+++++++++++ 4. Esthar +++++++++++ [Balamb Garden] Squall is contemplating his next move at the infirmary when Quistis asks of him to head to the 3F Command Center. Oblige her, form your party of 3 (sans Rinoa) and pilot Balamb Garden south towards the Orphanage. Check your map. Side events: Pick up the July issue of Weapon Magazine from Balamb Garden's Training Center. Another one involves Zell. You should take him on a tour around Balamb Garden 1st, then visit Balamb City. A random event might transpire -- Zell has a guest, and she's waiting for him at the Hotel. Spend the night there, and you should receive a copy of 'Battling Champion 003' in the morning. [Edea's Orphanage] *small spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Edea apologises for all the trouble, and explains that she was under the control of Artemisia, a witch from the future. Artemisia requires Eluone's powers in order to achieve her ultimate goal of ruling the world in different time periods; Edea's body is but a tool for her. She warns of the danger of Artemisia awaking Adel, the original witch, as well. Squall then asks about Rinoa's condition, but Edea says that it is beyond her powers to help. Squall has no interest in continuing the conversation with Edea and Cid; he decides to return to Balamb Garden to inform the rest of the current situation. Side events: The Orphanage has a copy of Timber Maniacs lying on the ground. You can also win Edea's and Seifer's card from Edea and Cid respectively. The forests outside are also home to a variety of interesting creatures, which include Grandiaros (steal Sharp Nails), Purittsus (they drop Ally Dispatch Blades or Dynamo Rocks) and Haurizaados (screws). Rubulm Dragons can also be found, but they're extremely rare. [Balamb Garden] Having reported to the rest, Squall returns to the infirmary. [Laguna Dream Sequence Part Four: Trabia Ravine] Laguna, having exhausted almost all finances during his travels, has taken up a job as an actor. He plays a knight, and in this scene he has to protect a maiden in distress from a dragon, which is played by Kyros and Ward. However, the dragon seems rather authentic in this take... Controls: Square: Defend! X: Attack! There's only one method to get past this mini-game. Tap 'X' once to have Laguna attack, then immediately assume a defensive stance to block the dragon's swipe. After Laguna parries the blow, have him attack again. Just keep on repeating this pattern of attacking and defending and Laguna should emerge victorious. When Laguna is re-united with his companions, take the 2nd option to retreat left to a save point. Junction your party and save before returning to confront the dragon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Rubulm Dragon HP: 19,218 Weak: Ice, Holy Strong vs.: Fire, Wind Draw List: Aero, Fire 3, Gravite Just summon Shiva or Alexander, and have the remaining one character attack (have him junction 'Ice' to Elemental Attack if you want) or heal. This creature isn't too hard to take down. Remember to plunder a 'Red Fang' or 'Fire Dragon Fang' from it! The latter allows Quistis to learn her 'Fire Breath' Enemy Skill or acts as one of the raw materials for Selphie's 3rd weapon, the Crescent Wish. The items you receive differs accordingly to the Rubulm Dragon's levels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Side events: You can encounter Mesmerizes (steal their Mesmerize Blades) and Ochuus (gigantic green plants with flailing tentacles -- get their Ochuu tentacles) here if you haven't already encountered them. The Ochuu has a tendency to rob you of your magic spells, so be careful. [Edea's Orphanage] Laguna comes to the orphanage looking for Eluone, but resigns himself to the fact that she's been taken away by the Estharians. [Balamb Garden] Squall ponders the possibility of going back in time to rescue Rinoa when he wakes up... Edea might know something, so off you go. [Edea's Orphanage] Edea locates Eluone's ship, the 'White SeeD', and presents Squall with a letter introducing him and his intentions. Below is an optional event, but I *think* you won't be able to tackle this after you locate and board the White SeeD... well, until after the events at Esthar, anyway. So I advise you do this now. [Syumi Tribe Village] (note: It's located to the north if you can't remember) A visit to the Factory here reveals that more manpower is required to complete the statue. Converse with Tsukurite by the sink in the house next to the Factory and the village head; it appears that the former will need a little bit of coaxing to lend a hand. [Fisherman's Horizon] A quick trip to the Factory near the train station here yields a small scene with the owner, and Squall receives a tiny Mumba. [Syumi Tribe Village] Talk to the Chief, then the lone Syumi in his house. He should agree to help now. Converse with the village head one more time before leaving. [Finding the White SeeD: Sentra Region] North of the orphanage will be a group of islands. If you ignore the one to the west (the continent with 3 cliffs sticking out into the open sea) you'll find that the remaining islands form a broken ring around a patch of water. The 'White SeeD' is located somewhere near the south-western shoreline cliffs which encircle this patch of water. You need to do a bit of camera work to actually spot the ship, though. [White SeeD] Squall explains his intentions, and the crew grants him an audience with the captain of the ship. Along the way, you'll find Watts (remember him from Rinoa's 'Forest Owls'?). He holds Angelo's card and some extra bits of information for the inquisitive gamer. If you follow Zaun up to the ship's bridge, you can pick up Shiva's card by exchanging an adult magazine (Tonari no Kanojo from Timber Maniacs building) with Zaun (1st option). There's also a copy of Timber Maniacs to be found here. You should have collected all of them by this time. Here's a recap of their locations: 1. At Balamb Hotel 7. At the Factory in F.H 2. At Timber Maniacs Building 8. At F.H Hotel 2F 3. At Timber Hotel 2F 9. At the Inn of the Shumi Tribe 4. At Hotel Dollet 2F 10. At Trabia Garden's cemetery 5. At Dollet Bar 11. At Edea's Orphanage 6. At Galbadia Hotel 2F 12. On the White SeeD They're viewable at the Study Panel on the 2F classroom of Balamb Garden. The captain tells Squall that when they were caught in a conflict between the Galbadian army and the Estharian troops, Eluone took the liberty of leaving on an Esthar rescue boat. She's now somewhere within the Esthar territory, which is only accessible via the highway at Fisherman's Horizon. Proceeding on into Esthar means you won't be able to visit the other places on the map for quite a while. I've outlined a few *optional* events below which you might want to tackle before moving the story any further. [Sentra Ruins] (note: It's to the north-east of Edea's Orphanage) This should be where you fought Odin. Take both Squall and Quistis along, and have them both at critical status with the ability to use their desperations. Head to the 3rd screen (the one with the Tonberi statue in the center of a circular platform), where you'll have to combat Tonberis. Quistis should have a high Speed parameter -- have her unleash her 'Micro Missile' Enemy Skill on the Tonberi a few times before Squall (with a high Attack rating) steps in to finish off the Tonberi with his Renzokuken. You'll gain 0 EXP (and Kitchen Knives) for your efforts, but after the 20th Tonberi you kill, there's a chance of meeting a Tonberi King when you defeat another one of those adorable green little creatures. However, this guy seems to appear randomly, so you might have to rack up quite a few dead Tonberis before actually meeting him. You don't really have to take down 20 of them in one shot; there's always time to head outside to save before continuing. You can use Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability to receive 20 Armour Piercing Bullets for Irvine's desperation, from a single Kitchen Knife. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Tonberi King HP: 70,000+ Draw List: Death, Cure 3, Araise Draw a few 'Araise' spells, cast a Merton spell on him and unleash Squall's Renzokuken. He should be dead by then. Just watch out for his magics. