to dollet and win the card back from the little boy at the artists shop. Throughout the time you are playing her, she'll get bored and head to another area. Consult my "Where is she going...?" table to figure out where to find her after each battle. If the queen asks for a card you do not have, consult my "Where can I get a...?" table.

  Pro-Tip: Change her Destination
  Always save before you play against her. That way if she gets bored and goes someplace you don't want to (or can't) follow her, you can reload and play her again. For example, I like to save before playing her in Dollet, and just keep reloading and playing again until she heads to Balam. In Balam, I do the same, and try to drive her back to Dollet. It's a lot less annoying than trying to run around in, say, the Galbadian Delling City for hours on end while you get lost or whatever. YMMV. Also, if you WIN a nice card from her (i.e., one you've lost before) you can also make her get bored and move around.

  Dollet Pub Owner:
  Once you get to Dollet, you can play against the ownder of the pub to get access to his back room. When you do, you can play against him, learn a bit about his family, and rifle through his magazines. Most importantly, you can get the Occult Fan II magazine here. There are three stacks of magazines here. The one closest to where you first appear on screen is the best one. It has three items hidden inside that you can find. Just keep searching. Once you find them, you can leave the screen and come back, and they will be magically restocked. Eventually, if you keep doing this, you'll find the Occult Fan II magazine. This one hints at the fact that there is a connection between the Doomtrain GF and Malboros.

  You can start as early as the first time you set foot outside of Balam garden - she's in the town. I opted to lose my mini-mog card immediately. That's not a very useful card, anyway.

  1. If you follow my guide and decide to get good at the game early on (i.e., before leaving Balam for Timber), you can start this side quest pretty early in the game. Since that's my preferred strategy, I just card-talk to her until she uses Trading Rule All or Diff, and then play with 4 Fastitocalon-F cards and Mini Mog. That causes her to travel to either Dollet or Deling City in Galbadia. Dollet is best, because you can get there sooner in the game, and you'll have to talk to her father about good cards anyway (see below). NOTE: If you have already left Balam for Timber, you can find the queen of cards in Balam after Galbadia has occupied the town (not during the occupation, though).
  2. Once you've lost mini-mog, you can hit up Dollet after the TV-Station assault. Head to the pub, and go upstairs. You should find the Queen of Cards there. Talk to her about her Artist Father, and she'll tell you that he paints some of the cards. Because you lost Mini Mog, he's created a Kiros Card, which is in Deling City. She'll also tell you she gave the Mini Mog card to her daughter. (Before playing any card games in Dollete, see the note below.) Save at the save point in the room here, then challenge the owner (on the left) to a game of cards. He's good, but you can beat him. Once you do, he'll let you into the back room, where you can search his magazines and play card games against him. He'll play with the Siren card from time to time. When you've got that, head downstairs, out the door, and down one screen from the entrace to the bar. Follow the kid into the house at the lower-right of the screen. This is the kid you can win your MiniMog card back from.
  3. NOTE: If you played cards while you were in Timber and/or Galbadia Garden... Any time you return to Dollet after playing in another region, there's a way to abolish the Random rule in Dollet based on knowing a bit about the random number generator used by this game and the Playstation (or emulator). Try this: Go to the Hotel on the fountain screen and save your game. Then hard reset the console (not the reset you can do by mashing a bunch of buttons on the controller - actually reset the console. When it comes back on-line, continue from this save point. Now leave the hotel and immediately go back inside and card-talk to the bell girl (in green). Decline to play. Card talk again, and again decline to play. Finally card talk a third time, this time say OK, but choose quit from the next screen. You should see the phrase "Random was abolished from this region" appear. It shouldn't matter if the "you know rules we don't use here" dialog shows up. Note that there is also a possibility that you may instead spread the open rule to this location, if it's not already here. If that happens, head back to Timber, Card Talk the guard at the enterance to town until he offers to play a game without mixing in Other Rules (be careful NOT to play one using Dollet's rules and Timber's rules, or you'll spread Random to Dollet as well). Accept his offer, then just quit on the next screen. You probably won't see any messages, but you can repeat the save/reset/reload steps above back in Dollet to abolish the Random Rule.
  4. After you have acquired the Sacred card from defeating the Brothers, return to Dollet before going back to Deling City. Head upstairs in the pub and use the save point (you may need to enable Move-Find to see it at the top of the stairs.) After saving, card talk to her and play a game with your Sacred card and a bunch of useless cards. Lose the Sacred card and talk to her again. If she tells you she's going to Balam, reset and load that save game. You want her to say she's heading to Galbadia. Go back to the artist studio and win the Sacred card back from her son.
  5. When you are able to get to Fisherman's Horizon (FH), you'll have the oppotunity to win the Irvine card from Mayor Dobe's wife. When you have control of the Garden, point it to Galbadia and head to the Galbadia Hotel. Card Talk to the queen and lose the Irvine card. I couldn't get her to commit to going anywhere other than Balam at this point, FWIW. Since you basically have to go to Balam after FH, it's not that big a deal, but be aware she won't appear while the town is under Galbadian control. If you can get her to go to Dollet, you're home free. If not, just find her in Balam (or whereever else she ends up), save, lose a card like Carbuncle, and reload unless she says she's going to Dollet.
  6. When she's in Dollet, talk to her about her artist father and she'll tell you she's looking for a Chicobo card. If she tells you she gave the Irvine card you lost to her to her son, head to the out of the bar and down one screen to the art studio where win it back. Otherwise, just keep playing her until she uses it. Remember, if you lose *or win* a rare card, she'll get bored and head somewhere else. Make a note of where she says she's heading. Especially if you lost another rare card to her in order to get her to head to Dollet (*cough* Carbuncle *cough*). FWIW, I wouldn't normally try to win my card back at this point, but I actually use the Irvine card while I'm playing because it's better that the Sacred card. I know some guides tell you to card battle her son at this point, but I couldn't get him to play with any cards unless she explicitly said she gave said card to her him.
  7. After compelting the Chicobo Card side quest (see the Side Quests section of this guide), follow her and lose that card. After several reload/rematch attempts, I got her to head to Dollet after I lost the Chicobo Card. Talking to her about her Artist father she said she gave the Chicobo Card to her son, and that her father was able to make a Fat Chocobo card which is somewhere in Balam Garden. I got back my Carbuncle, and also got the Chicobo from her son. (I sent her off to Balam when I won the Carbuncle back from her, but that seems OK to me.)
  8. Now that we know where it is, head to the screen with the Directory in Balam Garden. Just right from there is a bench next to a trash can - just left and down from the library walkway. There's a guy that randomly sits on this bench. Leave and return until he's there and win the Fat Chocobo card from him.
  9. On Disc 3 when you are visiting the Lunar Base, you can win the Alexander card from Piet (the first guy in the white coat you see. I was able to abolish the Random rule by exploiting the PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator). If you missed it on the Disc 3 section of the walkthrough, here is the process: Hard Reset the game console (don't use L1,R1,Start,Select). Continue that game and do the following card challanges against the guy on the right: Challange and say no [1] time. Challange and say Yes, then Quit without playing [1] time. Challange and say no [11] times. Challange and say Yes, then Quit without playing [4] times.
  10. When you have the Alexander card, lose it to the Queen, the go talk to her in Dollet (lose another card to her if you must in order to driver her back to Dollet. She'll tell you she gave the Alexander card to her son here in town and that her father made a Doomtrain card that's somewhere in Timber. Head out of the pub and down one screen and into the art studio to win your Alexander card from her son.
  11. At this point I have enough great cards that I usually go challange Martine in FH (you can park the Ragnarok there) and win back the Ifrit card that Rinoa's father gave him. After that, head to Timber and challange the pub owner to win the Doomtrain card (he's the guy in the back right that is *really* into cards.) Just FYI you may have to challenge him MANY times. If you're on an emulator, consider a quick-save when you're on the Rules screen. That way you can quick reload to that screen if he's not playing with Doomtrain, then press down twice and quick save again (to reset the PRNG.) FYI: On one play through it took me about 25-30 times before he played with Doomtrain.
  12. Now that you have Doomtrain, go lose it to the QoC. She was in Dollet for me, so I lost it and immidiately went and won it back from her son. Her father makes a Phoenix card, which ends up in the hand of the Presidential Aide in Esthar's Presidential Palace - in the room where you were first taken and left Rinoa in the (creepy?) hands of Odine.
  Congratulations; you have completed the Queen of Cards side quest and obtained the rare GF cards!

   

  Where is she going...?
  Destination	Reality
  Galbadia	Galbadia Hotel (It's in Deling City, actually)
  Centra	Winhill (The hotel, I think)
  Dollet	Dollet (Yeah, she actually goes there. Hit the pub).
  FH (Fisherman's Horizon)	Fisherman's Horizon - near the save point were you can see the Mayor's house; one screen left from the inn.
  Trabia	Shumi Village (Northmost island - go up from Balam Island. Visit the Hotel.)
  Far Away	Lunar Gate
  Esthar	The presidential palace in Esthar.

  Where can I get a...?
  Card	Location
  Mini Mog	Kid running laps around the 1st floor of Garden
  Kiros	(Only after losing Mini Mog to the Queen of Cards) - Guy in black across from weapon store in Deling City (Galbadia)
  Sacred	Fight the Brothers in the Tomb of the Unknown King
  Irvine	(Only after losing Sacred to the Queen of Cards) - Mayor Dobe's wife in FH
  Chicobo	Finish the Chicobo Side Quest (See Side Quests section)
  Chubby Chocobo	(Only after losing Chicobo to QoC) - Guy on Bench opposite library walkway in Balam Garden
  Alexander	Win from Piet on Lunar Base (see above for how to remove the Random rule from that region.)
  Doomtrain	(Only after losing Alexandero to QoC) - Talk to QoC in Dollet to learn location. Timber Pub Owner
  Phoenix	(Only after losing Doomtrain to QoC) - Talk to QoC in Dollet to learn location. Esthar Presidential Palace - Presidential Aide

  Emulation Notes

  When I first wrote this walkthrough, it was the same year the game came out. I was very excited about the game, and there wasn't really much in the way of awesome walkthrough sites. As a result, I built a section of my website to host this walkthrough. I've since played the game through several times. For whatever reason (I suspect licensing issues around the songs), it seems that the Playstation store doesn't have this game in the PS3 or PS4 store. As a result, I have to play it emulated now. Since I own three copies of the discs, I'm pretty sure that's legit.

