Seiken Densetsu 3

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Introduction

Seiken Densetsu 3 is one of the most celebrated RPGs in the world. Its impressive graphics and unique gameplay make it one of the best SNES games ever. It was never official released as an NTSC game until in 2019, as part of the Collection of Mana release for the Nintendo Switch.

This book assumes that you are playing this game by emulator using Neill Corlett's English translation patch. If you are playing from a Japanese version on console, the gameplay will remain unchanged, but certain characters and items will have slightly different names. This book and its authors do not endorse illegal possession of copyrighted items, such as ROMs of the game.

There are a few concepts that should be understood before beginning the walkthrough proper. First, Seiken Densetsu 3 is a difficult game. If you follow the instructions within, you should be able to finish the game in roughly 30 to 40 hours without ever dying. However, this is not always the case. Be prepared to level up vigorously, and expect the game to require exertion and a good amount of effort. The best games are always the hardest ones!

Second, Seiken Densetsu 3 has a style of combat somewhat like Chrono Trigger and much like Secret of Mana. Combat is fully real-time. Instead of menus, your attacks are directed and initiated platform-style, like an isometric Mortal Kombat. Like Secret of Mana, you have a charge attack, called a "Tech." Techs, or B-button Attacks (BAs) as they are occasionally known by, are attacks performed by pressing the B button after building up your Tech Gauge with normal physical attacks. Magic, however, is menu-based and turn-based. An in-depth guide to using Techs is in the beginning of the walkthrough, and an introduction to Magic is in the walkthrough as well.

Third, Seiken Densetsu 3 has six heroes, three female and three male, of whom you choose three to form your party. The first member you pick determines the difficulty of your quest and the series of bosses you will fight at the end of the game. The second and third members will eventually join you on your quest.

Part 1: The Hero of Mana

It's time to start the adventure. You have before you six characters. All of them are ordinary people who, with training and experience, will become the saviors of Mana. Pretty cool, huh? Read up on information for each of them before choosing, because the difficulty of the game changes dramatically depending on you choice.

Easy Difficulty

Carlie: Carlie may also be known as Charlotte. Half-human, half-elf, Carlie is not the strongest fighter. She is, however, a natural healer, and the only character in the game qualified to fill in as a White Mage. Carlie is an excellent support character. If she is anywhere in your team, you should expect gameplay to be much quicker and easier due to her healing abilities. Carlie's main stat is Spirit.

Kevin: Half-human and half-beastman, Kevin is a very strong fighter. He relies almost completely on his physical abilities to defeat enemies quickly. He also tends to have very high HP, and has the potential, with certain Classes, to become a healer. At night, Kevin becomes a werewolf. His strength increases dramatically, although none of his other stats change. Kevin's main stat is Vitality.

Medium Difficulty

Angela: Angela is the stereotypical Black Mage, although Black Sorceress might be more appropriate. Out of all of the characters, she is the only one guaranteed to fill all twelve of her Magic slots with Magic abilities. All of her Magic is destructive, covering six different elements. With only a few exceptions, she will bring most boss fights to a quick close by exploiting their elemental weaknesses. However, her physical attacks tend to be weak. Angela's main stat is Intelligence.

Duran: The brave swordsman, Duran could be considered the Fighter. He is easily the strongest character in the game, although he is a bit lacking in Agility. His Magic is Saber Magic, which essentially means that he is capable of attacking and inflicting elemental damage with physical attacks. His presence can make boss fights very short indeed, but he can be a liability at times due to his lower evade rate. Depending on his Class, he may or may not be able to equip Shields, which raise his evasion and may offer other forms of protection as well. Duran's main stat is Strength.

Hard Difficulty

Hawk: Hawk may also be known as Hawkeye. Hawk is a ninja. He is easily the fastest character in the game. He holds double weapons, which mean that he can deal two hits with every attack, allowing him to unleash Techs at a very fast rate. He also has very diverse Classes, giving him some of the most unique and useful Magic in the game, and allowing him to be very powerful all-around. Hawk's stat is Agility.

Lise: Lise may also be known as Rise or Rieze. Lise is Princess of the Amazons. She is arguably the best all-around character in the game, with strong physical attacks and also useful stat-altering Magic. Her Classes also have Summon Magic, allowing her to deal good amounts of damage with Magic. Lise can be a harder character to master for beginning players, but she is a welcome addition to any team. Lise does not have an emphasized stat.