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You'll get your Tonberi G.F. -- you should learn its 'Familiar Faces' Menu ability on top of anything else. Its 'Level Up' and 'Level Down' command abilities are also useful for tweaking the enemies' levels -- some of them drop different items at different levels, remember? Keep this in mind the next time you want to collect raw materials for your weapon upgrading events. And if in future battles, should you find your opponents too difficult for you, just use 'Level Down' on them to halve their levels. Take note that this doesn't work on bosses. Also, have Alexander learn its 'Medicinal Knowledge' character ability, followed by 'Medicine Level Up' menu ability. It helps if you're combating Sabotenders at (where else?) the Sabotender Desert, to the east of the Sentra Ruins. One more thing: learn Pandemonium's 'Saigeke' character ability, which allows a character to always start a battle with a full time bar. [Chocobo Forests] Chocobo Forests are dome-shaped forests you'll find on the Trabia and Sentra continents. Another one is located among the forests in the north-eastern cliffs on the Overworld -- you'll have to ride a chocobo from the Trabia region, and across the shallow waters to get to this one (the Chocobo Holy Shrine). It's pretty well camouflaged. Side events: The forests in which the Chocobo Holy Shrine is hidden in houses 2 powerful enemies: the Molbor and the Meruto Dragon. You don't need to trouble yourselves with them now, so run when you see them. Fortunately, they appear rarely. You'll need to get a 'Chocobo Sonar' and 'Chocobo Net' from the kid within the forest. Use the sonar via the 'X' button at specified spots. If it responds (watch the red bar), tap the 'Square' button to get a menu to appear: 1. Equip Chocobo Sonar. 2. Equip Chocobo Net. 3. Ask the kid to summon a big chocobo instead. 4. Nothing. Equip the Chocobo Net, and press 'X' for a small chocobo to fall down. Tap 'X' again for it to return. You'll have to do this until there's only a single small chocobo on the screen (there may be multiple small chocobos in each forest). Talk to it to get a big Chocobo to appear. If you happen to activate the Chocobo Net where the sonar shows no response, you'll get your equipment snitched by a small chocobo. Buy it back from the kid. Alternatively, you can ask the kid to summon a big Chocobo for you for 1,200 gil. Also, note that everytime you get the big Chocobo to appear by *yourself*, you'll receive a 'Pledge of Affection' (usually just a bunch of items). Collect all 6 of them (one from each forest) and present these to the kid in the Chocobo Holy Shrine (the one located in the north-eastern cliffs mentioned above) for a 'Kochocobo' card. Below are the locations of the 6 chocobo forests: 1. West of Trabia Garden 2. North-east of Trabia Garden (here's where you should ride a chocobo to get to the Chocobo Holy Shrine) 3. North-west of the Syumi Tribe Village 4. North-east of the Sentra Ruins 5. East of Edea's Orphanage 6. South of Sabotender Desert D-pad/Left Analog Stick: Gets the chocobo moving. Btw, all chocobos have the ability to cross shallow waters. Such areas are identified as having a lighter shade of blue compared to the deeper dark -blue regions of the oceans Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and pauses the game Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off Circle: Dismount from the Chocobo. When you do that, the chocobo will scoot off on its own; you'll need to re-capture it again at a Chocobo Forest if you want to ride one later These adorable creatures are pretty fast on their feet. Also, you can't encounter enemies while riding on a chocobo. Incidentally, the Gisaal Vegetables you can purchase from the chocobo kid allow you to summon a chocobo in battle. They're kinda useless though, seeing how their 'Choco Fire' damages a single opponent for only a measly 500+. The chocobo can power up its attacks in battle, but you'll need a Pocket Station peripheral, which is sold separately. Unfortunately, I don't own the latter ^_^ [CC Group] After Squall collects a certain number of cards, the Card Quest becomes available. By this I mean you can do Card Battle with the various members of the CC Group in Balamb Garden. Here're their locations: (note: Some of them appear randomly. If they're not where I said they should be, try leaving and re-entering the same area again.) Jack: He can be spotted wandering around the Garden Directory Board on the 1F. Club: He wanders the northern regions of the 1F. Diamond: 2 girls will be walking up to the Garden Directory Board on the 1F; challenge them only when they both stop to chat at the Directory Board. Spade: A man near the lift on the 2F. He doesn't appear too often. Heart: Sue on the 3F Command Center. King: Talk to Dr. Kadowaki at the infirmary, then rest up in Squall's room. If you fail to win 'him', you can have a rematch on the 3F command center with 'him'. Take note that Squall needs to be alone for 'him' to appear the 1st time round. Simply ask your companions to leave you for a while when you're in Squall's room. Joker: In the Training Center (appears at random). He'll also sell you items. Plus, if you manage to beat him, he'll upgrade your 'Battle Report' to include a 'G.F Report'. The CC Group members hold excellent (and rare) cards among themselves. Below are the 3 G.F. cards you should be able to pick up from them: Heart: Carbunkle King: Gilgamesh Joker: Leviathan [Miscellaneous Stuff Part Two] Before you go into Esthar, you'll want to have the following -- 6 Iron Pipes (refine the lv. 5 Invincible's card or steal from Wendingoes - use Tonberi's 'Level Down' ability on them if their levels are too high - in Roswall Forest) and 60 Remedies. Use G.F. Alexander's 'Medicine Level Up' Menu Ability to refine these 60 Remedies into 6 Remedy Pluses. The above items are essential for acquiring a G.F. later on. You might also want to learn Tonberi's 'Call Shop' Menu Ability. It'll come in handy on your future journeys. [Fisherman's Horizon] Pilot Balamb Garden over to F.H and the scene will switch to Squall. Pick up Rinoa from the infirmary. [Continental Highway] *mini-spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Squall carries Rinoa on his back as he journeys towards Esthar. Along the way, he questions his actions -- wasn't Squall supposed to be a cold, emotionless person? Squall simply wants to keep things this way... You'll meet up with the rest of your party at the end of the highway. Quistis teases Squall about Rinoa, before Edea tells Squall to meet up with Professor Odain in Esthar. Zell remarks that Squall should have a rough idea of who he is: - Yeah, I remember. - No idea... tell me. * - It's not important. Head off into the background. [Esthar Region] Edea will be playable, and starts off at lv. 31. Don't bother to raise her levels as she'll only be with you temporarily. Edea has a rather good affiliation with your G.Fs however, so make her your primary summoner if you wish. Head towards the lake (remember to junction Edea if you're gonna use her; she has zero spells available when she joins you). [Great Salt Lake] Set your party and proceed one screen upwards. While not immediately obvious in the next area, there's actually a fork here. Have Squall run up the head of the fossil, and follow the path to a cliff (you'll pass a 'Meteo' and 'Bolt 3' Draw Point on the way). Hit 'Circle' at the edge of the cliff to leap off it, and follow the snow path to the north. Side events: Baiseeji Hands roam this area. Summon Siren to silence their efforts (and laugh sadistically when they attempt to cast Esuna), and steal a 'Life Ring' from the right hand (Goomani) if you haven't done so already. Take a right in the next screen for a save point. At 2 more screens left from the previous save point, you'll meet up with another fossil... only this time it's very much alive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Avadon HP: 17,010 Weak: Fire, Holy, Heal Draw List: Cure 2, Esuna, Despell Have 2 characters summon Ifrit and Alexander while the remaining one attacks (junction Fire to Elemental Attack) or heals. If you've learnt Leviathan's 'Recovery' command ability, use it to inflict 9,999 worth of damage on Avadon. Sometimes Avadon will assume a standing posture (as opposed to its earlier hunched posture) in the duration of the fight. In this mode both physical and magical