Hello gamers and welcome to another of my walkthroughs. Like the Shining Force walkthroughs it will mainly focus at moving you forward and grind levels, mostly in places where monsters are worth a lot and/or are easy to kill. But since it is not a tactical RPG I will include treasures giving you money and weapons/armors and upgrades for the robots. In the end, you will be able to do the ultimate combination attack, Destruction – I include all sidequests that get you money and/or powerups.

Finally, I will also include major references to past games since they all follow each other. It doesn’t serve “any purpose” per say, but it’s a nice touch.

Glitch note: there is a way for Chaz to become a super magician if he stays at level 4. Inside Zio’s fort Shadow Sabers sometimes drop their weapon, shadow blade. It gives -10 mental and dexterity but cannot be negative. It therefore rolls back and gives Chaz 255 mental and 254 dexterity. In my speedruns I have been able to make him do 500 damage to Juza and over 700 to Dark Force I. But to keep his super abilities you need to kill him off every time. It’s your choice.

Please note that combination attacks will be in Arial Black and all in caps. And unless specified, a combination attack can be used in any order and with any level of the spell.

1.          First hunter mission

The game starts with Chaz getting out of Aiedo towards Piata for an unknown mission… When you gain control walk left and Alys your mentor will talk. Walk towards the opening to your left to talk with the director of the Academy for your mission briefing. Get outside the office and go to the room with a telescope. The two scientists will talk to you about the destruction of Parma (in Phantasy Star II) and how there used to be spaceships.

Go downstairs and into the room to the far right. The scientist in left-hand part of the room will talk about the Great Collapse after the destruction of the Mother Brain. Walk back to the center hall and examine the statue: it’s Dr Lubetz from Phantasy Star I, who helped Alis Landale on her quest. Turn right and talk to the person walking back and forth and blocking your way. It’s Hahn, and he will join you (and give you 100 mesetas). When you’re ready go downstairs.

It’s the first dungeon so it’s fairly easy. Watch out for Hahn’s hit points as his defense is rather low. Making it to level 2 should be more than enough. Anyway walk down in the dungeon, turn left to the end of the corridor and turn right next to a book shelf. Turn left and follow the path to get 100 mesetas. Go back to go downstairs, walk down, turn left and follow the path to go downstairs some more. Walk straight and enter your first boss battle.

Boss Battle: Igglanova

As it is your first major fight it is very easy. Igglanova can literally die after 5 hits of Alys’ Vortex. To make it even easier, Chaz’ Earth skill (paralysis) can actually work on the boss!

However you can take advantage of Igglanova’s spawning and have Alys defend while Chaz attacks the spawns – he can usually defeat them in one hit. You can gain several levels if you are patient enough. Hahn should have reached level 3 and acquired Wat, a cold spell very useful for desert enemies to come.

Go out of the basement and up to the director of the Academy. He will spill the beans and say that Professor Holt went to Birth Valley and found the remains of a past, advanced civilization. When he returned there Zio the Black Magician told the Director NOT to return there and so he barred everyone from going there. Now the trio will go there, but not before Hahn coughs up 300 mesetas. Now simply get out of the Academy and of Piata by walking straight down and around the fountain.

Once outside walk straight north to Mile (next to quicksands). In the weapon shop you can get a steel sword for Chaz, which attacks better than two knives and gives him a little defense. If you wish you can now give Hahn 2 knives or 2 shields – but in the latter case he will not be able to attack at all. And don’t forget to give Alys 2 slashers, which will boosts her attack.

2.          The Ancient Curse

Once you are done walk outside and east towards Zema where Birth Valley is. You will notice that everyone has turned to stone. Walk straight into Birth Valley. At the first junction turn right for a carbon shield. Return and turn right at the second junction. Follow the path downstairs. Turn right at the junction for a carbon suit, another good equipment of Hahn the weakling. Now turn left and follow the road. Talk to the statue next to the door for a cutscene where Alys talks about Ashline, the same medicine that cured Odin 2000 years ago. After the scene (and after Hahn coughs up another 500 mesetas) you will be teleported outside Birth Valley. Exit Zema.

Walk south and left of the inlet. Keep walking until you see a village; enter Molcum. It’s been devastated, but a mysterious man stands in the rubbles. After a scene Rune will join you. He will be an excellent occasion for leveling up as his magic is out-of-this-world and he attacks before everyone. Hewn and Gra and both kill all enemies. ALSO HIS HEWN CAN COMBINE WITH ALYS’ FOI OR HAHN’S WAT TO RESPECTIVELY MAKE FIRESTORM AND BLIZZARD (IT ALSO WORKS WITH ZAN, AND FLAELI CAN ALSO BE USED FOR FIRESTORM). Speaking of combination attacks, YOU CAN MAKE TRIBLASTER BY COMBINING WAT, FOI AND TSU ONCE CHAZ REACHES LEVEL 4 – but it can only be done with these spells, and the strength isn’t better with the shadow blade glitch.

Once you’re ready walk east to Krup… Hahn’s hometown. In the school you will meet Saya, Hahn’s fiancée. The library has some interesting books; read them. Do not go in the armor store as you will soon get much better one (unless you want to get Hahn his second carbon shield). Once you’re done get outside and walk north to the cave towards Tonoe. Walk inside Valley Maze without walking away from the main way (hugging the left wall); enter the entrance at the extreme left. Just like the previous section, follow the left-hand wall without deviating from the main path and take the other entrance on the extreme left. Now walk straight and turn right at the intersection. Enter the passage and find 300 mesetas. Go back on the main road and follow it straight to the exit. Tonoe is right by the cave. Make sure you undress Rune first; most of his equipment can fit Hahn. Also his wooden cane can cast Res inside battles.

The first kiosk under a blue roof is the armor store, with everything made of titanium. Buy what you can – it’s expensive – and move two stalls down for the tool store. You can buy escapipes (escape from dungeons) and telepipes (warp to any previously visited city), that are quite useful until you respectively learn Hinas and Ryuka. Finally the weapon store is directly above the armor store under a blue roof too. Buy what you need (it’s slightly less expensive) and go to Grandfather Dorin’s tent, straight up from the merchant stalls and around a tent with a chimney. Answer no to his first two questions and yes to the last one. After a scene where Rune will go out of the party, Gryz will join you. He’s a pure attacker (with an axe), as his Brose spell causes instant death at an abysmal rate. His crush (instant-death skill) is a little more successful. Get out of the tent, walk up and left to another tent. Press C to have Gryz open the storage trap and go down stairs. The enemies here are stronger, so don’t be afraid to cast Gelun to reduce their attack.

