321 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
321 lines
19 KiB
Plaintext
TGSSZ Walk-Through #1: Final Fantasy Legend
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There are few first-generation GameBoy games I can think of that can
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truly be said to have aged well. Tetris comes to mind, and maybe Super Mario
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Land . . . Revenge of the 'Gator (much better than Pinball Dreams) and
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Gargoyle's Quest (better than its NES sequel), perhaps. And Final Fantasy
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Legend.
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Even though it is almost as old as the GB itself, FFL is still one of
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the most popular RPGs for the system. It is also one of the best, surpassed in
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depth of play and replay value only by the rest of the GB FF series. In fact,
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FFL is, in some ways, superior to Final Fantasy, the NES game from which it was
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derived. Although I don't have specs to bounce around, FFL plays as if it is
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at least as large as FF--or, rather, the FFL universe seems equally vast. As
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well, there are more character-types to choose from (FFL's 8 vs. FF's 6) and
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more types of enemies to confront (FFL's 162 + 4 Arch-Fiends, Ashura, and the
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Creator vs. FF's 117 + the 4 Fiends and Chaos).
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To be fair, I should point out that FFL certainly has a few flaws: The
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inability to exert real control over the changes in Mutant abilities can be very
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frustrating; don't be surprised if a Mutant decides to evolve right when you've
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found a set of abilities you really like. As well, while the towns, worlds,
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and battle animations are impressive for a first-generation GB cart, the
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intermediate levels of the Tower get pretty tedious to wander through (when
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you finally have the chance to acquire the Door, it's a very welcome relief!).
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However, Square Soft corrected all of the flaws of FFL in its sequel, FFL2.
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What follows is a fairly in-depth walk-through of FFL. It contains a
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great deal of "spoiler" information, so first-time players should consider
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themselves warned! I have not provided play-control instruction, as the manual
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does that rather well. I have, though, gone into considerable detail in
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explaining the quest in the Base World for the benefit of anyone playing
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without a manual. It's easier to figure out the play-control (which is actually
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very intuitive) than to survive a premature trip to the Castle of Sword!
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I certainly hope FF newbies will find this useful, and I welcome
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additions and/or corrections from all you FF veterans!
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Enjoy!
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Setting up a Party
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For me, one of the biggest advantages of the Final Fantasy Legend series
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is the flexibility the games offer for creating parties; FFL3 lost some of that
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initial flexibility but made up for it in the expansion of the possibilities for
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character transformation. For a starting party in FFL, I recommend the second
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party-type provided in the manual: two Humans and two Mutants. In fact, I'll
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get even more specific: start out with two Human Males (HM1 and HM2 in the walk-
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through) and two Mutant Females (MF1 and MF2). When you've gotten used to the
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gameplay and the layout of the first world, you can start playing around with
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Monsters as party members; new FFL players might find Monsters, and maybe even
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Mutants, a bit frustrating.
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Money Can't Buy You Love
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But for Human characters, it does buy level advancement! In FFL,
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Humans do not collect experience points and automatically advance in level.
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You must buy Strength, Agility, and HP upgrades in order to develop your Human
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characters. Also, I have not found any way to raise the Mana of a Human
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character (except for the Game Genie!!!), so don't bother buying spells such as
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Ice, Elec, or Stone for Humans. Save your cash for HPs!
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Those Pesky Mutants
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As explained in the instruction manual, Mutants acquire spell-like
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magic abilities which change as the characters advance in level. What the
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manual doesn't say is that you have very little control over how these abilities
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evolve. There are, though, some principles to bear in mind:
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1. The more you use the abilities, the more likely they are to change.
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This is kind of a "catch-22" in that if you don't use the abilities,
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they will not improve or strengthen; however, it seems that as soon as
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your Mutant gets a set of abilities you like to use, they change.
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2. The manual says that once Mutants reach a certain level, they
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can no longer use store-bought items. This is simply not true.
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Mutants always have the option to use armor, weapons, and other items;
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however, the more you use store-bought weapons, the less-likely your
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Mutant abilities are to develop and change. In fact, if you use
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weapons too often, some of your mutant abilities will spontaneously
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"fizzle out"--they will still be on your Abilities menu, but the
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number of uses will drop to 0 until you visit an Inn.