attacks are practically useless against it; cast Cure spells or the 'Recovery' command on Avadon at this time to actually damage it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Head to the north-east when you're done. Have Squall examine the strange looking background to uncover an opening in mid-air. Climb up to it. [Esthar] Proceed to the right (it's a one-way path actually), screw around with the panel on the left if you want, then enter the door to the north-east. While on the elevator, the party wonders what the inevitable outcome will be... Squall says that it's impossible to turn back now. Step through the door in front of you after the elevator stops for a nice FMV sequence introducing the capital city of Esthar. [Final Laguna Dream Sequence: Lunatic Pandora Research Centre] Laguna complains of the lack of meals to the soldiers; talk to both Esthar soldiers to get things moving. They tell Laguna to help with some work upstairs. Alternate your conversations between the Mumba and another man here to trigger a fight with the Esthar soldiers; be careful, the darker Estharian has the ability to reduce Laguna's HP to critical status. Kyros and Ward will arrive now -- junction them first (1st option) before engaging more enemies in combat. You'll combat a Gesupaa and 2 Esthar soldiers. Get rid of the Gesupaa first; it has the annoying ability to remove a character from the battle fray via its 'Detonator'. Enter the right elevator to reach the ground floor. You can eavesdrop on Prof. Odain's conversation with his assistants if you want, or just head right to exit. Save outside, and Laguna will be informed that Prof. Odain knows Eluone's whereabouts. Return to the Research Centre. Pick up the final (or first, deciding how you look at it) issue of Weapon Magazine on the floor upon entering the complex. Head back to the basements to find Prof. Odain. You'll have to combat his cronies before chasing after him -- be sure to plunder a 'Laser Cannon' from the Invincible! This allows Quistis to learn her 'Homing Laser'. Laguna manages to squeeze some information out of him -- Eluone is located at Odain's Laboratory. [Professor Odain's Laboratory] More enemies await you here, but Laguna easily dispatches them. Check the circular object in the center; it's actually an elevator. Enter the door in front when you reach the 2nd floor. Obliterate those pesky Estharians and look through the blue glass in the background. Examine the control panel to the right, then descend back to the 1st floor. Step through the door in the background (it should be openable now) to rescue Eluone. Laguna apologizes for coming late. [Esthar] Board the car to meet up with Odain at the Presidential House. He agrees to help, but on condition that Rinoa be left behind to be kept under observation. Professor Odain holds Ward's card, btw. You can exit the House by heading down and taking a right to reach an elevator pod. Esthar is probably the largest city you'll ever come across in the whole of ff 8; below is a map I've constructed for your own reference: (actually, I think the topography is *still* baffling...) Presidential House | /-----------------------------------------------------------\ | | | | | | E | | | |------------------------|------------------| | | X| | | | | (dead end)| |------------------------------------ | \-| | Y| | | | | | -----| | | | | Esthar| | | | Shopping| Air | | | Mall| Station-| | | | | | | | | |(Left Side) (Right Side)| | \---------------+------------------------+------------------/ | | Odain's Laboratory Car Rental | Overworld *at point X the straight path goes over the horizontal path; at point Y the horizontal path goes over the straight path. You'll find a save -cum-heal point south-east from the Air Station. The point E has no meaning now, but take note of its position; you'll be needing it later. Some of the shops are open for business at this time, but those like 'Cheryl's Store' stay closed permanently. However, repeated visits to the same shop can sometimes throw up special gifts for the party; I managed to get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn Ability x4 junction ability) from Cheryl's Store. Also, make sure you've learnt Tonberi's 'Familiar Faces' Menu Ability; that should allow you to purchase all the remaining issues of Pet Post and Battling Champion for Rinoa and Zell respectively. Purchase a 'Force Bracelet' from the shopping mall as well. You'll need one of these for Rinoa's final weapon. Another store which seems to be closed (but isn't) is Johnny's. You might have to visit it repeatedly to get it to open; he sells rare recovery items such as X-Potions, Mega Phoenixes and Elixirs. Leave Esthar when you're done shopping. [Esthar Region] Run around on the Esthar continent (not on the Estharian highways, mind you) to encounter Mesmerizes and Molbors (low encounter rate). The latter has a 'Bad Breath' skill which causes every kind of status malady to all members, but you're gonna have to fight it. Here's how: Have one character equipped with a 'Capture' command ability and junction both 'Confuse' and 'Berserk' (or more if your G.F. allows it) to Status Defense for the entire fighting party. When you do encounter a Molbor (ugly green plants with a black mouth), the only malady from its 'Bad Breath' preventing the party from acting will be 'Sleep', so wait until the Molbor smacks you with a physical attack. Your primary goal will be to wake the character equipped with 'Capture' up, so if the Molbor attacks someone else, have that someone else target your stealer, and have him/her steal from the Molbor before you escape. You'll need 9 Molbor Tentacles in total. Use one of them on Quistis for her to learn 'Bad Breath'. Alternatively, you can utilize Pandemonium's 'Sakigeke' character ability. This allows the particular character to always start a battle with a full time bar; have your stealer equipped with this, plunder quickly from the Molbor and escape. Remember to cure your characters after the fight! You should have access to a total of 4 places (the Esthar Capital, Lunatic Pandora Research Centre, Lunar Gate and Tear's Point) on the Estharian continent. Check your map, and head to Tear's Point in the south-east. You can rent a car if you want to. [Tear's Point] Ominous-looking, isn't it? You'll need to proceed into the interior of this place; right under the giant statue in the core of Tear's Point will be a sparkling object - Solomon's Ring. You'll need to have 6 Molbor Tentacles, 6 Iron Pipes and 6 Remedy Pluses (I did tell you to get them earlier on, right?) before you use Solomon's Ring in the Item screen -- say hello to a new G.F, Ghoulish (Grasharaboras): ff 8's equivalent of ff 7's Hades. [Lunar Gate] (note: Check your map; it's to the east) Enter the complex, then talk to the girl standing at one of the gates. Angelo will make her appearence; Squall assures her that they will save Rinoa. Follow the Estharian to the blasting capsule, where he'll brief you on your space journey. He cautions Squall by saying that it'll be a bit dangerous: - ... I'll think about it first. - ... who cares, I'll go anywhere. * You'll have to form a party consisting of Squall, Rinoa and another one of your companions other than Zell and Edea. You won't be doing much fighting up in space, so take a 3rd character who's relatively high in terms of levels. Zell volunteers to take care of things down here: - I'm a bit uneasy. - I'll leave it to you then. * The blast-off sequence commences shortly. Save outside, and return to Esthar as Zell. [Esthar] Stock up on items here and make a trip to the Presidential House. An Estharian in there will give Zell Volume IV of Occult Fans. Head for Odain's Laboratory afterwards. Inside, ride the elevator to meet up with Prof. Odain. He informs Zell that Galbadia has succeeded in recovering the Lunatic Pandora; Zell decides to sneak aboard to take a look. According to Odain, the Pandora should stop over at 3 points in Esthar within a period of 20 minutes: 15:00~12:00 -- Center of Esthar. You have 5 to 8 minutes to make it there. 10:00~5:00 -- Juncture 'X' marked on the map above. It'll take about 10 to 15 minutes for the Pandora to reach there. 