The Rest of Your Team

When selecting your full team, keep in mind strengths and weaknesses that your party might face as a whole. For example, any party without Carlie will have to rely mainly on items for healing, and will face a much slower, much more difficult game. For this reason, I highly recommend placing Carlie somewhere in your party if this is your first time playing.

The beginning of the game is different for all six players. Below are the individual walkthroughs for each character.

Continue to Part 2: The Mana Fairy.

Part 2: The Mana Fairy

So, this is Lakeshore Village Astoria. Your business here is brief. You must talk to two NPCs before the game will advance. They are the woman to the east, who tells you that Holy City Wendel is across the lake, and the man to the south, who talks about a mysterious light. After you've talked to them, go to the inn and sleep. Alternatively, go into the forest and level up. It's your decision.

After you've slept a bit, you will be woken by a bright light. Follow it into the forest. It's not too hard to follow; after you pass the path to the Cave of Waterfalls, take the turn to the left and keep going until you reach the Golden Goddess Statue. This statue, and the dozens just like it scattered throughout the world, are images of the Mana Goddess. The gold ones have the power to restore your HP and MP, and both the gold and silver ones will let you save your game. Do so now.

Continue upon the path. Next screen, you will see a rather ugly gargoyle statue. For now, it does nothing. Keep a mental note of where it is; you'll need to find it later. Keep going until you reach the light. After the scene ends, you should now be the proud owner of a Mana Fairy inside your head, which depending on your character will evoke either fear or pride. Go back to Astoria.

Um, yeah. Astoria is no more. It's been blown up. Weep if you feel like it, then head back to the forest for some training in the basics of Seiken Densetsu 3 fighting. Alternatively, go to the next chapter.

The Art of Killing Rabites

Look down at the heads-up display centered at the bottom of the screen. Let's get all the elements of it identified. The big set of numbers at the top is HP. Left side is HP remaining; right side is HP total. Below that is your character's portrait. This will change if you receive any status effects. Kevin's portrait also changes to a werewolf when he is transformed. LV, on the left side, is short for level; MP remaining is displayed on the right. The bars surrounding your character's portrait are for Techs. Each time you attack, a set of those bars are lit blue. When they light green, yellow, or red, you can use a Tech.

Now, you need to master Techs. Go into the forest, and find some Rabites. These little critters have 20 HP, which is perfect for our needs. Using your A-button attack, hit some enemies four times. Your Tech bar should be glowing green. Now, press B. Your character will glow white and flash around, making funny noises and apparently suffering a seizure. This is normal. Walk up next to an enemy and press B to unleash your Tech on the unsuspecting Rabite. You should do roughly twice the damage you normally do to an opponent.

Before we move on, there are two more things to know. Whenever HP changes, the amount of HP gained or lost always appears on-screen in big numerals. There are four colors of HP, and they all mean different things.

Purple: Damage done to an enemy
Red: Damage done to an ally
Yellow: Health recovered by an enemy
Green: Health recovered by an ally

Also, you may have noticed that the experience gained per kill and the level of the enemy encountered appear on-screen as well. These are very useful to us. You should always try to be at the same level as the enemies around you. If you are at a lower level than them, you will find it more difficult to fight them. This book's introduction says that this game is not difficult if you follow this guide. This is important, and cannot be stressed enough. You should attempt at all times to be at either at or above the experience level of your enemies.

Now that you know the basics of fighting in Seiken Densetsu 3, let's go meet your partner and explore the Cave of Waterfalls.

Continue to Part 3: Waterfalls, Wendel, and Wisp.

Part 3: Waterfalls, Wendel, and Wisp

When you're satisfied with your current level, go right from the screen north of Astoria. You will meet your partner outside the Cave of Waterfalls, looking to get in. The Fairy removes the barrier, and you can now enter the Cave.

The Cave of Waterfalls is a nice little maze. For now, you are just trying to get to Wendel. Go down into the cave, past the Gold Statue. Save if you want, then continue into the cave and head west. This guide will typically not have directions for you. Instead, explore the caves and dungeons, and don't be afraid to go into strange rooms. There are no random encounters, so the actual number of enemies is quite low. Just don't move too fast, and backtrack to a Gold Statue if you find yourself running low on health. There's no boss here. Oh, and if you ever find yourself "Trapped!" in a room, simply clear it of enemies and the door will open again.