The first floor has money on the right-hand side. Go downstairs in the middle after that. At the junction, turn right and down for 500 mesetas. The next room over to the right has 300 mesetas. Go back to the left in the main way and walk down the stairs. Walk straight, slightly to the right, and take the second opening to get a titanium crown for Alys. Go back down and to the right to go downstairs. Just follow the path (you can’t open the door) and get Ashline in the first chest (with a scene where Gryz wants to stick in) and an escapipe. Use it to escape the storage, and then walk/use a telepipe to Zema.

Right when you enter you see a scene where everyone becomes human again. Holt furthers his investigation into Birth Valley, and the team takes a break… until another Igglanova pops out of Birth Valley. He’s as easy as before, but now Gryz can use Crush and kill him instantly! Once you gain control go back inside Birth Valley (after Hahn coughs up 1000 mesetas, his “wedding fund”), following the same path where you found the petrified Holt and enter the door where he stood.

You will enter the Bio-Plant, there same where Rolf got the records 1000 years ago. The theme you hear is a remix of a PS I dungeon theme. The lines on the floor are usually a good indicator of the road to take. Finally, enemies still are stronger than the storage room (mutations, you know; you will also face robots on which Gelun doesn’t work) so watch out. Before going in take advantage of the newly-opened stores (the weapon store in just to the left of Birth Valley). Get a broad axe for Gryz and a graphite suite for Hahn (and shields if you opted for defense). Follow the dotted line, taking a few elevators, and walk around a central block you see to get back to the dotted line. Take the elevator to the left and follow the path. You will eventually see a box containing a graphite crown for Alys. Go back up and take the elevator on the right. Just follow the path, walking over glass floor and turn to the right when it ends, taking another elevator. Walk on the Phantasy-Star III style dungeon floor straight down to get Chaz a ceramic sword. Now walk back up, left (x2) and follow the left-hand wall until you hit an elevator. Walk either way and up to Holt. You will encounter Rika, who has evolved from Nei. You will be brought to Seed, the computer that has been barely maintaining living conditions on Motavia since the Great Collapse and has been breeding monsters. The only way to stop all of it is to shut down Nurvus, the central computer. But you will need to rescue Demi from Zio’s Fort (across from the quicksands of Miles) in order to do it. As you exit the Bio-Plant, Seed will self-destruct to stop the monster breeding.

3.          Rescuing Demi and defeating Zio

Rika starts at level 1 but she gains experience quicker than anyone else (like Nei). She attacks better with a claw in each hands especially when she acquires Double Slash, a skill that makes her attack twice. Finally she gains all curative magics (res and sar) in addition to Saner (increased agility), Shift (increased attack) and Deban (increased defense).

Once you’re out of Zema walk north across a newly-built bridge where enemies are stronger than around Zema. Walk straight up to the village of Nayla. There’s nothing to do there, but you will want to warp back there in the future. Get out and walk to the Wreckage just outside of town. The road is pretty straightforward but the enemies are fierce. Many of them (like the “penguins” robots) are straight out of PS II, after you kill Nei First. Just follow the path until you see an opening; keep going and take the second opening to get a ceramic shield (money) and 1500 mesetas. Walk back to the first opening; take a left at the intersection and follow the dotted line to an elevator and take it to a dungeon with a floor like PS III. The first treasure you encounter is a ceramic knife (money, if Hahn has 2 shields). From that treasure turn right and walk straight to an opening with ceramic mail. From that opening take a left at the intersection and follow the right side of the path to an elevator. Follow the dotted line and just keep walking straight (you can’t get lost) until you find the Wreckage’s central computer Rika will access it and show that it’s a capsule that escaped Parma before its explosion. She will also mention that some capsules escaped the Algol Star System, justifying PS III. From the wreckage walk left and down until you reach Aiedo.

The city is HUGE. Just before entering the city proper walk once step outside the city walls and hug them to the left. You will eventually find a house; enter it and go downstairs to buy a shortcake; you will need it later. From the main entrance walk straight and around the huge building (the market) as the good weapons and armors are in a store behind. They cost a lot, but if you fought enough inside the wreckage you should have plenty. Get saber claws for Rika, struggle axe for Gryz, graphite crown for Alys and ceramic mails and helms for everyone that can wear them. Continue going up to get in the Hunter’s Guild. You can acquire your first mission: killing the sandworm in the ranch in Mile. Walk to the far right of the main room, walk to the left of the stage and walk in a more or less straight line and get to chests containing trimate and 1000 mesetas. Before warping to Mile get to Alys’ house, out of which you got out in the intro cutscene – the northernmost on Aiedo’s west side. You can rest there for free!

Once in Mile just talk to the ranch owner (right when you enter, to your left). Walk around for a while and the sand worm will appear. It’s very tough so make sure to use spells like Shift and Deban to make it easier. Since Chaz and Rika are the only ones that will remain for the whole game, having the others die off won’t matter that much. You will get 5000 mesetas for your troubles.

Get outside of Aiedo and walk around the trees north to get inside a Passageway. It’s fairly short: walk straight, left, down, left (when you can) and straight down to the exit. Note that you will find meta slugs in this dungeon; if any two remain when it’s their turn to attack, they fuse and become a Zol slug. They are worth a lot and are sensitive to instant death – Hahn acquires Vol at level 10, Rika acquires eliminate at level 12 and ALYS ACQUIRES DEATH AT LEVEL 13. THAT SKILL CAN BE COMBINED WITH RIKA’S ILLUSION TO CREATE LETHAL IMAGE, A CHANCE TO KILL ALL MONSTERS ON THE SCREEN.

Once outside just walk southeast to reach Kadary. Walk round the city walls to the right, turn left to a brick path and enter the very first house to get Alys a laser slasher. Go out of town and walk south to enter Zio’s tower. This is where you can get Chaz to become a super magician (see glitch note) if he’s still at level 4. If not, sell the shadow saber as it’s not worth anything for attack. Walk around the central part with a staircase (you can’t access it for now) and take the entrance to the north with a red carpet. Take the left stairs up and take the other stairs down to your left for 2000 mesetas. Continue walking down, take the stairs up, walk right to a hidden tunnel and walk up to get a laser sword. If you walk down the hole you can get a moon-dew, which resurrects a non-droid with ¼ of their hit points. Walk back up and go around the stairs with the hole and hug the upper wall. Drop down the hole to get a laser barrier, the best magic-defense shield for magicians; be sure to keep it for later. Once you are back up take the stairs, walk the hidden tunnel and turn right to get Rika a laser claw. Once you are ready – at least level 12 for Chaz if you don’t use the shadow blade glitch – walk around the wall and up the red carpet. Talk to the man (Juza) and enter your next boss fight.