  So... If you're also playing the game emulated, you may be taking advantage of emulator save states. I've been researching at what point in the code the system decides if an enemy you've used the "Card" skill on is a common or rare card. For example, when you're in the fire cave toward the beginning of the game, you can attack a bomb and get it *almost* dead. You can then create an emulator save, after which you can use the card action. You'll almost always get a Bomb Card, but on very rare occasions you'll get a Krysta card.

  I've noticed that this isn't exactly as easy as it sounds. Most of the time, just restoring and trying Card again won't work. From my experimentation, I've found I have to use the circle button to swich to another character, then try Card again. Some times it appears I have to wait for the enemy to attack again. This makes a bit of sense. If the game calculates luck at the beginning of each round (think rolling initiative), it's possible just loading and trying again wouldn't be helpful. Other times, I can try dozens of times before the enemy attacks again, and eventually it totally works.

  I'll keep experiementing, and if I find anything more out, I'll let you know. In the mean time, if any of you have insight into this from your own experimentation, please use the contact link on this site to get ahold of me and let me know!

  The Final Few Cards:
  By the time you get here, you probably have all but a few cards. You've probably got a blank at the bottom of page 10 and the middle of page 5. One of the strangest cards to get in the game is:
  
  Pupu: To obtain this card, you must have the Ragnarok (Disc 3 or 4) and you must observe a UFO in four different places. Here are the places to wander around. Having Enc None junctioned while wandering around is advisable. At each of these points, you'll get drawn into a battle with no enemies, and you'll watch the UFO fly past. Be sure to pay close attention to what it's carrying. XD

  1. Due east of Timber, along the shore. Wander around the shoreline, south of the tunnel to Balam, and east of junction of three train tracks. Carrying: Moai statue.
  2. Southeast of Winhill. Wander around the green and brown area around the town of Winhill. Carrying: Dairy cow.
  3. At the far east of the Centra continent where Edea's house is you'll find a desert. Wander around there for a bit. (Note: this is *not* Cactaur Island!) Carrying: Pyramid.
  4. Hover the Ragnarok above Trabia Garden and head due east. Stop in the grey island with no shoreline. Carrying: Cactaur?
  Once you've seen the UFO in all 4 spots, head to the cliffs next to the final Chocobo Forest from the Chicobo Side Quest (It's the tiny forest dome in the large forested area southeast of Trabia Garden). Park the Ragnarok there and wander around the bluffs. When you find the UFO, smash it up (don't use Elixirs on this joker yet!) You should get an Aegis Armlet (GF learns Eva-J ability) from this battle. For the *next* battle, you'll want to have some elixirs.
  
  Warning - YOU NEED ELIXIRS NOW! If you've been playing the game for a while, you probably have a lot of Elixirs saved up. If you don't have 5, however, you don't have enough. Get 5 Elixirs (if you have Tonberry, use his Call Shop ability and shop from the last entry - "Esthar Shop!!!" They'll sell them to you - for a price.
  
  Did you notice how the spaceship went flying off into the distance after the battle? Let's go find the remains. Major Hint: It crashed into the hole where Balam Garden used to be. Go fly over there. Park the Ragnarok on Balam island and take the road to the crater. Wander around the entire crater if you need. When Pupu shows up, use the Item ability to feed him the 5 elixirs. Yes it actually requires 5 elixirs. No, junctioning Med Data won't let you use 3. Yes, I tried. It *does* restore 20 points a pop, but it doesn't use fewer elixirs. I even tried giving him 5 doubled elixirs. Meh. When the battle is over, you should receive a Pupu card. Whee.

  ---

  Card Mods

  The following is a list of what each card Mods into, and how many of them are required. It is not yet finished.

  Page 1
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good For...
  1	Geezard	5 Screws	Weapons Upgrades
  1	Fungar	1 M-stone piece	Low Level Magics
  1	Bug-Bite	1 M-stone piece	Low Level Magics
  1	Red Bat	1 Vampire Fang	Makes Vampire Attack
  4	Blobra	1 Rune Armlet	GF learns SPR+20% ability; Supt Mag-RF into 40 shells; refines into 10 shell stones
  1	Gayla	1 Mystery Fluid	Quistis Blue Magic: Acid; also ST Mag-RF into 10 Meltdowns
  1	Gespar	1 Black Hole	Quistis Blue Magic: Degenerator
  4	Fastitocalon-F	1 Water Crystal	Quistis Blue Magic: Aqua Breath; also refines to 20 waters.
  1	Blood-Soul	1 Zombie Powder	1 L Mag-RF into 20 Zombies
  1	Caterchipillar	1 Spider Web	Quistis Blue Magic: Ultra Waves
  1	Cockatrice	1 Cockatrice Pinion	Feather with petrifying power

  
  

  Page 2
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good For...
  1	Grat	1 Magic Stone	Refines to mid level magics
  1	Buel	1 Magic Stone	Refines to mid level magics
  1	Mesmerize	1 Mesmerize Blade	Weapons Upgrades; also 1 L Mag-RF into 20 Regens
  1	Glacial Eye	1 Arctic Wind	Compatability: Shiva; also refine into 20 blizzaras
  1	Belheml	1 Saw Blade	Weapons Upgrades; also 1 L Mag-RF into 10 deaths
  1	Thrustaevis	1 Shear Feather	Compatibility: ????
  1	Anacandaur	1 Venom Fang	Compatibility: ????
  1	Creeps	1 Coral Fragment	Quistis Blue Magic: Electrocute; T Refine 20 Thundaras
  1	Grendal	1 Dragon Fin	Compatibilty: ????
  1	Jelleye	1 Magic Stone	Refines to mid level magics
  1	Grand Mantis	1 Sharp Spike	Weapons Upgrades

  
  

  Page 3
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...
  1	Forbidden	1 Betrayal Sword	Weapons Upgrades; ST Mag-RF into 20 Confuses
  1	Aramadodo	1 Dino Bone	Weapons Upgrades; Compatibility: ????
  1	Tri-Face	1 Curse Spike	Quistis Blue Magic: Lv?Death; also ST Mag-RF into 10 pain
  1	Fastitocalon	1 Water Crystal	Quistis Blue Magic: Aqua Breath; also refines to 50 waters
  1	Snow Lion	1 North Wind	Compatibility: Shiva; also Refines into 20 Blizzagas
  1	Ochu	1 Ochu Tentacle	Weapons Upgrades
  1	SAM08G	1 Running Fire	Quistis Blue Magic: Gatling Gun
  1	Death Claw	1 Sharp Spike	Weapons Upgrades
  1	Cactuar	1 Cauctus Thorn	Compatibility: Cactaur
  1	Tonberry	1 Chef's Knife	Compatibility: Tonberry; also weapons upgrades
  1	Abyss Worm	1 Windmill	Refine 20 Tornados; also Compatibility: ????

  
  

  Page 4
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...	Where to find
  5	Turtapod	1 Healing Mail	GF HP+10% ability
  1	Vsyage	1 Wizard Stone	Refines into High Level Magics
  2	T-Rexaur	1 Dino-Bone	Weapons Upgrades; Compatibility: ????
  1	Bomb	1 Bomb Fragment	Compatibility: Ifrit
  1	Blitz	1 Dynamo Stone	Compatibility: Quezacotl; T Mag-RF into 20 Thundagas
  1	Wendigo	1 Steel Orb	Compatibility: ????
  5	Torama	1 Life Ring	1 L Mag-RF into 20 Lifes
  1	Imp	1 Wizard Stone	Refines into High Level Magics
  4	Blue Dragon	1 Fury Fragment	Supt Mag-RF into 5 auras; also GLrefines into 2 aura stones
  3	Adamentosie	1 Turtle Shell	Vit+20% Ability
  3	Hexadragon	1 Red Fang	Compatability: Ifrit; also weapons upgrades

  
  

  Page 5
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...
  3	Iron Giant	1 Star Fragment	GF Learns SumMag+20% Ability
  10	Behemoth	1 Barrier	Quistis Blue Magic: Mighty Guard
  10	Chimera	1 Regen Ring	GF LearnsHP+20% Ability; refines into 5 tents; refines into 2 ultima stones; L mag-RF into 20 Full Lifes
  * 1	PuPu	1 Hungry Cookpot	GF Learns Devour Ability
  1	Elastoid	1 Steel Pipe	GF Learns SumMag+10%; also Summon Doom Train; also refines into 1 aura stone
  1	GIM47N	10 Fast Ammo	Ammo For Irvine
  4	Malboro	1 Malboro Tentacle	Weapons Upgrades; also Quistis Blue Magic: Bad Breath; also Summon Doom Train
  10	Ruby Dragon	1 Inferno Fang	Quistis Blue Magic: Fire Breath
  10	Elnoyle	1 Energy Crystal	GF SumMag+30%
  1	Tonberry King	1 Chef's Knife	Weapons Upgrades; also Compatibility Tonberry; also refines into death
  1	Wedge, Biggs	1 X-Potion	Fully Restores HP

  
  

  Page 6
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...
  1	Fujin, Ragin	1 X-Potion	Fully Restores HP
  1	Elvoret	10 Death Stones	Refines into Death
  2	X-ATM092	1 Turtle Shell	Weapons Upgrades; GF Learnins Vit+20%
  1	Granaldo	1 G-Returner	Revivie KO'd GF
  10	Grerogero	1 Circlet	Tool-RF into 2 Aura Stones
  1	Iguion	1 Cockatrice Pinion	ST Mag-RF into 20 Breaks
  1	Abadon	30 Dark Ammo	Inflict status with attack
  1	Trauma	30 Demolition Ammo	Powerful LB for Irvine
  1	Oilboyle	30 Fire Ammo	Great against fire-weak enemies!
  5	Shumi Tribe	1 Gambler Spirit	Tool-RF into 10 wizard stones
  1	Krysta	10 Holy Stones	Elem-Atk J against undead enemies!