When you finally get to Wendel, you have two options. You can either buy armor, weapons, and items, or you can go speak to the Priest of Light. You'll do both before leaving, but you can do them in either order.

{This paragraph reserved for a nice long discussion on how to select and equip weapons, and how to store and use items}

The Priest will tell you that Mana is starting to fade. This is bad. He will tell you to retrieve Wisp from the Cave of Waterfalls. This is good. Wisp is the first elemental spirit. He represents Light Magic.

Go back into the Cave of Waterfalls. Go to the Gold Statue. As you progress, note the waterfall room where the Fairy remarks upon Wisp's presence. That room has two entrances. Go north to the second entrance to the room, and use the Fairy to cross the waterfall. Follow the path until you reach a fork and can go to the left or right. Go left first and save at the Gold Statue. Now, go back and go right, until you reach a big, empty cavern. Time for your first boss!

Boss: Full Metal Hugger

This guy is not too bad, but then again, he is your first boss. Just hit him repeatedly. If he poisons you, use Puipui Grass to cure it. Keep your HP above 30 or so and you'll be fine. He can block attacks for a few seconds by closing his eyes. He also knows Holy Ball and Heal Light, and will heal himself once or twice during a normal battle. He is weak to Dark attacks, but since you do not have Dark Saber or Evil Gate yet, the most you can do is make sure the fight takes place at night. The battle is halfway over when his eye vanishes.

After Full Metal Hugger is gone, Wisp shows up. He joins you. Now, leave the Cave. You'll be ambushed by Lugar at the waterfall, and thrown in jail in Castle City Jad. Your second partner will be in the cell next to you. Try the cell door and you'll be introduced. Your second partner will use a trick to open the gates, and will then join you. Head south out of the castle and to the harbor, where a ship will take you away.

Continue to Part 4: Follow the Golden Brick Road.

Part 4: Follow the Golden Brick Road

You will arrive in Maia, the Free City. Your new destination is Forcena, where King Richard can tell you everything you need to know about Mana Stones. It will take you three chapters to get there, so let's get going!

If you have the cash, equip everybody with weaponry from Maia. I personally skip this step, because I save up for the more expensive dwarf weapons, but it's up to you. Anyway, make sure you stock up on Round Drops and Angel Grails. Now, leave the city to the west. A sailor will stop you and tell you that the Priest of Light has fallen ill while erecting the barrier. This is bad. Leave Maia and you will be on the Golden Road.

The Golden Road is a simple path filled with Porons and Assassin Bugs. It connects Maia to Merchant City Byzel, which will become very important in the second part of the game. For now, the three invasions that the beastmen, ninjas, and wizards are carrying out has caused them to close the city to foreigners. That doesn't matter.

(need to put a quick tutorial on switching characters and abilities)

Three screens away from Byzel, on the Golden Road, there is a cave that leads to the Cleft of the Earth, a giant snakelike trench running across the continent, which separates Forcena and the Molebear Highlands from Byzel and Maia. There is a bridge going across it. This is where you need to go.

The entrance to the cave holds a Silver Statue. Save. The next screen is the Cleft and bridge. Walk onto the bridge and you will be greeted by some Altenians and their Machine Golems.

Boss: Two Machine Golems

Machine Golems are strong, but these two aren't too tough. They don't know any Magic, so feel free to use Holy Ball if you have Angela. Carlie should know Heal Light by now, but if you don't have her, just keep your HP decently high. The Machine Golem's strongest attack at this point is probably the Drill Punch, but you can dodge it by staying out of their line of sight whenever they glow red. If you were fortunate enough to pick up any Assassin Bug Eyes earlier, use them; they do about 90 HP of damage. Keep at it and they'll die soon enough.

However, one of the Golems self-destructs, blowing up the bridge. Obviously, you need to get to Forcena another way. How? Go back to Maia.

Continue to Part 5: A Gneed for Gnome.

Part 5: A Gneed for Gnome

Rest and save. Now, go to the easternmost house in Maia. There's a staircase leading to the door. Go inside and talk to the short Frenchman. This is Bon Jour. He has a cannon behind his house. Talk to him and he'll tell you to go out back. Follow him and prepare to be disappointed. Yep, he needs gunpowder. But, where do we get it?