Boss fight: Juza

He has about as many hit points as the sand worm (1500) but his attacks are much stronger. He can cast Foi (which shouldn’t cause much damage if you have ceramic mail), Wat, Zan and Force Slash, the latter being quite strong. If you have glitched Chaz, 3 of his tsu attacks will almost do the trick (I was able to hit 500 damage; just make sure Chaz dies so he keeps his low level). If not, be patient and heal as needed. Like the sand worm fight just keep Chaz and Rika alive. After the fight, get upstairs, walk down and between the sinister statues upstairs and walk straight up, making sure to undress Hahn and Alys. There will be a scene where you rescue Demi and where Zio appears to fight you. You are not meant to win that fight, so simply try to escape to speed up the process. Before the battle ends, Zio will cast his dark energy wave to Chaz but Alys shields him. They escape battle and warp back to Krup where Alys will rest at the inn. Once you gain control get outside of town and walk down-right to see the machine center appear. On the second floor you will see a healing panel to the right and a control key to the left to activate the land rover. Walk down to get the land rover, the same one Alis got 2000 years ago.

Note that in vehicles you will fight using it. Each of them has a limited amount of special (usually) attack-all attacks along with the regular attack. Enemies are different and are generally worth less than regular enemies. You can die inside a vehicle if its energy goes down to zero, so be careful. Fortunately the vehicle recovers its energy after each fight.

When you gain control move up and right, following the coast. Go up once you see a small mountain range on your right and go between mountains until you see quicksands; then start moving to the right across them. Hug the mountains to the north and then enter the village of Monsen. Once in the village, just follow the fence to the eastern entrance of the village to talk to a man. After an earthquake people will beg you to go to the Plate System center, which controls the earthquakes. To get there, simply go north and follow the mountain range to the right. The dungeon is rather short. As with other high-tech dungeons you will encounter robots. But now, you have a secret weapon to (sometimes) instant-kill them: Demi’s Spark. Speaking of her she is a great asset: she recovers one hit point per step taken. However she’s an android and can’t be healed with regular spells. Only repair kits and her Recover skill can. And should she die she can resurrect after a battle. Finally her medic power can heal AND resurrect non-robots.

Anyway as you enter the dungeon turn right and down for a repair kit. Go back to the dotted line and follow it to an elevator. On that floor go to the right; you will get a ceramic mail (up) and a titanium gear (down) for Demi. Go back in the middle and walk straight, up and follow the path to another elevator. Go down, left, completely down and take the elevator. Follow the path to get DEMI’S ONLY UPGRADE, PHONOMIZER, AN ATTACK-ALL SKILL. IT CAN BE COMBINED WITH CHAZ’ AIRSLASH TO CREATE SILENT WAVE, A STRONGER ATTACK-ALL SKILL. Go back to the elevator, follow the path until you can turn right and walk straight. Follow the dotted line to another elevator. Follow the path; the first chest you encounter is a laser knife (more money) while the second one straight down is another laser barrier. Left of the first chest is a laser axe for Gryz. Go back to the second chest and take the elevator. Walk straight to the right to get a stun shot for Demi. Go in the middle and press C before the computer to restore the Plate System. Warp outside and get back in the land rover.

Just go straight to the right, down by the quicksands and straight down into Termi. This city is dedicated – and the word is weak – to Alis Landale, the heroine of PS I. All around town you will hear people talk about her heroic acts and how she is important. You will even hear someone in the armor shop talking about a “spell binder” who founded Termi and erected the Ladea Tower – Lutz, who fought with Alis and helped Rolf. Speaking of the armor shop make sure you buy all that you can since everything there has extra magic defense. Before leaving town make sure you go on the hill behind the weapon shop (the stairs are on the left, and you turn right). You will see a statue of Alis with Myau. Behind the statue is a man talking about “a tall man” gazing at the statue. Sounds familiar… Return to the stairs but walk up to the souvenir shop to buy an Alis Sword and perolymate for later. Exit the village and use your land rover to avoid fighting the sandworm, which is MUCH stronger than the one in Mile, and go south to the Ladea Tower. Its theme is yet another remix of a PS I dungeon.

On the first floor, simply walk straight to the stair case going up. On the second floor walk to the left, up and left again so you can go down that road. Simply follow the left-hand wall and walk until you get to a chest with a star dew, a precious object casting gisar. Now go back to the staircase that brought you to the second floor and continue right this time. Simply follow the right-hand wall (even when you change directions) to a staircase leading you to the third floor. You will meet Rune, who is on his way to the top to get the psycho wand, the only thing that can defeat Zio’s magic barrier. His level will now be average but he should have acquired level-2 spells like giwat and gifoi. Give him the 2 laser barriers and place him behind everyone else. Follow the right-hand wall, go down once you see a column ahead of you and take the stairs ahead. Follow the right-hand wall until another staircase leading you up. Walk to the left and take the treasure chest above you to get a frade mantle. This was Lutz’ best armor in PS I; it now fits Rune. Keep walking left to descend some stairs. Go up and take another star dew and 1000 meseta in chests ahead. Go back to where you found the frade mantle and walk down to ascend to the top of the tower. Just walk straight and get into your next boss fight.

Boss fight: Gy-Laguiah

With Rune in your team this fight will be easy. It’s weak towards cold and light magic, so if Chaz has Githu (level 17) it’s going to be even easier. Gy’s attack consist of fire breath and a physical attack which shouldn’t do too much damage. Since they don’t follow you to the end, don’t be afraid to let Demi and Gryz die. After the fight walk straight and open the chest to get the psycho wand. After getting it you automatically warp back to Krup to watch Alys die; the “dark energy wave” is just too much for Rune to handle. After burying her in Krup, you will be ready to avenge her by killing Zio.