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3. Mutants are the only characters who can get the most use out of the
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P-Knife, P-Sword, and Vampic ("vampiric") Sword. The P-Knife and
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P-Sword do damage as a function of the weilder's Mana; Humans don't
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have any, so they should not use these weapons. The Vampic Sword does
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damage by absorbing HP from the enemy struck by the sword; these HP
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are added to the weilder's HP, but only if the weilder's HP are not at
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the weilder's current maximum. If the weilder's HP are at maximum, the
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sword will absorb HP from the enemy but will not pass the HP to the
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weilder. The absorption power of the Vampic Sword may be linked to
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Mana, since it seems to always absorb 0 HP when weilded by a Human.
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Monsters: They are What They Eat
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As the manual explains, Monsters advance in level/abilities by eating
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the Meat of other Monsters; most of the time, this will cause the Monster to
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transform into another type of monster, but sometimes all that will happen is
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a recharge of HP and abilities. The _Nintendo GameBoy Players Guide_ includes
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a comprehensive "Transformation Table" which will indicate what any given
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monster-type will change to when it eats any given type of monster meat. The
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only problem is that the table is not completely correct. I have used the
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table to try to direct quite a few transformations, only to have something
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completely different result. Your best bet is to compile your own table by
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keeping track of the changes your Monsters undergo. Bear in mind that the
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transformations are not always upgrades! It's very depressing to have a
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nice hefty Oni eat the wrong meat and end up a Fly. Bummer.
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World One: Continent
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Now that you've got your party sorted out, you're ready to start
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adventuring. Here's a quick outline of the places you need to go in the order
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in which you need to visit them. The map below provides a general idea of where
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each place is located on the overall world map. You will find that there are
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many obstacles to negotiate between the various locations; terrain will limit
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"straight-line" travel. Similar outlines and maps will be provided for each
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world. In the walk-through, directions will be given as single or paired
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letters--N for north, W for west, SE for southeast, etc.
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1. The Tower: Base Town
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2. Hero
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3. The Castle of Shield
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4. The Castle of Armor
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5. South Town
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6. Bandit's Lair
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7. The Castle of Armor
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8. The Castle of Sword
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9. The Castle of Shield
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10. Hero
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11. Base Town
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* *
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* *
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* T:1,11 *
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* 4,7 *
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* *
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* *
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* *
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* *
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* 2,10 3,9 *
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* *
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* *
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* *
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* 8 *
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* 5 *
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* *
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* *
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* 6 *
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* *
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* *
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* *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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1. The Tower: Base Town
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Once you have organized your party, head out into the great wide-open
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and do some exploring. The Tower sits on an island surrounded by a moat-like
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river. I suggest staying on this island and fighting the monsters you encounter
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there until you accumulate at least 500 GP. This will take about fifteen or
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twenty battles, since you will only encounter single monsters worth 40 GP each,
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and you will need to return to the Inn rather often to replenish your HP.
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A note about using the Inns: You are charged GP for your stays at the
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Inns based on the amount of HP your party members need to regain. If your
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party members still have all their HP, staying at an Inn is free! Bear in mind
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that staying at an Inn replenishes your HP and recharges your Mutant abilities,
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so even though a stay costs no money, your Mutants can still benefit. You will
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find this a very useful thing when one or more of your Mutants gains the Cure
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ability; you can use the Mutant's ability to replenish your party's HP, then
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stay at an Inn for free to recharge the Cure!
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Once you've collected the cash, go to the Weapons/Armor shop and buy a
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suit of Gold Armor and a set of Gold Gauntlets. Equip your HM1 with the Gold
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Armor and Bronze Gauntlets; equip HM2 with the Gold Gauntlets. At this point,
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your FMs will not need armor as long as they stay in the back of the marching
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order. You're certainly free to wander the island long enough to equip your
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whole party with Gold Armor, but what I've suggested is a minimum requirement
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for a reasonable chance of survival.
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At this point in the game, you want to do as much fighting as you can
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while following this principle: Make money, don't spend it. The enemies on
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the island are, for the most part, easy to beat. You will face Goblins,
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Albatrosses, Lizards and Zombies, which I've just listed in order from easiest
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to hardest to beat. Because of the relative weakness of the enemies in the
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first world, don't waste your money on magic and magic items; you don't
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really need them yet.