There's a bald NPC with a read beard in front of the inn. Talk to him, then head back to the Road. Go back to the Cleft of the Earth. The bald guy can't tell you this next part. Talk to the Silver Statue and use Wisp. The wall will open, revealing your new path. Go down the long tunnel. Take note of the walkways stretching across the stairs — you'll be running on them soon enough. At the bottom, follow the path to the dwarf village.

The dwarf village is a fairly awesome place. Go to the item shop and ask for Watts. Watts is the item shopkeeper, and he also has gunpowder. However, he's not there. Oh well. Go to the weapon shop and armor shop and equip yourself. The equipment here is expensive — that's why I said earlier that I don't waste money buying things in Maia. Use your leftover cash to fill up on supplies, then rest, save, and head out.

Right outside of the dwarf village, talk to the dwarf digging there. He'll open up a new tunnel for you. Go inside. Follow the path until you see a dwarf. That's Watts. You can't get to him just yet. Go west and then follow the northern path. Keep going, and you'll find him standing in an empty room. Go to him and talk to him. He wants 5,000 gil for the Gunpowder. You almost certainly don't have that; it doesn't matter, because he'll run off again. Follow him. Keep on the path through the tunnels, and at the end, you'll find yourself in another room with Watts. Heal up, then talk to him to start the next boss fight.

Boss: Jewel Eater

This guy can be tough if your levels are low. However, if you're keeping up, you should be level 6, which is just fine for this fight. Jewel Eater is weak to Thunder Magic, but since you don't have any yet, just hit him with normal attacks. If you have Angela, use up all of her MP on Holy Ball. If you have any Assassin Bug Eyes, you can use them. Just keep hammering away and keep your HP above 70 or so. Jewel Eater's Magic list includes Diamond Missile and Defense Down.

After you beat the Jewel Eater, Gnome comes bouncing down and has a small story to tell. He then joins your party. Also, Watts apologizes and gives you Gunpowder. It's time to leave now — we're finally going to Forcena!

Continue to Part 6: Bon Jour, Gunpowder!.

Part 6: Bon Jour, Gunpowder!

Back in Maia, Bon Jour is ready to send you off, more or less. Save before you go. He's not much of a cartographer, and he doesn't quite get you to Forcena. You land in the Molebear Highlands, about halfway between Cleft of the Earth and Forcena. Before anything else, you should store the Gunpowder, so you don't have to have it in your item ring. Anyway, head off towards Forcena. It's to the north. If Duran isn't in your party, you'll run into him. Have fun — the molebears are harmless if you have dwarven weaponry and are at least level 7. Nonetheless, I don't advocate staying out there too long. If you get lost, remember to head north. There are banekujakos every handful of screens, so getting lost is decently hard. Try out some of the molebear holes — you never know where they might take you!

When you walk into Grasslands Country Forcena, you will "begin to realize" that Altena currently is attempting to take over the country! After the cutscene ends, go into either door, and save at the Gold Statue. Now, go into the castle, and fight off the Altenian attack. Be careful, as the Magicians know Magic. After you get to the throne room, Koren will shout a taunt. Run at him and he will scamper off. Now, talk to King Richard. He has a great story to tell you about the Mana Stones. King Richard used to be a dragon hunter, and he, along with Duran's father, destroyed the Dragon Emperor a few years back.

After King Richard's story, go out to the courtyard. Bon Voyage, Bon Jour's cousin, will have a cannon that can send you back to Maia. Except it's not set up yet. Come back later. Of course, the cannon will magically assemble itself in roughly 30 seconds, if you talk to the right NPC. The NPC to find is in a house to the left of the entrance to Forcena, in the south. She has blue hair and is standing at a table. She'll tell you that there's a large cannon in the courtyard.

Before leaving for Maia, make sure to do your shopping. Don't spend too much money; there's goods to be bought in Palo and Byzel, and you're going to need ferry money to get to Palo. When you're ready, take the cannon to Maia, and then take the Golden Road to Byzel.