  
  

  Page 7
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...
  1	Propigator	1 G-Mega-Potion	I don't really use them
  1	Jumbo Cactuar	1 Cactus Thorn	Ammo-RF for Demolition Ammo
  40	Tri-Point	1 Jet Engine	50 = Spd Up
  10	Gargantua	1 Strength Love	Refines into Aura via Supt Mag-RF
  1	Tiamat	10 Flare Stones	F Mag-RF into 1 flare (each)
  1	Mobile Type 8	10 Shell Stones	Refines into Shell via Supt Mag-RF
  1	Sphinxara	1 G-Mega-Potion	I don't really use them
  1	BGH251F2	10 Protect Stones	Refines into Protect via Supt Mag-RF
  1	Red Giant	5 Meteor Stones
  1	Catoblepas	1 Rename Card	Change GF Name
  1	Ultima Weapon	1 Ultima Stone

  
  

  Page 8
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...	Where to find
  * 1	Fat Chocobo	100 LuvLuvG
  1	Angelo	100 Elixir
  1	Gilgamesh	10 Holy War
  1	MiniMog	100 Pet Houses
  * 1	Chicobo	100 Gyshahl Greens
  1	Quezacotl	100 Dynamo Stone	Refines into 20 Thundagas	Mayor Dobe in FH
  1	Shiva	100 North Winds	Compatibility: Shiva; also Refines into 20 Blizzagas
  1	Ifrit	3 Elem Attacks		Defeat Ifrit; win from Martine after losing it to Caraway
  1	Siren	3 Elem Attacks		Dollet Pub Owner
  1	Sacred	100 Dino Bones		Defeat him in Tomb of Unknown King
  1	Minatuar	10 Adamintines		Defeat him in Tomb of Unknown King

  
  

  Page 9
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...	Where to find
  1	Carbuncle	3 Glow Curtains	Supt Mag-RF into 100 Reflects (each)	Win from CC Heart in CC Side Quest
  1	Diablos	100 Black Holes		Defeat Diablos
  1	Leviathan	3 Doc's Code		Win from CC Joker
  1	Oden	100 Dead Spirits		Defeat Odin
  1	Pandemona	100 Windmill		Balam Hotel Owner (See Disc 2)
  1	Cerberus	100 Lightweights	Time Mag-RF into 20 Hastes (each)	Defeat Cerberus
  1	Alexander	3 Moon Curtains	Supt Mag-RF into 100 shells (each)	Win from Piet on Lunar Base
  * 1	Phoenix	3 Phoenix Spirit		See Queen of Cards side quest
  1	Bahamut	100 Megalixirs		Defeat Bahamut
  * 1	Doomtrain	3 Status Guard		See Queen of Cards side quest
  1	Eden	3 Monk's Codes		Defeat Ultima Weapon (good luck!)

  
  

  Page 10
  Num	Card	Becomes	Good for...	Where to find
  * 1	Ward	Gaea's Ring		Win from Odine in Esthar
  * 1	Kiros	3 Accelerator		See Queen of Cards sie quest
  * 1	Laguna	100 Hero		Win from Ellone on Lunar Base
  1	Selphi	3 Elem Guards		Win from Selphie's Friend in Trabia
  1	Quistis	3 Samantha Souls		Win from "guy in the back" in Balam's Cafeteria
  * 1	Irvine	3 Rocket Engine	Time Mag-RF into 50 Triples (each)	See Queen of Cards side quest
  * 1	Zell	3 Hyper Wrist		Win from Zell's mother in City of Balam
  1	Riona	3 Magic Armlets		Win from her father in Deling city; lose Ifrit card first
  1	Edea	?		Win from Edea at Lighthouse
  1	Seifer	3 Diamond Armors		Win from Cid (prefereably before leaving for Timber)
  * 1	Squall	3 Three Stars	Time Mag-RF into 100 Triples (each)	Win from Laguna in Esthar

  * Indicates that I have received this info from contributors, but have not verified it myself. The * will go away as I verify these.

  The following items are not part of any Card mod, but it's nice to know what you can get out of them...
  

  MISCELANEOUS
  Num	Item	Refine With/Becomes	Good for...
  1	Aegis Amulet	Time Mag-RF / 100 Hastes	Good Magic for speed junction!
  1	Bomb Spirit	F Mag-RF / 100 Firagas	Best Fire Magic
  1	Phoenix Pinion	F Mag-RF / 100 Firagas	Best Fire Magic
  1	Healing Water	L Mag-RF / 20 Curas	Better Cure magic
  1	Healing Ring	L Mag-RF / 100 Curagas	Best Cure magic
  1	Dragon Fang	Supt Mag-RF / 20 Esuanas	Cure status ailments
  1	Steel Curtain	Supt Mag-RF / 100 Protects	Protect from physical attacks
  1	Med Kit	Supt Mag-RF / 100 Esuanas	Cure status ailments

  ---

  Weapon List

  Weapon Upgrades:
  Throughout the world you will sometimes find a Junk Shop, where you can upgrade your characters' weapons. When you first leave Balam (to go to the Fire Cave) you can just follow the road to the town of Balam and find Balam Junk Shop. The easist way to get the items needed to upgrade your weapons is to Card Mod various cards won in the Triple Triad card game. See the Card Game section for details on how to win each item.

  New Recipes:
  You can learn new recipes for use at the Junk Shop by reading the various Weapon's Monthly magazines you find around the world. But you can get ahead via a quicker method. If you have all the items needed for a particular weapon upgrade, the upgrade will be available to you at the junk shop. Want Squall's Punishment weapon before you even visit the Fire Cave? Just win the following in the Card Game and Card Mod them: 1x Tonberry, 6x Iron Giant, 3x Adamantoise, 2x Geezard.

   

  Squall
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Revolver	100 Gil	6x M-Stone Piece 2x Screw	Rough Divide	WM March	11	255
  Shear Trigger	200 Gil	1x Steel Pipe 4x Screw	Fated Circle	WM Apr	14	255
  Cutting Trigger	400 Gil	1x Mesmerize Blade 8x Screw	Fated Circle	WM May	18	255
  Flame Saber	600 Gil	1x Betrayal Sword 1x Turtle Shell 4x Screws	Blasting Zone	WM June	20	255
  Twin Lance	800 Gil	1x Dino Bone 2x Red Fang 12x Screw	Blasting Zone	WM July	22	255
  Punishment	1000 Gil	1x Chef's Knife 2 Star Fragment 1x Turtle Shell 8 Screw	Blasting Zone	WM Aug	22	255
  Lion Heart	2000 Gil	1x Adamantine 4x Dragon Fang 12x Pulse Ammo	Lion Heart	WM 1st	30	255

   

  Quistis
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Chain Whip	100 Gil	2x M-Stone Piece 1x Spider Web	N/A	WM March	12	103
  Slaying Tail	200 Gil	2x Magic Stone 1x Sharp Spike	N/A	WM May	15	104
  Red Scorpion	400 Gil	2x Ochu Tentacle 2x Dragon Skin	N/A	WM June	20	105
  Save the Queen	800 Gil	2x Malboro Tentacle 4x Sharp Spike 4x Energy Crystal	N/A	WM Aug	15	107

   

  Selphie
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Flail	100 Gil	2x M-Stone Piece 1x Bomb Fragment	N/A	WM March	12	98
  Morning Star	200 Gil	2x Steel Orb 3x Sharp Spike	N/A	WM June	15	99
  Crescent Wish	400 Gil	1x Inferno Fang 1x Life Ring 4x Sharp Spike	N/A	WM July	20	100
  Strange Vision	800 Gil	1x Adamantine 3x Star Fragment 2x Curse Spike	N/A	WM 1st	25	255

   

  Zell
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Metal Knuickle	100 Gil	1x Fish Fin 4x M-Stone Piece	N/A	WM March	12	98
  Maverick	200 Gil	1x Dragon Fin 1x Spider Web	N/A	WM April	15	99
  Gauntlet	400 Gil	1x Dragon Skin 1x Fury Fragment	N/A	WM June	20	101
  Ehrgeiz	800 Gil	1x Adamantine 4x Dragon Skin 1x Fury Fragment	N/A	WM Aug	25	103

   

  Rinoa
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Pinwheel	100 Gil	3x M-Stone Piece	N/A	WM April	11	99
  Valkyrie	200 Gil	1x Shear Feather 1x Magic Stone	N/A	WM May	14	101
  Rising Sun	400 Gil	1x Saw Blade 8x Screw	N/A	WM June	18	103
  Cardinal	800 Gil	1x Cackatrice Pinion 1x Mesmerize Blade 1x Sharp Spike	N/A	WM August	24	104
  Shooting Star	1000 Gil	2x Windmill 1x Regen Ring 1x Force Armlet 2x Energy Crystal	N/A	WM 1st	28	107

   

  Irvine
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Valiant	100 Gil	1x Steel Pipe 4x Screw	N/A	WM April	12	105
  Ulysses	200 Gil	1x Steel Pipe 1x Bomb Fragment 2x Screw	N/A	WM May	15	108
  Bismark	400 Gil	1x Steel Pipe 4x Dynamo Stone 8x Screw	N/A	WM July	20	110
  Exeter	800 Gil	2x Dino Bone 1x Moon Stone 2x Star Fragment 18x Screw	N/A	WM 1st	25	115

   

  Seifer
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Gunblade	N/A	N/A	Fire Cross	N/A	?	?

   

  Laguna
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Machine Gun	N/A	N/A	Desperado	N/A	?	?

   

  Kiros
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Katal	N/A	N/A	Blood Pain	N/A	?	?

   

  Ward
  Weapon	Cost to upgrade	Items Required	Limit Breaks	Magazene Required	Attack	Hit %
  Harpoon	N/A	N/A	Massive Anchor	N/A	?	?

  ---

  All Magazines

  This section contains a list of Magazines, who they are for, what they do and where they come from.