When you are ready warp to Kadary and walk to Zio’s Tower. Rune will be able to do away with the barrier blocking access to Nurvus. After a short scene go down the stairs, walk straight and take a left. You will get the wave shot, Demi’s best weapon for now. Go back and take the right path this time. Just keep following the dotted line until you hit an elevator. Take the one immediately to your right and follow the path to a ceramic gear for Demi. Go back to the elevator and walk down this time, always down until you see another elevator that you will take. Just follow the path – you can’t get lost – by walking on the dotted line. Before talking an elevator make sure you go left to give Demi a spaced armor. Now take the elevator, and take the next one right after. Walk down, down, until you see an opening to your left. Take it and you will get Rika a plasma claw. Walk back to take the elevator, follow the dotted line and you will eventually meet Zio. If you wish you can undress Demi and Gryz of their armors since they will quit after this fight.

Boss fight: Zio

This black magician will be quite a challenge for you. First of all, his magic barrier is still absolutely impenetrable. And even after you break it he’s still going to be strong. He spams attack-all spells like corrosion and Hewn; he also has a strong laser-hand attack and a watered-down version of the black energy wave. He is weak to fire and energy and strong against freeze. Interesting fact: the Nightmare he casts is the exact same one Alis dreamt about when she first visited the Governor of Motavia. Anyway to make the best use of your time, use this macro for the first round to optimize your fighting:

Rune: USE psycho-wand

Gryz: War Cry

Demi: barrier

Rika: Shift of Chaz

Chaz: Crosscut – unless his githu is stronger, in which case Rika should case Shift on herself. There’s no point in casting Deban since Zio is purely magical. Just hit him with all you’ve got, not pitying Gryz and Demi should they die, and he will go down.

After the fight Demi will connect herself directly to Nurvus to stop it. However the environment will soon degrade so you will need to go into space in order to repair Zelan, the satellite that controls the weather. A spaceport with an emergency space shuttle will appear, but not before Gryz quits your party. After hitting a healing panel (they both have the same effect) walk straight to the shuttle and fly to Zelan.

4.          Repairing satellites

Follow the dotted line to an elevator, and loot everything you can find (right side: plasma field, pulse laser (both for money) and canceller (needed to continue the quest). Left side: plasma sword, plasma claw and plasma dagger (more money)). When ready walk to the center and meet Wren, who will join you so he can check Kuran, the satellite that is causing the real trouble. Fly to Kuran, only to be interrupted by a boss fight.

Boss fight: Chaos sorcerer

This boss is a joke. Not only is he weak – you should be able to take him down in at most three rounds – but he is weak to instant death attacks like Rika’s Eliminate. When you defeat him you will crash on the ice planet of Dezolis and into a temple. Raja, the Dezolisian who owns it, will disregard the damage if you let him join you, which he will. Just walk straight north to Ryuon. Once inside walk in the building right above the inn – a tavern. Talk to the man behind the bar, say no to his first three questions and yes to the last one. Exit to the right and use the land rover and turn left after the mountain range, continuing straight until you find the village of Tyler.

Walk straight to the very back of the village to talk to the “old man.” He will say that the village is named after its founder… the space pirate who rescued Rolf right before Gaira crashed into Palma and destroyed it. Now go back south and enter the weapon shop to buy better armors. They are quite expensive but are worth it. Note that the silver shield is the best physical defense Rune (Raja doesn’t stay for long so don’t bother) can get, but it’s slightly weaker against magic. Keep it alongside the laser barriers. After your shopping spree go back to the entrance and walk left until you see a hill. Go up, press C and go down the stairs. The dungeon is pretty small and straightforward. Walk down, left and down, right to a zircon gear (for Wren), back to the left and follow the left-hand wall to the end. You will see Tyler’s ship (the Landale) and make another spaceport appear. You will therefore be free to go to Kuran, but also back to Motavia to complete a few more hunter quests.

The first one you can get is Tinkerbell’s dog. From the Aiedo entrance, walk right following the river and enter the first house (right by the huge market). Talk to the man in light blue and warp to Monsen (that’s usually where the dog hides). Walk round the fence in the entrance and the dog will be straight down from where you had your Plate System sidequest. If you have the shortcake you will be able to get the dog and 2000 mesetas.

Another one you can do is the Missing Student. Warp to Piata and enter the building right above the inn. Talk to the very first person you encounter and warp to Kadary. Enter the Zio church (northwest inside the town) and walk straight to chandeliers where the student is wandering about. Talk to her and you will be transported inside an inn. Talk to the old man with the perolymate in hand, and then to the student. You will be warped back to Piata where the caretaker will thank you and transmit your 3000 mesetas reward.

The final one you can do for now is Fissure of Fear. Warp to Monsen and talk to the woman inside the house right in front of the opening in the ground. Once you exit the house you will have access to the opening. The cave is very short; all you need to do is walk right following the upper wall. You will encounter a boss at the end (who’s weak to fire and water) that’s fairly easy since everyone is over level 20. Kill it, go back to Monsen and talk to the mother. You will receive 5000 mesetas.

After these quests you will finally be able to fly to Kuran. Walk straight to an elevator, and walk left to an opening. Walk left and up to get Wren’s first upgrade, Hyper-Jammer – it paralyzes robots. Go down to the elevator, walk to the right to an opening and right until you hit a dotted line. Follow it and take the elevator in the next room. Walk up to the next elevator (you can’t get lost) and turn left to get Wren a Zirco armor. Go back to the main path (without deviating) and follow it to an opening ad go to the far right and up to get 3000 mesetas. Go back to the elevator you skipped and in the next room go to the right to get Wren a Napalm Shot. It’s fire-based so keep it preciously for evil monsters. In the next room just keep walking left and up and take the first elevator you see. Go down to take another elevator and walk up. Make sure you heal properly/prepare your macros for the upcoming fight.

Boss Fight: Dark Forces

In the first round have Raja cast Blessings, Wren cast Barrier, Rika cast Shift, Chaz attack with crosscut or Githu (if you chose the rollover glitch he can cause over 700 damage with tsu) and have Rune cast Gifoi/Nafoi. DF is fierce and his attacks, individual or collective, are very strong so have Raja heal often – and cast Saint Fire when no one needs serious healing. Let him die if need be since he will quit your group soon. If your team is at level 23-24, it should be a breeze.

After the fight, Rune will say that “he’s seen Dark Forces before.” You will be transported back to Zelan, where Wren will make the last adjustments to the weather control and solve all the problems… except on Dezolis where the snow storm is still raging. Chaz decides to go to the icy planet in order to stop the storm. Wren will give the team an ice digger (another machine Alis used) so they can go through the ice walls formed on the planet.