Byzel, at first glance, doesn't look like anything special, but the big building in the middle of town is pretty awesome. This place is called the Black Market. It only opens at night. If you arrive in the day, sleep at the inn and wake up at night; otherwise, just head on in! The stuff sold here will be essential for you if you don't have Angela, and even if you do have her, you're going to need things only sold here.

There are two merchants inside. The one on the left sells items connected to the four natural elements: Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. (No Heart, though!) For each element, he has a Scale, which temporarily ups one stat for a battle; a Claw, which casts Saber Magic on one person; and a Coin, which casts Level 1 Magic on an enemy.

The merchant on the right sells various useful items. He has Coins for Light and Dark, as well as Poto Oil and Mama Poto Oil. He also sells Axes, Darts, and Pumpkin Bombs. Pumpkin Bombs, like the Grenade Bomb Magic, deal Wood-type damage to an enemy and steal MP. These are a cool alternative to Magic Walnuts, although if you have low stats they don't work very well. He also has an item that will be incredibly handy much later in the game: Specter's Eyes. These cast Antimagic, which removes Sabers, stat alterations, and magic status such as reduced HP from Lunatic. It also clears the Tech gauge. You can only use them on enemies, but for enemies that Saber themselves or enemies that know Techs, these will be unbelievably useful.

*Left-hand merchant's wares*
Item	Effect	Cost
Earth Coin	Casts Diamond Missile	22 Luc
Bulette's Scale	Casts Defense Up	22 Luc
Molebear's Claw	Casts Diamond Saber	40 Luc
Storm Coin	Casts Air Blast	22 Luc
Bird's Scale	Casts Speed Up	22 Luc
Siren's Claw	Casts Thunder Saber	40 Luc
Ice Coin	Casts Ice Smash	22 Luc
Sahagin's Scale	Casts Mind Up	22 Luc
Poseidon's Claw	Casts Ice Saber	40 Luc
Flame Coin	Casts Fireball	22 Luc
Drake's Scale	Casts Attack Up	22 Luc
Kerberos' Claw	Casts Flame Saber	40 Luc

*Right-hand merchant's wares*
Item	Effect	Cost
Dart	Damage to one enemy	5 Luc
Hand Axe	Damage to one enemy	5 Luc
Pumpkin Bomb	Damage and steal MP from one enemy	16 Luc
Light Coin	Casts Holy Ball	22 Luc
Poto Oil	Casts Heal Light	30 Luc
Mama Poto Oil	Casts Tinkle Rain	22 Luc
Darkness Coin	Casts Evil Gate	22 Luc
Specter's Eye	Casts Antimagic	40 Luc

For now, buy Poseidon's Claws, Siren's Claws, and Ice Coins; and also buy Earth Coins if you don't have Angela. Buy Scales if you want. From the other merchant, buy Pumpkin Bombs. Buy Poto Oil if you want; it's cool to have a bit, especially against bosses, who tend to hit the entire party with Magic. You won't need Specter's Eyes, but you can bring some if you really want. Also, if you have Lise in your party, talk to the merchant in the rear of the market, on the left. He'll give you useful information about Elliot.

Continue to Part 7: The Quest for Jinn.

Part 7: The Quest for Jinn

Take off for Palo. It's currently occupied by Navarre ninjas, but pay them no mind — they're hypnotized, so they don't attack you like the beastmen in Jad or the Altenians in Forcena. If you have Hawk, he'll try to talk to Nikita when you see him. Go to the bar located in the middle of Palo. It's literally a hole in the wall. Go upstairs and talk to Eliza. If you have Lise, she'll give you very good directions. If not, you'll see Lise and Eliza whispering, and you can overhear what they're saying. Anyway, keep that flower garden in mind.

Stock up on supplies, and then rest and save. This next part can be confusing to some. We need to find Jinn, the wind spirit. However, Jinn is inside the Corridor of Wind, which is blocked off at the moment by high-velocity winds. We need to do a handful of things to open up the corridor.

File:SD3-PathtoHeavens.jpg

The junction on the Path to the Heavens. (click to enlarge)

Go ahead and leave Palo on the Path to the Heavens. This dramatically-named climb is actually not so bad. In general, the way up the mountain to the east is the correct direction. There will be one screen where the path diverges. One way goes north up a staircase, and one way goes east. The northern route leads to the Corridor of Wind, and eventually to Rolante. The eastern route leads to our real destination. Follow that eastern path, and eventually you will come to a meadow. Use the banekujako if you want, and continue on the path until you find a place to rest.

