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 at the end. 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 doesn't just have the ability to submerge itself beneath the sand; 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 over old times. Remember that 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 section 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 outcasts and liars and you will be attacked on the streets and inside 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's 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 as bait will allow the party to get onboard 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 see 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 as part of the play. 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 is in the forest to the east of Tzen and another can be found 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's layout 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-side 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 vulnerable to. His Muddle attacks can make the battle very unpredictable, but allies can be 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 follow 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. 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.
The door to the Esper world lies in the eastern mountains of the Imperial continent. The only way to reach it is through the Imperial Base near the bridge. You may have visited this place before, but now it stands strangely empty. A storage room full of treasure is behind a locked door but you won't be able to reach it for now.
Many enemies in these lava-filled caverns will be healed by fire, so make sure to unequip any fire-based weapons and use ice magic against them. At the shifting bridges, watch for the tiles that don't change between the 2 different modes and stand on them to progress. In the next cavern, hidden switches and pitfalls will alter your path. At the bridge, pressing the switch will cause you to fall below but will also open the way to the Genji Glove relic in the chest to the west. At the two switches, pressing the one on the left opens a door to a save point while the right one triggers a trap that drops a thieving ninja on you.
The next bridge switch will open a stairway below. The next two floor switches you see will simply break the nearby platforms if stepped on. To the south and west, you will find a single floor switch on an elevated area. Stepping on it will reveal a door leading to treasure, including the powerful Atma Weapon. This sword will grow more powerful depending on its wielder, doing more damage with more HP that you have. The next two wall switches will shift platforms around so you can finally reach the chest that was blocked off earlier. Opening it will reveal another switch. Just ahead to the east you will reach the Sealed Gate.
Terra attempts to open it and once again Kefka shows up. Keeping him busy isn't much of a challenge and soon Espers fly out of the opened gate, ending your fight. With the gate sealed once more, exit through the newly-opened shortcut nearby. While passing though the Imperial Base, you will be greeted by your party and learn that the Espers attacked Vector. While heading there in the airship, the enraged Espers also attack you, forcing a crash-landing near Maranda.
Reaching Vector is a long journey without an airship, but you can rent a chocobo from the hidden stables in the forest southeast of Maranda.
At Vector, the entire city will be aflame. When you reach the Imperial Castle, it appears the Emperor has lost his will to fight. His hope is that Terra become the bridge between human and Esper and it's decided that a banquet will be held to celebrate your new alliance. Before then, you are tasked with speaking to as many soldiers in the castle as possible within 4 minutes. This is important, as each soldier you talk to will reward 1 point in the upcoming event that will unlock many powerful items depending on your performance. However, some soldiers prefer to fight. Defeating them in battle will reward a total of 6 points (5 for winning the fight and 1 for talking). Make sure you have the Sprint Shoes relic equipped before starting. Don't bother with any treasure chests just yet and don't talk to Kefka in his cell, as entertaining and long-winded as he is.
At the banquet, your answers to the Emperor's questions will further determine your performance:
Toast: The the Empire [2] To the Returners [1] To our hometowns [5] Kefka's Crimes Leave him in jail [5] Pardon him [1] Execute him [3] Poisoning of Doma What's done is done [1] That was inexcusable [5] Apologize again!! [3] About Celes Was she an Imperial spy? [1] Celes is one of us! [5] We trust Celes! [3] More Questions Three questions [2 each] Same question [-10 each] About the Espers Yes, the Espers have gone too far [5] But you unleashed their power [2] Which question did you ask first? If correct [5] Gestahl's Word That all you really want is peace. [3] That your war's truly over. [5] That you're sorry... [1] Will you accompany me? Yes [3]
Make note of which of the questions you chose first when Gestahl inquires if there is anything you would like to ask him. This will come up again shortly.
After the 7th question, Cid will ask if you want to rest. Choose yes and make sure your party is healed. Talk to Emperor Gestahl's guards and they will want to test your strength. Defeating them before time is up rewards another 5 points.
After the banquet, it's decided that Locke will join Terra on the journey ahead while everyone else remains behind. As you are leaving the Imperial Castle, an attendant will give you your reward:
Rewards
0-49: Imperial troops withdrawn from South Figaro
50-66: Imperial troops withdrawn from Doma
67-76: Open locked door at the Imperial Base
77-89: Tintinabar
90-93: Charm Bangle
In Albrook, go to the dock and you will meet General Leo preparing for the voyage. You will soon be joined by two familiar faces: Celes and Shadow. After resting at the inn, revisit the dock and you will depart for the Crescent Island.
A strange town called Thamasa lies to the northeast of your landing spot. After walking around a bit, you can tall there's definitely something strange about this place. In the house near the center of town, you can find Strago. Despite being interrupted by his granddaughter, Relm, he assures you they don't know anything about Espers. Take a rest at the inn and Strago will wake you in the middle of the night, pleading for you to help save Relm from the burning house.