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It's possible to rush through the first world fairly quickly, but I
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believe that the best style for RPGs like FFL is to move slowly and think
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carefully about how you equip and prepare your characters. More than likely,
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if you rush through the first world, you will get killed before you reach the
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third floor of the Tower. It gets really nasty really quickly in there.
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Remember to check the abilities of your Mutants after each battle. For
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their first few fights, use their Rapiers, but as soon as their mutant abilities
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begin to appear, use those abilities as much as possible! The more you use the
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abilities, the more rapid they will change and increase in power; as well, using
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the mutant abilities will cause increases in Mana, which will be useful when you
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start buying spells for the Mutants. With careful play, you can increase your
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MFs' Mana to 99 before you reach World Two!
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2. Hero
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If you followed the instructions above, you've armored your Humans,
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powered-up your mutants, and developed a feel for the battle techniques. You
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are now ready to leave the "sanctuary" of the Tower and have some serious
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adventures. Your first destination is the Town of Hero, which you will find
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to the SE of the tower island. Cross the bridge and immediately head S until
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you hit mountains; go W until the town appears. You now know the location of
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two Inns, so you can run around and kill things to gain GP and experience,
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safe in the knowledge that there are nearby places to which you can flee.
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A word of warning: For now, stay away from the little forest path to
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the SW of the tower island; it is a quick route to/from the Castle of Sword,
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and if you go there now your entire party will be killed.
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In Hero, you will learn the story of the naked statue and the items it
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formerly wore. You must retrieve the three items from the kings who have
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"borrowed" them in order to unlock the door at the base of the Tower. Start
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you quest with the Castle of Shield, in the forest directly E of Hero.
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3. The Castle of Shield
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The Castle of Shield is not a very hospitable place. If you try to talk
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to the guards, they'll throw you out, and if you avoid them and try to speak to
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the King and his Steward, they'll just be rude. You cannot get the shield at
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this point, so don't wear yourself out trying. Actually, you can skip both the
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Castle of Shield and the Castle of Armor and go directly to 5 and 6, but you
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won't be able to really appreciate the evolution of the story.
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4. The Castle of Armor
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The guards are more friendly here, but you still won't come out of your
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first visit with anything but information. See the King and he'll tell you of
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his sad romance with a young girl of South Town--which gives you a good reason
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to head south.
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5. South Town
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Here you will learn of Bandit, who lives in a cave to the SW of South
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Town. He has been using threats to prevent the girl from marrying the King of
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Armor. Hmmm . . . maybe you should go and smack him around. But before you do,
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here's some advice:
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Bandit may look like a Lizard, but he is actually one level up. He's
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a P-Frog (as in "poisonous frog") and can be a challenging opponent. His
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biggest threat is his poisonous skin; if he is struck with a handheld weapon,
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the poison will carry through the weapon and harm the wielder! The least
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expensive solution is to have all of your characters, or at least the HMs,
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purchase Bows; for much more cash, you can equip your MFs with spells like Ice
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or Elec (Electricity). The basic idea here is to use weapons that let you
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attack from a distance.
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6. Bandit Cave
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Here are directions for a quick trip through the cave: At the bottom
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of the stairs, go W, then follow the passages N, E all the way, then S; turn E,
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then take the stairs S. At the bottom of those stairs is a rather large cave;
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go W to the wall, then follow the wall S to a W turn; at the end of a very
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short passageway, you'll find a door. Go through the door and go W, then
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follow the passageway N to your confrontation with Bandit. Show no mercy.
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After defeating him, go back to through the door into the large cave.
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In the NE corner of the cave is a door which will remain locked until you
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defeat Bandit. Once he's dead, it will unlock, and you can raid the riches
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within. You will find these items in the chests: Potion, Strong, and a Bronze
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Shield. Return to South Town to freshen up at the Inn, then head back to the
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Castle of Armor.
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7. The Castle of Armor
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Having defeated Bandit, you've earned the eternal gratitude of the lusty
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King of Armor. Of course, he knows that gratitude can't be cashed in for GP, so
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he gives you the King Armor, as well his thanks.