5.          Rune’s Revelation

Once outside the space port use the ice digger and go north of Tyler, between a narrow passage between the mountains. Go slightly to the right and start breaking the ice straight ahead and slightly to the left when you hit mountains. Disembark the digger and enter Myst Valley. Follow the upper wall until you see stairs, which you should take to an opening. Follow the path to the right to another opening, walk straight and up some stairs and walk to the left (taking the Star Dew) and down to another opening. Walk left and talk to the musk cats blocking your way. They will have the feeling they say you before… Go inside and many of them will have the feeling they saw you too… One of them will also claim to be able to “open the bottle.” At the very back of the valley you will encounter a giant musk cat who also claims to know you. He will give you his silver tusk, the best claw you can get to fight evil. For those who haven’t played all Phantasy Stars, the giant musk cat is Myau, who fought alongside Alis, and his weapon is the best one he could get in the game. As for the feeling of déjà-vu…

Anyway warp back outside and follow the mountain range to your right and enter the village of Zosa. There are some very interesting weapons in the weapon shop: a flame sword for Chaz (fire-elemental, cast Flaeli when used) and 2 thunder claws for Rika (lightning-elemental, casts individual Tandle), which will be useful against robots. The armor shop has a phantarobe, a good physical protection for Rune (don’t mind Raja). Get back out and go to the right, up when you see a lake above you and through ice walls to Dezolis’ Climate Control Center. Right when you enter you will fight Gy-Laguiah. He is now a joke, especially since Rune has Giwat, and maybe even Nawat. Just dispose of him (it took me 4 rounds during my speedrun) and walk straight. Before taking the elevator go above it and, the left and down to get a pulse Vulcan for Wren. It’s an attack-all weapon so it’s weaker than his regular guns. Go back to the elevator, take it and walk down/left to an elevator for a compo gear for Wren. Go back down and keep walking left to get 5000 mesetas. Go back down and walk as far right as you can to take the elevator. Take the elevator immediately to your right and follow the path. When you see a junction head up/left to an elevator. Follow the dotted line to an elevator, and go down and left to get compo armor for Wren. Go back to the elevator and walk around it to get a “boss” fight. I put it in brackets because it’s even easier than the sorcerer. What more it’s weak to instant death too. Anyway after you kill it Wren will notice that nothing is wrong with the Climate Control and Raja will keep rambling about the Garuberk Tower…

Anyway warp back outside and jump inside your ice digger. Just make a C around the mountains just south of you and just go down and right. Skip the village you encounter (it’s nothing but zombies) and keep driving east, south of a small lake, and into Meese. Make sure you undress Raja. The armor store has reflect mails, which are high in magic defense. There is also reflect shield; buy it if you want the character you will get next to be a spell caster. However she uses slashers (attack-all) so it’s your decision. Walk to the first building on your right you encounter (where a person in orange is just standing) and go to the second floor, in the left-hand part of the building. Go to the second room and talk to the Esper there. Raja will then fall sick and a scene will ensue. After it go back outside the village and use a transport (whichever). Go just above the “lake line” and turn right above a forest of pines. Turn up when you encounter the next forest and right by the mountain range. Just follow the path to the forest of carnivorous trees. Escape right when you can since the trees will ALWAYS regenerate. Kyra will hear your story and suggest that you go to the Esper Mansion where Lutz, the head of the Espers (and the same as 2000 years ago), might know a way to get rid of the Garuberk Tower. Once you gain control warp back to Meese and jump in your ice digger. Destroy the ice walls on your right, going down. Drive to the right between two forests and start going up once you hit a mountain range. Destroy the ice and enter the Esper Mansion… the same one Rolf went into to meet Lutz, right next to the same crevice.

Talk to the guards to get inside. Walk straight to see a statue of Alis; people will also talk about a mighty sword (Elsydeon) that might be able to conquer darkness. Go back down to the exit and turn right, following the lower wall until you see an opening. Take it to loot the mansion: a laconia rod (individual Efess), 10,000 mesetas, Sol Dew (completely heals/resurrects a human) and reflect robe. Go back to the exit and keep walking by following the upper wall. Take the first opening you see and follow the right-hand wall until you see guards blocking an entrance. Talk to them and they will let you go through because of Rune… Go to the building in the middle and go down the stairs. Rune will tell a disappointed Kyra that Lutz passed away a long time ago. However his memory survived inside a little ball… which Rune is able to use. He then spills the beans: he is the fifth heir/descendant of Lutz and he chooses Chaz to fight THE fight against darkness. You see, the explosion of Palma 1000 years ago has broken a fragile balance that reigned in darkness to every 1000 years. Now, the source of all evil is likely to break free and it needs to be destroyed. But to do that you will need the Eclipse Torch from Gumbious Temple, the center of Dezolisian life.

6.          Saving Dezolis

Warp outside the Mansion and jump inside the ice digger. Break the ice walls and move as far left as you can, slightly passed the road back to Meese. You will see another wall of ice that you will break. Go up to a small mountain range, then left, then up to a small forest and left some more. Start by entering the town of Jut, just south of Gumbious. There, if you have the money, you can buy a Laconia sword for Chaz, a Laconia claw (just one) for Rika and, if you want her to attack, 2 Laconia slashers for Kyra. Once you’re done go outside and walk north to Gumbious. When you enter walk straight to a “statue” of a flame and talk to the Dezolisian there. Here will talk about the Corona Tower, where Alis obtained the Eclipse Torch 2000 years ago. Go back down the hall and go right to go down some stairs. The left-hand passage will have a Sol, Moon and Star Dew and also a trimate. Now go back up and left of the entrance to go up some stairs. Just follow the path, going up a yellow carpet to talk to a priest in black. As he refuses to give you the Eclipse Torch, it gets stolen! Three long-fingered priests (PS veterans know who they are) will invite the team to the Air Castle where it’s hidden. This is where Alis fought Lashiec 2000 years ago; it’s now in the asteroid belt left by the exploded Palma.