3:00~0:00 -- North of the Shopping Mall, where a dead end is marked. You have 17 minutes to station yourselves there. Boarding the Pandora as early as possible allows Zell to explore more of it. You can use the 'Square' button to view the locations of the stop-overs. I'll guide you to the 1st one: 1. Exit Odain's Laboratory. 2. Move 2 screens right when you reach the highway. You'll pass by 2 signs marked 'Left Side' and 'Right Side'. 3. Head up at the juncture. 4. Climb the stairs to your left. 5. You've reached the city center. The Presidential House should be visible in the background. Wait for the Pandora. You have to defeat a few Galbadian troopers before actually getting into the Pandora. [Lunatic Pandora] Right from the start you'll find a 'Meteo' Draw Point (which recovers quite fast). Head up the stairs, pick up the copy of 'Battling Champion 005' on the floor, then take the blue 02 elevator. Follow the path, and when it splits, take the left route. Proceed (it's a one-way path anyway) until you reach a red 03 elevator. To the bottom-right of the screen should be a couple of stairs. Run down from there to reach a ladder; descend to find a 'Confuse' DP. Go right to get a 'Love Love G.F' before returning back to the red 03 elevator you passed just now. The red elevator should take you back to the lobby. Make your way left and board the green 01 elevator. You'll find a 'Holy' DP here, plus a save point when you move north. Directly above the save point will be a fork in the route; choose the northern one for the party to be rather unceremoniously kicked out of the Pandora. All other routes in the Pandora lead to dead-ends. +++++++++++ 5. Lovers +++++++++++ [Lunar Side Base] Squall will wake up at the Arrival Deck. Run over to pick up Rinoa, then follow Piett into the infirmary. Place Rinoa in the chamber, save and exit. Outside the infirmary, keep moving up to reach the Controls Room. Examine the panels to the right for a short sequence before talking to Piett. Choose the 2nd option to ask about Eluone's whereabouts. Incidentally, Piett holds G.F. Alexander's card, but it'll take a while to win it due to the 'Random' rule here. Leave the Controls Room. Squall will see a flight of stairs to the left of the screen. Ascend and go through the door. You can talk to the girl standing in the tunnel (take note of the Changing Room to the right) for a sequence introducing Adel. Proceed down the corridor. Eluone will be waiting for you behind the door to the south, but before you talk to her, have Squall initiate Card Battle. She holds Laguna's card, which when refined gives you 100 of those Hero's Medicine. These items will make your quest ridiculously easy. However, expect the 'Random' rule to cause a lot of resetting and replaying on your part. Squall will ask of Eluone to take a look at Rinoa, but an accident prevents them from getting any further. Head to the infirmary. Squall will be powerless to stop Rinoa (he'll be bounced away each time you try to get near), so just retrace your steps back to the Controls Room. Check the panel after Rinoa has made her presence felt. Next, tail Rinoa to the 2F Changing Room... you'll witness a 'Moon Tear', the same catastrophe which destroyed the Sentra continent 80 years ago. Enter the Changing Room now, and examine the lockers for Squall's astronaut outfit. Head to the air lock on the left. It'll be a futile pursuit for Rinoa; make your way into the foreground after the air lock shuts, and return to the Controls Room. Converse with everyone here, followed by Eluone. Head right to reach an elevator; take the opportunity to talk to Eluone again. Save when you reach the bottom, then proceed right. Enter the un-occupied escape pod. [Escape Pod] Squall pleads with Eluone to transfer him into Rinoa's memories; Eluone lets him witness 3 separate incidents: one involves Rinoa forcing Irvine to turn back to Sand Prison to rescue the rest; another has Rinoa asking Zell if he could help her get a replica of Squall's ring. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* The final one will be a scene after defeating Edea in Galbadia Garden. Squall watches as Artemisia transfers herself from Edea into Rinoa's body... she wakes Seifer up, and orders him to salvage the Pandora. Squall decides to risk his life to try save Rinoa. Upon climbing out of the escape pod, you have to play a mini-game: Use the d-pad and mash away at the 'X' button to adjust Squall's point of view until you see Rinoa in the center of the screen. Keep her positioned in the center, and when the timer hits zero you'll be reunited. A bit of a no-brainer, actually. Enjoy the FMV sequence! [Ragnarok] Check the panel to the left to close the air lock, then proceed upwards. Rinoa will playfully ask Squall for a hug ^_^ Anyway, head up one more screen when she's done. You'll find that you have company... aliens. They have the ability to regenerate themselves when you kill them; the only solution is to defeat them in pairs. By that I mean out of the 8 aliens you find on board the Ragnarok, there'll be a pair of yellow, red, green and purple aliens. You must kill 2 of the same kind *consecutively*. However, these guys attack the moment they spot you, so you have to be quick to dodge them. Start your alien hunt (remember to junction your party) by heading to the right and descending the steps. You'll find a purple one at the bottom of the stairs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Propagator HP: 5,000+ Draw List: Bolt 3, Esuna, Raise, Cure 3 These guys share the same statistics. Well, they're quick on the offensive and like to cast both 'Bolt' and 'Silence', so you might want to be well-protected from these 2 spells. Actually, what I usually do with them is to have Squall and Rinoa junction 'Sleepel' to Status Attack -- they're pretty weak against that. Make sure your 2 members have a high Attack rating for a quick and effortless victory. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ There'll be 2 doors in front of you; take the left one. Behind this door lurks a red alien -- you don't want to face him now, so make a beeline for the door to the left upon entering this area to dodge his charge. The next room holds a purple alien. Toast him. Back-track to the previous room now, and defeat the red one. Go through the door to the south, back to where you fought your 1st purple alien. Climb the stairs to the right to find yet another red alien for the kill. Descend back down to the 1F. This time, enter the door in the upper-right corner (it's a bit hard to see it) to pay a visit to a green alien. Save here when you're done with him. Now go to where you 1st met a red alien, then move 2 screens left to find a green one. He'll be number six to go down. Look for a door to the left; step through to face a yellow alien in the Meeting Room. The panel behind it tells Squall what you already know: defeat the eight aliens in pairs of the same colour. Finally, proceed back to where you first entered the Ragnarok; you'll find your last yellow alien along the way. You know what to do with him, don't you? Save afterwards. Make your way back to where you found your 2nd green alien, and ascend the elevator it guarded. Enjoy the romantic little scene with Squall and Rinoa. *spoiler here... skip this section if you wish* As Rinoa snuggles up to Squall, the latter asks why she wants to be so close to him. Rinoa responds by saying, "Isn't this what Squall wants?" ^_^ but Squall says he's a bit un-accustomed. Upon further questioning, Squall admits that he dislikes being tied down by emotions... because he's afraid of losing his loved ones. Later on, when Rinoa is identified as the witch who freed Adel, Squall comforts her, believing she has led him down the right path... and that he'll never let go of her. *end spoiler* "Eyes on Me" Composed by Nobuo Uematsu Sung by Faye Wong Whenever sang my songs On the stage, on my own Whenever said my words Wishing they would be heard I saw you smiling at me Was it real or just my fantasy You'd always be there in the corner Of this tiny little bar My last night here for you Same old songs, just once more My last night here with you? Maybe yes, maybe no I kind of liked it your way How you shyly placed your eyes on me Oh, did you ever know? That I had mine on you Darling, so there you are With that look on your face As if you're never hurt As if you're never down Shall I be the one for you Who pinches you softly but sure If frown is shown then I will know that