Despite the villagers' best attempts to extinguish the flames with magic, you will have to brave the fire and find Relm yourselves. Touching any of the roaming flames will take you straight into a battle. Strago's Aqua Rake can make quick work of these fire-based enemies but you may want to conserve MP for the fights ahead. At the first pair of doors, take the right one as the left side leads to more unending flames. Taking the right-side door in the next two rooms will lead to chests with a Fire Rod and an Ice Rod.
FlameEater awaits at the source of the blaze. Use Strago's Aqua Rake to clear the Balloons then hit FlameEater with ice magic and regular attacks, especially if you have ice element weapons. Balloons will regularly regenerate, so Strago should be used again to take them out.
In the morning, Strago spills the beans about the town's secret and tells you about a mountain cave to the west that the Espers may have been drawn to.
As you explore, you may see a not-so-shadowy figure trailing you. From the 4-way intersection that you start at, taking the right cave will lead you through a central area and straight to the Goddess Statues. As you leave to continue the search for the Espers, Ultros drops in on you once again. He's not much more dangerous than he was last time but watch out for his multi-target Tentacle attack. Eventually, Relm will interrupt the battle. When she joins, use her Sketch ability on Ultros to really break his spirit.
Taking the upper left exit from the statues will lead you to a room with 3 pits. Each one of these will drop you down to a different point in the central area below. The top pit and the right pit will lead you to treasure chests, while the lowest one will bring you to the end of the cave. Each time you drop down, you will need to jump down from the ledges and trek back through the statue room if you want to use the pits again. In the deepest chamber of the cave, you will finally find the Espers.
Back in Thamasa, everything looks like it's about to conclude peacefully until Kefka shows up with Magitek troops. It seems you've been suckered into his plan to acquire more Magicite. He quickly incapacitates your party and then through his usual trickery, dispatches General Leo. When you come to, he is long gone but Setzer and the others have arrived to join you after Edgar managed to uncover their plan. As you lift off in the airship, the entire mountain continent containing the Sealed Gate lifts up into the air.
Be aware that confronting the challenges on the Floating Continent will bring about some drastic changes to the world as you know it. Before using the airship controls to go there, there's some other things you may want to take care of first.
If you haven't already, loot the treasure room in the Imperial Base for some nice items. If Imperial troops were withdrawn from Doma, you can find items there too. You can also visit the Auction House in Jidoor to win the Golem and ZoneSeek Magicite. ZoneSeek especially will come in handy for the battles ahead. In Tzen, the man in the upper-right trees will sell you the Seraphim Magicite.
As you approach, you will be attacked by the Imperial Air Force. They hit hard, but you have the opportunity to heal in between battles. Soon, a familiar face approaches the airship from the rear. Ultros is joined by a new ally, Mr. Chupon. Like usual, he can hit everyone with the Tentacle attack but this can easily be countered with a party-wide Cure 2. Eventually, Chupon will sneeze and send everyone overboard to be attacked by the real boss.
Air Force is aided by its components Laser Gun and MissileBay. Air Force will begin counting down and then uses Wave Cannon against the entire party. MissileBay can inflict sap with its attacks and also use Launcher to bring everyone into low HP. Laser Gun is able to alternate between strong single target magic attacks and party-wide attacks. If both of these components are defeated, Air Force will launch the Speck, which will absorb all magic attacks until it is destroyed. ZoneSeek can give you an edge in defending against all magic attacks, including Wave Cannon. Kirin can also grant everyone regen for added healing. All 3 enemies are weak to Lightning and Water. Defeating the components first can give you a lot more control over this battle instead of trying to rush Air Force down right away.
The Floating Continent has the toughest enemies you have faced so far. You will find Shadow near your landing spot, and he will join your party once again. Many paths seem to be blocked, but upon investigating them, the way will be opened. Stepping onto the strange hills will warp you to a different spot on the island. Beware the second "chest," as it is trapped with Gigantos, who will make quick work of an unprepared party. You can use Phantom to mitigate his attacks or change rows to make them more survivable. After the first warp, you will find a floor switch that will open a long path leading to another warp.
At the warp intersection, the right one leads to an immediate dead end. The other leads to floor switches that open a path forward through the south part of the island, and a shortcut leading there. Another floor switch opens a warp hill but before taking it, you can go south to find a chamber where you can save and rest. As you near the statues, you will see the airship below, allowing you to leave the Floating Continent to re-supply if needed. The downside is that you will need to start again from the beginning when you return.
Atma Weapon stands between you and the Statues. Its attacks will get more dangerous as its HP lowers. You can diminish its magic attacks with ZoneSeek and completely negate Quake with Float. You can also use Osmose to drain its MP so it can't use magical attacks at all during the final phase. If Locke is along, he can steal the Ribbon.
You will have 6 minutes to make it to the eastern edge of the doomed continent. Don't forget to equip Celes if she just joined. The land will break up around you as you go, sometimes forcing you to take another path. You can't run from enemies here so take them out as quickly as possible. At the end, you will encounter Nerapa. She's not that strong but don't use magic, as her Reflect will bounce it right back at you. When you reach the edge, continue waiting for Shadow, even after you prompt the second message. If you don't wait for him here, you will NEVER see him again. At the very last moment with seconds to spare, he will show up and you will jump to the airship together.
To Be Continued!