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Now . . . here's your first big decision: What do you do with the
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Armor? Do you take it back to Hero and put it the statue? Or do you put it
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on yourself? C'mon . . . who's gonna know?
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Equip HM1 with the King Armor and equip HM2 with the Gold Armor from
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HM1. Hey, if the Kings could "borrow" this stuff, so can you.
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8. The Castle of Sword
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Although you're welcome to go and ask (and pick up some GP on the way),
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the King of Shield is still not ready to part with his Shield, so your next
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destination is the Castle of Sword. However, this is a very dangerous place;
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the monsters therein are the most powerful in the first world, and they attack
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in groups. To prepare yourself, go to Hero and buy enough HP200 to boost the
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HP of your HMs over 100; if you have the cash, you can give buy some Strong for
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them, as well, but that stuff is expensive--and you can beat the King of Sword
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without it! If you are using your MFs well, their HP and abilities should be
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increasing rather nicely; don't forget that Mutant HP and stats increase on
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their own--store-bought HP, Strong, and Agility DO NOT work on Mutants!
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When you enter the Castle of Sword, AVOID the guards! Unlike the guards
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in the Castle of Shield, they will attack you, and you will not be able to run
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away. Enter the castle and head straight for stairs. On the second level, make
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your way to the southern stairway; the northern stairway leads to a dead-end,
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and the monsters you will likely face on the way will try to make it a one-way
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trip! The key is to lose as few HP as possible on your way to King Sword. Find
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him, beat him, and get the King Sword. Once you get the Sword, give it to HM1
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and pass whatever weapon he's been using to HM2. Unlike the weapons you buy,
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the King Sword has unlimited uses. As well, it is the most powerful weapon
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available in the first world. Nifty!
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To complete your ensemble, you will be heading to the Castle of Shield.
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But first, stop at an Inn and recover from your experience in Castle Sword.
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Even with the King Armor, it's not a pleasant place . . . but you will be back!
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9. The Castle of Shield
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After powdering your nose in the Inn of your choice, head to the Castle
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of Shield. The King is ready to give up his Shield now, mainly 'cause he's
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dead. Pursue the treacherous Steward through the secret door in the N wall of
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the King's chambers and wreak some serious vengeance upon his cowering form.
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Then you'll get the King Shield.
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Now, here's a tip: Don't equip HM1 with the King Shield. Using a
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shield in battle means he cannot attack, and you don't want to lose the power
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of the King Sword. Equip one of the MFs with the King Shield, either the
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weakest MF or the one with the fewest defensive mutant abilities. When used,
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the King Shield throws a force field over your ENTIRE party, which makes it
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a handy defense, especially since, like the King Sword, it has unlimited uses!
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10. Hero
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Okay. If you want to be a good little adventurer, the thing to do now
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is to head to Hero and give back those wonderful toys. Put them on your Item
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list, then go up to the statue; press A twice with the hand on each item and
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they will be returned to the statue.
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If you want to make sure that you'll survive the next few floors of the
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Tower with relative ease, don't be so hasty! Instead of heading to Hero, go
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back to the Castle of Sword and repeatedly attack one of the Guards. As a
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precaution, you might first want to buy a Rod and equip one of your MFs with
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it to make sure that you can heal any damage your weaker characters might take
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while you are upping your bank balance.
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So how do you know when you've had enough? Well, here are some goals
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to attain before returning the items to the statue:
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1. Raise the HP of your HMs to 200+. As you'll learn, HP upgrades
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are labelled according to their effectiveness. HP200 will work until
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your character's HP pass 200; at that point, an effective upgrade can
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only be provided by HP400. Likewise, HP400 only works until your
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character's HP reach 400, and so on. You cannot buy HP400 in the first
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world, so you might as well get what you can get while you can get it.
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2. Raise the Strength and Agility of your HMs at least into the teens.
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3. Equip your strongest characters with Axes (probably your HMs) before
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returning the items to the statue. The Axe is the most powerful
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strength-based handheld weapon which can be purchased in the first
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world. You'll need them.
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4. Before you return the items to the statue, equip all four of the
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party members with Gold Armor; if you can, equip the HMs with Gold
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Gauntlets, as well (remember that Mutants can only carry four items; if
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