you are no dreamer So let me come to you Close as I wanna be Close enough for me To feel your heart beating fast And stay there as I whisper How I loved your peaceful eyes on me Did you ever know That I had mine on you Darling, so share with me Your love if you have enough Your tears if you're holding back Or pain if that's what it is How can I let you know I'm more than the dress and the voice Just reach me out then You will know that you're not dreaming Note: Lyrics courtesy of 'Musical World of Final Fantasy'. Refer to the Credits section for more details. [Ragnarok] After Rinoa's departure, head back into the Meeting Room of the Ragnarok. Squall will be reprimanded by Quistis for not stopping Rinoa... he decides to reclaim his love from the Estharians. Proceed to the cockpit of the Ragnarok to launch the ship. Up/Down: Points the nose of the Ragnarok downwards and upwards respectively Left/Right: Changes direction ship is facing Right Analog-Stick: Moves ship forward or backward Start: Brings up the bar that toggles the rumble feature on/off and pauses the game Select: Toggles the World Sphere/Map on/off Circle: Lands the ship. The Ragnarok is capable of landing on any type of terrain, with the exception of water and steep mountainous areas/Press to mount the ship X: Reverses ship Square: Accelerates ship Triangle: Return to Ragnarok's cockpit R1: Rotates the camera clockwise L1: Rotates the camera anti-clockwise R2: Switches between view points Btw, the Ragnarok has an auto-pilot feature. Hit 'Select' until you get to view the full world map, move the cursor to your destination and push the 'Circle' button to confirm. Press 'X' while the Ragnarok is on auto-pilot mode to cancel. Some of you may wonder how to get back into Fisherman's Horizon or Balamb Garden; simply fly Ragnarok over F.H, and hit 'Circle' to land. [Memorial Hall of the Witches] It's located on the Estharian continent, south of Lunatic Pandora Research Centre. Check your map. Just run into the Hall, where the Esthar guards will let Squall through to see Rinoa one last time. Of course, Squall has other ideas. Head to the upper-left opening to rescue Rinoa when the party makes their intentions clear to the workers there. You can leave now. [Ragnarok] Back in the cockpit of the Ragnarok, Rinoa apologises for the trouble she had caused. She suggests heading to Edea's Orphanage for a quieter and less crowded environment. But before you do that, a wide array of optional events have been opened up with the acquisition of the Ragnarok... I suggest you do them first before proceeding to Edea's Orphanage. [Sabotender Desert] To the east of the Sabotender Desert on the Sentra continent will be a small island. You will be able to spot a Sabotender appearing and disappearing at random on this island, so land your Ragnarok and run over to confront it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS G.F: Sabotender HP: 100,000 Weak: Water Draw List: Gravite, Tornado This guy has a few pretty nasty attacks; it'll slam itself down on your party, causing moderate sums of damage to everyone, or cast '10,000 Needles' which damages a character for 10,000 HP, so stock up on those Phoenix Downs and Raise spells. G.F. Alexander's 'Revive' command ability's useful too. What you'll want to do here is to junction 'Aqua' to Elemental Attack and have Leviathan at the ready. Cast 'Merton' if you have it. If Squall gets hit by '10,000 Needles', revive him with a Phoenix Down, but don't heal him -- his Renzokuken works well on the Sabotender. You'll acquire a new G.F. for your troubles. Btw, *only* Sabotenders appear on this island, so head here the next time you want some A.P. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ G.F. Sabotender offers a wide variety of level up bonuses such as 'HP Bonus' and 'Defense Bonus' character ability. Junction it to a party member who's about to gain a level to make full use of them. [Warship Island Part One] It's not on the map, but it's located out in the open seas in the south-west corner of the world. Land your ship on it, and make your way into the interior of the building. Inside will be a spinning blue light which goes on and off at random. Walk only when the light is turned off, and keep inching your way towards the blue core. You'll be forced into combat should you move with the lights on. Upon reaching the center, examine it and select the 1st option. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ENEMY: Rubulm Dragon HP: Variable Weak: Ice, Holy Strong vs.: Fire, Wind Draw List: Fire 3, Reflect, Flare, Meteo It's much tougher this time around, and its 'Breath' attack can take away quite a substantial amount of damage. The previous tactics you used against it don't work quite as well as they used to, so just cast 'Merton' on it and have Squall unleash his Renzokuken. If they drop a 'Fire Dragon Fang', use it on Quistis for her to learn 'Fire Breath'. Junction 'Fire 3' to Elemental Defense beforehand for these battles. Or you could simply use G.F. Tonberi's 'Level Down' command ability on the Rubulm Dragon (hey, it's only an enemy, not a boss). (note: You can obtain 10 Aura Stones by refining a Power Wrist through Siren's 'Item Refinement' Menu Ability. Power Wrists are purchasable from the Pet store in Esthar's Shopping Mall.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Re-examine the core and take the 2nd option for another fight with a Rubulm Dragon. You begin this one with your backs turned, so be careful! If you're lucky enough, Odin will step in both times to help you finish off the dragons. Search the panel one last time and pick the invisible 3rd option. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS G.F: Bahamut HP: 65,200 Strong vs.: Poison, Lightning, Wind Draw List: Flare, Cure 3, Araise, Despell Bahamut has a pretty high offensive rating, and if you take too long to defeat him, his Mega Flare will take away roughly 4,000 HPs of damage from everyone. Simply use the same tactic outlined for the Rubulm Dragons above and you should do just fine. Bahamut will give up his card when you defeat him; change this using Quetzalcoatl's 'Card Change' menu ability for a whopping 100 Mega Elixirs! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bahamut will be one of your best G.Fs; be sure to learn his 'Rare Item' party ability. Leave Warship Island for now. Talk to everyone (especially Zell) once you're back on the Ragnarok. Head to the nearest town (Winhill), stock up on curative spells, items, re-organize your party and save. [Warship Island Part Two] (note: You'll need to have Zell in your party) Actually, I have no idea what triggers off this upcoming event; if it doesn't work the same way for you, try returning here after the events at Edea's Orphanage. There should be a thick vine where the hole previously was; descend into the depths of the island using that. Due to the relative inactivity of the place, you have to make use of the island's remaining power to reach the bottom. You'll need 4 out of 20 power units to open the 1st gate, according to the computer you come across upon descending from the vine. Go through the now opened hatch in the floor. Examine the computer on the next floor, and use 2 units of power to open the hatch. Proceed down. The next screen will have 2 doors, controlled by 2 computers. If Zell is in your party, you can ignore the door to the left (which incidentally, is also controlled by the computer to the left) and examine the right computer. Have it use 1 unit of power to open the hatch in the floor. Head down. For the upcoming floors, just use 1 unit of power to open the hatches. When you do reach the bottom via an elevator, Zell will repair the machinery you see to open the gate to the left. Step through this gate to find a save point a bit further down. Follow the one-way path until you reach the very bottom of this island. You should locate a save point and a red computer panel. Go for the former first (use Siren's 'Uncover Hidden Points' party ability to see it), then examine the computer panel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Ultima Weapon HP: 100,000 Draw List: Regen, Despell, Ultima, Eden Draw G.F. Eden from it right from the start. Apart from having a ridiculously high offensive rating, the Ultima Weapon's 'Ultima Beam' attack can take away 9,999 worth of HP