But before retrieving the torch there is a sidequest you need to complete. Drive straight west of Gumbious and go down once you hit trees. Break the ice and go left to enter the Weapon Center. It was a dungeon constructed by the Mother Brain, but now it’s harmless. Nevertheless, this place boasts some VERY interesting robotic enemies (thunder claw, wink wink). Arthropods and Wiredines, when only one of each is left, can combine to form a LifeDeleter, one of the most rewarding enemies in the whole game. You will easily be able to grind your levels to about 30 or 32. Take the first three elevators you encounter (you can’t get lost). Go straight up and right on a moving walkway. At the end go up and press C right before a small machine and go back down to take the right-hand moving walkway. Follow two more moving walkways and take the first elevator you see. Follow the path to get Wren’s second upgrade, Burst Rockets. It shoots fire-elemental attacks to all enemies. IF YOU COMBINE BURST ROCKET+FOI/FLAELI (IN THAT ORDER), YOU WILL CREATED SHOOTING STAR, AN EVEN STRONGER ATTACK-ALL, FIRE-BASED SPELL. Now go to the extreme left of the floor where you can from and take the elevator. Follow the dotted line to another elevator and take two successive moving platforms. Take the elevator to your right and follow the path to a plasma launcher for Wren – still keep the napalm shot as there are enemies weak to fire ahead. Go back on the moving platforms and go to the left to go down more moving platforms. Take the elevator, follow the path and get an elast-gear and armor for Wren. The central computer also has an unlimited supply of repair kits.

It’s now time to attack the Air Castle. Warp to Tyler and get to the spaceport. Enter it and select Air Castle. Walk straight two screens and turn right when you see the flickering 3 priests blocking your way. Take the opening and follow the path, going straight down to get 1000 mesetas. Get back to the main path to go outside. Walk straight to get back in, and keep walking straight. Follow the path to go upstairs, and follow that path to get back outside. Just keep walking down and to the right to get back in. Walk straight down to a room with 2000 mesetas. Go back up and to the left and go down to go back out once more. Walk right to the next entrance and just stay in the main path, circling the room where you first saw the flickering priests. At the end you will go back out, and be right back in by walking left. Walk straight up and take the stairs down. Go straight down and follow the path to get a swift helm. Go back upstairs and walk down to get 4000 mesetas. Now go outside, turning right to an opening and retrieve a genocy claw for Rika (chances of instant death when attacking). Go back outside and walk straight to go back in. Follow the path to go downstairs, follow the right-hand walk and walk outside to the castle’s central court. Walk right, and if you walk down you will be behind the flickering barrier with a healing panel. Now walk straight to get in the second part of the castle. Walk left when confronted with another “invisible” barrier and get in the next room. Follow the upper wall (where the “lava” is) and go up some stairs to go outside. Walk straight down to a flight of stairs and walk straight up to get 8000 mesetas. Go up the stairs you ignored and follow the lower wall until you can go up. Do so, go down the stairs and walk down to get a sol dew. Go back up, take the stairs to the right, go outside and walk left to get back inside. You will fight the Eclipse Torch thieves

Boss fight: Xe-a-Thoul *3

They are individually relatively easy with only 1500 hit points. However, should you do an attack-all technique when the three are still standing they will make a very strong attack-all spell. So the trick is to take one down and take care of the others with attack-all techniques. They are weak to ice (you can cast blizzard once one is down) and holy spells (I nearly hit 600 damage with the rollover glitch) and weapons – the silver tusk WILL give you an incredible edge. Don’t forget to cast Saner and Barrier as they do both magical and physical attacks (Wren is VERY weak towards them). Don’t worry if Kyra dies.

Once they are taken care of cast Hinas to warp back to the entrance. Walk straight, always straight until you pass the second stand of the “invisible” barrier. Go down the stairs go get in the depths of the Air Castle. Many claim that this part of the dungeon is the exact same layout as Lassic’s Castle in PS I. Anyway walk straight down and go up when you can to go down one floor. Now go up and follow the path to go downstairs once more. Go down, left and follow that corridor to get a moon dew. Go back and take the right-hand corridor to go downstairs. Walk down, and right/up to go to the lowest floor of the dungeon. Just follow the path (taking the star dew in your way) and go upstairs. On that floor take the left path to go upstairs, go down and up the first corridor to go upstairs again and circle around the right-hand wall to go upstairs some more. Go down, left and up to an opening and follow the path until you are surrounded by “lava”. Open the chest to get a short fight a Spector, after which you will fight Lashiec.

Boss fight: Lashiec

Even though he’s alone he’s going to be very tough. Every odd round he cast possession (to induce sleep; Wren is immune), and he either casts another gate (magic-based) or thunder albert (his spell in PS I, which is physical-base) all other times. He is weak to fire (yay for shooting star and firestorm) and holy spells (like rayblade, efess, nathu) and weapons. Don’t forget to cast defensive spells at first. If you are between levels 30 and 35, it shouldn’t be too hard. Note that his reinforce (which he casts after losing about 5000 hit points) will boost ALL his statistics. Fortunately you can cancel it by using the psycho wand. Once again Kyra’s death is not important.

Once he’s dead there will be a scene where the Air Castle explodes. You will go back to Gumbious, where the priest will allow you to use the Eclipse Torch. So go back to the forest of carnivorous trees (which you will destroy with the torch) and enter Garuberk Tower. Follow the left-hand wall until you see a weird-looking door. It functions as an elevator throughout the dungeon. Press C to open it and circle around the block where you are. Press C when you see an eyeball and walk back to the right (a new way has opened). Once you hit a wall circle it by moving towards the right. Before taking the “elevator” go to the far right to get a power shield (can cast Shift, but it’s mostly for money). Take the elevator, go down and right when you can and following the lower wall. Walk straight down when you see an elevator and walk down and right instead. Take that elevator and walk down (slightly to the left) to get a moon slasher (for Kyra or money, your choice. Can be used to do Moonshad, which induces sleep). It’s the best slasher in the game, and if Kyra has it equipped when she quits the tea, it’s gone forever. Go back to the elevator and take the one you skipped. Go right and up, and turn left when you can to get a star dew. Follow the upper wall, and after quite a walk you will take an elevator. Go to the right and down to get a moon dew. Go back up and walk to the northwest to take another elevator. In this room follow the upper wall until there’s an opening above you; then keep walking straight to follow that upper wall. Take the second elevator you see (right above the first one) and hit another eyeball by walking down. Now take the elevator you skipped, walk left and follow the path to another elevator. Move shortly to the left to another elevator, where you will go left and down to get a star dew. Now go back up and face a new boss. Since she’s leaving right after, undress Kyra to your like to sell her equipment.