When you come to, you will find yourself at the secret Amazon hideout. Lise will be there if she's not already in your party. Walk around a bit and go into the impromptu war room. The elder will talk with Lise, and eventually he'll suggest that you go visit Don Perignon. However, you need to be able to get into the Corobokkle village, which means you need the amazing, all-in-one, bakes, cooks, and cleans without leaving streaks, Chibikko Hammer! It's in Byzel, in the Black Market. Time to go find it!

Leave the hideout, but instead of going down the mountain, head back to the meadow. There's an Amazon waiting for you. Her name is Merci, and she's yet another relative of Bon Jour. Clearly, he wasn't kidding when he said he was shipping cannons to everyone he knows! Anyway, she'll send you halfway around the world back to Byzel. In Byzel, go to the Black Market, and talk to the new woman there. She'll give you the Chibikko Hammer. Now, catch a boat to Jad.

From Jad, head south into the Rabite Forest. Now, use your memory. There is a gargoyle statue near Astoria, on the path where you first found the Fairy. Go there. If you can't remember where it was, head south to Astoria, and then retrace the path that you took to find the Fairy. When you find the statue, talk to it to open a path, then use the Chibikko Hammer on everyone to shrink yourselves. Now, enter the village.

An older Corobokkle will greet you and tell you to look for Don Perignon. Go into all five treehouses and ask for him. After you finish, go back outside and talk to the Corobokkle. He'll reveal himself, and tell you what to do next. After he's finished, it's time to go to the Corridor of Wind and get Jinn.

Go back to Jad, take the boat to Palo, and then go back up the Path to the Heavens until you reach that staircase junction. Go north this time and continue on the path. The Corridor of Wind, like Don Perignon showed you, is a hole in the wall on the left side of a bridge. Go inside.

The Corridor of Wind is pretty straightforward. The green switches rotate all wind god statues a quarter turn. Most of the side rooms are just small turnarounds full of enemies. Fight them if you want. When you reach an outside platform in the shape of a crescent, there will be three doors: one at the top, one on the right, and one at the bottom. You enter through the one on the top. Go to the bottom door first; it has a Gold Statue. The door to the right holds the Wind Mana Stone and Jinn.

Of course, there's a boss fight. After you see the Mana Stone, pull out your Molebear's Claws and Earth Coins. Go to the right, and confront the Darkshine Knight. After he leaves, you get to fight...

Boss Fight: Tzenker

Amazingly annoying, especially if you are Duran or somebody else who is slow. Use the Claws on your team for Diamond Saber. Sabers add an element to your attacks and Level 1 (but not Level 2 or Level 3) Techs. You'll find that you do much more damage when Sabered. Also, use the Earth Coins or Diamond Missile on her. She knows the entire book of Wind spells, including Speed Up, Air Blast, and Air Slasher. She also can pick up and throw members of the team. Your strategy should revolve around throwing as many Earth Coins as you can, since she tends to be very hard to hit, especially with Techs.

After the battle, you gain Jinn. The Fairy will heal him, and he will go with you. Now, it's time to take back Rolante!

Continue to Part 8: Yet Another Invasion.

Part 8: Yet Another Invasion

Alright. Welcome to Wind Kingdom Rolante. It's big, but fortunately rather linear. Go in through the gate, and immediately go to the right. Go into the door and use the Gold Statue. Now, head downstairs and fight the ninjas. Afterwards, get directions from the wounded Amazon. The rest of it is linear. You might have a problem with this one hidden door.

Continue on. In the second room with the three Evil Swords, there are two exits. One leads outside, to a balcony. The other leads to a Gold Statue. When you reach the balcony, Lise will be there if she's not in your party. The enemy general is inside the door behind her. Don't go in yet. Pull up the item storage menu, and get out your Ice Coins and Poseidon's Claws.

You will want to save, no matter what. You will also want to be at least level 12, no exceptions. If you have Kevin, make sure it's night. The next section requires you to fight two bosses in a row. You've been warned. When you're ready, go through the door and fight the first fight.