  Weapons Monthly
  Name	Disc	Location	Buy	Learn	Character
  WM March	1	Beat Elvoret Dollet Tower	Esthar Book Store	Learn: Revolver, Metal Knuckle, Flail, Chain Whip	Squall
  WM April	1	Squall's Room	Esthar Book Store	Shear Trigger, Maverick, Pinwheel, Valiant	Squall
  WM May	1	Deling City Sewers	Esthar Book Store	Cutting Trigger, Valkyrie, Ulysses, Slaying Tail	Squall
  WM June	2	Defeat BGH251F2 at Missle base	Esthar Book Store	Flame Saber, Gauntlet, Morning Star, Red Scorpion	Squall
  WM July	2	Garden TC after Garden Battle	Esthar Book Store	Twin Lance, Rising Sun, Bismark, Crescent Wish	Squall
  WM August	2	Trabia Garden, South of Fountain	Esthar Book Store	Punishment, Ehrgeiz, Cardinal, Save the Queen	Squall
  WM 1st	3	Lunatic Pandora (as Laguna)	Esthar Book Store (Need: Familiar Ability)	Lion Heart, Shooting Star, Exeter, Strange Vision	Squall

   

  Pet Pals
  Name	Disc	Location	Buy	Learn	Character
  PP Vol 1	1	Train to Timber	Esthar Book Store	Angelo Strike	Rinoa
  PP Vol 2	1	Rinoa's Bed in Forest Owl Train	Esthar Book Store	Angelo Recover	Rinoa
  PP Vol 3	1	After meeting Rinoa...	Timber Pet Shop	Invincible Moon	Rinoa
  PP Vol 4	1	After meeting Rinoa...	Timber Pet Shop	Angelo Reverse	Rinoa
  PP Vol 5	3	N/A	Esthar Book Store	Angelo Search	Rinoa
  PP Vol 6	3	N/A	Esthar Book Store	Wishing Star	Rinoa

   

  Combat King
  Name	Disc	Location	Buy	Learn	Character
  CK 001	2	Level 1: Prison	Esthar Book Store	Dolphin Blow	Zell
  CK 002	2	Beat Fujin at Balam Hotel	Esthar Book Store	Meteor Strike	Zell
  CK 003	3	Balam Hotel. Chick who likes Zell.	Esthar Book Store	Meteor Barret	Zell
  CK 004	3	Zell beat Esthar Soldier in Esthar	Esthar Book Store (Need: Familiar Ability)	Different Beat	Zell
  CK 005	3	Lunatic Pandora	Esthar Book Store (Need: Familiar Ability)	My Final Heaven	Zell

   

  Occult Fan
  Name	Disc	Location	Buy	Learn	Character
  OF I	1	Balam Garden Library Book Case	Esthar Book Store (Need: Familiar Ability)	Misc	Squall
  OF II	2	Dollet Pub (See * below)	Esthar Book Store (Need: Familiar Ability)	Misc	Squall
  OF III	2	Apologize to Master Fisherman	N/A	Misc	Squall
  OF IV	3	Esthar: talk to pres aid by airstation, then pres secretary in palace	N/A	Misc	Squall
  * After FM Horizon, Beat Dollet Pub Manager at cards and search his 'zines (all stacks, many times. You may have to leave and come back.) You can keep examing the middle stack for more stuff. You'll have to put up with a lot of "nothing of interest" messages in between, though. After you've found 3 real items, leave the screen then come back. Apparently you can do this over and over.

   

  Misc
  Name	Disc	Location	Buy	Learn	Character
  Girl Next Door	1	Find in stack of 'zines in TM headquarters.	N/A	On D3, Give to Zone, Get Shiva Card	Zone

   

  Timber Maniacs
  Disc	Location	Buy	Learn
  1	Dollet Pub (Upstairs)	n/a	Laguna Gambles?!?
  1	Dollet Inn (Upstairs)	n/a	Laguna goes to Dollet to try and get into Esthar
  1	Timber Maniacs Headquarters	n/a	Esthar's Secret
  1	Timber Inn (Upstairs)	n/a	Laguna Visits a Hotel full of Galbadian soldiers in Timber.
  1	Deling City Inn (Upstairs)	n/a	Laguna finds his way to Esthar
  2	Fisherman's Horizon Inn (tower)	n/a	Laguna gets lost on the Esthar Continent
  2	Fisherman's Horizon Inn (Upstairs)	n/a	Laguna Visits the Town of Balam
  2	Trabia Garden Graveyard	n/a	Laguna visits the Shumi Tribe
  2	Balam Inn (Upstairs)	n/a	Selphie in the Cetra Ruins.
  2	Shumi Village (Artisan's House)	n/a	Laguna Stars in a Movie!
  2	Edea's House (Ruined bedroom where Cid appears))	n/a	"A pub somewhere, plus the owner"
  3	White SeeD ship	n/a	Laguna gets to Fisherman's Horizon

  ---

  GF Abilities

  GF Abilities:
  This list contains all GF you can get in the game, along with their abilities. Under the "Initial" column, you'll find three options, Known, Unlearned or Contingent. Known indicates the skill comes with the GF. No assembly required, :) Unlearned indicates that the skill is availible from the start, but you must allocate AP to activate it. "Contingent" indicates that the skill is not available until you learn another skill first. Consult the "Allows" columns above to find out which skill is required.

   

  The following GF do not use the same level/stat system:
  Gilgamesh
  Odin
  MiniMog
  Chocobo
  

   

  Quezacotl
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  HP-J	Unlearned	50	n/a	Junction Magic to HP
  Vit-J	Unlearned	50	Elem-Def-J	Junction Magic to Vit
  Mag-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Mag
  Elem-Atk-J	Contingent	160	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Akt
  Elem-Def-J	Contingent	100	Elem-Defx2-J	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  Elem-Defx2-J	Contingent	100	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Magic" command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "GF" command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Draw" command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Item" command
  Card	Unlearned	50	Card-Mod	Allows "Card" command
  Mag+20%	Unlearned	60	Mag+40%	Increase Mag by 20%
  Mag+40%	Contingent	120	n/a	Increase Mag by 40%
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase Summon Damage by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Unlearned	70	SumMag+30%	Increase Summon Damage by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Unlearned	140	n/a	Increase Summon Damage by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unknown	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Unknown	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Makes GF more powerful
  T Mag-RF	Unlearned	40	Mid Mag-RF	Allows "T Mag-RF" ability
  Mid Mag-RF	Contingent	60	n/a	Allows "Mid Mag-RF" ability
  Card Mod	Contingent	200	n/a	Allowd "Card Mod" ability

   

  Shiva
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Str-J	Unlearned	50	Elem-Atak-J	Junction Magic to Str
  Vit-J	Unlearned	50	n/a	Junction Magic to Vit
  Spr-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Spr
  Elem-Atk-J	Contingent	160	Doom, Elem-Def-J	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Def-J	Contingent	100	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Magic" command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "GF" command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Draw" command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Item" command
  Doom	Contingent	60	n/a	Allows "Doom" command
  Vit+20%	Unlearned	60	Vit+40%	Increase Vit by 20%
  Vit+40%	Contingent	60	n/a	Increase Vit by 40%
  Spr+20%	Unlearned	60	Spr+40%	Increase Spr by 20%
  Spr+40%	Contingent	60	n/a	Increase Spr by 40%
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase Summon Damage by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase Summon Damage by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Unlearned	140	n/a	Increase Summon Damage by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Makes GF more powerful
  I Mag-RF	Unlearned	40	n/a	Allows "I Mag-RF" ability

   

  Ifrit
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  HP-J	Unlearned	50	n/a	Junction Magic to HP
  Str-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Str
  Elem-Atk-J	Known	160	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Def-J	Unlearned	100	Elem-Defx2, Mad-Rush, Ammo-RF	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  Elem-Defx2	Contingent	130	n/a	Junction 2 Magics to Elem-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Magic" command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "GF" command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Draw" command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Item" command
  Mad Rush	Contingent	60	n/a	Allows "Mad Rush" command
  Str+20%	Unlearned	60	Str+40%	Increase Str by 20%
  Str+40%	Unlearned	120	STR-BONUS	Increase Str by 20%
  STR-BONUS	Contingent	100	n/a	Increase Str by 1 with every level-up
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase Summon Damage by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase Summon Damage by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Summon Damage by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Makes GF more powerful
  F Mag-RF	Unlearned	40	n/a	Allows "F Mag-RF" ability
  Ammo-RF	@ GF Lvl 10	40	n/a	Allows "Ammo-RF" ability

   

  Siren
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Mag-J	Learned	50	n/a	Junction Magic to Magic
  St-Atk-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Junction Magic to St-Def
  St-Def-J	Known	n/a	St-Def-Jx2	Allows Junction Magic to St-Def
  St-Defx2-J	Unlearned	100	Treatment	Allows 2x Junction Magic to St-Def
  Treatment	Contingent	200	n/a	Allows Treatment command
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Magic" command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "GF" command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Draw" command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Item" command
  Mag+20%	Unlearned	60	Mag+40%	Increase Mag by 20%
  Mag+40%	Unlearned	120	MAG-BONUS	Increase Mag by 20%
  MAG-BONUS	Contingent	100	n/a	Magic +1 at every level-up
  Move-Find	Contingent	n/a	n/a	Allows "Move-Find" ability
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase Summon Damage by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase Summon Damage by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Summon Damage by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Makes GF more powerful
  L Mag-RF	Unlearned	40	n/a	Allows "L Mag-RF" ability
  ST Med-RF	Unlearned	40	n/a	Allows "ST Med-RF" ability
  Tool-RF	Unlearned	40	n/a	Allows "Tool-RF" ability

   

  Brothers
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  HP-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to HP
  Str-J	Unlearned	50	n/a	Junction Magic to Str
  Spr-J	Unlearned	50	Elem-Def-J	Junction Magic to Spr
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Magic Command
  Elem-Atk-J	Contingent	160	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Def-J	Contingent	100	Elem-Atk-J	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows GF Command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Draw Command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Item Command
  Defend	Unlearned	100	n/a	Use Defend Command
  HP+20%	Known	n/a	n/a	Raises HP by 20%
  HP+40%	Unlearned	120	HP+80%	Raises HP by 80%
  HP+80%	Contingent	240	HP Bonus	Raises HP by 40%
  HP Bonus	Contingent	100	n/a	+30 HP at level up
  Cover	Unlearned	100	n/a	Receives attack in place of party member
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase Summon Damage by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase Summon Damage by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Summon Damage by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Can use Boost in battle