Boss fight: Dark Force

This version is much stronger than the preceding one. Like Lashiec it can cast a sleep-inducing attack (evil eye) although its success rate is low. If not it casts light shower (attack-all) or shadow breath so make sure you cast barrier to resist it better. And like Lashiec it’s weak to holly magic and weapons. However, it seems weaker to ice than to fire. Just pummel it as hard as you can, keeping healthy and not worrying about Kyra dying. When it dies the Garuberk Tower will collapse and the snowstorm will have stopped. Kyra will leave the party and Gumbious will suddenly explode. Warp there and just walk straight up to the elder of the temple, who was alive 2000 years ago (did he use cryogenic hibernation?) He will say that the Profound Darkness, the source of all evil, is still there and that the Aero Prism will help guide the way to find what’s necessary to fight it.

7.          The Aero Prism

You will automatically fly to Motavia. On your arrival Demi will give you the hydrofoil (another transport Alis used, and it moves twice as fast as other vehicles) so you can go to the Soldier’s Temple right next to Krup. You can also do the rest of the Hunter Guild Missions beforehand (some of them will be impossible once you get the Elsydeon, so do them now). But before that, note that Meese has a new store opened. There you can buy all flavors of dews, but for a price. And although Reshel has been restored and sells Laconia armors, don’t buy them since you will get better armors very soon.

The first one is Dying Boy. To get to his village of Torinco, warp to Piata, use the hydrofoil and go straight down. Turn left under a small mountain range on your left, passing by a village you don’t need to visit (Uzo) and just go straight to the left, and go up once you hit mountains and you will be in Torinco. The house of the boy is four levels up in the village. Once you talk to the father and the boy (with the Alis Sword from Termi in hand), warp back to Aiedo to get your 10k mesetas.

The second quest is Man with a twist. Just warp back to Torinco and enter the house on the second level. Talk to Sekras and go outside to follow the coast line to the east to a cave. All you need to do is walk straight to the back of the cave, going slightly to the right first, going up stairs, and always following the lower wall. Fun fact: the enemies you find here are the same birds you first fight in PS III. You will fight the “head honcho” at the back of the cave. It’s weak to fire so attack accordingly. Don’t forget to heal when it uses the earthquake attack as it attacks everyone. When you defeat it Sekras will come to stop you from finishing the bird. Go back to the Guild where you won’t get any money… but hey you got more experience!

The last quest that’s worth your while is Silver Soldier (Stain in Life won’t give you net money). Warp to Zema and fight three Servants (they should be easy). Enter the old man’s house right north of the inn. Once you’re done warp to Nayla and jump in the hydrofoil. Just drive/float due east until you hit an island with a new dungeon, Vahal Fortress. This place has pre-assembled LifeDeleters so you can easily grind your level to 40. You can also fight sandworms in the vicinity of Termi (if you walk) but they are much tougher. Go up and follow the upper wall to your left. Once you see an elevator shaft stay behind it and to right and down to get Wren’s best weapon, the photon eraser. Go back to the elevator and walk straight down to get a laconia gear for Wren. Go back straight up and take the left-hand path to get Wren a laconia armor. Go back to the intersection and keep going straight until you hit an elevator. Once out walk straight to the left to hit a switch (similar to Weapon Plant on Dezolis) and take two consecutive moving walkways. Take the first elevator you see to get Wren’s last upgrade, the positron bolt. Go back and hit the switch if the upper walkway doesn’t bring you up. Walk to the far left, talking a moving walkway and an elevator. Just follow the path and you will learn that Vahal Fortress was another creation of the Mother Brain meant to control AI not under its control (Daughter), although it was only a prototype. The fight that will ensue can’t even be considered “boss” since you met the Dominators earlier. They can fall to CIRCUIT BREAKER (HYPER-JAMMER + TANDLE) in no time. Warp back to Aiedo (after talking to the old man) to claim you 80k mesetas.

When you’re ready just warp to Krup and use the hydrofoil to go right like 6 spaces. Before you enter Seth will join your team. He comes with a vast array of… unusual skills like Death and Corrosion. Once in follow the left-hand wall and take the first stairs you see. You will get a sol dew. Go back down and now follow the lower wall to the right until a platform that will eventually lead you upstairs. Walk to the far right to get a moon dew and then walk down a corridor you passed. Go left and follow the path to a star dew. Go back to the right, following the lower wall and you will eventually go upstairs. Just walk right and up to exit – you are outside so you can cast Ryuka. Enter the Soldier’s Temple and retrieve the aero-prism. Go back outside (making sure to undress Seth and giving his cyber suit to whoever between Chaz and Rika needs more attack) and get ready for another boss fight.

Boss fight: Dark Force

Yes, Dark Force again. And this time you will need Deban as it possesses a strong physical attack. It also has shadowbind (decrease agility), corrosion and mindblast (induces sleep). If you grinded your level to 40 it’s going to be a breeze since RUNE AND CHAZ CAN JOIN FORCES WITH EFESS AND CROSSCUT TO DO GRAND CROSS a few times. Rune also acquires Legeon at level 35, another strong spell against creatures of evil.

8.          The Protectors of Algol

After the fight Rune will panic and urge that the team goes to Rykros, which stands at the end of the light from the prism. Just warp to the spaceport and choose Rykros (even though you don’t see it). After a moment a planet will appear… Rykros. You will walk automatically to the center of a room where LeRoof will welcome you as the Protectors. He will say that Rykros appears in Algol only once every 1000 years in order to remind people about the coming of Dark Forces. However, before giving you the mission he wants you to explore the Tower of Courage and the Tower of Strength and retrieve objects showing that you conquered them. The universe image will them convert back and you will get a healing panel! Before exiting explore the “Silence Temple” (that’s how it’s identified as when you want to warp back). Once outside LeRoof’s room, circle the room to get a guard shield (keep it for Hahn if you choose him later, otherwise sell it), a guard sword and a few other goodies.

Now walk outside and jump inside the hydrofoil to move faster – monsters are the same either way. Go left until you hit purple crystals, then up to yellow crystals, left and follow that wall to the Tower of Strength (in red). The dungeon is fairly small and the monsters, fierce. But they are all evil-based so your holy weaponry and spells will destroy them in an instant. Walk straight and turn left before the stairs to get a moon dew. Go back to the stairs you skipped and take them, taking the other staircase you see right away. Until you hit a deadend by ascending you will get a guard rod (money) and a guard claw for Rika. Go back down (on the second floor) and go down/right to get another guard claw. Although it’s stronger than the silver tusk it doesn’t have the same holy properties so don’t forget to change it before a boss fight. Go up to a staircase (there is a moon dew above the stairs), following the right-hand wall to more stairs, and then taking the stairs you see below you. You will fight the boss of the tower.