damage from a single member. Keep those Phoenix Downs at the ready! Cast Merton on the Ultima Weapon, followed by Aura on Squall. Have him (with a high Attack and Speed rating) unleash his Renzokuken. Your remaining members should just heal, and if you can spare a few turns, draw 'Ultima' spells from the Weapon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You'll get 100 Ultima Stones and Eden's card for your efforts. Save and exit. Eden should be your last and only G.F. that's capable of doing 5 digit damage. Side events: You'll face a plethora of powerful enemies here. These include Iron Giants, Dragon Izorudes, Rubulm Dragons and Behemoths. Should you choose to fight them, Tonberi's 'Level Down' command will be helpful. Otherwise, just equip Diablos' 'Encounter Zero' party ability. [Syumi Tribe Village] Laguna's statue should be completed by now. Converse with the Syumis and the guests from F.H, followed by the village head before you leave. Btw, the 'Ultima' Draw Point should be your main source of Ultima spells, so be sure to return here occasionally! You won't be able to re-enter the Syumi Tribe Village on Disc Four (or any other town for that matter). [UFO Sightings] Sometimes in a battle, you'll notice that Squall appears to be facing an invisible adversary... only for an UFO to appear and disappear. Here're the 4 locations where you should encounter this: 1. Along the eastern shores of the Timber continent (the beach nearest to Roswall Forest). 2. Around the Winhill region. 3. The island east of Trabia Garden. 4. In the larger Sabotender Desert. Once you've sighted it 4 times, proceed to the cliffs north of the Chocobo Holy Shrine, and land your Ragnarok there. Run around a bit to encounter the UFO; defeat it. Now having at least 5 Elixirs at hand (purchasable from Johnny's Shop in Esthar's Shopping Mall, or use Alexander's 'Medicine Level Up' menu ability to further refine 10 Remedy Pluses), head to the Balamb region for another meeting with the UFO. Use the 5 Elixirs on Koyo Koyo to receive its card. You can change this to a 'Pot of Devil's Appetite', then further refine this via Siren's 'Item Refinement' menu ability to obtain a 'Sage's Stone'. Finally, use Eden's 'Refine G.F. Ability Items' menu ability to get a Rosetta Stone (lets a G.F. learn 'Ability x4' junction ability). [Islands of Heaven & Hell] The Heaven Island is located near the Chocobo Holy Shrine and is north-east of Esthar. The Hell Island is located to the south-west of Deling City (use your menu screen to get the name of your current location). Both islands hold numerous draw points on them, some of which include Flare, Holy, Meteo, Aura, Araise, Triple and Ultima. These points recover quite fast, and will be your source of high class spells in ff 8. However, the enemies you'll find here will *always* be at lv. 100. They include Molbors, Dragon Izorudes, Rubulm Dragons, Meruto Dragons, T-Rexes and Grandels. Equip Diablos' 'Encounter Zero' party ability for an easier time picking up spells. [Timber Region: Lake Obeil] When you examine the lake north of Timber, Squall will be presented with 2 options: - Throw a rock. - Whistle. Whistle to have a shadow in the lake talk to you; it'll ask of Squall to locate a monkey. Head on over to the forest west of Dollet; run around a bit in there until a message pops up to say the animal was sighted. You may need to keep pressing the 'Circle' button for that to happen. Report back to the shadow and it'll hint at the existence of 4 stone plaques in the world. To get clues for the locations of all 4 plaques, have Squall throw a rock until it bounces six times before whistling again for the shadow. The 4 locations are: 1. Along the shores of Balamb. 2. The island to the east of Timber. 3. The cliffs south of Galbadia Garden (or what used to be the Garden). You have to land the Ragnarok on the cliff above the waterfall nearby. 4. The forest west of Dollet. When rearranged, you'll get a message from the 4 plaques of a hidden treasure in the plains north of Esthar. Pilot your Ragnarok over there, and search using 'Circle'. You can't trigger the hidden treasure event unless you locate all 4 plaques first. There'll be tons of talking stones (Moais?) here; try to locate a red one, and go the opposite direction it tells you to. Keep searching and you'll eventually find a '3 Stance' item (press 'Circle' again when a red stone tells you that there's nothing here), which grants a G.F. 'Triple Consumption' (use 3 spells for the cost of only 1) character ability. If you need a hint, I'll say it's located in the south-east of the plains, but not too far away from the center of it. Happy searching! It took me quite a while too. Btw, this is on the Moldreld Plains. [Edea's Orphanage] (note: Take Rinoa along) Follow Angelo to a garden. It's to the left of where you enter the orphanage. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Rinoa confides in Squall of her worries, that one day Artemisia will awaken the witch within her. Squall says that there can always be a kind-hearted witch, but is unable to answer when Rinoa tells of her fear that the world will turn against her. However, Squall promises Rinoa that he'll defeat Artemisia for her sake... and in turn makes her promise that she'll never leave his side (this is actually a throwback to the strange opening of ff 8, because both Squall and Rinoa say the same words as those appearing in the opening). Go into the Orphanage to meet up with Edea. According to her, there's a special person who can despell a witch's fears -- a witch's knight. Edea advises Rinoa to leave her safety in the hands of such a person... upon which Rinoa responds to by looking at Squall -- she's already found her knight ^_^ You can leave now for Esthar. Side events: If you haven't done so already, Edea and Cid hold Edea's and Seifer's card respectively, so you might want to take time off to get them. [Esthar] It'll be populated by monsters as a result of the Moon Tear; head to the Presidential House as soon as possible. Follow the path all the way left when Squall gets off the elevator pod. You'll finally meet up with the President of Esthar. When Squall talks to him, you'll have 4 topics to ask him about: - The way to defeat Artemisia. - About Eluone. - About Raine. - About why he's here. (follow this one with the 1st choice to make him continue his story) You can choose the first option to move the plot quickly, but I suggest you take time off to see what he has been up to for the past few years. *spoiler here... skip this paragraph if you wish* Basically, Laguna journeys off to Esthar to rescue Eluone, who was one of the many taken as a possible successor to Adel's rule during her time. However, Adel recognizes Eluone's hidden talents and decides to take her power... only to be betrayed by her own lust as Laguna tricks her into entering the sealing capsule, which a holographic image of Eluone had been beamed onto. They use the Ragnarok to station the sealed up Adel in space, but with the sudden loss of a President, Esthar falls into confusion; thus under the name of a 'hero', Laguna was elected as the new President. Taking the first option results in an elaborate explanation by Professor Odain. It's rather confusing too. When he's done, the President will volunteer to continue the briefing aboard the Ragnarok (which incidentally, was named after him): - Fine with me. - I want to know something else. I'll leave this up to you. *spoiler here... skip this section if you wish* Next, I'll *attempt* to summarize Odain's plan: Truth be told, Artemisia exists in Squall's time only in her mental state; her physical self is stationed in the future. However, being a sorceress herself, Artemisia can only possess the witches of each era. This technique of transferring one's mind between time is only used by Eluone in Squall's era, but apparently in the future, anyone has the ability to do this, thanks to an invention by Professor Odain. To defeat Artemisia, the party will have to travel to the future to confront her physical being. Artemisia's goal is to cause total time compression, which is the reason why she has come to this time seeking Eluone's powers. To make her task easier, she has to possess the most powerful witch of this era, which will be Adel. Thus, after rescuing Eluone from the Pandora, Squall will