Boss: Genova

No relation to Jenova. The strategy here is fairly simple. Genova is Fire-based, and knows a good amount of Salamando's magic, including Power Up, Fireball, and Melt Wave. Genova is only level 10, but can also spit out level 10 Shapeshifters. These little dudes are annoying for two reasons: One, they can shapeshift, and every time they do, they regain health; two, they have the attack strength and elemental attributes of whatever they Shift into. This means that they can become level 10 Devil Wolfs, with very strong attack; they can also become level 10 Sirens that absorb Wind Magic. Anyway, use the Poseidon's Claws on yourselves and use up all of your Ice Coins on Genova. Focus your attacks on Genova itself and try to let your partners take care of the Shapeshifters. You will need to keep your HP at least over 90, as Genova knows level 1 and level 2 Trap Magic.

You will get a heal after you beat Genova, but you can't leave. You can only go forward. Before doing so, pull up the storage menu. You should store any leftover coins you have. If you have anything throwable that hurts one enemy, like Darts, Axes, Bombs, or Assassin Bug Eyes, bring it. Also, bring any leftover Claws, and fill back up on Angel Grails, Pakkun Chocolates, and Round Drops. Go into the next room.

Boss: Bill and Ben

Bill and Ben are very, very, very annoying. They are essentially level 12 Ninja Masters, one of Hawk's final Classes (dark-light, in case your were wondering), and they are hard, especially right after a boss fight. At the beginning, they will fuse. This is your time to hit them with all the one-enemy items. After they separate, do not use any Magic or Magic-casting items on them, because they will counter with Shadow Dive or a Jutsu. Actually, they'll use Shadow Dive on you no matter what, so be prepared and keep HP very high. If you are at a high level (level 14 or better) you can try Specter Eyes to cancel their Techs. They are not weak to any one Saber, but if you Saber yourselves, you can increase the amount of damage you do to them. Persevere and eventually they will die. If you lack Kevin or Duran, this can be a very long fight.

When you're finished, chat with Bigieu. She doesn't look pleased. She'll run off, and the castle of Rolante is free again! Congratulate yourselves.

Continue to Part 9: Who Ya Gonna Call?.

Part 9: Who Ya Gonna Call?

When you come into Palo, you'll notice the merchant cat, Nikita, getting picked on by villagers. Hawk will intervene and save him. You'll get a quick cutscene. Afterwards, rest and save at the Inn. Spend your seeds if you have any. Go and buy everything you need. Don't forget to buy new weaponry — the Navarre ninjas left a lot of useful stuff. When you're absolutely sure that you have everything, save again at the Inn before getting on the ferry.

The next few scenes are rather amusing. When you have full control again, go out and explore the ship. Everything on the Ghost Ship is weak to Light Magic. If you have Light Coins from Byzel, don't use them, but keep them nearby; you'll need them later. Anyway, head up and explore. Remember where the room you woke up in was — you can use it to rest for free.

Near the top deck, you'll find a door which you cannot enter. Beside it is a note, which reads: "Blood, Death, Curses, Death." Now, if you take the other route, you'll find a room with three bookshelves, each of which contain a book. Read them right, left, center, left, which is Blood, Death, Curses, Death. The wall will open. Go over and read the book on the nightstand. It will say Die. This is perfectly normal. Now, a ghost will appear. Do not talk to him yet. He is Mataro, the ghost expert from Byzel. He is curséd, and whomever talks to him will take his curse. If you have a character talk to him, then that character will take the curse, and be unable to fight. They will not gain any experience from enemies killed. This is not good. On the other hand, once you sacrifice a character, you'll be able to go upstairs, beyond the locked door. My suggestion is to level up as much as you want with all three characters, and then after you sacrifice one, don't kill any more enemies until you reach the ship's main deck. That way, you won't have one character lagging behind in experience.

Anyway, from the previously locked door, keep heading upwards. There will be small side rooms with three or so enemies inside. When you clear any of these rooms out, a Ghost will appear with stuff to sell you. If you loaded up in Palo, don't waste your time with these guys — they sell the same stuff as the Palo merchants. Pull out your Light Coins if you have any, and at the main deck, you'll get your boss fight.