Boss fight: De-Vars

As this is the Tower of Strength, De-Vars will never use any magic so forgo Barrier. Should you attack it with anything else than regular physical attacks it will attack with attack-all strike disrupt arm. But with all your weapons (and Rune serving as a punching bag) you shouldn’t have too much difficulty. After the fight you will be given Palma ring (for Wren), Mota ring (for Rika) and Dezo ring (for Rune, but it decreases his magic power). From the Silence Temple (you will want to recover a little) simply go right and follow that wall down to the Tower of Courage (in purple). Turn left when you enter to get a star dew. Go back in the middle, turn left, right and go down to go upstairs. Circle the wall you are in to get a star dew, go left circle another wall until you go upstairs. It’s a dead end like the Tower of Strength but you will eventually get Guard Mail and Guard Armor. Go back down on the second floor and take the stairs you missed. Go to the right to get a guard robe, come back to the stairs and just follow the path up to go upstairs some more. The next floor is as straightforward; the stairs at the end lead you to the next boss.

Boss fight: Sa-Lews

The Tower of Courage is one of magic (no need for Deban), so if you use regular physical attack you will be countered by Legeon. However regular skills (even crosscut/double slash) will just make it cast Hewn, Tandle or Flaeli. Note that it’s immune to fire so use Nawat instead. After the fight you will be given Algo ring (for Chaz) and Rykr ring. Now warp back to the Silence Temple and walk to LeRoof to see the story of Algol. When you gain control go to Dezolis and warp to the Esper Mansion (if you want to complete the Hunter Guild’s missions this is your last chance). Make your way to Lutz’ room (where Rune made his big revelation) and Chaz will have to walk alone in the Elsydeon Cave. It’s very short and doesn’t have any treasures. Experience you acquire here will be acquired by everyone. And should your health decline too much Rune can heal you. Just follow the right-hand wall, which will you bring down some stairs and eventually downstairs. On that floor just walk straight and press C in front of the statue to get Elsydeon, the ultimate sword of the game that carries the memories of those who fought Dark Forces in the past (you will see images of PS I and II).

9.          The Final battle

After the scene warp back to the spaceport. Kyra and Raja will accompany you. Once back on Motavia everyone else will want to join you but you can only choose one person. Who will it be?

·         Raja: it’s going to be a joke. Not only can he restore your technic points (Ataraxia) but he has so many TP of his own that you might not even need your dews to restore yourself. Finally, HE CAN COMBINE HIS HOLYWORD WITH RUNE’S EFESS TO CAST PURIFYING LIGHT, which kills all evil-based enemies on the screen (i.e. pretty much everything inside the last dungeon)

·         Demi: it’s still going to be easy. Although weak her medical power can still resurrect humanoids. Her attack is decent and she has plenty of skills to restore her health. Just bring enough repair kits.

·         Kyra: she has decent tp but limited attack spells useful against the final boss. However she can combine GRA SPELLS WITH RUNE’S NEGATIS TO CREATE BLACK HOLE, an instant-death spell to all enemies. She also acquires Tandle and can do circuit breaker if you wish to destroy machinery

·         Hahn: you can do the most combination spells with him. Combining WAT SPELLS AND TANDLE (IN THAT ORDER) GIVES CONDUCT THUNDER, with electrocutes everyone. Combine SAVOL AND DIEM AND CREATE HOLOCAUST, an instant death spell to every enemy. Finally he can combine his ASTRAL TO CHAZ’ RAYBLADE TO DO PALADIN BLOW, a strong attack against enemies of darkness. He comes with enough tp (but no heal-all spells), and his Mahlay Dagger can cast Nafoi.

·         Gryz: he’s a pure attacker with no useful assist-all skills or spells. In addition he can’t participate in any combination attacks. I don’t really recommend him.

Note that you can change the final character at will and even undress them.

Anyway before fighting the final boss there is still something to do on Rykros. From the Tower of Courage follow the lower wall to the end. You will reach the Tower of Anger, which you can only enter with the Elsydeon in hand. Walk straight and to the right, going up some stairs, and walk up to get another guard mail. Walk back down, going to the left and taking the stairs (the chest contains a sol dew). Just follow the right-hand wall to go upstairs and see… Alys? Talk to her and fight her with all you’ve got.  After the fight Re-Faze will appear. Say no to his question and you will acquire Megid, one of the strongest spells around. If you answer yes you will have to fight Re-Faze, but even if you manage to defeat it you won’t get Megid… With that spell in hand you can create the ultimate combo. By doing DEBAN, MEGID, LEGEON AND POSITRON BOLT (IN THAT ORDER) YOU WILL CAST DESTRUCTION, which causes 999 damage to all enemies. It's useless against Profound Darkness - Grand Cross can do over 700 damage - but it makes for a nice ending.

After that adventure you are ready to get inside the Edge, the final dungeon of the game which is just south of Miles. If you still need grinding, note that you can fight Prophallus in the “orange” background. This is simply Dark Falz (from PS I) and it has the same “laser mouth” attack to one teammate. Anyway follow the glowing floor to a teleport tile, and on that floor follow the upper edge to the next teleport tile. Follow the path down to teleport, follow the lower edge to teleport again and follow the left edge to teleport again (where the orange background is). You now just have to follow the path until you find the Profound Darkness, the root of all evil in Algol.

Cast all the stats-boosting spells you need against the first form, the easiest one. It merely casts single-target spells like fire breath, shadow breath and ray breath. Hold on your strongest attacks for now since there are two more forms to come. With Elsydeon and the silver tusk regular attacks do just fine for now. The second form gets tougher although it still has under 5000 hp like the first one. It has a strong individual attack, along with attack-all skills like distortion, another gate and light showers. Still hold your strongest attacks since you will need them against the last and, er, busty form of evil. Now is time to unleash the full force of your attacks. Don’t hold anything back unless you need to heal/resurrect. Don’t bother buffing up again if you have Canceling as it tends to cast it often. However you will likely need to heal when it casts Megid – its very first attack is always Megid. Finally it also casts evil eyes to induce sleep.