   

  Diablos
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  HP-J	Unlearned	50	HP+20%	Junction Magic to HP
  Mag-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Magic
  Hit-J	Unlearned	120	n/a	Junction Magic to Hit
  Abilityx3	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows three ability slots
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Magic" command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "GF" command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Draw" command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows "Item" command
  Darkside	Unlearned	100	n/a	Allows "Darkside" command
  HP+20%	contingent	60	HP+40%	Increase HP by 20%
  HP+40%	contingent	120	HP+80%	Increase HP by 40%
  HP+80%	contingent	240	n/a	Increase HP by 80%
  Mag+20%	Unlearned	60	Magic+40%	Increase Magic by 20%
  Mag+40%	Unlearned	120	n/a	Increase Magic by 40%
  Mug	Unlearned	200	n/a	Allows "Mug" command
  Enc-Half	Unlearned	30	Enc-None	Reduces encounter rate by 1/2
  Enc-None	Contingent	200	n/a	No Encounters
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase Max GFHP by 30%
  Time Mag-RF	Unlearned	30	n/a	Allows Time Mag-RF ability
  St Mag-RF	Unlearned	30	n/a	Allows ST Mag-RF ability

   

  Carbuncle
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  HP-J	Unlearned	50	HP+20%	Junction Magic to HP
  Vit-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Vit
  Mag-J	Unlearned	50	St-Atk-J	Junction Magic to Mag
  St-Atk-J	Contingent	160	n/a	Junction Magic to ST-Atk
  St-Def-J	Unlearned	100	ST-Def-Jx2	Junction Magic to ST-Def
  St-Def-Jx2	Contengent	130	n/a	Junction 2xMagic to ST-Def
  Abilityx3	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use 3 Abilities
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Magic Command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows GF Command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Draw Command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows Item Command
  HP+20%	Unlearned	60	HP+40%	Raises HP by 20%
  HP+40%	Contingent	120	n/a	Raises HP by 40%
  Vit+20%	Unlearned	60	Vit+40%	Raises Vit by 20%
  Vit+40%	Unlearned	120	Vit Bonus	Raises Vit by 40%
  Vit Bonus	Unlearned	120	n/a	+1 to Vit at level-up
  Counter	Unlearned	200	Auto-Reflect	Counterattacks when attacked
  Auto-Reflect	Contingent	250	n/a	Automatically cast reflect
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises GF's HP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises GF's HP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises GF's HP by 30%
  Recov Med-RF	Unlearned	30	n/a	Refine Recovery Medicine from an item

   

  Leviathan
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Mag-J	Unlearned	50	Elem-Atk-J	Junction Magic to Magic
  Spr-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Spirit
  Elem-Atk-J	Contingent	160	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Defx2	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction x2 to Elem-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Recover	Unlearned	200	n/a	Use Recover command
  Spr+20%	Unlearned	60	Spr+40%	Raises Spr by 20%
  Spr+40%	Unlearned	80	Spr Bonus	Raises Spr by 40%
  Spr Bonus	Unlearned	100	n/a	+1 Bonus to Spr at Level up
  Auto-Potion	Unlearned	150	n/a	Auto-Use Recovery items when hit
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20	Raises SumMag dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Raises SumMag dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises SumMag dmg by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises GF's Max HP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises GF's Max HP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises GF's Max HP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Allows Boost
  Supt Mag-RF	Unlearned	30	n/a	Refine Supt Mag from items
  GFRecov Med-RF	Contingent	30	n/a	Refine GFRecov Med from items

   

  Pandemona
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Str-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Str
  Spd-J	Unlearned	120	Spd +20%	Junction Magic to Spd
  Elem-Atk-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Def-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Def
  Elem-Defx2	Unlearned	130	n/a	Junction 2x Magic to Elem-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Absorb	Unlearned	80	n/a	Can use Absorb command
  Str+20%	Unlearned	60	Str+40%	Raises Str by 20%
  Str+40%	Unlearned	120		Raises Str by 40%
  Spd+20%	Contingent	150	Spd+40%	Raises Spd by 20%
  Spd+40%	Contingent	150	n/a	Raises Spd by 40%
  Initiative	Unlearned	160	n/a	Can fight when battle begins
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase SumMag dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase SumMag dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase SumMag dmg by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Increase GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Can use Boost in battle

   

  Cerberus
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Str-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Junction Magic to Str
  Mag-J	Unlearned	50	ST-Atk-J	Can Junction Magic to Magic
  Spr-J	Unlearned	50	ST-Def-J	Can Junction Magic to Spr
  Spd-J	Unlearned	120	Spd+20%	Can Junction Magic to Spd
  Hit-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Junction Magic to Hit
  ST-Atk-J	Contingent	160	n/a	Can Junction Magic to ST-Atk
  ST-Def-J	Contingent	100	ST-Def-Jx2	Can Junction Magic to ST-Def
  ST-Def-Jx2	Contingent	130	ST-Dev-Jx4	Can Junction 2x Magic to ST-Def
  ST-Def-Jx4	Contingent	180	n/a	Can Junction 4x Magic to ST-Def
  Abilityx3	Known	n/a	n/a	Allows 3xAbility
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Use Magic Command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Use GF Command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Use Draw Command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Use Item Command
  Spd+20%	Contingent	150	Spd+40	Raises Spd by 20%
  Spd+40%	Contingent	200	Auto-Haste	Raises Spd by 40%
  Auto-Haste	Contingent	250	Expendx2-1	Automatically uses haste in battles
  Expendx2-1	Contingent	250	n/a	Only use 1 magic for double
  Alert	Known	n/a	n/a	Prevents Back Attack
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises Max GF HP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises Max GFHP by 30%

   

  Alexander
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Spr-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Junction Magic to Spr
  Elem-Atk-J	Unlearned	160	n/a	Can Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  Elem-Defx2	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Junction 2xMagic to Elem-Def
  Elem-Defx4	Unlearned	180	n/a	Can Junction 4xMagic to Elem-Def
  Abilityx3	Known	n/a	n/a	Can Junction 3xAbility
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Revive	Unlearned	200	n/a	Use Revive Command
  Spr+20%	Unlearned	60	Spr+40	Raises Spr by 20%
  Spr+40%	Contingent	120	n/a	Raises Spr by 40%
  Med Data	Unlearned	200	Med LV Up	Doubles the Effectiveness of Medicine
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Raises SumMag Dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Raises SumMag Dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises SumMag Dmg by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises max GF HP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises max GF HP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises max GF HP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Allows Boost in Battle
  High Mag-RF	Unlearned	60	n/a	Can refine High Mag from Mid Magic
  Med LV Up	Contingent	120	n/a	Level Up Medicines

   

  Doomtrain
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Elem-Atk-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Elem-Atk
  ST-Atk-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to ST-Atk
  Elem-Defx4	Unlearned	180	n/a	Junction 4x Magic to Elem-Def
  ST-Defx4	Unlearned	180	n/a	Junction 4x Magic to ST-Def
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Darkside	Unlearned	100	n/a	Can use Darkside command
  Absorb	Unlearned	80	n/a	Can use Absorb command
  Auto-Shell	Unlearned	250	n/a	Auto-Cast shell in battle
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Raise SumMag Dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Raise SumMag Dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	SumMag+40%	Raise SumMag Dmg by 30%
  SumMag+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raise SumMag Dmg by 40%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raise GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raise GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	GFHP+40%	Raise GFHP by 30%
  GFHP+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raise GFHP by 40% (Yup, 40%)
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Can use Boost in battle
  Junk Shop	Known	n/a	n/a	Call Junk Shop from menu
  Forbid Med-RF	Unlearned	200	n/a	Refine Forbidden Medicine from an item

   

  Bahamut
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Abilityx4	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction 4x Ability
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Str+60%	Known	n/a	n/a	Raises Str by 60%
  Mag+60%	Known	n/a	n/a	Raises Mag by 60%
  Mug	Unlearned	200	n/a	Can use Mug ability
  Move-HP Up	Unlearned	200	n/a	Restore HP while walking
  Auto-Protect	Unlearned	250	n/a	Auto-cast Protect in Battle
  Expend 2x-1	Unlearned	250	n/a	Use 1 magic when casting double
  Rare Item	Unlearned	250	n/a	Raise liklihood of receiving rare items
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase SumMag Dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase SumMag Dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	SumMag+40%	Increase SumMag Dmg by 30%
  SumMag+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Increase SumMag Dmg by 40%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Increase Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	GFHP+40%	Raises Max GFHP by 30%
  GFHP+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raises Max GFHP by 40%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Can use Boost in battle
  Forbid Mag-RF	Known	n/a	n/a	Refine Forbid Magic from items

   

  Cactaur
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Eva-J	Unlearned	200	Eva+30%	Junction Magic to Eva
  Luck-J	Unlearned	200	Luck+50%	Junction Magic to Luck
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Defend	Unlearned	100	n/a	Can use Defend command
  Kamikaze	Unlearned	100	n/a	Can use Kamikaze command
  Eva+30%	Contingent	150	Expendx2-1	Raises Eva by 30%
  Luck+50%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raises Luck by 50%
  Initiative	Unlearned	160	n/a	Allows action at start of battle
  Move-HP Up	Unlearned	200	n/a	Restore HP while walking
  HP Bonus	Known	n/a	n/a	+30 HP at level-up
  Str Bonus	Known	n/a	n/a	+1 Str at level-up
  Vit Bonus	Known	n/a	n/a	+1 Vit at level-up
  Mag Bonus	Known	n/a	n/a	+1 Mag at level-up
  Spr Bonus	Known	n/a	n/a	+1 Spr at level-up
  Auto-Potion	Unlearned	150	n/a	auto-Use recovery items when hit
  Expendx2-1	Contingent	250	n/a	Only use 1 magic when doubled
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	+10% to Max GFHP
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises Max GFHP by 30%

   

