Final Fantasy III - Guide
Back in Narshe, you must prepare a defense against Kefka and the invading Imperial forces who are after the frozen Esper. You may make a total of 3 different parties but you may want to make one party a 4 person group in order to take down Kefka. It can be tough trying to intercept all of the Imperial forces as they advance so block off the other paths with your alternate parties while you take out as many as you can with your main party. Remember to switch between your parties occasionally to keep an eye on the rear; if they reach Banon it's game over.
Kefka's personal guard patrols back and forth and can be avoided if you are fast enough. If you must fight him, keep a very close eye on your health as his attacks can be brutal. If you have a strong 4 person party you should be able to overwhelm him before he can hurt you much. Kefka isn't very strong but he is no push over either. He will attack with ice magic so if you have Celes, use her Runic ability to nullify it. After being defeated, Kefka flees like usual.
At the frozen Esper, Terra has an unexpected reaction to it and in a flash, she transforms into a shining creature and flies off. Seen flying over the mountains, Edgar has an idea as to how they can make it there. Figaro castle can not only submerge itself under the sands, it can travel under it as well. When you form your party, you should include Edgar and Sabin along with Locke and Celes. When you go into Figaro Castle, Sabin will take off to look around. If you rest in the castle, Edgar and Sabin will look back to old times. Remember you can use Edgar's special discount with the merchants at Figaro Castle if you need to stock up.
When you are ready, talk to the engine operator in the south western part of the castle and he will bring the entire castle to the desert just outside of Kohlingen. In Kohlingen, the villagers tell you about a glowing creature who flew off south towards Jidoor. This is also the town where Locke lost his love, Rachel. If you look around, he will tell the party about her. You can find Shadow having a drink at the inn but he isn't interested in joining you. When you are ready, leave south for the town of Jidoor.
Passing through the town of Jidoor, the townspeople will tell you about a town built by thieves to the north called Zozo. One of the villagers saw a glowing creature fly north so buy some new equipment and travel north to Zozo. Zozo is a dangerous town filled with thieves and liars and you will be attacked in the streets and buildings. In the house to the northeast, you will find a broken clock that you can set. If you can piece together the clues around town by talking to the lying thieves, you will find the correct time to set the clock to is 6 hours, 10 minutes, 50 seconds. With the clock set, a passage opens to a powerful tool for Edgar - the Chainsaw. The southernmost building will lead you into a tall tower. When you reach an apparent dead end, you can jump across to the next tower just like the guy above is doing.
Near the top of the tower, you will run into Dadaluma who is blocking the way up. During the fight, he will call on his friends to join in and will start using potions on himself when he is getting hurt. Edgar's chainsaw will be a big help and with Sabin's blitzes you should make short work out of Dadaluma. Up in the room above, you will finally find Terra and Ramuh, who has been looking over her. Talking to him, you will learn how the Empire is draining Espers of their power in order to make Magitek weapons. The party decides they need to stop the Empire and Ramuh gives you the power of himself and his friends. Espers allow characters to learn their magic slowly while they are equipped and also allow you to use a powerful Esper attack once per battle. Each Esper also gives you an extra bonus every time you gain a level if it is equipped.
Leaving Terra behind for now, the party decides to head for Jidoor to find a way to make it to the Empire. In Jidoor, you will run into a man called Impresario in the mansion to the north. He tells Celes he looks just like Maria, the opera singer. As he leaves, he drops a letter and reading it tells you of a man named Setzer who declares he is coming to take Maria away. You find out Setzer is the owner of the only airship in the world - a great way to make it over to the Empire. Having Celes stand in for Maria will allow the party to get on Setzer's airship when he shows up.
The Opera House is to the south from Jidoor and when you arrive, the party convinces Impresario to let Celes stand in for Maria so Setzer won't kidnap his star. Ultros shows up as everyone leaves to get ready for the show so you know some more trouble is brewing. As Locke, go down to check on Celes and make sure you read the script so you know what to do. When you are ready, leave the dressing room and get ready for your debut opera performance. The correct lines to choose are:
(Oh my hero...)
(I'm in the darkness)
(Must I...)