have to seek out the un-awakened Adel and defeat her, forcing Artemisia to possess Rinoa instead. This is when Eluone steps in. To bait Artemisia (whose aim is to travel even further back in time), she'll transport both Rinoa and Artemisia into the past minds of the sorceresses before this time. Artemisia will then initiate time compression, upon which Eluone will immediately cut both of them off from the past. With time compressed now, Squall and company will have to head for the future, where the final confrontation with Artemisia awaits. *end spoiler* Side events: The President of Esthar holds Squall's card, quite possibly the best in the game. Be sure to win it from him. Also, in Esthar itself will be a creature known as the Elniole, a black and yellow winged demon which resembles the Elviole you fought way back in Dollet in Disc One. You can encounter them randomly (low encounter rate) or look for a black creature standing on one of the highways in Esthar (point E on the map I've drawn up above). It'll simply laugh when Squall talks to it, but you have to fight it. Exit and re-enter this screen for it to reappear again. You can steal Moon Stones from the Elniole, or defeat it to make it drop Energy Crystals. Both are essential items for weapon upgrading; get a Moon Stone and 8 Energy Crystals from it. Also, you can refine Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability to get Hadou bullets. These are Irvine's best ammunition for his desperation. Btw, I don't think there's a need to equip G.F. Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability here; the Elniole drops Energy Crystals at a pretty consistent rate. [Ragnarok] The Esthar President will summarize what Odain has said, but I think it only serves to confuse one even more ^_^ Anyway, your next destination will be Lunatic Pandora (it's floating right over Tear's Point) in the south-east of the Esthar Region, but going there means proceeding onto Disc Four. I suggest you do a bit of running around before that to upgrade your weapons one last time, and pick up any items you may have missed. [Miscellaneous Stuff Part Three] Let's start with the weapons first. Head to Long Horn Island, which is the narrow stretch of land consisting mostly of beaches north-west of Dollet. You can encounter Adamandanti (turtle-like creatures) here. First, plunder a 'Wind Whisper' from it, then defeat one of them for it to drop Adamantium. Get at least 3 of those. Incidentally, Adamantium lets a G.F. learn 'Defense +60%' character ability, so get more of those if you can. Use Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability to assist you. Pilot Ragnarok over to the Esthar Region and encounter enemies. You should find Kuaarus (long-whiskered leopards), Behemoths (enormous purple beasts -- low encounter rate) and Iron Giants (blue giants carrying swords). Plunder from all of them to receive Revive Rings (get 1 of these), Barrier Systems (1 will do) and Star Fragments (get 5 of these) respectively. You may need Tonberi's 'Level Up' command ability to raise their levels for them to carry such items. On a side note, a single Revive Ring can be refined using Siren's 'Life Magic Refinement' menu ability to 20 'Araise' spells -- these are excellent junctioned to HP. Squall's Lionheart: One Adamatium, 4 Dragon Fangs (steal from Dragon Izorudes or Meruto Dragons on the Hell Island near Galbadia) and 12 Hadou Bullets (refine 2 Energy Crystals via Ifrit's 'Refine Ammo' menu ability. Or you could refine Laser Cannons dropped by Belhelmelhels in the region near Galbadia Garden). The Lionheart's finishing move, 'End of Heart' should be your most powerful attack in the entire game. Rinoa's Shooting Star: 2 Windmills (steal from Surasuto Eibisus - blue flying creatures - in the Timber region), 1 Revive Ring, 1 Force Ring (it's purchasable from a Pet Store in Esthar) and 2 Energy Crystals. Zell's Ehrgeiz: One Adamatium, 4 Dragon Skins (high level Hedge Vipers in the forest west of Dollet drop these) and one Fighting Spirit Fragment (Esansuushis - green shelled creatures - in the Tomb of the Nameless King carry these. Or you could fight Dragon Izorudes on Hell Island - kill them effortlessly with a 'Death' spell). Quistis' Save the Queen: 2 Molbor Tentacles (Molbors are found on the Heaven Island north-east of Esthar), 4 Sharp Nails (from Grandiaros in the forests on the Sentra continent) and 4 Energy Crystals. Selphie's Dream Kettle: One Adamatium, 3 Star Fragments and 2 Cursed Claws (Creeps in the sewers of Deling City have them). Irvine's Exactor: 2 Dinosaur Bones (T-Rexes in Balamb Garden's Training Center and Hell Island drop these), 1 Moon Stone, 2 Star Fragments and 18 screws (from Haurizaados near the cliffs of Galbadia and Dollet). Next up, Quistis' remaining Enemy Skills. Use the Barrier System you stole from the Behemoth on her for her 'Mighty Guard' and the Wind Whisper (from the Adamandati) for her 'White Wind'. Also, high level Purittsus in the Sentra forests (rarely) drop High Output Occurrence Devices (don't equip Bahamut's 'Rare Item' party ability), which grant Quistis her 'Raybomb'. Finally, collect 100 Cursed Claws from Creeps in the Deling sewers or Raifuuobidons (skeletons armed with 2 swords) from the Sentra Ruins, then use Siren's 'Refine Item' menu ability to receive Dark Matter and thus her final Enemy Skill, the Shockwave Pulser, one of only three sources in the whole of ff 8 which can do 5 digit damage (the other 2 attacks being G.F. Eden's 'Eternal Flare' and Choco Buckle). I've heard rumours suggesting that 'Dark Matter' can only be obtained when G.F. Siren's at level 100. (note: The Choco Buckle can only be gotten if you have a Pocket Station peripheral, which is sold separately. I won't detail the procedure here. Well, until I can get my hands on a Pocket Station ^_^) Another 2 Enemy Skills which you may have forgotten would be her Fire Breath and Homing Laser. Get the items from Rubulm Dragons on the Hell Island (they carry Fire Dragon Fangs at lower levels -- use Tonberi's 'Level Down' command ability on them) and high-level Belhelmelhels (they have Laser Cannons) in the ex-Galbadia Garden region respectively. Once you've met all the CC Group members in Balamb Garden, you can challenge the Card Queen outside Balamb City's train station. This sparks off a Card Quest which lets you complete your collection of rare cards in ff 8, but I won't detail it here. Refer to Eugene See's 'Rare Card' FAQ for more details. It's at www.gamefaqs.com, under Final Fantasy VIII. I'll give you a method for completing your collection in Disc Four later. Incidentally, if you forgot to get Ward's and Squall's card, they're still winnable from Prof. Odain at his Laboratory in Esthar and the President of Esthar in the Meeting Room of the Ragnarok respectively. Also, G.F. Alexander's card can still be won from Piett; he's located at one of the southern tips of the Esthar continent. You can't see him on the Overworld directly; you'll need to actually run into the specific area to enter a field screen. You're almost up to the end dungeon here, which requires you to have all 6 of your characters junctioned *at all times* with G.Fs. You'll want to do a bit of tweaking here to make sure your G.Fs are evenly spread out, and that your characters are finely balanced in terms of capability. Purchase a few 'Forget Grass' from a Pet Store, and below are a few tips I've put together to get you started. 