Boss: Gorva

Gorva is an easier boss, because he was designed to be beaten with only two characters. He will teleport all around the stage. I remember one guide describing him as a loon, and he really is sort of a crazy boss. Think of this as practice for Lightgazer and Deathjester. He's easy to hit with Magic, but if you don't have Angela or Light Coins, you'll have to just keep running around to track him down. His magic is pretty weak, but he knows a lot of Dark spells. He can and will cast Evil Gate, Ghost Road, Black Rain, Antimagic, and even Black Curse. Antimagic can't really hurt you, but it will reset your Tech gauge. Black Curse will lower every single stat you have for the rest of the battle, or until you use a Stardust Herb. He'll take a bit of time, even with Angela, but if you keep yourself decently healed, it will be a pleasantly quick fight.

Your reward for this boss fight is a spirit, Shade, and he will release your character from the curse. Unfortunately, the Ghost Ship crumbles into the sea, and you wind up stranded on a sandy beach.

Continue to Part 10: Damn Drums.

Part 10: Damn Drums

Damn. Bucca Island is one of the hardest places in the entire game. Why, we may never know. Anyway, I would suggest that you try to keep one level above the enemies around you, and take time to level up. By the time you finally leave the island, you might be level 17 or 18. At level 18 you can Class Change, which will make you much stronger, so you might want to try to achieve level 18 before you leave.

Anyway, head left along the beach to see a rather large turtle with a snorkel. This is Booskaboo. You'll see him later. Head back along the beach all the way to the right. The first exit north leads to a Gold Statue. The second exit leads to enemies and the rest of the island.

Keep heading north and you'll eventually hit a river. After defeating the enemies, go along the bridge to the right, and go northeast. Travel through one blank screen and you'll reach the Village of Dark Priests. These Dark Priests are very friendly, and will sell you brand-new armor and weaponry. Buy and equip it, you'll need it in a second. Also, fill up on items. Make sure you have at least 10 or so spare Pakkun Chocolates, Magic Walnuts, and Angel Grails; the fight to leave the island is long and arduous. Finally, talk to all of the NPCs to learn a bit of philosophy and also about the Sea Dweller and his cave. Don't worry about it being sealed; we'll fix that in a few. Also, before you leave, talk to the totem pole in the center of the village. It's like a Gold Statue.

Now, leave the village and go to the stairs heading north on the northern bank of the river. The enemies here are Cockatrices and occasionally Goblin Lords. Cockatrices will eventually hatch into Cockabirds. The Cockatrices are paradoxiacally weak to Air. They can also Petrify you. Use a Puipui Grass to heal it immediately, because a Petrified character otherwise does not heal until all other enemies are dead. The Cockabirds can also Petrify. The Goblin Lords are very strong, and will hurt you very badly if you did not buy new armor. Level up out here. If you are not level 15, you will not have a fun time inside the Sea Dweller's Cave.

Follow the path west. At the end of the path, there is a very cool ledge with a nice shot of the island below. There is also a dark rock that looks like the uncarved version of those stone gargoyles. Talk to it and use Gnome. The Cave awaits.

The Seaside Cave is really two parts. The first part is a nice, calm jaunt through a series of caves. The second part is a walkway maze through the innards of Bucca Volcano. You will have a map for this maze, because it is incredibly hard otherwise.

The enemies here are myriad and plenty. The Potos are Light. They can and will cast Heal Light on all enemies on the screen, healing about 120 damage each time. If you have Angela, you can chain-cast Evil Gate. My suggestion is to either focus on the Potos first, or to ignore him until all other enemies are dead, because he'll stop healing when his own health is full. Pakkun Babies hatch into Pakkun Lizards. Sometimes, they'll eat one of your characters. Don't panic; usually this means they're running low on life. Smack it a few times and it'll die, letting you go.

When you reach the water and walkways, follow the diagram. The maze begins with a Gold Statue and ends with a Gold Statue. Heading west, follow the path in the diagram until you reach the second Gold Statue, then head north to the end of the maze. You will find Jagan. He will taunt you, and then Bucca erupts.

Continue to Part 11: Forcena, Finally.

Bestiary

This is a work in progress.

Monster	Weakness	Notes
Dark Priest	Dark	Can single-cast Heal Light. Can summon Unicorn Head and Machine Golem.
Molebear	Air	None.
Pakkun Baby	Fire	Becomes Pakkun Lizard.
Pakkun Lizard	Fire	Can eat one character, removing them from battle temporarily.
Poto	Dark	Can multi-cast Heal Light.