  Tonberry
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  LV Down	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use LV Down command
  LV Up	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use LV UP command
  Eva +30%	Known	n/a	n/a	Raises Eva by 30%
  Luck+50%	Known	n/a	n/a	Raises Luck by 50%
  Initiative	Unlearned	160	n/a	Can fight when battle begins
  Move-HP Up	Unlearned	200	n/a	HP goes up as you walk
  Auto-Potion	Unlearned	150	n/a	Auto-Potion when hit
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Increase SumMag dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Increase SumMag dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Increase SumMag dmg by 30%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	n/a	Raises GFHP by 30%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Enables "Boost" for GF
  Haggle	Unlearned	150	Sell-High	Lower Prices at shops
  Sell-High	Contingent	150	n/a	Sell high at shops
  Familiar	Unlearned	150	Call Shop	Easier to buy rare items
  Call Shop	Contingent	150	n/a	Call shop from menu

   

  Eden
  Skill Name	Initial	AP	Allows	Description
  Spd-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Spd
  Eva-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Eva
  Hit-J	Known	n/a	n/a	Junction Magic to Hit
  Magic	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Magic command
  GF	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use GF command
  Draw	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Draw command
  Item	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Item command
  Mad Rush	Unlearned	60	Luck+50%	Can use Mad Rush command
  Darkside	Unlearned	100	n/a	Can use Darkside command
  Devour	Known	n/a	n/a	Can use Devour command
  Luck+50%	Contingent	200	n/a	Increase Luck by 50%
  Expendx3-1	Unlearned	250	n/a	1 Mag used when Tripple
  SumMag+10%	Unlearned	40	SumMag+20%	Raises SumMag Dmg by 10%
  SumMag+20%	Contingent	70	SumMag+30%	Raises SumMag Dmg by 20%
  SumMag+30%	Contingent	140	SumMag+40%	Raises SumMag Dmg by 30%
  SumMag+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raises SumMag Dmg by 40%
  GFHP+10%	Unlearned	40	GFHP+20%	Raises Max GFHP by 10%
  GFHP+20%	Contingent	70	GFHP+30%	Raises Max GFHP by 20%
  GFHP+30%	Contingent	140	GFHP+40%	Raises Max GFHP by 30%
  GFHP+40%	Contingent	200	n/a	Raises Max GFHP by 40%
  Boost	Unlearned	10	n/a	Can use Boost in Battle
  GFAbl Med-RF	Unlearned	30	n/a	Refine GF Abl med from items

   

  ---

  Refinement Abilities

  UNDER CONSTRUCTION: THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. LITERALLY.

  Refinement Charts:
  This section contains a list of each refinement skill, and what you can refine with it. The purpose of this chart is to allow you to find cool "chains." For example, if you have Doomtrain and Eden you can buy an HP up for 150,000. Know how?

  1. Call Shop "Esthar Pet Shop" with Tonberry's Familiar and Haggle abilities learned.
  2. Purchase 10 Giant's Rings at 15,000 each.
  3. Using GFAbl Med-RF (Eden), refine your 10 Giant's Rings into 1 Gaea's Ring.
  4. Using Forbid Med-RF (Doomtrain), refine your Gaea's Ring into 1 HP Up.
  Cool, eh? See the list at this end of this section for a few more cool example chains.

   

  T Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Thunders
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Thundaras
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Thundagas
  Coral Fragment (1)	20 Thundaras
  Dynamo Stone (1)	20 Thundagas
  Shear Feather (1)	20 Aeros
  Windmill (1)	20 Tornados

   

  I Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Blizzards
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Blizzaras
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Blizzagas
  Water Crystal (1)	50 Waters
  Artic Wind (1)	20 Blizzaras
  North Wind (1)	20 Blizzagas
  Fish Fin (1)	20 Waters

   

  F Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Fires
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Firas
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Firagas
  Flare Stone (1)	1 Flare
  Phoenix Pinion (1)	100 Firagas
  Phoenix Spirit (1)	100 Firagas
  Bomb Spirit (1)	100 Firagas
  Inferno Fang (1)	20 Flares
  Bomb Fragment (1)	20 Firas
  Red Fang (1)	20 Firagas

   

  L Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Holy Water (1)	2 Zombies
  Death Stone (1)	1 Death
  Holy Stone (1)	1 Holy
  Tent (1)	10 Curagas
  Cottage (1)	20 Curagas
  Healing Ring (1)	100 Curagas
  Phoenix Spirit (1)	100 Full-Lifes
  Healing Mail (1)	20 Curagas
  Regen Ring (1)	20 Full-Lifes
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Cures
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Curas
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Curagas
  Healing Water (1)	20 Curas
  Zombie Powder (1)	20 Zombies
  Saw Blade (1)	10 Deaths
  Mesmerize Blade (1)	20 Regens
  Life Ring (1)	20 Lifes
  Whisper (1)	50 Curagas
  Moon Stone (1)	20 Holys
  Dead Spirit (1)	20 Deaths
  Chef's Knife (1)	30 Deaths

   

  Time Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Accelerator	100 Hastes
  Aegis Amulet (1)	100 Hastes
  Samantha Soul (1)	60 Triples
  Rocket Engine (1)	50 Triples
  Three Stars (1)	100 Triples
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Slows
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Hastes
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Stops
  Lightweight (1)	20 Hastes
  Spider Web (1)	20 Slows
  Black Hole (1)	30 Demis
  Steel Orb (1)	15 Demis
  Dino Bone (1)	20 Quakes
  Dragon Fin (1)	20 Doubles

   

  ST Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Antidote (1)	1 Bio
  Soft (1)	3 Breaks
  Eye Drops (1)	1 Blind
  Echo Screen (1)	2 Silences
  Steel Pipe (1)	20 Berserks
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Silences
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Berserks
  Wizard Stone (1)	5 Bios
  Ochu Tentacle (1)	30 Blinds
  Cockatrice Pinion (1)	20 Breaks
  Betrayal Sword (1)	20 Confuses
  Sleep Powder (1)	20 Sleeps
  Curse Spike (1)	10 Pains
  Mystery Fluid (1)	10 Meltdowns
  Malboro Tentacle (1)	40 Bios
  Venom Fang (1)	20 Bios
  Silence Powder (1)	20 Silences

   

  Supt Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Remedy (1)	5 Esunas
  Shell Stone (1)	1 Shell
  Protect Stone (1)	1 Protect
  Aura Stone (1)	1 Aura
  Med Kit (1)	100 Esunas
  Giant's Ring (1)	20 Protects
  Turtle Shell (1)	30 Protects
  Rune Armlet (1)	40 Shells
  Moon Curtain (1)	100 Shells
  Steel Curtain (1)	100 Protects
  Glow Curtain (1)	100 Reflects
  M-Stone Piece (1)	5 Esunas
  Magic Stone (1)	5 Dispels
  Wizard Stone (1)	20 Dispels
  Saw Blade (1)	20 Dispels
  Vampire Fang (1)	20 Drains
  Fury Fragment (1)	5 Auras
  Dragon Fang (1)	20 Esunas
  Barrier (1)	40 Shells
  Dragon Skin (1)	20 Reflects

   

  Forbid Mag-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Meteor Stone (1)	1 Meteor
  Ultima Stone (1)	1 Ultima
  Star Fragment	5 Meteors
  Energy Crystal	3 Ultimas
  Pulse Ammo (5)	1 Ultima

   

  Recov Med-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Tent (4)	1 Mega-Potion
  Cottage (2)	1 Mega-Potion
  Healing Ring (1)	20 Mega-Potions
  Phoenix Spirit (1)	100 Phoenix Downs
  Healing Mail (1)	6 Hi-Potions
  Regen Ring (1)	8 Phoenix Downs
  Healing Water (1)	2 Hi-Potions
  Mesmerize Blade (1)	2 Mega-Potions
  Life Ring (1)	2 Phoenix Downs

   

  ST Med-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Med Kit (1)	20 Remedies
  Ochu Tentacle (1)	3 Eye Drops
  Cockatrice Pinion (1)	3 Softs
  Zombie Powder (1)	3 Holy Waters
  Betrayal Sword (5)	1 Remedy
  Sleep Powder (5)	1 Remedy
  Dragon Fang (1)	1 Remedy
  Curse Spike (1)	1 Remedy
  Malboro Tentacle (1)	2 Remedies
  Venom Fang (1)	10 Antidotes
  Silence Powder (1)	3 Echo Screens
  Poison Powder (1)	3 Antidotes

   

  Ammo-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Energy Crystal	10 Pulse Ammo
  Normal Ammo (1)	1 Fast Ammo
  Shotgun Ammo (1)	2 Fast Ammo
  Sharp Spike (1)	10 AP Ammo
  Screw (1)	8 Normal Ammo
  Missle (1)	20 Demolition Ammo
  Running Fire (1)	40 Demolition Ammo
  Laser Cannon	5 Pulse Ammo
  Power Generator (1)	20 Pulse Ammo
  Bomb Fragment (1)	20 Fire Ammo
  Red Fang (1)	40 Fire Ammo
  Venom Fang (1)	20 Dark Ammo
  Poison Powder (1)	10 Dark Ammo
  Chef's Knife (1)	20 AP Ammo
  Cactus Thorn (1)	40 Demolition Ammo
  Fuel (1)	10 Fire Ammo

   

  Tool-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Mega Phoenix (3)	1 Phoenix Pinion
  Rosetta Stone (1)	1 Shaman Stone
  Magic Scroll (1)	10 Wizard Stones
  GF Scroll (1)	10 Wizard Stones
  Draw Scroll (1)	10 Wizard Stones
  Item Scroll (1)	10 Wizard Stones
  Gambler Spirit	10 Wizard Stones
  Healing Ring (1)	30 Cottages
  Hungry Cookpot (1)	1 Shaman Stone
  Steel Pipe (1)	1 Aura Stone
  Diamond Armor (1)	50 Cottages
  Energy Crystal	2 Ultima Stones
  Regen Ring (1)	5 Tents
  Strength Love	2 Aura Stones
  Power Wrist (1)	10 Aura Stones
  Turtle Stone (1)	10 Protect Stones
  Orihalcon (1)	30 Protect Stones
  Rune Armlet (1)	10 Shell Stones
  Force Armlet (1)	30 Shell Stones
  Hypno Crown (1)	10 Aura Stones
  Healing Water (1)	2 Tents
  Fury Fragment (1)	2 Aura Stones
  Curse Spike (100)	1 Dark Matter
  Inferno Fang (1)	2 Flare Stones
  Whisper (1)	1 Cottage
  Moon Stone (1)	2 Holys
  Shaman Stone (1)	1 LuvLuvG
  Dead Spirit (1)	2 Death Stones