1. You'll want everyone to at least have spells junctioned to the 5 basic parameters: HP, Attack, Defense, Magic and Magic Defense. Buy these G.F. items from the Pet Store (Rin Rin's Shop) in Esthar. Below are my recommendations for the type of spell to junction to each parameter: HP: Araise Attack: Ultima, Meteo or Aura Defense: Merton Magic: Ultima, Triple or Pain Magic Defense: Reflect Where you choose to put 'Ultima' is entirely up to the type of character you want to build: an attacker or a magic user. Of the 8 spells mentioned above, 3 of them won't be found on the Heaven and Hell Islands. Here's how to get them: Merton: Draw from high level Geiras in the Trabia region. Pain: Defeated Creeps in the sewers of Deling City drop Cursed Claws; use Diablos' 'Status Magic Refinement' menu ability to get 'Pain' spells. Reflect: Draw from high level Purinuras (blue blobs) in the Tomb of the Nameless King, or use Leviathan's 'Assist Magic Refinement' to refine a Dragon Skin (dropped by high level Hedge Vipers in Roswall Forest) for 20 'Reflect' spells. Use Tonberi's 'Level Up' command to assist you. 2. Different G.Fs offer varying degrees of protection from Elemental and Status spells, so try to divide these equally among your party. Cards like Selphie's and Ghoulish's, when changed give you items which allow you to add to the G.Fs' Elemental and Status Defense properties, so make use of them. 3. Following that should be character abilities and G.F abilities such as 'Attack +60%' or 'G.F HP +40%'. Let's start with G.Fs first. Items such as Energy Crystals and Samasa's Soul (change Quistis' card) give pretty decent 'Summon Magic +?' bonuses (30% and 40% respectively). Note that all G.F. abilities are cumulative in the sense that, say if a G.F. has both 'Summon Magic +10%' and 'Summon Magic +20%', its damage capability is actually 30%. However, items which give decent 'G.F HP+?' bonuses are rare. I can only recommend changing Seifer's card to get 3 Diamond Armours (G.F HP+40%). Character abilities are another matter altogether. The stores in Esthar sell such items, i.e. Giant Rings (HP+40%) and Power Wrists (Attack+40%). Refining 10 of each via Eden's 'G.F Ability Item Refinement' gives you an upgraded version, i.e. 10 Giant Rings grant you one Gaia's Ring (HP+80%). However, it might prove to be too costly to actually buy them, so there's always cards to fall back on. You can change Ward's, Edea's, Zell's and Rinoa's for such pricey items. Adamantium (Defense+60%) can be gotten rather easily however; defeat the Adamandanti on Long Horn Island's coasts (north-west of Dollet) for them to drop the items. 4. Items which increase your other parameters such as Speed or Luck are quite rare; I believe you won't pick up more than 5 of them on your journeys. Still, Irvine's card is one of the rare ones which grant you 'Speed +40%'. 5. Rosetta Stones give you 'Ability x4' junction abilities. Again, these are very very rare. G.Fs which offer 'Ability x3' or 'Ability x4' include Diablos, Carbunkle, Cerebrus, Alexander and Bahamut, so you'll have to modify one other G.F's list of abilities to include 'Ability x4' for the sixth party member. 6. There're a variety of ways to actually get the rarer bonus ability items, but such methods are usually very time-consuming and pricey, i.e. 50 Barrier Systems for an item which lets you junction spells to your Evasion parameter. Nonetheless, there're always a few exceptions -- a changed Kyros card gives you 3 Speed Boosters, which in turn grants you 3 'Auto Haste' character abilities. 7. Try toying around with the refinement system. You may come across more excellent deals which I didn't cover. Of course, do take note the above is just for the end dungeon. You won't be needing that for your next destination, the Pandora, but since both places are linked, I suggest you do the fine-tunings now to save yourself the hassle later. Other final preparations include stocking up on items (refine as many Power Wrists to Aura Stones as possible) and spells (Heaven and Hell Islands), and learning the more useful G.F. abilities such as Tonberi's 'Call Shop' and Diablos' 'Encounter Zero'. Also, take note that in Disc Four ALL towns are in-accessible, so you might want to make a separate save file just in case you missed anything. And mind you, Disc Four is closer than you think; right after the Pandora, in fact. In any case, pilot the Ragnarok over to Tear's Point in the south-east of Esthar when you feel you're ready. Note that you have to actually bash into the Pandora using your air-ship to trigger the upcoming set of events. [Lunatic Pandora] You can talk to Selphie (or whoever's at the controls) to leave the Pandora after the FMV. If you're ready, take the elevator at the back and get out of the Ragnarok. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Raijin HP: 22,200 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Lightning Draw List: Bolt 2, Bolt 3, Shell, Protect BOSS: Fuujin HP: 17,900 Weak: Poison Strong vs.: Wind Draw List: Aero, Cure 3, Araise, Tornado Cast 'Blind' on Raijin to halt his physical attacks, then dispose of him using Squall's Renzokuken. Fuujin likes to use assist magic such as 'Haste' on herself, so break it using 'Despell'. Watch out too for her 'Shatter', which reduces a single member's HP to 1. You can off her with Squall's desperation rather easily however. Eden works fine too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Follow the 2 into the interior of the Pandora. In the next screen, head up before taking a left. You'll come across two old friends -- Biggs and Wedge, but they won't attack you. Save at the point nearby. The next area of the Pandora should be very familiar to you; you were here when you hopped aboard the Pandora in Esthar. The valuable draw points such as 'Meteo' and 'Holy' are still there, so take time off to pick them up before you head to the green 01 elevator. Side events: In the screen with the 'Holy' Draw Point (right after the using the green 01 elevator), there should be this huge chunk of wall (I don't know how else to describe it) in the center. Try going behind it and search to find a G.F. Ability Item (Writings of Speed) which lets you junction spells to your 'Speed' parameter. You should find a save point after a short walk from the lift. Make your preparations here and save before heading north. The Pandora offers nothing else; you should have picked up everything the last time you were here. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Mobile Weapon Type 8 BIS HP: 46,400 Weak: Lightning Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3, Flare BOSS: Assist Weapon Type L HP: 9,100 Weak: Lightning Draw List: Cure 3, Gravite BOSS: Assist Weapon Type R HP: 9,100 Weak: Lightning Draw List: Cure 3, Esuna When it switches to 'Counter Attack Mode', it'll retaliate against all physical attacks, so keep to using Bolt spells, Quetzalcoatl and Eden during this period to damage it. After it changes to 'Assist Mode' it'll launch 'Fallen Shine' which decreases everyone's HP to one, so have a member cast 'Cerebrus' at the start to put the party in 'Triple' status; this enables a single person to heal everyone with Cure 3. Or you could use a Mega Elixir (change Bahamut's card). You can also damage it with the tried-and-tested combo of Merton-Aura -Renzokuken to take the bugger down easily. Junction 'Bolt 3' to Elemental Attack for best results. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ You can head back a screen to save first before proceeding any further to meet up with Seifer. He'll dismiss both Raijin and Fuujin when they try to talk some sense into him, and attack Squall. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSS: Seifer HP: 34,500 Weak: Poison Draw List: Fire 3, Bolt 3, Ice 3, Aura Start off by drawing a few 'Aura' spells from Seifer. If his physical prowess is giving you trouble, cast 'Protect' on yourselves. Seifer will begin to use his 'Blood Ceremony' when his HPs get low, which hits for a pretty significant amount of damage, so watch out for it. You can dispatch him too easily with a single Merton-Aura-Renzokuken combination though. If you have Odin, this battle will be the last you see of him. He'll be replaced by a much more versatile Gilgamesh at the end of the fight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Just a bit of information on Gilgamesh... he can appear anytime in a battle (unlike Odin who appears only at the start of a confrontation). When he does he'll unleash one of four possible attacks: Iron Cutting Blade: Similar to Odin's attack. Masamune: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage. Excalibur: A sword swipe to all enemies for a moderate sum of damage. Excalipur: A sword swipe to all enemies for 1 HP of damage ^_^ Seifer will take Rinoa away after the battle, but you'll still want to keep Rinoa's HP, Defense and Magic Defense parameters high. You'll see why later. In any case, junction Quistis (who replaces Rinoa) thereafter. Leave the room. END OF DISC THREE ======================================================================== (note: Most of the section below was referred from Part I of Scott Ong's Final Fantasy VIII FAQ. Refer to the Credits section for more details.)