After you sing the correct lines, follow Draco's lead and when he leaves the flowers behind, quickly go up the stairs and throw them off the balcony to the left. Back in the dressing room, you can find the letter Ultros left behind. Return to Impresario and the others in the balcony and you will find Ultros poised above the stage ready to crash the play.
You have 5 minutes to reach him before he can manage to push the giant weight down. Go to the door to the upper right and pull the switch furthest to the right. This will unlock the the upper left door back in the balcony area. Through that door, you will find yourself in the rafters above the stage. To quickly make your way past the hostile critters up there, use a Smoke Bomb or Warp Stone to get out of the battle. If you have to fight, you may want to use attacks that can hit all enemies at once like Edgar's autocrossbow or Sabin's Fire Dance.
Once you reach Ultros, everyone takes a tumble to the stage below. Locke improvises and you end up fighting Ultros right on the stage. Ultros will sometimes use an Imp spell to cause the Imp status on your party members. He can also deal a surprising amount of damage so make sure to keep everyone healthy. Sabin's Blitzes and Edgar's chainsaw should put an end to Ultros before he wears you down. With Ultros defeated, Setzer makes a dramatic entrance to claim his prize. Aboard the airship, Setzer finds out Celes isn't Maria but is willing to make a bet for the use of his airship.
After you travel to the Imperial continent, the airship will be grounded outside of the town of Albrook. Albrook is under Imperial occupation but you can buy new equipment there from the stores. Besides the Imperial capital of Vector in the middle of the continent, there is the city of Tzen to the north and Maranda to the west. There is also a base by the bridge to the east but there isn't anything you can do there. To aid in your travels, there are hidden Chocobo stables - one the forest to the east of Tzen and another in the forest southeast of Maranda.
The Imperial city of Vector is located right in the middle of the continent. In Vector, you will see an old man next to the crates who will distract the guards so you can sneak into the Magitek factory. The Magitek factory can be confusing but there are valuable items to find so look around. Remember you can always find a way back if you unexpectedly get carried away to another area! To get straight to the Espers in the facility, take the left pipe of the 2 below the entrance, take the conveyor to the right then go down and take the conveyor to the left, then from there take the nearby conveyor right and you will see Kefka disposing of two drained Espers. Make sure you look around for items before you drop down! In the pit, the Espers Ifrit and Shiva will attack you. Ifrit is weak to ice so have Celes use Ice magic against him.
The two Espers realize you are friends and sacrifice themselves the same way Ramuh did by turning themselves into Magicite. You can save in the left side room before continuing on. Up the stairs, you will have to get past a powerful creature called 024. Infused with a variety of magic, his weakness keeps changing throughout the battle so use Scan magic to find out what he is weak against. His Muddle attacks can make the battle very unpredictable but allies can by snapped out of it by forcing a physical attack on them.
In the lab, press the switch up top to free the Espers and they too will give you their power. Cid, the magitek engineer will show up wondering what all the commotion is and Kefka will show up soon after. Celes uses her power so the rest of the party can get away and Cid leads you to a cart on rails leading out of the factory. You will have to fight enemies along the way and a powerful enemy called Number 128 at the end. You can attack his arms but they will regenerate after a few rounds. Concentrate on his body and use Locke to keep everyone healthy while Edgar and Sabin beat him down. You will be deposited right outside the factory where Setzer will meet you. As you depart in the airship, Kefka will unleash yet another boss on you. Concentrate on one crane at a time and make sure Locke keeps everyone healthy. Setzer's Slot attack can be very powerful if you can line up all 3 rows but he can help Locke heal if the party's health is dangerously low.
Back in Zozo, Terra's memory has returned and she will tell everyone about the Esper world. Leaving Zozo behind, you finally have control over the airship and can go anywhere you want. Meet with Banon back in Narshe and it's decided they will need the Espers' help in order to defeat the Empire and Terra may be able to convince them to join. Before you leave town, check out the house far to the right and you will find a thief named Lone Wolf inside. Chase him through town and into the mines and he will lead you all the way up to the frozen Esper. Holding Mog hostage, you will be forced to choose which one to save. Helping one up will cause the other to fall and you can get a Golden Hairpin from Lone Wolf and helping Mog will get him in your party. If you don't help Mog now, you won't see him again until much later.
To Be Continued!