   

  Forbid Med-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Mega Potion (20)	1 Elixir
  Luck-J Scroll	Luck Up
  Aegis Amulet (2)	1 Spd Up
  Elem Atk (1)	4 Elixirs
  Elem Guard (1)	4 Elixirs
  Status Atk (1)	4 Elixirs
  Status Guard (1)	4 Elixirs
  Med Kit (1)	2 Megalixirs
  Gaea's Ring (1)	1 HP Up
  Hyper Wrist (10)	1 Str Up
  Adamantine (5)	1 Vit Up
  Magic Armlet (10)	1 Spr Up
  Royal Crown (10)	1 Mag Up
  50 Jet Engine	Spd Up
  Rocket Engine (5)	1 Spd Up
  Doc's Code (1)	1 Megalixir
  Monk's Code (1)	1 Str Up
  Knight's Code (1)	1 Vit Up
  Hundred Needles (1)	1 Spd Up
  Shaman Stone (10)	1 Hero-trial

   

  GFRecov Med-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Pet House (1)	2 G-Returners
  Healing Ring (1)	20 G-Mega-Potions
  Phoenix Spirit (1	40 G-Returners
  Healing Mail (1)	1 Pet House
  Gold Armor (1)	4 Pet Houses
  Diamond Armor (1)	16 Pet Houses
  Regen Ring (1)	6 G-Returners
  Healing Water (1)	2 G-Hi-Potions
  Mesmerize Blade (1)	2 G-Hi-Potions
  Life Ring (1)	2 G-Returners
  Whisper (1)	4 G-Hi-Potions

   

  GFAbl Med-RF
  Item	Refines to
  Elixir (10)	1 Doc's Code
  Holy War (5)	1 Knight's Code
  Phoenix Pinion (20)	1 Phoenix Spirit
  HP-J Scroll (10)	1 Giant's Ring
  Str-J Scroll (10)	1 Power Wrist
  Vit-J Scroll (10)	1 Orihalcon
  Mag-J Scroll (10)	1 Force Armlet
  Spr-J Scroll (10)	1 Hypno Crown
  Spd-J Scroll (10)	1 Jet Engine
  Energy Crystal (50)	Samantha Soul
  Samantha Soul (20)	1 Elem Atk
  Gold Armor (5)	1 Diamond Armor
  Diamond Armor (5)	1 Elem Guard
  Giant's Ring (10)	1 Gaea's Ring
  Power Wrist (10)	1 Hyper Wrist
  Orihalcon (10)	1 Adamantine
  Adamantine (20)	1 Steel Curtain
  Force Armlet (10)	1 Magic Armlet
  Magic Armlet (20)	1 Moon Curtain
  Hypno Crown (10)	1 Royal Crown
  Royal Crown (20)	1 Status Atk
  Jet Engine (20)	Rocket Engine
  Glow Curtain (2)	1 Monk's Code
  Ribbon (1)	1 Status Guard
  Lightweight (100)	1 Accelerator
  Dragon Fang (100)	1 Med Kit
  Malboro Tentacle (100)	1 Moon Curtain
  Whisper (100)	1 Healing Ring
  Barrier (50)	1 Aegis Amulet
  Bomb Fragment (100)	1 Bomb Spirit
  Dragon Skin (100)	1 Glow Curtain
  Cactus Thorn (100)	1 Hundred Needles
  Shaman Stone (1)	1 Rosetta Stone
  HP Up (2)	1 HP-J Scroll
  Str Up (2)	1 Str-J Scroll
  Vit Up (2)	1 Vit-J Scroll
  Mag Up (2)	1 Mag-J Scroll
  Spr Up (2)	1 Spr-J Scroll
  Spd Up (2)	1 Spd-J Scroll
  Luck Up (2)	1 Luck-J Scroll
  Jet Engine (10)	1 Rocket Engine
  Holy War (5)	Knight's Code

   

  Mid Mag-RF
  Magic	Refines to
  Blizzard (10)	Blizzara
  Thunder (10)	Thundara
  Fire (10)	Fira
  Cure (10)	Cura

   

  High Mag-RF
  Magic	Refines to
  Double (10)	1 Tripple
  Blizzara	Blizzaga
  Thundara	Thundaga
  Fira	Firaga

   

  Med LV Up
  Item	Refines to
  Potion (3)	1 Potion+
  Potion+ (3)	1 Hi-Potion
  Hi-Potion (3)	1 Hi-Potion+
  Hi Potion+ (3)	1 X-Potion
  X-Potion (3)	1 Mega-Potion
  Phoenix Down (50)	1 Mega Phoenix
  Elixir (10)	1 Megalixir
  Remedy (10)	1 Remedy+
  Remedy+ (10)	1 Elixir
  Hero-trial (10)	1 Hero
  Hero (10)	1 Holy War-trial
  Holy War-trial (10)	1 Holy War

   

  Useful Chains
  To Get	Buy	From	Refine...	Cost
  1 HP Up	10 Giant's Rings	Esthar Pet Shop	GFAbl Med-RF 10 Giant's Rings into 1 Gaea's Ring. Forbid Med-RF 1 Gaea's Ring into 1 HP Up.	150,000
  1 Str Up	100 Power Wrist	Esthar Pet SHop	GFAbl Med-RF 100 Power Wrist to 10 Hyper Wrist. Forbid Med-RF 10 Hyper Wrist to 1 Str Up.	1,500,000
  1 Spr Up	100 Force Armlet	Esthar Pet Shop	GFAbl Med-RF 100 Force Armlet => 10 Magic Armlet. Forbid Med-RF 10 Magic Armlet => 1 Spr Up.	1,500,000
  1 Mag Up	100 Hypno Crown	Esthar Pet Shop	GFAble Med-RF 100 Hypno Crown => 10 Royal Crown. Forbid Med-RF 10 Royal Crown => 1 Mag up.	1,500,000
  1 Vit Up	500 Vit-J Scroll	Esthar Pet Shop	GFAbl Med-RF 500 Vit-J => 50 Orihalcon => 5 Adamantine. Forbid Med-RF 5 Adamantine => 1 Vit Up	3,750,000
  100 Aura	10 Power Wrist	Esthar Pet Shop	Tool-RF 10 Power Wrist => 10 Aura Stones. Supt Mag-RF 100 Aura Stones => 100 Aura	150,000
  375,000*	100 Cottage	Esthar Shop!!!	Recov Med-RF 100 Cottage => 50 Mega-Potion	135,000
  1 Megalixir	10 Elixir	Esthar Shop!!!	Med LV up 10 Exilir => 1 Megalixir	375,000

  * Realistically, this is the fastest way to acquire money in the game. Assuming you have all the GF Abilities, just follow these steps:
  1. Clear the first three slots in your inventory (this makes it go a lot faster!)
  2. Go to Menu - > Ability -> Call Shop -> Esthar Shop!!! (use the right-arrow to get to the second page of shops.)
  3. Buy 100 Cottages (135,000 gil) and 100 Tents (75,000 gil)
  4. Quit the call shop menu and select the ability Recov Med-RF
  5. Refine both the Cottages and Tents into Mega-Potions
  6. Go back to Esthar Shop!!! and sell those 75 Mega-Potions for 562,500 gil, then buy another 100 Tents and Cottages. This will net you 352,500 gil each pass.
  7. Repeat until you have enough money, then buy the stat up items.

  It only takes me about 30 seconds to do this, so I can earn the 1.5m needed for Str/Spr/Mag Up in just over 2 minutes. For perspective, that means I can earn the 100 items needed to max a character's Str/Spr/Mag in an hour or two of grinding. Not that I manually grind like this, mind you. I have pretty bad carpal tunnel in both wrists, so this is out of the question for me anymore. Thankfully modern technology has come to the rescue. Since I play on an emulator, I built a bot to do this for me using a RaspberryPi Zero and some python code. I simply tell the code how many times I want the script to loop, then it earns the 1.5M Gil needed for each item, and then buys the item. Repeat as desired. Some day I'll make a turoial video about how I did it and put it up on YouTube.

  ---

  Item List

  This section contains a list of items, and what they do.

   

  Item List
  Item	Effect
  Potion	Restores HP by 200
  Potion+	Restores HP by 400
  Hi-Potion	Restores HP by 1000
  Hi-Potion+	Restores HP by 2000
  X-Potion	Fully Restores HP
  Mega Potion	Restores 1000 HP to all members
  Phoenix Down	Removes KO Status
  Mega Phoenix	Removes KO Status from all members
  Elixir	Fully restores abnormal status and HP
  Megalixir	Fully restores abnormal status and HP to all members
  Antidote	Cures Poison
  Soft	Cures Petrify
  Eye Drops	Cures Darkness
  Echo Screen	Cures Silence
  Holy Water	Cures Zombie, Curse
  Remedy	Cures abnormal staus
  Remedy+	Cures abnormal status and Magic effects
  Hero-trial	Makes character invincible sometimes
  Hero	Makes character invincible
  Holy War-trial	Makes all characters invincible sometimes
  Holy War	Makes all party members invincible
  Shell Stone	Same effect as shell
  Protect Stone	Same effect as Protect
  Aura Stone	Same effect as Aura
  Death Stone	Same effect as Death
  Holy Stone	Same effect as Holy
  Flare Stone	Same effect as Flare
  Meteor Stone	Same effect as Meteor
  Ultima Stone	Same effect as Ultima
  Gysahl Greens	Summons Chocobo GF
  Phoenix Pinion	Summons Phoenix GF (Revive all characters + fire dmg to enemies)
  Friendship	"Moomba Moomba" (Summons Moomba, does up to 9999 dmg)
  Tent	Fully restores abnormal status and HP to all
  Pet House	Restores HP to all GF
  Cottage	Same effect as Tent plus restores all GF
  G-Potion	Restores 200 HP to GF
  G-Hi-Potion	Restores 1000 HP to GF
  G-Mega-Potion	Restores 1000 HP to all GF
  G-Returner	Revives GF from KO
  Rename Card	Changes GF's name
  Amnesia Greens	Makes GF forget an ability
  HP-J Scroll	GF learns HP-J ability
  Str-J Scroll	GF learns Str-J ability
  Vit-J Scroll	GF learns Vit-J ability
  Mag-J Scroll	GF learns Mag-J ability
  Spr-J Scroll	GF learns Spr-J ability
  Spd-J Scroll	GF learns Spd-J ability
  Luck-J Scroll	GF learns Luck-J ability
  Aegis Amulet	GF learns Eva-J Ability
  Elem Atk	GF learns Elem-Atk-J ability
  Elem Guard	GF learns Elem-Defx4 ability
  Status Atk	GF learns ST-Atk ability
  Status Guard	GF learns ST-Defx4 ability
  Rosetta Stone	GF learns abilityx4 ability
  Magic Scroll	GF learns Magic ability
  GF Scroll	GF learns GF ability
  Draw Scroll	GF learns Draw ability
  Item Scroll	GF learns Item ability
  Gambler Spirit	GF learns Card ability
  Healing Ring	GF learns Recover ability
  Phoenix Spirit	GF learns Revive ability
  Med Kit	GF learns Treatment ability
  Bomb Spirit	GF learns Kamikaze ability
  Hungry Cookpot	GF learns Devour ability
  Steel Pipe	GF learns SumMag+10% ability
  Energy Crystal	GF learns SumMag+30% ability
  Samantha Soul	GF learns SumMag+40% ability
  Healing Mail	GF learns GFHP+10% ability
  Silver Mail	GF learns GFHP+20% ability
  Gold Armor	GF learns GFHP+30% ability
  Diamond Armor	GF learns GFHP+40% ability
  Regen Ring	GF learns HP+20% ability
  Giant's Ring	GF learns HP+40% ability
  Gaea's Ring	GF learns HP+80% ability
  Strength Love	GF learns Str+20% ability
  Power Wrist	GF learns Str+40% ability
  Hyper Wrist	GF learns Str+60% ability
  Turtle Shell	GF learns Vit+20% ability
  Orihalcon	GF learns Vit+40% ability
  Adamantine	GF learns Vit+60% ability
  Rune Armlet	GF learns Spr+20% ability
  Force Armlet	GF learns Spr+40% ability
  Magic Armlet	GF learns Spr+60% ability
  Circlet	GF learns Mag+20%
  Hypno Crown	GF learns Mag+40% ability
  Royal Crown	GF learns Mag+60% ability
  Jet Engine	GF learns Spd+20% ability
  Rocket Engine	GF learns Spd+40% ability
  Accelerator	GF learns Auto-Haste ability
  Moon Curtain	GF learns Auto-Shell ability
  Steel Curtain	GF learns Auto-Protect ability
  Glow Curtain	GF learns Auto-Reflect ability
  Monk's Code	GF learns Counter ability
  Knight's Code	GF learns Cover ability
  Doc's Code	GF learns Med Data ability
  Hundred Needles	GF learns Return Damage ability
  Three Stars	GF learns Expendx3-1 ability
  Ribbon	GF learns Ribbon ability
  Normal Ammo	Normal Ammo
  Shotgun Ammo	Ammo that attacks all opponents
  Dark Ammo	Ammo with status changing effect
  Fire Ammo	Ammo with Fire element
  Demolition Ammo	Ammo 3 times more powerful than Normal Ammo
  Fast Ammo	Ammo for rapid fire
  AP Ammo	Armor-piercing ammo
  Pulse Ammo	Ammo that contains powerful energy
  M-Stone Piece	Stone with a little Magic power
  Magic Stone	Stone with Magic oower
  Wizard Stone	Stone with strong Magic power
  Ochu Tentacle	Strong, flexible tentacle
  Healing Water	Water with life force
  Cockatrice Pinion	Feather with petrifying power
  Zombie Powder	Powder with Zombie effect
  Lightweight	Shoes to make you light on your feet
  Sharp Spike	Long, sharp claw
  Screw	Used to remodle weapons
  Saw Blade	Serrated blade
  Mesmerize Blade	Long, sharp blade
  Vampire Fang	Fang that makes Vampire attack
  Fury Fragment	Stone that contains morale
  Betrayal Sword	Sword that betrays allies
  Sleep Powder	Induces sleep
  Life Ring	Ring with life force
  Dragon Fang	Dragon's fang with recovery force
  Spider Web	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Ultra Waves
  Coral Fragment	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Electrocute
  Curse Spike	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, LV?Death
  Black Hole	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Degenerator
  Water Crystal	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Aqua Breath
  Missle	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Micro Missiles
  Mystery Fluid	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Acid
  Running Fire	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Gatling Gun
  Inferno Fang	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Fire Breath
  Malboro Tentacle	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Bad Breath
  Whisper	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, White Wind
  Laser Cannon	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Homing Laser
  Barrier	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Mighty Guard
  Power Generator	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Ray-Bomb
  Dark Matter	Quistis can learn Blue Magic, Shockwave Pulsar
  Bomb Fragment	Stone with Fire element (Compat Ifrit +1)
  Red Fang	Dragon's Fang with Fire element (Compat Ifrit +3)
  Arctic Wind	Contains Ice element wind (Compat Shiva +1)
  North Wind	Contains strong Ice element wind (Compat Shiva +3)
  Dynamo Stone	Stone with Thunder element (Compat Quezacotl +3)
  Shear Feather	Bird's feather that flies on wind (Compat Pandemona +1)
  Venom Fang	Poisonous monster fang (Compat Doomtrain +3)
  Steel Orb	Steel orb with gravitational power (Compat Diablos +3)
  Moon Stone	Holy moon stone with monsters living inside (Compat Alexander +3)
  Dino Bone	Large dinosaur bone (Compat Brothers +3)
  Windmill	Windmill containing wind energy (Compat Pandemona+3)
  Dragon Skin	Durable dragon skin (Compat Carbuncle +3)
  Fish Fin	Fish's Fin (Compat Leviathan +2)
  Dragon Fin	Very hard dragon's scale (Compat Cerberus +3)
  Silence Powder	Powder containing Silence (Compat Siren +3)
  Poison Powder	Powder containing Poison (Compat Doomtrain +1)
  Death Spirit	Contains Death
  Chef's Knife	Tonberry's knife (Compat Tonberry +3)
  Cactus Thorn	Cactuar's Thorn (Compat Cactaur +3)
  Shaman Stone	Stone with mystical power (Compat Bahamut +3)
  Fuel	Fuel for a rental car
  Girl Next Door	Naughty Magazine
  Sorceress' Letter	Edea's introduction letter
  Chocobo's Tag	Changes Chocobo's name
  Pet Nametag	Changes pet's name
  Solomon Ring	Mysterious old ring (Summon Doomtrain)
  Magical Lamp	You should save your game before using it! (Summon Diabalos)
  HP Up	Raises HP (10 pts)
  Str Up	Raises Strength (1 pt)
  Vit Up	Raises Vitality (1 pt)
  Mag Up	Raises Magic (1 pt)
  Spr Up	Raises Spirit (1 pt)
  Spd Up	Raises Speed (1 pt)
  Luck Up	Raises Luck (1 pt)
  LuvLuv G	Raises compatibility with all GF (20 pts)
  Weapons Mon 1st	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon Mar	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon Apr	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon May	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon Jun	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon Jul	Weapons research magazine
  Weapons Mon Aug	Weapons research magazine
  Combat King 001	Magazine for fighters (Zell's Limit Breaks)
  Combat King 002	Magazine for fighters (Zell's Limit Breaks)
  Combat King 003	Magazine for fighters (Zell's Limit Breaks)
  Combat King 004	Magazine for fighters (Zell's Limit Breaks)
  Combat King 005	Magazine for fighters (Zell's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.1	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.2	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.3	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.4	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.5	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Pet Pals Vol.6	Magazine for dog lovers (Rinoa's Limit Breaks)
  Occult Fan I	Wolrd's Mysteries Magazine Scoop Issue
  Occult Fan II	Wolrd's Mysteries Magazine Photo Issue
  Occult Fan III	Wolrd's Mysteries Magazine Magic Issue
  Occult Fan IV	Wolrd's Mysteries Magazine Report Issue

  ---

  Emulator List

  Emulator Notes:

  
  If you are playing this game on an emulator, you can take advantage of the emulator to assist in a variety of ways. Here are a few things that can save you a lot of grief:
  • Getting the cards you want: Save state before playing a card game. If you save on the "Play/Quit" screen, the opponent's cards will be different when you reload the state. If you're challenging a specific opponent for a specific card, this can save you a LOT of time. If you ALSO save once you see the opponent is playing with that card (in a different save state) you can re-try if you end up missing the card.
  • Keeping your level low: If you find yourself occasionally killing off low-level enemies, consider saving state before wanding around. When you do get into a battle, save before fighting. If you kill off an opponent with the first attack, reload and next time use a different attack. Then when the enemy's level is low, use card to get the AP and "win" the battle without getting XP and leveling up.
  • Send the Queen of Cards where you want: Before playing a game with her, save state. If she say's she's going somewhere you don't want her to go (not your next or an easy desitnation), just reload state and try again.
  • Winning some the best cards: On Disc 4, the Queen of cards will appear to dissappear. She's actually gone to the Lunar Crash site in the southern area of Galbadia (south of Tears Point). If you have failed to do all the QOC quests and get the best cards, you can find her there and save yourself the trouble of following here around everywhere (since she'll play will all of those quest cards.) Simply save state on the Play/Quit screen and re-load if she's not playing with the cards you want to win.
  • If you are trying to card mod an enemy into their "rare form", it's helpful to know that the random number seed which determins if a card is "special" or not is re-rolled at the start of character's turn. This means you can simply damage an enemy to the point where it's cardable, then repeat this process until you get the card mod you want:
    1. Save State
    2. Try to card.
    3. If you get the common card, reload state and have all three characters skip their turn (the 'O' button on the Playstation controller.)
    4. Repeat (load state, skip turns, save state, card mod)

  ---